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Protesters in Iran defied a deadly government crackdown on Saturday night, taking to the streets despite reports suggesting hundreds of people have been killed or wounded by security forces in the past three days.

Verified videos and eyewitness accounts seen by the BBC appeared to show the government was ramping up its response, as it continues an overarching internet blackout.

The country's attorney general, Mohammad Movahedi Azad, said on Saturday that anyone protesting would be considered an "enemy of God" - an offence that carries the death penalty.

Hundreds of protesters are believed to have arrested since demonstrations began more than two weeks ago.

The protests were sparked by soaring inflation, and have spread to more than 100 cities and towns across every province in Iran. Now protesters are calling for an end to the clerical rulership of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Khamenei has dismissed demonstrators as a "bunch of vandals" seeking to "please" US President Donald Trump.

The Iranian government has imposed the internet shutdown in an effort to stop the protests. Iran's data infrastructure is tightly controlled by the state and security authorities. Internet access is largely limited to a domestic intranet, with restricted links to the outside world.

Over the past few years, the government has progressively curtailed access to the global internet. However, during the current round of protests, authorities have, for the first time, not only shut down access to the worldwide internet but also severely restricted the domestic intranet.

An expert told BBC Persian that the current shutdown is more severe than that imposed during the "Women, Life, Freedom" uprising three years ago. Alireza Manafi, an internet researcher, said internet access in Iran, in any form, was now "almost completely down".

He added the only likely way to connect to the outside world was via Starlink, but warned users to exercise caution, as such connections could potentially be traced by the government.

The BBC and most other international news organisations are also unable to report from inside Iran, making obtaining and verifying information difficult.

Nonetheless, some video footage has emerged, and the BBC has spoken to people on the ground.

Verified video from Saturday night showed protesters taking over the streets in Tehran's Gisha district. Several videos, verified and confirmed as recent by BBC Verify, show clashes between protesters and security forces on Vakil Abad Boulevard in Mashhad, Iran's second largest city.

Masked protesters are seen taking cover behind wheelie bins and bonfires, while a row of security forces is seen in the distance. A vehicle that appears to be a bus is engulfed in flames.

Multiple gunshots and what sounds like banging on pots and pans can be heard as a green laser beam lights up the scene.

A figure standing on a nearby footbridge is visible in the footage and appears to fire multiple gunshots in several directions as a couple of people take cover behind a fence on the side of the boulevard.

Other videos have also emerged from the capital Tehran. One video, authenticated by BBC Verify, shows a large group of protesters and the sound of banging on pots in Punak Square in west Tehran, which has been one of the hotspots of protests this week.

Another clip, filmed in the Heravi district in north-east Tehran and confirmed by BBC Persian and BBC Verify, shows a crowd of protesters marching on a road and calling for the end of the clerical establishment.

'US ready to help'

On Saturday, Trump wrote on social media: "Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!"

He did not elaborate, but US media reported that Trump had been briefed on options for military strikes in the country. The New York Times and Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the briefings had taken place, with the Journal describing them as "preliminary discussions". An unnamed official told the WSJ there was no "imminent threat" to Iran, the paper wrote.

Last year, the US conducted airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

US Senator Lindsey Graham posted several times in support of the protests on social media, writing: "To the Iranian people: your long nightmare is soon coming to a close."

Their "bravery and determination to end your oppression" had been "noticed" by the US president, he said. "Help is on the way," he added in the same post.

Earlier, he said: "To the regime leadership: your brutality against the great people of Iran will not go unchallenged."

As dawn broke on Sunday in Iran, Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran's last shah (king), whose return protesters have been calling for, posted a video to X.

Its caption said: "Know that you are not alone. Your compatriots around the world are proudly shouting your voice... In particular, President Trump, as the leader of the free world, has carefully observed your indescribable bravery and has announced that he is ready to help you."

He added: "I know that I will soon be by your side."

US-based Pahlavi has been calling for people to take to the streets, and has said he is preparing to return to the country.

He claimed the Islamic republic was facing a "severe shortage of mercenaries" and that "many armed and security forces have left their workplaces or disobeyed orders to suppress the people". The BBC could not verify these claims.

Pahlavi encouraged people to continue protesting on Sunday evening, but to stay in groups or with crowds and not "endanger your lives".

Amnesty International said it was analysing "distressing reports that security forces had intensified their unlawful use of lethal force against protesters" since Thursday.

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said those speaking out against Khamenei's government should not face "the threat of violence or reprisals".

Since Friday night, staff at three hospitals have told the BBC they had been overwhelmed with casualties. The BBC Persian service has verified that 70 bodies were brought to just one hospital in Rasht city on Friday night.

BBC Persian has confirmed the identities of 26 people killed, including six children. Members of the security forces have also been killed, with one human rights group putting the number at 14.

A hospital worker in Tehran described "very horrible scenes", saying there were so many wounded that staff did not have time to perform CPR, and that morgues did not have enough room to store the bodies of those who had died.

"Around 38 people died. Many as soon as they reached the emergency beds... direct shots to the heads of the young people, to their hearts as well. Many of them didn't even make it to the hospital."

The hospital worker said the dead or wounded were young people. "Couldn't look at many of them, they were 20-25 years old."

More than 550 people were killed and 20,000 detained by security forces over several months, according to human rights groups.

Additional reporting by Soroush Pakzad and Roja Assadi

Trump tells Cuba to 'make a deal, before it is too late'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2kv2gn62vo, today

Donald Trump has urged Cuba to "make a deal" or face consequences, warning that the flow of Venezuelan oil and money would now stop.

The US president has been turning his attention to Cuba since US forces seized Venezuela's leader Nicolás Maduro in a 3 January raid on its capital.

Venezuela, a long-standing ally of Cuba, is believed to send around 35,000 barrels of oil a day to the island, but Trump has said this will end.

"Cuba lived, for many years, on large amounts of OIL and MONEY from Venezuela. In return, Cuba provided 'Security Services' for the last two Venezuelan dictators, BUT NOT ANYMORE!" he posted on Truth Social on Sunday.

"THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA - ZERO! I strongly suggest they make a deal, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE."

Trump did not specify the terms of a deal or the consequences Cuba could face.

He also referenced the raid to seize Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who are facing drug trafficking and other charges in a US court.

Cuba has for years supplied Maduro with his personal security detail. The Cuban government said 32 of its nationals were killed during the US operation in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.

Trump said: "Most of those Cubans are DEAD from last week's USA attack, and Venezuela doesn't need protection anymore from the thugs and extortionists who held them hostage for so many years."

"Venezuela now has the United States of America, the most powerful military in the World (by far!), to protect them, and protect them we will."

The Cuban government is yet to respond to Trump's latest threats, but President Miguel Díaz-Canel previously said the 32 "brave Cuban combatants" who died in Venezuela would be honoured for "taking on the terrorists in imperial uniforms".

While the Trump administration has not stated clear plans for Cuba, the US president has previously said that a military intervention was unnecessary because the country was "ready to fall".

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated last week that Cuba's leaders should be worried, saying that he would be "concerned" if he was in the Cuban government and that "they're in a lot of trouble".

On Sunday, Trump also re-posted on social media a message suggesting that Rubio - a Cuban-American former Florida senator and the son of Cuban exiles - could become president of Cuba.

Trump shared that post with the comment: "Sounds good to me!"

The Trump administration's tactic of confiscating sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers has already begun to worsen a fuel and electricity crisis in Cuba.

Malaysia and Indonesia block Musk's Grok over sexually explicit deepfakes

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg7y10xm4x2o, today

Malaysia and Indonesia have blocked access to Elon Musk's artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Grok over its ability to produce sexually explicit deepfakes.

Grok, a tool on Musk's X platform, allows users to generate images. In recent weeks however, it has been used to edit images of real people to show them in revealing outfits.

The South East Asian countries said Grok could be used to produce pornographic and non-consensual images involving women and children. They are the first in the world to ban the AI tool.

The BBC has contacted the Grok platform for comment. Musk had said earlier that critics of his platform are looking for "any excuse for censorship".

Grok, and its parent company X, also face pressure in Britain, after Technology Secretary Liz Kendall backed calls to block access to the social media platform for failing to follow online safety laws.

Malaysia and Indonesia's communications ministries announced their move against Grok in separate statements over the weekend.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission said on Sunday that it issued notices to X earlier in the year to seek tighter measures after it found "repeated misuse" of Grok to generate harmful content.

But in its response, X failed to address the inherent risks of its platform's design and focused mainly on the reporting process for users, the regulator said.

It added that Grok will be blocked until effective safeguards are implemented and urged the public to report harmful online content.

Using Grok to produce sexually explicit content is a violation of human rights, dignity and online safety, Meutya Hafid, Indonesia's communications and digital affairs minister, said in a post on Instagram.

The ministry has also asked Musk's X to provide a clarification on the use of Grok.

Indonesian authorities have cracked down on other online sources of pornographic material in recent years, with platforms such as OnlyFans and Pornhub already banned in the country.

British media regulator Ofcom is expected to soon decide on what to do about Grok.

The use of Grok to generate sexualised images has been condemned by leaders worldwide, including UK Prime Ministry Keir Starmer, who called it "disgraceful" and "disgusting".

Stars arrive on Golden Globes red carpet

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy59ekq0dq3o, today

Big names from the worlds of film and TV are arriving on the red carpet for this year's Golden Globes, one of Hollywood's leading awards ceremonies, which is taking place in Los Angeles.

British actor Damson Idris starred in F1 The Movie opposite Brad Pitt.

Robin Wright is nominated for best actress in a limited series for The Girlfriend.

Husband and wife Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra were among the stars on the red carpet.

British actress Wunmi Mosaku, who starred in Sinners, showed off her baby bump.

Miles Caton also starred in Sinners, playing young singer Sammie.

Hudson Williams, one of the stars of recent TV hit Heated Rivalry, will be presenting an award during the ceremony.

Duke McCloud plays the young son of Sarah Snook's character Marissa in hit TV thriller All Her Fault.

Mark Ruffalo, who is nominated for best actor in a TV drama for Task, with his wife Sunrise Coigney.

Actress Alicia Silverstone appeared in Bugonia, which has three nominations.

Rapper Snoop Dogg matched the red carpet by adding a streak of colour to his tuxedo.

Sheryl Lee Ralph stars in best comedy series nominee Abbott Elementary.

US justice department opens criminal probe into Fed Chair Jerome Powell

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c801k7rkkd7o, today

Federal prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, he said on Sunday.

In a video announcing the probe, Powell said the US justice department served the agency with subpoenas and threatened a criminal indictment over testimony he gave to a Senate committee about renovations to Federal Reserve buildings.

He called the investigation "unprecedented" and said he believed it was opened due to him drawing US President Donald Trump's ire over refusing to lower interest rates despite repeated public pressure from the president.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to fire Powell and publicly pushed for him to lower interest rates. Powell is the latest to come at odds with Trump and then face criminal investigation.

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

You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.

Himalayas bare and rocky after reduced winter snowfall, scientists warn

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyndv7zd20o, today

Much less winter snow is falling on the Himalayas, leaving the mountains bare and rocky in many parts of the region in a season when they should be snow-clad, meteorologists have said.

They say most winters in the last five years have seen a drop compared to average snowfall between 1980 and 2020.

Rising temperature also means what little snow falls melts very quickly and some lower-elevation areas are also seeing more rain and less snow, which is at least in part due to global warming, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and other scientific reports.

Studies have also shown there is now what is known as "snow drought" during winter in many parts of the Himalayan region.

Accelerated melting of glaciers in the wake of global warming has long been a major crisis facing India's Himalayan states and other countries in the region. This dwindling snowfall during winter is making matters worse, experts have told the BBC.

They say that the reduction in ice and snow will not only change how the Himalayas look, it will also impact the lives of hundreds of millions of people and many ecosystems in the region.

As temperatures rise in spring, snow accumulated during winter melts and the runoff feeds river systems. This snowmelt is a crucial source for the region's rivers and streams, supplying water for drinking, irrigation and hydropower.

Apart from impacting the water supply, less winter precipitation - rainfall in the lowlands and snowfall on the mountains - also means the region risks being gutted by forest fires due to dry conditions, experts said.

They add that vanishing glaciers and declining snowfall destabilise mountains as they lose the ice and snow that act as cement to keep them intact. Disasters like rockfalls, landslides, glacial lakes bursting out and devastating debris flows are already becoming more common.

So, how serious is the drop in snowfall?

The Indian Meteorological Department recorded no precipitation - rainfall and snowfall - in almost all of northern India in December.

The weather department says there is a high possibility that many parts of northwest India, including Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh states, and the federally-administered territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, will see 86% less than long period average (LPA) rainfall and snowfall between January and March.

LPA is the rainfall or snow recorded over a region over 30 to 50 years and use its average to classify current weather as normal, excess or deficient.

According to the weather department, north India's LPA rainfall between 1971 and 2020 was 184.3 millimetre.

Meteorologists say the sharp drop in precipitation is not just a one-off thing.

"There is now strong evidence across different datasets that winter precipitation in the Himalayas is indeed decreasing," said Kieran Hunt, principal research fellow in tropical meteorology at University of Reading in the UK.

A study Hunt co-authored and published in 2025 has included four different datasets between 1980 and 2021, and they all show a decrease in precipitation in the western and part of the central Himalayas.

Using datasets from ERA-5 (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis), Hemant Singh, a research fellow with the Indian Institute of Technology in Jammu, says snowfall in the north western Himalayas has decreased by 25% in the past five years compared to 40-year long-term average (1980-2020).

Meteorologists say Nepal, within which the central Himalayas is situated, is also seeing a significant drop in winter precipitation.

"Nepal has seen zero rainfall since October, and it seems the rest of this winter will remain largely dry. This has been the case more or less in all the winters in the last five years," says Binod Pokharel, associate professor of meteorology at Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu.

Meteorologists, however, also add that there have been heavy snowfalls during some winters in recent years, but these have been isolated, extreme events rather than the evenly distributed precipitation of past winters.

Another way scientists assess the decrease in snowfall is by measuring how much snow is accumulated on the mountains, and how much of that remains for a period of time on the ground without melting: known as snow-persistence.

The 2024-2025 winter saw a 23-year record low of nearly 24% below-normal snow persistence, according to a report by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).

It said four of the past five winters between 2020 and 2025 saw below-normal snow persistence in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region.

"This is generally understood to be consistent with decreased winter precipitation anomalies and snowfall in a significant portion of the HKH (Hindu Kush Himalaya) region," said Sravan Shrestha, senior associate, remote sensing and geoinformation with ICIMOD.

A study Singh with the IIT in Jammu co-authored and published in 2025 shows that the Himalayan region is now increasingly seeing snow droughts – snow becoming significantly scarce – particularly between 3,000 and 6,000m elevations.

"With snowmelt contributing about a fourth of the total annual runoff of 12 major river basins in the region, on average, anomalies in seasonal snow persistence affect water security of nearly two billion people across these river basins," the ICIMOD snow update report warns.

Melting Himalayan glaciers pose long-term water scarcity risks, while reduced snowfall and faster snowmelt threaten near-term water supplies, experts warn.

Most meteorologists cite weakening westerly disturbances – low-pressure systems from the Mediterranean carrying cold air – as a key reason for reduced rainfall and occasional snow during winter in northern India, Pakistan, and Nepal.

They say in the past, the westerly disturbances brought significant rain and snowfall during winter, which helped crops and replenished snow on the mountains.

Studies are mixed: some report changes in westerly disturbances, while others find no significant shift.

"However, we know that the change in winter precipitation must be related to westerly disturbances, since they are responsible for the majority of winter precipitation across the Himalayas," said Hunt.

"We think two things are happening here: westerly disturbances are becoming weaker, and with less certainty, tracking slightly further northward. Both of these inhibit their ability to pick up moisture from the Arabian Sea, resulting in weaker precipitation," he added.

The Indian weather department has labelled the westerly disturbance north India has experienced so far this winter as "feeble" because it could generate very nominal rainfall and snowfall.

Scientists may sooner or later find out what is behind the decrease in winter precipitation.

But what is already becoming clear is that the Himalayan region now faces a double trouble.

Just when it is rapidly losing its glaciers and icefields, it has also begun to get less snow. This combination, experts warn, will have huge consequences.

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Chalamet beats DiCaprio to Golden Globes glory

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c78e07m02jzo, today

Timothee Chalamet was among the main winners as Hollywood's finest gathered for this year's Golden Globe Awards.

Chalamet, 30, continued his pursuit of greatness, and an Oscar, by beating stars including Leonardo DiCaprio and George Clooney to the award for best actor in a musical or comedy for table tennis caper Marty Supreme.

The Golden Globes are a key stop on the road to the Academy Awards, and other acting winners on Sunday included Teyana Taylor and Stellan Skarsgård.

Unlike the Oscars, the Globes also reward TV shows, and the night saw British actors Stephen Graham and Owen Cooper pick up more honours for their performances in Netflix drama Adolescence.

Chalamet's 'sweet' win

With all eyes on the Oscars race, Timothee Chalamet's victory has given him a boost over his rivals. "I'm in a category with many greats," he said when accepting his trophy.

It was Chalamet's fifth Globes nomination, but his first win. "My dad instilled in me a spirit of gratitude growing up, always be grateful for what you have," he said.

"It's allowed me to leave this ceremony in the past empty handed, my head held high, grateful just to be here. But I'd be lying if I didn't say those moments make this moment that much sweeter.

"For my parents, for my partner, I love you so much," he added, looking at girlfriend Kylie Jenner.

Teyana Taylor's tearful message

Elsewhere, singer and actress Teyana Taylor, whose career started when she choreographed a Beyonce music video at the age of 15, cemented her Hollywood breakthrough by winning best supporting film actress for One Battle After Another.

After tearfully thanking a list of people, she used her acceptance speech to send a message to "my brown sisters and little brown girls watching tonight".

"Our light does not need permission to shine," she told them. "We belong in every room we walk into. Our voices matter and our dreams deserve space."

Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård, 74, won best supporting actor for Sentimental Value, and joked that he hadn't prepared a speech "because I thought that I was too old".

He then made an impassioned plea for people to see films like his on the big screen. "Cinema should be seen in cinemas," he said to cheers from the crowd.

Australia's Rose Byrne was named best actress in a film musical or comedy for If I Had Legs I'd Kick You, and paid tribute to members of her family.

"My brother's my date. Thanks, George," she laughed. "Thanks to my mum and dad, who bought Paramount+ so they could watch the Golden Globes from Sydney.

"And I want to thank my husband, Bobby Cannavale. He couldn't be here because, um, we're getting a bearded dragon, and he went to a reptile expo in New Jersey. So thank you, baby."

Meanwhile, KPop Demon Hunters won best animated film and best song for Golden.

Paul Thomas Anderson won best film director and screenplay for One Battle After Another; and Sinners was given the box office achievement honour and best score.

Adolescence star 'still learning'

British teenager Owen Cooper continued a year of adulation and awards acclaim for his performance in Adolescence, winning best TV supporting actor.

The 16-year-old from Warrington appears to be keeping his feet on the ground, telling the assembled A-listers: "I'm still very much an apprentice. I'm still learning every day. I'm still learning from the people that are sitting in front of you and sitting in front of me."

And he still seems in disbelief at his meteoric rise, remarking: "It's mad, what is going on?" before signing off with the motto of his beloved Liverpool FC: "You'll never walk alone."

Seth Rogen also won a TV prize, and had a sense of deja-vu after setting an epsiode of his Apple TV comedy The Studio at the Golden Globes.

"This is so weird, we just pretended to do this and now it's happening," he said when picking up the trophy for best TV comedy actor.

"I thought the only way I would get to hold one is to create a whole show to give myself a fake one."

Other TV winners included Jean Smart for Hacks, Noah Wyle for The Pitt and Michelle Williams for Dying for Sex.

And the event's first ever award for best podcast went to Amy Poehler, a former Golden Globes host, for Good Hang with Amy Poehler.

US figure skater whose parents were killed in DC plane crash heads to Olympics

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly9nzvn71vo, today

US Figure skater Maxim Naumov, whose parents were killed in a commercial plane crash in Washington DC last year, has made the US figure skating team heading to the Milan Olympics next month.

Naumov's dream to make the US Olympic Team was one of the last things he spoke about with his parents before they were killed.

"We did it," Naumov said when asked what his parents would say if they were watching.

His parents, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, were among 67 killed in January 2025 after an American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter mid-air in Washington DC. They were world champions in pairs figure skating in 1994 and skated for Russia.

They later moved to the US and coached at the Skating Club of Boston.

On Saturday, Naumov, 24, placed third behind Ilia Malinin and runner-up Andrew Torgashev at the US figure skating championships in St Louis.

He will now be one of 16 figure skaters representing the US in the 2026 Winter Olympics.

As Naumov was competing this week, he held a photo of himself as a child with his parents.

"I thought of them immediately," Naumov said Sunday, according to US Figure Skating. "I wish they could be here to experience it with me, but I do feel their presence, and they are with me."

Last January, his parents were among those killed after an American Airlines plane from Kansas carrying 64 people onboard collided with a military helicopter, manned by three personnel. There were no survivors.

Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were on their way back from Wichita, Kansas, which was hosting the 2025 US championships.

Of those on board the flight, 28 were athletes, coaches, or parents connected to US figure skating.

The Olympic figure skating competition will take place beginning on 6 February.

Meta blocks 550,000 accounts under Australia's social media ban

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpqye2yygl4o, today

About 550,000 accounts were blocked by Meta during the first days of Australia's landmark social media ban for kids.

In December, a new law began requiring that the world's most popular social media sites - including Instagram and Facebook - stop Australians aged under 16 from having accounts on their platforms.

The ban, which is being watched closely around the world, was justified by campaigners and the government as necessary to protect children from harmful content and algorithms.

Companies including Meta have said they agree more is needed to keep young people safe online. However they continue to argue for other measures, with some experts raising similar concerns.

"We call on the Australian government to engage with industry constructively to find a better way forward, such as incentivising all of industry to raise the standard in providing safe, privacy-preserving, age appropriate experiences online, instead of blanket bans," Meta said in a blog update.

The company said it blocked 330,639 accounts on Instagram, 173,497 on Facebook, and 39,916 on Threads during it's first week of compliance with the new law.

They again put the argument that age verification should happen at an app store level - something they suggested lowers the burden of compliance on both regulators and the apps themselves - and that exemptions for parental approval should be created.

"This is the only way to guarantee consistent, industry-wide protections for young people, no matter which apps they use, and to avoid the whack-a-mole effect of catching up with new apps that teens will migrate to in order to circumvent the social media ban law."

Various governments, from the US state of Florida to the European Union, have been experimenting with limiting children's use of social media. But, along with a higher age limit of 16, Australia is the first jurisdiction to deny an exemption for parental approval in a policy like this - making its laws the world's strictest.

The policy is wildly popular with parents and envied by world leader, with the Tories this week pledging to follow suit if they win power at the next election, due before 2029.

However some experts have raised concerns that Australian kids can circumvent the ban with relative ease - either by tricking the technology that's performing the age checks, or by finding other, potentially less safe, places on the net to gather.

And backed by some mental health advocates, many children have argued it robs young people of connection - particularly those from LGBTQ+, neurodivergent or rural communities - and will leave them less equipped to tackle the realities of life on the web.

More federal agents to be sent to Minnesota, Trump administration says

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpv7knz8e8mo, today

The Trump administration has said it will send "hundreds more" federal officers to Minneapolis, days after the death of a woman who was shot by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in the city.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News that "hundreds more" will be sent to the area "in order to allow our ICE and our Border Patrol individuals that are working in Minneapolis to do so safely".

Protests against immigration enforcement have been held in cities across the US after 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was shot in her car on Wednesday.

The Trump administration says the agent acted in self-defence. Local officials insist the woman posed no danger.

Noem said the officers will arrive "today and tomorrow" and warned action would be taken if people tried to obstruct their work.

"If they conduct violent activities against law enforcement, if they impede our operations, that's a crime, and we will hold them accountable to those consequences," she said.

Protesters gathered in Minneapolis on Saturday, with anti-ICE protests also taking place elsewhere in the US, including in Austin, Seattle, New York and Los Angeles.

Minneapolis police estimated "tens of thousands of people" attended the "ICE out of Minnesota" rally and march, which started in Powderhorn Park on Saturday.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said the protest was "peaceful".

Police said 31 people had been arrested after protests on Friday and Saturday.

Minnesota has already seen a surge of federal law enforcement officials as the Trump administration ramps up immigration enforcement in the state.

Speaking to CNN, Noem also doubled down on her assessment that Good was committing an act of "domestic terrorism", saying she had "weaponised" her car" to attack ICE agents.

In response to her comments, Frey told CNN: "Anybody can see that this victim is not a domestic terrorist", and he said her actions were of someone trying to do a three-point turn to escape the scene.

The Minneapolis mayor added that the city's local law enforcement were "outnumbered by the number of ICE agents and beyond".

On Sunday, Minnesota senator Tina Smith, a Democrat, accused the Trump administration of trying to cover up the shooting.

"I think what we are seeing here is the federal government, Kristi Noem, Vice President Vance, Donald Trump, attempting to cover up what happened here," Smith told ABC News.

"I don't think that people here and around the country are believing it," she added.

In a statement, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson accused Smith of lying, saying: "Tina's lies only serve to further inflame tensions and incite violence against law enforcement officers."

Videos of the incident show ICE agents approaching a car which is in the middle of the street, and telling the woman behind the wheel to get out of the SUV. One of the agents tugs at the driver's side door handle.

As the vehicle attempts to drive off, one of the agents at the front of the car points their gun at the driver and several shots are heard.

The car then continues to drive away from the officer and crashes into the side of the street.

Good's wife told local media the pair had gone to the scene of immigration enforcement activity to support neighbours.

The officer who fired on Good is Jonathan Ross, a veteran ICE agent who was previously injured in the line of duty when he was struck by a car.

The FBI has said it will investigate the shooting.

On Friday, Minnesota officials said they would open their own inquiry after saying they had been frozen out of the federal investigation. Previously, US Vice-President JD Vance said the investigation is a federal issue.

Guantanamo detainee paid 'substantial' compensation by UK to settle torture complicity case

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2gelrxxr0o, today

The UK government has paid "substantial" compensation to a man who was tortured by the CIA and remains imprisoned without trial at Guantanamo Bay after almost 20 years, the BBC can reveal.

Abu Zubaydah was the first man subjected to the CIA's "enhanced interrogation" techniques after 11 September 2001 attacks. It was claimed he was a senior al-Qaeda member. The US government later withdrew the allegation.

MI5 and MI6 passed questions to the CIA for use during Zubaydah's interrogations despite knowing of his extreme mistreatment.

He brought a legal claim against the UK on the basis that its intelligence services were "complicit" in his torture.

The case has now reached a financial settlement.

Prof Helen Duffy, international legal counsel for Zubaydah, said: "The compensation is important, it's significant, but it's insufficient."

She urged the UK and other governments that "share responsibility for his ongoing torture and unlawful detention" to ensure his release.

"These violations of his rights are not historic, they are ongoing."

Warning: The following section contains illustrations that some may find distressing

The Foreign Office, which oversees MI6, said it would not comment on intelligence matters.

The exact amount Zubaydah will receive could not be publicly revealed for legal reasons, Duffy said. It was, however, a "substantial amount of money" and payment was under way.

She added he was unable to currently access the money himself.

Dominic Grieve, who chaired a parliamentary inquiry that examined Zubaydah's case, said the financial settlement was a "very unusual" situation, but what happened to Zubaydah was "plainly" wrong.

Zubaydah, a Palestinian born in Saudi Arabia, has been held at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, since 2006 without charge or conviction.

He is one of 15 prisoners who are still there despite multiple judgments and official reports detailing his mistreatment.

He was been widely dubbed a "forever prisoner".

Zubaydah was first captured by the US in Pakistan in 2002, before being held for four years at a series of CIA "black sites" in six countries, including Lithuania and Poland.

"Black sites" were secret detention facilities around the world, outside the US legal system. Zubaydah was the first person to be detained in one.

After first taking custody of Zubaydah, CIA officers concluded that he should be cut off from the outside world for the rest of his life.

Internal MI6 messages show the agency considered his treatment would have "broken" 98% of US special forces soldiers if they had been subjected to it. Despite this, it was four years before British intelligence sought any assurances regarding his treatment in detention.

Zubaydah's capture was hailed as one of the biggest of the so-called war on terror.

President George W Bush personally publicised the capture, claiming he was a senior al-Qaeda operative who was "plotting and planning murder". These claims were later withdrawn by the US government, which no longer contends he was a member of al-Qaeda.

He has been described as a "guinea pig" for the highly controversial interrogation techniques employed by the CIA in the aftermath of 9/11.

According to a US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence report on the CIA detention and interrogation programme, Zubaydah was routinely subjected to treatment that by UK standards would be considered torture, including being waterboarded 83 times (simulated drowning), locked in coffin-shaped boxes and physically assaulted.

Duffy said UK intelligence services had "created a market" for this torture by sending specific questions to be put to him.

The senate report was highly critical of how Zubaydah was treated, as was a 2018 report by UK Parliament's intelligence and security committee.

The parliamentary committee also criticised MI5 and MI6 for their conduct in relation to the alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, raising the question of whether he could bring a similar legal claim.

Neither the government nor Mohammed's lawyers would comment when asked by the BBC whether a case had been brought or settled.

Grieve said the UK had evidence the "Americans were behaving in a way that should have given us cause for real concern."

He continued: "We should have raised it with the United States and, if necessary, closed down cooperation, but we failed to do that for a considerable period of time."

Duffy said Zubaydah is keen to secure his freedom and build a new life.

"I am hopeful that the payment of the substantial sums will enable him to do that and to support himself when he's in the outside world."

But she stressed that would depend on the US and allies ensuring his release.

Thousands of tourists stranded in Lapland as cold grounds flights

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c74vnxlvl40o, today

Thousands of tourists have been stranded in Finland's Lapland as a severe cold spell has grounded flights out of one of its airports.

Departures from Lapland's Kittila airport that would have ferried winter travellers back to places like London, Bristol, Manchester, Paris and Amsterdam were all cancelled on Sunday as temperatures did not go above -35C on Sunday.

The issue is expected to continue on Monday as a low of -39C is forecast by Finland's meteorological agency. The first flight out of Kittila has already been cancelled.

The extreme cold makes it hard to de-ice planes, while maintenance and refuelling equipment on the ground can freeze.

Airport operator Finavia told public broadcaster Yle that moisture in the air was making the situation worse as it was creating slippery frost.

While Lapland - which spans northern Norway, Sweden and Finland - is known for the cold and snow, Finnish Lapland usually has a winter average temperature of -14C, with occasional dips to -30C, according to the nation's tourism board.

Kittila airport predominantly serves people wishing to travel to nearby ski resorts and to see the Northern Lights, while Rovaniemi airport further south is the "official" destination for visitors to Santa Claus's folkloric home.

One flight was cancelled out of Rovaniemi on Sunday.

Flights were reportedly cancelled in and out of Kittila on Friday and Saturday as well.

The cold weather has also made the roads particularly hazardous, with Fintraffic warning of icy conditions in the region.

A bus full of Ukrainian passengers drove into a ditch on Sunday morning, Yle reported, citing local police. It said no serious injuries were reported.

The unusual cold in Lapland comes as a storm passing over northern Europe has brought wintry conditions and travel disruption to the UK, France and Germany.

A man was killed after a tree fell on his caravan in England, while around 100,000 homes were without power in France on Saturday.

I never saw young women on Epstein visits, Mandelson tells BBC

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd9el4dw0z3o, today

Lord Mandelson has said he never saw girls at Jeffrey Epstein's properties, and declined to apologise to the late paedophile's victims for maintaining his friendship with the American because he was not "knowledgeable of what he was doing".

In his first interview since being sacked as the UK's ambassador to the US over his links to Epstein, he told the BBC he thought he had been "kept separate" from the sexual side of the late financier's life because he was gay.

He was fired after emails emerged showing supportive messages he had sent to Epstein after the American was convicted for soliciting prostitution from a minor.

The former ambassador said the only people he had seen at Epstein's properties were "middle-aged housekeepers".

He said he would have apologised were he "in any way complicit or culpable" but stressed that was never the case.

Epstein, a well-connected financier, died in a New York prison cell in 2019 awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. He had previously been convicted in 2008 of soliciting prostitution from a minor, for which he was registered as a sex offender.

Asked on BBC's One's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg whether he would like to apologise to Epstein's victims for continuing the friendship after that first conviction, he said:

"I want to apologise to those women for a system that refused to hear their voices and did not give them the protection they were entitled to expect".

"That system gave him protection and not them.

"If I had known, if I was in any way complicit or culpable, of course I would apologise for it. But I was not culpable, I was not knowledgeable of what he was doing."

He continued: "I regret and will regret to my dying day the fact that powerless women, women who were denied a voice, were not given the protection they were entitled to expect."

Lord Mandelson, whose tenure as ambassador lasted just a few months, was also asked in the interview about his views on US President Donald Trump's ongoing comments about his country needing to "own" Greenland.

While saying that he admired Trump's "directness" in his political dealings, he said he did not believe the US president would "land on Greenland and take it by force".

He added: "He's not going to do that. I don't know, but I'm offering my best judgement as somebody who's observed him at fairly close quarters. He's not a fool."

He said the president had a close circle of advisers around him "reminding him that if he were to intervene, take Greenland, that would be completely counterproductive - and would spell real danger for America's national interest".

Asked about his long friendship with Epstein over the decades, Lord Mandelson said he believed he was "kept separate" from Epstein's sex life because of his own sexuality.

"Possibly some people will think because I am a gay man... I wasn't attuned to what was going on. I don't really accept that.

"I think the issue is that because I was a gay man in his circle I was kept separate from what he was doing in the sexual side of his life."

He referred to one occasion he had spent one or two nights on Epstein's infamous private island, as well as visits to Epstein's New York and New Mexico properties.

"The only people that were there were the housekeepers, never were there any young women or girls, or people that he was preying on or engaging with in that sort of ghastly predatory way that we subsequently found out he was doing."

"Epstein was never there," he noted of his visits to the island.

The government sacked Lord Mandelson as its ambassador to the US after emails showed he had been in contact with Epstein after his first conviction, offering him support.

Number 10 sources said at the time that he had been "economical with the truth" before he was appointed and they were not aware of the "depth" of their relationship.

On Sunday, Lord Mandelson said the government "knew everything" when giving him the job, "but not the emails because they came as a surprise to me".

He said he understood why he had been sacked.

"The prime minister found himself in the middle of what must've seemed to him to been some kind of thermonuclear explosion - I've been there, I know what goes on.

"I wish I'd had the opportunity to remind him of the circumstances of my relationship, my friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and how I came to write the emails in the first place.

"I didn't, so I understand why he took the decision he did, but one thing I'm very clear about is that I'm not going to seek to reopen or relitigate this issue. I'm moving on."

In response, Downing Street said the emails showed the "depth and extent" of the relationship was "materially different" to what they had known when appointing Lord Mandelson, particularly his "suggestion that Jeffrey Epstein's first conviction was wrongful and should be challenged was new information".

"In light of that, and mindful of the victims of Epstein's crimes, he was withdrawn as ambassador with immediate effect."

Golden Globes 2026: The full list of winners and nominees

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwygn18nyllo, today

The Golden Globe Awards take place in Los Angeles, honouring the best in film and television over the last 12 months.

One Battle After Another, Sinners and Marty Supreme are among the films hoping to score trophies at the ceremony.

Here is the full list of nominees, being updated with winners live throughout the ceremony, which begins at 01:00 GMT.

Film categories

* Frankenstein

* Hamnet

* It Was Just an Accident

* The Secret Agent

* Sentimental Value

* Sinners

* Blue Moon

* Bugonia

* Marty Supreme

* No Other Choice

* Nouvelle Vague

* One Battle After Another

* It Was Just an Accident

* No Other Choice

* The Secret Agent

* Sentimental Value

* Sirât

* The Voice of Hind Rajab

* Arco

* Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle

* Elio

* KPop Demon Hunters

* Little Amélie or the Character of Rain

* Zootopia 2

* Jessie Buckley - Hamnet

* Jennifer Lawrence - Die, My Love

* Renate Reinsve - Sentimental Value

* Julia Roberts - After the Hunt

* Tessa Thompson - Hedda

* Eva Victor - Sorry, Baby

* Joel Edgerton - Train Dreams

* Oscar Isaac - Frankenstein

* Dwayne Johnson - The Smashing Machine

* Michael B Jordan - Sinners

* Wagner Moura - The Secret Agent

* Jeremy Allen White - Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere

* Rose Byrne - If I Had Legs I'd Kick You

* Cynthia Erivo - Wicked: For Good

* Kate Hudson - Song Sung Blue

* Chase Infiniti - One Battle After Another

* Amanda Seyfried - The Testament of Ann Lee

* Emma Stone - Bugonia

* Timothée Chalamet - Marty Supreme

* George Clooney - Jay Kelly

* Leonardo DiCaprio - One Battle After Another

* Ethan Hawke - Blue Moon

* Lee Byung-Hun - No Other Choice

* Jesse Plemons - Bugonia

* Emily Blunt - The Smashing Machine

* Elle Fanning - Sentimental Value

* Ariana Grande - Wicked: For Good

* Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas - Sentimental Value

* Amy Madigan - Weapons

* Teyana Taylor - One Battle After Another

* Benicio Del Toro - One Battle After Another

* Jacob Elordi - Frankenstein

* Paul Mescal - Hamnet

* Sean Penn - One Battle After Another

* Adam Sandler - Jay Kelly

* Stellan Skarsgård - Sentimental Value

* Avatar: Fire and Ash

* F1

* KPop Demon Hunters

* Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning

* Sinners

* Weapons

* Wicked: For Good

* Zootopia 2

* Paul Thomas Anderson - One Battle After Another

* Ryan Coogler - Sinners

* Guillermo del Toro - Frankenstein

* Jafar Panahi - It Was Just an Accident

* Joachim Trier - Sentimental Value

* Chloe Zhao - Hamnet

* Paul Thomas Anderson - One Battle After Another

* Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie - Marty Supreme

* Ryan Coogler - Sinners

* Jafar Panahi - It Was Just an Accident

* Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier - Sentimental Value

* Chloé Zhao, Maggie O'Farrell - Hamnet

* Miley Cyrus, Andrew Wyatt, Mark Ronson, Simon Franglen - Avatar: Fire and Ash; Dream as One

* Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo, Park Hong Jun, Kim Eun-jae (EJAE), Mark Sonnenblick - KPop Demon Hunters; Golden

* Raphael Saadiq, Ludwig Göransson - Sinners; I Lied to You

* Stephen Schwartz - Wicked: For Good; No Place Like Home

* Stephen Schwartz - Wicked: For Good; The Girl in the Bubble

* Nick Cave, Bryce Dessner - Train Dreams; Train Dreams

* Alexandre Desplat - Frankenstein

* Ludwig Göransson - Sinners

* Jonny Greenwood - One Battle After Another

* Kanding Ray - Sirāt

* Max Richter - Hamnet

* Hans Zimmer - F1

TV categories

* The Diplomat

* The Pitt

* Pluribus

* Severance

* Slow Horses

* The White Lotus

* Abbott Elementary

* The Bear

* Hacks

* Nobody Wants This

* Only Murders in the Building

* The Studio

* Adolescence

* All Her Fault

* The Beast In Me

* Black Mirror

* Dying for Sex

* The Girlfriend

* Kathy Bates - Matlock

* Britt Lower - Severance

* Helen Mirren - Mobland

* Bella Ramsey - The Last of Us

* Keri Russell - The Diplomat

* Rhea Seehorn - Pluribus

* Sterling K Brown - Paradise

* Diego Luna - Andor

* Gary Oldman - Slow Horses

* Mark Ruffalo - Task

* Adam Scott - Severance

* Noah Wyle - The Pitt

* Kristen Bell - Nobody Wants This

* Ayo Edebiri - The Bear

* Selena Gomez - Only Murders in the Building

* Natasha Lyonne - Poker Face

* Jenna Ortega - Wednesday

* Jean Smart - Hacks

* Adam Brody - Nobody Wants This

* Steve Martin - Only Murders in the Building

* Glen Powell - Chad Powers

* Seth Rogen - The Studio

* Martin Short - Only Murders in the Building

* Jeremy Allen White - The Bear

* Claire Danes - The Beast in Me

* Rashida Jones - Black Mirror

* Amanda Seyfried - Long Bright River

* Sarah Snook - All Her Fault

* Michelle Williams - Dying for Sex

* Robin Wright - The Girlfriend

* Jacob Elordi - The Narrow Road to the Deep North

* Paul Giamatti - Black Mirror

* Stephen Graham - Adolescence

* Charlie Hunnam - Monster: The Ed Gein Story

* Jude Law - Black Rabbit

* Matthew Rhys - The Beast in Me

* Carrie Coon - The White Lotus

* Erin Doherty - Adolescence

* Hannah Einbinder - Hacks

* Catherine O'Hara - The Studio

* Parker Posey - The White Lotus

* Aimee-Lou Wood - The White Lotus

* Owen Cooper - Adolescence

* Billy Crudup - The Morning Show

* Walton Goggins - The White Lotus

* Jason Isaacs - The White Lotus

* Tramell Tillman - Severance

* Ashley Walters - Adolescence

* Bill Maher - Is Anyone Else Seeing This?

* Brett Goldstein - The Second Best Night of Your Life

* Kevin Hart - Acting My Age

* Kumail Nanjiani - Night Thoughts

* Ricky Gervais - Mortality

* Sarah Silverman - Sarah Silverman: PostMortem

And as well as film and TV, there's a new award for podcasts in this year's line-up.

* Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

* Call Her Daddy

* Good Hang with Amy Poehler

* The Mel Robbins Podcast

* SmartLess

* Up First from NPR

Golden Globes host Nikki Glaser's best jokes

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg19pddvkno, today

1. Welcome to the Golden Globes - without a doubt, the most important thing that's happening in the world right now.

2. So let's get down to business, shall we? We'll start the bidding for Warner Bros at $5, do I hear $5?

3. Tonight we are celebrating the best of TV and film, right here in the heart of Los Angeles, where no TV or film has been made for the past six years.

4. There are so many A-listers here, and by A-listers I mean people who are on a list that has been heavily redacted. And the Golden Globe for best editing goes to the Justice Department.

5. George Clooney, you're amazing, I'm such a fan. I've always wanted to ask you this question: My Nespresso has been coming out kind of watery, and I'm wondering, is it like a pod issue, or do you think it might be the filter?

6. The Rock is nominated tonight, and luckily for him, the TV show The Paper is not, so he might win.

7. Kevin Hart is here, the Rock's plus one-half.

8. You two are like my favourite comedy duo. You're like Steve Martin and Martin Short but for people with under 50 IQ. Jumanji: Next Level - was it?

9. What a career Leonardo DiCaprio has had. Countless iconic performances, you've worked with every great director, you've won three Golden Globes and an Oscar, and the most impressive thing is you were able to accomplish all that before your girlfriend turned 30.

10. Leo, I'm sorry I made that joke, it's cheap, I tried not to, but we don't know anything else about you man. There's, like, nothing else.

11. Sean Penn, you're such an original. Everyone in this town is obsessed with looking younger, meanwhile Sean Penn is like, 'What if I slowly morph into a sexy leather handbag?'

12. Fun fact: Hamnet was actually the original name for Spanx. I'm wearing three ham-nets right now.

13. In Sinners, Michael B Jordan played two brothers. Am I allowed to say that? He played twins.

14. Wicked was back this year with Wicked: For Money.

15. Once agin, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande gave us two career-defining performances. Two hours into that movie, I was in tears. I was like, 'I can't believe there's still 45 minutes left'.

16, Ariana, I would listen to you sing the phone book. Grab the one Kevin Hart is sitting on tonight.

17. Timothée Chalamet is here for Marty Supreme - he's the first actor in history to have to put on muscle for a movie about ping-pong.

18. It's a privilege to be in this room with you all. Please keep doing what you're doing. Guillermo del Toro, keep making weird monster sex movies. And James Cameron, keep making weird monster sex movies.

19. Noah Wyle, keep being the only doctor I've seen regularly for the last 35 years.

20. Jacob Elordi and Paul Mescal, keep being the same person to my mom.

21. And lastly, Steve Martin and Martin Short, keep proving that in this industry, you're never too old to still need money.

Author's 'dream-like' Golden Globes nomination

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn40y9e0ry2o, 2 days ago

An East Sussex author has arrived in Los Angeles ahead of this year's Golden Globe Awards, where she will attend the ceremony following major nominations for the TV adaptation of her debut novel.

Michelle Frances, author of The Girlfriend, described her imminent attendance of the 83rd awards ceremony as "something of a dream-like quality".

"It was such an amazing surprise to have the show nominated and I am now here in LA," she said.

The Girlfriend is a psychological thriller which focuses on a mother's relationship with her son's girlfriend.

Frances said she had an overseeing role in the TV adaptation, which stars Robin Wright, Olivia Cooke and Laurie Davidson.

"I was delighted when I was asked to be part of the show and its development when it was filming," she added.

The other TV series contending for the Best Limited Series are Adolescence, All Her Fault, Dying for Sex, Black Mirror and The Beast In Me.

When asked about her thoughts on meeting celebrities and walking the red carpet, Frances replied she has "never done this before".

She added she would just "enjoy her every minute of the occasion" and her visit to LA.

The winners are due to be announced on Monday, at 01:00 GMT.

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

Winners and Sinners: What to expect from the Golden Globes

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c338d55p0k6o, today

Sinners, Marty Supreme and One Battle After Another are among the films set to compete at the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday night.

Frankenstein, Sentimental Value, Hamnet and Wicked: For Good are some of the other films going for gold at the ceremony in Los Angeles.

A new category, best podcast, has been introduced this year, while Adolescence, The Pitt and The Studio are nominated in the TV categories.

The Golden Globes are a major milestone of the film awards season, and take place with less than a fortnight to go until the announcement of the Oscar nominations (22 January).

The Globes hand out more trophies than many other ceremonies, as they split their film categories by drama and musical or comedy.

Timothée Chalamet, Emma Stone, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jessie Buckley and Michael B Jordan all have acting nominations this year.

Here's everything you need to know ahead of this year's event.

The main film nominees

How can I watch the Golden Globes?

The Golden Globe Awards will air on the CBS network in the US and also stream on Paramount+.

Sadly, there is no way to legally watch the ceremony in the UK, but there will be coverage on BBC News throughout the night.

The ceremony starts at 01:00 GMT (Monday morning) and usually lasts between three and four hours.

It is broadcast live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.

Which films are nominated?

One Battle After Another, about a former revolutionary whose daughter is kidnapped, leads the pack this year after becoming one of the most critically acclaimed movies of 2025.

Its competition includes Sentimental Value, a Norwegian drama about two sisters who reconnect with their estranged father, a film director planning his comeback, after the death of their mother.

Sinners, a vampire horror-drama set in 1930s Mississippi, was one of the first Oscar contenders out of the gate, launching to box office success shortly after last year's Academy Awards.

Elsewhere, the screen adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's novel Hamnet explores the family tragedy that many believe led William Shakespeare to write one of his most famous plays.

A new adaptation of Frankenstein provides a more emotional take on Mary Shelley's novel about a mad scientist and the creature he creates, while blockbuster Wicked: For Good concludes the origin story of Elphaba, the wicked witch of the west.

Kidnap drama It Was Just An Accident, one of the best films of this year's awards season and the winner of the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival, follows a man who seeks revenge on the former officer who previously tortured him in prison.

And Marty Supreme tells the story of a table tennis player in 1950s New York as he tries to stay financially afloat while making his name as an athlete.

Other nominated films include conspiracy theory drama Bugonia, Korean black comedy No Other Choice, Brazilian political thriller The Secret Agent and animated musical smash Kpop Demon Hunters.

Which actors are the frontrunners?

Box office titans Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme) and Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another) will go head to head in a particularly heated race for best musical or comedy actor. Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon) is a possible dark horse.

In best drama actor, Michael B Jordan (Sinners) has a strong chance, although the more international slant the Globes have taken in recent years suggest we shouldn't count out Cannes winner Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent).

While the best musical or comedy actress field is led by seasoned pros such as Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I'd Kick You) and Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue), there's strong competition from relative newcomer Chase Infiniti (One Battle After Another).

Best drama actress is much easier to predict - with Jessie Buckley (Hamnet) considered well ahead of even her strongest competitors such as Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value).

Supporting actor and actress contenders include Amy Madigan (Weapons), Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein), Benicio Del Toro, Sean Penn and Teyana Taylor (all One Battle After Another).

Who is hosting the Golden Globes?

US comic Nikki Glaser is returning to hosting duties after a barnstorming performance at least year's ceremony.

She delivered an opening monologue that rivalled the Globe greats - Ricky Gervais, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler - roasting the A-list celebrities in the room.

Hosting the Golden Globes, Glaser later said, was "without a doubt the most fun I have ever had in my career".

But, Glaser told the BBC's Regan Morris earlier this week, she often feels intimidated by all the "star power" in the room, adding: "I blur my eyes when I'm on stage, I'll be doing that so hard on the night."

Why is Adolescence still being nominated?

It's been nearly a year since most people watched the Netflix hit about a teenage boy accused of stabbing his classmate, and the series has already triumphed at the Emmys, Critics' Choice and National Television Awards.

But because many other awards events go more or less by the calendar year, Adolescence is only just being recognised at events such as the Golden Globes.

Expect to see even more of Owen Cooper, Stephen Graham and Erin Doherty at other events to come - such as the Actor Awards (formerly SAG) in March, and the Bafta TV Awards, which don't take place until May.

Which awards have already been handed out?

The two special prizes recognising lifetime achievement are usually handed out on the night, but this year they were awarded at the inaugural Globes Eve ceremony, which took place last week.

Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker received the Carol Burnett award, for outstanding contribution to television, while Dame Helen Mirren received the film equivalent, the Cecil B DeMille award.

During her acceptance speech, Dame Helen said the prize had been "described to me as a career recognition".

"But," she continued, "I prefer to think of it as a life lived, a life survived, a life enjoyed, a life sweated, and a life carried on, hopefully."

In her speech, Parker thanked the friends, colleagues and family who had supported her in a decades-long showbiz career, telling them: "You have been an integral part of an inconceivable life, it is a bounty, thank you."

Why are the Golden Globes significant?

An actor or film that wins at the Golden Globes won't automatically go on to win at the Oscars, but it can help solidify chances of a nomination.

As one of the earliest ceremonies in awards season, the Globes can provide a significant boost of momentum, as a victory or well-received acceptance speech will encourage more Academy voters to check out a particular film.

Stars such as Sebastian Stan, Demi Moore and Fernanda Torres all went on to secure Oscar nominations after their Globe wins last January (although Stan's was for a different film).

And movies such as Flow and I'm Still Here got their awards campaigns off to a strong start thanks to early victories at the Golden Globes, and both went on to win at the Oscars in the animated and international categories respectively.

Affectionately referred to as the "drunk uncle" of awards season, the Globes are a far less formal affair than the Oscars.

You can expect the celebrities to be in a relaxed mood and ready to have fun with their speeches - as long as they can survive being roasted by Nikki Glaser first.

Why luxury carmakers are now building glitzy skyscrapers

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyenj18vvxo, today

Bugatti is synonymous with high-performance, ultra-expensive supercars. But now the luxury French brand is entering a very different kind of race – not on the track, but in the skyline.

In the heart of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, Bugatti is building its first residential tower.

With the cheapest apartments set to cost $5.2m (£3.9m), the company is entering a fast-growing marketplace for the world's super rich – branded residences.

Being constructed by a growing number of luxury firms, including fellow carmakers Porsche and Aston Martin, they typically offer glitzy, fully-furnished apartments, where the company's brand name or logo is often prominently, and repeatedly, on show.

Other businesses that have entered the sector are Swiss watch firm Jacob & Co, and Italian fashion houses Fendi and Missoni.

Bugatti is building its 43-storey Dubai tower in partnership with UAE-based developer Binghatti Properties. The most expensive penthouses in the Bugatti Residences By Binghatti building will include large, private lifts for the owner's cars, so they can park them inside their apartments.

"For many car or watch enthusiasts, it's not just about owning the vehicle or the timepiece, but experiencing the brand in their everyday life through real estate," says Muhammed BinGhatti, chairman of Binghatti Properties.

The buyer list for the Bugatti project includes Brazilian football star Neymar Junior and opera singer Andrea Bocelli, adds Mr BinGhatti. Neymar is said to have paid $54m for one of the penthouses.

Global demand for branded residences has "accelerated" in the past two years, according to a new report by estate agent company Knight Frank.

It adds that while there were 169 such schemes in 2011, today there are 611, and the number is forecast to rise to 1,019 by 2030.

Currently, the US has the highest number of branded apartment buildings, centered on the skylines of Miami and New York, but Knight Frank says that the Middle East, in second place, is seeing the biggest growth. It says this is being "driven largely by rapid expansion in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia".

"Branded residences appeal most to individuals with extreme brand loyalty - people who want to live and breathe a particular brand," says Faisal Durrani, head of research at Knight Frank Middle East.

On a city-by-city basis, Dubai in the UAE now leads the way when it comes to the number of branded residences projects in development, according to a separate report on the sector by fellow property firm Savills.

This is said to be fueled by the continuing high number of wealthy people relocating to the city and purchasing luxury homes.

Durrani adds that prices for branded apartments in low-tax Dubai are often cheaper than elsewhere in the world. He describes the cost of such properties in the city as "extremely affordable compared with cities like New York and London".

Until recently, branded residences were dominated by hotel chains such as Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton, but luxury consumer brands are now increasingly leading the sector.

Porsche's Design Tower in Miami opened in 2017, while Aston Martin's Residences Miami launched last year, and Jacob & Co's project on Al Marjan Island in the UAE is due to be ready in 2027.

For such companies, real estate offers a new revenue stream with relatively low risk, as property development partners handle construction, and buyers pay a premium for the aesthetic and exclusivity associated with their brand.

According to BinGhatti, branded apartments are typically between 30 and 40% more expensive than non-branded luxury homes.

Many new branded schemes feature private members' clubs, wellness facilities and exclusive services - from chauffeured cars and yacht access, to private jet partnerships.

A new tier of branded properties is also being marketed around shared passions like gastronomy, wellness, and even longevity science.

In London, the forthcoming Six Senses Residences in Bayswater, being built by the Six Senses hotel chain, will include a biohacking centre. This will offer therapies including as cryotherapy, or extreme cold treatment, which is marketed as boosting energy levels and enhancing skin tone.

Meanwhile, in Texas, Discovery Land Company's upcoming residential Austin Surf Club is centred around a vast man-made surf lagoon.

Business and consumer psychology experts say the boom in luxury branded apartments reflects a broader desire for social signalling and exclusivity.

Giana Eckhardt, a professor of marketing at King's College London, argues that such homes have become a new form of "social status currency", akin to a rare handbag or huge diamond ring.

"Ultra-wealthy consumers increasingly want status assets and goods that are not available to everyone," she says.

Eckhardt who specialises in consumer behaviour, branding and consumer culture, adds that luxury brands communicate a "person's place in a social hierarchy". "They want the social rewards that come with being associated with these brands," she adds.

BinGhatti agrees that exclusivity is central to the appeal. "Clients really get the highest level of exclusivity.

"Every unit is unique and that gives them a special feeling of owning a one-of-a-kind [apartment] across the entire planet."

Yet business psychologist Stuart Duff, of UK firm Pearn Kandola, cautions that many people may find the idea of branded apartments to not be in good taste, especially if the brand name is excessively on show.

"Having the presence of a brand everywhere within an apartment block could well reduce the perception of rarity and uniqueness, and lead to a feeling of bragging. And at worst being seen as vulgar and tacky."

Eggie, Neo, Isaac and Memo are domestic robots. But would you let them load your dishwasher?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyg63e3mq4o, today

The idea of having a friendly robot butler that can do all the dull duties of running a home has existed for decades.

But now, thanks to AI, it's genuinely happening and this year the first truly multi-purpose domestic bots will start to enter homes.

In Silicon Valley, they're being trained at speed to fold laundry, load the dishwasher, and clean up after us.

Their excitable human creators are making big promises but I wanted to see how realistic the idea of a robot housekeeper really is.

So I went to meet Eggie, NEO, Isaac and Memo.

It is impossible not to smile when one of these humanoid or partly humanoid (no legs) bots enters a room.

The overall state of play is that many of them are now agile, sensitive and dextrous enough to carry out many important (and tedious) chores.

We watched as Eggie the robot from relatively fresh start-up Tangible AI hung up a jacket on a coat stand, stripped a bed and wiped up a spill on the kitchen counter.

But it did it very slowly, rolling around on wheels in a stuttering movement.

Likewise NEO from 1X - which recently caused a stir by launching pre-orders for its robot - was able to slowly but effectively plod around the firm's test kitchen on its soft padded feet.

It watered plants (with one spillage), fetched me a drink and tidied away dishes and cups (with some help from me as it struggled to grip the cupboard handles).

If time was no issue, I could see how having an Eggie or NEO-like bot cleaning up after me and my kids might be helpful.

But NEO and Eggie have a secret weapon - they are being controlled by human operators.

This is the thing the promotional videos don't show - and something that the Silicon Valley companies we visited are keen to downplay.

Bipasha Sen, founder of Tangible AI, is upbeat though about how fast the tech is improving.

"Today people have two aspirations - a car and a house. In the future they'll have three aspirations - a car and house and a robot," she says with a beaming smile.

Across town, 1X is a company that has major financial backing from tech giants including microchip maker Nvidia.

At their plush headquarters, we were given a tour of a restricted area where NEO prototypes are being built, tested and repaired.

Norwegian CEO Bernt Børnich says NEO is very useful in his own home, busily hoovering and tidying up after his family, which he says is "a mix" of autonomous action and human-operated.

"We have a lot of data so a lot of the stuff in my home can get automated but periodically someone kind of steps in and helps," he says.

Data is key to how these robots are learning to navigate our chaotic home environments - a much tougher task than humanoids designed for factories.

Part of 1X's plans to improve NEO's AI brains is to get it out to homes this year.

1X is confident that NEO will be far more capable on its own thanks to recent AI developments.

But we weren't shown any demos of the bot thinking for itself.

The first wave of customers will probably have to be very patient and not that worried about privacy with human operators remotely controlling it when the bot gets confused.

They will also have to be wealthy as NEO will cost around $20,000 or $500 a month.

"A lot of our early customers are people who will actually have a lot of value from this, but I do think getting the right customers is important. We can use these amazing early adopters to help us make this work," Børnich says.

Unusually for tech, most investment and hype around household robots seems to be going to start-ups - not the tech giants.

Tesla is building a humanoid but it is not clear what market it will be aimed at - factories or homes.

CEO Elon Musk is convinced there will be a big market for them though - his record $1 trillion pay packet is partly linked to him selling one million bots in the next ten years.

But it's nimble Silicon Valley start-ups that seem to be best placed to hit the market first.

In Noe Valley in San Francisco, another domestic robot company has already deployed its stationary bot to gather real world data, albeit in the narrow task of folding laundry.

Weave Robotics has seven Isaacs dotted across the city, autonomously folding clothes for laundromats.

We watched it meticulously fold T-shirts in about 90 secs, but its creator says it is getting faster all the time.

"Deployment is the strategy," says co-founder Evan Wineland.

The company plans to launch a general purpose version of Isaac for homes this year, but it's not clear how many tasks will be autonomous.

Elsewhere at Sunday AI they've come up with a neat solution to the data collection challenge that seems to be working very well.

We watched its robot slowly but smoothly make a coffee, scrunch up some socks and clear a table of perilously fragile wine glasses.

But even this highly capable bot made one mistake - breaking a wine glass on its first attempt, which appears to have been a bad fluke.

Engineers here are confident all will be ironed out once the bots ship next year thanks to a robot glove they've developed.

"We built these gloves and people wear them in their homes and collect data for us and that gives us really diverse data because we now see 500 homes and also all the different ways people do chores," says co-founder Tony Zhao.

It's a reminder of the human drudgery underpinning how AI systems operating in the physical world learn.

Teaching AI chat bots is easy in comparison as they are able to absorb billions of web pages, books and films to get smarter.

The last company we visited has a completely different angle on how to make the domestic robot a reality.

Physical Intelligence isn't interested in making a robot itself - it's developing the brains to make dumb robots smart.

Engineers are using all sorts of different robotic arms, hands and bodies to develop AI software for any robot hardware.

"We want to be able to breathe intelligence into any sort of physical embodiment, whether that's a humanoid robot or even something that looks closer to an appliance," says co-founder Chelsea Finn.

Their approach is being excitedly backed by investors including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and OpenAI.

There's a huge amount of investment going into this technology and although Silicon Valley is once again an epicentre, it is facing tough competition from Chinese rivals.

The industry for humanoid robots in general in China is in fact so hot that the government recently warned there was a risk of a bubble building that might burst if the robots aren't as successful or popular as they hope.

The International Federation of Robotics thinks it could take 20 years before domestic bots become truly useful and accepted.

There are questions too about how much demand there will actually be for the bots. Will they just be the play things of the rich or will they become cheap enough for mainstream use in the same way that robot hoovers have become?

But for the engineers at the forefront of this technology there appears to be a confidence that they are truly building a future that all of us will want in our homes.

He once criticised African leaders who cling to power. Now he wants a seventh term

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr7jep39eg4o, today

Ugandans under the age of 40 - and that is more than three-quarters of the population - have only known one president.

Yoweri Museveni seized the top job in 1986 following an armed uprising and at the age of 81, he shows no signs of budging.

His time at the helm has been accompanied by a long period of peace and significant development, for which many are grateful. But his critics say he has maintained his grip on power through a mixture of sidelining opponents and compromising independent institutions.

"We don't believe in [presidential] term limits," he once told the BBC, secure in his role after winning a fifth election.

A year later, the age limit for a presidential candidate was removed - paving the way, many believe, for Museveni to become president for life.

Museveni's journey began in 1944, when he was born into a family of cattle keepers in Ankole, western Uganda.

He came of age during Uganda's struggle for independence from the UK, which was followed by a period of brutality and turbulence under Milton Obote and Idi Amin.

For many years, Museveni did not know his birth date, writing in his memoir: "We had real life-threatening challenges such as extra-judicial killings and looting… we had no time to worry about details such as dates of birth."

In 1967, Museveni left Uganda to attend the University of Dar es Salaam in neighbouring Tanzania. There, he studied economics and political science and forged alliances with politically active students from around the region.

Museveni's name gained currency in the 1970s, after a coup by the notorious Amin.

Museveni helped form the Front for National Salvation - one of the rebel groups that, with Tanzania's help, ousted Amin. Amin was infamous for crushing dissent and expelling the country's Asian community. Under his eight-year rule an estimated 400,000 people were killed.

"He was part of the colonial system," Museveni told the Global Indian Network in a recent interview. "Idi Amin was ignorant... a bit chauvinistic".

Following Amin's fall, former President Milton Obote returned to power via a general election. However, Museveni refused to accept Obote's leadership, claiming the vote had been rigged.

He launched a guerrilla struggle in 1981 and five years later, his rebel group, the National Resistance Movement (NRM), seized power and Museveni became leader.

Uganda's economy began to grow steadily and over 10 years, the country saw an average annual growth of more than 6%. Primary school enrolment doubled and HIV levels dropped because of an anti-Aids campaign spearheaded by the president.

Museveni became a darling of the West, but his reputation took a hit in 1998, when Uganda and Rwanda invaded neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo in support of rebels fighting to overthrow the government.

Around this time, critics also complained that the president was growing less tolerant of opposing views. It also became clear he had no plans to cede power.

Museveni had said, in a 1986 collection of writing: "The problem of Africa in general, and Uganda in particular, is not the people but leaders who want to overstay in power."

But by 2005 his views had seemingly changed and Uganda's constitution was amended, removing the cap on how many terms a president could serve.

In 2017, the age limit for presidential candidates was also eliminated - a move which led to MPs throwing chairs in a chaotic parliamentary brawl.

Museveni has also faced allegations that he has weakened the independence of key institutions.

In particular, Uganda's judiciary has been accused of recruiting so-called "cadre judges" whose loyalty lies with the government.

When judges have gone against the government, they have sometimes found themselves at loggerheads with the authorities.

For example, in December 2005, armed security personnel raided the High Court in the capital, Kampala, re-arresting members of a suspected rebel group, who had just been acquitted of treason charges.

The media has also had its independence threatened. On the surface, Uganda has a lively media industry, but numerous outlets have been raided and journalists detained.

Perhaps the most significant factor in Museveni's longevity is the neutering of potential opposition forces.

When it became clear that Museveni did not intend to leave power, some of his former associates started to break away. As they did, the security agencies turned their attention to them.

For instance, Kizza Besigye of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change, who was once Museveni's doctor, first ran against the president in 2001. Since then, he has been arrested and prosecuted numerous times. In 2024, he mysteriously disappeared in Nairobi, only to appear four days later in a Ugandan military court. He remains in jail on treason charges, which he denies.

Pop star-turned-politician Bobi Wine is the latest Museveni critic to face the wrath of the state.

The 43-year-old opposition leader, whose star power draws huge crowds of youngsters, has been arrested, imprisoned and charged with crimes including treason. These have all later been dropped.

In 2021 the police tear-gassed and even shot at Bobi Wine and his supporters, saying they had defied coronavirus restrictions on large gatherings.

During the current campaign period, security forces have used "firearms and live ammunition to disperse peaceful assemblies" and abducted opposition party members in unmarked vans, a UN report says.

Amid this environment, Museveni ominously told the public that "one soldier carries 120 bullets". However, he also ordered the police not to beat opposition supporters and use tear gas instead.

Museveni's supporters point to the relative stability Uganda has enjoyed in the decades he has been in power.

Emmanuel Lumala Dombo, a spokesperson for the NRM, points out that more than 1.7 million people have moved to Uganda after fleeing strife in their own countries.

"Forty years ago, we were among the biggest exporters of refugees among the neighbouring countries that surround us," Dombo told the BBC. "Right now Uganda is the biggest host of refugees in Africa."

Museveni's government has also recently been encouraging foreign investment, striking deals with the likes of China, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. He says he wants Uganda to become a middle-income country by 2040.

Museveni sees himself not only as a stable, ambitious presence, but also as a nurturing figure for Uganda's youth. He fondly calls his young followers Bazukulu (meaning grandchildren in the Luganda language) and they refer to him by the nicknames M7 or Sevo.

But with an eye on Bobi Wine, who is roughly half of Museveni's age, the president has been keen to show his vitality.

In 2020, to encourage exercise during lockdown he was filmed doing press-ups, and then repeated the trick several times that year, including in front of cheering students.

He has addressed his health on numerous occasions, saying late last year: "I have been here with you for 40 years now. Have you ever heard that I have been in hospital? Except when I had [coronavirus] for 21 days."

As Museveni ages, critics worry that he is turning the country into his family's fiefdom.

They note that the president's wife, Janet, is the education minister and his son, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba is head of the army. Museveni's grandson also enrolled into the army in July, a move seen as potentially perpetuating the family dynasty.

The NRM has said little about how it will manage Museveni's succession, but speculation that 51-year-old Gen Kainerugaba will step up is rife.

Should this come to pass, it could jeopardise Museveni's legacy of stability. Gen Kainerugaba is known for being unpredictable and provocative, especially on social media. He has used X to joke about invading Kenya, rile Ethiopia by backing Egypt during a dispute between the two countries and admit to detaining Bobi Wine's bodyguard in his basement.

At the moment, however, with almost four decades of experience behind him, Museveni is confident he will bag a seventh victory.

"Uganda is secure. Go out and vote," he told the public during a New Year's Eve address. "The Ugandan NRM are unstoppable."

Additional reporting by Sammy Awami

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

Huge Roman villa found under popular park dubbed town's 'Pompeii'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgk8j1gkxelo, today

Archaeologists have discovered the largest Roman villa ever found in Wales in an "amazing discovery" which they say has the potential to be "Port Talbot's Pompeii".

"My eyes nearly popped out of my skull," said project lead Dr Alex Langlands, after ground penetrating radar revealed the "huge structure" in Margam Country Park.

The location in a historical deer park is significant because the land has not been ploughed or built-on, meaning the villa's remains - less than a metre below the surface - look to be well preserved.

Those involved from Swansea University, Neath Port Talbot council and Margam Abbey Church said the discovery offered "unparalleled information about Wales' national story".

The team's findings have been shared exclusively with BBC News ahead of an announcement.

Geophysical surveys of the park - a popular visitor attraction in south Wales - were commissioned as part of a wider project involving school pupils and the local community to learn more about the area's heritage.

Scanning devices helped map potential archaeological features hidden underground.

The team "struck gold" - discovering the footprint of a 572 sq m Roman villa surrounded by fortifications.

Dr Langlands, Co-Director of Swansea University's Centre for Heritage Research and Training, described it as a "really impressive and prestigious" building, likely to have been finely decorated with statues and mosaic floors.

"We've got what looks to be a corridor villa with two wings and a veranda running along the front," he explained.

"It's around 43m long and looks to have six main rooms [to the front] with two corridors leading to eight rooms at the rear."

"Almost certainly you've got a major local dignitary making themselves at home here," he added.

"This would have been quite a busy place - the centre of a big agricultural estate and lots of people coming and going."

As a standalone structure, it is the largest villa yet to have been discovered in Wales.

Most of the known Roman remains in Wales are from military camps and forts, while grandiose estates like this are less commonly found.

The discovery would force experts to "rewrite the way we think about south Wales in the Romano-British period", Dr Langlands said.

"This part of Wales isn't some sort of borderland, the edge of empire - in fact there were buildings here just as sophisticated and as high status as those we get in the agricultural heartlands of southern England".

It also showed that Margam - "a place that may even have lent its name to the historic region of Glamorgan" - was "one of the most important centres of power in Wales".

Christian Bird of TerraDat, the Welsh firm which carried out the surveys, said the images were "remarkably clear, identifying and mapping in 3D the villa structure, surrounding ditches and wider layout of the site".

This includes a substantial 354 sq m aisled building to the south east of the villa - which the team believes was either some sort of barn or meeting hall.

The villa's exact location is being kept secret for now, over fears it could be targeted by rogue metal detectorists.

Dr Langlands said conserving the site would be the first priority, before further survey work was carried out and funding sought for excavation in future.

It had the potential to be "Port Talbot's Pompeii", he suggested, playfully referring to the ancient Roman city preserved by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.

"A lot of archaeologists get wound up by connections made with Pompeii but I think it's in part justified because of the levels of preservation here," he said.

"We can see that in the survey data first and foremost, but we also know this has been a deer park for hundreds of years - it hasn't been subject to the type of ploughing [that has damaged many other villa sites]".

"There's a really exciting prospect that we've got really good survival of archaeological evidence and the potential therefore to tell a huge amount about what life was like back in the first, second, third, fourth and maybe even into the 5th Century".

Further details of the team's findings will be shared at an open day at Margam Abbey Church on 17 January.

Margaret Jones, a retired teacher from Port Talbot with a keen interest in local history, booked a ticket and said she cannot wait to find out more.

"I'm still a bit shellshocked at the thought that this place where I played, where my children and grandchildren have played - that under our feet was this incredible house," she said.

"It's out of this world".

She added that Port Talbot had been through "so many disappointments" in recent years with major job losses at the local steelworks, but "this will put us on the map... and we'll be proud".

The discovery was "just incredible" and "something we couldn't dream of", said Harriet Eaton who runs a Young Archaeologist Club as part of her role as Heritage Education Officer for Neath Port Talbot council.

"It would be fantastic if there was a community excavation here, [offering people] that hands on connection to the history unveiling beneath us," she said.

Margam Country Park is owned and run by the local council and was already an important historical site, with an Iron Age hillfort, the remains of a 12th Century abbey and an impressive Victorian castle as just some of its attractions.

But the villa find helped fill "a big gap in our knowledge" about what was happening in Margam during the Roman period, according to park manager Michael Wynne.

"It's a really unusual find this far west and of such a significant size - it will really add to our knowledge of Welsh and local history," he said, and mean "more visitors to Margam Park, to Neath Port Talbot and to Wales generally".

"It's a really good news story."

Bob Weir, Grateful Dead co-founder, dies aged 78

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly95x9qe4ko, yesterday

Bob Weir, the guitarist who co-founded the Grateful Dead, has died aged 78.

Weir, a cornerstone of the California psychedelic rock group and many of its offshoots, passed away after a battle with cancer and lung issues, according to a post on his Instagram.

"There is no final curtain here, not really. Only the sense of someone setting off again," the post says, noting his hopes that his legacy and lengthy catalogue will live on.

The post says he "transitioned peacefully, surrounded by loved ones".

One person dead and 300 buildings destroyed in Australia bushfires

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c75xdg2p36lo, today

One person has died and 300 homes and buildings have been destroyed in bushfires that have torn across south-east Australia.

The fires have raged in dozens of locations across the country for several days, mostly in the state of Victoria, but also in New South Wales, burning through land almost twice the size of Greater London.

A state of emergency has been declared in Victoria as thousands of firefighters and more than 70 aircraft battled the blaze. Residents in more than a dozen communities have been advised to leave their homes.

The authorities fear the blazes, which are being fuelled by very hot, dry and windy conditions, could burn for several weeks.

Victoria's Premier, Jacinta Allan, said 30 active fires were burning across the state, ten of which were a particular concern.

She said 350,000 hectares had been burnt across the state as of 08:00 local time on Sunday (23:00 GMT on Saturday).

"We will see fires continue for some time across the state and that is why we are not through the worst of this by a long way," she told Australian media.

"There are fires that are continuing right now that are threatening homes and property."

Human remains were found in the village of Gobur, near the town of Longwood, some 110km (70 sq miles) north of the state capital Melbourne, police said. The victim has not yet been identified.

Allan praised the emergency workers who worked to retrieve the body. "This is difficult and confronting work, and it takes a heavy toll."

"The Gobur community is grieving," Allan said.

Bushfire smoke is impacting air quality in many areas across Victoria, including metropolitan Melbourne.

Authorities said the fires were the worst to hit the south-east of Australia since the 2019-2020 blazes that destroyed an area the size of Turkey and killed 33 people.

One of the worst-hit places is the small town of Harcourt in the central highlands of Victoria, where firefighter Tyrone Rice lost his home in the blaze. He was out fighting one of the bushfires when he learned his own home was on fire.

He told Australian media it was "like a kick in the guts, but I'm not the first person to go through it, and I won't be the last".

The destruction in Harcourt was "gut-wrenching", the local fire captain Andrew Wilson said.

A reporter for Australia's 9 News, Jack Ward, told BBC World Service he had visited the damage in several towns across Western Australia. What he saw was "catastrophic", he said, and in many places, "all that's left of these houses is a tin roof lying on the ground".

Last Kurdish forces leave Aleppo after ceasefire deal reached

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2p84xleg2o, today

The final Kurdish fighters have withdrawn from the Syrian city of Aleppo, after the announcement of a ceasefire deal in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Mazloum Abdi, leader of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), said an agreement had been made via international mediation, securing the safe evacuation of "martyrs, the wounded, the trapped civilians and the fighters" from the city.

Buses carrying the last Kurdish-led SDF members were seen leaving the Kurdish majority neighbourhood of Sheikh Maqsoud, according to local media reports.

The latest clashes in Aleppo started earlier this week, after negotiations to integrate the Kurds into Syria's new government reached a stalemate.

At least 12 people were killed in the latest outbreak of violence, which also saw tens of thousands of civilians displaced after they were forced to flee Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh.

The Syrian army shelled the area on Wednesday afternoon after designating the neighbourhoods "closed military areas", in response to what it alleged were attacks by armed groups in the area.

The Kurdish-led SDF - which insists it has no military presence in Aleppo - called it a "criminal attempt" to forcibly displace residents.

A ceasefire was raised earlier in the week, but Kurdish forces refused to leave the last stronghold of Sheikh Maksoud under the deal.

In March 2025, the Kurdish-led SDF, which controls much of Syria's north-east and has tens of thousands of fighters, signed a deal to integrate all military and civilian institutions into the Syrian state.

Both sides accusing each other of trying to derail the negotiations that followed, with the agreement still not realised almost a year later.

The newest iteration of the ceasefire agreement was mediated by the US and other world powers, following concern that the stand-off in Aleppo risked Turkey's involvement.

Turkey backs the Syrian government and considers the Kurdish militia that dominates the SDF a terrorist organisation.

In a post to X on Saturday, the US ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack, said he had met the Syrian president and urged all parties to "exercise maximum restraint, immediately cease hostilities, and return to dialogue" in accordance with the March agreement.

He added that the US has welcomed Syria's "historic transition", and would extend its support to President Ahmed al-Sharaa as he "works to stabilize the country".

UK can legally stop shadow fleet tankers, ministers believe

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy8pn7jgy3no, today

The government has identified a legal basis which it believes can be used to allow UK military to board and detain vessels in so-called shadow fleets, BBC News understands.

Russia, Iran and Venezuela have all been accused of operating ships without a valid national flag to avoid sanctions on oil.

Last week British armed forces assisted US troops in seizing the Marinera oil tanker, which American officials accused of carrying oil for Venezuela, Russia and Iran, breaking US sanctions.

To date, no UK military personnel have boarded any vessels, but officials have spent the last few weeks exploring what measures could be used.

The Sanctions and Money Laundering Act from 2018 can be used to approve the use of military force, ministers believe.

It is understood there are plans for the armed forces to use these powers, in what is being described inside government as a ramping up of action against the ships.

It is not known exactly when the first UK military action might occur.

Two oil tankers subject to US sanctions were reportedly spotted sailing east through the English Channel towards Russia on Thursday.

The UK has already imposed sanctions on more than 500 alleged shadow vessels, which it believes are helping to fund hostile activity, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Ministers say that action taken by the UK and its allies has forced around 200 ships off the seas, most of which will have been operating without a legitimate flag.

Ship flagging is the process used to register a vessel to a specific country, which then allows it to travel in international waters and offers it certain protections under law.

The government believes the new legal mechanism they have identified could be applied to any sanctioned vessels not legitimately flagged.

Officials say this would have included the Marinera tanker, which was seized last week.

The Marinera, a Venezuelan-linked ship previously known as the Bella 1, was stopped by the US Coast Guard as it travelled through the North Atlantic ocean between Iceland and Scotland.

The Ministry of Defence said the US asked the UK for assistance, and that RAF surveillance aircraft and a Royal Navy support ship RFA Tideforce took part in the operation.

Defence Secretary John Healey said the action was "in full compliance with international law", adding the UK "will not stand by as malign activity increases on the high seas".

Healey told MPs on Wednesday that the government was "stepping up action on the shadow fleet, developing further military options and strengthening co-ordination with allies".

It is understood that identifying this legal mechanism was one of the further military options that Healey was referring to.

The US has increased action against shadow fleet vessels, with five tankers seized in recent weeks.

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: "The defence secretary set out in parliament this week that deterring, disrupting and degrading the Russian shadow fleet is a priority for this government".

They added: "We will not comment on specific operational planning".

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said on Sunday that the number of insurance checks were being increased, with more than 600 ships stopped while sailing close to the British Isles.

Vessels not legitimately flagged generally have no insurance, which experts have warned could lead to a crisis if they were involved in an incident like an expensive oil spill.

But Alexander said it would not be appropriate to say how many alleged shadow vessels were known to have sailed in UK waters.

She told Sky News: "Providing you with that information only helps one person and that is President Putin."

'The answer cannot be nothing': The battle over Canada's mystery brain disease

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c623r47d67lo, yesterday

Five hundred people in a small Canadian province were diagnosed with a mystery brain disease. What would it mean for the patients if the disease was never real?

In early 2019, officials at a hospital in the small Canadian province of New Brunswick noticed that two patients had contracted an extremely rare brain condition known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, or CJD.

CJD is both fatal and potentially contagious, so a group of experts was quickly assembled to investigate. Fortunately for New Brunswick, the disease didn't spread. But the story didn't end there. In fact, it was just beginning.

Among the experts was Alier Marrero, a soft-spoken, Cuban-born neurologist who had been working in the province for about six years. Marrero would share some worrying information with the other members of the group. He had been seeing patients with unexplained CJD-like symptoms for several years, he said, including young people who showed signs of a rapidly progressing dementia. The number of cases was already more than 20, Marrero said, and several patients had already died.

Because of the apparent similarity to CJD, Marrero had been reporting these cases to Canada's Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Surveillance System, or CJDSS. But the results had been coming back negative. Marrero was stumped.

More worrying still, he was seeing a dizzying array of symptoms among the patients, according to his notes. There were cases of dementia, weight loss, unsteadiness, jerking movements and facial twitches. There were patients with spasms, visions, limb pain, muscle atrophy, dry skin and hair loss. Many said they were suffering with both insomnia and waking hallucinations. Patients reported excessive sweating and excessive drooling. Several exhibited Capgras Delusion, which causes someone to believe that a person close to them has been replaced by an identical-looking imposter. Others appeared to lose the ability to speak. One patient would report that she had forgotten how to write the letter Q.

Marrero ordered test after test. But he was at a loss. "I just kept seeing new patients, I kept documenting new cases, and I kept seeing new people dying," he recalled. "And an image of a cluster became more clear."

Over the coming months, Marrero and the CJDSS scientists began to suspect that instead of a small cluster of CJD patients, the province of New Brunswick might have on its hands a much larger cluster of people suffering from a completely unknown brain disease.

Over the next five years, Marrero's cluster would balloon from 20 to an astonishing 500. But there came no scientific breakthrough, no new understanding of neurology, no expensive new treatments. Instead, last year, a bombshell research paper authored by several Canadian neurologists and neuroscientists concluded that there was in fact no mystery disease, and that the patients had all likely suffered from previously known neurological, medical, or psychiatric conditions. The New Brunswick cluster was, one of the paper's authors told the BBC, a "house of cards".

To report this story, the BBC spent time with Marrero and spoke to a dozen of his patients or their relatives — some of whom are telling their story for the first time — as well as key scientists, experts, and government officials, and reviewed hundreds of pages of internal emails and documents obtained by freedom of information requests.

We can reveal that at least one cluster patient has now opted for death via medical assistance in dying — legal in Canada since 2016. The diagnosis on the death certificate, according to the doctor who signed it off, was "degenerative neurological condition of unknown cause". At least one other cluster patient is currently considering assisted dying.

The research paper published last year could have marked the end of a strange chapter in Canadian science. Except, hundreds of the patients disagree. Defiant, fiercely loyal to Marrero, and backed by passionate patient advocates, they argue that the paper is flawed and reject any notion that the cluster might not be real.

Many believe instead that they have been poisoned by an industrial environmental toxin, and that the government of New Brunswick has conspired against them to cover it up.

"I'm not a conspiracy theorist type person, at all, but I honestly think it's financially motivated," said Jillian Lucas, one of the patients. "There's all these different levels."

Lucas first met Marrero back in early 2020, after her stepfather, Derek Cuthbertson, an accountant and military veteran, began experiencing cognitive and behavioural problems including sudden rage and loss of empathy. He was referred to Marrero, who ordered a battery of tests but was unable to explain his symptoms. Cuthbertson became one of the early cluster patients — the so-called "original 48".

Lucas had just gone through a divorce and suffered a bad concussion, and she moved back in with her mother and Cuthbertson in their rural community near the city of Moncton. Soon she began experiencing her own symptoms and went to see Marrero for herself.

"He ran so many tests, so much blood work and scans and spinal taps," Lucas recalled. "We were trying to rule absolutely everything out and we just kept coming up with more questions."

Short on answers, Marrero added Lucas to the cluster. Over the coming months, her symptoms worsened and new symptoms appeared. She experienced light sensitivity, tremors, terrible migraines and issues with her memory and ability to speak clearly, she said. She felt unexplained stabbing pains. Cold water felt scalding hot.

Marrero, though, was attentive and caring. He took her symptoms seriously. "He made me feel seen and that what I was experiencing was important," Lucas wrote in a Facebook post about her struggle.

It was a sentiment that seemed to be shared by everyone who saw Marrero. He held their hands during appointments. He remembered them, cried with them. He was "the only one listening to them," said Lori-Ann Roness, one of the cluster patients.

"He's an incredible human and physician," said Melissa Nicholson, whose mother died last year after being diagnosed with the mystery disease.

"Watching our mom go through it was hard enough," Nicholson said. "But he was such a pillar of support."

In March 2021, with Canada still in the grip of the Covid pandemic, the cluster suddenly became news. New Brunswick's chief medical officer had sent a memo to doctors alerting them to the apparent syndrome and suggesting they contact Marrero with possible cases. The memo leaked and the story hit the papers.

Marrero found himself inundated with new patients. But he was also drawing support from the highest levels of Canadian science. The working group set up to respond to the original CJD cases had evolved into a multi-disciplinary group studying the cluster, and the possibility of a mysterious new neurological condition seemed, at times, irresistible to the scientists.

"It's like reading a movie script," emailed one researcher to colleagues, about an early story in the Toronto Star.

"We are all in the movie!", a senior federal scientist replied.

At the heart of the working group was Marrero, along with Dr Michael Coulthart, the head of the CJD Surveillance System; Dr Neil Cashman, a leading Canadian neurologist; Dr Michael Strong, the head of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR); and Dr Samuel Weiss, one of the CIHR's senior neurologists. All agreed that Marrero needed considerable support. Strong said he could arrange additional staff and offered himself up as a consultant. The CIHR offered the province of New Brunswick C$5 million ($3.6m; £2.7m) to investigate.

And the mystery disease got a name: the "New Brunswick Neurological Syndrome of Unknown Cause". In an email to Marrero in April 2021, Strong called it "one of the most unusual constellations of findings I have ever seen".

"We all owe you a debt of gratitude," he wrote.

But not everyone was on board. Dr Gerard Jansen, a neuropathologist who was attached to the CJD Surveillance System, had noticed something unusual when referrals from Marrero's office started piling up. Jansen recalled feeling "flabbergasted" at Marrero's notes, which he said featured an array of broad and unrelated clinical observations — a "diarrhea of symptoms".

Jansen saw clues in the patients' files that he said pointed to already defined neurological diseases. When he examined brain tissue samples of a few cluster patients who had died, he found signs of Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia.

He was alarmed. His superior, Coulthart, appeared to believe something unexplained was happening in New Brunswick, Jansen said. Keen to get his concerns down in writing, he sent Coulthart a long and detailed email.

"All available evidence and logic" pointed to a collection of different diseases, Jansen wrote.

"The patients are real, but the clustering as a mystery disease is not."

The early cases seemed to be grouped around two locations: Moncton and the Acadian Peninsula. Suspecting an environmental link, the scientists and officials considered various possible culprits, from a rare moose-borne parasite to blue-green algae blooms to Agent Orange sprayed on the province in the 1970s. Nothing bore fruit.

Marrero said he had observed an uptick in cases in late summer and early autumn — forestry spraying season — and he zeroed in on a controversial herbicide called glyphosate. Chronic exposure to glyphosate, which is used extensively by New Brunswick's forestry industry, has been linked by some studies to neuroinflammation and Parkinson's disease. (Forest NB, an industry body, told the BBC that glyphosate was used in compliance with regulations and was "not expected to pose risks" to human health or the environment.)

According to Marrero, many of his patients were showing highly elevated levels of both glyphosate and various heavy metals. Though when asked by the BBC what proportion of his 500 or so patients had concerning results, he refused to say. "I don't want to provide exact numbers of anything, but let's say it's an unusual number. Beyond 100."

By April 2021, the focus was firmly on a possible environmental toxin. Strong, the CIHR director, said he thought a full "boots-on-the-ground" investigation was needed. The same month, a specialist clinic — the Mind Clinic — was set up in New Brunswick with Marrero at the helm to treat the cluster patients. With the $5m on offer from the CIHR, and the backing of Strong and other top federal scientists, all the conditions appeared set to get to the bottom of the mystery.

But then, everything changed. In May, New Brunswick effectively suspended the collaboration with the federal scientists. The province also decided not to take up the $5m on offer from the CIHR. According to Marrero, the decision killed off any prospect of finding an answer. "Everybody received that email like a cold shower," he said.

None of the provincial officials involved agreed to talk to the BBC on the record. But it is clear there was concern about Marrero's methods and about the nature of his contact with Coulthart, Strong and the other federal scientists. The view of some at senior levels of the New Brunswick government was that the informal working group, seduced by the possibility of a scientific mystery, was circumventing the province.

But the decision to leave the money on the table, rather than spend it investigating, fuelled suspicions that New Brunswick wanted to avoid scrutiny of its environment. According to Kat Lanteigne, the executive director of Canadian health non-profit Bloodwatch and a tireless supporter of Marrero, the actions of the province amounted to a full-blown cover up.

"They pulled the plug because they just don't want anybody looking," Lanteigne said. "Full stop."

Taking control of the process, New Brunswick mounted two investigations into the original cluster of 48 — one telephone questionnaire and one study of the patients' medical records by an oversight committee of six provincial neurologists.

Jansen, the neuropathologist who had raised concerns, had by that point examined the autopsies of eight cluster patients and firmly believed they all had known, diagnosable illnesses. Troubled, he passed his conclusions on to the oversight committee and presented them to the Canadian Association of Neuropathologists.

Not long after that, the New Brunswick government finished its investigations, concluding in February 2022 that there was no common environmental cause and no common condition among the patients. In other words, no mystery disease.

But the government had decided against examining any of the patients in person, an omission that outraged those who believed they were part of the cluster. The patients — now 105 in number — were attending sporadic appointments with Marrero at the Mind Clinic but seeing little progress. Jillian Lucas's symptoms were worsening at such a rate that she had begun to weigh something once unthinkable to her: medically assisted dying.

At the clinic, appointments with Marrero could be strangely conspiratorial, patients said. During one appointment, Lucas's stepmother Susan recalled, Marrero put his hand up, told them to stop talking, and went to the door to listen. "He said, 'I believe we are being recorded'."

Stacie Quigley-Cormier, whose stepdaughter Gabrielle was the youngest member of the cluster, said Marrero always spoke in a hushed tone.

"The experience with Dr Marrero — and other patients talk about this too — is you make sure you start talking after the door is closed, and there's a quiet tone to his voice, and you make sure you're not talking in the hallways and things like that."

Marrero declined to discuss it. "Some patients actually thought that way. And I… We wondered… But I don't want to comment."

In August 2022, Marrero was sacked from the Mind Clinic. "Despite our repeated attempts to inform you of our expectations and the deficiencies in your performance, you have not demonstrated a sustained ability to meet our expectations," wrote John Dornan, then-CEO of the health network. The 105 cluster patients each received their own letter, telling them they could stay at the clinic, with all the resources it had to offer, or strike out alone with Marrero.

Many were offended on behalf of their neurologist. "When they called me to ask my choice, I said, it's not a choice, it's an ultimatum," Lucas said. "And I choose him."

She wasn't alone. Of the 105 patients, 94 chose Marrero. Just 11 people decided to stay with the clinic and get a second opinion.

Outside of the clinic, increasingly isolated, Marrero continued to diagnose the mystery disease. He was sending patients for so many tests, for such obscure toxins or conditions, that some reported being met with an increasingly quizzical eye at the testing clinic, as if to say, "What now?"

Others found it difficult to get an appointment with Marrero or even speak to his assistant.

"I've messaged a couple of times but they're so busy, you can't even hardly get a hold of them by email," said Lucas. "He just has so many patients."

As the cluster generated more news coverage in Canada, little attention was paid to the 11 patients who had decided to stay with the Mind Clinic, and their stories have never been told.

Kevin Strickland's partner April was referred to Marrero after she stopped her car in the middle of the road one morning and apparently forgot how to drive. April, then 60, had already been showing some dementia-like symptoms, but the driving incident scared Strickland. Marrero ran a series of tests on April and diagnosed the mystery illness.

"He told me it was the mystery illness and he wanted to look further into it, but he never really did much after that," Strickland said.

The couple waited eight months to get important test results from Marrero, Strickland said, as April's condition worsened. Soon Strickland could no longer manage her care. But to get her a place in assisted living he needed a letter of support from Marrero. "I think I waited four months for that letter," Strickland recalled. "I kept phoning and asking."

Eventually he gave up and turned to the Mind Clinic, he said, and got the letter. And the Mind Clinic neurologists gave April something else she needed — a firm diagnosis. She was suffering from a form of frontotemporal dementia. In the end, Marrero "did nothing for April," Strickland said. "I guess he was more interested in proving the mystery illness than he was helping his patients," he said.

Sandi Partridge also chose to remain with the Mind Clinic. She felt a deep sense of loyalty to Marrero, but she also saw simple common sense in getting a second opinion.

Partridge had first seen Marrero in 2020, after suffering headaches, hallucinations and seizures. He ordered a barrage of tests — according to Partridge she had two MRIs, two EEGs, a SPECT, a CAT scan and a spinal tap, as well as more than a dozen different antibody tests. "It was mostly a lot of testing with Dr Marrero," she recalled. "Every time he would see me, it would be an hour and a half, sometimes two hours, and he would retest me every single time."

But every test came back negative. Partridge had also provided Marrero with a video of her having a seizure at home, which he studied. He diagnosed her with the mystery illness. "Those were the words he used," she said.

One thing Marrero never mentioned to Partridge was functional neurological disorder, which was her eventual diagnosis. FND is a complex condition; previously known as psychosomatic or psychogenic illness, it describes physical symptoms that can have a psychological root - sometimes described as being an issue with the brain's 'software' rather than any structural damage. It presents a challenge to doctors, who have to guide patients through the stigma associated with it to an understanding that they have a real condition that requires complex treatment.

Partridge's neurologists at the Mind Clinic also reviewed the seizure video she had shown to Marrero, and observed her having a seizure at the clinic. "As soon as Dr Abdellah saw my seizure he said, that's FND," Partridge recalled. (Abdellah declined to speak to the BBC). Partridge threw herself into researching the condition. "And I thought, that's me, that's me, that's me, that's me," she said. "I hit every single marker."

Partridge is still struggling with her condition, but she has received some treatment for FND and is pursuing more. And her diagnosis brought her some peace of mind. "The stigma is difficult," she said, "but I've accepted it."

Gabrielle Cormier, the youngest patient in Marrero's cluster, would also receive a diagnosis of FND, but her journey would follow a different path.

Cormier has featured heavily in the media coverage of the cluster, becoming a kind of poster child for the mystery disease. She was first referred to Marrero at just 18. A high school student, dancer and competitive figure skater, she had begun to experience fatigue-like symptoms and muscle soreness and then passed out at school.

Cormier was already taking anti-anxiety medication, and the hospital emergency room doctor told her the incident was anxiety-induced. Unhappy with his assessment (he told Cormier, who is gay, that she "just needed to find a boyfriend", she said), the family looked to Marrero for answers.

Marrero was different — empathetic, caring. As he had with other patients, he ran Cormier through a gauntlet of tests. When nothing showed up, he diagnosed her with the mystery illness. Canada was deep in the isolation of the Covid lockdown, but Marrero reassured them.

"He said, there's a dozen other people at least that are experiencing similar things to what you're experiencing, and I don't have answers for it yet," stepmother Stacie Quigley-Cormier recalled. "He told her that she wasn't alone."

There was one test Marrero couldn't secure: a PET scan, because the hard-up province was largely reserving them for cancer patients. So Cormier's parents took her to Toronto for the scan and a second opinion by a leading neurologist there, Dr Anthony Lang.

After a multi-day evaluation at a specialist neurology centre, Lang diagnosed Cormier with FND. Her tests showed that conscious movements were weak but forced reflex or automotive movements were normal and healthy. It pointed to psychology.

The Quigley-Cormiers were initially prepared to accept the FND diagnosis, they said. But they left Toronto unhappy after Lang told them to stop treating Cormier as though she had a terminal illness because it was reinforcing her condition.

A few weeks later, Lang called Cormier to inform her that a delayed test result had shown some reduced blood flow in her brain — something Marrero had also observed — and which can be caused by various medical or psychological issues including depression. Lang told Cormier the abnormality was slight and bore no relation to her symptoms, so she shouldn't worry about it.

The call didn't sit well with the Quigley-Cormiers.

"There was no reason to call her personal phone when he knew she had memory problems," said her father Andre, angrily.

The call pushed the Quigley-Cormier family away from Lang and his FND diagnosis and back towards Marrero, who the family had come to believe in deeply. Marrero had never crossed "any kind of line," Stacie said. "He's pristine."

"That's why all his patients like him," Andre said. "Love him, maybe."

Marrero continued to test Cormier repeatedly. He prescribed anti-seizure medication to prevent possible seizures, though she had not had any. He referred her for a round of intravenous immunoglobulin treatment — which she said caused severe headaches, aches, nausea, dizziness and aseptic meningitis — and prescribed a powerful intravenous immunosuppressant used for blood cancers and autoimmune illnesses. Neither improved her condition.

Cormier once dreamed of studying pathology. But her illness caused her to drop out of university and for years she has gone everywhere either in a wheelchair or with a cane, living, for a 24-year-old, a restricted life.

"I've had this idea that my life has been wasted, or that I've done nothing with my life since I got sick," she said.

"So, yeah, it kind of feels like I've been robbed of that."

Lang, the Toronto neurologist, came away from his interaction with the Quigley-Cormier family troubled. His call to Cormier was not only appropriate, he said, he was ethically bound to communicate with her directly because she was a mentally competent adult who did not ask for her parents to act for her.

Over the coming months, Lang watched with concern as the purported cluster ballooned in New Brunswick. He emailed Marrero and left messages with his secretary offering help, but never heard back. In late 2023, frustrated by what he saw as cluster misinformation everywhere, Lang decided with colleagues to mount a study. The results — published in May 2025 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, JAMA — landed in New Brunswick like a hand grenade.

Lang and his co-authors — including several former Mind Clinic colleagues of Marrero and the concerned neuropathologist, Gerard Jansen — found that all 25 patients in their study had suffered from previously known conditions, from functional neurological disorder to dementia to cancer. The probability of there being no new disease was close to 100%, they said. The real cause of the cluster, they concluded, was serial misdiagnosis by Marrero, compounded by credulous media reporting, the limitations of New Brunswick's public health system, institutional distrust sown by the pandemic and the actions of a small group of people "co-opting the crisis to suit their agenda".

The cases in the JAMA paper consisted of 14 live patients and 11 autopsies. Most of the live patients were people who had chosen to remain at the Mind Clinic, like Sandi Partridge. A few, including Gabrielle Cormier, were included via a consent waiver — a legal process which allows researchers to use patient data without their express consent provided certain anonymity criteria are met.

The study's conclusions incensed the most vocal patients and patient advocates, including Kat Lanteigne and Stacie Quigley-Cormier, who allege that the research was unscientific and unethical. The Quigley-Cormiers are furious that Gabrielle's data was used for the study, and their lawyers have sent letters to Lang and to the journal alleging the paper was a violation of her privacy. JAMA declined to comment on the dispute. Lang said that the research was legal, ethical and appropriately anonymised. As for the alleged violation of privacy, he pointed out that the only reason anyone knew Cormier's data was used was because her father and stepmother had told the media, along with many other details about her life.

On a bright morning this past September, Marrero was sitting in his home office in a large cottage-style house on a plot of land just outside of Moncton. A stone fountain burbled softly in his Japanese-inspired peace garden. Birds sang in his own patch of forest — untouched by herbicides or pesticides, he said.

Marrero is undeniably charismatic. He has a warm smile and demeanour. He speaks gently, but with authority. He remembers small details about people he barely knows and asks about their wellbeing in a manner that conveys genuine care.

Settled in his office chair, he recalled with obvious pleasure that not so long ago, some of Canada's top scientists had sat with him around that very desk, ready to take on a scientific mystery. But now, Marrero seemed increasingly isolated.

"They are trying to present me as it," he said, dejectedly. "I was part of it, but I was not it. The only difference is, when the table was empty, I stayed."

Of Marrero's early federal collaborators — Drs Coulthart, Cashman, Strong, and Weiss — only Coulthart agreed to speak to the BBC about the cluster. He denied ever having been convinced by the idea of a unified, mystery syndrome. "As a scientist, I use the word convinced very, very sparingly," he said. "But don't let anybody kid you — if anyone says they know what's going on or isn't going on in New Brunswick, they're either lying or grossly mistaken. Because nobody has the facts."

An upcoming provincial report could offer some answers. Unlike the previous studies, it will examine the claims of elevated glyphosate and heavy metals in the patients. At times, the stakes seem impossibly high. "Lives hang in the balance," read a recent letter to Premier Susan Holt, signed by 72 of the patients. "It is within your power to honour them, cherish them, and care for them," the letter said. "Or you can abandon them and let them wither, fade, and ultimately die. Please join us on the right side of history."

The patient advocates, led by Bloodwatch director Kat Lanteigne, have arguably done more than anyone to keep the story of the cluster going, with an operation that includes lobbying the government, briefing the press and sending legal letters to scientists.

Lanteigne has publicly attacked both Jansen and Lang over the JAMA study, branding their work inaccurate and unethical. She denied harassing Jansen, saying she had never spoken to him directly and emailed him only once. "I have a record of speaking truth to power and I have always worked with integrity and honesty," she said.

Both Lang and Jansen are standing their ground.

"What we have here is a case of misdiagnosis, evolving to misinformation, and sadly resulting in suffering for patients and families," Lang said.

"I would even go further," Jansen said, regarding the alleged misdiagnosis of the patients. "I would say they are being abused."

Few others are willing to criticise Marrero so openly. Privately, former senior government officials and colleagues of Marrero have questioned whether he should have been investigated. The Royal College of Physicians told the BBC it could not comment on whether there had been complaints against any individual physician, and none have been made public in relation to Marrero. Any sanction process would typically begin with a complaint.

And that was the issue, one former senior health official said.

"It has to be a patient complaint," they said. "And all his patients love him."

The last time Jillian Lucas saw Marrero was more than a year ago. He tested her again, but she is yet to see the results. During the appointment, he told her that just getting a common cold could kill her, she said. So she rarely leaves the house — a cramped and densely cluttered property that the family shares with 15 parrots. "She spends 90% of her time in her bedroom," her stepmother said. "It's a very limited life."

Kat Lanteigne told the BBC that Marrero "deserves the Order of Canada for what he has done for these people." But many patients, like Lucas, are languishing. Largely untreated, they have undergone test after test in search of the mystery disease and ended up back where they began, or somewhere worse.

In response to criticisms in this story, Marrero said that he would not comment on patients or fellow physicians. "The focus must remain on the hundreds of suffering patients, their families and communities who need to be the heart of our attention and care," he said.

Jillian Lucas has now seen a second doctor, but only because she has pushed ahead with her decision to explore medical assistance in dying, which requires two physicians to sign off. Canada has among the world's most permissive laws for assisted dying, allowing people to pursue it without a terminal diagnosis.

When Lucas told Marrero her plan, he became "choked up", she said. "It eats him up, he's fighting back tears."

And yet, Marrero agreed to support her application, despite her not having a concrete diagnosis or testing positive for any known condition. (Marrero told the BBC he "took the utmost care to abide by" the laws around Maid and had "never proposed it" to a patient.) After all the years of uncertainty with the unknown neurological syndrome, the option of dying gave Lucas some sense of control. "I have a limit in my mind of how far I can go," she said.

Sitting in his garden office, the sun streaming in, Marrero had no such limits in mind. "I keep going because I know," he said, confidently. He had been able to meet "with some of the best scientists in the country," he said. He had more than 500 cluster patients now, and every week the number was going up.

Mystery of wolf-type dogs solved with DNA test

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c93vngqg97ko, today

Three large dogs found roaming the streets of a Lancashire town the day before Halloween have been confirmed to be wolf-dogs after a rescue centre tested their DNA.

The dogs were found abandoned in Preston on 30 October 2025, and their wolf-like features sent them viral, despite Preston City Council identifying them as a German Shepherd-type breed.

Siblings Little Timmy, Boo and Brooke were taken in by a rescue centre and then transferred to specialists at Wolves of Wiltshire, who confirmed they were, in fact, of the wolf-dog variety.

Oli Barrington, a trustee at the exotic animal charity, said the dogs, who were found emaciated, were now in a "comfortable, safe and recovering from the ordeal".

The council said they had been told by their kennelling contractor that the dogs were "a German Shepherd type".

A council spokesman said the dogs were only in the authority's care for a "short statutory period".

"We do not carry out DNA testing, so we relied on the description provided at that time," he added.

Millions of people have watched videos about the dogs and their subsequent DNA test results on Tik Tok and other social media platforms.

Mr Barrington said at Wolves of Wiltshire, the focus was "on the animals themselves, their welfare, and their happiness".

He said the rescue centre was not planning to rehabilitate the animals or make them into pets.

"They will be whatever they want to be here," he said. "If they want a life with minimal human contact, then that's what they'll have."

What is a wolf-dog?

A wolf-dog is a domestic breed of dog that has been bred with a wolf.

In the UK, they are legal to own as long as they are three generations away from the original parent wolf, according to the PDSA.

First and second generation wolf-dogs that have one direct wolf parent require a license to own and are classed as exotic animals.

Mr Barrington said Wolves of Wiltshire have specific licenses that allow them to care for the animals, because they were an "unknown quantity, and they could have potentially required a dangerous animals license".

Little Timmy, Brooke and Boo's DNA tests, provided by company Embark, came back as 49.1% Gray Wolf and 50.9% Czechoslovakian Vlcak.

The tests were ordered by 8 Below Husky Rescue, a rescue centre that first took the animals from the council.

Mr Barrington said he thought the law was "a bit of a problem", because it was about the number of generations away from a wolf, rather than the percentage of wolf DNA.

He said the problem was irresponsible breeders were breeding high DNA content animals that were "perfectly legal on paper".

"There's very few people out there who could actually provide a decent home for a high content wolf-dog," he said. "You really have to give up your life."

An RSPCA spokesperson said: "They are large, much more challenging animals who need highly experienced handlers who have not only worked with dogs, but also wolves, and fully understand their needs."

They also said they did not make suitable family pets and people should be aware of the potential legal restrictions on keeping wolf-dog hybrids.

However, many in the wolf-dog community are confident they can provide these animals with the care they need.

Laura Mackenzie-Hawkins, from Greater Manchester, has four wolf-dogs and one Belgian Malinois, who she said she had rescued from a young couple living in a second-floor flat.

She took early retirement and said she was with the dogs "24/7" in her home, which has a large garden and 6ft-high (1.82m) fences added as adaptations for the animals.

"Just like with any dog, your responsibility is to keep that dog safe," she said.

"With the look of the wolf - as we've seen with the Preston three - if you get one wandering, you get mass hysteria."

She said the wolf-dog community spent a lot of time educating people on the needs of the animals to try to ensure they ended up in safe homes.

"They're not easy," she added.

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.

Trump won't take Greenland by force, Mandelson says

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp9j1d3zgvgo, today

US President Donald Trump would not "land on Greenland and take it by force", Lord Mandelson has said.

The former UK ambassador to the US told the BBC he admired Trump's "directness" in political talks but said he was not a "fool", and advisers would remind him taking Greenland would "spell real danger" for the US national interest.

There has been growing focus during Trump's term on how the semi-autonomous Danish territory is run, with Trump on Saturday saying the US needed to "own" Greenland to stop Russia and China from doing so, and would achieve it "the easy way" or "the hard way".

Denmark and Greenland say the territory is not for sale, with Denmark warning military action would spell the end of the Nato military alliance.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will hold talks with Denmark about Greenland next week. The AFP news agency reports that a Danish poll suggests that 38% of Danes think the US will launch an invasion of Greenland under the Trump administration.

Speaking on BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Lord Mandelson said: "He's not going to do that [use military action to take Greenland]. I don't know, but I'm offering my best judgement as somebody who's observed him at fairly close quarters."

Sparsely populated, Greenland's location between North America and the Arctic makes it ideally placed for missile early warning systems and for monitoring vessels in the region.

Trump has repeatedly maintained that Greenland is vital to US national security, claiming without evidence that it was "covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place". His focus on the territory returned after a commando raid on the Venezuelan capital Caracas last week seized president Nicolas Maduro and his wife and killed dozens of people.

Lord Mandelson, who only lasted a few months as ambassador, also said: "We are all going to have to wake up to the reality that the Arctic needs securing against China and Russia. And if you ask me who is going to lead in that effort to secure, we all know, don't we, that it's going to be the United States."

Meanwhile, the UK is working with Nato allies to bolster security in the Arctic, a senior minister told BBC One's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said discussions about securing the region against Russia and China were part of Nato's usual business rather than a response to the US military threat, and then said the UK agreed with Trump that the Arctic Circle is an increasingly contested part of the world.

"It is really important that we do everything that we can with all of our Nato allies to ensure that we have an effective deterrent in that part of the globe against Putin", she said.

But Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the situation in Greenland was a "second order" issue in comparison to what is currently happening in Iran, as protesters there defy a government crackdown.

Questions around sending troops to Greenland were "hypothetical" because "the US has not invaded Greenland," she said.

The US already has significant influence over Greenland. Under existing agreements with Denmark, the US has the power to bring as many troops as it wants to the territory.

But on Saturday, Trump told reporters in Washington that existing agreements were not good enough.

"I love the people of China. I love the people of Russia," Trump said. "But I don't want them as a neighbour in Greenland, not going to happen.

"And by the way, Nato's got to understand that."

Earlier this week Denmark's Nato allies - major European countries as well as Canada - have rallied to its support with statements reaffirming that "only Denmark and Greenland can decide on matters concerning their relations".

The government sacked Lord Mandelson as its ambassador to the US after emails showed he had been in contact with billionaire paedophile Jeffery Epstein after his first conviction, and offered him support.

Epstein died in a New York prison cell on 10 August 2019 as he awaited a trial on sex trafficking charges.

Number 10 sources said at the time that he had been "economical with the truth" before he was appointed and they were not aware of the "depth" of their relationship.

On Sunday, Lord Mandelson said the government "knew everything" when giving him the job, "but not the emails because they came as a surprise to me".

A key architect of New Labour, Lord Mandelson has been in and out of British politics for four decades.

He held a number of ministerial roles from the election of Tony Blair - and had to resign from post twice - until Labour lost power in 2010.

Trump seeks $100bn for Venezuela oil, but Exxon boss says country 'uninvestable'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c205dx61x76o, yesterday

US President Donald Trump has asked for at least $100bn (£75bn) in oil industry spending for Venezuela, but received a lukewarm response at the White House as one executive warned the South American country was currently "uninvestable".

Bosses of the biggest US oil firms who attended the meeting acknowledged that Venezuela, sitting on vast energy reserves, represented an enticing opportunity.

But they said significant changes would be needed to make the region an attractive investment. No major financial commitments were immediately forthcoming.

Trump has said he will unleash the South American nation's oil after US forces seized its leader Nicolas Maduro in a 3 January raid on its capital.

"One of the things the United States gets out of this will be even lower energy prices," Trump said in Friday's meeting at the White House.

But the oil bosses present expressed caution.

Exxon's chief executive Darren Woods said: "We have had our assets seized there twice and so you can imagine to re-enter a third time would require some pretty significant changes from what we've historically seen and what is currently the state."

"Today it's uninvestable."

The White House has said it is working to "selectively" roll back US sanctions that have restricted sales of Venezuelan oil.

Officials say they have been coordinating with interim authorities in the country, which is currently led by Maduro's former second-in-command, Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez.

But they have also made clear they intend to exert control over the sales, as a way to maintain leverage over Rodríguez's government.

The US this week has seized several oil tankers carrying sanctioned crude. American officials have said they are working to set up a sales process, which would deposit money raised into US-controlled accounts.

"We are open for business," Trump said.

On Friday, Trump signed an executive order that seeks to prohibit US courts from seizing revenue that the US collects from Venezuelan oil and holds in American Treasury accounts.

Any court attempt to access those funds would interfere with US foreign relations and international goodwill, the executive order states.

"President Trump is preventing the seizure of Venezuelan oil revenue that could undermine critical US efforts to ensure economic and political stability in Venezuela," the White House wrote in a fact sheet about the order.

Venezuela's oil production has been hit in recent decades by disinvestment and mismanagement - as well as US sanctions. At roughly one million barrels per day, the country accounts for less than 1% of global supply.

Chevron, which accounts for about a fifth of the country's output, said it expected to bolster its production, building on its current presence, while Exxon said it was working to send in a technical team to assess the situation in the coming weeks.

Repsol, which currently boasts output of about 45,000 barrels per day, said it saw a path to triple its production in Venezuela over the next few years under the right conditions.

Executives at other firms also said Trump's promises of change would encourage investment and they were hoping to seize the moment.

"We are ready to go to Venezuela," said Bill Armstrong, who leads an independent oil and gas driller. "In real estate terms, it is prime real estate."

But analysts say meaningfully increasing production would take significant effort.

"They are being as polite as humanly possible, and being as supportive as they can, without committing actual dollars," said David Goldwyn, president of the energy consultancy Goldwyn Global Strategies and former US state department special envoy for international energy affairs.

Exxon and Shell are "not going to invest single-digit billions of dollars, much less tens of billions of dollars", without physical security, legal certainty and a competitive fiscal framework, Goldwyn said.

"It's not really welcome from an industry point of view," he said. "The conditions are just not right."

While smaller companies might be more eager to jump in and help boost Venezuela's oil production over the next year, he said those investments would likely hover in the $50m range - far from the "fantastical" $100bn figure that Trump has floated.

Rystad Energy estimates it would take $8bn to $9bn in new investments per year for production to triple by 2040.

Trump's suggested $100bn of investment into Venezuela could have a major impact on production - if it were to materialise, said the firm's chief economist, Claudio Galimberti.

He said companies would only be likely to invest on that scale with subsidies - and political stability. Americans should not expect the situation in Venezuela to lower oil prices anytime soon, he added.

"It's going to be difficult to see big commitments before we have a fully stabilised political situation and that is anybody's guess when that happens," he said.

Additional reporting by Danielle Kaye

'I had no electricity for six months': US families struggle with soaring energy prices

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1dz0dz0zkvo, yesterday

Kristy Hallowell had just lost her job when her energy bill unexpectedly tripled to $1,800 (£1,340) a month.

Unable to pay, her gas and electricity were cut off and she, her two children and her mother spent six months of last year relying on a generator to light and heat their house.

The 44-year-old is one of millions of Americans who have fallen behind on their energy bills as prices have soared over the past year.

The electricity is now back on at her home in Greenwood Lake, New York, after a local non-profit helped reach an agreement with the utility to accept a partial payment.

But the gas is still off and electricity bills keep mounting this winter, leaving her in fear of another shut-off. She said she now had about $3,000 in utility debt.

"This has been traumatic, to say the least," she said.

Nearly one in 20 households in the US are at risk of having their utility debt sent to collections heading into the winter months, according to a recent report.

The number of households with severely overdue utility debt rose by 3.8% in the first six months of US President Donald Trump's second term, the analysis of consumer credit data, compiled by the Century Foundation and Protect Borrowers, found.

Residential energy bills have emerged as a key cost-of-living concern among US consumers, as many buckle under the weight of rising prices and sour on Trump's handling of the economy.

Official economic data from November shows electricity prices rose 6.9% from the year before - much faster than overall inflation.

Trump, who during his campaign said he would cut energy bills in half, has claimed that costs are falling. "Costs under the TRUMP ADMINISTRATION are tumbling down, helped greatly by gasoline and ENERGY," he posted on social media in November.

The White House blames former President Joe Biden and US central bank interest rates for the lingering economic pain.

But in the wake of Democratic wins in recent state and city elections, and polls showing waning consumer confidence, the Trump administration has shifted its messaging to focus on affordability, in a bid to allay voter anxiety about the cost of living in the US.

At the same time, the federal government has proposed slashing the funds it gives to states to help low-income residents pay their utility bills.

Experts also warn that the Trump administration's rollback of clean energy projects - including its recent decision to pause leases for offshore wind energy projects being built near the Atlantic coastline - could drive electric bills even higher.

"This is going to be a huge deal, both as a policy matter and a political matter," said Alex Jacquez, chief of policy and advocacy at the Groundwork Collaborative, a progressive economic think tank.

Laurie Wheelock, executive director of the Public Utility Law Project of New York, said many of her clients - low-income utility customers in New York state seeking help with their bills - have let utilities fall to the side as rent, health insurance and other costs keep getting more expensive.

In 2025, the non-profit saw an increase in utility account terminations for unpaid bills, Ms Wheelock said.

Before the pandemic, clients who approached the organisation typically owed $400-$900 in utility debt. Now, people often owe upwards of $6,000, she said.

"There's been this difficult mix of increased costs and financial instability," she added.

Winter heating costs are expected to jump 9.2% this season, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, driven by rising electricity and natural gas prices and unusually cold weather.

Energy bills tend to be among the highest in the northeast US, the report shows. But households from California to Georgia to South Dakota are also feeling the strain of rising costs over the past year.

Power-hungry tech companies

There are several reasons for rising residential energy costs, analysts say.

For one, the price of natural gas, which is a crucial component of nearly half of electricity generation in the US, has jumped over the past year. The natural gas industry is pushing more and more production overseas, contributing to higher domestic prices.

Electricity generation was "being saddled with ever-increasing costs of fuel", said John Quigley, a senior fellow at the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

Recent shifts away from clean energy investments could also be at play. A report from the climate advocacy group Climate Power cites the Trump administration's cancellation of projects that would have produced enough electricity to power the equivalent of 13 million homes.

The gutting of clean energy projects has contributed to a 13% jump in electricity bills since Trump returned to the White House, the report found, as the US increases its dependence on foreign oil.

Another key factor: energy demand from the artificial intelligence boom is straining the power grid.

Technology companies from Alphabet to Amazon are ramping up their investments in AI infrastructure, and data centres require massive amounts of electricity.

Continued and increasing electricity demand for data centres is pushing up prices for everyone, Quigley said.

'You can deal with people's frustrations'

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told ABC News in November that electricity prices were a "state problem".

"There are things that the federal government can control. Local electricity prices are not one of them," he said.

But some analysts argue that if the federal government were to embrace clean energy, it would help lower prices.

On the state level, some lawmakers have proposed requiring large data centres to supply their own power, so families don't shoulder the costs.

In Virginia, where data centres have proliferated, governor-elect Abigail Spanberger has announced plans to ensure tech companies are "paying their fair share", encouraging clean on-site and off-site generation and storage at data centres.

Virginia utility regulators recently authorised a separate rate category for the biggest electricity customers, like data centres, requiring them to pay a larger share to shield other ratepayers.

"You can deal in the near term with people's frustrations around prices while dealing with these long-term structural fixes," said Groundwork Collaborative's Alex Jacquez.

But any relief for consumers will take time. Residential energy prices are likely to stay elevated in the coming months.

Last year, Ibrahim Awadallah, 30, installed solar panels on his home in Charlotte, North Carolina in the hopes of reducing his energy costs.

His plan largely worked. His electricity bills tend to be lower than his neighbours', even taking into account the $180 he pays per month on his solar panel loan.

Still, in October, Awadallah noticed his bill from his utility company getting more expensive - a roughly 10% increase - even though he was out of town much of the month.

A telecommunications developer has proposed building a data centre nearby in east Charlotte. Awadallah is concerned that the project, if approved, will drive up electric costs even more.

"I don't think things are getting better anytime soon," he said.

'Hermès of durian': The luxury fruit cashing in on China's billion-dollar appetite

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz7ndzw28v4o, yesterday

Driving around Raub, a small town in Malaysia, it's impossible to miss the prickly fruit that powers its economy.

You can smell it from the steady stream of trucks winding through mountain roads, leaving a faint fragrance on their trails.

You can see it too: the green spikes of a giant sculpture, murals painted fondly on low walls and road signs that proclaim: "Welcome to the home of Musang King durians."

A gold mining town in the 19th Century, Raub has seen its economy take on a new hue of yellow in recent years. Today it's better known as the land of the Musang King — a buttery, bittersweet variety that the Chinese have dubbed the "Hermès of durians", as prized as the French fashion house.

Raub is one of many South East Asian towns that sit at the heart of a global durian rush, pumped by China's growing demand. In 2024, China imported a record $7bn (£5.2bn) worth of durians — a three-fold increase from 2020. This is where more than 90% of the world's durian exports are now headed.

"Even if only 2% of Chinese people want to buy durians, that's more than enough business," says Chee Seng Wong, factory manager of Fresco Green, a durian exporter in Raub.

Wong recalls how farmers cut down durian trees to make room for oil palms, the country's main cash crop, during an economic downturn in the 1990s.

"Now it's the other way round. They're chopping oil palms to grow durians again."

A very hungry China

With an aroma that has been likened to cabbage, sulphur and sewers — depending on who the nose belongs to — the durian packs a pungence so divisive that it's banned on some public transport and hotels. It has been maligned for gas leaks, and was the reason a plane was grounded after passengers remonstrated against the smell wafting from the cargo hold.

Fans from the region have christened it the "King of fruits", but on the internet it has earned a less flattering tag — the world's smelliest fruit — as tourists unused to its odour seek it out with squeamish curiosity.

Yet it has found a growing fanbase in China: as an exotic gift exchanged among the affluent; a status symbol to be unboxed on social media; and the star of culinary heresies from durian chicken hotpot to durian pizza.

Thailand and Vietnam are the top durian suppliers to China, accounting for nearly all of its imports. Malaysia's share of the market is sprouting fast, having earned a reputation with premium varieties such as the Musang King.

The average price of durian starts at less than $2 (£1.4) in South East Asia, where they are grown in abundance. But luxe versions like the Musang King could cost anywhere from $14 (£10) to $100 (£74) a pop, depending on their quality and the season's harvest.

"Once I ate Malaysian durian, my first thought was, 'Wow, this is delicious. I have to find a way to bring it to China'," says Xu Xin, who has been sampling durians at a shop in Raub. The 33-year-old sells the fruit back home in northeastern China, and is on the hunt for the best durians to import.

With her are two durian exporters from southern China, one of whom says business has been booming. The other expects it to continue: "There are so many people who haven't eaten it yet. The market potential is huge."

It's easy to see why they're so confident. Seated nearby is a large Chinese tour group — one of many that have been flocking to rural Malaysia for a bite of the fruit.

Eagerly they dig into platters of durian, carefully arranged from the mildest to the richest. If eaten in the right order, locals say, fresh notes should emerge with each glob on the flight: caramel, custard and finally, an almost alcoholic bitterness heralding the Musang King.

Such pedantry is perhaps why Malaysian durians have earned a special place on the Chinese table.

"Maybe in the beginning we only liked durians that were sweet. But now we look for things like fragrance, richness and nuanced flavours," Xu says. "Nowadays there are more customers who walk into the shop and ask, 'Are there any bitter ones in this batch?'"

Raub's durian dynasties

Just hours before the durians ended up on Xu's plate, they were painstakingly harvested at a nearby farm owned by Lu Yuee Thing.

Uncle Thing, as he's known in town, owns the durian shop, along with several farms. He is one of many success stories in Raub, where durians have made millionaires out of farmers. In family businesses like his, sons often help with transporting durians while daughters handle accounting and the finances.

"Durian has contributed a lot to the economy here," Uncle Thing says.

Driving to his farm one morning, there is quiet pride in his voice as he points out the Japanese pickup trucks that have replaced the rickety jeeps he used to rely on for transporting crates of his fruit.

Still, farming is hard work. At 72, Uncle Thing wakes up at dawn every day and weaves around his hilly farm to collect ripened durians, either dangling from trees or nestling on nets close to the ground. A couple of years ago, a falling durian landed on his shoulder, leaving him with a throbbing pain that acts up now and then.

"It looks like farmers make easy money. But it's not easy," he says.

Once harvested, the durians are brought to Uncle Thing's shop, where they are sorted into baskets ranging from Grade A, for the large and round ones, to Grade C, the small and odd-shaped.

Sitting in the middle of the sorting floor is a lone basket reserved for Grade AA durians, the handsomest of the lot.

Those will soon be flown to China.

A durian coup?

China's insatiable appetite for durians has shaped up to be a nifty diplomatic tool.

Beijing has signed a flurry of durian trade agreements, touting them as a celebration of bilateral ties — not just with major producers like Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia, but also budding suppliers like Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines and Laos.

"In this durian competition, everyone's a winner," declared a state media article in 2024.

The deals also dovetail with China's investments in infrastructure in the region. The China-Laos Railway, launched in 2021, now transports more than 2,000 tonnes of fruit every day, most of them Thai durians.

But this clamour to keep up with China's appetite comes at a cost.

Food safety concerns about Thai durians erupted last year, after Chinese authorities found in them a carcinogenic chemical dye believed to make the durians more yellow.

In Vietnam, many coffee farmers pivoted to durians, driving up global coffee prices that were already affected by severe weather.

And in Raub, a turf war has broken out. Authorities felled thousands of durian trees they said were planted illegally on state land. Farmers say they have been using the land for decades without any issue, and allege they are now being forced to pay a lease to continue farming there, or face eviction.

Meanwhile, a coup may be on the way in China's island province of Hainan, where years of trial and error are bearing fruit. Its durian harvest for 2025 was expected to reach 2,000 tonnes.

Like in so many industries, from renewables to AI, China has long pushed to be self-sufficient in food too.

Even as it reaps the fruits of this durian diplomacy, it is eyeing what state media calls "durian freedom".

"For one thing, we won't have to rely on Thai and Vietnamese vendors when buying durians anymore!" proclaimed an article in August.

That is still a distant dream. Hainan's first home-grown durians hit the market with much fanfare in 2023, but accounted for less than 1% of China's durian consumption that year.

But the way Uncle Thing sees it, "Hainan has already succeeded in its experiment... If they have their own supply and start importing less, our market will be affected."

He shrugs it off for now: "That is not something we can worry about. All that we can do is take good care of our farms and boost yields."

Ask anyone else in Raub about Hainan's quest, and your question will be swatted away with a smug comeback: they are still no match for Malaysian durians.

And yet, as China chases "durian freedom", it's hard to ignore the fact that the Musang King sits on an ever shakier throne.

Google employee made redundant after reporting manager who showed nude of wife, court hears

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62v51d1ry2o, yesterday

A senior Google employee has claimed she was made redundant after reporting a manager who told clients stories about his swinger lifestyle and showed a nude of his wife.

Victoria Woodall told an employment tribunal she was subjected to a campaign of retaliation by the company after whistleblowing on the man who was later sacked.

Google UK's internal investigation found the manager had touched two female colleagues without their consent, and his behaviour amounted to sexual harassment, documents seen by the BBC in court show.

The tech giant denies retaliating against Woodall and argues she became "paranoid" after whistleblowing and began to view normal business activities as "sinister".

In her claim, Woodall says her own boss subjected her to a "relentless campaign of retaliation" after her complaint also implicated his close friends who were later disciplined for witnessing the manager's behaviour and failing to challenge it.

The claim also included Woodall's allegations of a "boys' club" culture, including that up until December 2022, Google had been funding a men's only "chairman's lunch".

Google said an internal investigation found no such culture and the event was ended as it was no longer in line with its policies.

A judgement from London Central Employment Tribunal is expected in the coming weeks.

'Swingers'

Woodall worked as a senior industry head in Google's UK Sales and Agencies team.

In August 2022, according to her claim, she was contacted by a female client who said that, during a business lunch, a manager in the team had boasted about the number of black women he had had sex with.

He said "he and his wife were swingers" and also described how they had sex with two women they met on the beach on holiday, according to summary notes of Google's investigation submitted to court.

The client said the conversation was unprompted and happened in front of his line manager who did nothing to stop him, describing their behaviour as "disgusting," in court documents.

Woodall reported the client's concerns to her boss Matt Bush, then managing director of the agency team, and Google opened an internal investigation into the manager's conduct, it adds.

While this investigation was underway, Woodall raised a second complaint from another female client who alleged the same manager had shown her a "picture of his wife's vagina" while scrolling through photos on his phone, according to her claim.

The report

Google interviewed 12 people as part of its investigation and uncovered further incidents which it found amounted to sexual harassment in breach of company policies, according to emails, notes and a copy of the report submitted to the tribunal.

The manager was found on the balance of probabilities to have sexually harassed two female employees during a work event, where he allegedly touched one colleague's leg during a conversation and rubbed another colleague's back and shoulders, both without their consent.

Google also found he had allegedly made inappropriate comments to staff, including telling a female colleague he had met for the first time that he was in an open marriage and that if she had "sex with him in the bathroom, his wife would enjoy hearing about it".

The manager denied the allegations during Google's investigation and said he did not think he had shared with his workmates that he has an open relationship with his wife, according to the report.

He was sacked for gross misconduct, court documents show, while his line manager and another senior colleague were recommended for "documented coaching" for failing to intervene. They were both later made redundant.

'Boys' club'

Woodall claims that shortly after reporting the sexual harassment in 2022, her boss, Matt Bush, gave her "little choice" but to swap her successful client account with a failing one - which up until that point had belonged to one of the two colleagues to later receive disciplinary action following her whistleblowing.

She described the move as a "poisoned chalice" that had left her vulnerable to redundancy, the court heard.

She says she was then demoted to a subordinate role on a big internal project supporting the other senior manager her report had implicated. Her boss later tried to downgrade her performance among other retaliatory actions, according to her claim.

In his witness statement, Bush says he always supported Woodall's career and took fostering inclusivity and gender equality in hiring pipelines and promotions very seriously, adding that it was standard practice to regularly move accounts between the team.

'Way to exit people'

In 2023, Google started a redundancy process that resulted in the departures of her boss and one of the senior managers who failed to report the sexual harassment, according to court documents.

In May that year, Woodall took her concerns about a boys' club culture and the retaliation she was facing to the top of the organisation.

In her witness statement, she says she met with Debbie Weinstein, then vice president of Google UK and Ireland after hearing from a HR colleague that she was concerned about the team and the experiences of women.

Following their discussion, Weinstein, now president of Europe, Middle East and Africa, appeared shocked by Woodall's claims. Court documents show she messaged a member of HR: "Just met Vicki [Woodall]. Holy moly. Want to get you for 10 mins today."

Then in November 2023, as Google prepared for a broader reorganisation and redundancy process, Woodall claims there was a final push to remove her from the agency team.

That month, Weinstein messaged Dyana Najdi, Google's managing director for UK and Ireland advertising, to say: "keep pushing...for solution on how you can run a process including agency [Woodall's team]… gotta use this as a chance to exit people", according to messages of their conversation submitted to court.

In March 2024, Woodall was made redundant alongside the second senior manager involved in the misconduct investigation, however she remains employed by the company receiving long-term sickness payments for work-related stress, according to her claim.

Google denies that Woodall was made redundant for whistleblowing, adding that her role was one of 26 across the team and wider department closed, according to its defence.

It disputes that Weinstein attempted to make Woodall redundant, saying she was very supportive towards her and instigated the investigation into the culture of the agency team.

The company accepts that Woodall's report of the manager accused of misconduct was an act of whistleblowing, but denies any retaliation against her, saying the subsequent events were perfectly normal business decisions.

How tariff disruption will continue reshaping the global economy in 2026

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czejp3gep63o, 4 days ago

President Trump's favourite word is tariffs. He reminded the world of that in his pre-Christmas "address to the nation".

With the world still unwrapping the tariffs "gift" from the first year of his second term in office, he said they were bringing jobs, higher wages and economic growth to the US.

That is hotly contested. What is less debatable is that they've refashioned the global economy, and will continue to do so into 2026.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says that although "the tariff shock is smaller than originally announced", it is a key reason why it now expects the rate of global economic growth to slow to 3.1% in 2026. A year ago, it predicted a 3.3% expansion this year.

For the head of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, things are "better than we feared, worse than it needs to be". Speaking on a podcast recently she explained that growth had fallen from a pre-Covid average of 3.7%.

"This growth is too slow to meet the aspirations of people around the world for better lives," she said.

Other forecasts for 2026 are even more pessimistic than that of the IMF.

Yet the impact of the tariffs on the global economy was not as bad as it could have been, notes Maurice Obstfeld of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, who is also a former chief economist at the IMF. He says this is the case because "countries didn't retaliate strongly against the US".

Obstfeld adds: "And the one country that did forcefully hit back, which is China, induced the US to back down very quickly. So we certainly avoided a trade disaster."

However, after five rounds of trade talks, the world's two biggest economies still have more tariffs and other trade restrictions in place against each other than when Trump took office for the second time.

The tariffs have pushed up costs for many businesses and increased uncertainty, which makes it harder to plan for and invest in the future.

Despite the resilience seen so far, "these frictions and uncertainties take their toll over time", such as through efficiency loses, according to Obstfeld.

Some of the damage of tariffs has been mitigated by lower interest rates, a fall in the value of the dollar, businesses finding clever ways around them, and, crucially, the many exemptions they contain.

This may help explain why the UN trade agency UNCTAD is forecasting that the value of global trade grew 7% last year to reach more than $35tn (£26tn).

Yet Obstfeld says the loopholes in US tariffs are a double-edged sword. "The exemptions mean lower tariffs in practice, but they also introduce a lot of uncertainty about how you get them."

Countries including the UK, South Korea and Japan have managed to navigate those mysteries and agree trade deals with Trump. Others will hope they can do so during 2026.

Whilst some economists have expressed doubt about how strongly the US is now growing, between July and September it expanded by 4.3%, the strongest annual growth in two years.

"This is a very, very resilient economy, and I don't see why that wouldn't continue going forward," says Aditya Bhave, a senior economist at Bank of America.

He thinks tariffs have added between 0.3% and 0.5% to US inflation, which in November was 2.7%, but "we probably haven't seen the full impact" yet. That matters given the US economy is driven by consumer spending, and that it accounts for 26% of the global economy, according to the IMF.

Cost of living pressures are still a problem for people in many parts of the world, but there are some encouraging signs for them. In the eurozone, inflation has stabilised and is now running at 2.1%. But in the UK it's 3.2%, which as in the US, remains well above the central banks' 2% target.

Others major influences on the global economy this year could include the renegotiation of the US Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade deal that Trump signed in his first term in office.

Meanwhile, EU member states are due to vote on whether to ratify a South American trade deal that was signed more than a year ago.

And back in the US, there is a lot riding on a Supreme Court decision on the legality of Trump's tariffs.

One key input into the world economy is oil, and Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs expects the price of benchmark Brent Crude to fall around 8% this year to around $56 a barrel.

That forecast is based on strong production in the US and Russia, rather than Trump's intervention in Venezuela, which is unlikely to lead to more oil on global markets in the short term.

With oil used for energy and transport, another downward pressure on prices could be the resumption of global shipping through the Red Sea. A week before Christmas shipping giant Maersk sent a container ship through it for the first time in almost two years.

Attacks by Houthi rebels based in Yemen, that were linked to the war in Gaza, mean major shipping companies have avoided it. Instead they've taken the longer and more expensive route around southern Africa.

Maersk says that whilst it was "a significant step forward, we are not at a point where we can set a date on any potential wider network change back to the trans-Suez corridor".

One of the most important destinations for container ships is China. It's where they pick up the toys, electronics, clothing and other goods that the country makes for the rest of the world.

However, Beijing's trade relations with the US continue to cast a shadow over the global economy.

The latest available data suggests the value of goods the world's two biggest economies sold each other fell for the third consecutive year in 2025.

Unlike a year ago, there wasn't even a nod towards those strains, or the many domestic economic pressures in President Xi's 2026 new year message.

However, he did forecast the world's second-biggest economy would reach the landmark size of $20tn this year, and said that China is "ready to work with all countries to advance world peace and development".

Tariffs, US sourcing of rare earth metals, and Chinese access to high-end US computer chips, have dominated talks between the two sides, but there are many other issues to be resolved when Xi hosts Trump in April, according to James Zimmerman who chairs the American Chamber of Commerce in China.

"A lot is riding on that [meeting]," he says. "Our expectations are indeed low." But he adds that its "very, very important" that there is a sustained dialogue even if it takes time to deliver results.

"Beijing wants a fair shake at being able to compete globally. They do feel that the environment in certain places has been very restrictive towards Chinese companies. Part of that is the over emphasis on security concerns."

On the other side, Zimmerman says that US concerns include "how China manages its manufacturing output". "Overcapacity is an issue that is affecting a lot of different economies."

He explains that China has shown its strength in manufacturing consumer goods, but that it needs to show it can make adjustments when demand for them falls, "so that there is not a situation where you have massive dumping of consumer goods around the world".

In Europe, the continent's reliance on cheap Chinese imports is growing, according to research from Dutch bank ING.

This is something that the EU is looking to crack down on in the coming months.

Back in the US, limiting the inflow of foreign-made goods is a key part of Trump's trade policy. His Trade Representative Jamieson Greer recently wrote that re-industrialisation and increasing "manufacturing's share of our economy" was in the US national interest.

In a hint towards tariffs staying in place, he argued that new investments in making cars, ships and pharmaceuticals in the US wouldn't be happening without them.

However, since Trump's second term began, the number of Americans in manufacturing jobs has fallen slightly to just under 12.7 million.

Obstfeld says that despite tariffs the US economy has continued to grow because of "resilient consumers who want to spend their money anyway", and the huge investment in AI that has sent stock markets to record highs.

With some of Trump's key policy aims, such as creating new manufacturing jobs, still to be achieved Obstfeld adds: "I don't think tariffs are going to go away as a matter of policy or of discussion."

The French university where spies go for training

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c98nqeqnylro, 7 days ago

University professor Xavier Crettiez admits that he doesn't know the real names of many of the students on his course.

This is a highly unusual state of affairs in the world of academia, but Prof Crettiez's work is far from standard.

Instead, he helps train France's spies.

"I rarely know the intelligence agents' backgrounds when they are sent on the course, and I doubt the names I'm given are genuine anyway," he says.

If you wanted to create a setting for a spy school, then the campus of Sciences Po Saint-Germain on the outskirts of Paris seems a good fit.

With dour, even gloomy-looking, early 20th Century buildings surrounded by busy, drab roads and large, intimidating metal gates, it has a very discreet feel.

Where it does stand out is its unique diploma that brings together more typical students in their early 20s, and active members of the French secret services, usually between the ages of 35 and 50.

The course is called Diplôme sur le Renseignement et les Menaces Globales, which translates as Diploma of Intelligence and Global Threats.

It was developed by the university in association with the Academie du Renseignement, the training arm of the French secret services.

This came following a request from French authorities a decade ago. After the 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris, the government went on a large recruitment drive within the French intelligence agencies.

It asked Sciences Po, one of France's leading universities, to come up with a new course to both train potential new spies, and provide continuous training for current agents.

Large French companies were also quick to show an interest, both in getting their security staff onto the course, and snapping up many of the younger graduates.

The diploma is made up of 120 hours of classwork with modules spread over four months. For external students – the spies and those on placement from businesses – it costs around €5,000 ($5,900; £4,400).

The core aim of the course is to identify threats wherever they are, and how to track and overcome them. The key topics include the economics of organised crime, Islamic jihadism, business intelligence gathering and political violence.

To attend one of the classes and speak to the students I had to be vetted first by the French security services. The theme of the lesson I joined was "intelligence and over-reliance on technology".

One of the students I speak to is a man in his 40s who goes by the name Roger. He tells me in very precise, clipped English that he is investment banker. He adds: "I provide consultancy across west Africa, and I joined the course to provide risk assessments to my clients there."

Prof Crettiez, who teaches political radicalisation, says there has been a huge expansion in the French secret services in recent years. And that there are now around 20,000 agents in what he called the "inner circle".

This is made up of the DGSE, which looks at matters overseas, and is the French equivalent of the UK's MI6 or the US's CIA. And the DGSI, which focuses on threats within France, like the UK's MI5 or the US's FBI.

But he says it's not just about terrorism. "There are the two main security agencies, but also Tracfin an intelligence agency which specialises in money laundering.

"It is preoccupied with the surge in mafia activity, especially in southern France, including corruption in the public and private sectors mainly due to massive profits in illegal drug trafficking."

Other lecturers on the course include a DGSE official once located in Moscow, a former French ambassador to Libya, and a senior official from Tracfin. The head of security at the French energy giant EDF also runs one module.

The private sector's interest in the diploma is said to be continuing to grow. Big businesses, especially in the defence and aerospace sector, but also French luxury goods firms, are increasingly keen to hire the students as they face relentless cyber-security and spying threats as well as sabotage.

Recently graduates have been snapped up by the French mobile phone operator Orange, aerospace and defence giant Thales, and LVHM, which owns everything from Louis Vuitton and Dior to champagne brands Dom Perignon and Krug.

Twenty eight students are enrolled in this year's class. Six are spies. You can tell who they are, as they are the ones huddled together during class breaks, away from the young students, and not too overwhelmed with joy when I approach them.

Without saying their exact roles, and with arms crossed, one says the course is considered a fast-track stepping stone for a promotion from the office to field work. Another says he gets fresh ideas being in this academic environment. They signed the day's attendance form with just their first names.

One of the younger students, Alexandre Hubert, 21, says he wanted a deeper understanding of the looming economic war between Europe and China. "Looking at intelligence gathering from a James Bond viewpoint is not relevant, the job is analysing risk and working out how to counteract it," he tells me.

Another class member, Valentine Guillot, also 21, says she was inspired by the popular, fictional French TV spy drama Le Bureau. "Coming here to discover this world which I didn't know anything about except for the TV series has been a remarkable opportunity, and now I am very keen to join the security services."

Nearly half of the students in the class are in fact women. And this is a relatively recent development according to one of the lecturers, Sebastien-Yves Laurent, a specialist on technology in spying.

"Women's interest in intelligence gathering is new," he says. "They are interested because they think it will provide for a better world.

"And if there is one common thread amongst all these young students it's that they are very patriotic and that is new compared to 20 years ago.

If you are keen to apply to get on the course, French citizenship is an essential requirement, although some dual citizens are accepted.

Yet Prof Crettiez says he has to be wary. "I regularly get applications from very attractive Israeli and Russian women with amazing CVs. Unsurprisingly they are binned immediately."

In a recent group photo of the class you can immediately tell who the spies are - they had their backs to the camera.

While all the students and professional spies I met are trim and athletic, Prof Crettiez is also keen to dispel the myth of James Bond-like adventure.

"Few new recruits will end up in the field," he says. "Most French intelligence agencies jobs are desk bound."

Excel: The software that's hard to quit

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyxkzjpp87o, 3 days ago

In the 1990s some computer games had a "boss key" that allowed staff to call up an Excel spreadsheet if they needed to look like they were working.

Now bosses might frown upon a worker caught labouring over a spreadsheet. Excel, owned by Microsoft, is 40-years-old. Among some tech leaders it's seen as, at best, a blocker to smoother digital workflows and AI, at worst, an accident waiting to happen.

Excel is certainly ubiquitous in the business world. According to research by Acuity Training, two-thirds of office workers use Excel at least once every hour.

Excel's persistence is partly down to the way it remains embedded in technology education, along with Word and PowerPoint, says Tom Wilkie, chief technology officer of data visualization firm Grafana.

"Excel is just a really good tool. If you want to look at a small dataset, try an idea, or make a quick chart for a presentation, there's nothing better for quick and easy analysis," he says.

The problem is that people and businesses fail to distinguish between data processing and data analysis and visualization, says Prof Mark Whitehorn, emeritus professor of analytics at Dundee University.

"There are all these small departments where data comes in, goes into a spreadsheet, is run through macros, and it spits out the other end," Whitehorn says.

A macro can be thought of as a short cut. It automates a series of steps within the spreadsheet, so that those instructions can be done with one click - for example formatting the data in a particular style or making calculations.

Spreadsheets are often poorly documented and maintained, continues Whitehorn, "and the guy who wrote the macros has gone and the people in the department don't know how to run them."

More practically, he says, it means data within an organisation is not centrally controlled. This makes it hard to secure and move data around the organization, or to extract it for broader analysis and to fuel AI.

This can result in critically important operations relying on fragile spreadsheets.

Last year, it emerged that Health New Zealand used an Excel spreadsheet as its "primary data file" for managing and analysing its financial performance.

This made collection and consolidation of data difficult, led to discrepancies and errors, and made it hard to gain a real time overview.

In the UK, the recruitment process for anesthetists was plunged into chaos in 2023 by spreadsheet confusion, while the Afghan data scandal resulted from the sharing of an Excel spreadsheet.

But getting teams and individuals off Excel is a challenge.

"It's hard for an external vendor or an external tool provider to just provide something for the organization that it could use across all those different teams," explains Moutie Wali, director of digital transformation and planning at Canadian telecoms firm Telus.

He has overseen a drive to shift hundreds of staff members off Excel and onto a custom planning system.

The aim is to smooth data integration and management, increase automation, and to incorporate AI.

But people wanted to keep their existing Excel setups and simply download information from the new system, Wali explains. "I said absolutely not. You have to force it by not allowing the spreadsheet to coexist with your [new] applications."

In defence of its software, a Microsoft spokesperson says: "Over four decades, Excel has evolved from a basic spreadsheet into a versatile platform used by everyone.

"It is more widely used today than ever before, with monthly usage growing consistently over the past six years, and remains the default tool for data analysis, modelling, and reporting across industries."

It's not just large organizations that can benefit from rethinking their reliance on Excel. Kate Corden operates a bike fitting business, Hackney Bike Fit, which means managing two data streams – personal information about a customer, such as height, weight, flexibility – and information about the bikes.

She is an expert user of Excel, from her days as a business development manager in the corporate world. But, she says, "It's too easy to lose data. It's easy for data to be altered."

Corden switched to LinkSpace, originally designed as a case management tool, which can be adapted for complex workflows. "It's just having a complete data management system where you've got everything, instead of having multiple excels, which is going to really help me as I grow."

And the potential benefits of dropping Excel can extend beyond easier data management.

Julian Tanner, a PR executive in London, is also treasurer for a local charity. He switched the charity's accounts from Excel to an online accounting package that extracts information from invoices.

The package's built-in AI means it can produce customized reports at the touch of a button.

It also meant they could dispense with the services of a book keeper, saving over £6000 a year. "It was a big expense for a charity," says Tanner, "Which you always try to avoid."

For bigger enterprises, the benefits include smoother workflows and aggregated, standardized data that can be poured into AI or machine learning systems.

Apart from smoother data integration and faster planning cycles, Wali expects to save C$42m ($30m; £23m) a year by eliminating misaligned capital. Other teams in Telus are now considering following suit.

But that means users being prepared to relinquish some control – or at least the illusion of control.

"People will say 'well I'm taking my data and I'm doing this,'" Whitehorn explains. But, "It isn't your data, it's the company's data."

Excising Excel completely may be unrealistic. So, Whitehorn suggests, the boss key may have to be redesigned in the future to cover up spreadsheet use.

The FTSE 100 has hit a record high. Is now the time to start investing?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy0958w1y1go, yesterday

As the new year got into its stride, so did the UK's index of leading shares.

The FTSE 100 climbed above 10,000 points for the first time since it was created in 1984, cheering investors - and the chancellor, who wants more of us to move money out of cash savings and into investments.

The index tracks the performance of the 100 largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange and rose by more than a fifth in 2025.

But with many people still struggling with everyday costs, and with talk of some stocks being overvalued, does the FTSE's success really make it a good time to encourage first-time investors?

Investing v saving

People can invest their money in many different ways and in different things. Various apps and platforms have made it easy to do.

Crucially, the value of investments can go up and down. Invest £100 and there is no guarantee that the investment is still worth £100 after a month, a year, or 10 years.

But, in general, long-term investments can be lucrative. The rise of the FTSE 100 is evidence of that. Shareholders may also receive dividends, which they could take as income or reinvest.

For years, the advice has been to treat investments as a long-term strategy. Give it time, and your pot of money will grow much bigger than if it was in a savings account.

In contrast, cash savings are much more steady and safe. The amount of interest varies between account providers, but savers know what returns will be. Savings rates have held up quite well over the last year, but interest rates are generally thought to be on the way down.

Savings accounts are popular when putting money aside for emergencies, or for holidays, a wedding or a car - for one predominant reason: you can usually withdraw the money quickly and easily.

"It is important that everyone has savings. It gives you access when you need it," says Anna Bowes, savings expert at financial advisers The Private Office (TPO).

"It means you do not need to cash out your investments at the wrong time."

Evangelists for investing agree that savings are an important part of the mix for everyone managing their money.

"People starting out should have a cash buffer in case of emergency before going into investing," says Jema Arnold, a voluntary non-executive director at the UK Individual Shareholders Society (ShareSoc).

One in 10 people have no cash savings, and another 21% have less than £1,000 to draw on in an emergency, according to the regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

But Arnold and others point out that cash is not without risk either. As time goes on, the spending power of savings is eroded by the rising cost of living, unless the savings account interest rate beats inflation.

Risk and reward

Our brains make a judgement about risk and reward thousands of times every day. We consider the risk of crossing the road against the reward of getting to the other side and so on.

With money, those who are more risk-averse have tended to stick with savings, while others have moved into investments. It also helps if you have money you can afford to lose.

It is worth remembering that millions of people already have money for their pension invested, although it is often managed for them and they may not pay much attention to it.

The FCA says seven million adults in the UK with £10,000 or more in cash savings could receive better returns through investing.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has advocated more risk-taking from consumers. For those with the money, she says the benefit of long-term investing for them, and the UK economy as a whole, is clear.

She is altering rules on tax-free Isas (Individual Savings Accounts) in a much-debated move aimed at encouraging investing.

It is also why, in a couple of months' time, we are all going to be blitzed with an advertising campaign (funded by the investment industry) telling us to give investing some thought.

It will be a modern version of the Tell Sid campaign of the 1980s, which encouraged people to invest in the newly privatised British Gas.

But is this a good time for such a campaign? Back then, lots of people invested in British Gas for a relatively quick profit.

Invest now, and there is a chance the value of your investment could take a short-term hit.

A host of commentators have suggested an AI tech bubble is about to burst. In other words, they say there is a chance the value of companies heavily into AI has been over-inflated and will plunge - meaning anyone investing in those companies will see the value of those investments plunge too.

It isn't only commentators. The Bank of England has warned of a "sharp correction" in the value of major tech companies. America's top banker Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of US bank JP Morgan, said he was worried, and Google boss Sundar Pichai told the BBC there was "irrationality" in the current AI boom.

In truth, nobody really knows if and when this will happen.

New rules on getting investment help

All of this may leave people keen for some help, and the regulator has come up with plans to allow banks to offer some assistance.

Currently financial advice can be expensive, and regulated advisers may not bother with anyone who hasn't got tens of thousands of pounds to invest.

Financial influencers have tried to fill the gap on social media. Some have been accused of promoting financial schemes and risky trading strategies with glitzy get-rich-quick promises in front of fancy cars - but without authorisation or any explanation of the risks involved.

Some first-time investors have turned to AI for tips. Some are vulnerable to fraudsters offering investment opportunities that are too good to be true.

Nearly one in five people turned to family, friends or social media for help making financial decisions, according to a survey by the FCA.

So, from April, registered banks and other financial firms will be allowed to offer targeted support, preferably for free. It will stop short of individually tailored advice, which can only be provided by an authorised financial adviser for a fee. But it will allow them to make investment and pensions recommendations to customers based on what similar groups of people could do with their money.

It is a big change in money guidance but, as with investments, no guarantees that it will be successful.

'Out of stock': What went wrong at luxury retailer Saks?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czdq1z73pv9o, 2 days ago

On a recent January morning, tourists admired the rows of Balenciaga and Burberry handbags on display at Saks Fifth Avenue's flagship midtown Manhattan location.

But a conversation on the second floor hinted at financial troubles at one of America's most iconic luxury department stores.

Penelope Nam-Stephen, a longtime customer, approached the Diptyque counter in search of a home fragrance that she had typically bought at Saks. Nam-Stephen, who splits her time between New York City and Boston, had been surprised to find the product unavailable at the Boston store just after Christmas.

She hoped the New York location would have better inventory.

"Do you have anything in the Berries fragrance?" she asked an employee. His response: "Everything is out of stock - candles, diffusers."

Saks Global, which owns Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus, is expected to file for bankruptcy protection imminently as it struggles to shore up its finances, leaving big questions among shoppers, vendors and investors about the retailer's future.

Saks has been plagued by worsening financial woes since Saks Fifth Avenue's parent company acquired Neiman Marcus in 2024 to create the luxury retail giant. Executives had argued the $2.7bn deal would cut costs and bolster the brands.

The department stores had already been under strain amid growing debt burdens and shifting shopping habits that benefited e-commerce rivals. Saks Fifth Avenue began reporting double-digit quarterly sales declines in early 2023.

But the touted benefits of the acquisition did not materialise. Saks failed to make a $100m interest payment to creditors due in late December, tied to roughly $2.2bn of debt that it took on to fund the merger.

The missed deadline comes as Saks continues to draw frustration from its vendors, who have bemoaned months-long payment delays and many of whom have halted shipments of their products.

Saks did not respond to requests for comment on inventory shortages and its plan to pay vendors.

The company's former chief executive, Marc Metrick, resigned abruptly from the firm in early January. He was replaced by Richard Baker, Saks' executive chairman who had led the Neiman Marcus deal.

A restructuring process at Saks Global, which also owns Bergdorf Goodman, would not necessarily mean Saks would soon shutter.

But retail analysts and longtime vendors question whether the company can regain its footing after strategic missteps tied to the acquisition just over a year ago.

"This company has exhibited all of the characteristics of a train wreck," said Mark Cohen, the former head of retail studies at Columbia Business School.

The retail giant has in recent months tried to raise cash. It sold assets including a Beverly Hills property.

Still, the company's distress persists.

Some of Saks' woes, Cohen said, predate its acquisition of rival Neiman Marcus, which had previously filed for bankruptcy.

He traced the problems back to Baker's takeover of Saks more than a decade ago. At that point, the retailer's leadership focused less on the integrity of the business and more on negotiating new deals that ultimately harmed the company, he argued.

Brands that fill Saks' in-store aisles and online catalogues have complained about delayed payments since before the Neiman Marcus acquisition - an early sign of cash flow constraints.

The merger two years ago intensified existing financial problems. Saks took on billions of dollars of debt to finance the deal, adding to the money it already owed its vendors.

"Right out of the gate, they stopped paying their bills," Cohen said.

"You can't stay upright as a retailer, whether you're a discount retailer or a luxury player, without having a reliable, consistent financial relationship with your suppliers."

'Less likely' to shop at Saks

For shoppers, the company's financial turmoil has appeared in the form of less inventory on shelves and online - and, in recent weeks, cancelled orders.

Richard Browne, 66, has been buying men's trousers, shirts and sweaters from the Saks Fifth Avenue online catalogue for five years. The marketing consultant, who lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, was drawn to the retailer's "good quality clothing at decent prices".

But last summer, there were early signs of changes afoot. He noticed that several items were marked as out of stock.

The inventory issues did not immediately dissuade Browne from shopping at Saks. He placed an order on 1 January on the Saks Fifth Avenue website for a pair of Michael Kors jeans, discounted at $77.

To his surprise, he received an email the following day notifying him that the pants were sold out. "We needed to cancel your order," Saks Fifth Avenue wrote in an email reviewed by the BBC.

"It was just frustrating that I had spent the time to find an order, and then they said, 'We're sorry, tough luck'," Browne said.

He said he is now "less likely" to shop at Saks.

Payment delays and cancelled orders

In October, Saks slashed its full-year financial outlook, citing falling sales in part because of inventory challenges.

Tensions with vendors have escalated since the 2024 merger with Neiman Marcus, which had been billed as a move to resolve the retailer's cash flow problems.

Last February, Metrick, the company's former chief executive, sent a letter to vendors saying overdue payments would be made in 12 instalments.

It did little to put brands at ease.

Some vendors have kept doing business with Saks for fear of fracturing a business relationship with a leading player in the luxury space.

Others have recently severed their ties with the company.

Finance firm Hilldun, which guarantees orders for about 130 brands that work with Saks, said in November it would stop approving new Saks orders. The announcement marked a notable shift for a company that had just months earlier reiterated its confidence in the department store.

"We had no choice," said Gary Wassner, Hilldun's chief executive. All orders remain on hold.

One vendor, who spoke to the BBC and requested anonymity for fear of a backlash from Saks, said he was still owed at least $20,000 in late payments for shipments that went out to customers last year. (His company ships items directly to customers, who place orders through the Saks catalogue - a process called dropshipping.)

On top of those late payments, the vendor said his firm has more than $35,000 worth of unfilled orders that have been held up since October, when Saks instructed him to halt all shipments.

"Even though we had two or three issues like this in the past, this time, the answer of, 'Let's cancel the orders', seems to be a desperate move," he said.

"Nothing they do makes any sense."

Rare first Superman comic once stolen from Nicolas Cage sells for $15m

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly95lpwl1ro, yesterday

A rare copy of the 1938 comic that introduced Superman to the world has sold to an anonymous collector for $15m (£11.2m).

The private sale of the Action Comics No 1 copy - once stolen from actor Nicolas Cage's home and returned to him over a decade later - was announced on Friday.

The previous record for the sale of a comic book was set in November, when a pristine Superman No 1 fetched $9.12m at auction. Both sales far exceed the original 10-cent price tags - or around $2.25 in today's money.

Superman's debut is one of several tales anthologised in Action Comics No 1, which is widely credited with having defined the superhero genre as we now know it. Fewer than 100 copies are thought to exist.

Friday's Action Comics sale was negotiated by New York-based Metropolis Collectibles/Comic Connect, which said both the comic book's owner and the buyer wished to remain anonymous.

The broker said the copy had been graded nine out of a possible 10 points by the Certified Guaranty Company, which specialises in authenticating collectables - making it the joint-highest scoring copy of the comic to date.

The broker said its value was further inflated by its storied association with Hollywood star Cage

The Con Air and National Treasure star purchased this particular copy in 1996 for $150,000 - a record at the time.

But the comic was stolen during a party at Cage's home in 2000 and only found - inside a storage unit in California - in 2011.

"During that 11-year period, it skyrocketed in value. The thief made Nicolas Cage a lot of money by stealing it," said Metropolis/ComicConnect CEO Stephen Fishler.

Cage was reunited with the copy and, six months later, sold it at auction for $2.2m.

Fishler compared the comic's history to the brazen theft of Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa from the Louvre museum in Paris in 1911, which transformed the then little-known work to the world's most famous painting.

"The recovery of the painting made the Mona Lisa go from being just a great Da Vinci painting to a world icon - and that's what Action No 1 is. An icon of American pop culture."

EU reaches South America trade deal after 25 years of talks

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ceqzj49gny4o, 2 days ago

The EU has reached a free trade agreement with South American countries, 25 years after talks began and despite opposition from farmers in several European countries.

The deal with the Mercosur trading bloc - which includes Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay - will require the approval of the European parliament within the next few months

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva hailed it as a "historic day for multilateralism" after the four South American countries put the final touches to the deal in Brussels.

It comes against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump's tariffs on countries around the world and his recent military intervention in Venezuela.

The EU heralded what will be its largest free trade accord to date as a "win-win", although critics have argued that cheap imports may undercut European farmers in products including beef, poultry and sugar.

"In an international scenario of growing protectionism and unilateralism, the agreement is a signal in favour of international trade as a driver of economic growth, with benefits for both blocs," President Lula posted on X.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the deal will "bring meaningful benefits to consumers and businesses, on both sides".

Farmers in several countries in Europe held last-ditch protests against the deal, with marches and demonstrations using tractors in France and Belgium.

"There is a lot of pain," Judy Peeters, a representative for a Belgian young farmers' group, told AFP at a protest on a motorway south of Brussels. "There is a lot of anger."

Von der Leyen said the Commission had listened to the concerns of farmers, and had acted on them including through introducing "robust safeguards" to protect their livelihoods in the agreement.

As well as boosting trade and political ties, the European Commission said the deal would help fight climate change, through commitments to halt deforestation and ensure a "reliable" flow of raw materials, critical for the global green transition.

The Commission expects the deal to save local companies €4bn ($4.7bn, £3.5bn) a year in export duties.

South American countries boast deposits of gold, copper and some of the critical minerals required for renewable and battery technology.

Cecilia Malmström, a former European commissioner for trade who led EU trade negotiations for five years, told World Business Express on BBC World Service that parts of the trade agreement could be suspended if Mercosur countries failed to stick to their commitments around environmental protection.

"[This agreement] is also a very strong geopolitical signal today to other powers who do not appreciate rule-based trade in the same way as we do," she said.

On Friday afternoon a broad majority of EU member states confirmed their support for the free trade agreement, but it will still require approval from the European Parliament before it can take effect.

Jack Allen-Reynolds, deputy chief Euro-zone economist for Capital Economics, said voting was expected to be close in the parliament.

However, he said the larger issue was how much of an impact the deal would have, and pointed to the Commission's own estimate that it would raise EU economic output by just 0.05%.

"The bigger point though is that even if the agreement is eventually implemented, it will be macroeconomically insignificant," he said.

"And because it will be phased in over 15 years, these benefits won't arrive until 2040 at the earliest."

US job creation in 2025 slows to weakest since Covid

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0r4zd29n5no, 2 days ago

The number of jobs created in the US grew only modestly in December, as a weak year for the employment market in the world's largest economy drew to a close.

Employers added 50,000 jobs in the final month of 2025, according to Labor Department data, which was fewer than expected. But the unemployment rate dipped to 4.4%.

Job gains last year were the smallest since 2020, when the Covid pandemic led to widespread cuts.

Businesses have been operating in an environment marked by US President Donald Trump's dramatic policy changes, including tariffs, an immigration crackdown and cuts to government spending.

The US economy has held up in the face of these shifts, growing at an annual rate of 4.3% over the three months to September.

But the expansion - driven by steady consumer spending and a growth in exports - has not been accompanied by significant job creation.

On average, the US added an average of just 49,000 roles per month in 2025, down from an estimated gain of 168,000 a month the year before.

The Labor Department said the US also added 76,000 fewer new positions in October and November than previously estimated.

Retailers and manufacturers were among the sectors reporting losses last month, which were offset by hiring at health care employers, bars and restaurants.

The data underscores the mixed dynamics facing job-seekers in the US, where hiring has cooled markedly over the last year but fears of mass layoffs have not materialised.

The US Federal Reserve central bank has responded to the slowdown by cutting its key lending rate in hopes of giving the economy a boost.

The central bank trimmed interest rates three times last year starting in September, despite concerns that inflation is still bubbling. Its key lending rate is now hovering around 3.6%, which is the lowest level in three years.

But policymakers are divided about how much lower borrowing costs should go.

Analysts said the latest figures would do little to resolve those debates. The jobless rate, which had jumped in November to 4.5%, fell back last month to 4.4%, where it stood in September.

"Today's report confirms what we think has been evident for some time—the labour market is no longer working in favour of job seekers," said Ellen Zentner, chief economic strategist for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.

But she added: "Until the data provide a clearer direction, a divided Fed is likely to stay that way. Lower rates are likely coming this year, but the markets may have to be patient."

The monthly jobs report is among the most closely watched pieces of economic data reported by the US government.

Its publication has traditionally been strictly guarded, out of fears that some people could use early access to the information for financial gain.

That dynamic is one of the reasons why in some circles, a social media post by Trump on Thursday that incorporated some of the then-unpublished data, drew almost as much attention as the report itself.

US calls Argentina peso bet a 'homerun deal'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyngv1keq7o, 2 days ago

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said his risky US gamble on Argentina's currency has paid off.

Bessent said American financial support had been repaid and the US no longer held any Argentine pesos in its exchange stabilisation fund.

The US had purchased the then-plunging currency last year in an effort to stave off further turmoil and boost the party of President Javier Milei, a key ally of President Donald Trump, in the run-up to national midterm elections.

The move sparked criticism from Democrats, who accused Bessent of risking taxpayer money on a country with a long history of financial turmoil.

In the end, Bessent said the manoeuvre had been a success.

"Stabilising a strong American ally – and making tens of millions in profit for Americans – is an America First homerun deal," he wrote in an announcement on social media.

When the US moved to intervene in September, people were dumping the peso, mindful of the shocks they had experienced after previous elections and rattled by signs that Milei's party might experience an upset in the mid-terms.

Bessent promised to do "what was needed" to stave off further drops in September. He announced a month later that the US had purchased pesos and agreed to extend a swap line to Argentina, allowing the country to exchange pesos for dollars.

The move helped to halt the falls in the currency, which saw further gains after Milei's party clinched a landslide victory in the mid-term elections, though it has drifted lower more recently.

Argentina's central bank said it settled the swap line in December. It ultimately traded just $2.5bn in pesos for dollars of a possible $20bn, according to a government report on deal.

The report said the US had also separately provided $872m in support involving reserves held at the IMF.

The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on that transaction.

"Getting your money back is a straight forward definition of a success," said Brad Setser, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, even if he said tens of millions in profit was "small change" given the sums involved.

But he said big challenges continue to face the Argentine economy, given how much it spent last year from its reserves to prop up the currency.

"It's been a short term success - Bessent got his money back," he said. "I do remain worried that the Argentines are relying too heavily on the expectation that Secretary Bessent will ride to the rescue ... and therefore aren't showing enough urgency in their plans to rebuild their own reserves."

India pushes back at Trump aide's claim about US trade deal breakdown

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gvp5gyd7xo, 3 days ago

India has pushed back at US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's claims that the trade deal between the countries stalled because Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not call President Donald Trump.

Trump imposed 50% tariffs on Indian goods in August, including a penalty for buying Russian oil, after the talks stalled.

Both sides are now back to negotiating a deal but there is no clarity on when it will materialise and several informal deadlines have been missed.

Key sticking points remain even now - including agriculture. Washington has been pushing for greater access to India's farm sector but Delhi has fiercely protected it.

However, Lutnick suggested the deal was close to completion at the start.

"It was all set up. I said [to the Indian side] you got to have Modi call the president. They were uncomfortable doing it, so Modi didn't call," Lutnick said in a podcast released on Friday.

The White House has not yet commented on Lutnick's assertions.

India, however, said on Friday that the characterisation of the discussions between Delhi and Washington in the remarks made by Lutnick was "not accurate".

"India and the US were committed to negotiating a bilateral trade agreement as far back as 13 February last year. Since then both sides have held multiple rounds of negotiations to arrive at a balanced and mutually beneficial trade agreement. On several occasions, we have been close to a deal," foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters.

He added that Modi and Trump had spoken on the phone eight times last year, covering "covering different aspects of our wide-ranging partnership".

Speaking on the All-In Podcast, a business and technology show hosted by four venture capitalists, Lutnick said that Trump's philosophy of making deals was like a "staircase" - meaning the "first stair gets the best deal".

He said that India was the second country to enter into negotiations with the US for a trade deal after the UK, and that Washington gave Delhi "three Fridays" to close the deal. His role, Lutnick said, was to negotiate the contracts and set up the whole deal but that Trump was the one who closed them - and that India's reluctance to set up the phone call meant the agreement ran into trouble.

He added that after that, US closed a slew of deals with other countries, including Indonesia and Vietnam.

He also said that when India got back later saying they were ready to take the initial deal, "the train had left the station".

But the terms of the deal that Lutnick claims India missed are unclear. Agriculture, for instance, has been a key sticking point in the negotiations - Washington has been pushing for greater access to India's farm sector but Delhi has fiercely protected it.

In December, United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told senators in Washington that the US had received the "best ever offer" from India. He also called India a "tough nut to crack".

Trump has also made several comments about India and Modi in recent days, including warning of an increase in tariffs if Delhi does not stop buying Russian oil.

India ramped up its purchase of cheaper oil from Moscow after the Ukraine war. Delhi had defended its decision saying that it needed to think about the energy needs of its vast population.

Since the tariffs kicked in, oil refiners in India have been cutting their purchases from Moscow, according to several reports.

Lutnick's comments come two days after US Senator Lindsey Graham said that Trump had "greenlit" a punishing Russia sanctions bill that, if passed by Congress, would allow for even higher secondary tariffs and sanctions on countries doing business with Moscow.

Jaiswal said on Friday that India was "aware of the proposed bill" and was "closely following developments", reiterating the country's stance on the energy needs of its population.

Despite the 50% tariffs, India's good exports to the US jumped more than 22% in November from a year earlier.

The tariffs and the accompanying rhetoric have put a strain on the relationship between India and the US. Modi, who has shared a warm relationship with Trump, was among the first world leaders to visit the White House after the president was sworn in.

But since then, the relationship has gone downhill.

Delhi has repeatedly denied claims by Trump that he brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan after a four-day conflict in May. In June, India said that Modi had told Trump that Delhi would never accept third-party mediation with Pakistan on the issue of Kashmir.

Since then, the two leaders have spoken on the phone a few times, including in September when Trump called to wish Modi on his birthday.

I'm caught in a trademark row with Cambridge University – it's terrifying

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy84epwx099o, 3 days ago

When Omar Terywall launched his company, Cambridge Rowing Limited seemed the obvious name for it.

The company runs the Cambridge Rowing Experience, which takes novice rowers on to the River Cam for a taste of the sport.

But the University of Cambridge has launched a legal objection to its trademark, which Terywall, 46, describes as "terrifying" and "bullying".

He founded the firm in Cambridge, his home city, in 2021 and applied to register the name the following year.

But the university lodged a formal objection a few months later, saying it had to "protect trademarks to prevent misuse".

A hearing about the challenge was held in 2025 and a decision is expected in the first months of this year.

Since launching, the company has "introduced rowing to over 5,000 people", including hundreds of "local children", according to Terywall.

Explaining the name, he says: "The company is Cambridge Rowing Limited and it is a Cambridge rowing experience – that's essentially it.

"It's where we are and it's what I do."

Cambridge Rowing applied to register its trademark – a shield with a rower on it and the words "Cambridge Rowing" underneath – in January 2022.

The following May, the Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge filed an opposition to the application.

It left Terywall with "no idea where to turn".

The university was a "huge, multibillion-pound entity", while his was a "very small local business".

"It's terrifying – it really is," he says.

"When you've got a very big organisation like them coming after you, it is pretty scary."

Asked if he feels the university is trying to bully his company, Terywall speaks of his "great relationship" with "the colleges and the university".

But he adds: "The university coming along as an entity – it can be scary – and I guess, yes, there is a form of bullying there."

UK trademarks can be registered in 45 different classifications. Cambridge Rowing applied to register its logo in class 25 for sports clothing, class 35 for merchandising, and 41 for corporate hospitality, sports events and training.

The university, founded in 1209, has registered "Cambridge" as a trademark including, in class 41, for "sporting and cultural activities" and "sport camp services".

It has objected to several companies' attempts to include the word "Cambridge" in their names, arguing that "the public knows that in the contexts of education, publishing, sport, academia and research the word 'Cambridge' always refers to the University of Cambridge".

Terywall's company operates from the City of Cambridge Rowing Club, one of several "town clubs" in the city not run by the university.

He says the city is "very proud of what the university has achieved in Cambridge".

"They've done remarkably well, but Cambridge existed way before the university did, as did rowing."

According to World Rowing, the earliest representation of a rowing boat was found in Finland and dated back to 5,800BC, while the oar was "considered to be the most important invention before the wheel".

Its website adds the "origin of the sport of rowing as we know it today comes from England, where the world-renowned Oxford versus Cambridge University Boat Race was first held in 1829 on the River Thames".

Terywall adds: "To take ownership of the word 'Cambridge' and the word 'rowing' – it's bonkers.

"Nobody really owns the right to the word 'Cambridge' and nobody can say that they own the word 'rowing' either as well – it belongs to all of us."

Liz Ward, an intellectual property solicitor who runs Virtuoso Legal, says she believes Terywall's attempt to register Cambridge Rowing's logo in class 41 for "training in sports" and "sports coaching" was "going to take him directly in conflict with the university".

"I don't think they're going to succeed on class 41," she says.

"You can't deny that Cambridge – of all universities in the UK – is synonymous with rowing."

Ward points to the university's "outstanding reputation for rowing", including the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race and the award of the coveted Cambridge Blue to those representing the institution at the sport.

"The university is probably trying to protect its reputation when it comes to sport, and rowing is a sport," she says.

"You could say 'Well, that's something that is synonymous more with the university than it is with a newly formed company.'"

The university's previous trademark objections have targeted several Cambridge-based science and technology companies using "Cambridge" in their names, with mixed success.

In 2021, the Intellectual Property Office ruled in the university's favour that a brewery could not register "Cambridge Blue" as the name of a Boat Race-themed lager.

The hearing officer in that case said the name could lead to the "false message that the goods had been authorised, recommended or approved of" by Cambridge University, giving the brewery an "unfair advantage".

A spokesperson for the University of Cambridge says it is "often subject to fraudulent actors misrepresenting their association to the university" and that it spends "a lot of time supporting people who have been misled and are often in considerable distress".

They add: "While we recognise this is not the intention in every case, we have to protect trademarks to prevent misuse.

"If there is no protection, fraudulent use would increase.

"We will always try to work constructively with others who want to use our trademark for legitimate reasons."

Asked whether he could change his company's name, Terywall says that is not an option "because that would imply that I've done something wrong and I haven't".

"My company name reflects what it is that I do – so it's 'Cambridge Rowing' and that's exactly what we do."

Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

OpenAI launches ChatGPT Health to review your medical records

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpqy29d0yjgo, 3 days ago

OpenAI has launched a new ChatGPT feature in the US which can analyse people's medical records to give them better answers, but campaigners warn it raises privacy concerns.

The firm wants people to share their medical records along with data from apps like MyFitnessPal, which will be analysed to give personalised advice.

OpenAI said conversations in ChatGPT Health would be stored separately to other chats and would not be used to train its AI tools - as well as clarifying it was not intended to be used for "diagnosis or treatment".

Andrew Crawford, of US non-profit the Center for Democracy and Technology, said it was "crucial" to maintain "airtight" safeguards around users' health information.

It is unclear if or when the feature may be introduced in the UK.

"New AI health tools offer the promise of empowering patients and promoting better health outcomes, but health data is some of the most sensitive information people can share and it must be protected," Crawford said.

He said AI firms were "leaning hard" into finding ways to bring more personalisation to their services to boost value.

"Especially as OpenAI moves to explore advertising as a business model, it's crucial that separation between this sort of health data and memories that ChatGPT captures from other conversations is airtight," he said.

According to OpenAI, more than 230 million people ask its chatbot questions about their health and wellbeing every week.

In a blog post, it said ChatGPT Health had "enhanced privacy to protect sensitive data".

Users can share data from apps like Apple Health, Peloton and MyFitnessPal, as well as provide medical records, which can be used to give more relevant responses to their health queries.

OpenAI said its health feature was designed to "support, not replace, medical care".

'Watershed moment'

Generative AI chatbots and tools can be prone to generating false or misleading information, often stating this in a very matter-of-fact, convincing way.

But Max Sinclair, chief executive and founder of AI marketing platform Azoma, said OpenAI was positioning its chatbot as a "trusted medical adviser".

He described the launch of ChatGPT Health as a "watershed moment" and one that could "reshape both patient care and retail" - influencing not just how people access medical information but also what they may buy to treat their problems.

Sinclair said the tech could amount to a "game-changer" for OpenAI amid increased competition from rival AI chatbots, particularly Google's Gemini.

The company said it would initially make Health available to a "small group of early users" and has opened a waitlist for those seeking access.

As well as being unavailable in the UK, it has also not been launched in Switzerland and the European Economic Area, where tech firms must meet strict rules about processing and protecting user data.

But in the US, Crawford said the launch meant some firms not bound by privacy protections "will be collecting, sharing, and using peoples' health data".

"Since it's up to each company to set the rules for how health data is collected, used, shared, and stored, inadequate data protections and policies can put sensitive health information in real danger," he said.

X could face UK ban over deepfakes, minister says

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c99kn52nx9do, 2 days ago

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall says she would back regulator Ofcom if it blocks UK access to Elon Musk's social media site X for failing to comply with online safety laws.

Ofcom says it is urgently deciding what to do about X's artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Grok, which digitally undressed people without their consent when tagged beneath images posted on the platform. X has now limited the use of this image function to those who pay a monthly fee.

But Downing Street said the change was "insulting" to victims of sexual violence.

Musk said on X the UK government "want any excuse for censorship" as he replied to a post questioning why other AI platforms were not being looked at.

Kendall said: "Sexually manipulating images of women and children is despicable and abhorrent.

She added: "I, and more importantly the public, would expect to see Ofcom update on next steps in days not weeks."

She said the Online Safety Act "includes the power to block services from being accessed in the UK, if they refuse to comply with UK law" and "if Ofcom decide to use those powers they will have our full support".

The BBC has approached X for comment.

An Ofcom spokesperson said: "We urgently made contact [with X] on Monday and set a firm deadline of today [Friday] to explain themselves, to which we have received a response."

"We're now undertaking an expedited assessment as a matter of urgency and will provide further updates shortly."

Ofcom's powers under the Online Safety Act include being able to seek a court order to prevent third parties from helping X raise money or be accessed in the UK - should the firm refuse to comply.

These so-called business disruption measures remain largely untested.

The use of Grok to generate non-consensual sexualised images has been condemned by politicians on all sides, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer calling it "disgraceful" and "disgusting".

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said it was "horrible in every way" and that X "needs to go further" than the changes it had made to Grok earlier on Friday.

But he said the idea of banning X in the UK was "frankly appalling" and an attack on free speech.

The Liberal Democrats have called for access to X to be temporarily restricted in the UK while the social media site was investigated.

'Humiliated and dehumanised'

Grok is a free tool which users can tag directly in posts or replies under other users' posts to ask it for a particular response.

The tool can still edit images on X if accessed through other areas of the platform, such as via its in-built "edit image" function, or on its separate app and website.

Many requests have been made asking it to edit images of women to show them in bikinis or little clothing - something those subject to such requests have told the BBC left them feeling "humiliated" and "dehumanised".

However as of Friday morning, Grok has told users asking it to alter images uploaded to X that "image generation and editing are currently limited to paying subscribers", adding users "can subscribe to unlock these features".

Some posts on the platform seen by BBC News suggest only those with a blue tick "verified" mark - exclusive to X's paid subscriber tier - were able to successfully request image edits to Grok.

Dr Daisy Dixon, a lecturer in philosophy at Cardiff University and female X user who said she had seen an increase in people using Grok to undress her, welcomed the change but said it felt "like a sticking plaster".

"Grok needs to be totally redesigned and have built-in ethical guardrails to prevent this from ever happening again," she told the BBC.

"Elon Musk also needs to acknowledge this for what it is - yet another instance of gender-based violation."

Hannah Swirsky, head of policy at the Internet Watch Foundation, said it "does not undo the harm which has been done".

"We do not believe it is good enough to simply limit access to a tool which should never have had the capacity to create the kind of imagery we have seen in recent days," she said.

The charity previously said its analysts had discovered "criminal imagery" of girls aged between 11 and 13 which "appeared to have been created" using Grok.

Labour MPs are increasingly unhappy with the party's use of X to get its political messages out.

Leaked messages from the Parliamentary Labour Party's WhatsApp group, used to post announcements for backbench Labour MPs to share on social media, show at least 13 Labour MPs have called on the government to stop using the platform.

The messages, first reported by Politics Home and seen by BBC News, show Labour MPs calling on the government to "take a stand" and "put our messages out in other places".

One MP said: "As some of us have requested since Musk went all fascist, rather than X, our government should start using another platform".

Another said: "Any images of children (and women) in government comms on X put those children in harms way."

Earlier on Friday, Downing Street suggested that the government would continue posting on X.

The prime minister's official spokesperson told reporters changes to the way Grok complied with user requests to edit images on the platform showed X "can move swiftly when it wants to".

They said it was "abundantly clear that X needs to act and needs to act now".

"It is time for X to grip this issue, if another media company had billboards in town centres showing unlawful images, it would act immediately to take them down or face public backlash," they added.

Weight loss jabs affecting Greggs, boss says

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20g11y4dywo, 4 days ago

The boss of Greggs said there was "no doubt" hugely popular appetite suppressing drugs have led to people looking for "smaller portions", affecting the company's bottom line.

People are also looking for "protein and fibre", and generally healthier options, Roisin Currie said, adding the bakery has been introducing products to tap into that market.

Greggs has previously said people's dietary changes led it to move away from its usual fare of hearty and high-fat pasties, cakes and pastries.

Currie's comments come as the firm reported lacklustre profits and a muted forecast for the coming year.

Currie said there was a "broader health trend" emerging with people demanding more protein.

The bakery chain said in July it would target customers on weight loss drugs by rolling out smaller portions and protein-rich products, after which it launched its egg-pot alongside its popular "eggs at Greggs" ad campaign.

Currie said the firm had "to make sure that we've got some of the snack products that customers are looking for if they are on any of the GLP-1 drugs".

Several firms have said customers appetites are changing as a result of weight loss drugs.

Tesco said on Thursday a trend towards healthier eating had contributed to growth in its fresh produce sales.

Chief executive Ken Murphy said the group was watching customer habits "very closely" alongside the rise in weight loss medication and said the supermarket had a range of "GLP-1 friendly" products.

"Clearly our strongest source of growth this year has been in fresh food, and that is, by far and away, the best thing people can eat," he said.

"We also have a ... range of high protein products across a number of different categories that also work very well in that context. So I think we're well set to respond to any trends in healthier eating."

Consumer analyst Clive Black, from Shore Capital, said the slight dip in the volume of groceries sold over Christmas compared with the year before was "perhaps the clearest indication of the impact of glucagon-peptide (GLP) drugs upon the nation's eating habits?"

The effects of "shrinkflation" are also to blame for smaller portions, as firms reduce the size of a product but keep the price the same in order to manage the rising cost of ingredients.

Recently, a ban came in to force across the UK banning adverts for junk foods before 9pm, which the government said was to help stem rising rates of obesity.

Trump calls for US military spending to rise more than 50% to $1.5tn

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy59kxl2xwzo, 4 days ago

President Donald Trump has called for US defence spending to be increased to $1.5tn (£1.1tn) in 2027 for what he called "these very troubled and dangerous times".

That would be more than 50% higher than this year's $901bn budget, which was approved by Congress in December.

"This will allow us to build the 'Dream Military' that we have long been entitled to and, more importantly, that will keep us SAFE and SECURE, regardless of foe," Trump said on social media on Wednesday.

In separate posts, the president said he would crack down on payouts to bosses and shareholders of major US defence contractors unless the firms speed up deliveries of armaments and build new manufacturing plants.

Shares in major US defence equipment makers Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon rose by more than 5% in extended trading in New York trade after Trump made the announcements.

Economists have previously warned that the gap between US spending and its income has reached unsustainable levels.

But Trump said Washington can "easily hit" his proposed $1.5tn defence budget thanks to money being brought in by tariffs.

Trump has been pushing for higher defence spending by the US and its allies since his first term in the White House.

He said in another post on Wednesday that military equipment is not being made quickly enough and urged companies to build new and modern plants.

Defence companies are issuing "massive" payouts to shareholders and stock buybacks at the expense of investing into production, Trump said. He also criticised the "exorbitant" pay packages of executives at arms manufacturers.

"No Executive should be allowed to make in excess of $5 Million Dollars which, as high as it sounds, is a mere fraction of what they are making now."

In a separate post, Trump singled out Raytheon, saying it was the "least responsive" to America's defence needs and the slowest to increase production.

"Either Raytheon steps up and starts investing in more upfront Investment like Plants and Equipment, or they will no longer be doing business with the Department of War," Trump wrote in a separate post.

The BBC has contacted Raytheon for comment.

Trump's call for much higher defence spending comes as geo-political tensions have increased around the world.

On Wednesday, the US military captured a Russian-flagged oil tanker suspected to have violated US sanctions.

It came after US forces seized Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro at the weekend and took him to America to face drug trafficking charges.

In December, China held military drills around Taiwan simulating the seizure and blockade of the island's key areas, as a warning against "separatist forces".

Taiwan's push to ramp up its defence this year has also angered Beijing, which claims the self-ruled island as its territory.

Musk says X outcry is 'excuse for censorship'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce3kqzepp5zo, yesterday

Elon Musk has said critics of his social media site X are looking for "any excuse for censorship", after its artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Grok drew criticism over its use to create sexualised images of people without their knowledge or consent.

Ofcom says it is conducting an urgent assessment of X in response, with the backing of Technology Secretary Liz Kendall.

But the chairwomen of Parliament's technology and media committees have both said they are concerned that "gaps" in the Online Safety Act might hinder the media regulator's ability to deal with the matter.

X has now limited the use of AI image function to those who pay a monthly fee, a change dubbed by Downing Street as "insulting" to victims of sexual violence.

The BBC has seen several examples of the free AI tool undressing women and putting them in sexual situations without their consent.

Kendall said on Friday that she expects an update from Ofcom within days, and that it would have the government's full support should it decide to block X in the UK.

Musk reposted a number of messages on the site overnight criticising the government's reproval of Grok - including one which showed AI-generated images of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in a bikini.

"They just want to suppress free speech," Musk wrote.

Ashley St Clair, the mother of one of Elon Musk's children, told BBC Newshour on Friday that Grok had generated sexualised photos of her as a child.

The conservative influencer said her image had been "stripped" to appear "basically nude, bent over", despite her telling Grok that she did not consent to the sexualised images.

St Clair, who filed a lawsuit against Musk in 2025 seeking sole custody of their child, accused the social media site of "not taking enough action" to tackle illegal content, including child sexual abuse imagery.

"This could be stopped with a singular message to an engineer," she said.

As of Friday morning, Grok was telling users asking it to alter images uploaded to X that "image generation and editing are currently limited to paying subscribers", adding users "can subscribe to unlock these features".

* Elon Musk's Grok AI appears to have made child sexual imagery, says charity

* Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called it "disgraceful" and "disgusting"

* Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said it was "horrible in every way" and that X "needs to go further" than the changes it had made to Grok on Friday, but he added that banning the platform would be an attack on free speech

* The Liberal Democrats called for access to X to be temporarily restricted in the UK while the social media site was investigated.

When does the Nasa Moon mission launch and who are the Artemis II crew?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0q4w3l0wdvo, 2 days ago

The first crewed Moon mission in more than 50 years could be launched by Nasa as soon as the first week of February.

The Artemis II mission, which will last about 10 days, could take its astronauts further into space than anyone has been before.

It aims to set the stage for an eventual human landing on the lunar surface for the first time since the Apollo missions of the 1960s and 70s.

When does Artemis II launch?

Nasa's planned launch window opens on 6 February and runs into the spring. The US space agency wants the rocket to blast off before the end of April.

A date will not be set until final checks on its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, the Orion capsule - which carries the crew - and ground systems are completed.

The mission will be launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Who are the Artemis II crew and what will they be doing?

Artemis II's crew of four includes Nasa's commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialist Christina Koch. A second mission specialist, Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency, will also be on board.

The mission involves the first crewed flight of SLS and Orion.

Once they are safely in orbit, the astronauts will test how the Orion spacecraft handles. This will involve manually flying the capsule in Earth orbit to practise steering and lining up the spacecraft for future Moon landings.

They will then head out to a point thousands of kilometres beyond the Moon to check Orion's life‑support, propulsion, power and navigation systems.

The crew will also act as medical test subjects, sending back data and imagery from deep space.

They will work in a small cabin in weightlessness. Radiation levels will be higher than on the International Space Station, which is in low‑Earth orbit, but still safe.

On return to Earth, the astronauts will experience a bumpy return through the atmosphere and a splashdown off the west coast of the US, in the Pacific.

Will Artemis II land on the Moon?

No. This mission is to lay the ground for a lunar landing by astronauts in the Artemis III mission.

Nasa says the launch of Artemis III will take place "no earlier than" 2027. However, experts believe 2028 is the earliest possible date.

The final choice of a spacecraft to take the crew down to the lunar surface has not yet been made. It will either be SpaceX's Starship lander or a craft designed by Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin.

New spacesuits made by US company Axiom are also not ready.

When Artemis III finally flies, the astronauts will be heading to the Moon's south pole.

After this, the aim is to have a sustained human presence on the Moon.

Artemis IV and V will begin building Gateway, a small space station circling the Moon. After that, there will be more Moon landings, extra sections added to Gateway, and new robotic rovers on the surface. More countries will be involved in keeping people living and working on and around the Moon for longer periods.

When was the last Moon mission?

The last crewed Moon mission was Apollo 17, which landed in December 1972 and returned to Earth later that month.

In all, 24 astronauts have travelled to the Moon and 12 of them have walked on its surface, all during the Apollo programme.

America first went in the 1960s, primarily to beat the Soviet Union to assert its geopolitical and technological dominance. Once that goal was achieved, political enthusiasm and public interest ebbed, as did the money for future Moonshots.

Artemis grew out of a desire to return humans to the Moon, this time for a longer-term presence built around new technology and commercial partnerships.

Do other countries plan to send astronauts to the Moon?

Several other countries have ambitions to put people on the Moon in the 2030s.

European astronauts are set to join later Artemis missions and Japan has also secured seats.

China is building its own craft, targeting a first landing near the Moon's south pole by 2030.

Russia continues to talk about flying cosmonauts to the surface and building a small base sometime between about 2030 and 2035. Sanctions, funding pressures and technical setbacks mean its timetable is highly optimistic.

India has also expressed ambitions to one day see its own astronauts walking on the Moon.

Following the success of Chandrayaan 3's landing near the lunar south pole, India's space agency set out a goal of sending astronauts to the Moon by about 2040. This would be part of a push to move its human spaceflight programme beyond low Earth orbit.

Additional reporting by Kevin Church.

'I feel free': Australia's social media ban, one month on

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0mpmgn3jv2o, 2 days ago

For the first time in years, Amy feels free.

One month since Australia's teen social media ban kicked in, she says she is "disconnected from my phone" and her daily routine has changed.

The 14-year-old first felt the pangs of online addiction in the days after the ban started.

"I knew that I was still unable to access Snapchat - however, from instinct, I still reached to open the app in the morning," she wrote on day two of the ban in a diary she kept for the first week afterwards.

By day four of the ban – when ten platforms including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok went dark for thousands of Australian children aged 16 and under – she had started to question the magnetic pull of Snapchat.

"While it's sad that I can't snap my friends, I can still text them on other platforms and I honestly feel kind of free knowing that I don't have to worry about doing my streaks anymore," Amy wrote.

Streaks - a Snapchat feature considered by some as highly addictive – require two people to send a "snap" – a photo or video – to each other every day in order to maintain their "streak" which can last for days, months, even years.

By day six, the allure of Snapchat - which she first downloaded when she was 12 and checked several times a day - was fading fast for Amy.

"I often used to call my friends on Snapchat after school, but because I am no longer able to, I went for a run," she wrote.

Fast forward a month, and her habits are markedly different.

"Previously, it was part of my routine to open Snapchat," the Sydney teen tells the BBC.

"Opening Snapchat would often lead to Instagram and then TikTok, which sometimes resulted in me losing track of time after being swept up by the algorithm ... I now reach for my phone less and mainly use it when I genuinely need to do something."

'It hasn't really changed anything'

Amy's experience is likely to put a smile on the face of Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who in the lead-up to the ban pleaded with kids to kick their social media habits.

The government has cited online bullying and protecting young people from online predators and harmful content as some of the reasons for the ban.

Since 10 December, tech companies risk being fined up to A$49.5m (US$32m, £25m) if they don't take "reasonable steps" to boot under-16s off their platforms.

But Albanese's hopes that the ban would usher in a new generation of sports-loving, book-reading, instrument-playing kids may have fallen flat for many.

Aahil, 13, hasn't read more books, played more sports or started learning an instrument.

Instead, he spends about two and a half hours on various social media platforms every day – the same as before the ban started.

He still has his YouTube and Snapchat accounts – both use fake birthdays - and spends most of his time on gaming platform Roblox and Discord, a messaging platform popular with gamers – neither of which are banned.

"It hasn't really changed anything," Aahil says, as most of his friends still have active social media accounts.

But his mum Mau has noticed a change.

"He's moodier," she says, adding he spends more time playing video games than before.

"When he was on social media, he was more social … more talkative with us," Mau says, though, she adds, his moodiness may also simply be the "teenage years".

Consumer psychologist Christina Anthony says moods might be due to the ban's short-term effects on emotion regulation.

"For many teenagers, social media isn't just entertainment - it's a tool for managing boredom, stress, and social anxiety, and for seeking reassurance or connection," she says.

"When access is disrupted, some young people may initially experience irritability, restlessness, or a sense of social disconnection… not because the platform itself is essential, but because a familiar coping mechanism has been removed."

Over time, young people may adopt new coping strategies such as talking to trusted adults, she adds.

Snapchat's out, WhatsApp's in

In another Sydney household, the ban has had little impact.

"My usage of social media is the same as prior to the ban because I made new accounts for both TikTok and Instagram with ages above 16 years old," says 15-year-old Lulu.

The new law has influenced her in other ways.

"I am reading a bit more because I don't want to be on social media as much."

But she's not spending more times outdoors, nor is she arranging to meet friends face-to-face.

Instead, Lulu, along with Amy and Aahil, all started using WhatsApp and Facebook's Messenger more – neither are banned - because they couldn't contact friends who had lost access to their social media accounts.

This, Anthony says, goes to the heart of why social media is fun and engaging in the first place: it's social.

"The enjoyment doesn't come from scrolling alone, but from shared attention," she says, "knowing that friends are seeing the same posts, reacting to them, and participating in the same conversations."

When that "emotional lift" fades, the platform begins to feel "oddly unsocial".

"That's why some young people disengage even if they technically still have access…without peers present, both the social feedback and the mood payoff drop sharply."

Kids flock to apps as FOMO sets in

Seeking lookalike apps to fill the void was exactly what thousands of Australians did in the days before the ban started, with three little-known apps - Lemon8, Yope and Coverstar - surging in downloads.

This attraction to alternative photo and video-sharing platforms fits into what's known as compensatory behaviour, Anthony says.

"When a familiar and emotionally rewarding activity is restricted, people don't simply stop seeking that reward… they look for alternative ways to get it," she says.

"For teens, that often means compensating with platforms or activities that provide similar psychological benefits: social connection, identity expression, entertainment, or escapism."

That initial rise has now dropped but daily downloads are still higher than usual, says Adam Blacker from Apptopia, a US-based company which tracks consumer trends of mobile apps.

The fall in downloads suggested "a chunk of kids might be embracing the new rules and swapping their time spent on mobile for time spent elsewhere," Blacker says.

Amy was one of the thousands who downloaded Lemon8 - created by the makers behind TikTok - before the ban.

"This was largely influenced by social pressure and a fear of missing out as many people around me were doing the same," she says.

But she has never used it.

"Since then, my interest in social media has decreased significantly, and I don't feel any need to download or use alternative platforms."

The number of Australians downloading virtual private networks – or VPNs – also increased before the ban, but has since fallen back to normal levels.

VPN technology allows users to hide their location and pretend they are based in another country, in effect, bypassing local laws.

But they have limited appeal to teens, Blacker says, because many social media platforms can detect VPNs.

"Teens can only leverage VPNs to create a new account," he says, so "they would be starting over in terms of connections, settings, photos and more".

Gaming 'much harder to get into'

In the months before the ban, debate swirled around the exclusion of gaming platforms, with critics concerned that many youngsters use them in the same way as social media, meaning they presented the same types of potential harms.

While there's no evidence yet on whether more teenagers have switched to the likes of Roblox, Discord and Minecraft to socialise, it's a real possibility, says Mark Johnson, an expert in gaming live stream platforms such as Twitch, which is part of the ban.

"But that's also contingent on a young person having the required hardware, the required cultural and technical knowledge, and so forth - games are much harder to get into, for the uninitiated, than social media sites," he says.

Johnson, who lectures in digital cultures at the University of Sydney, says the reaction to the ban has been mixed.

"A lot of parents seem to be reassured and pleased that their children and teenagers are spending far less time in social media," he says.

"Equally, some are lamenting the newfound difficulty their young people are having in communicating with their friends, and in some cases with family members who live elsewhere."

A spokesperson for the eSafety Commissioner says they will release their findings on how the ban is going - including the number of accounts that have been deactivated since 10 December - in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Communications Minister Anika Wells says the ban is "making a real difference" and leaders across the globe are looking to mirror the Australian model.

"Delaying access to social media is giving young Australians three more years to build their community and identity offline, starting with spending more time with family and friends over the summer holidays," the spokesperson says.

Time will tell

For Amy, one of the unforeseen benefits came in the hours after the Bondi Beach shootings on 14 December when two gunmen killed 15 people and injured dozens at an event marking the Jewish celebration Hanukkah.

"After the Bondi Beach incident, I was glad that I had not spent too long on TikTok, as I would have likely been exposed to an overwhelming amount of negative information and potentially disturbing content," she wrote on 15 December.

She says her time spent on social media has halved since the ban and while TikTok and Instagram are still fun, not having Snapchat has been a gamechanger.

"Snapchat gives me the most notifications so that's usually what gets me on my phone and then everything happens after that," she says.

For Amy's mum Yuko, she's noticed her daughter seems content spending more time by herself.

"We're not entirely sure whether this shift is directly because of the ban or simply part of having a quieter holiday period," she says, with most Australian students on school holidays until the end of January.

"It's hard to say yet whether [the ban] will be a positive or negative change - only time will tell."

Ofcom urged to use 'banning' powers over X AI deepfakes

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

The government has urged the regulator Ofcom to use all its powers – up to and including an effective ban – against X over concerns about unlawful AI images created on the site.

Ofcom's powers include the ability to obtain a court order to prevent third parties from helping the Elon Musk-owned platform from raising money or from being accessed in the UK.

This follows an ongoing backlash against the use of X's AI Grok to digitally remove clothing from images of people.

The possibility there could be sexualised images of children raised very specific concerns in government.

Addressing concerns over sexualised images of adults and children produced by Grok, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: "This is disgraceful. It's disgusting. And it's not to be tolerated… Ofcom has our full support to take action in relation to this."

"It's unlawful. We're not going to tolerate it. I've asked for all options to be on the table," he added in an interview with Greatest Hits Radio.

Government sources told BBC News: "We would expect Ofcom to use all powers at its disposal in regard to Grok & X."

Ofcom's powers under the Online Safety Act have only been used six times, but include a "very strong" ability to ask the High Court to effectively ban offending companies by preventing their access to technology and to funding through advertisers and other payments.

That process normally requires an investigation, but can be short-circuited where there are serious harms, risks to children, and histories of non-compliance.

A new Ofcom chair is also in the process of being recruited. They will be expected to take a much more robust approach to these matters amid newer concerns about internet safety and national security, arising from new technology and types of ownership.

The Online Safety Act is also at the centre of some concerns from the Trump administration about the impact on US tech firms.

On Monday, Ofcom said it had made "urgent contact" with X and xAI, which built Grok, and told the BBC it was investigating concerns.

It is currently illegal to share deepfakes of adults in the UK.

In an earlier statement, X said: "Anyone using or prompting Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content."

With additional reporting from Laura Cress and Chris Vallance

Rose-tinted filter: Why 2016 is taking over social media in 2026

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy1e605dvgo, 2 days ago

Wake up - it's 2016.

The Chainsmokers are playing wall to wall, you've perfected your Snapchat dog filter pose and Leicester City have just won the Premier League.

Justin Bieber and Drake are dominating playlists and everyone is hunting Pikachu on Pokémon Go - if they aren't filming their Mannequin Challenge attempt on their phone.

It all feels like it happened yesterday. But that might be thanks to social media, which has welcomed 2026 by looking 10 years into the past.

According to TikTok, searches for "2016" surged by 452% in the last week, and more than 55 million videos have been created using the app's filter named after the year.

The nostalgic wave has got us recalling our favourite trends, tracks and looks. But why now? And is there anything special about the year 2016 specifically?

Music has been a big driver of the 2016 revival, and some of the most popular tracks of the year have been making a comeback online.

Radio 1 Anthems host Lauren Redfern tells BBC Newsbeat it's not hard to see why.

"It's just so so good, that music from that time, and so nostalgic to so many of us," she says.

"We had Zayn's debut solo single Pillow Talk, Chainsmokers were really hot at that time.

"Twenty One Pilots, The 1975 - it was all going on."

Stats from Spotify show a 71% increase in "2016" playlists last year compared with 2024, and big-hitting artists have also been making a comeback.

Zara Larsson's smash hit Lush Life, which first entered the charts 10 years ago, re-entered the UK top 40 last month and has since climbed back up to number eight.

The Swedish pop sensation has also been behind a make-up trend focused on maximal, glam "Y2K" looks, and that's something Lauren remembers fondly from 2016.

"It was all the mad colours," she says. "The eye shadow was bright pink. I used to love a big, thick winged eyeliner as well.

"I still like to pull that out every now and then."

Joel Marlinarson, from London, is a TikTok creator and brand strategist whose video explaining why Gen Z is so obsessed with 2016 has been viewed more than a million times.

The 22-year-old tells Newsbeat the year has become its own aesthetic on TikTok, thanks largely to the dedicated filter, which he says has helped to accelerate the trend.

It gives videos a vintage, pink-hued look that's reminiscent of classic Instagram photo effects "everyone used" in 2016, says Joel.

"So without using words, be it somebody in France, be it someone in Germany, seeing that filter you're instantly taken back to a time when we were having so much fun and were so much younger," he says.

Joel says the rosy hues also evoke a simpler time on social media, which played a big part in young people's lives but was far less complex.

"Looking at Instagram, around 2016, there was no carousel posts," says Joel. "People were posting a picture of their avocado, and it wasn't so performative.

"There weren't short-form reels, so there wasn't that algorithmic kind of fatigue that people have now."

This is something Lauren, 26, says she can relate to.

"To be honest, 2016 was the year of Snapchat stories," she says. "If I go back through my Snapchat memories, it's pretty much all from 2016.

"Instagram was all about photos, we didn't have to worry about Reels, we didn't have to worry about updating our stories all the time. It was just a simple, chilled life."

Looking back at 2016 through a literal rose-tinted filter is a source of comfort for many of us, but is it distorting our memory?

It was a particularly gloomy year for celebrity deaths, with legends including David Bowie, Prince, George Michael and Alan Rickman all passing away.

And 2016 also saw some major world events - such as the UK Brexit referendum and Donald Trump's first US election win - that continue to divide people, whether they celebrated or despaired at the result.

Psychologist Clay Routledge has specialised in the study of nostalgia since 2001 and says he's "hesistant to make too big of a deal of any one given year".

Political events of 2016 may have elevated existing divisions, Clay says, but these significant moments and events hold nostalgic power because they act as "markers".

"You can always find these points in time in which people anchor themselves to for some sort of guidance," he says.

Clay suggests two factors that could be driving the obsession with 2016: the start of a new year, and many young people feeling uncertain about the future.

"We tend to be especially nostalgic when the world feels like it's going through some major change," says Clay.

He points to the impact of artificial intelligence (AI), and people's worries about how it will affect employment.

"When generations are going through this kind of upheaval or this kind of challenge, they tend to look back to their youth for comfort and for inspiration, for guidance," he says.

And 10 years ago makes sense for a lot of us, he says.

"Young millennials would be in their early 30s, and the older Gen Z would be in their late 20s, and so 10 years ago would be that kind of youthful time," he says. "People are looking back maybe a decade and saying, 'Okay, what was going on then?'"

Lauren, who was in her teens at the time, says 2016 was "a pivotal time for quite a lot of us" and a time of firsts, discovering the world - and yourself - as you went along.

Many people have been using the trend to remember and reflect on how their lives have changed, and Joel thinks it's reminded many of how carefree things felt 10 years ago.

"You posted something, you didn't think about how many likes there were," he recalls.

"Perhaps that's attached to the universal experience of ageing, but it feels now things are so divisive that we can all relate to feeling the world was a little lighter back then."

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.

Astronaut's 'serious medical condition' forces Nasa to end space station mission early

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd9e2y7nkv8o, 3 days ago

Nasa has said it will return a four-person crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS), cutting short their mission a month early because of a "serious medical condition" affecting one of the astronauts.

The agency did not disclose the name of the crew member or the medical condition, citing health privacy, but said the person was in a stable condition.

"This is not an emergency evacuation," said a Nasa official, adding: "We always err on the side of the astronaut's health."

On Wednesday, Nasa abruptly cancelled a spacewalk due to take place on Thursday, when two astronauts were set to step outside the ISS, citing a "medical concern".

The decision to bring back the crew early was announced by Nasa Administrator Jared Isaacman and other agency officials at a news conference on Thursday.

They gave few details, but said the medical issue was not related to space operations, and was not an injury.

An update was expected within 48 hours on the timeline for the astronauts' return, they added.

This is the first early evacuation in the history of the ISS, which has been continuously inhabited since 2000.

The four-person team is called Crew-11, and consists of Nasa astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Kimiya Yui from Japan's JAXA space agency, and a Russian cosmonaut, Oleg Platonov.

One American astronaut will remain aboard the ISS, officials say, and will be accompanied by two Russian cosmonauts.

Dr James Polk, Nasa's chief health and medical officer, told reporters this is the first time in Nasa's over-65 year history that a mission would return early due to a medical issue.

Crew-11 launched to the ISS in August last year on a SpaceX Crew Dragon and were expected to remain in orbit for about six months, returning around next month, after being replaced by another four-person crew a few days earlier.

The ISS has basic medical equipment, supplies and communication systems that let doctors on Earth talk privately to astronauts in space, assess their condition and advise treatment, much like a secure video or phone consultation with a GP.

Returning the four-person crew early could delay some experiments and maintenance tasks until the new crew arrive next month, according to Dr Simeon Barber, a space scientist at the Open University.

"The space station is a big, complex feat of engineering, it's designed to be operated by a certain minimum level of crew," he said.

He added that the remaining crew would probably be forced to "dial back on some of the more experimental work and focus more just on the housekeeping and keeping the station healthy, waiting for the full complement of crew to be restored."

Government accused of dragging its heels on deepfake law over Grok AI

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp9jxvx0zjmo, 4 days ago

Campaigners have accused the government of dragging its heels on implementing a law which would make it illegal to create non-consensual sexualised deepfakes.

It comes amid a backlash against images created using Elon Musk's AI Grok to digitally remove clothing - with one woman telling the BBC more than 100 sexualised images have been created of her.

It is currently illegal to share deepfakes of adults in the UK, but new legislation that would make it a criminal offence to create or request them is still not in force despite passing in June 2025.

But it is unclear whether all of the unclothing images created by Grok would fall foul of this law. The BBC has contacted the government for comment.

In a statement, X said: "Anyone using or prompting Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content."

It comes as the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, addressing concerns over sexualised images of adults and children produced by Grok, called it "disgraceful" and "disgusting".

"It's not to be tolerated," he said, speaking to Greatest Hits Radio.

"X has got to get a grip on this, Ofcom has our full support to take action in relation to this.

"This is wrong."

Grok can be accessed through its website and app, or by tagging "@grok" in posts on the social media platform X.

But Andrea Simon from End Violence Against Women said by not putting the law into effect, the government had "put women and girls in harm's way".

"Non-consensual sexually explicit deepfakes are a clear violation of women's rights and have a long-lasting, traumatic impact on victims," she said.

"For women using platforms like X, the threat of this abuse can also mean they feel the need to self-censor and change their behaviour, restricting their freedom of expression and participation online."

"This is not solely a criminal justice issue but an issue of regulating a tech ecosystem that facilitates and profits from violence against women and girls."

On Tuesday, Technology Secretary Liz Kendall demanded X "deal with this urgently", calling the situation "absolutely appalling".

The regulator Ofcom said it had made "urgent contact" with X and xAI, which built Grok, on Monday and told the BBC it was investigating concerns.

Both Kendall and Downing Street have backed the regulator taking action, with the Prime Minister's spokesperson adding on Wednesday "all options remained on the table".

The Ministry of Justice told the BBC: "It is already an offence to share intimate images on social media, including deepfakes, without consent.

"We refuse to tolerate this degrading and harmful behaviour, which is why we have also introduced legislation to ban their creation without consent."

'Violation of women's rights'

The current law says it is illegal to generate pornographic deepfakes when used in revenge porn or depicting children.

A provision in the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 criminalised the creation or commissioning of "purported intimate images" - or deepfakes - Lorna Woods, Professor of Internet law at Essex University, told the BBC.

But a year on from first announcing a crackdown on the offence, the government has still not brought a key legal provision that could target those asking Grok to make sexualised deepfakes of women, experts and campaigners have told the BBC.

Professor Woods said this offence "would seem to be a good fit for some of the images that have been created using Grok" but it had not yet been brought into force.

Meanwhile the EVAW's Simon questioned why the secondary legislation needed to make creating sexual deepfakes a crime had still not happened, given they were "a clear violation of women's rights".

"This law has still not come into force," she said, "nor has a date been set for when this will take place".

Conservative peer Baroness Owen, who campaigned for the legal change in the House of Lords, told the BBC the government had "repeatedly dragged its heels" to bring the rules into effect.

"We cannot afford any more delays," she said.

"Survivors of this abuse deserve better.

"No one should have to live in fear of their consent being violated in this appalling way."

And cross-bench peer Baroness Beeban Kidron told the BBC: "Technology moves fast, and this legislation is supposed to plug an existing gap, so there is no excuse for delay."

'It's disgusting'

The BBC has spoken to several women who have had pictures they posted of themselves on X turned into deepfakes by the Grok AI.

Grok is a free tool which users typically tag underneath other people's comments with prompts to give a reaction or context.

More recently, people have been able to use the chatbot to alter pictures they or other people have uploaded by tagging it and including a text prompt - even if that includes undressing them or putting them in sexualised poses.

Evie told the BBC while she noticed people started to reply to pictures of herself asking Grok to put her in a bikini a few months ago, the latest update had made it "easier" for users to do, and the pictures looked "more realistic".

She says she now has had at least 100 sexualised images of herself created through the AI assistant, so many so that she has given up reporting them all due to the "mental strain" involved in viewing them.

As well as having to look at the images herself, the idea of loved ones seeing her in sexual or undressed poses has also made staying on X very difficult for her.

"My family follow me on there, my friends, my co-workers," she said.

"Knowing that all the people I care about in my life can see me like that... it's disgusting."

Dr Daisy Dixon is another female X user who told the BBC she has seen an increase in people using Grok to undress her, particularly using her profile picture.

She said the pictures left her feeling "humiliated" - and said the fact Grok automatically commented the altered images at her left her feeling as if she had been assaulted.

"To have that power move of posting it back to you - it's like saying 'I have control over you and I'm going to keep reminding you I have control over you'," she said.

"We don't want to dilute the concept, but it feels like a kind of assault on the body."

And X users such as Evie say action needs to happen now.

"There's so many places online that you can do this, but the fact that it was happening on Twitter with the built in AI bot - this is crazy this is allowed," she said.

"Why is this allowed and why is nothing being done about it?"

How to watch the Golden Globe-nominated films

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c79vyvyp7d8o, today

Hollywood stars are preparing to attend one ceremony after another, as the film awards season gets fully under way.

Marty Supreme, Hamnet and Wicked: For Good are a few of the frontrunners in what is shaping up to be a competitive year for the Oscars race.

The Golden Globe nominations were announced on Monday 8 December, effectively firing the starting gun on awards season.

The competition continues with the Bafta Film Awards and the recently renamed Actor Awards (formerly SAG), before the season concludes with the Oscars on 15 March.

Here are 27 of the Golden Globe-nominated films, and how you can watch them.

After The Hunt

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Blue Moon

Ethan Hawke stars as lyricist Lorenz Hart, who battles alcoholism and mental health issues ahead of the premiere of the musical Oklahoma!, in one of two films in this year's awards race directed by Richard Linklater.

In UK cinemas now.

Bugonia

Die My Love

A young couple move to a secluded country house and have a baby, but the mother's mental health suffers under the pressure of domestic life. Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson star in Lynne Ramsay's movie.

In UK cinemas now and on Mubi from 23 January.

Frankenstein

Hamnet

If I Had Legs I'd Kick You

Rose Byrne stars as a mother trying to navigate her daughter's illness, her absent husband, a missing person, and hostile relationship with her therapist. Directed by Mary Bronstein.

In UK cinemas 20 February 2026.

It Was Just An Accident

Jay Kelly

Kpop Demon Hunters

Marty Supreme

No Other Choice

After years of unemployment, a South Korean man comes up with a dark plan to secure a job, eliminating his competition. Directed by Park Chan-wook.

In UK cinemas from 23 January 2026.

Nouvelle Vague

In 1959, production begins on Breathless, one of the most famous feature films of the Nouvelle Vague era of French cinema. Directed by Richard Linklater and starring Zoey Deutch.

In UK cinemas from 30 January 2026.

One Battle After Another

The Secret Agent

A technology expert on the run from Brazil's military dictatorship in 1977 seeks refuge in his hometown of Recife - but hired hitmen are hot on his tail. Starring Wagner Moura and directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho.

In UK cinemas 20 February 2026.

Sentimental Value

Following the death of their mother, two sisters reconnect with their distant father, a famous Swedish director who is working on his comeback film. Directed by Joachim Trier and starring Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård and Elle Fanning.

In UK cinemas now.

Sinners

The Smashing Machine

Song Sung Blue

Two performers who impersonate famous musicians form a Neil Diamond tribute band and fall in love, but a devastating accident threatens their relationship and dreams. Directed by Craig Brewer, starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson.

In UK cinemas now.

Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere

Train Dreams

An American railroad worker lives a life of loneliness until he marries and has a daughter, but tragedy soon strikes on one of his long trips away from home. Directed by Clint Bentley and starring Joel Edgerton and Felicity Jones.

On Netflix now.

The Testament of Ann Lee

A young woman becomes the founding leader of the Shaker movement, who worship through song and dance and aim to create a utopian society. Directed by Mona Fastvold and starring Amanda Seyfried.

In UK cinemas from 20 February 2026.

The Voice of Hind Rajab

Weapons

When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance. Directed by Zach Cregger and starring Josh Brolin, Julia Garner and Amy Madigan.

Available for digital rental now.

Wicked: For Good

KPop Demon Hunters wins Golden Globes for best animated film

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy8pnn9p8lgo, today

Netflix mega-hit KPop Demon Hunters has won a Golden Globe for best animated feature, while its breakout anthem Golden was named best original song.

The animated film, which centres on a girl band Huntr/x that uses music to save the world from evil forces, has scored many chart-topping achievements since it premiered in June.

"Through this film we really wanted to depict female characters the way that we know women, which is really strong and bold," director Maggie Kang said.

Fellow director Chris Appelhans, who accepted the best animated feature award with Kang, called the film a "love letter to music". "To the power it has to connect us, to make us see some kind of shared humanity," he said.

Fans have spoken of how the film's empowering themes of self-acceptance, community, and fighting against inner "demons" resonated with them.

Singer-songwriter Ejae, who co-wrote and performed Golden, accepted the award for best original song along with Mark Sonnenblick and Lee Hee-joon.

In a tearful speech, she recalled her "tireless" pursuit early in her career to become a K-pop idol had ended with rejection and disappointment.

She dedicated the award to "people who have [had] their doors closed at them". "It's never too late to shine like you were born to be", she said, quoting the song's lyrics.

"I'm so part of a song that is helping other girls, other queens and everyone all get through their hardship to accept themselves," she said.

KPop Demon Hunters quickly became an animated sensation since its release in June.

It became Netflix's most-watched film of all time within two months, with Golden clinching the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 just weeks after it dropped. Another track, Your Idol, made it to number eight on the Hot 100.

Sunday's Golden Globe accolades come after the film was named best animated feature and Golden named best song at the Critics Choice Award early this month.

Ejae earlier told the BBC that the film's success "feels like a dream".

"It's like I'm surfing for the first time and a big wave just came through," she told BBC Newsbeat. "I'm trying my best to get through it.

Korean-American actress Arden Cho, who voiced the main character Rumi, said her life mirrored Rumi's journey.

"I can honestly say that at different points in my life, I hated a lot of myself and I wanted to be someone else," she told BBC Global Women.

"I hated that I looked Asian, that I didn't have blue eyes and blonde hair, because that's what was beautiful at the time."

Cho said the film was a tribute to people in underrepresented communities – it's a film that brings "hope and joy and love to all these different communities".

The film's success at the Golden Globes - often seen as a prelude to the Academy Awards - will likely stoke Oscar buzz.

KPop Demon Hunters is one of 35 film features eligible for the animated feature category at this year's Oscars. However the films shortlisted for this category has not yet been announced.

EastEnders actor Derek Martin dies aged 92

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr578n5egm9o, today

Derek Martin, the actor best known for playing Charlie Slater in EastEnders, has died aged 92.

Martin first appeared on the BBC soap's fictional Albert Square in 2000 as widower Slater, along with his four daughters Lynne, Kat, Little Mo and Zoe.

A regular cast member until 2011, he featured in a number of major storylines. Martin then made several guest appearances on the programme until his character suffered a fatal heart attack in 2016.

In a statement shared on Sunday by his agent Sharon Henry, Martin's family described him as a father and friend who "supported us through our highs and lows", adding they would "miss him terribly".

The statement said Martin - born in the East End of London himself, in Bow - had died on Saturday.

"For over 50 years, Derek was a truly authentic working-class voice in British television and film," it went on.

Meanwhile, his agent said it was "a privilege to be a part of his creative journey" - and said he had "cherished his time portraying Charlie Slater".

"Derek was a devoted father, a generous member of the charitable Water Rats, an avid golfer and all-around good man who will be greatly missed," Henry added.

Martin began acting in the 1960s, having previously worked in factories and as a butcher at Smithfield Market in the City of London.

Despite having no professional training, he went on to appear in programmes such as Doctor Who, Z-Cars, The Sweeney, Eldorado, Law & Order and Hart Hart, before landing the role of Charlie Slater.

An EastEnders spokesperson said the programme's team was "deeply saddened" to hear of Martin's death.

"From the moment he arrived, Derek's portrayal of Charlie Slater instantly cemented him in the hearts of the audience, as the head of one of EastEnders' most iconic families," they went on.

"Charlie would do anything for his family, and much like his character, Derek would do the same for those around him. Derek was deeply loved by all those that worked with him at EastEnders and will always be remembered with great fondness.

"Our love and thoughts are with his family and friends."

Love Island villa evacuated and filming postponed over wildfires

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy09yp2wl5wo, yesterday

Filming for Love Island: All Stars has been postponed after the villa was evacuated due to wildfires, ITV has said.

The third series of the popular dating programme spin-off - filmed in South Africa - was due to premiere on Monday.

But a statement posted on the show's Instagram page said: "Health and safety is our greatest priority and will always come first, and therefore the transmission of Love Island: All Stars will be delayed until a date to be confirmed."

ITV has given no further details on when it hopes to resume filming.

State broadcaster SABC reported on Saturday that authorities were working with the South African Air Force to control several fire-related incidents in the Western Cape, where the villa is located.

Love Island: All Stars follows the same format as the original ITV programme, but with former contestants returning to the villa in a bid to find their match.

Hosted by Maya Jama, this year's initial line-up is formed of 12 contestants including two former winners - Jess Harding, 25, and Millie Court, 29.

The son of Irish singer Ronan Keating, 26-year-old Jack Keating, is also part of this series' cast.

Other contestants expected to appear are Belle Hassan, 27; Charlie Frederick, 31; Ciaran Davies, 23; Helena Ford, 29; Leanne Amaning, 28; Sean Stone, 26; Shaq Muhammad, 27; Tommy Bradley, 22; and Whitney Adebayo, 28.

At the height of series 12 of the regular format last summer, which saw 2.6m people tune in to watch the first episode, ITV said streams on subscription service ITVX were up 9% year on year.

However, viewers went on to make more than 14,000 complaints alleging bullying, abusive behaviour and misogyny - particularly in relation to a divide between some of the women in the ITV villa.

Media watchdog Ofcom said it would not investigate the series because the negative behaviour "was not shown in a positive light", and was in line with what viewers have come to expect.

In response, ITV said participants get training in advance about "mutually respectful behaviour in relationships" and "behaviour patterns associated with controlling and coercive behaviour".

The Traitors shows those with stammers 'not stupid'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1lzv54d03yo, today

Spoiler warning: This article contains details of the ongoing series of The Traitors.

The new series of The Traitors has had more than its fair share of twists and turns - plus a secret traitor to top it off.

But while tactics and deceit are dominating conversations about the show, it is contestant Jessie Stride who has got others talking.

The 28-year-old has a stammer and in episode one said introducing herself was "one of the biggest tests ever".

For people like Hayley Rawlings from Newport, who has had a stammer since she was four, this is a familiar feeling.

She said the representation goes a long way, particularly for young women who she feels are often overlooked.

"I think people at home will watch that and think, 'oh, actually, they're not going to laugh or think I'm stupid," said Hayley.

Stammering, or stuttering, is a type of speech disorder where the flow of spoken words is altered by repetitions or prolonged sounds.

It affects 8% of children and at least 1% of adults, according to stammer charity STAMMA, with some people not declaring it or realising they have one.

Stammers or stutters are also thought to affect more males than females.

The second week of the new series showed Jessie, a hairdresser from Hull, successfully identifying Stephen as a traitor and leading during challenges.

Hayley, 34, said Jessie being good at the game and her stammer not being the focus gave people "something to relate to".

"It was really good to see her say her name is the hardest thing, which if you spoke to 99% of people who stammer that is the case," said Hayley, who believes that might be because it is not a word you can swap out.

Hayley said people's reactions to Jessie showed how much progress was being made.

"It wasn't a big deal," she said.

"It's just really nice to see that everybody there is just giving her time to talk and they're doing the right things, probably without even knowing that they're are."

Hayley said people with stammers were often mocked or villainised in the media, and sometimes portrayed as having them as a result of trauma.

"I think it's going to teach people a lot about what [stammering] is and that it's normal," she said.

"Also as a female who stammers, it's amazing to see because we are a minority in a minority.

"In the past I've done a lot of work for charities and it was often older men and no disrespect but I just didn't relate to them.

"So it's so nice to see a young female as well and think the people can relate to her."

As for Jessie's game, Hayley wants to see her under some pressure, adding it would be "quite interesting to see".

"I've thought in the past I wonder what a stammer would be like on [the show] because people naturally stumble over their words when they lie," said Hayley.

"I want her to get accused to see how they [the other contestants] take it."

'I don't like The Traitors - but I tune in for Jessie'

Joe Dilling, a physiotherapy technical instructor from St Athan, Vale of Glamorgan, has had a stammer since he was six-years-old.

Now 26, he said it had been "quite up and down" and said he also related to Jessie.

"The worst thing for most people is introducing themselves," he said.

"That must have been one of the more anxiety inducing things for her.

"People who have got a stammer are underrepresented in TV and most of the time if you see someone who has got one it's the main focal point so its good to see no one has made a point of it and Jessie is just shown to be a normal person.

"It is good to see no one is making an issue because it's not - it just might take her longer to talk at times."

Joe has not watched The Traitors before, but is tuning in to see Jessie.

"I do think people who have got a stammer, I do think they are better at picking [social cues] up," he said.

"Raising awareness is the most important thing because there's still quite a lot of people who don't really understand it and you do get awkward situations sometimes.

"I just think its good to see someone represented but that's not the only thing about them.

"People have a perception that people with a stammer are not capable and that's obviously the case."

New episodes of the latest series of The Traitors air on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays on BBC One and iPlayer, until 23 January.

The films giving a voice to people with dementia

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg5dn4x4xyo, today

When Bafta-winning filmmaker Ian Bustard set out to make a film about dementia, he did so from a very personal place - not knowing how to help after his father's diagnosis.

A partnership emerged with Scottish poet and activist Ron Coleman, who lived with vascular dementia and became known as The Demented Poet.

The pair created a documentary and short film, which are being shown as a double-bill at cinemas around the country.

The films have seen emotional responses from people living with dementia and their carers.

The Demented Poets, the documentary directed by Bustard, follows his journey after his father's diagnosis and introduces viewers to Coleman and other "dementia activists" who refuse to be defined by their condition.

Alongside this, Bustard and Coleman also made Caught in This Moment in Time - a short film based on a stage play by Coleman.

In it Coleman plays a writer with dementia, struggling with writer's block, accompanied only by AI companion Alexa.

Bustard told BBC Scotland News that the screenings aim to give a voice to those living with dementia.

He said: "It's a film that's really for people who have recently got a diagnosis, or for family members, because it gives a different perspective from what you get from medical professionals.

"And as we're starting to screen it we're finding that it's actually getting a really strong emotional response from people that have got family members.

"I've even heard people who have got a diagnosis say it's the first time they've felt positive since the diagnosis."

Coleman died in October last year, in the middle of a run of screenings.

On his deathbed he asked Bustard to continue work on a third film in his memory.

He is now doing this, working with the team that he and Coleman built.

The duo had been developing The F Ward, a film conceived by Coleman about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on people in care homes.

Bustard said: "He left me with a list of tasks to complete but he said what I want you to do more than anything else is to finish the F Ward.

"I promised Ron I would finish this film, so that's what I'm going to do."

The project - involving actors with dementia alongside other experienced actors - aims to preserve memories from the pandemic era.

The Demented Poet double bill will be at Montrose Playhouse on 22 January, Eastgate Theatre and Arts Centre in Peebles on 23 of January and Eastwood Theatre in Giffnock on 13 February.

Producer calls for a kinder film and TV industry

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

The film and television industry needs to become kinder and more inclusive, the founder of a production company has said.

Luke Allen, who runs Ask, Seek, Knock in Telford, Shropshire, said cast and crew are often mistreated on set, but people were "afraid to raise those points for fear of being difficult".

He said change had to come from the top and he wanted to start a conversation about the issues.

He has been supported by his friend, Merryn Rae Peachey, who left the industry partly because of her experiences and she said she believed "bullying is quite rife in the industry still".

Allen said he knew of people working in "very, very tight, often illegal working hours" and felt it could feel like "a very inhumane way of treating people".

Because of the "glitz and glamour" of the industry, be said people were sometimes told they were lucky to be there.

Peachey said she worked in the industry for about 10 years.

"It was my childhood dream, I went to university to follow this," she said.

But she said she gave it up because she found it stressful and wanted more stability in her life.

The turning point came when she was diagnosed with autism and ADHD and she said: "I choose now not to have that stress."

She said she had seen a lot of experienced people leave the industry in recent years.

"This highlights that there is something systemically wrong and that people are not willing to put up with it any more," she said.

Allen said the focus of his own production company was to "ensure that everyone feels welcome and comfortable on our sets".

"If we have the power to make things nicer for people, I just don't understand why we aren't doing it," he said.

'Terrified of showing weakness'

He believes conversations with cast and crew need to take place at the start of a production, to find out what people's needs were and they should not be made to feel afraid to ask.

Allen also believes production companies should not be afraid to hold their hands up when mistakes are made.

"I've been on so many productions that are terrified at the top from showing weakness, because I think its a fear that it kind of loses the authority," he said.

However, he said owning up to mistakes shows integrity and "that trickles down, everyone understands that you all want the best for each other".

Allen said he had not got all the answers, but felt it was good to talk about the issues openly.

"It is a small industry I want to make people want to work with me again," he said.

"The greatest sign that the stuff I'm doing is moving in the right direction is that people have wanted to come back."

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NHS project manager by day is R&B artist at night

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm24dpxpx45o, today

An NHS project manager who has sung in choirs since childhood is now recording and performing her own music as an R&B and neo soul artist.

Rosemary Nwodoh, 26, from Chatham, works at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital in Canterbury by day and performs at night, and her work can be found on streaming services under her artist's name Chidimma

She said she started to explore the possibility of recording and performing her own songs while in lockdown during the Covid pandemic.

She also changed her career plans and switched from the final year of a law degree to working in the health sector. She now works for East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust.

'Time to think'

Nwodoh, who also works as a voiceover artist, said she "fell out of love with law" and started to look at creative opportunities.

"I had a lot of time on my hands, as many people did, and started to think more seriously about music as a career," she said

She told how she was finishing her law degree during lockdown and already working part-time in the NHS, but added: "I think at that time there was a bit of a universal feeling of more gratitude for life and the time that we have."

She said she started to think about what really brought her joy and what she could to do bring that to other people.

"I've always loved singing and I was part of choirs throughout school, so I started to write music and record it with my brother at home," she said. "From there the passion grew."

Her project management skills have come in useful for her new direction, she revealed, adding: "Although it's very different to music, the skills are useful for the business side when it comes to booking gigs or studios and planning recording sessions."

Nwodoh has performed at venues in London and across the country and has released singles as well as an EP, called Love, Chidimma.

She said writing music and performing were her "favourite things to do".

"For now, I'm happy to do it whenever I can and see what happens," she added.

"I never thought I would have an EP out so who knows what this year will bring?"

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The Hollywood effect of Hamnet on its filming locations

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yx92zjq74o, today

Even before its theatrical release, Hamnet, directed by Chloé Zhao and starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, was tipped for success at the Oscars.

Based on the award-winning 2020 novel by Maggie O'Farrell, the film is a fictional account exploring the lives of William Shakespeare, his wife Agnes, real name Anne Hathaway, and their family.

Now, because of the hype surrounding the film, which was released in the UK on Friday, filming and historic locations are hoping the Hollywood effect will help boost tourism.

Shakespeare, of course, was from Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire. But much of the historical drama was filmed about 60 miles (96.5km) away in the village of Weobley in Herefordshire. Can a sprinkle of Hollywood glamour turn eyes to the West Midlands?

"I think it'll be extraordinary for the town, I think the benefits are huge, because albeit we understand that it wasn't filmed in Stratford, it shines a light on Anne Hathaway's cottage," said Richard Paterson, chief operating officer at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

"Hamnet reimagines the families, landscapes, and influences of home, which is so fundamental in what Shakespeare wrote about.

"If I was a member of the public, why would I not want to go and see where it actually happened?"

Key locations to visit

"Shakespeare was inspired by the landscape, the area in Warwickshire... when Maggie O'Farrell visited she was equally inspired," he said.

He said the town already had relatively high footfall, and although too early to definitively say what effect the film would have, he believes it will make its mark.

"The town can only expect an uplift, I wouldn't be surprised if it was a 10, 15, 20 per cent uplift."

He added that the exposure was "absolutely critical" in keeping Shakespeare alive.

"What is so great about film, and the book, and the reimagining, is it demonstrates how Shakespeare still resonates today."

"Any recreations will benefit regionally, nationally, and globally - it emphasises and amplifies the importance of him and his works."

The trust owns five family homes related to the playwright, Anne Hathaway's cottage, Shakespeare's birthplace, his mother's farm, Shakespeare's new place (where he died) and Halls Croft, where his family lived beyond his life.

"Stratford as a town is still unchanged, so you'd still be walking down the same streets as Shakespeare and his family did," he added.

'The Hamnet Herefordshire effect'

In Herefordshire, Nick Mason, county councillor for the Weobley ward said: "The sleepy village of Weobley really woke up… it was a little bit of Hollywood in Hereford."

"This film is the marketing or advertising that money just can't buy."

Despite going through a transformation for filming, such as blocking off signage and covering the streets in straw, the village still bears some resemblance to 1596, the time period the film is set in.

Many of the black and white buildings are from the late 15th and early 16th century and the landscape nearby is described by Visit Herefordshire as "bucolic" and "Shakespearean", so visitors keen to immerse themselves in the film's world won't have to stretch their imagination.

In fact, the village has already had visitors attracted by the film The history society said it bumped into tourists on Boxing Day.

"The whole Hollywood effect, the Hamnet Herefordshire effect is going to be really really good for our tourism industry in Herefordshire," said Jo Hilditch, chair of Visit Herefordshire.

"We're really capitalising on Hamnet, we've got Hamnet trails, falconry, foraging."

The Hamnet-inspired walking trail starts in Weobley, taking visitors through areas where it was filmed, across green fields and through country lanes, ending in Pembridge, another village famed for its black-and-white timber-framed buildings and which is a two hour walk away.

There is also an exhibition in the village's library and museum about the filming process.

"Tourism is a huge issue in Herefordshire… increasing our tourism by even a small amount is going to have a huge impact on the amount of services we can provide for our residents," added Mason.

"Everybody wants a village that has got a pub in it, and a cafe and restaurants… the more tourism, the more likely it is those places will prosper, so it's great for the longevity and the sustainability of the village.

"We are working with partners to make sure that people understand what they can do in Herefordshire and how they can come and visit."

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Teens taught to play historic organ after £1m revamp

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yd738e0n2o, today

A concert venue has launched a new scholarship programme offering tuition on "one of the UK's most important concert hall" organs.

The 14-metre (45ft) Britton Organ, built in 1956, has been fully restored to the Bristol Beacon's main hall, ready for Grade II-listed instrument's 70th anniversary.

To celebrate the occasion, the Beacon is offering free organ classes to three young people who will perform a concert on the instrument.

Laurie Stewart, head of creative learning at the Bristol Beacon, said: "We want as many people as possible to appreciate it [the organ] and its complexity."

With more than 5,000 pipes, the organ's restoration began in 2018, when the instrument had to be completely taken apart.

Seven lorries were needed to transport all the parts up to Durham, where it was both originally made and recently restored.

Jenna, 15, is taking part in the class, she said: "It sounds better than I thought, louder.

"My friends are surprised that I play the organ. I'm excited about being able to play the organ in front of an audience."

Chris, another student also aged 15, added: "I've always loved music and seeing live music so being able to go on stage is exciting."

Jed Hughes, an organist, said it was a "surreal experience" to play the organ of "this size".

"It has everything any organist would need. I have to pinch myself," he added.

"Every organ is different and has their own personality - the big difference with this one is the huge variety of sounds it can produce.

"I don't think there's any other experience like this."

The organ's return will be celebrated with a recital by organist Anna Lapwood MBE later.

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How the age of motoring shaped our modern world

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62d5wg4lypo, today

Fifty five years ago, in April 1971, Birmingham welcomed the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh to officially open the city's inner ring road - a symbol of Britain's love affair with the car.

She mistakenly named the full stretch of the route Queensway instead of just the intended tunnel at Great Charles Street, but the moment captured the spirit of an era when roads and motorways were about more than just transport.

"It showed the importance, and the fact the project had the royal seal of approval," said author Christopher Beanland.

His new book explores the architectural impact of the car, and how it transformed the modern world.

In post-World War Two Britain, the car was a way of life, with entire cities redesigned with motorists at heart.

Places like Coventry, Bristol and Glasgow were shaped by planners who believed "we would all be driving and so we would have to have the provision for it," said Beanland.

Futuristic automated car parks, underground bus stations and motorway service stations were built, having been inspired by the motels and drive-throughs of the US and Brutalist architecture of Germany.

The car was indeed king, and nowhere was this more evident than in the West Midlands, home to Britain's booming car industry at the time, Beanland said.

Although now under threat of demolition, Birmingham's Ringway Centre, on Smallbrook Queensway, became a symbol of its time.

A sweeping curved, six-storey office block in the heart of the city, it was a concrete celebration of modernity, he said.

Herbert Manzoni's vision for the city was a series of main routes linked by junctions, traffic islands and tunnels, embracing mass automobility as a sign of progress.

"Manzoni famously - as well as other planners around the Midlands - wanted to build what he believed back then, to be the ideal city," said Beanland.

The opening of Spaghetti Junction and redevelopment of Paradise Circus, topped with John Madin's library brought all of those parts together.

"It really wanted to be seen as the most modern city in Britain."

The city centre, at the time, was seen as cool enough to be a backdrop for Clint Eastwood's visit to the UK promoting his then new movie A Fistful of Dollars.

A film voiced by Kojak actor, Telly Savalas - calling it "my kinda town" - celebrated the city's Aston Expressway and "revolutionary" road systems.

"The modern buildings reflect its position as the nation's industrial powerhouse," he said in the film, adding "you feel as if you've been projected into the 21st Century".

As the centre of Britain's motor industry, Coventry's post-war planners also put the car bang in the middle of its redeveloped city centre, with a distinctive circular car park.

"They thought why not have the ability to drive all the way, not just into the city, but right to the market, park on the roof, then you could go down and shop," Beanland explained.

"That was the kind of thinking we had back then - everything designed for the convenience of drivers."

But that convenience came at a cost for pedestrians, and the communities displaced to make way for this car-centric world, he said.

"I certainly wouldn't be defending things like knocking down whole parts of the city and demolishing homes and communities," he added.

"But I think we can still see there's some really interesting ideas that went on, and, it's a really fascinating part of our history, and should be preserved."

"One of the things I wanted to do in the book is draw people's eyes to the things we see every day and maybe take for granted," Beanland said.

"Things like amazing motorway services, petrol stations and car parks, motorways and ring roads.

"I think every town and city in the Midlands got a ring road, including Stourbridge, Wolverhampton and Walsall."

These roads and motorways were a "source of pride," he added, "they wanted to have nice roads that you could drive your Morris Marina on and explore the city".

People sometimes viewed these changes as "a bit brutalist, very functional and a bit inhuman," he said.

"But what I found when I was investigating the subject is there was a lot of care and attention that went into these schemes in terms of public artworks," added the author.

The city's profusion of underpasses provided the ideal backdrops.

"Huge concrete Aztec-looking" sculptures by artist William Mitchell were commissioned for Hockley Circus beneath the flyover, later given listed status recognising their importance.

Artist Kenneth Budd also created murals for Colmore Circus, as part of the inner ring road, as well as a JF Kennedy memorial mosaic.

"The history of public art in the age of cars is a story worth telling," he added.

Monaco of the Midlands

"An interesting postscript to the story of Birmingham as a motor city was the Super Prix," he said, "when parts of the middle ring road were made into a racetrack.".

The Formula 3000 event attracted crowds of thousands when it was staged in the city between 1986 and 1990.

"It sounds absolutely bonkers," Beanland added.

An early supporter of the scheme, motor racing legend Sir Stirling Moss was among those calling for its return, before his death in 2020.

A group, backed by the former mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street, were also calling for it to stage the all-electric Formula E series.

It is yet to be seen whether racing will ever return to the roads of Birmingham.

'Fragments of history'

By the 1980s, car-centric architecture and Birmingham's Brutalist landmarks had fallen out of favour.

A group fighting to save the Ringway Centre lost a bid for a judicial review of plans to demolish the building and replace it with apartment blocks.

The campaign was backed by Extinction Rebellion - an environmental group who ended up trying to help save the city's monument to the car.

Madin's library, once described by the King as looking like "a place where books are incinerated, not kept," was also demolished in 2013, to make way for the new Library of Birmingham.

"A lot of damage was done" creating these cities, said the author, "but it is an important part of our history".

"To knock it all down again is maybe not the answer, because it wastes energy and also destroys these fragments of history that tell us about a different way of thinking when people put the car first".

Architecture for Cars: How cars shaped modern architecture by Christopher Beanland is published by Batsford.

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Author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's family accuse hospital of negligence over son's death

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0lx09e618yo, yesterday

The family of Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has accused a hospital of negligence over the death of her 21-month-old son.

Nkanu Nnamdi died at a hospital in Nigeria on Wednesday following a short illness, leaving the family of the acclaimed postcolonial feminist writer "devastated".

Now, the family allege there was a litany of failures at Euracare Hospital in Lagos that led to the toddler's death, including being denied oxygen and being given too much sedation, causing a heart attack.

The hospital expressed its "deepest sympathies" over the loss of the child but denied improper care, which it said had been in line with international standards.

It added that Nkanu had arrived at the hospital "critically ill" and that an investigation into the death was now under way.

Adichie's sister-in-law, Dr Anthea Nwandu, made a series of allegations about the hospital in an interview with Nigerian broadcaster Arise TV on Saturday.

In it, she said the medical director of Euracare had told Adichie her son "had received too much sedation", which subsequently caused him to have a heart attack.

Dr Nwandu also accused medical staff of leaving the child unattended, denying him oxygen and transporting him in a manner that was "not according to standard practice".

She alleged Nkanu suffered a brain injury due to lack of oxygen.

Similar accusations concerning Nkanu's care were made in a private message from Adichie that was leaked online.

Her spokeswoman Omawumi Ogbe told the BBC that the message had originally been shared within "a close circle of family and friends", and "was not for public consumption".

Ms Ogbe continued: "While we are saddened that such a deeply personal account of grief and trauma was leaked, the details therein highlight the devastating clinical failures the family is now forced to confront.

"We hope that the substance of that message, detailing the gross medical negligence that led to this tragedy remains the central focus even as we look forward to the truth and accountability."

Nkanu was one of twin boys Adichie shared with her husband, Dr Ivara Esege.

Responding to the allegations, Euracare Hospital acknowledged the "profound and unimaginable loss" the family was experiencing, but said in a statement on Saturday that "reports currently being circulated contain inaccuracies".

It said Nkanu, who was critically ill, had been referred to the hospital after receiving treatment from two paediatric centres, and that upon arrival staff "immediately provided care in line with established clinical protocols and internationally accepted medical standards, including the administration of sedation".

It continued: "In the course of his care, we worked collaboratively with external medical teams as recommended by his family and ensured that all necessary clinical support was provided."

However, "despite these concerted efforts", the boy died less than 24 hours after arriving at the hospital, it added.

A "detailed investigation" was under way, Euracare said, adding that it remained "committed to engaging transparently and responsibly with all clinical and regulatory processes".

Adichie, 48, had her first child, a daughter, in 2016. Her twin boys were born using a surrogate in 2024.

The award-winning US-based writer is known for works including Half of a Yellow Sun, Americanah and her 2012 Ted Talk and essay We Should All Be Feminists, which was sampled by Beyoncé on her 2013 song Flawless.

Nigeria's president was among those to have expressed their condolences over the death of Nkanu.

The African nation's health system has suffered of late from a severe shortage of doctors, leaving healthcare staff working long hours and doctors juggling jobs in both public and private hospitals.

Responding to the allegations concerning Nkanu, an adviser to the Lagos State government said it "places the highest value on human life and maintains zero tolerance for medical negligence or unprofessional conduct".

Dr Kemi Ogunyemi, Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on health matters, confirmed the state's health watchdog had commenced a "thorough, independent and transparent" investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death.

"Any individual or institution found culpable of negligence, professional misconduct, or regulatory violations will face the full wrath of the law," Dr Ogunyemi said.

She urged members of the public to avoid speculation over the death while the official investigation was ongoing.

What's on at the theatre in Wolverhampton in 2026

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

The Wolverhampton Grand Theatre has played host to icons of stage and screen in its 130-year history.

In 1909, future Prime Minister Winston Churchill addressed a male-only audience as president of the Board of Trade at the theatre, before being interrupted by a group of Suffragettes who threw smoke bombs. Charlie Chaplin and Sir Ian McKellen are among stars who have trod the boards.

During 2026, the theatre is continuing to bring an array of genres, from musicals to plays to opera, to the city.

Here are 10 of the shows due to take place in Wolverhampton during 2026.

Six The Musical

Divorced, beheaded ... live.

Lucy Moss and Toby Marlow's musical about the six wives of Henry VIII has taken audiences by storm.

It started life at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2017 and since then has amassed legion of fans and played to audiences in London, New York, and Australia.

Six The Musical is at the Grand from 20-31 January.

Fawlty Towers - The Play

Stage adaptations of iconic sitcoms have become a popular trend, from the likes of Only Fools and Horses to Mrs Brown's Boys and Men Behaving Badly.

And 50 years since first gracing TV screens, Fawlty Towers is now coming to the stage, adapted by the TV show's co-writer and star, John Cleese.

Starring Danny Bayne as Basil, Paul Nicholas as Major and Joanne Clifton as Polly, Fawlty Towers - The Play is at the Grand from 10-21 February.

Operation Mincemeat

Another West End and Broadway smash which started out life as a fringe musical is Operation Mincemeat.

The musical comedy concerns Britain's World War One outlandish deception operation, which disguised the 1943 Allied invasion of Sicily.

Described as Singin' in the Rain meets Strangers on a Train, Operation Mincemeat picked up the 2024 Olivier Award for Best New Musical and picked up a Tony Award in 2025. Operation Mincemeat is at the Grand from 17-21 March.

The Rocky Horror Show

Seen by over 35 million theatregoers worldwide, The Rocky Horror Show is famous for a reason. Richard O'Brien's legendary rock 'n' roll musical comes to Wolverhampton as part of a new world tour, directed by Christopher Luscombe.

It features the songs Sweet Transvestite, Dammit Janet, and the pelvic-thrusting Time Warp - as well as lot of audience participation

Rocky Horror is at the Grand from 13-18 April.

The Talented Mr Ripley

Patricia Highsmith's 1955 psychological thriller, which later became a film and a Netflix series, is adapted for the stage.

The Talented Mr Ripley stars Ed McVey as the eponymous Tom Ripley - previously played on screen by Matt Damon and Andrew Scott - a conman tasked with bringing home a wealthy stranger's son from Italy.

Seduced by the life that Dickie Greenleaf leads, fascination morphs into obsession, with consequences for Tom, Dickie, and Dickie's girlfriend, Marge, played by EastEnders and Strictly Come Dancing Star, Maisie Smith.

The Talented Mr Ripley is at the Grand from 20-25 April.

Ellen Kent's Farewell Opera Tour

Award-winning opera producer and director Ellen Kent tours three shows as part of her farewell tour, featuring Opera International Kyiv from Ukraine.

On 11 May, audiences can see La Traviata, Verdi's tale about the life of the courtesan, Violetta. Carmen, Bizet's story of passion, sexual jealousy, and death comes to Wolverhampton on 12 May.

Madama Butterfly, Puccini's tragic story of a young Japanese girl who falls in love with an American naval lieutenant, rounds out the trilogy on 13 May.

2:22 A Ghost Story

2:22 A Ghost Story became a phenomenon on the West End, with Lily Allen, Cheryl Cole and Stacey Dooley some of the stars who have trod the boards in the main role.

The supernatural thriller revolves around Jenny, who believes her new home is haunted, to the frustration of husband Sam.

2:22 A Ghost Story is at the Grand from 18-23 May.

Waitress

Now on its 10th anniversary tour, Waitress stars Carrie Hope Fletcher as Jenna, a waitress and expert pie-maker.

It features a score by Grammy award-winning Sara Bareilles, a book by acclaimed screenwriter Jessie Nelson and direction by Tony Award-winner Diane Paulus.

Waitress is at the Grand from 1-6 June.

Mean Girls

Winner of Best New Musical at the WhatsOnStage Awards and direct from the West End, this musical was adapted from the iconic film by a creative team including Tina Fey.

TV personality, actor and Steps star Faye Tozer takes on three roles, the mothers of Cady Heron and queen bee Regina George, as well as maths teacher Ms Norbury.

Mean Girls is at the Grand from 23-27 June.

Legally Blonde

Another adaptation of a smash hit film, Legally Blonde stars Strictly Come Dancing finalist and Love Island winner Amber Davies as Elle Woods.

What, like it's hard?

Legally Blonde is at the Grand from 13-17 October.

Mamma Mia

Bringing idyllic Greek settings and Swedish pop perfection to Wolverhampton, everyone knows the plot to Mamma Mia.

The smash hit is at the Grand from 27 October until 7 November.

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Young guide dogs train to sniff out theatre pitfalls

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp87vkeg841o, today

Young guide dogs have been helping test a theatre for acoustics and access issues for future theatre-loving owners.

The pups were invited to Norwich's Theatre Royal as part of their training, to experience everything from its layout and seating, to narrow spaces and sounds and lighting.

Before becoming dedicated working dogs, formal training starts at about 14 months of age and dogs are customarily trained on transport, including buses and trains.

Puppy development adviser Jay Baker said: "These dogs are the difference between someone having the confidence to leave the house, go to work and get to come and do things like the theatre."

Zoe Phillips, assistant director at the Theatre Royal, said it was "an amazing opportunity to really work on showing how accessible we are".

"We've got accessible performances of almost every show that we do, from signed and audio described, we have touch tours," she said.

"We try and make sure everyone can access theatre and we want to work with the community as much as we can to make sure that's possible."

Susie and Peter Bell, who recently moved from Shropshire to Norfolk are currently training their ninth guide dog puppy, Martie.

They said they had never taken the dogs to a theatre for training before.

"It's actually enhanced our life tremendously by doing this," Susie said.

"We brought up five children together, they have all left home... this has really cemented us together again.

"We are not stopping anytime now. We are loving it. It's such a great way to meet people and pass over the stories of guide dogs to strangers."

Peter said the staff at the theatre had been "wondrous".

"It's critical for dogs that are going to be working guide dogs to be acclimatized with all environments," he said.

"What the Theatre Royal is doing is great because it means that if and when he [Martie] becomes a working dog and comes back, then it's not something new that's going to faze him.

"It's such good fun, it's not arduous."

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Bowel disease drug trial helps teen's dance dreams

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7v0zdjved1o, yesterday

An teenage dancer who feared her dream of a career on the stage was over when she was diagnosed with bowel disease said participating in a clinical trial has drastically improved her health.

Georgia Banks, 18, from Maltby in Rotherham started dancing when she was two years old, but became ill in 2020 following a family holiday and was left so tired she had to cut back on her training.

"I was being sick, I was just going to the toilet all the time, it was not nice," she said.

After months of investigations she was eventually diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease by healthcare professionals at Sheffield Children's hospital.

Further medical investigations narrowed the symptoms down to ulcerative colitis - a long-term condition where the colon and rectum become inflamed. The symptoms include extreme tiredness and tummy pain.

"I felt really tired a lot of the time. After doing a show I'd have to spend three days in bed recovering," Banks said.

"Before that, I would dance five times a week, and we had to bring that down to twice a week."

She tried various routine therapies, including intravenous drugs, but none of the conventional therapies made a long lasting improvement.

She said she faced the prospect of trying a different medication which she would have to inject herself, or having her bowel removed and replaced with a stoma and colostomy bag.

But she was also offered the opportunity to join a clinical trial for patients with moderate to severe symptoms, which she accepted and enabled her to access a new drug treatment.

The medication is taken as a tablet, meaning she only needs to attend Sheffield Children's once a month. Within a week, Banks found her condition began to improve.

"The clinical trial I've been on just over a year, and it's definitely helped. I'm so much better, like 99% better than I was."

The improvement in Banks' condition has meant that she has been able to accept a place to study dance at Wakefield College.

She said she now feels completely normal, the way she felt before she got the condition and she is now looking to the future.

"I've always wanted to dance on the West End. I think my next steps will be about heading towards that," she said.

"There are so many amazing West End shows that I would love to be a part of. The plan is to get an agent and see what happens next, maybe performing on a cruise ship, which would be great too."

The study Banks is taking part in is one of more than 300 research studies currently under way at Sheffield Children's dedicated clinical research facility.

Dr Akshay Kapoor, Inflammatory Bowel Disease Lead at the hospital, said: "We are proud to lead research that makes a real difference to our patients.

"Every child who joins a study helps us discover better treatments, both for themselves and for others in the future."

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Artwork trail set to link new and old town

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgrplvj1g5o, yesterday

Amended plans for a public art trail linking a market town's historic centre with its new parts have been given the go-ahead.

Seven sculptures will be placed along a walking route between the older parts of Watlington and its new developments after South Oxfordshire District Council granted planning permission in November.

Five of the works in the ArtSpine Project will be large clay busts by sculptor Joseph Hillier, chosen through a national competition, while the other two will be developed by local artists.

They will be installed across five location, after two of the places in the original application - the Town Hall and the land in front of St Leonard's Church - got withdrawn.

Watlington Parish councillor Steve Bolingbroke, who leads on the project, said the new housing developments in the west of the town would increase its size "substantially", by 40%.

He said developers were required to provide funds for public art, so now the local authority has about £125,000 to spend solely for that purpose.

Bolingbroke said Hillier's busts would reflect the built architecture of Watlington, which is largely brick.

"They are about a metre-high human head busts, mounted on steel plinths."

Hillier said each of them explored a different aspect of "this unique place", from the chalk stream to the diverse habitats of the yew forests on Watlington Hill.

The artist, who is currently working on the pieces in his studio in Northumberland, said he had mostly been inspired by "the rich intertwined communities that make Watlington the warm and welcoming place I have found".

He added the sculptures were due to be installed in the summer.

Bolingbroke said one of them showed the moon shining through beechwoods, "which are characteristic of the Chilterns".

He said the pieces by the two artists would be reflecting other aspects of the town.

Bolingbroke said they had applied for "more locations than we strictly needed" and had wanted to the public reaction.

The project lead said the proposal to feature two of the sculptures in front of the the Town Hall and St Leonard's Church "did attract some some concern from local residents".

One said: "The disembodied head sculpture planned to be placed beside the church and yard is totally inappropriate for a place where worship and prayer have been conducted for several centuries".

Bolingbroke said they listened to the feedback and had withdrawn those two locations.

All the seven artworks will now be installed across Hill Road Car Park, The Paddock, Mansle Gardens, Asgard Green on the new Red Kite View development and on the Willow Close footpath on the new Hampden Meadows development.

Bolingbroke said that since The Paddock and Mansle Gardens were owned by the parish council, no planning permission was needed for them.

"Creating this kind of physical and visual link between the old and new parts of the town is a major part of us creating the new community of Watlington."

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Revival putting Manx dancing 'back on the map'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2k95jew399o, yesterday

Manx dancing has been enjoying a growing revival, with new classes attracting people of all ages.

What began as a small idea has grown into a cultural movement on the Isle of Man, reflecting a wider appetite for reconnecting with Manx traditions.

For dance teacher Gráinne Joughin, the increased interest has been both heartening and revealing, and had offered the chance to put Manx dancing "back on the map".

"People have really gotten behind it," she said, "it's a chance to have fun, meet people, and learn something new in a relaxed, safe space."

What resonated most, she added, was the sense of belonging.

"Manx dancing is completely unique - just like the language," she said.

"It's similar to Scottish or Irish in some ways, but it has its own style and story."

Manx dancing, a traditional form of folk dance unique to the Isle of Man, is rooted in Celtic heritage and often performed to Manx and Gaelic music.

It shares similarities with Scottish and Irish dance but has its own distinctive steps and style, including characteristic arm positions and footwork.

Historically taught in schools and celebrated at community events, Manx dancing reflects the island's cultural identity and is now seeing renewed interest as part of a broader revival of Manx traditions.

Long-term leader of the dance group Skeddan Jiarg – which is Manx Gaelic for red herring - which recently showcased the island's traditional dance at one of Africa's largest folk dance festivals in Morocco, Joughin recently launched a new initiative to encourage broader involvement locally.

After launching a community Manx dancing "Fun & Fitness" class in November, Joughin has expanded sessions and is exploring more island‑wide options for 2026.

But, she insists, the bigger story has not been timetables - it was the island's renewed embrace of a living tradition.

"I teach from age two up to 72," she said, "people often say 'I remember this from primary school' and that speaks volumes about its impact."

She said while many participants were revisiting childhood steps, others in their 20s and 30s were discovering Manx dance for the first time, drawn to it by accessible, community‑based sessions rather than the formality of established teams.

"It did die out quite significantly, but now I'm trying to put it back on the map in a different way - as a way for communities to come together," she added.

The upswing sits within a wider cultural moment, Joughin said: "We've seen a revival of Manx traditions over the past couple of years.

"With the Year of Manx Language, there's an extra push to make culture more mainstream and accessible," Joughin says.

Schools have also been beginning to play a part, she said.

"I've started going into schools - slowly but surely bringing it back into primary. It's been a resounding success so far; the kids are loving it," she continued.

"Dance is great for confidence, teamwork, mobility and coordination," she says, adding that she has been working with education leads to widen access despite budget pressures.

For those looking to give it a go, Joughin had some advice: "You don't have to be perfect. Just try - have a go.

"You might like it, you might not. But you'll be part of celebrating Manx culture."

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Monet's 1872 'calming' masterpiece goes on display

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czjgen7jj1mo, yesterday

A Monet masterpiece painted in 1872 has gone on display at a gallery - one of only four hosts chosen.

The Petit Bras of the Seine at Argenteuil is on display at South Shields Museum and Art Gallery, as part of a tour led by the National Gallery.

The work depicts a winter's day on the banks of the river on the outskirts of Paris and is part of an exhibition exploring themes of calm, retreat and resilience in art and nature.

South Tyneside Council leader Tracey Dixon said was an "exceptional chance for our community to encounter one of the world's most renowned artworks" after the venue was chosen out of only four in England.

The gallery said the exhibition was aimed at supporting young people experiencing emotionally-based school avoidance.

The term is used to describe when a child is anxious about or unable to attend school.

The three-year partnership with the National Gallery has provided other shows including Constable Visits Jarrow in 2023 and National Treasures: Turner in Newcastle at the Laing Art Gallery in 2024.

Dixon said it was "an honour" for South Tyneside to be part of the national tour.

"This partnership with the National Gallery and North East Museums not only celebrates the power of art, but also demonstrates how creativity can make a real difference in people's lives, particularly in supporting the wellbeing of our young people," she added.

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'Come to join our choir and sing beautiful music'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3dm5vlpnd9o, yesterday

A choral society has invited people to join members in singing "one of the most beautiful pieces" of music.

Wombourne and District Choral Society (WDCS) is holding a Come and Sing event, before a free concert at Springdale Methodist Church, Penn, Wolverhampton, on Saturday 14 March.

It said people with choir experience or who can read music will enjoy joining in with Fauré's Requiem and Cantique de Jean Racine.

"We also welcome people who have never tried singing with a choir to come and challenge themselves, to have a go with the help of our experienced members," a spokesperson said.

Registration at the church starts at noon followed by "intensive rehearsals", led by musical director Dr Edward Caine, before the informal concert at 16:45 GMT.

Participants pay £15 and are asked to invite friends and family to the free concert at the church in Warstones Road.

The WDCS said it offered "the perfect opportunity to unwind and enjoy one of the most beautiful pieces of the choral repertoire, as well as to get to know our choral society, which is open to all comers".

The society was founded in 1929 and its choir has about 90 members.

'Musically fulfilling and fun'

A spokesman for the group added it was "probably the first" such event for the choral society which wanted to host a community event and attract new members, after numbers fell as a result of the Covid pandemic.

"Covid did greatly affect how we operated for sometime and some members were hesitant to rejoin afterwards," he said.

"But, we did our best to keep the spirit of the choir intact and issued a monthly newsletter called 'In Harmony' to strengthen the bond."

The society's piano and organ accompanist Dr Jonathan Clarke will play at the event in March.

The group added: "It's a rare opportunity but it will also be musically fulfilling and lots of fun."

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Gareth Gates seeks a Beauty and the Beast co-star

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce3e4ql1wq9o, yesterday

Popstar Gareth Gates is searching for a co-star for a theatre's first pantomime of Beauty and the Beast.

The singer, who became famous on Pop Idol in 2002, is bringing his production of the classic fairy tale to Britannia Theatre in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, in December.

Co-producer Gates will play the cursed prince and said he hoped to find his leading lady at "Finding Belle" auditions, which he is hosting in April.

"I got my big break on Pop Idol so I'd like to give that opportunity back, and we'd love to find a Belle within this region," he told BBC Look East.

The panto is the first to be held at the Britannia Pier venue and a "very exciting" first as panto co-producer for Gates, a veteran of 15 pantomimes.

"It's a feel-good show for the whole family and it really brings people together at Christmas time," he added.

The star got his first taste of show business in theatre when, aged eight, he found he had "a terrible stammer but I was able to sing", and has since performed on the West End and at theatres across the UK.

He said he liked to refer to his stammer, which attracted a lot of attention on Pop Idol, to help keep the condition in the spotlight, just as Jessie, a contestant on the Traitors, has talked about hers on the show.

"One of the things I am most proud about is, after Pop Idol, so many stammerers thanked me for heightening the awareness," he said.

"When I was a kid I didn't know anybody else who had a stammer; it was very lonely place, you feel very, very isolated, longing for somebody else to be out there like you.

"Shows like Traitors can reach people and say 'it's not all bad being different'," he added.

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Condition of Shakespeare mural to be examined

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0r4qx10pjwo, yesterday

A full examination of a mural of a William Shakespeare poem believed to date from the 17th Century is to be carried out.

The hidden artwork was found in the Grade II* listed White Hart Hotel in St Albans, Hertfordshire.

The scene of the Greek legend of Venus and Adonis is thought to date from within 10 years of the poem being published in 1593.

St Albans and Hertfordshire Architectural and Archaeological Society (Arc & Arc) said that, with the approval of Historic England, four days of research must get under way to "preserve this treasure for posterity".

Arc & Arc said Shakespeare wrote his erotic version of the Greek story in 1593, and during his lifetime "it was his most popular work".

It said it was one of only two contemporary illustrations of a Shakespearean work.

The art, which is in Pots of Art, part of the 15th Century hotel building, is currently behind glass screens but is "slowly disintegrating, and this treasure will eventually be lost to our cultural heritage".

"The mural is considered by Historic England as a national treasure," the society added.

Work is set to start on 19 January and will be carried out by Dr Andrea Kirkham, a specialist conservator of wall paintings and polychrome decoration.

She aims to discover the exact condition of the mural and what action needs to be taken to ensure it can be viewed and enjoyed for many years to come.

The society said that once a full report was submitted it would work out what happens next, but it expected the cost of conservation work to run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.

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Airline pledges 'much better' inter-island service

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1kl4zkk7wxo, yesterday

Aurigny has promised "a much better and more reliable" service than has been experienced in the Channel Islands in recent years.

The airline has announced twice-daily flights between Guernsey and Jersey from March until October after it took over the inter-island route following the collapse of Blue Islands.

This follows Loganair's failure in its bid to Guernsey officials for a licence to run flights from the island to Jersey.

Aurigny's chief commercial officer Philip Saunders said "everyone at the airline recognises the significance of the trust placed in us".

The Monday to Saturday flights are scheduled to begin at 07:20 GMT from Guernsey, with the Sunday service beginning at 08:00 and the last flight every day due to leave Jersey at 17:40.

Saunders said the two daily return flights between the islands had been designed to "enable productive day return trips" and the weekend's timetables would "maximise the time leisure travellers can enjoy visiting their sister island".

"We will be dedicated each and every day to deliver a much better and more reliable service than experienced on the route in recent years," he added.

The new schedule is set to begin on 29 March and run until 24 October.

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Cause of plane crash unknown, says AAIB

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cew8kpdgk90o, yesterday

The cause of a plane crash that left a pilot with serious injuries was unable to be determined, an investigation has revealed.

On 7 September 2024, the plane's pilot made a mayday call - a distress signal - shortly after taking off from Damyns Hall Aerodrome, in Essex, due to an engine issue, before crashing into a field at a country park in Aveley.

The pilot was taken to hospital with serious injuries and does not remember the flight or days preceding it.

The engine was recovered and examined by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), which said it was unable to find evidence of an engine issue.

Prior to the incident, the pilot - flying a Jodel D120, G-AYGG - had taken off from their home airfield, Farthing Corner, Kent, travelling to Damyns Hall Aerodrome.

The flight lasted 16 minutes.

The pilot made another flight from the airfield, but the purpose of that flight was unknown.

While attempting to return to the airfield, the aircraft lost control and struck the ground in a wooded area of a field in Belhus Woods Country Park about 1km south-east from the airfield.

Flight data showed the aircraft entered a tightening left turn to the west before the data ended, suggesting it may have entered a spin before it struck the ground.

Critical decision-making

The report by the AAIB said as the engine issue became apparent "the pilot was faced with a difficult decision" on whether to land or return to the airfield.

The AAIB outlined the normal engine-failure-after-takeoff procedures advise if there is any doubt in the ability to return to the airfield then it is safer to conduct a forced landing.

It said while the cause of the engine issue was not determined, the event serves as a reminder that "decision making when engine failures occur close to the ground is critical" and pilots were reminded of the importance of maintaining speed and control throughout the flight.

"With the pilot not being able to recall the flight and with no recording devices on the aircraft able to capture what happened during the event and with no findings from the examination of the aircraft, it is not possible to determine with certainty what occurred in this accident," it concluded.

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Loganair bid for Guernsey lifeline routes denied

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgl80wl3x5yo, 2 days ago

Loganair 's bid to operate routes to Southampton and Jersey from Guernsey has been provisionally denied by Guernsey's Transport Licensing Authority (TLA).

Licences are needed to operate on routes designated as lifeline by the States of Guernsey. The airline had bid for operational licenses for two routes following the collapse of Blue Islands.

In a statement – Loganair said it would now focus on "delivering an exemplary, reliable service for islanders, starting in Jersey".

TLA President John Gollop said "both applications had been carefully considered in line with the requirements of the Air Transport Licensing Law".

He said: "In reaching this decision, the authority considered a wide array of submitted information and representations received as part of a public consultation process."

Deputy Gollop said: "As required by law, the authority gave Loganair a period of 14 days in which to respond to its proposed decision. However, Loganair has subsequently withdrawn its applications.

"The Air Transport Licensing Law and the Air Policy Statement set out the factors to be considered by the Authority when making a decision to either grant or to reject a licence application.

"On this occasion, evidence suggested strong competition on these routes would likely lead to it being unviable for all operators in the longer term."

Luke Farajallah, chief executive of Loganair, previously said it was important to have multiple operators on the route.

He said: "We'll show in Jersey what our customer first approach looks like - reliable schedules, clear communication, and care when plans change."

"If we do our job well, we hope Guernsey will soon enjoy the same standard of service."

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This lonely tree is an Instagram star - but its fate is inevitable

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czr4le80n5do, yesterday

It is one of Wales' most-loved beauty spots - but the time of the so-called Lonely Tree being an Instagram star could be slowly coming to an end.

The birch tree's striking setting at Llyn Padarn in Eryri, also known as Snowdonia, draws photographers to capture the sight through the seasons.

But the local authority Cyngor Gwynedd has raised the prospect of the tree, which was planted around 2010, disappearing within the next decade or so.

A lack of nutrients in the soil means birch trees have "a relatively short lifespan" in the area, typically living for around 30 years, but the fact that The Lonely Tree is sometimes submerged in water means its time could be even shorter.

Thousands of walkers and photographers make their way there each year and the tree has many social media sites dedicated to it, including one with 3,500 members on Facebook.

Marc Lock from Bangor, Gwynedd, said: "The Lonely Tree holds a special place in my heart and that of my family.

"Nestled down by the Lonely Tree, it's a perfect spot for us to sit, reflect and soak in the breath-taking scenery.

"We often go paddleboarding there in the summer months."

However, he said the area really became his sanctuary after his wife bought him a camera for Christmas and he took up photography.

It was the place he headed to straight away, and he returns regularly at various times of the day and throughout the seasons.

"It's my go-to spot whenever I have some free time and my camera in hand," he added.

"I can't imagine what I would do if anything devastating happened to it like that at the Sycamore Gap tree at Hadrian's Wall. It's simply unthinkable."

The Sycamore Gap was a much-loved landmark beside Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland that also drew hikers and photographers from far and wide.

It was more than 100 years old and had been the scene of many proposals, with people making the trip there from around the world.

But it was cut down by vandals in September 2023, causing uproar, with thousands of people leaving tributes and posting messages about their love for the beauty spot.

Two men were jailed for four years and three months after admitting the illegal felling.

While maybe not quite as famous as the Sycamore Gap was, The Lonely Tree is every bit as special to those that hold it dear to their heart.

Gaby Grey, from Gloucester, changed her walking route in Eryri to see the tree for the first time, describing it as "a rare winter wonderland setting".

She called it an "iconic landmark", adding: "It's sought out by hikers drawn to its famous silhouette and scenic mountainous backdrop."

What is the future of the Lonely Tree?

Cyngor Gwynedd said the tree had been present at the lake since at least 2010.

But because of a lack of nutrients in the soil at the site - known as Y Glyn - birch trees have a relatively short life span there, typically living for around 30 years.

"Due to erosion the tree on occasion is partly submerged within the lake, and this has resulted in it being an iconic shot for photographers," a spokesperson added.

"However, this also means the tree is getting less nutrients and will most probably have a shorter lifespan than other birch trees at Y Glyn."

They said there was no active intervention from wardens to protect it, and as it is at a Site of Special Scientific Interest, work to prevent further erosion is not possible.

"We encourage visitors to Y Glyn to admire the tree from afar, and hope that this hardy little tree will be here to be enjoyed for many more years," the spokesperson added.

Six whales die after mass stranding on remote NZ beach

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c24g1lgqrvpo, 3 days ago

Six whales have died on a remote beach in New Zealand's South Island following a mass stranding and volunteers are racing against time to get 15 others that are still alive back to the sea.

Some 55 pilot whales washed up on Farewell Spit on Thursday. While most managed to make their way back out to sea, 15 have restranded and are now spread along about 1km (0.6mi) of the beach.

A video from Project Jonah, a non-profit working with marine mammals, showed volunteers pouring buckets of water on the whales to keep them cool.

"When the tide comes in, we're going to have to move really quickly to bring these whales together, then move them out to deeper waters," said Louisa Hawkes from Project Jonah.

Pilot whales are highly social animals and have a natural instinct to look out for one another.

Volunteers hope to bring the 15 stranded whales together in a "nice tight group" to help them refamiliarise with one another and swim out together, Hawkes said.

They will attempt to refloat the whales this afternoon, but time is tight. "We have to do all of that before the tide turns and drops again," Hawkes said.

The group is calling for volunteers to help with the refloating.

New Zealand's conservation department has deployed rangers, a boat and a drone to Farewell Spit to monitor any further strandings.

Mass strandings regularly occur at Farewell Spit, located on the northern-most tip of the South Island.

The conservation department describes it as a "naturally occurring 'whale trap'" located along a migratory route for long-finned whales.

"Whales may be easily deceived and caught out by the gently sloping tidal flats and a rapidly falling tide," it said in a statement on Thursday.

In February 2017, more than 400 long-finned pilot whales washed up there – the largest stranding in New Zealand for more than 100 years.

Wildlife trust celebrates milestone triple anniversary

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyw4ydny95o, today

A wildlife conservation charity will celebrate three milestone anniversaries in 2026.

Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust reflects on its work to protect and enhance wildlife and wild places across the two counties over 70 years.

It also marks 50 years of the creation of Rutland Water Nature Reserve, which in 1976 had the largest man-made reservoir in Europe.

The trust further celebrates 30 years since the reintroduction of ospreys to Rutland, which had been regionally extinct since 1847.

Special anniversary events will take place across its sites and reserves throughout the year to mark the milestones.

These include wild walks led by expert reserve officers, osprey events, an open day at Cossington Meadows in Leicestershire for families and a celebration evening.

The trust, which was founded in 1956, has grown over the seven decades, and now has 37 sites, with more than 19,000 members and 700 volunteers supporting the conservation work.

One of the first reserves to come into its care in the 1960s was Charnwood Lodge, in Coalville, which is now a national nature reserve recognised for its geology and wildlife.

The establishment of Rutland Water Nature Reserve followed in 1976 - after one of the first agreements of its kind with Anglian Water - which saw a newly-constructed seven-mile reservoir and about 350 acres of surrounding land.

Five years later, the reserve was internationally recognised as part of the Site of Special Scientific Interest and later declared a Special Protection Area and Ramsar Wetland of International Importance.

Rutland Water has developed over the decades with a new visitor centre and a volunteer training centre - both opened by Sir David Attenborough.

In 2021, a 33ft (10m) long ichthyosaur fossil - one of the largest sea dragons found in the UK - was unearthed at the reserve during a routine draining of a lagoon.

The trust has had numerous successful campaigns, including launching the Rutland Osprey Project in1996, where chicks were translocated from nests in Scotland and released at Rutland Water after having been extinct in the county.

In 2001, the first osprey was born in England after more than 150 years, with a total of 300 successfully fledged to date.

The trust said volunteers have recorded six million birds over 15,000 hours, comprised of 131 species at Rutland Water as part of the Wetland Bird Survey.

Dormice have been reintroduced to Leicestershire and more than 11,000 trees have been planted at Holwell.

Several reserves have also been expanded and work has begun on an initiative to turn 130 acres (54 hectares) of nature-depleted land into a wildlife haven in Market Harborough and a new reserve in Great Bowden, which is due to open later this year.

Mat Carter, the trust's chief executive, said: "We can look back at these last seven decades of conservation work with pride.

"The victories achieved for the wildlife of Leicestershire and Rutland show what is possible in the continuing fight for nature's recovery.

"Our reserve network continues to expand and our projects in the wider countryside grow in diversity and depth.

"Rewilding Harborough is a landscape-scale endeavour, this is the level of our ambitions going forward."

Ann Tomlinson, chairwoman of the Trustee Council, added: "We all know there is still so much work needed to ensure that nature - constantly under threat - can recover and be there for generations to come.

"The work of the trust can make that vital recovery a reality."

The charity added it would continue to work towards its 2030 goals of "seeing nature restored and resilient" in Leicestershire and Rutland.

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Snow alert upgraded to Amber as more weather warnings hit Scotland

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62wj6ej504o, yesterday

A weather warning for snow and ice has been upgraded to amber on Sunday, with more severe wintry conditions due to hit parts of Scotland.

A series of Met Office yellow warnings for snow, wind and rain cover much of the rest of the country, with bitterly cold temperatures set to continue for a second weekend.

The amber warning area, which comes into effect from 03:00, extends from the North East into Tayside and Central Scotland until 14:00 on Sunday.

The Scottish government, police, local authorities and other groups met on Saturday to plan the response to the upgraded weather alert.

A further 2-5cm of snow is expected at low levels and up to 30cm on higher ground.

Transport Scotland said there would be "challenging conditions" and route closures. It warned of power cuts and a potential risk to life and property.

Where are the weather warnings?

* When? Sunday 03:00 until 14:00

* Where? Central, Tayside & Fife, Grampian, Highlands

* When? Sunday 02:00 until 15:00

* Where? Central Scotland, Tayside & Fife, Grampian, Highlands, Orkney, Lothian Borders and Southern Scotland

* When? Sunday 00:00 until 21:00

* Where? Central Scotland, Tayside & Fife, Grampian, Highlands, Western Isles, Orkney, Shetland, South West, Scotland Lothian and Borders

* When? Sunday 02:00 until 21:00

* Where? Tayside & Fife, Highlands, Western Isles, Argyll and West Dunbartonshire

The Met Office said that "heavy and persistent snowfall" could lead to further disruption on Sunday, with a "good chance that some rural communities could become cut off."

A spokesperson added: "Ice will be a more widespread hazard, especially overnight as temperatures fall widely below freezing."

Justice Secretary Angela Constance, who chaired the Scottish government's resilience meeting, said the country was "facing a complicated multi-hazard event".

She said: "Partners remain stood up and are working tirelessly across the weekend to continue supporting communities and to respond as the conditions.

"The sustained nature of this weather event, and the different elements of it, are clearly very challenging for communities and responders alike, given the difficulties already caused by the weather."

Scotland has faced over a week of disruption across the north of the country.

More than 250 schools remained closed on Friday, including more than 150 in Aberdeenshire, dozens in the Highlands and Aberdeen, and a number in Moray.

Many pupils will have had a whole week off school at the start of the new term.

Police Scotland assistant chief constable Alan Waddell encouraged people to check on neighbours and relatives "if they are able to do so safely".

He added: "We have been working closely with resilience partners across local authorities to support communities affected by adverse weather."

On Friday, Snow closed the Inverness-Wick railway line and a number of local roads remained closed.

However, the main travel routes in the north and north-east have been cleared.

Aberdeenshire Council said there was still disruption on the roads and they were focusing on clearing areas "still affected by deep snow".

A spokesperson said: "This will involve digging out and removing snow from the area because the volume that has fallen is generally greater than the space available on the streets to hold it.

The council urged people not to travel unnecessarily and asked people to upload photographs of roads across the area to the council's portal to assist with its understanding of conditions.

Schoolchildren grow habitats in wildlife project

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c701w40p4eyo, yesterday

Schoolchildren have transformed their outdoor space into a wildlife habitat.

West Cumbria Rivers Trust (WCRT) supported youngsters at Valley Primary School and Nursery in Whitehaven, where they have prepared a wildflower meadow, installed hedges and created bird boxes.

The scheme forms part of the Greener Grounds project, which works with schools to transform their playgrounds into "vibrant wildlife-friendly spaces".

Gabriella, 10, said she "couldn't wait to see what wildlife turns up, thanks to our hard work" while Olly, 11, said he had "learned how to use tools, how to look after the areas we've created and how to plant things".

WCRT said pupils, families, staff and the trust's volunteers and apprentices "all played a part" in building 20 bird boxes, a woodland path and planting 60m (196ft) of native hedgerow.

"We also have bug hotels currently being made by a craftsman and we are installing rain planters and a pond," Mia Ambrose, WCRT's learning and engagement officer, said.

The Greener Grounds project aims to engage children while creating natural spaces and reduce flooding on school grounds in west Cumbria.

Ambrose said she had worked with Valley Primary since September to plan and execute creative ideas based on "their quite wet grounds".

Year 6 teacher Ellen Brown said "the kids get so much out of it" and that they had "loved the opportunities they've been given, from working with the tools, making the plans and planting".

"They are also so excited about what they are working towards and the fact they will be leaving a lasting legacy on the school," she said.

"Their views have been taken into account and we are making outdoor areas that they are proud of."

The school's woodland, which was "completely overgrown", had also been turned into forest school space, Ambrose said.

Isaac, 11, said he "didn't realise there was so much we could do to help the animals".

He said he enjoyed building and painting bird boxes and was excited to see which birds visited them.

"It will be nice to know that we made something useful for the animals," he said.

Meanwhile, Xavier, 11, said seeing the forest school space being finished "makes me really proud, because we did that".

Gabriella said she had "learned lots" and it had been "interesting to find out that there is so much that we can actually do in school".

"I'm really hoping we will see some birds in the bird boxes before long and Mia told us that the trees we have planted will be good homes for insects and birds too," she added.

Olly, 11, said he like using the garden tools and "just loved being outside, I always feel better after we've been out and about".

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Natural flood defence scheme reaching £1m of grants

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y2xdkk8epo, yesterday

A funding scheme encouraging landowners to create natural flood management measures on their land has provided almost £1m since it started.

Calderdale Council and the Environment Agency fund the project, which has reached its sixth round of funding and has seen 60 landowners involved so far.

The local authority said the measures are inspired by natural processes and support the temporary storage of water in the landscape.

A spokesperson added: "It is a cost-effective approach which will deliver long-term protection while enriching the natural environment."

In 2015, when Storm Eva hit, the Calder Valley was among the areas worst affected, with water cascading off hills and turning roads into rivers in towns like Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd.

Landowner Stuart Bradshaw said he had introduced measures including planting 200 trees, creating contour hedgerows and building two ponds to collect stormwater.

"An attenuation pond is just an engineered depression with a drain," he said.

"It stores water temporarily and flattens the flood wave so towns below are less likely to flood."

Hedgerows help by slowing rainwater and improving soil over time, he said, while ponds can also support wildlife.

"The benefits are huge and for very small outlays," Bradshaw added.

The project aims to reduce flood risk, improve soil health and create wildlife habitats as part of Calderdale's wider flood action plan.

Applications for funding closes on 15 January, with successful applicants having 11 months to deliver their individual projects.

Councillor Scott Patient, the council's deputy leader and cabinet member for climate action and housing, said: "It's now just over 10 years since Storm Eva caused disastrous flooding on Boxing Day 2015, affecting communities across Calderdale.

"Since that time, an enormous amount of work has taken place to mitigate the impacts of flooding in the borough and help tackle the climate crisis."

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Eight people killed by Israeli air strikes, Gaza civil defence agency says

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62wx8z5jd5o, 3 days ago

At least eight people, including four children, have been killed by Israeli air strikes in Gaza in the last 24 hours, the territory's civil defence agency has said.

Four people, including three children, were killed when a drone struck a tent sheltering displaced people in southern Gaza, the agency's spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

An 11-year-old girl was killed near the Jabalia refugee camp and a strike on a school killed one person, he said, while a drone killed a man near Khan Younis and another was killed in an Israeli strike on Deir al-Balah.

Israel's military had said it is checking the reports. Both Israel and Hamas have accused each other of breaching a fragile ceasefire in Gaza.

Israeli forces have killed at least 425 Palestinians in Gaza since the latest US-brokered truce took effect on 10 October, according to Gaza's health ministry.

Earlier on Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said a projectile was launched towards Israel from the area around Gaza City but that it fell within the Gaza Strip.

The military said it then "precisely struck the launch point".

The current ceasefire in Gaza has largely halted fighting between Israeli forces and the Palestinian armed group Hamas, though both sides have alleged frequent ceasefire violations.

Since October 10, a fragile US-sponsored truce in Gaza has largely halted the fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas, but both sides have alleged frequent ceasefire violations.

It is the first phase of US President Donald Trump's 22-point peace plan for Gaza, which saw the release of the remaining living Israeli hostages captured by Hamas during its 7 October 2023 attack on southern Israel in exchange for Palestinian detainees held in Israeli jails.

But since then, the plan has stalled.

While several bodies of hostages who died have been returned, one body has yet to be returned.

Phase two of the deal would require Hamas to disarm.

Trump has said the group will have "hell to pay" if it does not do so "soon". But Hamas has so far refused to do so.

Under the second phase of the plan, a technocratic government would be established in Gaza and Israeli troops would withdraw.

The reconstruction of Gaza would then begin.

But critics have suggested Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could seek to delay the process of the plan and instead push for Hamas to disarm before Israeli troops withdraw beyond their current lines.

Netanyahu has been accused of not wanting to engage seriously with the issue of a political future for Palestinians.

Hamas officials have said a full disarmament should take place alongside progress towards an independent Palestinian state.

Children in Gaza return to school after years without formal education

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62vmn30j3yo, 4 days ago

In Gaza City, the sound of children learning can be heard once again.

The tents that now serve as classrooms are noisy and a little chaotic but lively. Some teachers point to boards covered in English letters; others invite pupils to come forward and write basic Arabic words.

It is nowhere near a normal school day. But after the Israel-Hamas ceasefire in October, it's a start.

After two years of war, the hum of lessons and chatter of classmates resonates around the ruins of what was once Lulwa Abdel Wahab al-Qatami School, in the Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood in the south-western part of Gaza City.

It was hit in January 2024, and for months afterwards, its grounds served as a shelter for displaced families. Today, it is again a place of learning - albeit in a more basic form.

Walking in a straight line, their small arms resting on each other's shoulders, pupils smile as they head into the makeshift classrooms.

For many, this is the first return to routine and education since the war began.

According to Unicef, more than 97% of schools in Gaza were damaged or destroyed during the war. The IDF has made repeated claims that Hamas uses civilian infrastructure including schools to carry out operations but has rarely provided solid evidence.

Of the Strip's 658,000 school-aged children, most have had no formal education for nearly two years. During that time, many learned first-hand how hunger, displacement and death can shape their young lives. Now, something rare is emerging: a fragile glimpse of the childhoods they once knew.

Fourteen-year-old Naeem al-Asmaar used to attend this school before it was destroyed. He lost his mother in an Israeli air strike during the war.

"It was the hardest thing I've ever been through," he says quietly.

Although he was displaced for months, Naeem's home in Gaza City survived. After the ceasefire, he returned with his family.

"I missed being in school a lot," Naeem said adding that the difference is stark.

"Before the war, school was in real classrooms,"

"Now it's tents. We only study four subjects. There isn't enough space. The education is not the same - but being here matters. School fills all my time and I really needed that."

Rital Alaa Harb, a ninth-grade student who once studied here too, wants to become a dentist.

"Displacement affected my education completely," she says. "There was no time to study. No schools. I missed my friends so much - and I miss my old school."

The makeshift school is run by Unicef and brings together children from the original Lulwa school and others displaced by the war.

It does not teach the full Palestinian curriculum - only the basics: Arabic, English, mathematics and science.

The principal, Dr Mohammed Saeed Schheiber, has worked in education for 24 years. He took over management of the site in mid-November.

"We started with determination," he said, "to compensate students for what they lost."

The school currently serves 1,100 boys and girls, operating in three shifts a day - with boys attending on alternating days from girls. There are just 24 teachers.

"Before the war," Dr Schheiber says, "our students learned in fully equipped schools - science labs, computer labs, internet access, educational resources. All of that is gone."

There is no electricity here. No internet. And many children are struggling with trauma.

More than 100 students at the school lost one or both parents, had their homes destroyed, or witnessed killings during the war. In total, Dr Schheiber says, every student has been affected - directly or indirectly.

A counsellor now runs psychological support sessions, trying to help children process what they have endured.

Despite the effort, demand far exceeds capacity.

"We have more than a thousand students here already," Dr Schheiber says. "But only six classrooms per shift. There is a large displacement camp next to the school - families from northern and eastern Gaza. Many children want to enrol. We simply cannot take them."

For parents, the return to school brings relief as well as anxiety.

Huda Bassam al-Dasouki, a mother of five displaced from southern Rimal, says education has become an overwhelming challenge.

"It's not that education doesn't exist," she says. "It's that it's extremely difficult."

Even before the war, schools struggled with shortages, she says. Now, basic supplies are unaffordable or unavailable.

"A notebook that cost one shekel ($0.31; £0.23) before the war now costs five," she says. "I have five children."

Some children, she says, have fallen four years behind, including time lost during the Covid pandemic.

"My son can't read. He can't write. He doesn't know how to copy from the board," she says.

Unicef says the situation is made worse by restrictions on aid supplies entering Gaza.

Standing outside one of the school tents, Jonathan Crickx, a Unicef spokesman, points to what is missing.

"Paper, notebooks, pens, erasers, rulers... we've been asking for a long time that these supplies can enter the Gaza Strip and they haven't been allowed in. It's the same for mental health and psychosocial recreative kits - toy kits that can be used to do mental health activities and recreational activities with the children," he says.

An Israeli security official referred us to the prime minister's office, which did not respond to the BBC's questions.

Israel says it is meeting its obligations under the ceasefire deal with Hamas and facilitating increased aid deliveries. The UN and multiple aid agencies dispute that, accusing Israel of continuing to restrict access to essential supplies.

Despite the ceasefire, Israel's bombardment of Gaza continues - with almost daily strikes - in response to what it says are Hamas violations of the deal. Still, the children keep coming.

For Kholoud Habib, a teacher at the school, that determination is telling.

"Education is our foundation," she says. "As Palestinians, it is our capital.

"We lose homes. We lose money. We lose everything," she adds. "But knowledge - knowledge is the one investment we can still give our children."

Israel to bar 37 aid groups as UK and EU warn of severe impact in Gaza

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1evp7weyv2o, 11 days ago

Israel is to revoke the licences of 37 international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) working in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, saying they failed to meet requirements under new registration rules.

ActionAid, International Rescue Committee, Médecins Sans Frontières and Norwegian Refugee Council are among the aid agencies which will have their licences suspended on 1 January, with their operations to end within 60 days.

Israel said they had, among other things, failed to hand over "complete" personal details of their staff. The INGOs said that could put them at risk.

The move was condemned by 10 countries, which said the rules would have a severe impact on access to essential services.

In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of the UK, France, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland said INGOs were integral to the humanitarian response in Gaza and that any attempt to stem their ability to operate was "unacceptable".

"Without them, it will be impossible to meet all urgent needs at the scale required," they warned.

The European Union's humanitarian chief, Hadja Lahbib, said: "Israel's plans to block INGOs in Gaza means blocking life-saving aid."

International humanitarian law "leaves no room for doubt: aid must reach those in need," she added.

UN human rights chief Volker Türk called the INGO suspensions "outrageous" and "arbitrary", and said they made "an already intolerable situation even worse for the people of Gaza".

The Humanitarian Country Team of the Occupied Palestinian Territory - a forum that brings together UN agencies and more than 200 local and international NGOs - urged the Israeli authorities to reconsider the registration decisions.

It has said INGOs run or support most of Gaza's field hospitals and primary healthcare centres, emergency shelter responses, water and sanitation services, nutrition stabilisation centres for children with acute malnutrition, and critical mine action activities.

* Denying the existence of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state

* Denying the Holocaust or the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023

* Supporting an armed struggle against Israel by an enemy state or terrorist organisation

* Promoting "delegitimisation campaigns" against Israel

* Calling for a boycott of Israel or committing to participate in one

* Supporting the prosecution of Israeli security forces in foreign or international courts

Trump hopes to reach phase two of Gaza ceasefire 'very quickly'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdj8jmxyzneo, 13 days ago

Donald Trump said he hoped to reach phase two of the Gaza peace plan "very quickly", as he warned Hamas would have "hell to pay" if it did not disarm soon.

The US president, whose 20-point peace plan requires the militant group to disarm, made the comments as he met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida for talks on Monday.

During a press conference with Netanyahu after their meeting, Trump said Israel had "lived up to the plan 100%", despite continuing attacks by its military in Gaza.

The US president also said his country could support another major strike on Iran were it to resume rebuilding its ballistic missile or nuclear weapons programmes.

In response to Trump's threat, Iran's supreme leader's top political adviser, Ali Shamkhani, said on X that any aggression towards Iran would be met with an "immediate harsh response".

Asked how quickly Hamas and Israel should move to phase two of the peace plan, Trump said: "As quickly as we can. But there has to be disarmament."

Speaking about Hamas, he said: "If they don't disarm as, as they agreed to do, they agreed to it, and then there will be hell to pay for them.

"They have to disarm in a fairly short period of time".

Trump also said reconstruction in Gaza could "begin pretty soon".

The Gaza peace plan came into effect in October. Under the second phase, a technocratic government would be established in the devastated territory, Hamas would disarm and Israeli troops would withdraw. The reconstruction of Gaza would then begin.

But critics have suggested Netanyahu could seek to delay the process of the plan and instead push for Hamas to disarm before Israeli troops withdraw.

The Israeli prime minister has been accused of not wanting to engage seriously with the issue of a political future for Palestinians.

Hamas officials have said a full disarmament should take place alongside progress towards an independent Palestinian state.

Asked if he was concerned Israel was not moving fast enough to phase two of the plan, Trump said it had "lived up to the plan".

"I'm not concerned about anything that Israel's doing, I'm concerned about what other people are doing or maybe aren't doing," he added.

Since the ceasefire came into effect, at least 414 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

The Israeli military, which controls more than half of Gaza, has said it has only opened fire in response to ceasefire violations. It has blamed Hamas for the killings of three Israeli soldiers over the same period.

During the press briefing, Trump also warned that the US would launch further attacks on Iran if it was found to be using different sites to develop nuclear weapons.

In June, Trump claimed US air and missile strikes "obliterated" Iran's nuclear facilities. Iran has denied seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

"I hope they're not trying to build up again, because if they are we're going to have no choice but to eradicate that build up," he said.

Trump said he "had been reading" that the country was using "possibly different sites" to those targeted in summer.

Iran, which fought a 12-day war with Israel in June, on Monday denounced the reports as a "psychological operation" against Tehran.

It said it was fully prepared to defend itself, and warned renewed aggression would "result in harsher consequences" for Israel.

Trump and Netanyahu's talks also focused on other regional tension points, including Syria and the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon.

Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel was keen to ensure a peaceful border with Syria, and Trump said he hoped Israel would get along with President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who took power after longtime strongman Bashar al-Assad was deposed last year.

Israel has been suspicious of the new leader, who was once a member of al-Qaeda, and bombed government buildings in Damascus in July.

"Well, I hope he's [Netanyahu] going to get along with Syria because the new president of Syria is working very hard to do a good job," Trump said.

"He really is. I know he's a tough cookie. And, you know, you're not going to get a choir boy to lead Syria."

Trump signed an executive order in June to end US sanctions against Syria.

BBC reaches agreement with Israeli family for filming in home after 7 October without consent

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1ev7ly35neo, 9 days ago

The BBC has reached an agreement with an Israeli family who survived the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks, after a team of journalists entered their badly-damaged home without permission.

A BBC News crew, including International Editor Jeremy Bowen, entered the home of an Israeli family on the Gaza border and filmed inside the property in the days after the deadly attacks.

They filmed personal photographs of the family's children at a time when many of their friends and relatives still didn't know whether they had survived, the Jewish News reported.

A BBC spokesperson said that while they did not generally comment on specific legal issues they were pleased to have reached an agreement in the case.

Tzeela Horenstein said gunmen threw a grenade at her husband Simon during Hamas' attack on the village of Netiv HaAsara early in the morning of 7 October.

The couple and their two young children only survived because their home's door twisted and jammed when the attackers tried to blow it out with explosives, she told the Jewish News, who first reported the story.

She said: "Not only did terrorists break into our home and try to murder us, but then the BBC crew entered again, this time with a camera as a weapon, without permission or consent.

"It was another intrusion into our lives. We felt that everything that was still under our control had been taken from us."

The Jewish News reported that the corporation paid a financial settlement of £28,000 to the family.

The war in Gaza was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

More than 71,260 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

What growing up in war does to a child's brain - and how it really affects them years later

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cre3pdxde7vo, 13 days ago

Content warning: this article includes details about the impact of conflict on children in war zones and descriptions of injuries that some readers may find distressing.

The first thing was that Abdelrahman's dad was killed. The family home was struck by an Israeli air strike. The boy's mum, Asma al-Nashash, 29, remembers that "they brought him out in pieces".

Then on 16 July 2024 an air strike hit the school in Nuseirat, central Gaza. Eleven-year-old Abdelrahman was seriously wounded. Doctors had to amputate his leg.

His mental state began to deteriorate. "He started pulling his hair and hitting himself hard," Asma recalls. "He became like someone who has depression, seeing his friends playing and running around… and he's sitting alone."

When I meet Abdelrahman at a hospital in Jordan in May 2025, he is withdrawn and wary. Dozens of children have been evacuated to the Kingdom from Gaza for medical treatment.

"We will return to Gaza," he tells me. "We will die there."

Abdelrahman is one of thousands of traumatised children I've met in my nearly four decades of reporting on conflicts. Certain faces are embedded in my memory.

Some as though I had only met them yesterday. They reflect the depth of terror inflicted on children in our time.

The first was on a hilltop in Eritrea in the mid-1980s. Adonai Mikael was a child victim of an Ethiopian napalm strike, crying in agony as the wind blew dust on to his wounds. The cries, the expression of pure agony in his eyes sent me fleeing from the tent where he was being treated.

In Belfast a few years later, I remember a boy following the coffin of his father, blown up by the IRA. Never before had I seen such a distance in anyone's eyes.

In Sierra Leone during the civil war, there was the girl whose hands were hacked off by a drunken militiaman; from Soweto there is the image of a child helping her mother mop the blood of a murder victim on their doorstep; and in Rwanda the boy who broke down when I asked him why the other children called him "Grenade" – a moment of insensitivity I will always regret.

He had been wounded by an explosion that killed his parents.

Figures underscore the sheer scale of the crisis. In 2024, 520 million children were living in conflict zones - one in every five children worldwide - according to an analysis by the Peace Research Institute Oslo, which pieced together conflict records with population data to arrive at the estimate.

Prof Theresa Betancourt, author of Shadows into Light, a book about former child soldiers, calls this "the largest humanitarian disaster since World War Two".

She warns trauma has an impact that lasts long into the future. "[It can affect] the developing architecture of the brain in young children, with lifelong consequences for learning, behaviour, and both physical and mental health."

But given how much time has been spent researching the impact of war on children's minds, what can help?

This is a question that has never been more relevant following this period of multiple global conflicts that have affected millions of children: from those Sudanese children who, in October, saw their mothers and sisters raped by militiamen in el-Fasher, Darfur; the youngsters abducted from Israel by Hamas on 7 October, 2023, many having witnessed the slaughter of family and neighbours; the children of Bucha in Ukraine whose parents were among the people massacred by Russian troops in February 2022; and the hundreds of thousands of children like Abdelrahman who have endured more than two years of war in Gaza.

I should declare a personal interest. I suffered from post traumatic stress disorder – PTSD both as a child in a broken home, and later as an adult, witnessing war and genocide. Though different from experiencing war as a child, I know the symptoms all too well: the extreme anxiety, hypervigilance – being constantly on guard against threats - flashbacks, nightmares, and depression. The symptoms were severe enough to require several hospitalisations.

Personal experience has made me intensely curious about how children respond and are treated.

"The evidence is quite solid across different studies that the exposure to war and displacement is associated with a higher risk of mental health problems," says Michael Pluess, a professor of psychology at the University of Surrey.

He has carried out long-term research into the children of Syrian war refugees, and cautions against making assumptions. "It's important to recognise that children differ in how they respond."

A variety of factors can influence the outcome. How long was the child exposed to the traumatic events? Were they physically wounded? Did they lose an important person in their life, or see them killed or injured? Did they have physical security and emotional support in the aftermath?

In a sample of 2,976 children from Bosnia-Herzegovina - all of whom had been exposed to war and were aged between nine and 14 - high levels of post-traumatic symptoms and grief symptoms were reported.

But there is the potential for long-term health damage – heart disease, autoimmune problems - linked to "toxic stress", where the body is flooded with hormones like cortisol and catecholamines, which produce adrenaline.

There is also a developing field of research into epigenetics, which asks whether the experience of trauma by one generation can show up in later generations through changes in the way our genes behave.

Are we more susceptible to, say, poor mental health, addictions or other health problems if our families have a history of trauma - and how much has this to do with genetics versus our family setups and everyday lives?

The family drip-feed effect

Epigenetics is a tentative and debated area of scientific research with much still to be learned.

"I think there is some evidence that there is a sort of intergenerational transmission of trauma," says Prof Pluess. "Some of that or much of that will happen through social practice rather than biological practice, but there's some evidence to suggest that there are some epigenetic factors as well."

Prof Metin Başoğlu, director of the Istanbul Centre for Behavioural Sciences, is sceptical. However, he says it is possible that certain temperament traits (for example, predispositions that are transmitted genetically across generations) might make some people more vulnerable to traumatic events.

During research for a book on my own PTSD, I remember a conversation with one of Britain's most eminent experts in the field, Prof Simon Wessely, former president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

I wondered whether my own family history – great-grandparents born during the Irish famine, a grandmother who was traumatised by her war experiences in the 1920s – could have made me more genetically predisposed to PTSD?

"There is simply no way of knowing, without studying a representative sample group from the same area, with ancestors born in the same place and subjected to the same conditions," he told me. "I can't do it on one person…

"What I think is much easier to understand - and, I think, is also the most powerful - is the influence of our background. And it's absolutely impossible for you to have grown up in the household that you did, with the interests that you have, for that not to have the same effect on you."

There is broader consensus that trauma is a family crisis. It isn't only a question of what a child witnesses or survives – there is also the impact on adults.

"Not only do children in war zones face the death of caregivers and traumatic separations," says Prof Betancourt, "but caregivers experiencing their own trauma and distress may not be fully available to help protect and guide their children through the horrors of war."

Prof Pluess's research among Syrian refugees supports this. Among the 80% of children found to be vulnerable to more than one psychological disorder, family circumstances were critical.

Around 1,600 families took part in a study, published in 2022, of Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Prof Pluess says that children's living conditions (such as access to safe housing, food, and schooling) were found to be "about 10 times more predictive of their mental health".

Children who adapted more healthily may have "had a social environment that was very protective, maybe the parents were able to shield them, maybe they had close friendships, relationships, maybe they have access to school, all those external things that sort of buffer the negative impact of war exposure."

The roots of this knowledge in Britain go back to WW2 and the experience of children who lived through the Blitz – the eight months of German air attacks between September 1940 and May 1941.

Prof Edgar Jones, of King's College London, points to a study of 212 children treated at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children during the war. When researchers went back to the children in 1949 – four years after the conflict ended – they found only 21% had recovered. The role of parents – both positive and negative – emerged as an important finding.

"The severity of a child's reaction to bombing was judged to be influenced by their parents' response to the trauma either to accentuate or calm their anxiety," says Prof Jones.

Overcoming fear and establishing control

In my own experience, therapy and medication helped, but also the ongoing support of family and friends. Without the power of caring relationships I don't believe I could have emerged from the darkness.

I was also encouraged to confront my avoidance of anything that might remind me of the trauma. For example, I went through a long period of avoiding travel to the continent of Africa, fearing that simply being there would trigger reminders of the Rwandan genocide. But my therapist gradually encouraged me to face the fear. It took several years but I did return, and continue to visit places there that are dear to my heart.

Prof Başoğlu pioneered the use of what is called CFBT – Control Focused Behavioural Treatment - among survivors of the 1999 Turkish earthquake, which killed about 18,000 people.

The idea is to encourage the individual to take control of their fear of the event recurring. In the case of children who were constantly clinging to their parents, this was attempted by encouraging them to get used to sleeping alone.

"Once they overcome their fear, all the traumatic stress reactions that are associated with fear also improve," Prof Başoğlu says.

Israeli psychologists working with children released from Hamas captivity after the 7 October attacks also stress the importance of re-establishing a sense of control.

In a paper for the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health journal, a team of Israeli specialists wrote that this was achieved "by providing survivors with information and space to express their concerns while ensuring that their needs and voices are heard".

But successful interventions depend greatly on creating a stable environment where the fear of being killed or maimed is not an ever-present reality.

"What they also need is that their parents are well, that they live in a safe place, that they have access to education, that they have a routine, that they have some predictability," says Prof Pluess.

This is rarely certain in areas ravaged by war. Ceasefires break down. Front lines become frozen. The displaced are stuck in camps.

'We were dehumanised'

Still, those words about a safe place bring to mind my friend Beata and the difference stability made to her life.

She was 15 years old when the Rwandan genocide – the worst mass slaughter since the Nazi Holocaust – erupted in 1994. Up to 800,000 people, mostly members of the Tutsi minority, were massacred over a period of 100 days.

As a reporter I travelled on the convoy that evacuated dozens of orphaned children - Beata Umubyeyi Mairesse among them - through roadblocks manned by the murderous Interahamwe militia. It was a terrifying experience, but especially for the children whose families had been killed.

From roadblock to roadblock, we did not know if the machete-wielding gangs would attack.

Years later when she was researching her experiences (later published in a book, The Convoy), Beata got in touch. I remember being struck by her composure and openness. She is married with two children, lives in France and is now a successful writer.

"The first thing that helped me was exile to France, leaving the scene of the genocide. I found myself safe, in a peaceful place, with shelter, a foster family who took care of all my material needs, and the opportunity to see a psychologist. I went back to school in September, and that helped me too."

Beata was joined by her mother who also survived. Her father had died before the slaughter.

Composed as she was, there were lingering terrors. She panicked one night when classical music was played on the radio – similar to music played on Rwandan radio the night the genocide began. Fireworks or the sound of hunters shooting sent her hiding under a desk in class "because I thought war had broken out in France".

I wondered if she makes a conscious effort to protect her children from the traumatic inheritance of genocide.

"There are things that are difficult to tell your children, how we were dehumanised, how I was almost raped. The term 'unspeakable' makes sense when passing on stories to children. We are afraid of contaminating them with our trauma."

But for Beata, nuance is vital. "Their only image of Rwanda should not be the genocide. I told them stories from my childhood and every time I went there I brought them back fruit so that they could also discover a country full of flavour."

Although she lives a full and happy life, Beata still suffers from anxiety and takes anti-depressants to deal with insomnia. I also use medication, and like Beata I do not see it as a burden or a stigma.

Rather I count myself fortunate to be able to access care and medicine.

Creating a safe community is also seen as critical by many experts.

"They're not just victims of mental health," says Prof Pluess. "They're little people with interests and that's why they need to go to school, they need to have opportunities to play together - and that might be as important as dealing with the mental health problems that they're facing."

Psychologists working in Gaza are well aware of these needs. Davide Musardo, who volunteered with Medecins Sans Frontieres, has written of trying to provide therapy against the background of drones and explosions.

"In Gaza, one survives but the exposure to trauma is constant. Everything is missing, even the idea of a future. For people, the greatest anguish is not of today — the bombs, the fighting, and the mourning — but of the aftermath. There is little confidence about peace and reconstruction, and the children I saw in the hospital showed clear signs of regression."

It is possible, in devastated Gaza, that the current ceasefire will become a permanent peace, allowing rebuilding, and the restoration of family life and schooling. Possible but by no means certain. In Sudan there are attempts to re-start talks about peace but little optimism for their outcome. The war in Ukraine, and many other wars grind on every day.

Trauma is as old as war itself. Politicians, journalists, and experts looking to the aftermath of a conflict often ask, "What will happen when the killing stops?" But somewhere else the killing will continue. That is the relentless tragedy of children caught in wars they did not start, over which they have no control. For all the knowledge gained about treating trauma, humanity is far from dealing with its root cause – war itself.

Additional reporting by Harriet Whitehead

Top picture credit: EPA/Shutterstock

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Trump meets Netanyahu in Florida as focus turns to Middle East issues

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwypyq9dvggo, 13 days ago

US President Donald Trump turned his focus to the Middle East on Monday, as he hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida for talks that are expected to cover Gaza and a range of other pressing issues.

Any decisions made could have a potentially momentous impact on questions that determine the future of the region.

The US has been Israel's strongest military and political backer throughout two years of war in Gaza and many are now looking to the meeting as a test of the leaders' relationship and how aligned they are on key topics.

Netanyahu arrived on Monday afternoon at Trump's resort, Mar-a-Lago. It marks their sixth meeting since Trump's return to office 11 months ago.

Among the expected points of discussion is the future of relations with Syria's new government, Iranian rearmament, and Hezbollah's role in Lebanon.

Perhaps most critically, they will discuss progress of the Gaza ceasefire deal, where Israel's government has taken several positions diverging from those of the US government.

The talks will take place as storms continue to lash Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians remain living in basic tents that offer little protection from the cold and flooding.

On Monday, the death of a two-month-old baby due to the severe cold was reported by the Hamas-run health ministry, bringing the total killed by the wintry weather since 10 December to three, while another 17 people have been killed by damaged buildings collapsing in the storms.

The UN and numerous aid agencies have accused Israel of not meeting its ceasefire obligations by continuing to restrict full access to basic supplies and equipment. Israel has said it is meeting its obligations in facilitating an increase in aid deliveries.

The Trump administration wants to see the ceasefire progress to its second phase in January, whereby a Palestinian technocratic government would be established alongside the deployment of an international security force, Hamas would disarm, Israeli troops would withdraw, and the reconstruction of the devastated territory would begin.

Critics have suggested that Netanyahu may instead seek to delay the progress of the ceasefire, saying he does not want to engage seriously with questions of a political future for Palestinians and will instead push for Hamas to fully disarm before Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza. Hamas officials have repeatedly said that its full disarmament should take place alongside progress towards an independent Palestinian state.

The 20-point peace plan promoted by Trump and signed by both Israel and Hamas recognises Palestinian aspirations to a sovereign state, however Netanyahu and his ministers have consistently rejected Palestinian statehood since the ceasefire came into effect in October.

Last week, Defence Minister Israel Katz said his country would build settlements in Gaza and would "never fully withdraw" from the territory even if Hamas disarms, despite this being a key tenet of the ceasefire deal.

Breaking out of the current impasse is seen as crucial by many in the region as near-daily deadly attacks by the Israeli military continue to take place in Gaza despite the declared ceasefire.

In the 80 days since it came into effect, at least 414 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military in the territory, according to its health ministry.

The Israeli military, which controls more than half of Gaza, has said it has only opened fire in response to ceasefire violations.

Three Israeli soldiers have been killed in attacks that the military has blamed on Hamas over the same period.

Israel also continues to wait for Hamas to return the body of Ran Gvili, the last remaining dead hostage in Gaza. All living and deceased hostages taken during the Hamas-led 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel, which sparked the war, should have been returned three days after the ceasefire came into effect.

Trump's intervention and US mediation could be brought upon the fraught and unresolved sticking points, pushing Netanyahu to take a softer line on certain positions.

For instance, the Israeli government has opposed Turkey taking part in the International Stabilisation Force to be deployed in Gaza. However, few other countries have been willing to take part.

Netanyahu is also expected to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is seen as supportive of the positions of the Israeli government.

Last week, Israeli media reported that there may be an attempt by the prime minister to rediscuss Israel annexing the occupied West Bank - something President Trump has spoken against.

Israeli ministers have recently described their expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank as a de facto annexation of the territory aimed at burying the possibility of an independent Palestinian state.

Both the settlements and annexation are illegal under international law.

It is also expected that Netanyahu may use his meeting with Trump on Monday to seek US permission for further military strikes on Iran.

The Israeli government is said to believe Iran is rearming its missile capabilities after their 12-day war this summer, which saw Iran's nuclear facilities bombed by both Israeli and US fighter jets.

The Iranian president said this weekend that his country was in "all-out war" with Israel, the US and Europe. "They don't want our country to remain stable," Masoud Pezeshkian said.

Russia hits Ukraine with rarely used Oreshnik missile in fresh strikes

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgqe9kv9xxvo, 3 days ago

Russia has used the Oreshnik ballistic missile as part of a massive overnight strike on Ukraine.

Four people were killed and 25 others injured in Kyiv on Thursday night, where loud booms could be heard for several hours, setting the sky alight with explosions.

It is only the second time that Moscow has used the Oreshnik, which was first deployed to hit the central city of Dnipro in November 2024.

Russia's defence ministry said the strike was a response to a Ukrainian drone attack targeting Vladimir Putin's residence in late December, which Kyiv denies carrying out.

While the ministry did not specify what had been the Oreshnik's target, shortly before midnight (22:00 GMT) videos began circulating on social media showing numerous explosions on the outskirts of the western city of Lviv.

President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukrainian authorities confirmed that a ballistic missile had struck infrastructure in Lviv, about 60km (40 miles) from the Polish border.

The Oreshnik is an intermediate-range, hypersonic ballistic missile, meaning it can potentially reach up to 5,500km (3,417 miles). It is thought to have a warhead that deliberately fragments during its final descent into several, independently targeted inert projectiles, causing distinctive repeated explosions moments apart.

"Such a strike close to EU and Nato border is a grave threat to the security on the European continent and a test for the transatlantic community," Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said.

The strike was launched "in response to [Putin's] own hallucinations," he added, referring to the alleged drone attack on the president's residence in December.

The EU had immediately cast serious doubt on whether the drone strike ever happened, and last week Donald Trump said he did not think any such attack had taken place.

On Friday EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Russia's Oreshnik strike was meant as a warning to Europe and the US.

"Putin doesn't want peace, Russia's reply to diplomacy is more missiles and destruction. This deadly pattern of recurring major Russian strikes will repeat itself until we help Ukraine break it," she wrote on X.

Zelensky said in addition to the Oreshnik, 13 ballistic missiles targeted energy facilities and civilian infrastructure overnight, along with 22 cruise missiles and 242 drones.

One damaged a building at the Qatari embassy, he added.

He accused the attacks of aiming "against the normal life of ordinary people" during a cold spell and added everything possible was being done to restore heating and electricity.

As Lviv and other western regions were targeted on Thursday night, more than a dozen missiles and hundreds of drones were deployed during the attack on Kyiv.

A paramedic was among those killed while arriving at a damaged apartment in Kyiv. The capital's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, and Zelensky said it had been a "double-tap" hit - in which the first strike is followed by a second, killing rescuers who have arrived to help the injured.

Two apartment buildings along the east bank of the Dnipro River and a high-rise building in the city's central district were also targeted.

The morning after, as the clean-up got underway, the businesses that hadn't been damaged were open.

A coffee shop just a few floors down from a destroyed apartment was serving customers. Wreckage from a Russian drone, including its wings and engine, were still scattered over the pavement outside.

At another site, the round, charred entry hole of a missile was visible on the 11th floor of an apartment block in a quiet residential area.

The power supply was disrupted in several of the city's neighbourhoods in the middle of a particularly harsh winter and as Kyiv braces for -15C (5F) temperatures this weekend.

On Friday Klitschko urged Kyiv residents to leave temporarily if they were able to, and find warmth.

"Half of Kyiv's apartment buildings - nearly 6,000 - are currently without heat due to damage to the capital's critical infrastructure caused by a massive enemy attack," he wrote on social media.

Kyiv's streets now relentless hum with the buzz of the diesel generators that businesses rely on for power, but many residential buildings are reliant on central heating and restoring it can be a longer task.

The targeting of power plants has become a constant feature of this war, with Ukraine increasingly responding in kind to Russia's sustained attacks on energy infrastructure that regularly leave millions without access to electricity or heating.

On Thursday night, as Moscow's attack on Ukraine was ongoing, half a million people in the Russian region of Belgorod were left without power following Ukrainian shelling of infrastructure, the local governor said.

Authorities also said that a Ukrainian strike on a Russian power plant in the city of Oryol, further north, affected the water and heating systems.

Romance and parenthood feel remote in Ukraine: 'I haven't had a date since before the war'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9qp4wyzvlzo, 2 days ago

Sitting in a wine bar in Kyiv on a Saturday night, Daria, 34, opens a dating app, scrolls, then puts her phone away.

After spending more than a decade in committed relationships she's been single for a long time. "I haven't had a proper date since before the war," she says.

Four years of war have forced Ukrainians to rethink nearly every aspect of daily life. Increasingly that includes decisions about relationships and parenthood – and these choices are, in turn, shaping the future of a country in which both marriage and birth rates are falling.

Millions of Ukrainian women who left at the start of the 2022 full-scale invasion have now built lives and relationships abroad. Hundreds of thousands of men are absent too, either deployed in the army or living outside the country.

For those women who stayed, the prospect of meeting somebody to start a family feels increasingly remote.

Khrystyna, 28, says it's noticeable that there are fewer men around. She lives in the western city of Lviv and has been trying to meet a partner through dating apps without much luck.

"Many, I would say most [men] are afraid to go out now, in this situation," she says, raising her eyebrows. She is referring to the men of fighting age who spend most of their time indoors to avoid the conscription squads roaming the streets of Ukraine's cities.

As for soldiers, "many are traumatised now because most of them – if they have returned – were in places where they experienced a lot", she says.

Daria feels much the same. "I only see three options here," she says, listing the types of men she believes are available to women like her.

First are those trying to avoid conscription. Someone who can't leave the house is probably "not a person you want to build a relationship with", Daria says.

Then there are soldiers, forced into long-distance relationships with sporadic visits from the front line. With them, Daria warns, "you build a connection, then he leaves".

The remaining option, she adds, are men under the conscription age of 25. But those aged 22 and under can still leave the country freely, and Daria says they could take off at any moment.

None of these appeal to her.

Closer to the front line, many men on active duty are also shelving the idea of starting a relationship. Uncertainty, they say, makes long-term commitments feel irresponsible.

Ruslan, a soldier serving in the Kharkiv region, knows the promises he can make are limited. Beyond visits once or twice a year, flower deliveries and the odd phone call, he asks, "what can I actually offer a girl right now?"

"Promising a wife or a fiancée any long-term plans is difficult," says Denys, a 31-year-old drone operator, in a voice message sent from his position in the east of the country. "Every day there is a risk of being killed or injured, and then all plans will, so to speak, go nowhere."

The consequences of this disruption threaten to ripple far into Ukraine's future.

In many ways, they already have. Since the start of the invasion, the number of marriages has decreased sharply from 223,000 in 2022 to 150,000 in 2024.

Ukraine has also seen deaths increase, enormous emigration – more than six million people have left the country since 2022, according to an UN estimate – and a stark decline in birth rates.

These all lead to a dramatic drop in population, which in turn shrinks the workforce and slows economic growth.

Oleksandr Hladun, a demographer at Ukraine's National Academy of Sciences, describes these trends as the "social catastrophe of war".

And this follows Ukraine's population declining between 1992 and 2022, from 52 million to 41 million, due to a high mortality rate, migration and a decline in birth rates.

Birth rates have dropped even lower during the conflict. In 2022, numbers were partly sustained by pregnancies from 2021, Hladun told Ukrainian media earlier this year. In 2023, some couples had children in the hope the war would end.

But in 2024, when it became clear peace was not imminent, the birth rate fell sharply. It now stands at 0.9 children per woman, a record low, and far below the 2.1 children needed to maintain the population (for comparison, the total fertility rate in the EU is 1.38).

While a decline in births is to be expected during war, Hladun says, it is generally followed by a peacetime compensatory increase thanks to those who postponed having children. But this effect is limited, usually lasting up to five years – too short a time to have a significant effect on Ukraine's bleak long-term prospects.

"The longer a war lasts, the smaller this compensatory effect becomes," Hladun adds, because couples who put off having children during the conflict no longer get the chance to do so. "And for us it has already been four years, which is quite a long period."

According to the National Academy of Sciences, the effects of the war will last well beyond the end of hostilities – which, in any case, is not in sight. The result, it says, could be a population of 25.2 million people by 2051, less than half what it was in 1992.

Even committed couples suffer from the uncertainty of war.

Olena, 33, has come to a fertility clinic on the outskirts of Lviv for a check-up. She is a policewoman and military instructor who is currently freezing her eggs, as health issues have made it difficult for her and her husband to conceive.

At some point, Olena says, they will try IVF – though only while "taking into account my work and the situation in the country".

Olena remembers life before the war as beautiful and "full of hope". But her dreams of starting a family were put on hold by the start of the invasion in 2022.

"During the first year of the war, it felt as if everything had stopped," she says. "Everything we were striving for – building a home, planning children – nothing mattered anymore."

Those fears haven't disappeared, even in Lviv, which like other parts of western Ukraine has, comparatively, been spared the worst of Russia's attacks. But for Olena, the question of having children now carries a sense of duty. "I am doing this both for myself, and for my family, and for Ukraine," she says. Soldiers on the front line, she believes, also die for the sake of unborn Ukrainian children.

On the other side of the desk, Olena's gynaecologist and clinic director Dr Liubov Mykhailyshyn listens.

She is proud to help "strong, nice women" like Olena, she says. But her big concern is the way the war is affecting the fertility of young Ukrainians.

She worries about years of chronic stress and sleepless nights – as well as the additional physical and psychological trauma for those on the front line. All of these, she says, can cause fertility problems, which could have an impact on birth rates in the years to come.

"We are waiting for it," Mykhailyshyn says of the demographic crisis ahead. Olena nods.

Recently, the Ukrainian government developed strategies aimed at tackling the problem, including affordable childcare and housing. These policies, however, rely on local authorities rather than centralised funding – meaning projects often don't take off, according to Hladun.

And as long as would-be mothers and children remain exposed to the dangers of war, state-level efforts might not find much success, he concedes.

Ukraine now has 17 million fewer people than when it gained independence after the fall of the Soviet Union. Only a return of a substantial proportion of the 6.5 million Ukrainians who live abroad could boost figures quickly.

Yet even when the fighting stops, it is unclear how many will come back.

People will be more willing to return if Ukraine is able to regain most of the territory seized by Russia since 2014, Hladun suggests. But anything short of that could leave Ukrainians feeling vulnerable as it would be considered a temporary ceasefire rather than a complete end of hostilities.

Despite insistence from Moscow that it does not wish to take over the whole of Ukraine, many Ukrainians are convinced that Russia poses an existential risk to their country – and one that will outlast Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In this context, Ukraine's population decline should be seen as a security threat, says Hladun. "Russia is simply demographically much larger," he argues. "And in this sense, it has more resources for war."

The longer the war continues, the more the uncertainty will dent the country's prospects for long-term recovery.

"Planning a future feels fragile, almost naive," Daria says. "This uncertainty is painful, but it becomes a part of everyday life.

"I've come to accept that I might stay alone not because I want to, but because war reshapes what feels possible," she adds.

"Learning to live with that is, in itself, a form of survival."

Additional reporting by Liubov Sholudko.

Missile attack on Kharkiv kills two including child, authorities say

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2lnk3486xo, 9 days ago

Two people including a three-year-old child have been killed and around 28 others injured in a Russian strike on Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials have said.

A multi-storey residential apartment block was almost completely destroyed in the dual missile attack on Friday afternoon, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called "heinous".

Russia's Defence Ministry denied reports of an attack, suggesting the blast had been caused by Ukrainian ammunition detonating.

The strike comes ahead of crunch talks on a US-brokered peace plan in Kyiv on Saturday.

Zelensky says around 15 countries are expected to attend the talks, along with representatives from the EU and Nato, with a US delegation joining the meeting via video link.

Leaders of the so-called coalition of the willing are then set to meet in France on 6 January.

Officials in Kharkiv said the bodies of a woman and a three-year-old child were found in the rubble, with preliminary information suggesting the pair may have been a mother and son.

"Unfortunately, this is how the Russians treat life and people – they continue killing, despite all efforts by the world, and especially by the United States, in the diplomatic process," Zelensky wrote on X.

Of the 28 injured, which included a six-month-old baby, 16 have been taken to hospital.

A search and rescue operation is ongoing, with more than 80 volunteers working at the scene, according to regional governor Oleh Syniehubov.

The Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement on Telegram that its armed forces "neither planned nor launched attacks using missile weapons or aircraft weapons within the city of Kharkiv".

It added that footage from before the attack showed "heavy smoke of unknown origin", which it cited as evidence of ammunition detonated by Ukrainian armed forces.

The ministry also alleged that the reports were seeking to distract attention from a New Year's Eve strike on a hotel in a Russian-held part of the southern Kherson region of Ukraine.

Russia has accused Ukraine of killing at least 27 people and injuring more than 30 others in the drone strike on a New Year's party in the village of Khorly on the Black Sea.

The BBC has not been able to independently verify either these claims or the number of casualties.

Ukraine told the BBC it would not directly respond to sources of information such as claims from governors of occupied regions.

It added that it adhered to the norms of international humanitarian law and conducted strikes exclusively against military targets.

Russia's Investigative Committee said it had opened an investigation into the attack, while the Russian foreign ministry accused Zelensky of "seeking to intimidate the populations of the reunited Russian regions, who have forever linked their fates with Russia through referendums".

Russia accuses Ukraine of killing 27 people in New Year attack in occupied Kherson region

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cew81lpqvzeo, 10 days ago

Russia has accused Ukraine of killing at least 27 people in a drone strike on a New Year's party in a hotel and cafe in the Russian-occupied southern Kherson region.

According to the Russia-installed regional governor, Vladimir Saldo, more than 30 people were injured in the alleged attack, which he said happened in the village of Khorly on the Black Sea.

Asked by the BBC for comment, Ukraine said it would not directly respond to sources of information such as claims from governors of occupied regions.

But it did say it adheres to the norms of international humanitarian law and conducts strikes exclusively against military targets.

AFP news agency quoted a source in Ukraine's defence forces as confirming that, while a strike did take place, the attack had targeted a military gathering that was closed to civilians.

According to Saldo, the alleged attack was carried out with three UAVs [Unmanned Aerial Vehicles] which "struck a cafe and hotel on the Black Sea coast in Khorly".

The BBC has not been able to independently verify either these claims or the number of casualties.

Saldo said that he had personally informed President Vladimir Putin of the attack.

The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said it was aware of the alleged attack and added it would "verify the reported civilian harm and report on its findings in future reports".

Photographs published by Russian state media showed a badly damaged room with a collapsed roof. One picture appeared to show a body covered in a sheet.

The Russian-installed authorities in Kherson did not specify where the attack took place, but the damaged building seen in the photos appears to be a three-storey hotel and restaurant formerly known as "Ukrainian House", and now called "Buganova's Cafe".

Images from the cafe's website show several features similar to those seen in the pictures published on Russian state media.

Russia's Investigative Committee said it had opened an investigation into the attack, while the Russian foreign affairs ministry accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of "seeking to intimidate the populations of the reunited Russian regions, who have forever linked their fates with Russia through referendums".

Moscow occupies more than half of the southern Kherson region, which it "annexed" through a referendum in 2022. The poll was denounced as a sham by Ukraine's government and its allies.

The alleged attack comes as diplomatic efforts to end the war continue, with Zelensky saying in his New Year address that an agreement with Russia, brokered by the US, was "90% ready".

Earlier this week, Russia accused Ukraine of launching a drone attack on one of Putin's residences, which Ukraine strenuously denied.

On Friday, Ukraine's foreign intelligence service released a statement accusing Russia of preparing large-scale "provocations" with human casualties, as part of a continuing operation to derail peace talks.

One million spent hours without heat and water after Russian strikes, Ukraine says

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgk8jv4r8nmo, 3 days ago

More than one million people in south-eastern Ukraine spent hours without heating and water supplies as a result of Russian air strikes, officials have said.

The attacks damaged infrastructure across the south-eastern Dnipropetrovsk region - as well as in neighbouring Zaporizhzhia.

Russia has recently intensified attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, aimed at paralysing power supplies during a harsh winter.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky accused it of "mockery" and pleaded for Western support. He later said there were fears of "a new massive Russian strike" as Moscow was trying to take advantage of the weather, with heavy snow and frost expected across Ukraine.

Hospitals, water facilities and other critical services in Dnipropetrovsk had to operate on backup systems, the energy ministry said, while residents were urged to limit electricity use to avoid further strain on the grid.

DTEK, Ukraine's biggest private energy provider, is living in permanent crisis mode because of Russian attacks on the grid, its chief executive told the BBC last month, with most of Ukraine suffering from lengthy power cuts during winter.

Maxim Timchenko, CEO of DTEK, which provides power for 5.6 million Ukrainians, said the intensity of strikes had been so frequent "we just don't have time to recover".

As the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion approaches, Timchenko said Russia had repeatedly targeted DTEK's energy grid with "waves of drones, cruise and ballistic missiles" and his company had found it difficult to cope.

"There is no military sense in such strikes on the energy sector, on infrastructure," Zelensky said on Thursday.

He urged Ukrainians to remain "resilient" against Russia's attempts "to break Ukraine" and added that peace talks aimed at ending the war should not be a reason to slow down Western supplies for Ukraine's air defences.

Zelensky has been on a diplomatic tour this week - meeting allies in the "Coalition of the Willing" and US President Donald Trump's peace envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

Following those talks in Paris on Tuesday, the UK and France signed a declaration of intent on deploying troops in Ukraine if a peace deal is reached - a move Moscow warned would make foreign forces a "legitimate target".

But a day later, Zelensky said European allies had not given him sound guarantees that they would protect his country in the event of new Russian aggression.

However, he also said he believed Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine could be brought to an end in the first half of 2026.

Speaking at the opening of Cyprus's presidency of the EU for the next six months, he said negotiations with European partners and the US had entered a new stage and stressed that the EU should play a central role in any settlement.

President Donald Trump has been leading efforts to bring the war to an end. His proposals - amended by Ukraine and its European allies - envisage Ukrainian territorial concessions to Russia in areas it does not already control in the country's east.

Negotiations centre on those points - the last 10% of the deal, according to Zelensky. So far, Ukraine has refused to agree to cede territory to Russia.

Once agreed, those proposals would need Russia's approval.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown no sign of backing down for his demands to annex the entire territory of the industrial eastern region of Donbas.

His troops have been making slow progress in the past few months.

Zelensky says he does not have clear security pledge from allies

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgm4yeexmg2o, 5 days ago

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says European allies have not given him sound guarantees that they will protect his country in the case of a new Russian aggression.

"I am asking this very question to all our partners and I have not received a clear, unambiguous answer yet," he told reporters on Wednesday.

His comments come a day after the UK and France signed a declaration of intent on deploying troops in Ukraine if a peace deal to end the war with Russia is agreed.

But full security guarantees have not been agreed. The US, which has been leading efforts to end the invasion, reportedly did not sign such a pledge at talks in Paris on Tuesday.

After the Paris talks, which included some 30 countries that form the so-called Coalition of the Willing, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the UK and France would "establish military hubs across Ukraine" to deter future invasion, while French President Emmanuel Macron later said thousands of troops may be deployed.

Allies proposed that the US would take the lead in monitoring a truce. But the key issue of territorial concessions that Ukraine is being asked to grant to Russia as part of the peace proposals are still being discussed.

Moscow has not yet commented on the announcement made in the French capital.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.

Sir Keir described the joint statement as "a vital part of our commitment to stand with Ukraine for the long-term".

He added: "It paves the way for the legal framework under which British, French and partner forces could operate on Ukrainian soil, securing Ukraine's skies and seas, and regenerating Ukraine's armed forces for the future."

Zelensky hailed that agreement as a "huge step forward".

A day later, however, he appeared less optimistic.

"I see the will, the political will, and that the partners are ready, and the partners are ready to give us strong sanctions, strong security guarantees," he said when asked if European countries would defend Ukraine.

"But as long as we don't have such security guarantees - legally binding, supported by parliaments, supported by the United States Congress - this question cannot be answered. And even if they do, you still have to rely primarily on your own strength."

The Paris talks were also notable owing to the presence of US President Donald Trump's peace envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

Witkoff said the allies "largely finished" their work on agreeing security protocols.

Last week, Zelensky said a peace deal was "90% ready".

Territorial concessions and security guarantees have been at the forefront of unresolved issues for negotiators.

Putin has repeatedly warned that Ukrainian troops must withdraw from all of Ukraine's eastern Donbas or Russia will seize it, rejecting any compromise over how to end the war.

Zelensky has so far ruled out ceding any territory, but has suggested that Ukraine could withdraw its troops to an agreed point - but only if Russia did the same.

Moscow currently controls about 75% of the Donetsk region, and some 99% of the neighbouring Luhansk. The two regions form the industrial Donbas region.

It has been intensifying attacks against Ukrainian cities - particularly targeting energy infrastructure. Russia has also made slow progress in capturing more Ukrainian territory.

Ukraine has hit back at Russian targets with drones, albeit with more limited success.

Zelensky replaces Ukraine's powerful security service chief

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpv7myg2nw4o, 6 days ago

President Volodymyr Zelensky has reshuffled the leadership of Ukraine's Security Service (SBU), replacing influential Vasyl Malyuk and nominating Maj-Gen Yevhenii Khmara as acting head.

The SBU is primarily concerned with internal security and counter-intelligence and, since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, it has also played a prominent role in assassinations and sabotage attacks deep inside Russia.

Malyuk, who had run the SBU since 2022, gained a reputation for overseeing successful operations against Russia and for purging the SBU from alleged Russian double agents.

The reshuffles are the latest in a long series made by Zelensky since the start of the war.

Malyuk's name is known across Ukraine. After all, last June he co-ordinated the daring "Spider Web" attack, which saw more than 100 Ukrainian drones strike air bases deep inside Russian territory. Khmara, his replacement, was also involved in the preparation of that operation.

So it did not come as a surprise that Malyuk's dismissal earlier this week was widely criticised within Ukraine, including by several high-profile military commanders. The impression that the decision made by President Zelensky was short-sighted was cemented by reports that Malyuk had initially refused to step down voluntarily.

Although he has been dismissed from the position of SBU chief, he has been asked to continue leading special operations against Russia. Ukraine needed more "asymmetric operations against Russian forces", Zelensky said, adding that Malyuk was "best at this".

Khmara's appointment has gone some way in quelling fears about the SBU's future effectiveness. But former SBU operative Ivan Stupak argues his reputation - though solid - is limited to a certain sphere and that it is unclear whether he will be able to translate his experience to running the wider SBU.

Stupak also believes that Malyuk's dismissal is connected with the appointment of former spy chief Kyrylo Budanov as Zelensky's new chief of staff.

"Malyuk and Budanov are at loggerheads," he told the BBC, implying that Budanov had heavily influenced Zelensky's decision and that Khmara would now be "in the hands" of Budanov.

Other analysts disagree. Oleksandr Notevskyi, political analyst for Ukrainian media outlet Grunt, praised Khmara's appointment, pointing out his successes in heading Alpha, one of the top elite divisions of the SBU: "He's young, he's experienced, he is one of the authors of the Spider Web operation."

In a statement, the SBU described Khmara as a decorated and "experienced special-purpose officer" who was involved in liberating the Kyiv region in 2022 and fighting the Russians in the occupied region of Donetsk.

Khmara's appointment will need to be confirmed by the Ukrainian parliament, which may yet reject it. Other options are on the table, Notevskyi said.

After nearly four years of war, Ukraine is struggling to push back Russian forces in the conventional way - on the battlefield and along the long front line in the east of the country. It has had more success targeting oil fields, weapons factories and - as in the case of the Spider Web attack - air bases and valuable aircraft.

At this particular juncture of the war with Moscow, Notevskyi argued, "whoever leads the security service should be someone who is specialised in eliminating Russia's military capacities on the territory of Russia".

Last week, Zelensky announced significant changes to his top team. Mykhailo Fedorov was nominated as new defence minister, while foreign intelligence chief Oleh Ivashchenko replaced Budanov.

Many of Zelensky's reshuffles have been criticised by commentators as damaging to the country at a time of crisis.

Using a football analogy, Stupak argued that Zelensky was like a manager going to the substitute bench for replacements. "But his bench is quite short, and he's running out of people to use again and again," he said.

Additional reporting by Volodymyr Lozhko and Anastasiia Levchenko

The 'thorny' issues that threaten to derail a Russia-Ukraine peace deal

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c78v5dj3x39o, 12 days ago

Russia, the US and Ukraine agree that a deal on ending almost four years of full-scale war is edging closer but, in the words of President Donald Trump, "one or two very thorny, very tough issues" remain.

Two of the trickiest issues in Washington's 20-point plan involve territory and the fate of Europe's biggest nuclear plant, which is currently occupied by Russia.

The Kremlin agrees with Trump that negotiations are "at a final stage", and Zelensky's next step is to meet European leaders in France on 6 January, but any one of the sticking points could jeopardise a deal.

Fate of Ukraine's industrial heartland coveted by Putin

Vladimir Putin has not budged from his maximalist demand for the whole of Ukraine's industrial Donbas, although Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky has offered a compromise.

Russian forces occupy most of the Luhansk region in the east but little more than 75% of Donetsk, and Putin wants it all, including the remaining "fortress belt" cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.

"We can't just withdraw, it's out of our law," says Zelensky. "It's not only the law. People live there, 300,000 people... We can't lose those people."

He has proposed Ukrainian forces pull back from the area to create a demilitarised or free economic zone policed by Ukraine, if the Russians pull back the same distance too. The current line of contact would then be policed by international forces.

It is difficult to imagine Putin agreeing to any of that, and Russia's generals have told him they are capturing Ukrainian territory fast.

"If the authorities in Kyiv don't want to settle this business peacefully, we'll resolve all the problems before us by military means," Putin has claimed.

Both sides are widely seen as suffering from exhaustion, and analysts from the Institute for the Study of War have estimated it would take Russian forces until August 2027 to conquer the rest of Donetsk if they are able to maintain their current rate of advance - which is not a given.

Zelensky's compromise would also require Russian troops to leave other areas of Ukrainian territory where they maintain a limited presence, including Kharkiv and Sumy region in the north, Dnipropetrovsk in the east and Myokolaiv in the south.

Without movement on Donetsk, the chance of a peace deal looks unrealistic, but a Russian compromise may not be out of the question.

Kremlin envoy Yuri Ushakov said recently "it's entirely possible that there won't be any troops [in Donbas], either Russian or Ukrainian", although he was adamant the territory would be part of the Russian Federation.

Ukraine's huge nuclear power plant in Russian hands

Ever since March 2022, Russia has occupied Europe's biggest nuclear plant at Enerhodar, on the banks of the Dnipro river. But the six nuclear reactors of the Zaporizhzhia plant are not producing electricity - they have all been in cold shutdown mode for more than three years - and external power supplied by Ukraine is keeping the plant going to prevent a meltdown.

To get it going again it needs substantial investment, partly to rebuild the destroyed Kakhovka hydro-electric dam that was used to provide cooling water for the plant.

Ukraine believes the area should also become demilitarised and turned into a free economic zone.

The US proposal, according to Zelensky, is for the US to manage the plant as a joint enterprise with Russia and Ukraine. Kyiv has said that is unrealistic and instead the US and Ukraine could jointly manage it 50-50, with the US deciding where half of the power goes - by implication to Russia.

Ukraine's problem is that Russia will not let it go and the head of Russia's Rosatom nuclear agency Alexei Likachev has stressed that only one entity - Russia - can run it and ensure its safety.

He has held out the possibility that Ukraine could use electricity generated by the plant in the context of international co-operation.

Compromise on this issue may not be insurmountable, but it would require a level of trust between two neighbouring states when none exists.

Lack of mutual trust despite positive rhetoric

It is hard to imagine significant progress on the biggest sticking points when there is so little trust.

When Trump suggested this week that Putin "wants to see Ukraine succeed… including supplying energy… at very low prices", Zelensky clearly did not believe a word of it - he does not consider Putin as serious about peace.

"I don't trust Russians and... I don't trust Putin, and he doesn't want success for Ukraine," the Ukrainian leader said.

Russia has also shown little faith in Kyiv - accusing Ukrainian forces of targeting drones at a Putin residence in the Novgorod region, although it gave no evidence of the attack.

Ukraine denies it even happened and believes it is a Russian pretext for further Russian strikes on government buildings in Kyiv.

Other sticking points that could derail deal

Kyiv has asked the US and European leaders for security guarantees to ensure a Nato-style response in the event of a further Russian attack. Ukraine is also seeking to maintain an 800,000-strong military.

Although the US and Europe might sign up to a deal on security, Russia will not accept European troops on the ground in Ukraine.

Financial losses for Ukraine have been estimated at $800bn (£600bn), so another key issue is how much will Russia contribute to that. The US talks of a joint investment fund with Europe, and Russia has €210bn (£183bn) worth of assets in Europe that could also be used, even though Moscow has so far refused to allow it.

Russia also rejects Ukraine's bid to join Nato. That may not be too much of a sticking point as there is no likelihood yet of that happening, but it is part of Ukraine's constitution, so finding agreement will be difficult.

Membership of the European Union is also a potential sticking point, perhaps less so for Russia than for countries that are ahead of Ukraine in the queue to join the EU. Few believe it will happen very soon.

Could Ukrainians hold a vote on a deal?

The Ukrainian leader has cited opinion polls that suggest 87% of Ukrainians want peace, while at the same time 85% reject withdrawing from Donbas.

So he believes no decision on either the fate of Donetsk or the broader 20-point plan can be made without a popular vote and a 60-day ceasefire to prepare it: "A referendum is the way to accept it or not accept it."

This too is a potential sticking point as the Kremlin argues a temporary ceasefire would only prolong the conflict and lead to renewed hostilities - and Trump has said he understands Putin's position.

But without such a vote Zelensky believes a deal would have no validity which just adds to the list of thorny issues to be resolved.

Russia's losses in Ukraine rise faster than ever as US pushes for peace deal

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62n922dnw7o, 13 days ago

Over the past 10 months, Russian losses in the war with Ukraine have been growing faster than any time since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, BBC analysis suggests.

As peace efforts intensified in 2025 under pressure from US President Donald Trump's administration, 40% more obituaries of soldiers were published in Russian sources compared with the previous year.

Overall, the BBC has confirmed the names of almost 160,000 people killed fighting on Russia's side in Ukraine.

BBC News Russian has been counting Russian war losses together with independent outlet Mediazona and a group of volunteers since February 2022. We keep a list of named individuals whose deaths we were able to confirm using official reports, newspapers, social media, and new memorials and graves.

The real death toll is believed to be much higher, and military experts we have consulted believe our analysis of cemeteries, war memorials and obituaries might represent 45-65% of the total.

That would put the number of Russian deaths at between 243,000 and 352,000.

The number of obituaries for any given period is a preliminary estimate of the confirmed losses, as some need additional verification and will eventually be discarded. But it can indicate how the intensity of fighting is changing over time.

2025 starts with a relatively low number of published obituaries in January, compared with the previous months. Then the number rises in February, when Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin talked directly for the first time about ending the war in Ukraine.

The next peak in August coincides with the two presidents meeting each other in Alaska, a diplomatic coup for Putin that was widely seen as an end to his international isolation.

In October, when a planned second Russia-US summit was eventually shelved, and then in November, when the US presented a 28-point peace proposal, an average of 322 obituaries were published per day - twice the average in 2024.

It is difficult to put increased Russian losses down to any one factor, but the Kremlin sees territorial gains as a way of influencing negotiations with the US in its favour: Putin aide Yuri Ushakov stressed recently that "recent successes" had had a positive impact.

Murat Mukashev was among those who gambled on a quick peace deal, and it cost him his life.

Mukashev was an activist who had never supported Putin's policies.

Over the years, he had taken part in demonstrations against police violence and torture, and joined rallies for LGBT rights and the release of Alexei Navalny, the Kremlin's main opponent who died in prison in 2024.

He had repeatedly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine on social media from 2022. Then, in early 2024, Mukashev was detained near his home in Moscow and charged with large-scale drug dealing.

While his case was being tried he was offered a contract with the defence ministry, according to his friends and family.

They saw the heavy charges levelled against him as a typical ploy to get people to sign up. A 2024 law allows the accused a way out of a criminal conviction if they join up - an attractive option in a country with an acquittal rate of less than 1%.

Mukashev refused the offer, and the court sentenced him to 10 years in a high-security penal colony.

In prison in November 2024, he changed his mind. Friends said he was encouraged by Trump's promises to end the war quickly and decided he needed to sign up as soon as possible to secure his release before a peace deal was reached.

"He saw this as a chance to be released instead of being imprisoned for 10 years of strict regime," reads a statement from his support group.

There was no explanation of how he reconciled taking part in the war with his reluctance to kill.

On June 11 2025, Mukashev died fighting as part of an assault squad in the Kharkiv region of north-eastern Ukraine.

Like him, the majority of Russians killed at the front in 2025 had nothing to do with the military at the start of the full-scale war, BBC figures show.

But since the bloody battle for the city of Avdiivka in October 2023, there has been a steady increase in casualties among so-called "volunteers" - those who have voluntarily signed a contract since the start of the invasion.

They now appear to form the majority of Russia's new recruits, as opposed to professional soldiers who joined the army before the invasion or those mobilised for military service afterwards.

A year ago 15% of Russian military deaths were volunteers, but in 2025 it was one in three.

Local governments, under pressure to maintain a constant flow of new recruits, advertise hefty pay-outs, meet people who have large debts and campaign in universities and colleges.

This means that the Kremlin has been able to compensate for heavy losses at the front while avoiding the politically risky move of a large-scale mandatory mobilisation.

By October, 336,000 people had signed up for the military this year, according to National Security Council deputy chief Dmitry Medvedev - well over 30,000 a month.

Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte has since said that 25,000 Russian soldiers are being killed every month. If both are right, Russia is still recruiting more soldiers than it is losing.

Based on obituaries and relatives' accounts, most of those who signed up to fight did so voluntarily; but there are reports of pressure and coercion, especially on regular conscripts and those charged with criminal offences.

Some recruits mistakenly believe that after they have signed up for a year they can return to their old life with money in their pockets.

A new recruit can earn up to 10m roubles (£95,000; $128,000) in a year. In reality all contracts signed with the defence ministry since September 2022 are automatically renewed until the war is over.

According to Nato, the total number of Russian dead and wounded in the war is 1.1 million, and one official has estimated there have been 250,000 fatalities.

This is in line with the BBC's calculations, although our list does not include those killed serving in the militia of two occupied regions in eastern Ukraine, which we estimate to be between 21,000 and 23,500 fighters.

Ukraine has also sustained heavy losses.

Last February, President Volodymyr Zelensky put the number of battlefield deaths at 46,000 and 380,000 others wounded.

Tens of thousands more were either missing in action or held captive, he added.

Based on other estimates and cross-referencing data, we believe the number of Ukrainians killed by now is as high as 140,000.

Swinney would send Scots troops to Ukraine if peace agreed

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0lx1nynl59o, 3 days ago

First Minister John Swinney says he would be willing to send troops from an independent Scotland to Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping force.

The SNP leader said he would deploy troops in the event of an "acceptable peace" with Russia.

Speaking to the Political Thinking with Nick Robinson podcast, Swinney also raised concerns about the US commitment to Nato.

And he warned that a long period of peace in western Europe could be under threat.

The first minister said: "If there's a peace agreement that is acceptable to the people of Ukraine, that they find is in their interests, and part of that involves the deployment of troops from this country in that situation to be part of assuring that peace, then I would support that."

Swinney spoke to the podcast following a dramatic week in which the US Coast Guard seized a Russian-flagged tanker in the North Atlantic.

The Marinera, a ship accused of being part of Vladimir Putin's "shadow fleet", was intercepted by the US Coast Guard a few hundred miles off the Scottish coast.

That came after US special forces captured Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and took him to custody in New York.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has refused to rule out using military force to acquire the Danish territory of Greenland.

Denmark says an attack on its territory would end the Nato military alliance.

Swinney said Russian aggression must be repelled and the independence of Ukraine protected.

He told the podcast: "But I also worry about the language that's been emanating about Greenland and the implications for Denmark and the implication for what that all means for the sustainability of Nato, which I recognise to be an alliance that is of enormous strategic significance."

'Jeopardy for future generations'

Swinney said he shared "anxiety" about the threat of global conflict.

He noted that for most of his life, he "had a certainty that my parents' generation didn't have".

Swinney's uncle, Cpl Tom Hunter, was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross after dying at Lake Comacchio in Italy months before the end of World War Two.

"So the idea of loss in conflict in turbulent international times is not some remote concept to me," he told the podcast.

"All of that is really meaningful for me about the fact that we should cherish what we have experienced since the Second World War - of that period of peace and stability and order - but it does feel much weaker today."

The first minister said that era ended with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which brought the threat of conflict "a lot closer to home".

"Literally within days of the invasion, we began to feel the effects in our own community," he said.

He added: "So I worry that the precious inheritance that came to our generation from the suffering of the Second World War, is now in jeopardy for future generations."

You can listen to the full Political Thinking interview with John Swinney on BBC Sounds.

MPs would vote on using troops in Ukraine, Starmer says

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgln3lgl3jo, 4 days ago

Sir Keir Starmer has pledged that MPs would get a vote on the deployment of British soldiers to police any agreement to end the conflict in Ukraine.

The prime minister said the move would be consistent with "recent practice" on approving military action in Parliament.

It comes after the UK and France reiterated their commitment to deploy troops to deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again if a deal to end the conflict is struck.

Sir Keir has not specified how many British troops could be committed, telling MPs it would be "in accordance with our military plans".

During Prime Minister's Questions, Sir Keir told MPs that in the event of a peace agreement, British personnel would conduct "deterrence operations" and protect new military "hubs" allies are planning in Ukraine.

The prime minister did not specify whether a vote would take place before troops are sent, but his press secretary later told reporters that Parliament would have a say ahead of any "long-term deployment" of UK forces.

However, the press secretary would not comment on whether the Commons vote would tie the government's hands should MPs reject the government's proposals.

Parliament does not have a legal role in approving military action, which is formally authorised by the prime minister on behalf of the monarch.

In recent decades a convention has developed that MPs should have the chance to debate deployments, although the principle has been applied inconsistently.

In 2013, MPs voted against possible UK military action against Syria to deter the use of chemical weapons, with David Cameron becoming the first British leader to lose a vote on military action since the late 18th Century.

They were also given a say on action against the Islamic State group (IS) in Iraq in 2014, and in Syria the following year.

However, Theresa May took action in Syria in 2018 without consulting MPs, whilst more recently Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir have authorised RAF air strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen without doing so.

Paris statement

On Tuesday, the UK and France signed a "declaration of intent" on deploying troops in Ukraine in the air, on land and at sea after a summit in Paris.

The statement added that Ukraine would authorise the UK, France and other allies to use "necessary means, including the use of force" within its territory.

Allies also proposed that the US would take the lead in monitoring a truce.

However, full security guarantees have not been agreed and the US, which has been leading efforts to end the war, reportedly did not sign such a pledge at the talks.

Chairman of the Commons Defence Committee, Tan Dhesi, welcomed the announcement but warned "it intensifies the very real challenges our armed forces are already facing".

"It also runs the risk of overstretching our armed forces and so calls into question the UK's ability to sustain pre-existing commitments to our allies," the Labour MP added.

During a Commons debate both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats also welcomed the announcement but said it highlighted the need for an increase in defence spending.

However, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said "under the current terms, with the current strength of the British Army" he would vote against the deployment of British soldiers to Ukraine.

"We neither have the manpower nor the equipment to go into an operation that clearly has no ending timeline," he told Times Radio.

Farage said he might consider supporting the move if more countries were involved but he added: "As it is, it will be us and the French completely exposed for an unlimited period of time."

It comes after nine months of planning talks by a group of countries, dubbed the Coalition of the Willing, over security guarantees to be offered to Ukraine in the event of a deal, alongside separate talks over ending the war itself.

Sir Keir said a deal to end the war "will not happen" without such guarantees in place, "backed by the United States".

Moscow has repeatedly warned that any foreign troops in Ukraine would be a "legitimate target".

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.

Second lorry of care home aid reaches Ukraine

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c80151zy7mgo, 5 days ago

A second lorry loaded full of donated items from a closed down care home has reached a hospital in Ukraine.

Milton Keynes-based Help Ukraine BAMK UK Community Interest Company (CIC), got involved to help transport the furniture and bedding from a 100-bed home in Hyde, Greater Manchester.

An earlier delivery of motorised hospital beds, mobility aids, bedding, towels and even a piano made it to the country in November.

Nataliya Lawson, from the CIC, said there were so many items left behind that after "a generous donation" and volunteer support it was able to buy a large vehicle to get the goods to the country.

She said the large lorry full of goods included furniture, bedding, towels and mobility aids, was collected from the former Hyde car home, run by Cygnet Health.

She said volunteers Richard and Debbie Pritchard and Liz and Marek Rudzinski , drove the 157 miles (253km) from Milton Keynes to Hyde to meet the driver and help load up the vehicle.

"I cannot ignore mentioning James Baird, a British farmer from Littlehampton who got involved into aid work and took it to the next level," she said.

He arranged the logistics and with the donation was able to organise the purchase of the lorry that transported the goods, which would now stay in the country.

Lawson said the items, which arrived on 2 January, would be used by a small hospital in Zolochiv, west Ukraine, in its newly opened palliative care department.

"Even though the furniture delivered as part of this aid load is second hand, it has been hugely appreciated by the hospital staff and will definitely benefit patients," she added.

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Chris Mason: UK grapples with new era of US unpredictability

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpqyleye482o, 5 days ago

The UK and its European neighbours confront two case studies, simultaneously, in how the continent is attempting, with varying degrees of success, to bind the United States into its future.

Firstly, there is Ukraine and then there is Greenland.

And all this at a time of deep scepticism in Washington about Europe: its importance, its outlook and its willingness to pull its weight to defend itself.

The futures of Ukraine and Greenland, both in the headlines at the same time, are the latest example of the mesmerising, head-spinning unpredictability of President Trump.

Privately, senior figures in London have a knowing look when the wild uncertainty of the White House crops up in conversation.

Every day is a rollercoaster, with little sense of where tomorrow or next week's twist might take them, take us.

This week's developments are particularly hard to read because outwardly they point in different directions.

Seven European leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer, issued a joint public statement emphasising, albeit in diplomatic language, their shared view that Washington's designs on Greenland are as absurd as they are counterproductive.

We are on the same side, is the thrust of their message, and this is a waste of your energy because Greenland's future is for Greenlanders to decide.

But they know too they should take President Trump seriously.

And then there is Ukraine. European diplomats believe they have persuaded America to commit to being a significant part of securing a long term peace in Ukraine – something Europe has long regarded as a prerequisite to a sustainable settlement for Kyiv, but which Washington has long resisted.

Now, sources tell me, they are cautiously optimistic they have the White House on board: the presence of President Trump's envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, in Paris, at the gathering of what is known as the Coalition of the Willing was unprecedented and seen as a key indicator of a shift from Washington.

The accompanying document alongside the talks, while lacking in detail, spells out the anticipated role of America, and crucially, the UK and others.

The first component of what is described as "robust security guarantees for a solid and lasting peace in Ukraine" is a "US led ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanism".

I am told this would make use of America's advanced capabilities in what is described in military circles as "ISR" – intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. This means drones and satellites among other things. In other words: the advanced tools of modern warfare.

Precisely what America's involvement could amount to, particularly if Ukraine was targeted by Russia again, isn't clear but Ukraine and European capitals do see this latest development as a significant step forward.

Of course, a huge caveat remains: can peace be secured in the first place and would Ukraine be willing to give up on any of its territory? These are two massive and not yet answered questions.

Then, for the UK and others, there is the prospect of troops on the ground in Ukraine. That is a profound commitment, provoking its own big, unanswered questions: how many and for how long? Can this maintain popular support? And with what consequences for the military and for defence budgets?

Make no mistake this is a promise with implicit longevity attached: beyond this prime minister, beyond this government, beyond this American president.

That is what the reality of European security is expected to look like in the years, decades ahead.

"A secure Ukraine is a secure Europe and a secure Europe is a secure UK," is how one Whitehall figure put it to me.

Expect that to be a key part of the message in the months to come.

Into the longer term, the UK and its neighbours will ponder how reliable or otherwise America will be: is the Trumpian era a blip or a waymarker towards an ongoing, unpredictable future?

Oh, and what will the White House be saying on Greenland and Ukraine next week, next month, next year?

UK and France to send troops to Ukraine if peace deal agreed

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c17zee20qpzo, 5 days ago

The UK and France have signed a declaration of intent on deploying troops in Ukraine if a peace deal is made with Russia, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced.

After talks with Ukraine's allies in Paris, he said the UK and France would "establish military hubs across Ukraine" to deter future invasion, while French President Emmanuel Macron later said thousands of troops may be deployed.

Allies also largely agreed robust security guarantees for Ukraine and proposed that the US would take the lead in monitoring a truce. But the key issue of territory is still being discussed.

Russia has repeatedly warned that any foreign troops in Ukraine would be a "legitimate target".

Moscow has not yet commented on the announcements made in the French capital.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.

Heads of state and top officials from the "Coalition of the Willing" took part in Tuesday's talks in Paris.

Speaking at a joint press conference after the meeting, Starmer said: "We signed a declaration of intent on the deployment of forces to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal.

"This is a vital part of our commitment to stand with Ukraine for the long-term.

"It paves the way for the legal framework under which British, French, and partner forces could operate on Ukrainian soil, securing Ukraine's skies and seas, and regenerating Ukraine's armed forces for the future."

The UK prime minister added London would participate in any US-led verification of a potential ceasefire.

Top US negotiator Steve Witkoff said "durable security guarantees and robust prosperity commitments are essential to a lasting peace" in Ukraine - referring to a key demand made by Kyiv.

Witkoff said the allies "largely finished" their work on agreeing security protocols "so that people of Ukraine know that when this [war] ends, it ends forever".

Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump's special envoy and son-in-law, said that after a deal Ukrainians needed to know that "real backstops" were in place to ensure war would "not happen again".

Meanwhile, President Macron said Ukraine's allies had made "considerable progress" at the talks.

He said "robust" security guarantees for Kyiv had been agreed in the event of a potential ceasefire.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a "huge step forward" had been made in Paris, but added that he would only consider efforts to be "enough" if they resulted in the end of the war.

What Ukraine calls security "guarantees" and what American officials have described as security "protocols" may leave some wiggle room for Trump in the event of coming to Kyiv's defence after a future Russian attack - but there is no doubt Zelensky feels he and his European allies have secured an important concession from Washington.

We heard few, if any, new details about where a future ceasefire line would be drawn and what territory, currently occupied by Russian forces, Ukraine would agree to surrender.

That prospect is still something many Ukrainians would find hard to swallow, especially as Russia continues to strike against cities and critical infrastructure across Ukraine on a daily basis.

But as the snows fall and bitter winds sweep in from the east, Zelensky knows the only alternative to a ceasefire and subsequent peace deal, is another costly, attritional winter of warfare with the inevitable loss of life that will hit Ukraine far harder than Russia.

Ukraine's president clearly hopes that guarantees of American monitoring, a multinational force on Ukrainian soil and more weapons support for his armed forces, will convince a sometimes-sceptical population that he is right to sue for peace, bolstered by a growing international coalition.

But, in concluding the Paris press conference, Zelensky acknowledged Tuesday's "milestone" did not necessarily guarantee peace. Real progress still needs Russian support, and Moscow has been notably silent in recent days about diplomatic efforts to end the war.

Putin is known to oppose the prospect of a European-led international force in any disputed areas and will be reluctant to halt his troops', albeit slow, advance if Moscow's war objectives have not been realised.

But pressure is undoubtedly growing on both sides to make compromises and end the war.

Last week, Zelensky said a peace deal was "90% ready". Agreeing on the remaining 10% would "determine the fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe".

Territory and security guarantees have been at the forefront of unresolved issues for negotiators.

Putin has repeatedly warned that Ukrainian troops must withdraw from all of Ukraine's eastern Donbas or Russia will seize it, rejecting any compromise over how to end the war.

Zelensky has so far ruled out ceding any territory, but has suggested that Ukraine could withdraw its troops to an agreed point - but only if Russia does the same.

Moscow currently controls about 75% of the Donetsk region, and some 99% of the neighbouring Luhansk. The two regions form the industrial region of Donbas.

The original US-led 28-point peace plan widely leaked to the media last year was seen by Kyiv and its European allies as being heavily skewed in Russia's favour.

This triggered weeks of intensive high-level diplomacy - with Ukraine, the US and European leaders trying to amend the draft.

Last month, Kyiv sent the US an updated 20-point plan - as well as separate documents outlining potential security guarantees and provisions for Ukraine's reconstruction, Zelensky said.

Video emerges of Minneapolis shooting filmed by ICE agent who opened fire

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz7yv4524gqo, yesterday

A video filmed by the US immigration agent who fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis on Wednesday has emerged, showing the moments before gunfire rang out.

The 47-second clip, obtained by Minnesota-based conservative news outlet Alpha News, shows Renee Nicole Good sitting behind the wheel of her car and speaking to the officer.

US Vice-President JD Vance shared the footage on social media, commenting that the agent had acted in self-defence. Local officials have insisted the woman posed no danger.

Good's wife has paid tribute to the 37-year-old, saying the pair had been trying to support their neighbours when she was shot. Her death has sparked protests across the US.

President Donald Trump's administration says Good tried to run over the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in an act of "domestic terrorism" after blocking the road and impeding the agency's work.

Democratic Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has described that account as "garbage" based on the video footage.

The BBC has asked the homeland security department and the White House for comment on the new video that emerged on Friday.

The footage starts with the officer getting out of his car and filming Good's vehicle and registration plate while he walks around the Honda SUV. A dog is in the backseat.

Good says: "That's fine dude. I'm not mad at you."

Her wife, Becca Good, is standing on the street filming the interaction with her mobile phone. She tells the ICE agent: "That's OK, we don't change our plates every morning just so you know. It will be the same plate when you come talk to us later."

She adds: "You want to come at us? You want to come at us? I say go and get yourself some lunch, big boy."

Another agent approaches Good on the driver's side and uses an expletive as he says: "Get out of the car."

The agent filming the clip moves in front of Good's car as she reverses.

In a chaotic few seconds, she turns the wheel to the right and pulls forwards.

The camera jerks up to the sky. "Woah, woah!" a voice says, as bangs are heard.

In the final part of the video, the car is seen veering down the road. The ICE agent swears.

Other clips previously released from the scene show the maroon SUV crashed into the side of the road after Good was shot by the agent.

The officer appears to stay on his feet, and is later seen in other videos walking toward the crashed car.

Federal officials say the agent was injured and treated in hospital. The FBI is investigating the incident.

The officer who fired on Good is Jonathan Ross, a veteran ICE agent who was previously injured in the line of duty when he was struck by a car.

When asked about the video at the White House on Friday, Trump said: "You have agitators and we will always be protecting ICE, and we're always going to be protecting our border patrol and our law enforcement."

Vance reposted the video on X on Friday, and defended the agent's actions, saying: "The reality is that his life was endangered and he fired in self-defence."

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt also share the video, saying the media had smeared an ICE agent who had "properly defended himself from being run over".

Good's wife told local media the pair had gone to the scene of immigration enforcement activity to support neighbours.

"We had whistles," Becca Good said. "They had guns."

When speaking about Good - a mother-of-three, including a six-year-old son - she said "kindness radiated out of her".

"We were raising our son to believe that no matter where you come from or what you look like, all of us deserve compassion and kindness," she added.

Demonstrators turned out for a third night of protests on Friday over the killing of Good.

The Minneapolis Police Department told BBC News that at least 30 people were detained, cited and released after protests in the downtown area.

Photos showed protesters gathered outside a hotel in the city, believed to be where some ICE agents were staying.

Minnesota's Department of Public Safety said it assisted police officers with arresting people suspected of unlawful assembly, after receiving "information that demonstrations were no longer peaceful and reports of damage to property" near the Canopy Hotel in the city's downtown.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz earlier said he had activated the state's National Guard to help with security around the protests.

On Friday, Minnesota officials said they would open an inquiry into the shooting after saying they had been frozen out of the federal investigation.

Trump was asked by a reporter whether the FBI should share its findings with Minnesota, and said: "Well normally I would, but they're crooked officials."

The announcement by Hennepin County's top prosecutor Mary Moriarty and Minnesota's Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison came a day after the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said the FBI had initially pledged a joint investigation, then reversed course.

One federal agency that is not looking into the shooting is the US justice department's Civil Rights Division, which has in the past investigated alleged excessive use of force by law enforcement.

But prosecutors have advised its criminal section that there will be no investigation in this case, sources told the BBC's US partner, CBS News.

Walz, a Democrat, has accused the Trump administration of blocking state officials, but Vance said it was a federal matter.

US military strikes Islamic State group targets in Syria, officials say

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly9597r4qpo, yesterday

The US and its partner forces have carried out large-scale strikes against Islamic State (IS) group targets in Syria, the US Central Command (Centcom) has announced.

US President Donald Trump directed the strikes on Saturday, which are part of Operation Hawkeye Strike, in retaliation to IS's deadly attack on US forces in Syria on 13 December, Centcom wrote on X.

The strikes were conducted in an effort to combat terrorism and protect US and partner forces in the region, according to Centcom.

"Our message remains strong: if you harm our warfighters, we will find you and kill you anywhere in the world, no matter how hard you try to evade justice," Centcom said.

The US and its partner forces fired more than 90 precision munitions at more than 35 targets in an operation that involved more than 20 aircraft, an official told CBS News, the BBC's US partner.

The official added that aircraft including F-15Es, A-10s, AC-130Js, MQ-9s and Jordanian F-16s had taken part in the strikes.

The location of the strikes and the extent of any casualties is not yet clear.

"We will never forget, and never relent," Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on X on Saturday in reference to the military action.

The Trump administration first announced the Operation Hawkeye Strike in December after an IS gunman killed two US soldiers and a US civilian interpreter in an ambush in Palmyra, located in the centre of Syria.

"This is not the beginning of a war - it is a declaration of vengeance," Hegseth said when announcing the operation in December.

"The United States of America, under President Trump's leadership, will never hesitate and never relent to defend our people."

Prior to the latest strikes on Saturday, US forces killed or captured nearly 25 IS group members in 11 missions between 20 December and 29 December as part of Operation Hawkeye Strike, Centcom said.

In the operation's first mission on 19 December, US and Jordanian forces carried out a "massive strike" against the IS group, deploying fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery to strike "more than 70 targets at multiple locations across central Syria", according to Centcom.

That operation, it said, "employed more than 100 precision munitions" targeting known IS infrastructure and weapons sites.

Syria has been in a fragile state since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad's regime in December 2024, which effectively ended a civil war that had ravaged the country for 13 years.

Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known by his nom-de-guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, has been serving as the country's president since his rebel group ousted Assad and solidified control.

The IS has been weakened in Syria, but still remains active, predominantly carrying out attacks against Kurdish-led forces in the north-east in 2025.

Thousands march and dozens arrested in Minneapolis protests against ICE

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

Thousands of people joined another night of protests in Minneapolis on Saturday, following the death of a woman who was shot by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in the city.

Earlier, city officials said 30 people had been arrested during the weekend's protests, and one police officer had minor injuries after a "chunk of ice was thrown at them".

Protests against immigration enforcement have been held across the US after 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was shot in her car on Wednesday. More protests are expected in major US cities on Sunday.

The Trump administration said the agent who fired the shots acted in self-defence. Local officials have insisted the woman posed no danger.

People gathered in Minneapolis on Saturday despite bitterly cold weather, while anti-ICE protests also took place elsewhere in the US, including in Austin, Seattle, New York and Los Angeles.

Minneapolis police estimated "tens of thousands of people" attended the "ICE out of Minnesota" rally and march, which started in Powderhorn Park on Saturday.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said the protest was "peaceful".

On Friday night, Minneapolis Police declared an unlawful assembly as protesters gathered outside the Canopy Hotel in the city, where some ICE agents were believed to be staying.

The Minneapolis police department said in a statement that "several hundred people" attended and "some individuals forced entry into the hotel through an alley entrance".

Videos posted online showed protesters flashing bright lights into the area, blowing whistles and banging on drums.

Police said some threw ice, snow and rocks at officers, police vehicles and other vehicles, but no serious injuries were reported.

One law enforcement officer suffered minor injuries but did not need any medical attention, according to the BBC's US partner CBS News.

Officials said another hotel in the city was also targeted and had window and graffiti damage.

At a news conference on Saturday morning, Mayor Frey applauded the majority of peaceful protesters, but noted that individuals who cause damage to property or put others in harm's way would be arrested.

Those arrested on Friday night were later released, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said.

Many Minnesotans have been frustrated by the presence of ICE in the state and O'Hara said his department was getting dozens of phone calls every day about the federal agency's operations.

The shooting incident has exposed a stark political division, with both sides accusing the other of using inflammatory rhetoric.

On Sunday, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem doubled down on her assessment that Good was committing an act of "domestic terrorism", she told CNN that Good had "weaponised" her car" to attack ICE agents in the city of Minneapolis.

Frey who spoke to CNN minutes later, and said "anybody can see that this victim is not a domestic terrorist" and characterised her actions as trying to do a three-point turn to escape the scene.

The Minneapolis mayor added that the city's local law enforcement were "outnumbered by the number of ICE agents and beyond".

On Saturday, three congresswomen from Minnesota attempted to tour an ICE facility in Minneapolis. The women said they were initially allowed to enter, but were then told they had to leave.

Democratic Congresswomen Ilhan Omar, Kelly Morrison and Angie Craig said ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) were obstructing members of Congress from fulfilling their duty to oversee operations there.

"They do not care that they are violating federal law," Craig said.

"The public deserves to know what is taking place in ICE facilities," Omar posted on X on Saturday.

A DHS policy dated 8 January, the day after Good was shot, requires members of Congress to give seven days' notice for any visit to ICE facilities.

The BBC's US partner, CBS News, reports that the policy was submitted in a federal court on Saturday.

Good was shot and killed in her car on Wednesday.

As the vehicle attempts to drive off, one of the agents at the front of the car points their gun at the driver and several shots are heard.

The car then continues to drive away from the officer and crashes into the side of the street.

Good's wife told local media the pair had gone to the scene of immigration enforcement activity to support neighbours.

The officer who fired on Good is Jonathan Ross, a veteran ICE agent who was previously injured in the line of duty when he was struck by a car.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has claimed the ICE agent shot Good multiple times because she was trying to run over the officer in her car.

But Democratic Minneapolis Mayor Frey called that version of events a false narrative, saying it was clear to him she was trying to leave the scene, not attack an agent.

The FBI is investigating the incident.

On Friday, Minnesota officials said they would open an inquiry into the shooting after saying they had been frozen out of the federal investigation.

The announcement came a day after the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said the FBI had initially pledged a joint investigation, then reversed course. The US vice-president said the investigation was a federal issue.

Pair shot by immigration agents in Portland had gang links, officials say

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g02z2n5lno, 2 days ago

A man and woman who were shot by an immigration agent in Portland, Oregon, on Thursday had ties to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, officials said.

In a news conference on Friday, Portland Police Chief Bob Day confirmed that both "do have some involvement" with the gang, but did not elaborate on the extent of their alleged connection.

Federal officials have said the agent was forced to open fire on the pair after the driver attempted to run him over during a traffic stop. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has said the two are gang members who "weaponised their vehicle against Border Patrol".

Both are conscious in hospital and "on the road to recovery", Day said.

On Friday DHS identified the wounded driver as Luis David Nino-Moncada, who it said illegally entered the US in 2022 and has since been arrested for allegedly driving under the influence (DUI) and unauthorised use of a vehicle.

The other passenger wounded was Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras, who reportedly entered the US illegally in 2023 near El Paso, Texas.

DHS has alleged that "Contreras played an active role in a Tren de Aragua prostitution ring and was involved with a prior shooting in Portland".

Federal officials said some US media had incorrectly reported the two are a married couple.

According to the department, when the agents identified themselves at a traffic stop, the driver tried to run them over.

"Fearing for his life and safety, an agent fired a defensive shot. The driver drove off with the passenger, fleeing the scene," it has said.

They then drove five miles (8km) to an apartment complex where they called for emergency medical help, according to DHS.

On Friday, Day said the two had a "nexus" to a shooting that took place in July, in which the victim claimed to have been attacked by Tren de Aragua members. He did not give more details of the alleged connection.

"This information in no way is meant to disparage or to condone or support or agree with any of the actions that occurred yesterday," he said. "But it is important that we stay committed to the rule of law, that we stay committed to the facts, that we stay a trustworthy and legitimate police department for all Portlanders."

He also said Tren de Aragua has a presence in Portland, but it "does not appear to be as significant as some are led to believe."

According to Day, Zambrano-Contreras was previously arrested in the region for prostitution and Nino-Moncada was present when a search warrant was served.

It is unclear whether the two are facing any criminal charges related to Thursday's incident, which came one day after an immigration agent shot dead a motorist in Minneapolis. DHS said that driver tried to run the agent over, an account disputed by state officials.

Recently, DHS sent agents to Minneapolis to arrest and deport illegal immigrants, following similar sweeps in Portland, Los Angeles, Chicago and other cities.

On Thursday night, hundreds of people protested outside an immigration detention centre in Portland. Authorities made six arrests for disorderly conduct.

Trump says US needs to 'own' Greenland to prevent Russia and China from taking it

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c78vj5n7jg3o, 2 days ago

President Donald Trump says the US needs to "own" Greenland to prevent Russia and China from doing so.

"Countries have to have ownership and you defend ownership, you don't defend leases. And we'll have to defend Greenland," Trump told reporters on Friday, in response to a question from the BBC.

The US will do it "the easy way" or "the hard way", he added. The White House recently said the administration was considering buying the semi-autonomous territory of fellow Nato member Denmark, but it would not rule out the option of annexing it by force.

Denmark and Greenland say the territory is not for sale. Denmark has said military action would spell the end of the trans-Atlantic defence alliance.

Greenland's party leaders, including the opposition, reiterated their call for the "US's disregard for our country to end" in a joint statement on Friday night.

"We do not want to be Americans, we do not want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders," they said. "The future of Greenland must be decided by the Greenlandic people."

Despite being the most sparsely populated territory, Greenland's location between North America and the Arctic makes it well placed for early warning systems in the event of missile attacks, and for monitoring vessels in the region.

The US president has repeatedly said that Greenland is vital to US national security, claiming without evidence that it was "covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place".

The US already has more than 100 military personnel permanently stationed at its Pituffik base in Greenland's north-western tip - a facility that has been operated by the US since World War Two.

Under existing agreements with Denmark, the US has the power to bring as many troops as it wants to Greenland.

But Trump told reporters in Washington that a lease agreement was not good enough.

"Countries can't make nine-year deals or even 100-year deals," he said, adding that they had to have ownership.

"I love the people of China. I love the people of Russia," Trump said. "But I don't want them as a neighbour in Greenland, not going to happen.

"And by the way, Nato's got to understand that."

Denmark's Nato allies - major European countries as well as Canada - have rallied to its support this week with statements reaffirming that "only Denmark and Greenland can decide on matters concerning their relations".

Stressing they were as keen as the US on Arctic security, they have said this must be achieved by allies, including the US, "collectively".

They also called for "upholding the principles of the UN Charter, including sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders".

Concerns over the future of the territory resurfaced after Trump's use of military force against Venezuela on Saturday to seize its president, Nicolás Maduro.

Trump previously made an offer to buy the island in 2019, during his first presidential term, only to be told it was not for sale.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is to hold talks with Denmark next week.

In recent years, there has been increased interest in Greenland's natural resources - including rare earth minerals, uranium and iron - which are becoming easier to access as its ice melts due to climate change. Scientists think it could also have significant oil and gas reserves.

Bowen: Trump risks pushing world back to age of empires

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2wg7437dvo, 3 days ago

Only a few hours after the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was removed from his palace, his job and his country by US special forces, Donald Trump was still marvelling about how it felt to monitor a live feed of the raid from his Mar-a-Lago mansion.

He shared his feelings with Fox News.

"If you could see the speed, the violence, they call it that... It was amazing, amazing work by these people. No one else could do something like this."

The US president wants and needs quick victories. Before he took office for the second time, he boasted that ending the Russia-Ukraine war would be a single day's work.

Venezuela, as presented in Trump's statements, is the quick, decisive victory that he has craved.

Maduro is in a prison cell in Brooklyn, the US will "run" Venezuela - and he has announced that the Chavista regime, now with a new president, will turn over millions of barrels of oil and that he will control the way the profits are spent. All, so far anyway, without an American life lost and without the long occupation that had such catastrophic consequences after the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

For now, at least, Trump and his advisers, publicly at least, are ignoring Venezuela's complexities. It is a country bigger than Germany, still run by the regime of factions that has embedded corruption and repression into Venezuelan politics.

Instead, Trump is enjoying a geopolitical sugar rush. Judging by their statements as they flanked him at Mar-a-Lago, so are US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

Since then, they have repeated that Trump was a president who does what he says he is going to do.

He's made it clear to Colombia, Mexico, Cuba, Greenland – and Denmark – that they need to be nervous about where his appetite will take him next.

Trump likes nicknames. He still calls his predecessor Sleepy Joe Biden.

Now he's trying out a new name for the Monroe Doctrine, which has been a foundation of US policy in Latin America for two centuries.

Trump renamed it, naturally, after himself – the Donroe doctrine.

James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States, unveiled the original in December 1823. It declared that the western hemisphere was America's sphere of interest – and warned European powers not to meddle or establish new colonies.

The Donroe Doctrine puts Monroe's 200-year-old message on steroids.

"The Monroe Doctrine is a big deal, but we've superseded it by a lot," Trump said at Mar-a-Lago as Maduro, blindfolded and shackled, was on this way to jail.

"Under our new national security strategy, American dominance in the western hemisphere will never be questioned again."

Any rival or potential threat, especially China, has to stay out of Latin America. It's not clear where that leaves the massive investments that China has already made in the region.

Donroe also extends the huge area the US calls its "backyard" north to Greenland.

The 2026 equivalent of Monroe's copperplate handwriting is a photo of a frowning, moody looking Trump posted by the US State Department on social media. The words with it say, "this is OUR hemisphere – and President Trump will not allow our security to be threatened".

That means using US military and economic power to coerce countries and leaders that get out of line – and to take their resources if necessary. As Trump warned another possible target, the president of Colombia – they need to watch their ass.

Greenland is in America's sights, not just because of its strategic importance in the Arctic – but because it has rich mineral resources that are becoming accessible as climate change melts the ice sheets. Rare earths from Greenland and heavy crude oil from Venezuela are both seen as strategic US assets.

Unlike other interventionist US presidents, Trump does not cloak his actions with the legitimacy, however spurious, of international law or the pursuit of democracy. The only legitimacy he needs comes from his belief in the force of his own will, backed by raw US power.

From Monroe to Donroe, foreign policy doctrines matter to US presidents. They shape their actions and their legacies.

In July, the US will celebrate its 250th birthday. In 1796, its first president, George Washington, announced he wouldn't seek a third term with a farewell address that still resonates today.

Washington issued a series of warnings about the US and the world.

Temporary alliances in time of war might be necessary, but the US should otherwise avoid permanent alliances with foreign nations. That started the tradition of isolationism.

At home, he warned citizens to beware of extreme partisanship. Division, he said, was a danger to the young American republic.

The Senate does an annual public re-reading of Washington's farewell address, a ritual that does not cut through the hyper-partisan and polarised politics of the US.

Washington's warning about the dangers of entangling alliances was followed for 150 years. After World War One, the US left Europe and returned to isolationism.

But World War Two made the US into a global power. And that is where another doctrine comes in, much more significant for the way Europeans have lived – until Trump.

By 1947, the Cold War with the Soviet Union had turned frigid. The UK, left bankrupt by the war, told the US it could no longer fund the Greek government's fight with communists.

Then-President Harry Truman's response was to commit US to support, in his words, "free peoples resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures". He meant threats from the Soviet Union or homegrown communists.

That was the Truman Doctrine. It led to the Marshall Plan, which rebuilt Europe, followed in 1949 by the creation of Nato. Atlanticists in the US, like Harry Truman and George Kennan - the diplomat who came up with the idea of containing the Soviet Union - believed those commitments were in America's interests.

There is a direct line from the Truman Doctrine to Joe Biden's decision to fund Ukraine's war effort.

In many ways, the Truman Doctrine created the relationship with Europe that Trump has been dismantling. It was a sharp break with the past. Truman ignored Washington's warning about permanent entangling alliances.

Now Trump is breaking with Truman's legacy. If he follows through with his threat to somehow take possession of Greenland, which is Danish sovereign territory, he could destroy what's left of the transatlantic alliance.

The Maga ideologue and powerful Trump adviser Stephen Miller summed it up earlier this week on CNN. The US, he said, was operating in the real world that "is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power… these are the iron laws of the world since the beginning of time".

No US president would deny the need for strength and power. But from Franklin D Roosevelt, through Truman and all their successors until Trump, the men in the Oval Office believed the best way to be powerful was to lead an alliance, which meant give and take.

They supported the new United Nations and the drive to make rules to regulate the behaviour of states. The US, of course, has ignored and violated international law many times – doing much to hollow out the idea of a rules-based international order.

But Trump's predecessors did not try to sweep away the notion that the international system needed regulation, however flawed and incomplete.

That is because of the catastrophic consequences in the first half of the 20th Century of the rule of the strongest – two world wars and millions dead.

But the combination of Trump's "America First" ideology and his businessman's acquisitive, transactional instincts have led him to believe that America's allies need to pay for the privilege of his favour. Friendship seems too strong a word. America's interests, in the narrow definition laid out by the president, require it to stay top dog by acting alone.

Trump changes his mind often. But one constant appears to be his belief that the US can use its power with impunity. He says that it is the way to make America great again.

The risk is that, if Trump sticks to his course, he will push the world back to the way it was in the age of empires a century or more ago - a world where big powers, with spheres of influence, sought to impose their will, and where mighty authoritarian nationalists led their peoples to disaster.

Two starkly opposed Americas laid bare by deadly ICE shooting

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c93vny222geo, 3 days ago

The fatal shooting of a woman in Minneapolis by a federal law-enforcement officer is laying bare the sharp divides in US politics – and threatening to inflame an already contentious debate over immigration policy.

The incident took place in broad daylight. There are multiple videos taken by bystanders from various locations. And yet even the basic facts are being disputed.

Almost immediately after the shooting, two starkly different accounts began to take shape. Any ambiguities in the videos shared online were seized upon - different angles and different screengrabs were used to push a particular narrative.

And on the public stage, state and federal officials openly disagreed.

According to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the driver – 37-year-old Renee Good – was to blame. As she drove away from ICE officers, she "weaponised her car" in a "domestic terror attack", Noem said.

US President Donald Trump blamed a "professional agitator" and a "radical left movement of violence and hate" in a Truth Social post.

National Democrats - and state and local officials in Minnesota - have painted a completely different picture.

Jacob Frey, the Democratic Mayor of Minneapolis, said a federal agent "recklessly" used lethal force. He also issued an expletive-laced demand for immigration enforcement officials to leave the city.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz called the shooting "totally predictable" and "totally avoidable", arguing it was a direct consequence of the surge in federal immigration officers into Minneapolis and surrounding areas in recent days.

"We have been warning for weeks that the Trump administration's dangerous, sensationalised operations are a threat to our public safety," he said on Wednesday.

This clear division between the federal government and local officials was only further illustrated on Thursday morning, when the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension announced that the justice department and the FBI were no longer co-operating with its investigation into the shooting.

Federal agencies, it said, would be solely responsible for handling the investigation into the use of lethal force by the ICE agent.

That Minnesota has become the epicentre of a growing conflict over immigration enforcement in recent months is both unsurprising - and ironic.

It is ironic because Good's death occurred just a few miles from where, in 2020, Minneapolis police killed George Floyd during an attempted arrest, setting off nationwide Black Lives Matters protests – including some, in Minneapolis, that turned violent.

Walz has put the state's National Guard on standby, and cautioned the hundreds of protesters who have taken to the streets not to resort to violence.

Minnesota's central role in this latest flare-up is unsurprising because it marks the culmination of conflict, controversy and scandal that had been building for months.

The recent surge in immigration enforcement comes after Trump derided the state's large Somali immigrant population - most of whom are US citizens - after members of the community were convicted of widespread fraud in the distribution of federal Covid aid.

"Hundreds of thousands of Somalians are ripping off our country, and ripping apart that once great state," he said in November. "We're not going to put up with these kind of assaults on law and order by people who shouldn't even be in our country."

Under pressure, Walz abandoned his bid for re-election last week, as allegations mounted of corruption in state social services, including childcare and food aid.

The surge in immigration enforcement in the state is just the latest example of the Trump administration using federal officials to target communities suspected of having high rates of undocumented migrants. The use of force during this operation is far from an isolated incident, either.

The Minnesota incident was at least the ninth immigration-enforcement-related shooting since September – all involving individuals who were targeted while in their vehicles - according to the New York Times.

The intensity with which the immigration actions have been undertaken – in an expanding list of cities across the US – has led to protests and calls from Democratic officials for greater oversight, accountability and restraint among law enforcement agents.

The fatal Minneapolis shooting has already given these efforts new urgency among their advocates.

Trump administration officials, for their part, are pressing ahead – citing the mandate they say they received from voters in the 2024 presidential election as well as the evidence, in dramatically reduced undocumented entries into the US, that their efforts have proven effective.

They have also vigorously disputed the argument that the video of the Minneapolis shooting is evidence of a misuse of lethal force.

"The gaslighting is off the charts and I'm having none of it," Vice-President JD Vance wrote in a post on X. "This guy was doing his job. She tried to stop him from doing his job."

While he said the incident was tragic, he added that "it falls on this woman and all of the radicals who teach people that immigration is the one type of law that rioters are allowed to interfere with".

Walz, in his next public comments, was quick to counter.

"People in positions of power have already passed judgement, from the president to the vice-president to Kristi Noem, have stood and told you things that are verifiably false, verifiably inaccurate," he said. "They have determined the character of a 37-year-old mom that they didn't even know."

It appears that even video evidence is open to interpretation at this point. Each person sees the same images and draws decidedly different conclusions – ones that frequently, perhaps not surprisingly, reinforce their previously established positions.

The chasm in US politics seems as immutable as it is daunting.

Follow the twists and turns of Trump's second term with North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher's weekly US Politics Unspun newsletter. Readers in the UK can sign up here. Those outside the UK can sign up here.

What is ICE and what powers do its agents have to use force?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp80ljjd5rwo, 3 days ago

The fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis has sparked protests and placed increased scrutiny on the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE).

ICE has made thousands of arrests since Trump returned to the White House, often in public settings.

Those actions have increasingly brought its agents into communities across the country, leading to resistance from some local residents who oppose their operations.

What is ICE and when was it formed?

ICE is taking the lead in carrying out the Trump administration's mass deportation initiative, which was a central promise of Donald Trump's election campaign.

The US president has significantly expanded ICE, its budget and its mission since returning to the White House. The agency enforces immigration laws and conducts investigations into undocumented immigration. It also plays a role in removing undocumented immigrants from the US.

ICE was formed as part of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, a response to the terror attacks on 11 September 2001. The legislation created the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with ICE as one of its subsidiary agencies.

What powers do ICE agents have to arrest people?

ICE sees its mission as encompassing both public safety and national security. However, its powers are different than the average local police department in the US.

Its agents have the power to stop, detain and arrest people they suspect of being in the US illegally. They can detain US citizens in limited circumstances, such as if a person interferes with an arrest, assaults an officer, or ICE suspect the person of being in the US illegally.

Despite this, according to news organisation ProPublica, there were more than 170 incidents during the first nine months of Trump's presidency in which federal agents held US citizens against their will.

These cases included Americans they had suspected of being undocumented immigrants.

What powers does ICE have to use force?

ICE's use of force actions are governed by a combination of the US Constitution, US law and the Department of Homeland Security's own policy guidelines.

Under the US constitution, law enforcement "can only use deadly force if the person poses a serious danger to them or other people, or the person has committed a violent crime", said Chris Slobogin, director of the criminal justice programme at Vanderbilt University Law School.

But the US Supreme Court has historically granted broad leniency to officers making in-the-moment decisions without the benefit of hindsight.

A DHS policy memo from 2023 states that federal officers "may use deadly force only when necessary" when they have "a reasonable belief that the subject of such force poses an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury" to themself or another person.

Where does ICE operate?

Typically, ICE operates inside the US, with some staffing abroad. Its sister agency, US Customs and Border Protection, technically patrols the US borders.

But those roles have become increasingly blurred, as the Trump administration pulled agents from a range of federal law enforcement agencies to participate in immigration enforcement. Border Patrol officers increasingly operate within the US, taking part in raids with ICE.

ICE and other agencies have deployed hundreds of officers to cities like Los Angeles, Chicago and now Minneapolis, in partnership with other federal law enforcement agencies.

As many as 2,000 federal officers will deploy to Minneapolis as part of the latest operation, the Associated Press reported.

What happens to people who are detained by ICE?

The scale of Trump-era deportations have been significant.

The administration said it had deported 605,000 people between 20 January and 10 December 2025. It also said 1.9 million immigrants had "voluntarily self-deported", following an aggressive public awareness campaign encouraging people to leave the country on their own to avoid arrest or detention.

An immigrant who encounters ICE can face a variety of outcomes.

Sometimes an individual is temporarily held, then released after questioning. In other circumstances, ICE will detain and transfer that person to a larger detention facility, of which there are several throughout the US.

While many immigrants continue to fight for legal status while detained, if they are unsuccessful, they may ultimately be deported.

About 65,000 people were in ICE detention as of 30 November 2025, according to data obtained by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse's immigration project, a compendium of government data from Syracuse University.

Immigration lawyers have told the BBC that, once ICE detains an individual, it can sometimes take days for families or lawyers to find out where they are.

What are the criticisms of ICE and what opposition have its agents met?

Many communities have pushed back when ICE and partner agencies like the Border Patrol carry out operations.

It is now common for residents to film ICE agents as they carry out arrests. Some encounters between ICE and the public have become aggressive or violent.

During ICE operations in Chicago, Illinois, a collective of media organisations sued the Border Patrol. They alleged agents used improper force against journalists, religious leaders and protesters. A federal judge sided with the group, before an appeals court overturned the decision.

The Minneapolis shooting is not the first time an individual has been injured by gunfire during an immigration enforcement operation.

There were two incidents in Los Angeles in October in which agents shot at drivers, the Los Angeles Times reported. DHS said in both instances that the drivers had threatened the officers with their vehicles.

ICE officers, and other immigration agents, have been criticised for wearing masks while carrying out their operations. DHS officials have defended the practice, saying it protects agents from doxing or harassment.

Where do Americans stand on ICE and deportations?

Americans have a complicated view of Trump's immigration enforcement plans, polling suggests.

A little more than half believe some level of deportation is necessary, an October 2025 survey from the non-partisan Pew Research Center suggested. That's roughly the same number as Pew found the previous March.

But the same poll suggests that Americans have concerns about Trump's methods.

It found that a majority of US adults - 53% - believed the Trump administration was doing "too much" to deport undocumented immigrants. About 36% backed the approach.

The continued mysteries surrounding the intelligence operation to seize Maduro

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp37yr2xq7no, 3 days ago

A week on from the dramatic raid that seized Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro, details of the intelligence surrounding the operation are becoming clearer, but some mysteries still remain.

The intelligence

The mission took months of planning and intelligence gathering. In August the CIA is believed to have sent a team of undercover officers into Venezuela.

The US does not have a functioning embassy in the country, so the team could not use diplomatic cover and were working in what is known in the intelligence worlds as a "denied area". They were on the ground to scout targets and recruit people who could help.

US officials have said they had one particular source who was able to provide detailed intelligence on Maduro's whereabouts which would have been critical to the operation.

Identities of such sources are normally highly protected but it quickly emerged it was a "government" source who must have been particularly close to Maduro and in his inner circle in order to know where he was going to be, and when.

That has led to intense speculation about who it was and what has happened to them. But their identity is still not public.

All of the human intelligence on the ground fed into a "mosaic" of intelligence to plan the operation in conjunction with technical intelligence like mapping and satellite imagery.

The mission

The scale, speed and success of the operation were unprecedented.

"This thing worked like clockwork. That doesn't happen often," explains David Fitzgerald, a former Latin America Chief of Operations for the CIA who also worked on planning missions with the US military.

"It is not the military tactics that drive the operation, but the intelligence."

Around 150 aircraft were involved in the mission, with helicopters flying only a hundred or so feet above the terrain to get to Maduro's compound.

There are still some mysteries though. One is exactly how the US turned off the lights in Caracas in order to enable the special forces to arrive.

"The lights of Caracas were largely turned off due to a certain expertise that we have - it was dark and it was deadly," US President Donald Trump said.

The fact that the US Cyber Command was publicly thanked for its role in the operation has led to speculation that US military hackers got inside Venezuelan networks in advance to shut the grid down at the right moment - but details are limited.

The failure of Chinese and Russian air defences has also led to speculation of what kind of jamming or electronic warfare technology was deployed by the US in the air to aid the operation. The US Space Command, which operates satellites, also received credit for creating a "pathway" for the special forces to enter unseen.

Stealth drones were also thought to have been deployed. Exact details of the capabilities used are likely to remain secret, but America's adversaries will be doing their best to try and understand what happened.

The battle

Those who have planned complex operations say it is remarkable that everything went according to plan, something that does not usually happen. One helicopter was hit but was still able to fly and no US forces were killed.

There are still few details about the battle that took place at Maduro's compound, Fuerte Tiuna.

The Cuban government said that 32 of its nationals were killed by US forces. These were bodyguards provided to defend Maduro by its ally, Cuba. The Caribbean country provides not just bodyguards, but wider security support to the regime.

"Within the immediate perimeter of Maduro, there were probably zero Venezuelan security officers and on the outer perimeter maybe a mixture of both," says Fitzgerald.

The fact that they proved so ineffective has also led to questions about whether some elements of the regime facilitated the mission in some way.

US forces were also able to get to Maduro as he was trying to lock himself into a steel safe room but before he could close the door.

They had blowtorches and explosives ready to blow the door open if needed, but the speed of the apprehension again suggests an incredibly detailed understanding of the layout of the compound.

The plan

The CIA undertook a classified assessment in advance of the operation, looking at what might happen if Maduro was removed.

The analysts examined a series of options and, according to reports, came to the view that working with elements of the existing regime offered more chance for stability than trying to install the opposition in exile in power. That helped solidify the view that the US should work with Delcy Rodríguez the vice-president.

There are thought to have been back-channel, secret contacts with elements of the Maduro regime in advance of the operation to discuss how people might position themselves given different potential outcomes.

The exact detail of those remain mysterious but they likely do much to explain why the mission took place, why it was successful and also what the plan is next.

How could Donald Trump 'take' Greenland?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0q4w1xnv35o, 4 days ago

Donald Trump wants to take Greenland - and the White House has confirmed that all options are on the table, including the use of force.

While a military operation is just one of a range of economic and political options being considered, since it would be an attack by one Nato member on another, such a move would represent a nightmare scenario for the Nato alliance, and likely an existential one.

The US president has repeatedly said that Greenland was vital to US national security, claiming without evidence that it was "covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place".

With the expertise of US, British and Danish experts, we consider the various options the president may be looking at, and the possible justification for each one.

Military action

Defence analysts say that a lightning operation to take Greenland could be done relatively easily, but the fallout would be monumental.

While geographically massive, Greenland's population is only around 58,000, about a third of which is concentrated in Nuuk, the capital, with the bulk of the rest living on its western coast.

The territory does not have its own military and Denmark is responsible for its defence, but it has limited air and naval assets in place to cover such a huge territory.

Large swathes of it are policed only by Sirius Patrol, a Danish special operations unit that relies primarily on dog sleds.

Denmark has, however, significantly upped defence spending in the Arctic and North Atlantic regions, including Greenland, in the past year.

Its vast size, small population and lack of military would make it a ripe target for the US, which already has more than 100 military personnel permanently stationed at the Pituffik facility in Greenland's north-western tip.

That facility could in theory serve as a logistical base for future operations.

The base has existed since World War Two, when US troops deployed to the island to establish military and radio stations after the Nazis occupied Denmark during the conflict.

Hans Tino Hansen, a Danish security expert and CEO of Risk Intelligence, outlined how a US operation to take Greenland could take place.

According to Hansen, the Alaska-based 11th Airborne Division - which includes two Arctic brigades capable of parachute or helicopter-borne missions - would be the "primary capability" in any invasion, "supported by air force and naval assets".

His assessment was echoed by Justin Crump, a British Army reserve officer who heads the risk and intelligence company Sibylline.

"The US has overwhelming naval power and it has the ability to lift pretty large numbers of troops," he said. "You could easily fly in enough troops to have one for every few members of the population in a single lift."

Crump added this option would be ruthless, but also potentially bloodless with little resistance likely to be offered.

In the US, however, several former officials and defence analysts said a military operation was extremely unlikely, given its far-reaching implications for US-European alliances.

"That would clearly be against all international law," said Mick Mulroy, a former marine, CIA paramilitary officer and deputy assistant secretary of defence. "Not only are they no threat to the US, they are a treaty ally."

If the White House began moving towards a military option, Mulroy said he believed it would meet resistance from lawmakers who could use the War Powers Act - which is designed to limit the president's ability to make war without Congressional approval - to pre-empt it.

"I don't think there would be any support in Congress to destroy the Nato alliance," he said.

Buying Greenland

The US has deep pockets, but Greenland is not for sale, according to both Nuuk and Copenhagen.

Citing a lawmaker and a source familiar with the discussions, CBS - the BBC's US news partner - has reported that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told members of Congress that a purchase was the administration's preferred option.

But even if Greenland wanted to be sold, such a transaction would be highly complicated.

Any funds would have to be appropriated by Congress, and acquiring Greenland by treaty would require support from two-thirds of the Senate - which experts say would be difficult to secure.

The European Union would also have to sign off on the deal.

While Trump could theoretically try to strike a deal unilaterally without involving Greenland or Congress, experts believe that is extremely unlikely.

Prof Monica Hakimi, an international law expert at Columbia University, said that "one could imagine a situation" in which Denmark, the US and Greenland agree to terms for the transfer of the territory.

"[But] for it to be completely consistent with international law, such a treaty would probably also have to involve Greenlandic participation for their own self-determination," she added.

It is unclear how much purchasing the island could cost. This could complicate things for Trump, who campaigned on an "America First" platform.

The prospect of billions or even trillions of US tax dollars being spent on an ice-capped island could land very badly with his Make America Great Again (Maga) base.

Crump believes that a failure to successfully purchase the island, however, could make a military option more attractive to Trump - particularly as his administration may be buoyed by the recent successful operation to arrest Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela.

"He'll say, 'well, we're just going to take it'."

Rubio, who will meet Danish officials next week to discuss Greenland, has said Trump was "not the first US president that has examined or looked at how could we acquire" the territory.

He has referred to former President Harry Truman, who in 1946 floated the idea of paying Denmark $100m (£74m) in gold to buy Greenland.

A campaign to win over Greenlanders

Opinion polls suggest a majority of Greenlanders want independence from Denmark.

But the polls also indicate they do not want to become part of the US.

Nonetheless, the US could ratchet up efforts to win the favour of islanders by short-term financial incentives or the prospect of future economic benefits.

Already, US media reports have suggested that US intelligence agencies have stepped up surveillance on Greenland's independence movement, making efforts to identify figures who would back the administration's goals.

Imran Bayoumi, a geostrategy expert with the Atlantic Council in Washington DC and former policy adviser to the defence department, told the BBC that an "influence campaign" is much more likely than any military action.

This campaign, he explained, could help nudge Greenland towards independence.

"Then, after Greenland declares independence, you could have the US government to be a partner," he said. "The cost of military action is way too high."

These kinds of partnerships are not without precedent.

The US, for example, has struck a similar deal with the Pacific nations of Palau, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands - all independent countries that give the US access to defence rights.

In return, citizens of these three nations get the opportunity to live and work in the US.

But this may not satisfy Trump, who already has the power to bring as many troops as he wants to Greenland under existing agreements.

And an arrangement of that nature would not offer the US ownership rights to Greenland's vast mineral reserves that are buried deep beneath the Arctic ice.

Hansen, the Danish analyst, argued that any campaign to "have" Greenland - short of military action - would be unsuccessful as long as the population of Greenland opposes the idea.

For now, no political parties in the island are campaigning to become part of the US.

"It is more likely that Greenland again becomes a member of the European Union," he said.

"Also, the current US administration has three years left, while the people of Greenland perhaps have a horizon of 1,000 years."

Sudan's government returns to capital after nearly 3 years of war

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgn5g90lggo, today

Sudan's military-led government has returned to the country's capital after nearly three years of operating from its wartime base in the eastern city of Port Sudan.

Sudan's Prime Minister Kamil Idris told reporters on Sunday that the "government of hope" was officially back in Khartoum and would begin efforts to improve services for the city's beleaguered residents.

The military was forced out by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) when civil war erupted between the two sides in 2023. The army recaptured it in a significant breakthrough last March.

Khartoum has been recovering from years of fighting. Roughly five million fled the city at the height of the conflict, according to the UN.

Those unwilling or unable to leave described a brutal RSF occupation, which included mass looting and fighters taking over civilian homes.

Huge swathes of the city lie in ruins. In October, UN official Ugochi Daniels reported that basic services were "barely functioning".

On Sunday, Idris said the government would work on improving electricity, water, healthcare and education in Khartoum.

He also declared that 2026 would be a "year of peace" for Sudan, where at least 150,000 people have died since the war erupt.

The UN has described the situation as the world's worst humanitarian crisis and around 12 million people have been forced from their homes.

The war began after the head of the army, General Abdel Fattah-al Burhan fell out with his deputy and RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, leading to a vicious struggle for power.

Both the RSF and the Sudanese military have been accused of committing atrocities throughout the conflict.

International efforts to broker peace have failed and both sides are backed by foreign powers who have poured weapons into the country.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has come under particular scrutiny recently over allegations of supporting the RSF, which it strongly denies.

More stories on the conflict in Sudan:

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

US film stars Meagan Good and Jonathan Majors become Guinea citizens after DNA tests

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8d04zp8m26o, yesterday

Husband and wife movie stars Meagan Good and Jonathan Majors have travelled to Guinea, where they have been granted citizenship after tracing their ancestry to the West African nation through DNA testing.

Majors, a star of Creed and Ant-Man, said becoming citizens would allow the couple to "bridg[e] the gap" and bring together their stories as entertainers and members of the African diaspora.

"We just want to say thank you so much," added Good, best known for the film Think Like a Man, who said it was her first visit to Guinea.

Their citizenship ceremony was similar to other initiatives in the region to encourage people of African descent to reclaim their heritage and invest in the continent.

The event - a private cultural ceremony organised by the ministry of culture - took place at a tourist and cultural centre, Gbassi Kolo, on Friday.

Djiba Diakité, minister and chief of staff of the presidency, presented the passports to the two actors on behalf of President Mamadi Doumbouya.

"We both believe that you are among the worthy sons and daughters of Guinea to represent our country and the red and green flag throughout the world," he said.

Guests were treated to a series of traditional dance and music performances, including on the djembe - a drum that draws many foreigners to Guinea to learn its rhythms.

Asked about what their long-terms plans were in Guinea, the couple told the BBC by email: "We could absolutely see ourselves having a home here and spending meaningful time in Guinea.

"This is not a fleeting connection - it's something we see as long-term and evolving."

Good, 44, and Majors, 36, began dating in May 2023 and tied the knot last year.

They married following a turbulent period in Majors' life. In 2024, he was sentenced in the US to probation for assaulting his ex-girlfriend, British choreographer Grace Jabbari. He was mandated to complete a 52-week domestic violence intervention programme.

The actors landed at Conakry's Gbessia International Airport in the early hours of Friday morning and were welcomed with great fanfare by officials and musicians.

During their stay in Guinea, the pair are scheduled to tour Boké, a coastal region with historic slave trade sites. It is unclear if they plan to invest in or move to Guinea.

In recent years, several celebrities have taken up citizenships of countries in Africa.

It largely began in 2019, when Ghana launched "The Year of Return", inviting those with African heritage to come home and invest. One of the most prominent stars to do so was Stevie Wonder in 2024.

Other notable examples have been US singer Ciara, who took Beninese citizenship last year, and Hollywood actor Samuel L Jackson, who acquired a Gabonese passport in 2020.

Guinea itself has a long history of welcoming activists and people from the African diaspora.

In the 1960s, South African singer Miriam Makeba and her husband, US civil rights activist and Black Panther leader Stokely Carmichael, moved to Guinea.

Makeba had been made stateless for her opposition to apartheid and after her marriage to Carmichael, who popularised the slogan "black power", her US visa was revoked.

She was treated as an honorary Guinean citizen and cultural ambassador, while Carmichael, who took the name Kwame Ture, remained in Guinea even after their divorce, dying there in 1998.

Guinea has experience political turmoil in recent years - and under the junta that seized power in 2021 the country has become less open to dissent.

Coup leader Gen Mamady Doumbouya restricted the media and suppressed protests.

The country has recently returned to civilian rule following elections last month, won by Doumbouya with 87% of the vote.

Unlike other countries in the region that have experienced recent coups, Guinea has maintained relations with Western governments, particularly France.

The country is rich in minerals, including bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold and uranium, yet its people remain among the poorest in West Africa.

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

'Hounded and harassed': The former pop star taking on Uganda's long-time president

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz0pr807yz7o, yesterday

With his charisma, tenacity and everyman appeal, music star Bobi Wine has shaken up Ugandan politics.

Since his career pivot a decade ago, the 43-year-old has become a major thorn in the side of President Yoweri Museveni, an 81-year-old who has been in power for 40 years.

Bobi Wine has enchanted legions of young Ugandans, a demographic that makes up a large portion of the country's population. Having grown up in the slums of the capital, Kampala, he dubbed himself the "ghetto president" and campaigns on issues such as youth unemployment and human rights.

On 15 January, Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, after the former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, will compete against Museveni in a presidential election for the second time. But the odds are stacked against him.

Since entering politics, the self-styled revolutionary has been imprisoned and faced several criminal charges.

His plight has piqued attention around the world - in 2018, musicians including Coldplay's Chris Martin and Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn, signed a petition demanding his release from custody.

Wine was held on charges relating to the illegal possession of firearms, but the case was widely viewed as being politically motivated. He was subsequently also arrested for treason, but eventually, all of these cases were dropped.

There was further outrage in 2021, when the police shot at Bobi Wine while he was campaigning.

"I am the most connected candidate to the population," he told the BBC during his campaign for the forthcoming election.

"That is why among the eight candidates, I am the most hounded, I am the most harassed, I am the most feared."

The authorities have repeatedly denied that the arrests of Bobi Wine, and supporters and members of his National Unity Platform (NUP) party, have been political. They say any detentions have been necessary to maintain law and order.

The president has also accused Bobi Wine of holding violent rallies in built-up areas, putting his supporters and the general public at risk - an allegation denied by the opposition leader.

When Museveni took office in 1986, Bobi Wine was just about to turn four.

Museveni and his rebel National Resistance Army (NRA) had seized power in an armed uprising.

Bobi Wine's grandfather, Yozefu Walakira, was part of a different rebel contingent but from time to time during the conflict, he hosted Museveni in his home.

Bobi Wine spent much of his childhood in Kampala. His mother Margaret Nalunkuuma, a nurse, was the main breadwinner and raised him on the land she bought in the Kamwokya slum.

As a teenager, Bobi Wine gained a passion for the arts. He attended Uganda's prestigious Makerere University, earning a diploma in music, dance and drama in 2003. He met his wife and the mother of his four children, Barbara "Barbie" Itungo, when he was a student and they starred in the same play.

After university, Bobi Wine embarked on a music career, branding his craft "edutainment", that is, entertainment that educates. One of his earliest hits, Kadingo, was a song about personal hygiene.

His music, which features elements of reggae, Afrobeats and traditional Ugandan rhythms, gained a large following, and established him as a champion for social and political change.

Despite his mounting fame, Bobi Wine chose to continue recording in a music studio he had built in the Kamwokya slum. He also worked as an actor.

In 2016, many of the country's famous musicians backed President Museveni's re-election. Bobi Wine, however, held out.

He released a song named Situka, in which he mused: "When the going gets tough, the tough must get going, especially when leaders become misleaders and mentors become tormentors."

The following year, Bobi Wine turned his hand to politics.

He ran in a by-election for the Kyadondo-East constituency as an independent candidate, facing politicians from the ruling NRM and the FDC, which was Uganda's second-biggest party at the time.

He won by a landslide, securing more than five times the total votes of his NRM opponent.

Around this time, Bobi Wine developed the People Power movement, a pressure group campaigning for better democratic and social conditions.

Members began wearing red berets, which to this day remain a trademark for the opposition leader.

After Bobi Wine was repeatedly blocked from registering People Power as a political party, he joined the lesser-known, already-registered NURP. The party then changed its name to the NUP and Bobi Wine was chosen to be its leader.

By 2021, he was ready to challenge Museveni in the presidential election. In the run-up to the vote, dozens of people, many of whom were believed to have been shot by the security forces, were killed. Bobi Wine ultimately lost the election, gaining 35% of the vote compared to Museveni's 59%.

Two years later, the NUP leader's story was immortalised in a National Geographic documentary, titled Bobi Wine: The People's president. The film was distributed globally and earned an Oscars nomination.

Despite his Hollywood credentials, Bobi Wine's politics have not shifted much since he broke out almost a decade ago.

He remains proud of his humble background and still focuses his campaigns around issues like corruption, youth unemployment and wealth redistribution.

But there is a concern that should, against all odds, he become president, his background could count against him.

The military is influential in Ugandan politics - after all, they have deposed or attempted to depose numerous leaders since the nation became independent in 1962.

As Bobi Wine does not have a military or ministerial background and, conversely, cut his teeth in the creative sector, it may be tough to get the armed forces to take him seriously as president.

This is a view he rejects.

"Uganda has been ready for a civilian leader since time immemorial," he insists, adding that according to Uganda's constitution, the military must be subordinate to the civilian authority.

In the run-up to voting day, Bobi Wine has been campaigning across the country, often wearing a protective flack jacket and helmet.

Footage shows his supporters accompanying his convoy, braving tear gas and water cannon fired by the security forces.

At a stop in northern Uganda, uniformed men whipped Bobi Wine's supporters with sticks as they formed a human shield around the opposition leader.

His backers remain steadfast and committed, packing out rallies despite the risk of violence.

Bobi Wine is also undeterred.

"This election is about liberation," he says. "It is about freedom, it is about people asserting their voices. We are asking people to come out and protest in the ballot box."

Additional reporting by Catherine Byaruhanga and Sammy Awami

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

Algeria apologises after player mocks Congolese superfan dressed as pan-African hero

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj0nqqgy77ro, 3 days ago

Algeria's football federation has apologised to a Congolese superfan who has become one of the stars of the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) being held in Morocco.

Michel Nkuka Mboladinga has supported the Democratic Republic of Congo by dressing up as the country's revered first leader Patrice Lumumba and remaining stock-still throughout every match.

He stood on a pedestal with his right arm raised - just like Lumumba's famous statue in DR Congo's capital, Kinshasa - as fans around him cheered.

But after Algeria beat the Leopards on Tuesday, Algerian player Mohamed Amine Amoura faced a backlash for mimicking Mboladinga and falling to the ground as though the statue had been knocked over.

This prompted the 25-year-old forward to post an apology on Instagram, saying his gesture was not intended to disrespect DR Congo.

The Desert Foxes had looked like they were heading to penalties before Adil Boulbina scored in the 119th minute, securing a place in the quarter-finals where they face Nigeria on Saturday.

"At that moment, I wasn't aware of what the person or symbol in the stands represented. I simply wanted to joke around, in a good-natured way, without any ill intent or desire to provoke anyone," said Amoura, who also plays for German team Wolfsburg.

Lumumba is not only seen as a hero in DR Congo, where he was assassinated in 1961 in a plot backed by Belgium, the UK and the US, but is also regarded as one of the most prominent voices in Africa's anti-colonial movement.

After the final whistle on Tuesday at Rabat's Moulay Hassan Stadium, which saw the Leopards knocked out of the tournament, Mboladinga - who with his hairstyle and glasses looks remarkably like Lumumba - was visibly distraught.

He removed his glasses to wipe away some tears, slowly got down from his makeshift plinth and leant against it with his head in his hands.

The Algerian Football Association (Faf) reached out to Mboladinga following Amoura's contrite statement and invited him to the hotel where the North African team are staying in Rabat to meet the players.

The superfan was not able to get to Morocco's capital so Faf's media officer Saïd Fellak travelled to Casablanca's Novotel Hotel to see him and other Congolese supporters on Wednesday evening.

There Fellak presented Mboladinga with his own Desert Foxes jersey with the name "Lumumba" printed on the back.

Videos and photos of the entente cordiale, also attended by Congolese Sports Minister Didier Budimbu, were captured by Congolese fans, showing Mboladinga next to Fellak with his new football shirt.

It is not clear if the Lumumba superfan and his pedestal will make it to Mexico, where the Leopards are expected to play in March's highly anticipated intercontinental World Cup qualifiers.

Six teams will compete to be allocated the final two places up for grabs for the World Cup, which kicks off in June.

Algeria have already qualified for the tournament that is being jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States - and Amoura hopes that he will get to see the Leopards there too.

"I respect Congo and their team. Honestly, I wish them the best and hope they qualify for the World Cup," he said.

Additional reporting by Algerian football journalist Maher Mezahi

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The musician and the strongman leader - what you need to know about Uganda's election

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c205dd7gjrpo, 3 days ago

As Ugandans go to the polls next week they are faced with a choice of propelling a leader into his fifth decade in power or backing a candidate seeking to capitalise on the desire for change from some quarters.

President Yoweri Museveni, 81, in office since 1986, is aiming for a seventh successive election victory.

His main challenger, pop-star-turned-politician Bobi Wine, 43, has promised a revolution in governance and sweeping reforms.

Campaigning has been marked by the disruption of opposition activities, including the detention of activists and the breaking-up of rallies by police.

With high rates of youth unemployment in a country where the majority of the population is under 30, the economy has become a key concern in the campaign.

When is Uganda's general election?

Polling is scheduled for Thursday 15 January. Polls are due to open at 07:00 local time (04:00 GMT) and close at 16:00. Anyone in the queue at that time will be allowed to vote.

What are Ugandans voting for?

* Presidential - there are eight candidates to choose from

* Parliamentary (1) - 353 constituency MPs will be elected

* Parliamentary (2) - 146 women representatives - one per local district - will be elected

Who could be the next president?

Museveni and Bobi Wine are the two front-runners among the all-male list of eight hopefuls.

This is the second time they are facing off at the ballot box, with the president winning the 2021 poll, marred by allegations of rigging and a crackdown on the opposition, with 58% of the vote compared to Bobi Wine's 35%.

Yoweri Museveni - National Resistance Movement (NRM)

Museveni first took power by force 40 years ago as the leader of a guerrilla army that pledged to restore democracy after years of civil war and the dictatorship of Idi Amin.

Once feted as being part of a fresh generation of African leaders set to usher in a new democratic era, growing accusations of human rights abuses and harassment of opposition figures have soured that perception.

Critics say he has ruled with an iron hand since he seized control and having gone back on pledges to step down, he is the only president most Ugandans have known.

Currently the third longest-serving leader in Africa, Museveni has benefitted from two constitutional amendments - removing age and term limits - that have allowed him to keep running for office.

He argues that he remains the country's sole guarantor of stability and progress.

Bobi Wine - National Unity Platform (NUP)

The one-time hit maker Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, is widely thought to be the strongest of the seven opposition candidates.

Dubbed at one point the "ghetto president", he is seen as embodying youthful aspirations for change and he enjoys strong support among young, urban, working-class voters.

Bobi Wine established himself as a serious contender five years ago, coming second and helping to restrict Museveni to the lowest share of the vote in any election he has contested. Bobi Wine's NUP party became the largest opposition force in parliament.

Since that vote, Bobi Wine has continued to face harassment from the security forces.

The other candidates are Frank Bulira, Robert Kasibante, Joseph Mabirizi, Nandala Mafabi, Mugisha Muntu and Mubarak Munyagwa.

Prominent opposition figure Kizza Besigye, who has run against Museveni four times, is not able to take part and remains in jail on treason charges after being arrested in neighbouring Kenya in 2024. He has denied any wrongdoing.

What are the key concerns for voters?

Economic issues, particularly unemployment, are weighing on the minds of many as they get ready to vote.

The average income per person has been slowly but steadily rising since the pandemic but there do not seem to be enough jobs to match the bulging numbers of young people looking for work.

There are also concerns about poor infrastructure and disparities in access to quality education and healthcare.

The country has however managed to avoid the spike in the cost of living that has affected so many other countries in the region and led to pressure on those in power.

Corruption is another major concern.

Uganda comes 140th out of 180 countries on Transparency International's annual Corruption Perceptions Index, with widespread bribery and nepotism reported in government institutions.

Will the vote be free and fair?

The conduct of elections in Uganda has often been criticised. This time round officials say the vote will be free and fair but UN experts have warned that may not be the case, citing what they describe as a "pervasive climate of fear" in Uganda.

During the campaign period, opposition supporters have faced escalating harassment, including arrest on politically motivated charges, rights groups say.

Bobi Wine's rallies, unlike those of Museveni, have been disrupted by security forces.

Amnesty International described the use of tear gas, pepper spray, beatings, and other violent acts as "a brutal campaign of repression" ahead of the vote.

The government says the measures are necessary to ensure a peaceful election and prevent anyone from inciting riots on polling day.

When it comes to the election itself, Bobi Wine has urged voters to stay at polling stations and safeguard their ballots to help prevent vote rigging.

But election officials have said people should cast their ballots peacefully and then leave, assuring that the vote counting will be transparent and observed by party agents, the media and election monitors. Critics, however, have questioned the independence of the electoral commission.

Despite government denials, there are also fears, based on previous experience, of an internet shutdown during the election aimed at preventing people from verifying results. The NUP says it has a vote-monitoring app that can overcome this issue by using Bluetooth technology.

When will we know the results?

If everything goes to plan the outcome of the presidential vote should be known by 16:00 local time (13:00 GMT) on Saturday 17 January.

This is because by law the electoral commission must declare the presidential result within 48 hours from the end of voting. Polls are due to close at 16:00 local time on Thursday.

How does the presidential vote work?

The counting of votes should begin at each polling station as soon as voting closes with the results eventually being transmitted to a central tallying centre.

A candidate must gain more than 50% of the votes cast nationwide to win the presidency in the first round, otherwise there will be a run-off within 30 days between the top two candidates.

Museveni has always gained more than 50% in the initial round of voting.

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

The secret mission to fly a president's body back home - pilot speaks to the BBC

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y2v2p3nl8o, 3 days ago

Exactly 31 years ago to the day, two Kenyan pilots, Hussein Mohamed Anshuur and Mohamed Adan, received an unexpected visitor at their office at Wilson Airport near the capital, Nairobi.

It was a Nigerian diplomat, who drew them into a sensitive and secretive mission to fly the body of Somalia's former ruler Siad Barre back to his homeland for burial following his death in exile in Nigeria at the age of 80.

Anshuur, previously a captain in the Kenyan Air Force, and Adan are partners in Bluebird Aviation, one of Kenya's largest private airlines that they had set up a few years earlier.

Speaking to the media for the first time about the mission, Anshuur told the BBC that the Nigerian diplomat came "straight to the point", asking him and Hussein "to charter an aircraft and secretly transport the body" from Nigeria's main city of Lagos, to Barre's hometown of Garbaharey in southern Somalia for burial, on the other side of Africa, a distance of some 4,300 km (2,700 miles).

Anshuur said they were stunned at the request: "We knew immediately this wasn't a normal charter."

Barre had fled Somalia on 28 January 1991 after being overthrown by militia forces, so returning his body was politically fraught, involving multiple governments, fragile regional relations and the risk of a diplomatic fallout.

Anshuur said they were fearful of the possible repercussions as the diplomat asked for the flight to be organised outside normal procedures.

"If the Kenyan authorities found out, it could have caused serious problems," Anshuur said.

The pilots spent the rest of the day debating whether to accept the request, carefully weighing the risks, particularly if the Kenyan government, then led by President Daniel arap Moi, discovered what they were planning to do.

Barre seized power in a bloodless coup in 1969. His supporters saw him as a pan-Africanist, who supported causes such as the campaign against the racist system of apartheid in South Africa.

To his critics, he was a dictator who oversaw numerous human rights abuses until he was driven from power.

Barre initially fled to Kenya, but Moi's government came under intense pressure from parliament and rights groups for hosting him. Barre was then given political asylum by Nigeria, then under military ruler Gen Ibrahim Babangida, and lived in Lagos until he died of a diabetes-related illness.

Given the sensitivity of the mission, the pilots asked the Nigerian diplomat to give them one more day to think about his request. The financial offer was lucrative - they didn't want to reveal the exact amount - but the risks were considerable.

"We first advised him to use a Nigerian Air Force aircraft, but he refused," Anshuur recalled. "He said that the operation was too sensitive and that the Kenyan government must not be informed."

Also speaking to the media for the first time about the mission, the former Somali ruler's son, Ayaanle Mohamed Siad Barre, told the BBC that "the secrecy wasn't about hiding anything illegal".

He explained that Islamic tradition requires a burial to take place as soon as possible, and therefore normal procedures were circumvented, though some governments were aware of the plan.

"Time was against us," he said. "If we had gone through all the paperwork, it would have delayed the burial."

He said he was told by Nigerian officials that Garbaharey's runway was "too small" for a military aircraft.

"That's why Bluebird Aviation was contacted," Barre's son told the BBC.

The pilots had no contact with Barre's family at the time, and relayed their decision to the Nigerian diplomat, Anshuur said, on 10 January 1995.

"It wasn't an easy choice," Anshuur recalled. "But we felt the responsibility to execute the trip."

This was not their first connection to the former president.

When Barre and his family fled the capital Mogadishu, he arrived in Burdubo, a town in the same region as Garbaharey.

During that period, the pilots had flown essential supplies - including food, medicine and other basic necessities - to Burdubo for the Barre family.

But before embarking on the journey with Barre's body, the pilots demanded guarantees from the Nigerian government.

"That if anything goes wrong politically, Nigeria must take responsibility," Anshuur said. "And we wanted two embassy officials on board."

Nigeria agreed. The pilots then designed a plan to ensure their mission remained a secret - and succeeded.

Just after 03:00 on 11 January, Anshuur said their small plane, a Beechcraft King Air B200, took off from Wilson Airport.

The pilots filed a flight manifest listing Kisumu, a lakeside city in western Kenya, as their destination.

"That was only on paper," Anshuur said. "When we got close to Kisumu, we switched off the radar and diverted to Entebbe in Uganda."

At the time, radar coverage across much of the region was limited, a gap the pilots knew they could exploit.

Upon landing in Entebbe, the pilots told airport authorities the aircraft had arrived from Kisumu. The two Nigerian officials on board were instructed to remain silent and not to disembark.

The plane was refuelled, and Yaoundé in Cameroon, was declared as the next destination, where Nigerian diplomats helping to coordinate the operation were waiting, Anshuur told the BBC

After a brief stop, the aircraft continued to Lagos. Before entering Nigerian airspace, the Nigerian government instructed the pilots to use a Nigerian Air Force call sign "WT 001" to avoid any suspicion.

"That detail mattered," Anshuur said. "Without it, we might have been questioned."

They arrived at around 13:00 on 11 January in Lagos, where Barre's family was waiting.

After resting for the rest of the day, the pilots prepared for the final leg of the journey - taking Barre's body to Garbaharey in Somalia.

On 12 January 1995, his wooden casket was loaded on to the aircraft. The two Nigerian government officials were also on the flight, this time with six members of the family, including his son Ayaanle Mohamed Siad Barre.

From the pilots' perspective, secrecy remained essential.

"At no point did we tell airport authorities in Cameroon, Uganda or Kenya that we were carrying a body," Hussein said. "That was deliberate."

The aircraft retraced its route, stopping briefly in Yaoundé before flying to Entebbe, where it refuelled. The Ugandan authorities were told the final destination was Kisumu in western Kenya.

As they neared Kisumu, the pilots diverted, this time flying directly to Garbaharey.

Anshuur said after the casket was offloaded, he and his co-pilot attended the burial and then departed for Wilson Airport, with the two Nigerian officials on board.

Anshuur said this turned out to be "the most stressful" part of their entire trip.

"You think: 'This is where we could be stopped.'"

Fearing being caught, the pilots informed Wilson air traffic control that they were arriving from Mandera in north-eastern Kenya, giving the impression that it was a local flight.

"No-one asked questions," Anshuur said. "That's when we knew we were safe."

With that, the mission was over.

"Only afterwards did it really sink in what we had done," Anshuur told the BBC.

Asked whether he would do it again, he replied: "I am 65 years old now and no, I would not carry out a similar mission today because aviation technology has improved so much that there is now sufficient air traffic radar coverage within the African continent.

"It is virtually impossible to exploit the gaps in air traffic control that existed way back in 1995."

More BBC stories on Somalia:

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

Long wait for justice leaves South African families in limbo

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2drqwg32do, 6 days ago

Jason Venter has been waiting for his mother's alleged killer to go on trial in South Africa for more than two years, living a life in limbo and hoping to get some closure after her death.

The problem is that the country's legal system is jammed up and there are tens of thousands of other cases waiting to be heard.

The courts are overwhelmed, with backlogs now so severe that some accused are being given trial dates as far away as four years, violating the principle that justice delayed is justice denied.

Some observers argue that this chips away at faith in the legal system, especially worrying for a country affected by some of the highest crime rates in the world.

Jason, 27, knows the pain of court delays all too well - and says each postponement feels like losing his mother, Charlene, all over again.

With his warm voice betrayed by the sadness on his face, he tells the BBC: "She was my best friend. Everyone who knew her loved her. She was always trying to make the people in her life happy. That's how I remember her, as someone kind and loving."

Charlene was 43 and enjoying life as a new grandmother when she was killed in May 2023. She was set alight in her car in what police allege was an act of gender-based violence. She later died in hospital from her injuries.

The man accused of killing Charlene has been in custody for two years. But there has been no trial - court records show a series of postponements, for reasons ranging from missing reports and incomplete investigations to unavailable judges and administrative delays.

Jason, who works as a call centre manager, says the impact has been both emotional and financial.

"I'm the provider now, not only for my wife and baby, but also for my younger sister and grandmother because my mother used to help them out as well."

He is desperate for the case to conclude.

"No healing can be done without putting something to rest. We don't know what's going to happen, and I'm too scared to even think about it. We need clarity. We need to know what happened."

The office of the auditor-general, a watchdog set up under South Africa's constitution, recently reported a waiting list of around 37,000 cases, but the justice department has said that the true figure could be closer to 100,000.

One of the main causes of the delays is staffing.

South Africa has an estimated 250 judges serving a population of more than 60 million, amounting to around four judges per million people and well below global norms.

By comparison, Judges Matter, a South African advocacy group, says India has around 15 judges per million people, while many European countries have more than 200. The figures highlight just how thinly stretched South Africa's judiciary has become.

One of the most high-profile examples of prolonged delays is the murder case of Senzo Meyiwa - a beloved footballer who captained the national team, Bafana Bafana, and played for one of the country's most popular clubs, Orlando Pirates, in the local league.

In 2014, Meyiwa was shot and killed at the home of his girlfriend, musician Kelly Khumalo, in Vosloorus, south of Johannesburg.

At the time, police said the motive appeared to be a burglary gone wrong.

The murder dominated headlines, extensive state resources were allocated to crack the case, and police offered a reward of around $23,000 (£17,300) for information leading to the arrest of his killer.

But more than a decade later, the case has still not been closed.

The trial at the Pretoria High Court has been beset by challenges, including changes in judges and legal teams, and allegations that police botched the investigation.

More recently, the head of the public prosecutor's office, Advocate Shamila Bahoti, said factionalism and infighting within the police had affected how the case was investigated over the years.

Senior government officials acknowledge the problem but say reforms are coming.

Lucky Mohalaba, the head of court administration, says the government accepts criticism that more needs to be done to ensure speedy trials, and plans to hire more magistrates, and possibly extend working hours, to tackle the problem.

"We do acknowledge that some matters could have been processed much quicker. We urge the public to not lose faith and hope in the justice system," Mohalaba tells the BBC.

But organisations such as Action Society, which support victims through the legal process, say the justice system is failing people.

"The system is broken at every step, and sometimes the delays force people to give up. That's especially dangerous in a country like South Africa with a 90% re-offender rate. It becomes a vicious cycle," the group's spokesperson, Juanita du Preez, tells the BBC.

"Every single person we assist has lost faith in the criminal justice system, the police and the government, because they are living that failure every day," she adds.

More BBC stories about South Africa:

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'You're invisible, you don't exist' - life without a birth certificate

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2drqwp2eyo, 10 days ago

Many people may take their birth certificate, or similar official papers, for granted - hidden in a drawer and rarely seeing the light of day - but for those without one, it can lead to a shadow life or an uncertain existence.

This is thought to affect millions of people around the world, described as stateless, and 25-year-old South African Arnold Ncube is one of those.

Because he has no state-issued documents, washing cars in the backstreets of Thembisa township near Johannesburg is one of the few ways he can make a living.

He was born in Johannesburg and his father is South African, qualifying him for citizenship here. But when he tried to register for secondary school, he realised he didn't have a birth certificate.

Having been abandoned by his parents - his dad left before he was born and his mum when he was 14 - he could not prove his status.

"It's a painful thing," he says. "You're basically invisible. You don't exist. It's like you're living in the shadows. You don't have a bank account, you can't apply for a decent job that you can earn a living with."

He adds that he tries to stay positive but it's been challenging.

"When I see my peers, they are done with school now. Whereas I couldn't study further. It's a lot. Depression was once my friend."

Arnold is one of at least an estimated 10,000 stateless people living in South Africa who, despite being born here, are struggling to prove their nationality and access public services.

There are no official statistics available on stateless people here because they tend to slip through the cracks. So the figures are based on estimations by organisations like the UN's refugee agency, the UNHCR and civil rights organisations.

With no citizenship, stateless people cannot get documents and struggle to get access to basic necessities including education and healthcare.

Statelessness is caused by many factors, including administrative barriers and poor record-keeping. As a result the real number of stateless people is hard to gauge in many parts of the world.

Human rights lawyer and advocate Christy Chitengu used to be stateless herself.

She only got South African citizenship three years ago with the help of the organisation Lawyers for Human Rights who worked on her case for free.

"I found out I was stateless at the age of 17. My high school principal called me into her office and told me that she didn't have any documents for me and that she didn't understand how I'd gotten into the school," she tells the BBC near her home in northern Johannesburg.

"I was born in Johannesburg to two foreign parents [both from Zimbabwe] and at my birth I was given a handwritten South African birth certificate."

But officials in South Africa need a printed certificate.

Christy says that when she found out she was stateless she looked into taking her parents' nationality but it was too late.

"I couldn't claim my Zimbabwean citizenship because by that time I was 16 and they wouldn't allow me to do a late birth registration. Also I would have had to physically leave South Africa to get a Zimbabwean passport and without any documents to leave the country, I wouldn't be allowed back in."

South Africa has large numbers of undocumented migrants and the authorities and local vigilante groups have been trying to crack down on irregular migration for years.

When asked whether giving stateless children citizenship could be seen as a reward to undocumented migrants who give birth in South Africa, Christy disagrees.

"I think citizenship is not a reward. It's an entitlement for someone to be able to live a dignified life and for someone to be seen as a human being. I think if we look at it through that lens, we realise that there's nothing that we lose by recognising a child who would otherwise not be able to go to primary school or receive healthcare."

On several occasions, the BBC contacted the home affairs department, which handles immigration issues in South Africa, to find out how it is tackling the issue of statelessness but got no reply.

Statelessness is not just an issue here, it is a huge global problem.

There's an estimated 4.5 million stateless people around the world. Some say the figure could even be as high as 15 million.

Experts believe tackling the problem requires policy changes, including allowing refugees to register their children where they're born, and giving mothers the right to pass their nationality to their children.

"For us statelessness is not just a legal issue, it's a matter that involves the right to development," says Jesus Perez Sanchez who works for the UNHCR.

"That person that's affected by statelessness will not be able to contribute fully to that country that is hosting. So we think that it's important that as a matter of inclusion, all issues of statelessness are addressed so that all these people on the margins of society can contribute fully to society and the economy."

Back in Thembisa, Arnold is playing football with local children.

After years of struggle, he now has a lawyer helping him fight for the papers that prove he belongs here. He wants to go back to school to study computer science. He hopes having documents will lead to a brighter future.

Additional reporting by Christian Parkinson

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Why Israel's recognition of Somaliland as an independent state is controversial

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c14v4kmg275o, 13 days ago

Israel has taken the controversial decision to recognise the breakaway state of Somaliland as an independent nation, sparking condemnation from many other countries.

Israel became the first in the world to do so on Friday, more than 30 years after the region declared independence from Somalia.

Somaliland's president called the development "a historic moment", but Somalia furiously rejected Israel's move as an attack on its sovereignty.

Since then, dozens of countries and organisations including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the African Union have criticised the surprise declaration.

China added to the chorus of dissent most recently, with its foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian telling reporters: "No country should encourage or support other countries' internal separatist forces for its own selfish interests."

The US, however, defended Israel's decision at an emergency session of the UN Security Council to discuss the issue, saying the response contrasted with the decision taken by a number of UN member countries to recognise a Palestinian state earlier in the year - a move the US strongly opposed.

"Earlier this year, several countries, including members of this council, made the unilateral decision to recognise a non-existent Palestinian state, and yet no emergency meeting was called to express this Council's outrage," the US deputy ambassador to the UN, Tammy Bruce, said.

Israel's deputy ambassador to the UN, Jonathan Miller, told the council that Israel's move was not a "hostile step toward Somalia, nor does it preclude future dialogue between the parties".

"Recognition is not an act of defiance. It is an opportunity," he added.

Why does Somaliland want independence?

A breakaway, semi-desert territory on the coast of the Gulf of Aden, Somaliland declared independence after the overthrow of Somali military dictator Siad Barre in 1991.

The move followed a secessionist struggle during which Siad Barre's forces pursued rebel guerrillas in the territory. Tens of thousands of people were killed and towns were flattened.

Though not internationally recognised, Somaliland has a working political system, government institutions, a police force, and its own currency.

Its history as a distinct region of Somalia dates back to nineteenth century colonial rule. It was a British protectorate - known as British Somaliland - until it merged with Italian Somaliland in 1960 to form the Somali Republic.

Those in favour of Somaliland's independence argue that the region is predominantly populated by those from the Isaaq clan - an ethnic difference from the rest of Somalia.

Also, Somaliland, home to roughly six million people, enjoys relative peace and stability. Its proponents argue that it should not be shackled to Somalia, which has long been wracked by Islamist militant attacks.

However, Somalia considers Somaliland to be an integral part of its territory. The government in Somalia's capital city, Mogadishu, has repeatedly said that any recognition of Somaliland's independence would contravene Somalia's sovereignty.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has also characterised Israel's declaration as an "existential threat" to his country's unity.

Why did Israel recognise Somaliland as an independent state?

In a phone call with Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country was acknowledging Somaliland's "right of self-determination".

He also said official recognition would be "a great opportunity for expanding" the countries' partnership.

Israel has pledged to cooperate with Somaliland in agriculture, health, technology and the economy.

However analysts say there are strategic reasons for Israel's declaration.

"Israel requires allies in the Red Sea region for many strategic reasons, among them the possibility of a future campaign against the Houthis," Israeli think tank the Institute for National Security Studies said, referring to Yemen's Iran-backed rebels, in a paper last month.

"Somaliland is an ideal candidate for such cooperation as it could offer Israel potential access to an operational area close to the conflict zone."

Israel repeatedly struck targets in Yemen after the Gaza war broke out in October 2023, in response to Houthi attacks on Israel that the rebels said were in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

In response to Israel recognising Somaliland, the Houthis warned that any Israeli presence in Somaliland would be considered a "military target" for their forces.

A few months ago, a number of news outlets reported that Israel had contacted Somaliland over the potential resettlement of Palestinians forcibly removed from Gaza.

Israel did not comment on the reports, but at the time, Somaliland said that any move by Israel to recognise its independence would not have anything to do with the Palestinian issue. Both Somalia and the Palestinian Authority have suggested Israel's recognition of Somaliland could be linked to a plan to displace Palestinians.

"Somalia will never accept the people of Palestine to be forcibly evicted from their rightful land to a faraway place," Somalia's president told his parliament on Sunday.

Offering his perspective, US-based Africa analyst Cameron Hudson told the BBC that Israel has recognised Somaliland primarily because it is trying to counter Iran's influence in the Red Sea region.

"The Red Sea is also a conduit for weapons and fighters to flow up the Red Sea into the Eastern Mediterranean. It has traditionally been a source of support and supply to fighters in Gaza. And so having a presence, having a security presence, having an intelligence presence at the mouth of the Red Sea only serves Israel's national security interests," he said.

Why has Israel's move been condemned so widely?

Israel has been criticised by the likes of Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the African Union, Yemen, Sudan, Nigeria, Libya, Iran, Iraq and Qatar.

In their condemnations, many of these countries have referred to Somalia's "territorial integrity".

The African Union has long been concerned that recognising Somaliland could set off a chain reaction, where separatists could demand recognition for the territories they claim.

"Regions could attempt to establish external alliances without the consent of central governments, creating a dangerous precedent that risks widespread instability," Abdurahman Sayed, a UK-based analyst for the Horn of Africa, told the BBC.

Could more countries support Somaliland's independence?

Countries considered to be allies of Somaliland, or sympathetic to its campaign for recognition, have largely remained quiet.

For instance, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which operates a military port in Somaliland, has not released a statement.

Mr Hudson told the BBC that the UAE is "very much aligned with the Israelis on this question of Somaliland".

"I think even now today you're going to see an alignment of Israeli and Emirati interests across the entire Red Sea region," he added.

Ethiopia's government has also refrained from commenting. Last year Somaliland agreed to lease part of its coastline to landlocked Ethiopia - a move that angered Somalia.

Mr Abdurahman said Turkey stepped in to mediate between Somalia and Ethiopia. It led Ethiopia to sign an agreement with Somalia's government, committing to respect its territorial integrity.

"As a result, although Israel's unilateral recognition of Somaliland may be quietly welcomed by Ethiopia, Addis Ababa appears to have adopted a cautious 'wait-and-see' approach," the analyst added.

Somalilanders had hoped the US would recognise it as an independent state following signals given before Donald Trump began his second term as president.

But in response to Israel's declaration, Trump suggested to the New York Post that he would not swiftly follow Netanyahu's lead.

"Does anyone know what Somaliland is, really?," he reportedly said.

The European Union and the UK have also refused to recognise Somaliland's independence, saying they support Somalia's territorial integrity.

More BBC stories on Somaliland:

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

Coups, elections and protests - a difficult year for democracy in Africa

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1lr70jg2zgo, 13 days ago

October's shocking events in Tanzania offer a snapshot of some of the tensions which have shaped a difficult year for African politics.

Demonstrators were shot dead by police while protesting against what they saw as a rigged election - condemned by regional and continental bodies - shattering the country's reputation for peace and stability.

With opposition candidates either imprisoned or barred from running, President Samia Suluhu Hassan was elected with 98% of the votes.

Any moves towards Tanzania becoming a more open democracy had been seemingly reversed.

Arguably what happened there highlighted a broader breakdown in many African nations between the people and those who govern them.

Several countries saw protests and election disputes in 2025, while military leaders cemented their power in others, with analysts believing next year could bring more upheaval.

"If we look at the overall picture across the continent, the trend is worrying," said Mo Ibrahim, whose foundation analyses data to assess the state of African governance.

Its most recent report suggests that in its measure of governance, which includes things like security, participation in decision-making and the state of health and education, progress has stalled when compared to the decade up to 2022.

"The increase in coups [in recent years], the return of military governments and the closing of democratic space all point to the same problem: a failure of governance."

The spike in the cost of living has been the spark that lit the fire of dissatisfaction in many places. This was not unique to the continent but, as Mr Ibrahim told the BBC, "the risk for Africa is that these negative patterns spread unchecked, much of the hard-won progress achieved over recent decades could be reversed".

For those who believe that democracy is the best way to channel the demands of the population, there have been some points of positivity in 2025 with peaceful transfers of power and free and fair elections.

In Malawi the country's former leader, Peter Mutharika, won back the presidency after a period in opposition.

Seychelles saw long-term ruling party United Seychelles returned to office, five years after losing power.

Both incumbents lost in part because of a perceived failure to mitigate the impact of inflation.

These results followed other setbacks for ruling parties in 2024.

In South Africa, the African National Congress lost its overall majority for the first time since 1994 and entered a power-sharing government with its main opposition.

In Senegal, a combination of street protests and the courts prevented apparent attempts by the president to extend his time in office and a relative unknown was elected president after the main opposition leader was barred.

But analysts point to shifts elsewhere as evidence that democracy on the continent is being challenged.

Perhaps no more so than through the consolidation of the power of military-led governments across West Africa's Sahel region.

Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso all split from the regional bloc, Ecowas, forming a new alliance of governments which seized power through coups.

Where democracy does still exist, analysts point to demographics as a driver of tension.

Africa is the continent with the youngest population but it has the world's oldest leaders. In many places social media is helping to inform a younger generation which increasingly demands to be heard.

In Cameroon the average age, according to the UN, is just over 18. Yet the country this year saw the consolidation in power of Paul Biya - the planet's most aged president.

The 92-year-old, who has held office for 43 years, was sworn in for an eighth term, which could see him rule until he is almost 100.

This followed a round of divisive elections in October, condemned by critics as neither free nor fair - a charge rejected by the authorities.

The response from the security forces was not as deadly but, as in Tanzania, anger about the result turned into days of demonstrations - the clearest sign yet of a youthful population prepared to openly challenge Cameroon's long-term leader.

The protests in Cameroon and Tanzania did not lead to change. But for those considering direct action elsewhere, there were lessons in 2025 of how protest can produce results.

In September, the Indian Ocean island nation of Madagascar was rocked by weeks of youth-led protests against poor service delivery, forcing the country's President Andry Rajoelina to sack his entire cabinet.

But it was not enough to save his leadership. The protests continued and in October Rajoelina was deposed in a coup. The country's military has since installed former officer Michael Randrianirina as interim president.

While military takeovers are obviously a setback for democracy, they can serve as a reminder to civilian leaders that they need to listen to the demands of their electorate.

Many analysts believe demonstrations could be a growing feature of Africa's politics.

"We're seeing a lot of protests," said Nerima Wako, executive director of Saisa, a Kenyan organisation which works to help young people engage in politics. "It's not the best way to effect change, but often it's the only way.

"Lobbying, petitions, SMSs to parliamentarians, emails. You're told these are the systems you need to use. When they don't work, all you're left with is protest."

"We're seeing broken social contracts," she adds. "Across Africa young people are demanding access to health, to water, to opportunities.

"They're asking the right things, these are things that governments are meant to provide, but the risk is that governments don't move quickly enough."

For Adem Abebe, senior adviser to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, this public disillusionment is key.

"The sense of satisfaction is going down," he said. "People aren't happy in what they're getting, there's a growing sense of anger about faltering political freedoms and the lack of service delivery."

But the analyst also points to the role of politics beyond the continent – with many Western governments distracted by crises elsewhere.

He argues that geopolitics has given the continent's governments more leeway as they slide towards authoritarianism.

The US, once seen as interested in using its power and influence to bolster democracy, is now more concerned with a transactional relationship under President Donald Trump.

"In the past Europe and the West insisted on democratic systems as the price of their engagement in Africa," Mr Adem said.

"Democratic partners are retreating and African governments have leverage – they have options, like China or Russia, and they have the opportunity to pursue their objectives without fear of the admonishment of global partners."

Whatever is driving the change, few doubt that African governance faces an uncertain future.

The final weeks of 2025 have seen another coup, in the West African state of Guinea-Bissau, bringing the total to eight of countries on the continent now run by the military.

There was also an attempted coup in Benin that triggered a swift response from Ecowas, showing a resolve missing following the region's recent successful military takeovers. The reaction could herald a stiffer defence of democracy in West Africa.

The first weeks of January will bring an election in Uganda – ruled for 40 years by President Yoweri Museveni, 81. Previous polls in that country have been marred by allegations of irregularities and violence.

For Mr Ibrahim, a key question now is how African governments respond to what they hear from the continent's young.

"Africa's youth has become its demographic majority," he says. "This must translate in democratic practice.

"If we listen to them, invest in them, respect their rights and consider their expectations, then the coming years can mark a real turning-point for the continent."

"We are in a crisis," says Ms Wako. "Look around Africa and you see too many governments which are slow to respond.

"We've entered a new dispensation in terms of the relationship between people and power.

"The governments which get that fast will be the ones who survive."

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

Great white sharks face extinction in Mediterranean, say researchers

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9qe9wvq534o, 13 days ago

Great white sharks in the Mediterranean Sea are in danger of disappearing, with illegal fishing contributing to their decline.

This is according to research by US scientists, working in partnership with UK charity Blue Marine Foundation. They say some of the most threatened species - including great white sharks - are being sold in North African fish markets.

Great whites are one of more than 20 Mediterranean shark species protected under international law, meaning it is illegal to fish for them or to sell them.

By monitoring fishing ports on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, however, researchers discovered that at least 40 great white sharks have been killed there in 2025 alone.

The BBC has also found, and independently verified, footage from social media of protected sharks being brought dead into North African ports.

One video showed a large great white being hauled ashore from a fishing boat in Algeria. Another, filmed in Tunisia, shows heads and fins of what appears to be a short-finned mako shark, which is also a threatened and protected species, being prepared for sale.

Last shark stronghold

Lead researcher, Dr Francesco Ferretti from the US university Virginia Tech, explained that many shark populations - white sharks in particular - had declined dramatically in the Mediterranean in recent decades.

"No other stretch of water is fished like the Mediterranean Sea," he said, speaking to the BBC News science team while working on a research vessel off the coast of Sicily in late 2025.

"The impact of industrial fishing has been intensifying... and it's plausible that they will go extinct in the near future."

The Mediterranean white shark population is now classified as Critically Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

In their latest attempt to find and study the predators, Dr Ferretti and his team worked in the Strait of Sicily - an area between Sicily and North Africa that has been identified as a "last stronghold" in the Mediterranean for several threatened shark species.

One key aim of their mission was to fit a satellite tracking tag onto a white shark - something that has never been done in the Mediterranean Sea.

To attempt this, the researchers brought more than three tonnes of fish bait - a shipping container packed with frozen mackerel and tuna scraps, as well as 500 litres of tuna oil to create a "fat slick" that many sharks would be able to smell from hundreds of metres away.

Despite working for two weeks - baiting the ocean, taking samples of seawater to search for shark DNA and using underwater cameras - the researchers did not manage to find any animals to tag.

They captured only a brief glimpse of one blue shark on their submarine cameras.

"It's disheartening," Dr Ferretti told us. "It just shows how degraded this ecosystem is."

While the team was searching for surviving sharks, they also received reports that a juvenile great white had been caught and killed in a North African fishery - just 20 nautical miles from where they were working.

It is not clear whether that animal was accidentally caught in fishing gear, or if it was targeted.

Dr Ferretti and his team, though, estimate that more than 40 great white sharks have been caught around that coast. "This is a lot for a critically endangered population," he said.

Sharks for sale

The researchers, with their colleagues in North Africa are monitoring several fishing ports in the region. Our work, with the BBC Forensics team, also shows that protected sharks are caught, landed and offered for sale in countries including Tunisia and Algeria.

We found footage - posted on social media - of a great white being landed in a fishing port in Algeria and another large shark that appears to be a protected short-finned mako, being prepared for sale on a trolly in a fish market in Tunisia.

The rules that protect sharks are complicated. Currently, 24 threatened species have international legal protection – including mako, angel, threshers and hammerheads.

The EU and 23 nations around the Mediterranean have signed an agreement, which states that those species cannot be "retained on board, transhipped, landed, transferred, stored, sold or displayed or offered for sale".

The international agreement states "they must be released unharmed and alive [where] possible". Those rules do not tackle accidental bycatch and enforcement is variable from country to country.

James Glancy from Blue Marine told BBC News that his own investigation found multiple white sharks on sale in Tunisian fishing markets. But, he said, there was a paradoxical element of hope in the fact that white sharks were turning up for sale.

"It shows that there is wildlife left," he told BBC News. "And if we can preserve this, there is a chance of recovery."

What can be done?

In poorer communities in North Africa, fishers who catch sharks might face the choice of whether to feed their family, or return a threatened species to the ocean.

Sara Almabruk from the Libyan Marine Biology Society says that most of the catches happening in North African waters are accidental, but adds: "Why would they throw sharks back into the sea when they need food for their children?

"If you support them and train them in more sustainable fishing, they will not catch white sharks – or any sharks."

James Glancy from Blue Marine added that if countries around the Mediterranean worked together, "there is hope.

"But, he added, "we've got to act very quickly".

Trump warns of more Nigeria strikes if Christians 'continue to be killed'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly3vl3yp2do, 2 days ago

US President Donald Trump has warned that he could order more airstrikes on Nigeria if Christians continue to be killed in the West African nation.

In a wide-ranging interview with the New York Times, Trump was asked whether the Christmas Day strikes in Nigeria's northern Sokoto state, targeting Islamist militants, were part of a broader military campaign.

"I'd love to make it a one-time strike. But if they continue to kill Christians it will be a many-time strike," he said.

Nigeria's government has rejected Trump's earlier accusations that it is failing to protect Christians from jihadist attacks, saying that "Muslims, Christians and those of no faith alike" are targeted.

Claims of a genocide against Nigeria's Christians began circulating last year in some right-wing US circles - but organisations monitoring political violence in Nigeria say most victims of the jihadist groups are Muslims.

When questioned about this in the interview published on Thursday, Trump replied: "I think that Muslims are being killed also in Nigeria. But it's mostly Christians."

A spokesperson for Nigeria's foreign minister did not directly comment on the possibility of more air strikes but told the BBC: "We will continue to engage constructively and work with partners, including the United States, on the basis of mutual respect, international law, and Nigeria's sovereignty.

''Nigeria remains committed to protecting all citizens, Christians and Muslims alike, without discrimination,'' said Alkasim Abdulkadir.

Nigeria's population of more than 230 million people is roughly evenly divided among Christians, who predominate in the south, and Muslims, who are mostly in the north.

For the past 15 years, the north-east of the country has suffered from a devastating Islamist insurgency at the hands of jihadist groups such as Boko Haram and those affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) group, based in Borno state.

The country also faces an array of other complex security issues in different regions, including criminal kidnapping gangs, clashes over land and separatist unrest.

The US's Christmas Day strikes hit two camps run by a jihadist group called Lakurawa in the largely Muslim state of Sokoto, in north-western Nigeria near the border with Niger. It is still unclear if there were any casualties as neither the US nor Nigerian government has provided figures - and there has been no update on the outcome of the attack.

Lakurawa established a foothold in the border region a few years ago and hails from areas north of Nigeria in the Sahel.

The US and Nigerian government said after last month's airstrikes that the militants were linked to IS groups in the Sahel - although IS has not linked itself to any of the group's activities or announced ties to Lakurawa as it has done with other groups in the region that it backs.

In the wake of the strikes, Nigeria's Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar told the BBC that it had been a "joint operation" and "nothing to do with a particular religion".

Referring to the timing of the strikes, he said they did not have "anything to do with Christmas" - though Trump said he had ordered them as a "Christmas present".

The foreign minister added that the strikes had had the explicit approval of Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu and the involvement of the country's armed forces.

More about Nigeria's security crises from the BBC:

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

Nigeria's ex-justice minister granted bail in $6m corruption case

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9vxmx4rgr0o, 4 days ago

A Nigerian court has granted bail to the country's former attorney general, Abubakar Malami, along with his wife and son, who are facing money laundering charges.

Malami, 58, was one of the most influential figures in the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari between 2015 and 2023.

He was charged last month with 16 counts of money laundering and abuse of office worth a total of 8.7bn naira ($6m; £4.5m), and has been held in prison since 30 December.

In court, he pleaded not guilty to all charges. He previously described his arrest as politically motivated.

The lawyer, who is married to Buhari‘s third child, Nana Hadiza, recently left the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to join the opposition African Democratic Congress, which is viewed as the biggest rival to the APC in the 2027 general elections.

Malami is one of several ministers in the Buhari administration accused of corruption, including another influential figure, Hadi Sirika, who was in charge of the country’s aviation ministry.

Hours before he was granted bail, the court ordered the interim forfeiture to the Nigerian government of 57 properties valued at 213bn naira ($150m; £111m) linked to him.

The bail was set at 500m naira (£260,000; $350,000) for each of the three defendants.

They must also provide two guarantors who own property in designated parts of the capital, Abuja, and surrender their travel documents to the court.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alleges that the former minister used his office to divert government funds, which were then used to acquire properties in several Nigerian cities, including Abuja.

The EFCC recently released a list of high-value properties allegedly linked to Malami, including hotels, residential buildings, schools, factories, parcels of land and a printing press.

The properties are spread across Abuja, as well as Kebbi and Kano states.

The scale of the properties he allegedly owned sparked a national debate about the wealth of Nigeria's politicians when the list was released.

Political analyst Idris Adamu told the BBC the case had taken him by surprise given the minister's previous perceived invulnerability.

"Seeing the video of Malami being ushered into the vehicle that would take him to Kuje prison last month felt surreal," Adamu said. "This was a man that wielded so much power and influence under Buhari."

He added that the high-profile prosecution signalled that "no-one is above the law, even if you are the former justice minister of a country".

The case has been adjourned until 17 February 2025.

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

Rare mountain gorilla twins born in Africa's oldest national park

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c86v3y45pyyo, 5 days ago

A pair of twin mountain gorillas has been born in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo - a rare occurrence for the endangered primates, conservationists at Virunga National Park say.

The community trackers, who discovered 22-year-old Mafuko hugging her newborns on Saturday, said the mother and her two baby sons all appeared to be well and healthy.

Twin births are thought to account for about 1% of all mountain gorilla births, though exact data is not widely available.

Virunga, situated in a conflict-prone part of DR Congo, is Africa's oldest and largest national park and was set up 100 years ago to protect mountain gorillas of which there are fewer than 1,100 left in the wild.

They are only found in the Virunga and in national parks over the border in Rwanda and Uganda, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which compiles a Red List of threatened species.

The last birth of mountain gorilla twins in Virunga National Park was in September 2020.

Mafuko herself gave birth to twins in 2016, but they both died within a week.

Young gorillas rely entirely on their mothers for care and transport - and are extremely vulnerable in what can be a dangerous environment where poachers and many armed groups operate.

The authorities at the park say additional monitoring and protection measures have been put in place to ensure the twins' survival during this critical period.

Rangers would closely observe the young family and provide support if needed, they said.

A gorilla's pregnancy lasts for about eight-and-a-half months, and females usually give birth to one infant every four years.

According to Virunga conservationists, Mafuko has had a remarkable history of survival herself.

Born in 2003 into the Kabirizi family, she lost her mother to armed attackers when she was four years old.

She joined the Bageni family when she was 10 - and to date has been pregnant and given birth five times.

Conservationists at Virunga, which is a Unesco World Heritage Site, say her latest offspring represent a significant boost for efforts to protect the endangered species.

Thanks to anti-poaching patrols and community programmes - supported by the European Union and Unesco - mountain gorilla numbers in Virunga have slowly increased over the past decade.

This success, which is documented by the IUCN and other partners, led to their status being upgraded from "critically endangered" to "endangered" in 2018.

Virunga spans 7,800 sq km (3,000 sq miles) and is home to an astonishingly diverse landscape - from active volcanoes and vast lakes to rainforest and mountains.

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

Bride and groom killed by gas explosion day after Pakistan wedding

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gr7nlx421o, today

A newly-married couple was killed when a gas cylinder exploded at a house in Islamabad where they were sleeping after their wedding party, police have said.

A further six people - including wedding guests and family members - who were staying there also died in the blast. More than a dozen people were injured.

The explosion took place at 07:00 local time on Sunday (02:00 GMT), causing the roof to collapse.

Parts of the walls were blown away, leaving piles of bricks, large concrete slabs and furniture strewn across the floor. Injured people were trapped under the rubble and had to be carried out on stretchers by rescue workers.

Emergency workers said the blast happened due to gas leakage, which filled the room and then exploded. Three neighbouring houses were also damaged.

The chairman of Pakistan's Senate, Yusuf Raza Gilani, called it "a heart-wrenching incident that turned celebrations into mourning".

Hanif Masih, the father of the groom, said his son had been married the previous day, and the newlywed couple, along with family members and guests, were sleeping in the house at the time of the explosion.

Masih said everyone went to bed around 03:00 local time on Sunday (22:00 GMT on Saturday), and woke up to devastation.

Along with his son, his daughter-in-law, wife, and sister-in-law were all killed.

Police said they cordoned off the area and were investigating the circumstances of the blast. Forensic officers in white suits were sent to comb through the debris.

Deputy police commissioner Sahibzada Yousaf told local media sniffer dogs and advanced technology were used to ensure everyone was rescued from the rubble.

Many Pakistani households use liquefied petroleum gas cylinders for fuel and cooking. Gas cyclinders have been linked to other deadly accidents caused by gas leaks.

Gilani expressed concern about the explosion and said more needed to be done to curb the "unsafe use of gas cylinders".

"Such incidents demand that relevant departments fulfil their responsibilities seriously and ensure safety measures," he said in a statement reported by local media.

Australians brace for 'property loss or worse' as bushfires destroy homes

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cevnxz24rldo, 3 days ago

Australians in Victoria have been warned they should prepare for "property loss or worse" as much of the country faces extreme heatwave conditions.

Temperatures on Friday and Saturday are forecast to hit record highs for most states and territories, with Victoria and South Australia in particular bracing for dangerous fire conditions due to strong winds and hot temperatures.

A total fire ban is in place in Victoria and all regions across the state were given a "catastrophic" or "extreme" fire danger rating.

"Victorians should brace themselves for more property loss or worse," Country Fire Authority (CFA) chief officer Jason Heffernan told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Friday.

"The conditions were extreme yesterday. They're catastrophic today," Heffernan said.

Temperatures in Melbourne are expected to hit 42C on Friday and while areas in north-west Victoria may reach 45C, a cool change is forecast in the south-west.

A bushfire near Longwood, central Victoria, has burnt through nearly 36,000 hectares, authorities said, with at least 20 homes in the small town of Ruffy destroyed.

Ruffy CFA captain George Noye said the town had been "severely" affected.

"The main street looks like a bomb's gone off, we've lost a school," he told the ABC.

"Some properties have lost everything. They've lost their livelihoods, they've lost their shearing sheds, livestock, just absolutely devastating.

"But thankfully, at the moment, no lives have been lost."

A statement from Victoria's state control centre on Friday said the Longwood fire was "incredibly dynamic, with the fire spreading in multiple directions" and may spread further than initial estimates.

Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Bob Hill said three people - two adults and a child - remain unaccounted for in the Longwood area.

He said authorities spoke to them yesterday at their property, warning them to seek shelter as it was too late to evacuate. Fire officials returned later to find the home had burnt down but could not locate the three people.

"They may be safe, they may be alive, let's not get ahead of ourselves, but we are keeping an open mind," Hill said.

In the Australian Capital Territory, which includes the capital Canberra, a total fire ban was declared for the first time in six years.

Sydney will see the mercury rise up to 42C on Saturday, before dropping to around 26C by Sunday.

Another fire near Walwa, north-east Victoria, has burned through more than 17,000 hectares.

Heffernan urged all Victorians to be on high alert, not just those near active fires.

"That is how severe these conditions are at the moment, not only at the Longwood fire but across the state," he told the ABC.

"My message at the moment to Victorians is yes, we are talking about Longwood and Walwa, but we have many other fires that have started this morning in and around communities... I am expecting more as the day goes on."

In South Australia, local fire authorities said they had battled a number of small fires across the state overnight and temperatures were expected to hit 46C in some areas.

Rescuers race to find dozens missing in deadly Philippines landfill collapse

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn42jqlqy4xo, yesterday

Rescue workers are racing to find dozens of people still missing following a landslide at a landfill site in the central Philippines that occurred earlier this week, an official has said.

Mayor Nestor Archival said on Saturday that signs of life had been detected at the site in Cebu City, two days after the incident.

Four people have been confirmed dead so far, Archival said, while 12 others have been taken to hospital.

Conditions for emergency services working at the site were challenging, the mayor added, with unstable debris posing a hazard and crew waiting for better equipment to arrive.

The privately-owned Binaliw landfill collapsed on Thursday while 110 workers were on site, officials said.

Archival said in a Facebook post on Saturday morning: "Authorities confirmed the presence of detected signs of life in specific areas, requiring continued careful excavation and the deployment of a more advanced 50-ton crane."

Relatives of those missing have been waiting anxiously for any news of their whereabouts. More than 30 people, all workers at the landfill, are thought to be missing.

"We are just hoping that we can get someone alive... We are racing against time, that's why our deployment is 24/7," Cebu City councillor Dave Tumulak, chairman of the city's disaster council, told news agency AFP.

Jerahmey Espinoza, whose husband is missing, told news agency Reuters at the site on Saturday: "They haven't seen him or located him ever since the disaster happened. We're still hopeful that he's alive."

The cause of the collapse remains unclear, but Cebu City councillor Joel Garganera previously said it was likely the result of poor waste management practices.

Operators had been cutting into the mountain, digging the soil out and then piling garbage to form another mountain of waste, Garganera told local newspaper The Freeman on Friday.

The Binaliw landfill covers an area of about 15 hectares (37 acres).

Landfills are common in major Philippine cities like Cebu, which is the trading centre and transportation gateway of the Visayas, the archipelago nation's central islands.

Australia PM announces royal commission into Bondi shooting

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8x94lz0gevo, 4 days ago

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a royal commission, the country's most powerful form of independent inquiry, into last month's shooting at Bondi Beach.

The attack targeting a Jewish festival left 15 people dead, making it one of the deadliest in the country's history.

Albanese had previously argued that reforms on gun ownership and hate speech, steps to tackle antisemitism and a review into intelligence and law enforcement agencies offered the quickest response.

But following weeks of public pressure, he said on Thursday that a royal commission was the best way forward after he had taken "the time to reflect" and meet with the Jewish community.

* investigating the "nature and prevalence of antisemitism" and its "key drivers" in Australia

* making recommendations to enforcement, border immigration and security agencies to tackle antisemitism

* examining the circumstances surrounding the Bondi attack

* making any other recommendations for strengthening social cohesion and countering the spread of ideological and religiously motivated extremism

Cambodia extradites alleged scam mastermind to China after arrest

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy4q8e88n2vo, 4 days ago

Cambodia says it has extradited to China a billionaire businessman accused of masterminding a vast cryptocurrency scam in which trafficked workers were lured to forced labour camps to defraud victims globally.

Chen Zhi was among three Chinese nationals arrested on 6 January after a joint investigation into transnational crime lasting several months, Cambodia said.

The US charged the 37-year-old last October with running internet scams from Cambodia that it said had stolen billions in cryptocurrency. The UK also sanctioned his global business empire, Prince Group.

Cambodian authorities have also suspended the operations of Prince Bank, a subsidiary of Prince Group.

The bank has been placed in liquidation and banned from offering new banking services - though customers can still withdraw money and repay loans, the National Bank of Cambodia said on Thursday.

China's state media confirmed Chen Zhi's extradition, describing him as "the head of a major cross-border gambling and fraud syndicate... suspected of multiple crimes, including operating casinos, fraud, illegal business operations and concealing criminal proceeds".

CCTV said he had been "placed under coercive measures in accordance with the law".

"The public security organs will soon issue arrest warrants for the first batch of key members of Chen Zhi's criminal syndicate, resolutely bringing fugitives to justice," said CCTV.

"The public security organs solemnly warn criminals to recognise the situation, stop their crimes before it's too late, and immediately surrender themselves to the authorities to receive lenient treatment."

Last year, US authorities seized about $15bn (£11bn) worth of bitcoin that it alleged belonged to Chen, in what FBI Director Kash Patel described as "one of the largest financial fraud takedowns in history".

The BBC contacted Prince Group for comment at the time. In the past, the Cambodia-based group has denied any involvement in scams. Its website says its businesses include property development, and financial and consumer services.

Since Chen Zhi was indicted by the US on fraud and money-laundering charges in October, his whereabouts have been unclear.

But on Wednesday, the Cambodian authorities said they had "arrested three Chinese nationals namely Chen Zhi, Xu Ji Liang, and Shao Ji Hui and extradited [them] to the People's Republic of China". The interior ministry statement did not say where Chen Zhi had been detained.

His Cambodian nationality had been revoked by royal decree last month, it added. The enigmatic tycoon had given up his Chinese nationality to become a Cambodian citizen in 2014.

The UN estimates that hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked to South East Asia, many of them to Cambodia, lured by the promise of legitimate jobs and then forced to run online scams.

People are held against their will in the scam farms and made to defraud strangers online under the threat of punishment or torture. Many of those trapped are Chinese and targeted people in China.

Chinese authorities have also been quietly investigating the Prince Group since at least 2020. The company is accused of running online fraud schemes in a number of court cases.

The Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau established a task force to investigate the Prince Group, describing it as "a major transnational online gambling syndicate based in Cambodia".

Cambodia's ruling elite have been close to Chen Zhi for years. The government has said little since the US and UK sanctioned Prince Group, apart from urging US and UK authorities to be sure they had sufficient evidence for their allegations.

By some estimates, scam businesses may account for around half of the entire Cambodian economy.

"I think it's the sheer scale of his operations which really makes Chen Zhi stand out," Jack Adamovic Davies, a journalist who has investigated Chen Zhi, told the BBC last year.

He said it was shocking the Prince Group had been able to build a "global footprint" without raising alarm bells, given the serious criminal charges it now faces.

Additional reporting by South East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head

Influential China church reports arrests as crackdown on Christians intensifies

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgl8jgdxypo, 4 days ago

An influential Protestant church in China says prominent leaders have been arrested in what appears to be a growing crackdown on the underground church movement.

Nine people were detained on Tuesday after police raided their homes and the church office in Chengdu, in central China, the Early Rain Covenant Church said. Five had been released by Wednesday.

More than 1,000 miles away in Wenzhou, authorities began demolishing the Yayang Church building, video obtained by non-profit ChinaAid, which monitors religious persecution, shows.

This latest wave of arrests, after others last year, shows the Communist Party's resolve to snuff out churches that do not align with its ideology, Christian groups say.

The BBC has contacted China's embassy in the UK for comment. Authorities have not made any statements about the arrests or the demolition in Wenzhou.

China promotes atheism and controls religion. The government said in 2018 that there were 44 million Christians in the country, but it's unclear if that number includes those who attend the many underground churches.

The Communist Party has long pressured Christians to join only state-sanctioned churches led by government-approved pastors.

But Christian groups say the grip has tightened noticeably, with arrests becoming more common and prompt.

At least two church leaders in China have told the BBC that authorities are swiftly arresting unauthorised church leaders. In the past, these individuals would first be warned, then fined and finally detained if they still refused to comply with orders.

Just weeks ago, Li Yingqiang, the current leader of Early Rain Covenant Church, had said he "sensed a storm gathering" and referred to "the imminent prospect of... another large-scale crackdown".

"I dearly hope that none of our families shall ever again endure such a storm," he wrote in a letter to church members in November.

"Yet as an elder appointed by the Lord to stand among you... it is my duty to remind you all to prepare yourselves before the storm returns."

Mr Li and his wife, Zhang Xinyue, are among the four who remain in detention.

Their church described the arrests as a "concerted operation" but said the grounds for arrest, and whether those detained had been charged, remain unclear. It added that it had lost contact with two other members but did not say they had been detained.

"The situation is ongoing, with specific details yet to be fully confirmed," Early Rain Covenant Church (ERCC) said in a statement to members and supporters. It also also sought prayers for its members' safety and their perseverance in the Christian faith.

In Wenzhou, local authorities brought in bulldozers, cranes and heavy machinery earlier this week to start taking down part of the Yayang Church building, as seen in the video.

ChinaAid said it was told by multiple sources that hundreds of armed and special police officers have been deployed to stand guard outside the building.

Sometimes known as "the Jerusalem of China", Wenzhou has more Christians than any other city in the country. Residents living near Yayang Church have been "driven away", while those working in the area has been instructed not to take photographs or record video, ChinaAid said.

"The massive mobilisation against the two major independent church networks shows the central government is determined to stamp out Christian churches entirely, unless the church is totally indoctrinated into the party's ideology," said Bob Fu, who founded ChinaAid.

In December, authorities arrested about 100 members of Yayang Church in Wenzhou over five days. At least 24 members remain in custody, according to Human Rights Watch.

And in October last year, 30 leaders of Zion Church - one of China's biggest underground churches - were rounded up across seven cities. Founder Ezra Jin is still in custody.

The Chinese government has also targeted the Early Rain Covenant Church, founded in 2008, for years.

In 2018, authorities raided the Church and arrested founding pastor Wang Yi and his wife Jiang Rong. At least 100 church members were taken into custody in the following days in one of China's largest crackdowns on churches in the past decade.

Mr Wang, an outspoken critic of the Communist Party's policies on religion, was jailed for "inciting subversion of state power" and "illegal business operations". He is due to be released in 2027.

The church has continued to gather online and sometimes replays Mr Wang's recorded sermons to its members.

"Xi Jinping's government has tightened ideological control and intensified its intolerance of loyalties beyond the Chinese Communist Party," said Yalkun Uluyol, China researcher at Human Rights Watch, referring to the Chinese premier.

"Concerned governments and religious leaders around the world should press the Chinese government to free detained religious adherents and respect religious freedom in China."

Under Xi, China has increased its control on religious freedom. Since 2015, he has called for the "Sinicisation of religions", which requires religious doctrines and practices to conform with Chinese culture and values.

Last year, authorities banned clergy of all religions from preaching live on social media, organising online activities for children and raising funds online, unless these are carried out on government-approved platforms.

Trump's Venezuela raid has created chaos - and that is a risk for China

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly92dkxqvko, 5 days ago

It took just a few hours for Donald Trump to upend a relationship that China had been cultivating for decades.

Only hours before he was seized in a nighttime raid, Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro had been praising his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping as "an older brother" with a "powerful message as a leader to the world" during a meeting with senior diplomats from Beijing.

China has invested heavily in oil-rich Venezuela, one of its closest South American partners. And its state media showed off the footage from that meeting to prove it: smiling men in suits, reviewing some of the 600 current agreements between their two countries - except the next photograph of Maduro was taken on board a US warship, blindfolded and handcuffed, in grey sweats.

China joined many countries around the world in condemning Washington's stunning move against a sovereign state. It accused the US of acting like a "world judge" and insisted that "the sovereignty and security of all countries should be fully protected under international law".

Those stern words aside, Beijing will be making careful calculations not just to ensure its foothold in South America, but also to manage an already tricky relationship with Trump and plot its next steps as the great power competition between the US and China takes a new, wholly unexpected turn.

Many see this as an opportunity for China's authoritarian Communist Party rulers. But there is also risk, uncertainty and frustration as Beijing tries to figure out what to do after Trump tore up the very international rulebook it has spent decades trying to play by.

Beijing, which likes to play the long game, is no fan of chaos. That is certainly what it seems to be coming up repeatedly against in Trump's second term. It had planned ahead and weathered the on-again, off-again trade war. Xi will believe he showed the US and the world just how dependent they are on Chinese manufacturing and technology.

But now Beijing faces a new challenge.

Trump's play for Venezuelan oil has likely strengthened China's deepest doubts about American intentions – how far would the US go to contain Chinese influence?

Speaking to NBC on Sunday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared: "This is the western hemisphere. This is where we live – and we're not going to allow the western hemisphere to be a base of operations for adversaries, competitors and rivals of the United States."

The not-so-hidden message was for Beijing: get out of our backyard.

Beijing is unlikely to listen. But it will wait to see what happens next.

On Wednesday Beijing strongly condemned a US report that suggested Washington will order the acting Venezuelan president to sever economic ties with China and Russia.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters that this was a "typical act of bullying, a serious violation of international law, a severe infringement upon Venezuela's sovereignty and will do grave damage to the rights of the Venezuelan people."

Some wonder if China is waiting and watching to see if it could do the same in Taiwan, the self-governing island which it views as a breakaway province.

Xi has vowed that Taiwan will one day be "reunified" with the mainland and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve this. And some nationalists on Chinese social media are asking: if the US can unilaterally act in Caracas, what is stopping Beijing from snatching the Taiwanese president?

For one, Beijing might not see those parallels because it considers Taiwan an internal matter, and not a concern of the international order. But more important, if Xi decides to invade the island, it will not be because the US has set a precedent, according to David Sacks from the Council on Foreign Relations. He writes that China doesn't have the "confidence that it can succeed at an acceptable cost".

"Until that day comes, though, China will continue with its strategy of employing coercion to wear down Taiwan's people, with the aim of forcing Taiwan to the negotiating table. The US strikes on Venezuela do not change this dynamic."

Rather, they are a challenge China did not need and does not want - and they risk its long-term plan to win over the Global South.

The relationship between Beijing and Caracas was fairly simple. China needed oil. Venezuela needed cash. From around 2000 to 2023 Beijing provided more than $100bn to Venezuela to finance railways, power plants and other infrastructure projects. In exchange, Caracas gave Beijing the oil it needed to fuel its booming economy.

Around 80% of Venezuelan oil was sent to China last year. That's still only 4% of the country's oil imports. So, when it comes to China's financial risks in Caracas, "it's important to keep some perspective", says Eric Olander, editor-in-chief of The China-Global South Project.

"Chinese firms like CNPC and Sinopec are among the largest players there and there is a risk of those assets either being nationalised by the Venezuelans, under the direction of the US or otherwise marginalised amid the chaos."

There are also around $10bn of outstanding loans that Venezuela owes Chinese creditors, but again, Olander urges caution as it's unclear if any investments in the country are currently at risk.

But it could warn off future investors. "Chinese enterprises need to fully assess the risks and extent of potential US intervention before investing in related projects," Cui Shoujun, from the School of International Relations at Renmin University, said on Chinese state media.

Beijing will not want to jeopardise the fragile trade truce it just signed with the US, but it won't want to lose its foothold in Latin America either. Striking that balance is going to be hard, especially with someone as unpredictable as Trump.

The concern for China is that other countries across South America start to worry about significant Chinese investments "out of concern of attracting unwanted US attention", Olander says. "This region is a critical source of food, energy and natural resources to China with two-way trade now topping half a trillion dollars."

The US has also made it clear it wants the Panamanian government to cancel all Chinese port holdings and investments related to the Panama Canal, which, he adds, is "undeniably concerning for China".

So Beijing may have to win the battle in Washington's backyard in other ways.

China has shown patience and persistence in wooing South America. The Global South is a group of countries that have signed up to "a community with a shared future" and urge opposition to "unilateral bullying".

This message resonates with governments that have grown wary of the West and, in particular, Washington under Trump. China is usually explicit from the start about what it wants from its partners - they recognise the "One China" principle and Taiwan is treated as an "integral part" of China.

Beijing has had considerable success in persuading Latin American states to switch diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China, with Costa Rica, Panama, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras all siding with the $19tn economy's talk of strategic partnership over the last 20 years.

In contrast, Trump has shown that a relationship with Washington can be volatile. And that could play into China's hands, as it seeks to project Xi as a stable leader, now more than ever before.

"This is important because the situation in Venezuela could easily descend into chaos," Olander says. "Also, don't forget the lesson from Iraq, where the US also said the country's oil reserves would pay for the reconstruction of the economy. That did not happen and China is now the largest buyer of Iraqi crude. Something similar could easily happen in Venezuela."

For years, the US was urged by China hawks in Congress to counter Beijing's influence across South America. It has made its move but what no-one seems sure of is what comes next.

Everything about this is a gamble – and Beijing, by all accounts, hates to gamble.

An Indian state wants to tackle hate speech with a law - can it work?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62vzpdmxxjo, 5 days ago

Can a law help curb hate speech in India? That's what the southern state of Karnataka is betting on.

Last month, legislators passed a bill which aims to prevent hate speech and hate crimes that fuel communal tension or target individuals and groups.

Hate speech is not new in India, but it has intensified in recent years as social media has spread and television channels amplify comments and reactions. A report last year found hate speech against minorities - mainly Muslims - rose 74% in 2024, peaking during the national elections.

That's why the Karnataka government - led by the Congress party - says the move is necessary, arguing that hate speech can lead to real-life violence. But critics warn this could come at the cost of civil liberties and free speech.

The Karnataka Hate Speech and Hate Crimes (Prevention) Bill, 2025, which still needs the state governor's sign to become law, sets out how hate speech cases should be investigated and prosecuted.

It defines hate speech as any "expression which is made, published, or circulated… in public view" verbally, in print, television or social media. But it also defines a hate crime as the "communication of hate speech", without specifying whether it needs to lead to violence or not.

The bill gives the state government the power to order social media and digital platforms to take down content it deems hate speech, something only the federal government can do currently.

India doesn't have a federal law against hate speech but a number of provisions across laws prohibit certain forms of speech, writing and actions as exceptions to free speech.

This includes criminalisation of acts that could promote "enmity between different groups on grounds of religion" and "deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs".

BJP leaders and some activists have urged the governor not to pass the bill but to instead send it to the Indian president for consideration.

Advocate and social activist Girish Bhardwaj, who has written to the governor, says the bill regulates citizens rather than hate speech.

He argues it gives excessive discretion to "executive agencies" - senior police and administrative officers - to decide what speech falls under the law, raising the risk of conflicts of interest, especially when the government is being criticised.

However, a senior Karnataka government official told the BBC, on condition of anonymity, that the bill would empower police by removing the need for government permission to file chargesheets, ruling out abuse of power.

"The police will have to approach the court directly and face consequences for inaction or mistakes," the official said.

This also means the accused can be tried regardless of political affiliation, the official added.

"If a party worker indulges in hate speech or a hate crime, the ruling party may not sanction prosecution. Under this law, the government cannot intervene," the official said.

Critics, however, argue that because the first point of action is the police, they may exercise a wider discretion in deciding what qualifies as hate speech.

"The first step is the police; the judiciary comes much later," Kumar says, arguing that the law's breadth and harsh penalties could push police to act on political signals rather than independent judgement.

"This is why I am not so sure this bill will achieve any of its intended effects at the end of the day," he adds.

Selfies and smiles: South Korea seeks 'new phase' in ties with China

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c70lw9x581no, 6 days ago

South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung has called for a "new phase" in ties with China as he met its leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday.

Regional security and lifting Beijing's unofficial ban on Korean pop culture is high on Lee's agenda, as he continues his four-day trip in China. He is set to meet China's Premier Li Qiang and the chairman of parliament, Zhao Leji on Tuesday.

It marks the first visit by a South Korean leader since 2019. Bilateral ties had soured under Lee's predecessor, impeached ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol, who was very critical of China.

Xi, meanwhile, has appeared keen to shore up ties with South Korea amid a diplomatic row between China and Japan.

South Korea is a US security ally - like Japan - but also relies on China for trade. Experts say Lee is expected to keep walking a diplomatic tightrope between Beijing and Tokyo.

The visit marks the second time the two leaders have met since November when Xi visited South Korea for a regional economic summit.

On Monday Lee stated that the visit was "a crucial opportunity" for the "full-scale restoration of South Korea-China relations", reported South Korean newspaper Chosun. "We want to usher in a new phase in the development of South Korea-China relations."

Government officials and companies from both countries signed a series of cooperation agreements on technology, trade and environment.

Lee also took selfies with Xi, using a Xiaomi phone that the Chinese president had gifted him last year.

"The image quality is certainly good, right?" Lee posted on X along with the photos.

Xi noted that the "international situation is becoming more turbulent and complex".

The meeting followed the US's capture of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro over the weekend.

Xi urged Lee to "firmly stand on the right side of history and make correct strategic choices", China's official Xinhua news agency reported.

He also brought up the two countries' shared history of resisting Japan militarism, saying that China and South Korea should now "work hand in hand to safeguard the outcomes of the victory of World War Two and uphold peace and stability in Northeast Asia".

Xi's eagerness to meet Lee signals the pressure he faces in finding a regional ally, Park Seung-chan, professor of China studies at Yongin University told the BBC.

"China may beat around the bush but its demand is clear: side with China and denounce Japan."

During his four-day trip to China, Lee is expected to hold a memorial service in Shanghai for activists who fought for Korea's independence from Japan.

But while South Korea is "still showing all its deference towards China", it wants to "strengthen its relationships with both Japan and China", Mr Park said.

Lee is reportedly planning to visit Japan later this month to meet Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

The Japanese leader has come under fire from Beijing for suggesting in parliament that Tokyo could respond with its own self-defence forces in case of a Chinese attack on Taiwan, the self-governed island that China claims as its territory.

Security on the Korean Peninsula has also been part of the discussions.

Lee has sought to engage North Korea diplomatically, but there has been little progress so far.

He needs Chinese cooperation in pressuring the North's Kim Jong Un to give up his nuclear weapons. Beijing is one of Pyongyang's biggest supporters, economically and diplomatically.

Lee vowed on Monday to work with China on "viable alternatives for peace on the Korean Peninsula".

On Sunday Seoul's military said Pyongyang fired ballistic missiles off its east coast. And on Monday the North's state news agency said the country test-fired hypersonic missiles to assess deterrence capabilities following recent developments, in an apparent reference to the US's seizure of Maduro.

It remains unclear how much Lee will be able to push China on North Korea. In September, Xi had pledged to strengthen Beijing's "traditional friendship" with Pyongyang.

And Seoul and Beijing are not natural allies.

US troops have been stationed in South Korea for decades in case of an attack from the North, and last year the two sides agreed to cooperate on building nuclear-powered submarines. The announcement drew warnings from China.

Lee has also sought to put a stop to China's build-up of maritime structures in waters between the two countries. Beijing says the structures are fish-farming equipment, but they have sparked security concerns in Seoul.

The two leaders agreed on Monday to continue "constructive" dialogue on the matter, South Korea's presidential spokesperson said.

Another item high on Lee's agenda is China's unofficial restrictions on South Korean music and dramas that have been in place for a decade. K-pop and K-dramas are either unavailable or difficult to access on Chinese media platforms.

While China has never acknowledged a ban on Korean artists, it's believed to be a protest against South Korea's decision to deploy a US anti-missile system in 2016, which China sees as a threat to its military operations in the region.

China is a massive market for Korean entertainment, which is already a huge global success.

At a Korea-China business forum on Sunday, Lee encouraged deeper bilateral collaboration in beauty products, food and cultural content including movies and music.

A South Korean presidential spokesperson said on Monday that the two leaders agreed to discuss the gradual expansion of cultural exchanges - without specifying concrete commitments on K-dramas or K-pop.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson similarly told reporters on Tuesday that both sides have agreed to "carry out orderly, healthy, and beneficial cultural exchanges".

Speaking before Korean residents in Beijing on Sunday, Lee said his visit would "serve as a new starting point to fill in the gaps in Korea-China relations, restore them to normal and upgrade them to a new level".

'An attack on women's dignity': Walls whitewashed after silhouettes defaced in Indian city

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgl8x03lzpo, 2 days ago

A recent viral video of defaced artwork on a public wall in the central Indian city of Gwalior has led to outrage on social media and among activists.

The video, shared by a school student on Instagram last week, showed scratches and marks made around where the genitals would be on female silhouettes doing yoga.

In her post, the teenager said she passed the murals daily and seeing the black silhouettes defaced with white markings filled her "with anger and disgust".

"This is not harmless damage. This is cheap thinking, dirty mentality, and deep disrespect. It's shameful, embarrassing, and extremely disappointing that even a woman's painting isn't safe from such sick minds," she wrote.

The video of the defaced artwork sparked anger on social media, with many saying that the sight made them "uneasy" and that "women are not safe even in graffiti".

The act of vandalism also made headlines, with the media describing it as "shameful", "embarrassing", "sick" and "an attack on women's dignity".

This week, city authorities stepped in and whitewashed the wall, but activists say that will not solve the actual problem - the mindset that led to sexualisation of even female silhouettes.

In recent years, India has been promoting the ancient practice of yoga by holding an annual global yoga day and artful graffiti of yoga poses have been painted across cities, including in the capital Delhi.

The brightly coloured murals in Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh state were part of a project to beautify the city.

After the student's video went viral, a local resident tried fixing the problem.

Lokendra Singh, a college student and a social media influencer, painted over the obscene markings with black paint.

"It requires a lot of courage to make something right, especially in a public space. But I thought someone has to do it," he told the BBC.

It was after his video also went viral that city authorities stepped in.

Gwalior Municipal Corporation spokesman Umesh Gupta blamed the defacing on "some miscreants" and said they had not been identified, since there were no CCTV cameras around these walls.

He said they had sent workers to whitewash the wall.

"Whitewashing is done in some places and the work is going on in a few other places where paintings have been defaced. Once all the defaced walls are whitewashed, we will get new paintings made," Gupta said.

It is not clear if the restoration would bring back the original artwork. The civic authority has announced a "street wall painting competition" for Sunday, inviting artists to come help beautify the city. The themes it has listed include cleanliness, environmental issues, water conservation, perils of tobacco use and how to be a responsible citizen. It does not mention yoga.

The whitewashing of the wall has also been questioned by some who pointed out that maybe this approach was missing the point.

The answer, they suggested, was not to paint over the problem but to address the mentality that caused it in the first place.

The teenager who first shared the video also told the Times of India newspaper that "the wall can be fixed and repainted, but what about the mentality of the people who are objectifying even a black painting of a woman"?

One dead, dozens trapped after giant landfill collapses in Philippines

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c17zqz5pprwo, 3 days ago

A mountain of rubbish collapsed at a landfill in the central Philippines on Thursday, killing a 22-year-old woman and leaving more than 30 people missing, authorities have said.

Rescuers pulled 12 injured sanitation workers from debris at the Binaliw Landfill in Cebu City, who were later hospitalised.

Many of the missing are believed to be workers at the landfill. The mayor of Cebu told news outlet ABS-CBN that it may be difficult to reach survivors because of the potential for further collapse.

The cause of the collapse is still unclear, but Cebu City councillor Joel Garganera said it was likely the result of poor waste management practices.

Some 300 people from various government agencies and civilian groups have been deployed to the privately-owned landfill. Several excavators, ambulances and fire trucks have also been seen on site.

"All response teams remain fully engaged in search and retrieval efforts to locate the remaining missing persons," Cebu Mayor Nestor Archival said in a Facebook post on Friday.

"This is not like other landslides that you can just excavate. If you pull from the top, the bottom is soft. Let's say there is a person there, when you get the debris, it might get worse," he said, ABS-CBN reported.

Cebu City councillor Joel Garganera said the incident may have happened suddenly, but was likely a result of poor waste management practices.

Operators had been cutting into the mountain, mining the soil, and then piling garbage to form another mountain of waste, Garganera told local newspaper The Freeman.

"It's not a sanitary landfill. It's already an open dumpsite," he said.

Families are waiting for updates on their loved ones trapped in the debris.

One Binaliw resident, Belen Antigua, told Rappler that her son had survived the landslide but she was still waiting for her other relatives to be found. Another said that families had been gathered at the landfill to look for their children since Friday morning.

"I could not understand my emotions. They said those trapped are calling for help, so there is a possibility that my brother is still there," Michelle Lumapas, whose brother works at the landfill, told ABS-CBN.

The Binaliw landfill is about 15 hectares (37 acres).

Landfills are common in major Philippine cities like Cebu, which is the trading centre and transportation gateway of the Visayas, the archipelago nation's central islands.

'How do we look Indian?': Student's killing puts spotlight on racism in India

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c931qx3lepro, 3 days ago

The northern Indian city of Dehradun, located in the Himalayan foothills, was shaken by a violent incident weeks ago.

Brothers Anjel and Michael Chakma - students who had migrated more than 1,500 miles from the north-eastern state of Tripura for studies - had gone to a market on 9 December when they were confronted by a group of men, who allegedly abused them with racial slurs, their father Tarun Chakma told the BBC.

When the brothers protested, they were attacked. Michael Chakma was allegedly struck on the head with a metal bracelet, while Anjel Chakma suffered stab wounds. Michael has recovered but Anjel died 17 days later in hospital, he says.

Police in Uttarakhand state (whose capital is Dehradun) have arrested five people in connection with the incident, but they have denied that the attack was racially motivated - a claim that Chakma's family strongly disputes.

The incident, which has triggered protests in several cities, has put the spotlight on allegations of racism faced by people from India's north-eastern states when they move to larger cities for education or work. They say they are often mocked over their appearance, questioned about nationality and harassed in public spaces and workplaces.

For many, the discrimination extends beyond abuse to everyday barriers that shape where and how they live. People from the region report difficulty renting accommodation, with landlords refusing tenants because of their appearance, food habits or stereotypes.

Such pressures have led many north-eastern migrants in large cities to cluster in specific neighbourhoods, offering safety, mutual support and cultural familiarity far from home.

But while many say they learn to endure everyday prejudices to build lives elsewhere in the country, violent crimes such as Anjel Chakma's killing are deeply unsettling. They reinforce fears about personal safety and a sense of vulnerability, they say.

India has seen many high-profile cases of racial violence involving people from the north-eastern region over the last several years.

The killing of Nido Tania in 2014 became a national flashpoint, prompting protests and widespread debate about racism after the 20-year-old student from Arunachal Pradesh state was beaten to death in Delhi following taunts about his appearance.

But activists say it did not mark an end to such violence.

In 2016, a 26-year-old student from the region was beaten up in Pune. A year later, another student was racially abused and assaulted by his landlord in Bengaluru.

Rights groups say there are many such incidents that do not grab national attention.

"Unfortunately, the racism faced by people from the north-east tends to be highlighted only when something extremely violent happens," said Suhas Chakma, director of the Delhi-based Rights and Risks Analysis Group.

The federal government in its annual crime reports does not maintain separate data for racial violence.

For Ambika Phonglo from the north-eastern Assam state, who lives and works in the capital, Anjel Chakma's killing has been deeply unsettling. "Our facial features like narrow eyes and flat noses make us easy targets of racism," she says.

Phonglo recalls being subjected to racial name-calling by colleagues during a workplace discussion a few years ago. "You face it and learn to move on," she says, "but not without carrying a heavy burden of trauma."

Mary Wahlang, from neighbouring state of Meghalaya, said she decided to return home after college in the southern state of Karnataka, abandoning plans to seek work in larger cities, after repeated racial name-calling by classmates.

"Over time I realised that some people used these slurs without understanding they were racial or hurtful, while others did so despite knowing the consequences," she says.

Such experiences, activists say, are not isolated, with many from north-eastern states describing racial taunts and everyday discrimination as a routine part of life in workplaces, campuses and public spaces across the country's major cities.

While awareness about the north-eastern region and the racism people from there face have improved over the years, casual racism persists, they say.

"How do we look Indian enough? Sadly, there are no clear answers," says Alana Golmei, member of a monitoring committee set up by the federal government in 2018 in the wake of increasing complaints of racial violence in Indian cities.

She says that dismissing such attacks as isolated incidents unrelated to racism only deepens the problem. "One has to first accept and acknowledge the issue to begin addressing it," Golmei told the BBC.

The killing of Anjel Chakma has renewed calls for a specific anti-racism law. Several student and civil society groups have issued open letters demanding legal reform.

After Nido Tania's death in 2014, the Indian government set up a committee to examine discrimination faced by people from the north-east living outside of the region.

The panel submitted its report to the home ministry the same year, acknowledging widespread racism and recommending several measures, including a standalone anti-racism law, fast-track investigations and institutional safeguards.

But activists say little has changed since. No specific anti-racism legislation has been enacted, and many of the recommendations remain only partially implemented.

The BBC has sought clarification from the federal government, but they are yet to respond.

The renewed demands over an anti-racism law have revived a broader debate over whether legislation can address prejudice, often seen as rooted in social behaviour.

Experts and activists such as Chakma and Golmei argue that it can.

They cite laws criminalising dowry and caste-based atrocities, arguing that while these haven't ended abuse, they have empowered victims and raised awareness.

"An anti-racism law could empower victims, improve reporting and place racial abuse clearly within the scope of criminal accountability," Golmei said.

Meanwhile in Tripura, Tarun Chakma mourns his elder son while facing uncertainty over his younger one: Michael, a final-year sociology student, is expected to return to Dehradun to complete his studies.

While family members have urged caution, Tarun Chakma says he is torn between fear for his son's safety and the belief that abandoning his education would amount to another loss.

"At the end of the day, higher education for a better future was the reason for which we had sent our sons so far away from home," he says.

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Australia to deport British man over alleged neo-Nazi links

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgez1drnzxdo, 4 days ago

A British man living in Western Australia is set to be deported over claims that he was part of a well-known neo-Nazi group.

Ryan Turner's visa was cancelled on character grounds and he was taken into immigration detention on Tuesday. He can appeal the decision to cancel his visa or voluntarily return to the UK.

Turner is understood to be a member of the National Socialist Network, the same group that organised an anti-Jewish rally outside the New South Wales parliament last year.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said: "Our government has zero tolerance for bigotry and hate. If you don't like Australia, you can leave."

The BBC has contacted the UK Foreign Office for comment.

Last year, Australia tightened its hate crime laws, introducing mandatory jail terms for displaying hate symbols or performing a Nazi salute.

In recent months, police have been cracking down on the use of these symbols amid fears of rising antisemitism and right wing extremism.

Several foreign nationals with links to Nazi ideology have had their visas revoked including South African man Matthew Gruter who was detained last November.

Gruter was also a part of the National Socialist Network and took part in the neo-Nazi rally outside the New South Wales parliament. It is unclear if Turner attended.

Gruter was pictured in the front row of the rally along with about 60 other men, all clad in black, with a banner saying "abolish the Jewish lobby".

Attendees also reportedly chanted "blood and honour", a slogan associated with the Hitler Youth, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

Gruter, who had lived in Australia since 2022 and worked as a civil engineer, returned to South Africa with his wife and young child, the ABC reported in early December.

In another case, a British man living in Queensland was arrested and charged for allegedly using a social media account to post the Nazi swastika, promote pro-Nazi ideology and call for violence towards the Jewish community.

Just before Christmas, the man who was identified in court documents as Kayn Adam Charles Wells, was placed in immigration detention in Brisbane after his visa was cancelled.

He faced court earlier this week - where he is understood to have requested voluntary removal from Australia - with the case adjourned until February.

Last month, days after two gunmen killed 15 people at a Jewish event at Bondi Beach, Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a crackdown on hate speech with new laws to target "those who spread hate, division and radicalisation".

The reforms also aim to give the home affairs minister new powers to cancel or refuse visas for those who spread hate.

Heatwave hits Australia as officials warn of 'catastrophic' fire risk

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy4q898dkwxo, 4 days ago

Parts of Australia will face catastrophic fire conditions on Friday, when heatwaves are expected to hit most of the country.

Severe to extreme heatwaves have been declared in every state and territory in Australia, except for Queensland, with high temperatures forecast for days.

The state of Victoria has declared a total fire ban for Friday, as the fire danger rating will be set at "catastrophic" - the highest level. Some 450 schools and childcare centres will be closed.

One meteorologist told the BBC that the combination of heatwaves and an elevated fire danger in parts of the country could create the most "significant" conditions since the devastating Black Summer bushfires.

On Thursday, firefighters battled several blazes in Victoria and New South Wales (NSW), with a dozen planes carrying water called in to tackle a large fire near the city of Wodonga, the ABC reported.

Melbourne experienced its hottest day in six years on Wednesday with a high of 40.9C (105.6F), while some coastal towns in Western Australia hit 49C.

In NSW, the heatwave is expected to peak on Saturday with Sydney facing a high of 42C while areas of South Australia and Western Australia will see temperatures over 40C in the coming days.

Friday will be the "real peak of the current burst of heat," Angus Hines from the Bureau of Meteorology told the BBC.

"It will be a very hot day for almost all of South Australia, Victoria, most of New South Wales, parts of Tasmania".

Wednesday was the first significant heatwave for Melbourne and Adelaide, where millions of people live, with fire conditions set to worsen on Friday, he said.

"Firstly, the winds are strengthening across Victoria tomorrow," Hines said, adding that coupled with possible thunderstorms with little rain and dry lightning strikes, the fire danger will hit catastrophic levels for the northern parts of Victoria.

"This looks like the most significant event at a multi-day level for inland south-east Australia since 2019-2020," Hines said.

That period six years ago saw Australia's most severe fire season on record, the so-called Black Summer where dozens of people died and tens of millions of hectares of land was burnt.

In Victoria, authorities on Thursday warned that a catastrophic fire danger rating means potential blazes can be "unpredictable and uncontrollable".

"We need the community to play their role alongside our emergency services to protect lives and property," said Victoria's Emergency Management Commissioner Tim Wiebusch.

"Prepare now and enact your bushfire survival plan. If you are in an area of forecast catastrophic fire danger, leave early to an area with a lower fire risk."

Australia's fire danger ratings scale has four levels, with catastrophic being the highest level, followed by extreme, high and moderate.

A heatwave is declared when the minimum and maximum temperatures are expected to be unusually high for three days of more.

Greenlanders fear for future as island embroiled in geopolitical storm

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgrd2e7p9reo, yesterday

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet Danish and Greenlandic officials next week to discuss the fate of Greenland - a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark that President Donald Trump says he needs for national security.

The vast island finds itself in the eye of a geopolitical storm with Trump's name on it and people here are clearly unnerved.

Yet when you fly in, it looks so peaceful. Ice and snow-capped mountains stretch as far as the eye can see, interrupted here and there by glittering fjords - all between the Arctic and the Atlantic Oceans.

It is said to sit on top of the world; much of it above the Arctic Circle.

Greenland is nine times the size of the UK but it only has 57,000 inhabitants, most of them indigenous Inuit.

You find the biggest cluster of Greenlanders on the south-western coast in the capital, Nuuk. We arrived there as a frozen twilight was creeping across snow-covered pedestrian streets.

Parents dragged their children home from school on sledges, and students mooched their way in and out of brightly-lit malls. Few wanted to talk to us about the Trump-related angst here. Those who did sounded very gloomy.

One pensioner banged his walking stick on the ground in emphasis as he told me the US must never plant its flag in Greenland's capital.

A lady who said she was mistrustful of everyone these days, and didn't give her name, admitted she was "scared to death" about the prospect of Trump taking the island by force after she watched his military intervention in Venezuela.

Meanwhile, 20-something pottery-maker Pilu Chemnitz said: "I think we are all very tired of the US president. We have always lived a quiet and peaceful life here.

"Of course, the colonisation by Denmark caused a lot of trauma for many people but we just want to be left alone."

Never mind opposing a takeover by the US, which 85% of Greenlanders say they do, most also say they favour independence from Denmark - although many tell me they appreciate the Danish subsidies that help prop up their welfare state. While rich in untapped natural resources, poverty is a real issue here in Inuit communities.

Overall, Greenlanders want a bigger, louder say, not only in their domestic policies, but in foreign affairs too.

I went to the island's modest-looking parliament, the body of it built in a Scandinavian style with wooden slats and painted the same burnished red as the Greenlandic flags fluttering by the entrance.

No security checks. All pretty relaxed. Except for the roaring polar bear emblem - a symbol of Greenland, etched onto every sliding glass doors we pass.

* perceived national security concerns

* a hunger for the rich natural resources Greenland boasts, including rare earths and minerals

* and his loudly-trumpeted desire to dominate the Americas.

Geographically Greenland is part of North America.

It's closer to New York City by about 1,000 miles (1,609 km) than to Copenhagen.

This should give Greenlanders pause for thought, opposition MP Pele Broberg of the Naleraq Party told me.

He said people were scared of what Trump would do to Greenland because they were misinformed, largely because of media hysteria.

"It's true, we are not for sale - but we are open for business. Or we should be.

"Right now we are a colony. We are made to import our goods from Denmark: 4,000km away, rather than from the US which is much closer."

Broberg described his organisation as the island's true independence party, pushing he says for freedom, so Greenlanders can trade, on their terms, with any party or country they choose: the US, Denmark or others.

But right now, the US is making demands, rather than business deals between equals.

So what exactly are the national security priorities Trump sees in Greenland?

Briefly put: the shortest route for a Russian ballistic missile to reach continental US is via Greenland and the North Pole.

Washington DC already has an early warning air base on the island - but Greenland could serve as a base for missile interceptors as part of the Trump administration's proposed "Golden Dome" system: a plan to shield the US from all missile attacks.

The US has also reportedly discussed placing radars in waters connecting Greenland, Iceland and the UK - the so-called GIUK Gap. That's a gateway for Chinese and Russian vessels that Washington wants to track.

There is no evidence to the naked eye when you are in Greenland to back Trump's recent assertions that there are lots of Chinese and Russian ships currently around the island.

And last week Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian criticised Washington for "using the so-called 'China threat' as a pretext for itself to seek selfish gains" in the Arctic.

But Russia and China have been expanding their military capabilities, and have beefed up their co-operation elsewhere in the region - with joint naval patrols and co-developing new shipping routes.

Under pressure from western sanctions over Ukraine, Moscow is keen to ship more to Asia.

Beijing is looking for shorter, more lucrative maritime routes to Europe.

The northern sea route is becoming easier to navigate due to melting ice, and Greenland opened its representation office in Beijing in 2023 in pursuit of deeper ties with China.

When it comes to Arctic security, Nato allies hope to persuade Washington that they are serious. UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer reportedly spoke more than once to the US president last week, telling him that Europe will step up its presence even further in the region. He's also been urging European leaders to increase their cooperation with the US there.

Greenland, Denmark and their Nato allies believe there is room for negotiation with Rubio next week and that, at the very least, Trump swooping in to Greenland militarily is unlikely - though not impossible.

But if the Trump administration does choose that option, it's hard to know what Europe could or would do about it.

The continent still heavily relies on the US for its own security and defence, and its leaders also desperately want to keep Washington onside in talks to end the war in Ukraine.

The Arctic powers geographically are Denmark, the US, Canada, Russia, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. An Arctic Council, representing them all, has long tried to maintain the mantra: high north, low tension.

But military chest-beating and unilateralism from Washington over Greenland, plus a wider scramble for advantage between global superpowers, adds to a real sense of jeopardy in the region.

The decades-long delicate balance in the Arctic, in place since the end of the Cold War, and even managed since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, could be dangerously upset.

'We are not for sale': Greenlanders express fear and indignation as Trump eyes territory

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgx8w4pgk0o, 4 days ago

"The people of Greenland do not want to become American," Mia Chemnitz tells the BBC. "We are not for sale."

The 32-year-old business owner in the Greenlandic capital Nuuk reflects the sentiments of many who spoke to the BBC about how they felt about recent rhetoric from the Trump administration.

The White House has said it was "actively" discussing an offer to buy the territory that has for centuries belonged to Denmark. US President Donald Trump and his officials had earlier intimated a willingness to take it by force if necessary.

This has been met with nervousness and opprobrium among Greenlanders - both on the world's largest island and elsewhere.

This nervousness has only grown since the US took Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro from his residence in Caracas to New York on drug-trafficking and narco-terrorism charges in an unprecedented military move.

Almost immediately after, the wife of a senior White House staffer indicated that Greenland was next.

"That's when it stopped feeling abstract," says Tupaarnaq Kopeck, 40, who moved to Canada - another place Trump has threatened to annex - for family and work.

"For the first time, I contacted my sister in Greenland and told her that if the unthinkable ever became reality, they would have a place to stay with us."

Aaja Chemnitz, one of two MPs in the Danish parliament representing Greenland, says the comments from the Trump administration are "a clear threat" that she was "appalled" by.

"It's completely disrespectful from the US side to not rule out annexing our country and to annex another Nato ally," she says.

Greenland is the world's most sparsely populated territory. With much of the Arctic island covered by ice, most of the population lives in Nuuk and the surrounding south-western coastline.

But it is strategically significant to the US - which is why it has had a military presence there since World War Two.

Greenland's location between North America and the Arctic makes it well placed for early warning systems in the event of missile attacks.

More recently, there has also been increased interest in Greenland's natural resources, including rare earth minerals, which are becoming easier to access as its ice melts due to climate change.

"It's not fun being 56,000 people and having these threats - if you can call them that - from a giant like the US," says Masaana Egede, editor of Greenlandic newspaper Sermitsiaq.

"The citizens of Greenland are nervous about this, because this is not something that we take lightly."

Experts generally agree that a military takeover of Greenland would be an easy undertaking for the US - but that the geopolitical fallout would effectively end the Nato alliance.

After the issue of Greenland's ownership was raised anew by the White House, six European allies issued a statement saying its future should be decided by its people - something Mia says she is grateful for.

But she worries this will matter little to the US "if it's not backed with consequences and actions".

"As a Greenlander, I can't help but wonder: what are we worth to these allies? To what lengths are they willing to go to protect us?"

Tupaarnaq says: "Respect is about more than alliances on paper. When powerful nations talk about you instead of with you, that respect disappears very quickly."

The Trump administration has stressed its intention was to buy Greenland from Denmark - despite Copenhagen reiterating the territory was not for sale - while retaining a military intervention as an option.

Aaja sees annexation by force as unlikely - instead, "what we are going to see is that they will put pressure on us in order to make sure that they will take over Greenland over time".

Polling consistently shows that Greenlanders generally favour eventual independence from Denmark but oppose being owned by the US. The territory is largely self-governing, with control of foreign affairs and defence retained by Copenhagen.

This is perhaps why Aleqatsiaq Peary, a 42-year-old Inuit hunter living in the remote northerly town of Qaanaaq, seemed unfazed by the prospect of US ownership.

"It would be switching from one master to another, from one occupier to another," he says. "We are a colony under Denmark. We are already losing a lot from being under the Danish government."

But he adds: "I don't have time for Trump. Our people are in need," explaining hunters like him hunt with dogs on the sea ice and fish, "but the sea ice is melting and hunters cannot make a living anymore".

For Sermitsiaq editor Masaana, the rhetoric from the US is pushing a fallacious binary choice.

"We really have to try to avoid getting the story going to a place where it's Greenland that has to decide between the US and Denmark, because that is not the choice that the Greenlandic people want."

For others, who see the strong relationship Greenland already has with the US being soured, there is a clear sense of indignation.

"People in Greenland are getting really irritated with this," says Christian Keldsen of the Greenland Business Association.

"Greenlanders are welcoming and open-hearted, it's the best thing about the country. But now with this, some people are scared."

Greenland is open for business with the US, Christian stresses, noting that there are new direct flights from Greenland to New York - a sure sign "they don't need to take us over".

"We are a well-functioning democracy and our government has a strong mandate," Mia says. "We are a Nato ally and the US has had military bases in Greenland for over 70 years - and still has the right to establish and run new and more.

"As it has been stated from Greenland before: we are not for sale, but we're open for business."

Owner of Swiss ski bar held in custody after deadly New Year's Eve fire

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g0mq520zeo, 2 days ago

One of the two co-owners of the Swiss bar where 40 people died in a fire on New Year's Eve has been detained.

Swiss prosecutors said Jacques Moretti, a French national, was a potential flight risk. He and his wife Jessica, who is also French, are suspected of manslaughter by negligence, bodily harm by negligence and arson by negligence.

The blaze at Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana left 116 people injured. Many of the victims were aged under 20. The fire is believed to have been started by sparklers in champagne bottles raised too close to the ceiling during celebrations.

It emerged this week that the bar in the popular ski resort had not undergone safety checks for five years.

The decision to detain Jacques Moretti came after he and his wife, Jessica, who own the bar together, were on Friday questioned by prosecutors in Sion, a town in the canton of Valais.

Under Swiss law, the subject of an investigation is kept in custody until a court decision is made within 48 hours.

The couple had been earlier placed under criminal investigation.

On Friday, Jessica Moretti told reporters: "My constant thoughts go to the victims and those who are fighting today.

"This was an unthinkable tragedy and never could we have imagined this. It happened in our bar and I want to say I'm sorry," she added as she walked through the streets of Sion surrounded by police.

The co-owners had earlier said they were "devastated", pledging "full co-operation" with the ongoing investigation.

The prosecutors have said they believe the fire started when people celebrating the New Year raised champagne bottles with sparklers attached, setting light to sound-insulating foam on the ceiling of the basement bar.

On Friday, Switzerland staged a minute's silence on a national day of mourning for the victims of the fire.

Church bells then rang across the country for five minutes.

Trains and trams came to a halt and Zurich airport briefly paused operations.

At a local commemoration staged in Crans-Montana, there was a standing ovation for firefighters.

The news that the bar had not been inspected for five years has shocked families of the victims.

Romain Jordan, who represents some of the families, said earlier this week the "staggering number of breaches and shortcomings in the inspections raises the question of whether the municipality should be investigated with even greater urgency".

Venues like Le Constellation should have been checked annually, but Crans-Montana Mayor Nicolas Feraud said on Tuesday he could not explain why this had not been done for so long at that bar.

"We regret that - we owe it to the families and we will accept the responsibility," he said.

He added that sparklers would be banned in local venues.

Most of the victims of the fire were young - eight were under the age of 16.

Many of the injured have severe burns and are being treated in Switzerland and other European countries.

The funerals of some of those who died have been taking place.

Trial starts of man accused of inciting teenagers to harm themselves online

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cje1vjpwje4o, 3 days ago

A 21-year-old man has gone on trial in Hamburg, charged with committing multiple crimes online, including coercing a 13-year-old to die by suicide on the internet.

The man, who used the pseudonym White Tiger, is believed to have been a prominent figure in a group of international cyber-criminals known as "764".

He is accused of grooming children and young teenagers between the ages of 11 and 15 to commit acts of violence against themselves online.

The authorities say White Tiger's victims came from Germany, the UK, Canada and the US but his lawyer described the allegations are baseless and fabricated.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) described the "764" group as an international child exploitation enterprise and a "network of nihilistic violent extremists". It also made a number of arrests.

The man, named only as Shahriar J in line with German privacy laws, has both German and Iranian nationality. He was arrested at his parents' home in Hamburg last summer.

He is charged with 204 offences against more than 30 children and teenagers.

Prosecutors in Hamburg say the crimes were committed between 2021 and 2023.

Shahriar J is suspected of having made particularly vulnerable children emotionally dependent on him via social media. He is then believed to have exploited that bond to create child pornography.

In some of the cases, he is accused of persuading his victims to take their own life.

Prosecutors have charged him with one murder and five attempted murders, "as an indirect perpetrator."

All his crimes are said to have been committed via the internet.

Reports in the German media say one of his victims, a 13-year-old boy from the US, took his own life in real time online.

A 14-year-old Canadian girl is alleged to have attempted to take her own life too.

According to the charge sheet, in order to comply with Shahriar J's demands for increasingly violent content, the children seriously injured themselves or performed sexual acts on themselves in live chats in front of viewers.

The defendant is accused of having made recordings of this in order to threaten the children with publication if they did not inflict even more serious self-harm on themselves in front of the camera.

Because some of the alleged offences were committed when Shahriar J was a teenager himself, the trial is taking place behind closed doors.

Before the trial began, the 21-year-old's defence lawyer, Christiane Yüksel, rejected the allegations as baseless and fabricated. She described the prosecution's claim of double indirect perpetration in the murder charge as "experimental".

"This construct of so-called indirect perpetration is, as the word suggests, a construct that is factually incorrect and cannot be proven," she said.

French researcher freed from Russia in prisoner exchange

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpv744gp7j7o, 3 days ago

Russia is freeing French researcher Laurent Vinatier in a prisoner swap deal after he spent more than a year in prison for failing to register as a "foreign agent".

Vinatier's release is in exchange for Russian basketball player Daniil Kasatkin, who has been imprisoned in France since last June at the request of the US over a hacking charge.

The release of Vinatier, 49, and Kasatkin, 26, follows recent prisoner swaps between Russia and the West. August 2024 saw the largest exchange since the Cold War era, with 24 people freed.

Russia's state-owned news agency RIA reports that Vinatier had been pardoned by President Vladimir Putin.

Tensions between Moscow and the West have been high in recent years, especially since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

But two weeks ago, the Kremlin said Russia was in contact with France over Vinatier, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying Moscow had made an unspecified "offer" to Paris, and that the ball was in France's court.

Vinatier was reunited with his parents and received by France's top diplomat Jean-Noel Barrot at the French foreign ministry after arriving in Paris.

French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X that "our compatriot" was back in France, adding: "I share the relief felt by his family and loved ones."

Vinatier, who worked for a Switzerland-based conflict mediation non-profit, was arrested while gathering what prosecutors alleged was information on Russia's military.

Russia requires anyone who receives foreign support or is under influence from abroad to declare themselves as a foreign agent.

During his court hearing, Vinatier apologised and pleaded guilty, saying he was unaware he should have registered. The then-48-year-old was sentenced to three years in prison.

France described the ruling as "extremely harsh" and called for Vinatier's immediate release.

Meanwhile, US authorities believed Kasatkin negotiated payoffs for a ransomware ring that hacked about 900 companies. The basketball player denied the accusations.

Russia has in the past used foreign nationals detained in the country as bargaining chips to secure the release of its nationals arrested abroad.

During August 2024's mass prisoner swap, Russia freed US reporter Evan Gershkovich, ex-US Marine Paul Whelan and more than a dozen others in exchange for several Russian spies detained across the West.

Big freeze causes travel chaos across western Europe

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy59k13e7eqo, 5 days ago

A spell of freezing weather bringing heavy snowfall and ice has caused transport disruption across western Europe.

Hundreds of flights have been cancelled at several airports, while Eurostar services and haulage have also been affected.

More than 700 flights were cancelled at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, a major regional transport hub, on Wednesday. Meanwhile, France's civil aviation authority has asked airlines to cut 40% of flights scheduled for the main international airport in Paris.

At least six people have died in weather-related incidents across Europe this week -five in France and one in Bosnia.

Dutch national airline KLM warned Schiphol Airport was close to running out of de-icing fluid after days of freezing conditions.

Spokesperson Stephan Donker told news agency Reuters that it was an "exceptional situation" at the Dutch airport, where more than 1,000 travellers spent the night.

A few hundred beds have been set up there before and after security checks with food and drinks also provided, he said.

Donker warned of knock-on effects from the disruption, with further delays and cancellations possible in coming days.

In Paris, more than 100 flights were cancelled at Charles de Gaulle airport and 40 more at Orly.

Dozens of fllights have been delayed or cancelled in and out of Heathrow and Brussels.

Some Eurostar rail services between London and Paris were delayed or cancelled on Wednesday.

Almost half of mainland France was on alert for heavy snow and black ice, with lorries banned from the roads in some areas.

"It's better to be here than stuck on the road," driver Carle Bruno told news agency AFP at a roadside service station in the northern port of Le Havre.

Five people died in two separate regions of France earlier this week as a result of treacherous driving conditions, authorities said, while a woman was also killed in Bosnia's capital, Sarajevo, after 40cm (16in) of snow fell on the city.

In Paris, Guinean teenager Boubacar Camara, sleeping in a tent on the outskirts of the city, told AFP he had "no choice but to keep on going".

"You just have to stay strong [and] make sure you don't die," the 19-year-old said. "We can't do anything about the cold. I'm not used to this at all."

The rare sight of the French capital covered in snow drew residents and tourists out to ski down the slopes of Montmartre and along the Champs de Mars gardens below the Eiffel Tower.

"It's exceptional, it's incredible," said Pierre, a Parisian. "It's magnificent and we're enjoying it. We also came across a lot of tourists and they look so happy."

Vance criticises Denmark and Europe's handling of 'critical' Greenland

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2lgjd51v95o, 4 days ago

US Vice-President JD Vance says Greenland is "critical" for the defence of the US and the world against possible Russian or Chinese missile attacks - and that Europe and Denmark have "not done a good job" in securing the area.

Vance told Fox News that they had not only under-invested in Greenland's defences, but also failed to engage with President Donald Trump's argument over the issue.

US officials are "actively" discussing a potential offer to buy Greenland - a semi-autonomous Danish territory - the White House said on Wednesday, a day after suggesting military action to annex it to the US was also an option.

Denmark, a fellow Nato member, has warned this would spell the end of the alliance.

Both Greenland and Denmark have repeatedly stressed the island is not for sale.

The US already has more than 100 military personnel permanently stationed at its Pituffik base in Greenland's north-western tip - a facility that has been operated by the US since World War Two.

Under existing agreements with Denmark, the US has the power to bring as many troops as it wants to Greenland.

In recent years, there has also been increased interest in Greenland's natural resources - including rare earth minerals, uranium and iron - which are becoming easier to access as its ice melts due to climate change. Scientists think it could also have significant oil and gas reserves.

"People do not realise that the entire missile defence infrastructure is partially dependent on Greenland," Vance said in his interview on Wednesday.

"If God forbid the Russians and the Chinese - not saying they're going to - but if, God forbid, somebody launched a nuclear missile into our continent, they launched a nuclear missile at Europe, Greenland is a critical part of that missile defence.

"So you ask yourself, 'have the Europeans, have the Danes done a proper job of securing Greenland and of making sure it can continue to serve as an anchor for world security and missile defence?' And the answer is obviously they haven't," he said.

Concerns over the future of the territory resurfaced after Trump's use of military force against Venezuela on Saturday to seize its President Nicolás Maduro.

Trump previously made an offer to buy the island in 2019, during his first presidential term, only to be told it was not for sale.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that he would hold talks with Denmark next week.

A day earlier, European leaders issued a joint statement rallying behind Denmark.

"Greenland belongs to its people, and only Denmark and Greenland can decide on matters concerning their relations," the leaders of France, the UK, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and Denmark said in a joint statement.

Stressing they were as keen as the US on Arctic security, the European signatories said this must be achieved by Nato allies, including the US, "collectively".

They also called for "upholding the principles of the UN Charter, including sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders".

Aaja Chemnitz, one of two MPs in the Danish parliament representing Greenland, told the BBC that the comments from the Trump administration were "a clear threat".

"It's completely disrespectful from the US side to not rule out annexing our country and to annex another Nato ally," she said.

But Chemnitz said she saw this as unlikely and that instead, "what we are going to see is that they will put pressure on us in order to make sure that they will take over Greenland over time".

Aleqatsiaq Peary, a 42-year-old Inuit hunter living in Greenland's remote northerly town of Qaanaaq, appeared indifferent to the potential of US ownership.

"It would be switching from one master to another, from one occupier to another," he told the BBC. "We are a colony under Denmark. We are already losing a lot from being under the Danish government."

Saying that he did not have "time for Trump", he added that people were "in need". Hunters like him, he explained, hunted with dogs on the sea ice and fish "but the sea ice is melting and hunters cannot make a living anymore".

Additional reporting by Adrienne Murray in Copenhagen

Spain's Catholic Church signs deal on sexual abuse compensation

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c78e99pzr25o, 4 days ago

Spain's Roman Catholic Church has reached an agreement with the government to compensate victims of sexual abuse by members of the clergy.

The accord follows complaints that religious leaders had failed to tackle the issue adequately.

It means the government will manage possible compensation in co-ordination with the Church, handling cases where other legal avenues are no longer available because the alleged crime took place too long ago or the individual accused has passed away.

Hundreds of thousands of Spaniards are estimated by the government to have suffered sexual abuse at the hands of Church figures. The move follows similar redress schemes in other nations where abuse has been uncovered.

"A democracy should not allow the existence of victims who have never been compensated [and] whose situation, on the contrary, had been covered up," said Justice Minister Félix Bolaños after signing the agreement.

He added that the agreement sought to "pay off an historic, moral debt that we had with victims of abuse within the Church".

The other signatories were Luis Argüello, president of the Episcopal Conference and leader of the Spanish Catholic Church, and Jesús Díaz Sariego, president of Confer, which represents Catholic congregations and religious orders.

Mr Sariego said the initiative was unprecedented as it tackled crimes that had gone past the statute of limitations.

Argüello, who is archbishop of Valladolid, described the accord as "another step forward along the path that for years we have been travelling".

A 2023 study by the Spanish ombudsman's office, which investigates public complaints, estimated that 1.1% of the population had suffered sexual abuse at the hands of members of the clergy or individuals linked to the Church - the equivalent of 440,000 people.

The Church has contested these findings.

It set up a reparation scheme that year to manage abuse claims.

However, both the Socialist-led government and victims' organisations have been dissatisfied with the scheme's model, which did not allow input or oversight from outside the Church.

In November, the Church said that 58 cases had been "resolved" under its framework.

However, critics accused the institution of a lack of transparency and slowness.

Newspaper El País, which has created a database of clerical abuse allegations, has documented cases affecting 2,948 victims dating back as far as the 1940s.

Last June, several victims' groups broke off ties with the Spanish Church, alleging that it had excluded them from seeking reparations.

The Vatican subsequently appeared to take a more prominent role, with the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors meeting Spanish victims and urging the country's Catholic leaders to bolster and facilitate reparations.

Meetings between Justice Minister Bolaños and the Vatican's Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, appear to have raised the pressure further on the Church authorities in Madrid.

Under the new system, victims will be able to file their cases before a new agency created by the justice ministry, which will then take them before the ombusdman's office, which will draw up a reparation proposal.

The Church must then agree to the proposed compensation – if not, the case will be referred back to the ombudsman.

Reparation can be symbolic, psychological, or economic, according to the agreement. In each case, the Church is responsible for its execution.

The amount of financial compensation that could be paid out is not specified.

However, the ombudsman has suggested following the lead of other European countries.

In Belgium, an average of €6,000 ($7,000; £5,210) has been paid to victims in such cases, although the late Pope Francis described that amount as "too small".

Ireland's redress board paid out an average of around €63,000 to victims.

Sexual abuse by members of the clergy first received significant attention in the US and Canada in the 1980s.

In the 1990s, the issue began to grow, with stories emerging in Argentina, Australia and revelations of widespread historical abuse in Ireland.

By the early 2000s, sexual abuse within the Church was a major global story.

Spain, a Catholic country, was affected by relatively few scandals in that time.

However, investigations by the media have brought the issue to light more recently.

In the most recent high-profile case, the bishop of Cádiz, Rafael Zornoza, resigned in November, following an accusation of abuse dating back to the 1990s.

Victims' organisations have welcomed the new agreement in Spain.

"This is an endemic, structural evil which has been within the Church and which it should have tackled a long time ago instead of covering up paedophiles," said Juan Cuatrecasas, of the Association for Stolen Childhood (Anir), who said he was "fully satisfied".

The painful questions for Nato and the EU as Trump threatens Greenland

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpwn2wjzwndo, 5 days ago

On Tuesday, the so-called Coalition of the Willing, largely made up of European leaders, met in Paris with envoys of US President Donald Trump, to try to make further progress on a sustainable peace deal for Ukraine.

With Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky insisting a plan to end the war with Russia is "90% of the way there", no-one in that room wanted to jeopardise keeping the Americans onboard.

But there was an immense Greenland-shaped elephant in that grand and glittering Paris meeting.

Greenland is the world's biggest island - it's six times the size of Germany. It lies in the Arctic but it is an autonomous territory of Denmark.

And Donald Trump insists he wants it; needs it for US national security.

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Federiksen was at the Paris meeting. She's a key EU ally of many of the leaders attending; a key Nato ally of the United Kingdom.

None of those countries want to risk antagonising Donald Trump but with the political temperature rising in Washington and in Copenhagen, six big European powers, including the UK, France and Germany, issued a joint statement on the sidelines of the Ukraine talks.

They said that security in the Arctic should be achieved collectively, together with Nato allies including the United States, and that it was for Denmark and Greenland alone to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland.

But was that really enough to contain Trump's ambitions?

The answer came within hours: No.

The White House released its own statement that it is "discussing a range of options" to acquire Greenland - all of them unilateral, including buying the island.

Chillingly for Europe's leaders, the White House communique, delivered by press secretary Karoline Leavitt, said that "utilising the US military is always an option at the Commander-in-Chief's disposal".

Now, this is far from the first time that Trump has expressed his intention to take Greenland but, especially in his first term as president, many in Europe - behind closed doors - made fun of the idea.

But after the Trump administration's controversial military intervention in Venezuela at the weekend, no-one is laughing anymore.

Europe risks being trampled underfoot

Denmark's prime minister said Trump's intentions over Greenland should be taken seriously and leaders left the Ukraine meeting very worried indeed.

Consider the irony at play here. Multiple European national and other leaders, including of Nato and the EU, are trying to engage the Trump administration in safeguarding the future sovereignty of a European country (Ukraine) against the aggressive territorial ambitions of an outside force (Russia), just after the US has swooped into sovereign Venezuela militarily, taking its president into custody, while also continuing to actively threaten the sovereignty of another European nation (Denmark).

To make matters even more stark - Denmark and the US are both members of the transatlantic alliance Nato.

They are, according to Copenhagen, extremely close allies. Or were.

Denmark says that if the Trump administration takes Greenland unilaterally, that will be the end of the transatlantic defence alliance that Europe has relied on for its security since the end of World War Two.

Some might note that Trump has never been a big Nato fan. To say the least.

Copenhagen has tried to engage the Trump administration over Greenland.

Under a bilateral agreement, the US has a military base already on Greenland - established at the beginning of the Cold War. It has reduced the number of personnel there from around 10,000 during peak Cold War operations to around 200 and the US has long been accused of taking its eye off Arctic Security, until now.

For its part, Denmark recently pledged to invest $4 billion in Greenland defence including boats, drones and aircraft.

But the Trump administration has shown no interest in speaking to the Danes.

On Sunday President Trump insisted that Greenland was: "so strategic right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security and Denmark is not going to be able to do it."

Denmark refutes that last statement.

Speaking to me on condition of anonymity one EU official told me "This whole situation has just underlined - once again - Europe's fundamental weakness vis-a-vis Trump."

While Denmark's Nordic neighbours immediately rushed verbally to its defence after Trump's weekend comments on Greenland, initially there was deafening silence from Europe's so-called Big Three - London, Paris and Berlin.

Eventually, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said on Monday that Denmark and Greenland alone could decide the island's future. Germany's Chancellor, Friedrich Merz has said similar in the past.

Emmanuel Macron visited Greenland in December in a gesture of solidarity with Copenhagen. And today came the joint statement.

But direct criticism of the US was notably absent from the communique.

"Had there been a common statement from all 27 EU partners, plus Nato ally the UK, in support of Danish sovereignty, that would have sent a powerful message to Washington," Camille Grande of the European Council on Foreign Relations told me. He was Assistant Secretary General for Defence Investment at Nato from 2016 to 2022.

But only six of Denmark's European allies issued that statement together.

And this is the crux of the matter. Trump's forthright manner, some call them his bullying tactics, have made European leaders extremely nervous.

They've generally chosen to try to manage the US president, often in an attempt to safeguard bilateral relations, rather than stand up individually or together, and risk confronting him and facing potential consequences.

In the new world of Big Power Politics we now inhabit, where the US and China, along with others like Russia and India, dominate, Europe at best looks like it's standing on the sidelines, and risks being trampled underfoot.

How the EU deferred to Trump

Every year I have covered EU politics, the bloc pledges to play a greater role on the global stage, but when it comes to Trump, it has looked decidedly weak.

At the end of last year, the EU failed to fulfil a pledge to financially support Ukraine using Russian state assets frozen in the EU. They found the money by other means, but critics say the bloc very publicly missed sending a potentially strong message both to Moscow and to the Trump administration, that has repeatedly dismissed the bloc as feeble.

And in the one area where the EU has long strutted internationally - as a huge trading power, it has chosen once again to defer to Trump.

When he slapped 15% tariffs on EU goods last year, the bloc swallowed its pride and promised not to retaliate, insiders say, because it feared losing US support this continent relies on for its security and defence.

And now there's Greenland and Denmark - where EU countries are deeply divided in their attitudes towards the Trump administration and therefore to what extent they might stick their neck out for Copenhagen.

As a result, Julianne Smith, the US ambassador to Nato until Trump's re-election as president, told me this situation "risks breaking the EU" as well as being an existential dilemma for Nato.

"Europe should take President Trump and his team seriously when they talk about "getting" Greenland," Julianne Smith told me.

"That means doing more than urging restraint. The leading powers in Europe may want to begin contingency planning; consider how they can make best use [of international meetings, such as] the upcoming Munich Security Conference and Davos where US senior officials will be present; and also consider bold and innovative ideas like new defence pacts."

Nato treaties do not make a distinction between an attack on an ally from outside countries or from another Nato ally but there is an understanding that the alliance's Article 5 - nicknamed its all for one and one for all clause - isn't applicable to one Nato country attacking another.

Take, for example, strife between member states Turkey and Greece over Cyprus. The worst violence was in 1974 when Turkey invaded. Nato did not intervene but its most powerful member the US was able to help mediate.

If we come back to geography, Denmark is one of Nato's smaller allies, though a very active one. The US is Nato's biggest, most powerful member. By far.

The deep-seated nervousness in Europe right now is palpable.

Big European powers may have issued their joint statement underlining Nato as a forum to discuss Arctic security and insisting that only Denmark and Greenland can decide the islands future, but how far would the UK , France, Germany and others actually go to guarantee that sovereignty?

"Nobody's going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland," said the confident sounding White House deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, in an interview with CNN on Monday.

ECFR's Camille Grande told me tensions over Greenland point - once again, he says - "at the need for the Europeans to reduce security dependencies on the US and to speak with one voice."

Trump got all Nato allies - bar Spain - last summer to commit to massively increase spending on their own defence.

But Europe is still heavily reliant on the US in many areas including intelligence gathering, command and control and air capabilities. Washington is well aware of this.

Nato insiders say, right now, even in meetings behind closed doors, European member states of the alliance can hardly bring themselves to contemplate what could happen if Washington were to move in on Greenland militarily.

They may have to.

Top picture credit: NurPhoto/Getty Images

Why does Trump want Greenland and what could it mean for Nato?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c74x4m71pmjo, 4 days ago

The White House has said it is actively discussing a potential offer to buy Greenland.

President Donald Trump insists the US needs the island for national security reasons and has not ruled out using military force.

However, his demands have been rejected by Greenland's leaders and by Nato member Denmark, of which the island is a semi-autonomous territory.

Where is Greenland and why does it matter to Trump?

Greenland - the world's largest island which is not a continent - is located in the Arctic. At around 2.2m sq km (836,330 square miles) it is roughly six times the size of Germany.

It is also the most sparsely populated global territory, with a population of about 56,000 people, mostly indigenous Inuit people.

Its location between North America and the Arctic makes it well placed for early warning systems in the event of missile attacks, and for monitoring vessels in the region.

At the height of the Cold War, the US had plans to station nuclear missiles on the island but abandoned the project over engineering problems and objections by Denmark.

Pituffik Space Base, formerly known as Thule Air Base, has been operated there by the US since World War Two and currently monitors for missiles.

About 80% of Greenland is covered by ice, meaning most people live on the south-western coast around the capital, Nuuk.

Greenland's economy is mainly based on fishing, and it receives large subsidies from the Danish government.

But in recent years, there has been increased interest in Greenland's natural resources, including mining for rare earth minerals, uranium and iron. Scientists think it could also have significant oil and gas reserves.

These resources may become more accessible as global warming leads to the melting of the massive ice sheet that covers the island.

Valuable mineral resources have been a key focus of Trump elsewhere in the world, including in his dealings with Ukraine.

However, the US president has said: "We need Greenland for national security, not minerals."

He has also said that "Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place".

Many of Trump's fellow Republican lawmakers agree that US security is at risk from these two countries.

What has Trump said about the US controlling Greenland?

Trump repeated previous calls for the US to take over Greenland following America's recent military raid on Venezuela, during which its president Nicolás Maduro and his wife were seized and removed to New York.

Greenland's Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen responded by saying "that's enough now", describing the idea of US control as a "fantasy".

But Trump and his allies went on to reiterate their threats. The White House said a number of options were under discussion to acquire the island, including "utilising the US military".

One of his top aides, Stephen Miller, said "nobody's going to fight the US over the future of Greenland".

Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly told lawmakers around the same time that the American plan was to buy rather than invade the island.

A spokesperson for Rubio's state department added that the emphasis was on building "lasting commercial relationships", and stressed that the US had "common adversaries" with Denmark and other members of the Nato military alliance.

Trump previously made an offer to buy the island in 2019, during his first presidential term, but was told it was not for sale.

He revived his interest shortly after returning to the White House in January 2025.

Vice-President JD Vance visited Greenland in March and gave a speech accusing Denmark of failing to invest enough to protect the territory.

A fresh row about US intentions was sparked in late 2025 when Trump appointed a special envoy to Greenland, Jeff Landry, who has openly spoken about making the island a part of the US.

What have Denmark and other Nato allies said about Greenland's future?

Greenland does not have its own independent military and is not a member of Nato, but is part of the alliance through Denmark.

Trump's stance on the island's future has shocked Copenhagen, which has traditionally enjoyed close relations with Washington.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned that any effort to take over Greenland would spell the end of the long-standing transatlantic alliance.

She and her UK counterpart Sir Keir Starmer signed a statement alongside the leaders of fellow Nato members France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain which said: "Greenland belongs to its people, and only Denmark and Greenland can decide on matters concerning their relations."

Why does Denmark control Greenland?

Though a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been controlled by Denmark – nearly 3,000km (1,860 miles) away – for about 300 years.

But the US security interest in Greenland also dates back a long way, and two American administrations before Trump made failed efforts to acquire it.

The island was governed as a colony until the mid-20th Century. For much of this time, it remained isolated and poor.

After Nazi Germany occupied mainland Denmark during World War Two, the US invaded the island, establishing military and radio stations.

After the war, American forces remained in Greenland.

In 1951, a defence agreement with Denmark granted the US a significant role in the defence of the territory, including the right to build and maintain military bases.

In 1953, the island was made part of the Kingdom of Denmark and Greenlanders became Danish citizens.

In 1979, a referendum on home rule gave Greenland control of most policies within the territory, with Denmark retaining control over foreign affairs and defence.

Greenland has a Danish military presence as well as an American one.

What do the people of Greenland think about Trump and his threats?

In response to Trump's threats at the start of 2026, Greenland Prime Minister Nielsen said: "No more pressure. No more insinuations. No more fantasies of annexation.

"We are open to dialogue. We are open to discussions. But this must happen through the proper channels and with respect for international law."

Polling suggests that most Greenlanders back independence from Denmark, but that an overwhelming majority of them also reject the idea of becoming part of the US.

When Trump first raised the idea of buying Greenland in 2019, many locals were opposed.

"He's treating us like a good he can purchase," said Aleqa Hammond, Greenland's first female prime minister.

Berlin power outage highlights German vulnerability to sabotage

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgrpzn6gz4o, 4 days ago

Power is being restored to the last homes hit by a five-day blackout in Germany's snow-covered capital, Berlin.

The outage was caused by a suspected arson attack and came as temperatures dipped below freezing.

It is reportedly the longest blackout in the capital's post-war history. A far-left militant group has claimed it was behind the outage.

This week's images of residents - young and old - living through a prolonged blackout in the country's capital has reignited a debate about Germany's vulnerability to sabotage attacks, whether by domestic or foreign actors.

Schools, hospitals and care homes are among the tens of thousands of properties that were affected in south-west Berlin.

In Berlin's Steglitz-Zehlendorf district, on Mexikoplatz, a police van drove around announcing the imminent return of power over a tannoy.

Residents regularly approached a group of emergency service workers for the latest information.

Lena said her family had felt "lost" - relying on a battery-powered radio for updates.

They have been cooking on a camping stove at home while trying to make sure their water pipes didn't freeze.

Reinhold, 79, was still without power on Wednesday morning and going to his daughter's house to get warm.

"But I always came back to sleep here even in the cold weather with a bobble hat on and sweater and a woollen blanket."

The retired architect said that he was used to hardship having been born in post-war Germany.

"I was born in 1947. When my mother and I came from the hospital... it was -20C in our shack.

"My parents took turns every hour to see whether my hands were tucked in under the cover so my fingers wouldn't freeze off."

Restoring electricity was happening on a "step-by-step basis", said fire service spokesman Adrian Wentzel.

Resources have been pulled in from across Germany, he told the BBC, with an estimated 100,000 people affected.

Hospitals have had to rely on emergency generators while some schools have had to close.

It was early on Saturday when several cables on a bridge were spotted burning near the Lichterfelde gas-fired power plant.

Subsequently, the far-left Vulkangruppe - or Volcano Group - appeared to claim responsibility, saying its target was the fossil energy industry.

"We apologise to the less wealthy people in the south-west of Berlin," a lengthy statement read.

"With the many owners of villas in these districts, our sympathy is limited," it added, likely referring to the fact that Steglitz-Zehlendorf is one of Berlin's wealthiest neighbourhoods.

However, a different statement was later published online on the Indymedia site - purportedly from Vulkangruppe's founders.

"We expressly distance ourselves from all actions of recent years," it said.

Another recent high-profile incident saw activists admit being behind a suspected arson attack that halted production at the huge Tesla factory just outside Berlin in 2024.

The exact structure and workings of Vulkangruppe is unclear, but German authorities describe them as left-wing extremists and say attacks have happened at irregular intervals since 2011 in Berlin and the surrounding state of Brandenburg.

Domestic intelligence state that the group's aim is to disrupt "the day-to-day functions in order to harm the hated capitalist system".

Federal prosecutors are investigating the latest incident as a terrorism offence, with possible charges including "membership in a terrorist organisation, sabotage, arson and disruption of public services".

This week's outage was larger and lasted longer than a similar incident in September.

As the power supply stabilised on Thursday, Berlin's Mayor Kai Wegner came under fresh scrutiny for his handling of the outage.

Wegner was reported to have been playing tennis with his partner on Saturday lunchtime, hours after the blackout began.

According to Deutsche Welle, he has said he needed time to "clear his head" after taking phone calls and that he remained reachable.

Plans for a federal law to protect critical infrastructure have been in the works for years but were only presented to the German parliament in November.

The "Kritis" bill sets out plans to identify key critical infrastructure transport as well as introduce minimum protection standards.

What images and videos tell us about why Swiss bar fire spread so quickly

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20gjlpw9l3o, 9 days ago

Investigators are racing to establish how and why the deadly New Year's Eve fire at a bar in a Swiss ski resort spread so rapidly.

Authorities on Friday said in a press conference that sparklers attached to champagne bottles that were held "too close to the ceiling" appear to have started the blaze in the basement of Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana.

But how the fire took hold with such ferocity, killing at least 40 people and leaving 119 injured, many seriously, is now a key focus for officials - as is the bar's safety record.

BBC Verify has been examining videos taken by survivors and onlookers and speaking to fire safety experts to find clues about what went wrong.

Bottles with sparklers held in the air

Two striking images shared widely online show people carrying champagne bottles with lit sparklers above their heads, with a crowd around them.

One image shows flames starting to gather on the ceiling above people holding five of these bottles aloft.

The second image is a closer-up angle, showing a person wearing a crash helmet and holding a bottle with a lit sparkler, sitting on the shoulders of another person wearing a Guy Fawkes mask.

The sparks from this bottle appear to be closer to the ceiling.

BBC Verify determined these images were taken after midnight on 1 January by confirming there were not earlier versions and matched them against public photos of Le Constellation - using details including the bar design and distinctive pipework.

And there was no evidence the images had been manipulated using artificial intelligence (AI).

In other videos we verified from the night of the fire, some people in the bar can be seen filming the flames as loud club music thumps in the background. In one video, some people start to hurry for an exit stairwell while shouting.

On Friday, Béatrice Pilloud, the attorney-general of the Valais region, said everything led investigators to believe the fire had started from sparklers attached to bottles of champagne that were "moved too close to the ceiling".

Questions about foam padding on ceiling

Another focus is on foam-like padding on the bar's ceiling and whether it was compliant with safety standards.

Two fire safety experts told BBC Verify that the materials visible in photos and videos of Le Constellation appeared to show "egg box foam", a type of sound-absorbing material made from polyurethane (PU).

In the photo of the bottles being held up, flames are visible on a part of the ceiling with a foam-like covering.

PU foam is often treated with fire-retardant before being installed as a noise dampener in factories and entertainment venues.

But untreated, it can be highly flammable.

"Once ignited, polyurethane acoustic foam can exhibit rapid flame spread across its high-surface-area profile and produce dense, toxic smoke, significantly accelerating fire growth and reducing available escape time," said Dr Peter Wilkinson of Loughborough University.

Professor Edwin Galea, from the University of Greenwich, said the effectiveness of retardant treatment on PU foam can wear off over time.

The Swiss authorities say they cannot confirm what type of foam-padding was used in the bar and whether or not it complied with safety standards.

In Friday's press conference, officials talked about a "flashover" happening in the bar.

Professor Galea explained this is what happens when hot gases rise to the ceiling, reach a critical temperature and then ignite the room near instantaneously.

According to Michael Klippel, a fire safety expert at ETH Zurich, "survival after flashover is very unlikely".

The authority responsible for overseeing fire safety inspections in Crans-Montana is the Office Cantonal du Feu (OCF) of the Canton of Valais. The inspections are carried out by local officials.

Swiss authorities said in a press conference that inspections on a building the size of Le Constellation should have been carried out each year.

BBC Verify has contacted the OCF to request access to previous inspection documents.

Exit routes from the bar

The authorities say they will also focus on exit routes at the bar, which sits across two levels - a ground floor and a basement. The fire is thought to have started in the basement, where the two images referred to above were taken.

Videos filmed as the fire took hold show people trying to extinguish the flames before trying to get out of the basement up a narrow set of stairs.

Prof Galea said staircase exits can be fatal bottlenecks with people tripping and getting trampled.

He said even if there were other fire exits, panicked people in unfamiliar spaces were more likely to go out the way they came in.

Officials also confirmed there was more than one exit from the building, but added they were "not currently able to say" whether the emergency exit was open or closed at the time.

Valais state councillor Stéphane Ganzer said: "There is not just one door, even though at the time of the fire, it seems that most people left through the main entrance. But this building is a public place. It was obviously equipped with an emergency exit."

Pilloud told journalists that the two French managers of the bar had been interviewed as well as people who escaped the fire.

One of the bar's owners reportedly told local media the establishment had been inspected three times in the past ten years and that everything had been done according to regulations.

Sparklers used before

The investigators say they have also been analysing other videos of the venue.

One video we found shows sparklers attached to bottles being used inside the bar as far back as 2024.

It shows women dressed in distinctive crash helmets carrying the bottles and pyrotechnics to customers, before detaching them and pouring drinks.

The footage was uploaded to YouTube in May 2024 by the account @ConstellationCransMontana, though we can't be certain when it was filmed.

Swiss search souls and question government after ski resort fire

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpwnd22lj54o, yesterday

In the wake of the devastating fire at a bar in Crans-Montana, many Swiss citizens are asking themselves whether their political system is fit for purpose.

Switzerland, often praised for its efficiency, has a very devolved system of government, in which villages and towns are run by local officials elected from and by the community.

It is a system the Swiss cherish because they believe it ensures accountability.

But there are inherent weaknesses: hypothetically, the official approving a bar licence or passing a fire-safety check is the friend, neighbour, or maybe even cousin of the bar owner.

When the news of the ski resort fire emerged on New Year's Eve, first there was shock. Such devastating fires are not, people thought, supposed to happen in Switzerland.

Then there was grief - 40 young people lost their lives, 116 were injured, many of them very seriously. Questions followed - what caused such a catastrophe?

And finally, this week - fury, when Crans-Montana's Mayor Nicolas Feraud revealed that Le Constellation bar had not been inspected since 2019.

Crans-Montana sits in the Swiss canton of Valais, where fire-safety inspections are the responsibility of Feraud and his colleagues, and are supposed to happen every 12 months.

Not only had the checks not taken place, the mayor said, he had only become aware of this after the fire. And, he revealed, of 128 bars and restaurants in Crans-Montana, only 40 had been inspected in 2025.

Asked why, Feraud had no answer, though he did suggest Crans-Montana had too few inspectors for the number of properties that needed checking.

This was echoed by Romy Biner, mayor of neighbouring upmarket resort Zermatt, who told local media that many communities in the canton of Valais did not have the required resources to inspect so many premises.

This is not a line that plays well with many Swiss, who know that Crans-Montana and Zermatt are two of the richest winter resorts in the country.

So when Feraud faced the press, there were pointed questions from Swiss journalists: how well did the mayor know the bar's owners? Had he ever been to the bar? And was there any possibility of corruption?

"Absolutely not," was his indignant answer to the last question.

The mother of two brothers who survived the fire also had questions. "We urgently need complete, transparent answers," she wrote on social media.

When they escaped the burning bar, each of her sons had thought at first that the other was dead.

"They escaped, but they are deeply traumatised. They will carry the emotional scars forever."

Those questions, from journalists and families, reveal the problems of Switzerland's devolved political system.

'A failure right across the board'

Elected officials in towns like Crans-Montana have many responsibilities as well as fire safety - running schools and social services, even collecting taxes.

Most of these officials work part-time and, once elected, continue with their day jobs.

Nowadays, some communes may be over-challenged trying to supply and oversee all the services a 21st-Century population expects, but Swiss voters expect better than what they heard from Feraud.

The headlines after his news conference were savage. Many demanded he and his colleagues resign. Feraud ruled this out, saying: "We were elected by the people. You don't abandon ship in the middle of a storm."

"A failure right across the board," wrote the broadsheet Tagesanzeiger. "Now Switzerland's reputation is on the line."

"An utter disaster," wrote the tabloid Blick, "a total failure of fire safety checks."

Reputational damage is something the Swiss both hate and fear. Switzerland is a rich country, in part because of its reputation for safety, stability, reliability and, among its own citizens, accountability.

If those in charge damage that reputation and put the country's success at risk, the Swiss are unforgiving.

Heads rolled two decades ago when Swissair, the much-loved national airline, went bankrupt.

Once nicknamed affectionately "the flying bank", Swissair's management had made a series of risky financial investments that left the airline dangerously over-extended.

In 2008, banking giant UBS, in which many Swiss, especially pensioners, had shares, had to be bailed out by Swiss taxpayers to prevent not just its own downfall, but disastrous consequences for the global economy.

When the bank's reckless over-exposure to subprime mortgages was revealed, there was outrage. At the bank's annual general meeting that year, normally sedate elderly shareholders hissed and booed.

One even jumped onto the stage, demanding the management give up their generous bonuses, ironically waving a string of Swiss bratwursts under their noses "in case you go hungry".

Crans-Montana, too, has aroused that same angry feeling of trust being betrayed. But this is much worse than Swissair or UBS. Forty people, many of them teenagers, are dead. Dozens more have suffered life-changing injuries.

The Swiss authorities know there must be answers, quickly.

At Friday's memorial service, the president of Valais, Matthias Reynard, was close to tears as he promised a "strict and independent" investigation, warning that "relevant political authorities" would be held accountable.

Switzerland's President Guy Parmelin said he expected justice "without delay and without leniency".

The owner of the bar is now in custody, subject to a criminal investigation, but the role of the local government is sure to be examined, too. There are already calls for fire-safety inspection in Valais canton to be taken away from local town councils and given to canton authorities.

Romain Jourdan, a lawyer representing some of the families, has announced plans to file a case against Crans-Montana's town council. The families, he said, "are demanding that all local officials be questioned so that such a tragedy never happens again".

There is a deeper, nationwide soul-searching going on as well. The Swiss want to know why their beloved devolved system, which many, perhaps complacently, believed to be near-perfect, went so catastrophically wrong.

In the first hours after the fire, many people, along with their shock and grief, felt a certain quiet pride that their emergency services had responded so quickly.

Firefighters, ambulances crews and even helicopters were at the scene within minutes. The emergency services were present at the memorial service. Many openly wept.

The shock and grief still sits deep, but the pride has evaporated.

What good are top-of-the-range, highly professional emergency services, the Swiss are asking themselves, if basic fire safety checks are neglected?

Switzerland's government says finding answers is a moral responsibility - to the families above all, but also to its own voters.

Night of Swiss ski bar fire 'apocalyptic', woman tells Crans-Montana memorial

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn7jxm7jkg1o, 2 days ago

Tragedy brought people together in Crans-Montana and brought the country to a standstill.

On Friday, just down the road from the bar where 40 young people were killed by fire on New Year's Eve, church bells rang in their memory.

They tolled right across Switzerland, to mark a national day of mourning.

Then, moments after the last notes of a special memorial service had faded, came the news that one of the bar's owners had been detained.

Many of the victims' families had demanded action like this from the start: more than a week after the fire, the anger in this community has been increasing.

At the main ceremony in Martigny, down in the valley, relatives of the dead were joined by survivors. Some had come from hospital for the memorial. People held white roses in their laps and gripped each other's hands for support.

"The images we faced were unbearable. A scene worse than a nightmare. Screams ringing out in the icy cold, the smell of burning. It was apocalyptic," a young woman called Marie told the audience.

She had been in a bar opposite Le Constellation when the fire broke out and suddenly found herself helping the injured as they ran from the flames.

She said she would never forget what she'd seen.

Listening in the front row were the presidents of France and Italy, whose citizens were among those killed and injured in the fire. Both countries have opened their own investigations.

Back in Rome, Italy's prime minister vowed to make sure all those responsible were identified.

"This was no accident. It was the result of too many people who did not do their jobs," Giorgia Meloni said.

She wants to know why the music wasn't cut as soon as the fire started.

"Why did no-one tell the young people to get out? Why did the council not make the proper checks? There are too many whys."

In Crans-Montana people have the same questions and many more.

For now, the only two formal suspects are the co-owners of Le Constellation, Jacques and Jessica Moretti. Early on Friday, the pair were called in by prosecutors. They are being investigated for causing death and injury through negligence but have not been charged.

Now Jacques Moretti has been remanded in custody. In a statement, the public ministry said the move followed a "new assessment of the flight risk."

"I constantly think of the victims and of the people who are struggling," his wife told a crush of TV cameras after several hours of questioning at the ministry.

It was her first public comment since the fire.

"It is an unimaginable tragedy. It happened in our establishment, and I would like to apologise."

Nine days on, Le Constellation is still obscured from view behind white plastic sheets. A lone policeman stands guard, his face covered against the relentless snow.

What unfolded inside the building's basement has gradually become clearer – and it's the story of a disaster that should never have happened.

Mobile phone footage shows a sparkler tied to a champagne bottle apparently starting the fire as it brushes the ceiling. Covered with soundproofing foam that was never safety tested, it ignites quickly.

When the crowd eventually rush for the exit in panic, there is a crush on the stairs. It seems the emergency doors were blocked.

But another video, from six years ago, suggests the risk was well known. On the footage, a waiter can be heard warning that the material on the ceiling is flammable.

"Be careful with the foam," the voice shouts, as people wave the same sparklers.

But the questions here are not just for the owners.

This week the local authorities in Crans made the shocking admission that they hadn't carried out mandatory safety checks of the bar for five years.

They offered no explanation.

"It was a hell inside that bar. More than 1,000 degrees of temperature. There was no way to escape," Italy's ambassador to Switzerland, Gian Lorenzo Cornado, told the BBC, citing a long list of safety violations.

Six Italians were killed as a result.

"Italy wants justice, the Italian government wants justice and the Italian people want justice, for sure. The families want justice," the ambassador stressed.

That includes for those with life-changing injuries.

The regional hospital in Sion took the first major influx of patients. The stress was compounded by the fact that many doctors' own children were partying in Crans for the New Year.

"They were all scared the next stretcher to arrive would be carrying their own child," hospital director Eric Bonvin remembers.

But he's proud of how his team coped.

Some casualties were unconscious and so badly burned, it took time to identify them.

The most serious cases were moved to specialist burns centres elsewhere in Switzerland and in Europe where some are still in a critical condition.

All face a long, tough path to recovery which the doctor likens to a "rebirth" because many of his young patients have severe burns to the face.

"First the body needs to be protected, like the foetus in a mother's womb. That's what's happening for many now. Then they will have to re-enter the world and find their identity," Professor Bonvin says.

"It will take a lot of work and resilience."

Add to that the anguish of surviving.

"They came round and at first they felt lucky to be alive. But some now feel this guilt, wondering why they are here, but not their friend or brother," Bonvin explains.

"It is a delicate moment."

In central Crans, the heap of tributes for the dead is still growing, protected from the elements by a canvas.

After leaving their own fresh flowers on Friday, many people then stood in front of the ruins of the bar itself for a moment. Remembering, in silence.

Almost 13,000 Irish passports to be re-issued

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgm41r4y0g9o, 2 days ago

Almost 13,000 recently-issued Irish passports will be replaced as they are not fully compliant with international travel standards.

The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs said 12,904 passports issued in late December and early January were not compliant due to a technical issue with a software update.

This may cause issues for travellers at eGates and border control.

In a statement, the department said the Passport Service "sincerely regrets" the issue and apologised for the inconvenience caused.

Those affected do not need to apply for a new passport but should return their passports by post to the Irish Passport Service in Dublin.

The service will seek to issue new passports within 10 working days.

The recall applies to passports issued between 23 December 2025 and 6 January 2026 inclusive.

Irish passport holders with imminent travel plans, or those living abroad, can phone or email the DFA's Customer Service Team.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said border authorities worldwide have been notified about the issue.

Venezuelan government begins releasing political prisoners

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0mkwl2g499o, 3 days ago

The Venezuelan government has started releasing detainees considered political prisoners by human rights groups, in what officials described as a goodwill gesture.

Spain's foreign ministry said five of its nationals had been released. Among them is prominent Venezuelan-Spanish rights activist, Rocío San Miguel, her family confirmed to US media.

The move comes after the US seized Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro in a raid on the capital, Caracas, on Saturday, to face drug trafficking charges in New York.

US President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that the release of political prisoners - which has been a long-held US demand - was "a very important and smart gesture" from Venezuela.

Trump added that Venezuela released the prisoners as a sign of "seeking peace" and as a result, he had cancelled a "previously expected second wave of attacks" on the country.

Jorge Rodríguez, the head of Venezuela's National Assembly and the brother of its interim president Delcy Rodríguez, announced on state television that "a significant number" would be released immediately, without specifying the number or identity of prisoners being freed.

Hundreds of political prisoners are detained in Venezuelan prisons, with only a handful thought to have been released so far.

Jorge Rodríguez said the interim government was releasing them in the interest of "national unity and peaceful coexistence".

Rocío San Miguel, a vocal critic of Maduro and a defence expert, was the first prisoner confirmed to be freed. Her family told the New York Times that she was taken to the Spanish embassy in Caracas.

Arrested in 2024, she was accused of being involved in a plot to kill the then-president and faced charges of treason, conspiracy and terrorism. Her arrest shocked human rights activists and, because her whereabouts were unknown, was labelled as potential "enforced disappearance" by the UN Human Rights Office.

Venezuelan human rights organisations - some of which have members or their founders in jail - welcomed the news with caution.

Despite being a key lieutenant of Maduro, Delcy Rodríguez's interim administration has appeared willing to co-operate with the US since it took its leader and made sweeping declarations about the South American nation's future.

About 50 to 80 prisoners are believed to be held at the notorious El Helicoide prison, which US President Donald Trump announced would be closed following Maduro's capture.

The prison gained international notoriety for detaining alleged political opponents, with reports by human rights groups of torture including beatings and electrocution.

The announcement also comes shortly after US President Donald Trump stated that he had "given orders to close that prison," which had become one of the most notorious symbols of political repression in the country.

Venezuelan human rights group Provea warned El Helicoide's anticipated closure should not deflect attention from the other detention sites still running across the country.

Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, who has several close allies in prison, has repeatedly demanded releases.

In a sit-down interview with the Fox News show Hannity, Trump said Machado was expected to come to the US "next week sometime".

Machado told host Sean Hannity earlier in the week that she wanted to give the US president her Nobel Peace Prize. When asked by Hannity whether Trump would accept the offer, he said "that would be a great honour".

Venezuela's opposition and human rights groups have said for years the government used detentions to stamp out dissent and silence critics.

Since the widely disputed 2024 election, the opposition claimed legal proceedings against activists, journalists and political adversaries increased.

Attorney General Tarek Saab and others in the government repeatedly denied Venezuela held political prisoners, arguing those detained were arrested for genuine crimes.

Additional reporting by Norberto Paredes.

Colombia sees 'real threat' of US military action, president tells BBC

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

Colombia's President Gustavo Petro has told the BBC that he believes there is now a "real threat" of US military action against Colombia.

Petro said the US is treating other nations as part of a US "empire". It comes after Trump said a military operation in Colombia "sounds good". Petro said that the US risks transforming from "dominating the world" to becoming "isolated from the world."

He also accused US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents of acting like "Nazi brigades". Trump has significantly expanded ICE operations as part of what the administration says is a crackdown on crime and immigrants who illegally entered the US.

The BBC has approached the White House for comment.

Following US strikes on Venezuela and the seizure of Nicolás Maduro, US President Donald Trump said a military operation targeting Colombia "sounds good".

Trump has also repeatedly told Petro to "watch his ass", remarks Petro strongly condemned.

Trump and Petro spoke by phone on Wednesday evening, after which Trump said he would meet his Colombian counterpart at the White House in the "near future. Writing on his Truth Social platform late on Wednesday after the call, Trump described his conversation with Petro as a "Great Honour". A Colombian official said at the time that the conversation had reflected a 180-degree shift in rhetoric "from both sides."

But on Thursday, Petro's tone suggested relations had not significantly improved.

He told the BBC the call lasted just under an hour, "most of it occupied by me," and covered "drug trafficking Colombia" and Colombia's view on Venezuela and "what is happening around Latin America regarding the United States."

Petro strongly criticised recent US immigration enforcement, accusing ICE agents of operating like "Nazi brigades".

Trump has accused countries like Colombia and Venezuela of not doing enough to tackle drug-trafficking.

The US has conducted more than 30 strikes in recent months on vessels that the US says were being used for drug trafficking in the Caribbean and the Pacific, killing more than 110 people.

Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity in an interview that aired on Thursday night that after targeting drug trafficking by water "we are going to start now hitting land", adding that "the cartels are running Mexico".

Trump has often blamed immigration for crime and trafficking in the US, using it to justify large-scale enforcement operations.

Since returning to the White House, the US president has sent ICE agents to cities across the country. The agency enforces immigration laws and conducts investigations into undocumented immigration. It also plays a role in removing undocumented immigrants from the US.

The administration says it deported 605,000 people between 20 January and 10 December 2025. It also said 1.9 million immigrants had "voluntarily self-deported", following an aggressive public awareness campaign encouraging people to leave the country on their own to avoid arrest or detention.

This week a US immigration agent shot dead a 37-year-old US citizen in the city of Minneapolis, sparking protests overnight.

Federal officials said the woman, Renee Nicole Good, had tried to run over immigration agents with her car but the city mayor, Democrat Jacob Frey, said the agent who shot her had acted recklessly and demanded agents leave the city.

Petro said ICE had "reached the point where it no longer only persecutes Latin Americans in the streets, which for us is an affront, but it also kills United States citizens."

He added that if this continued, "instead of a United States dominating the world – an imperial dream – it is a United States isolated from the world. An empire was not built by being isolated from the world."

Petro said the US has for "decades" treated other governments, particularly in Latin America, as an "empire" regardless of the law.

The two leaders have long been adversaries, frequently trading insults and tariff threats on social media.

Following the US's military action in Venezuela, Petro accused Washington of seeking wars over "oil and coal," adding that if the US had not pulled out of the Paris Agreement, where countries agreed to limit global temperature rising by reducing fossil fuel use, "there would be no wars, there would be a much more democratic and peaceful relationship with the world. And South America."

"The Venezuelan issue is about this," he said.

After Trump's comments threatening military action in Colombia, demonstrations were held across the country in the name of sovereignty and democracy.

Petro told the BBC that Trump's remarks amounted to a "real threat", citing Colombia's loss of territory such as Panama in the 20th century, and said "the prospect of removing [the threat] depends on the ongoing conversations."

Asked how Colombia would defend itself in the event of a US attack, Petro said he would "prefer it to be about dialogue." He said that "work is being done" on this.

But he added: "Colombia's history shows how it has responded to large armies."

"It's not about confronting a large army with weapons we don't have. We don't even have anti-aircraft defenses. Instead, we rely on the masses, our mountains, and our jungles, as we always have."

Petro confirmed he had also spoken to Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela's acting president and former vice president and oil minister, and invited her to Colombia.

He said Venezuela had "long been subject to interference by various intelligence agencies," adding that while such agencies had permission to operate in Colombia, it was solely to combat drug trafficking. He denounced attempts at what he said were other "covert operations" in Colombia.

He did not directly comment when asked whether he feared the CIA could carry out covert operations similar to their actions in Venezuela in Colombia, or whether he feared his own government or inner circles may have informants.

Maduro was captured by the US army's Delta Force, the military's top counter-terrorism unit, after a CIA source in Venezuelan government helped the US track his location.

As the world's largest producer of cocaine, Colombia is a major hub for the global drug trade. It also has significant oil reserves, as well as gold, silver, emeralds, platinum and coal.

The US has said it will control sales of Venezuelan oil "indefinitely" as it prepares to roll back restrictions on the country's crude in global markets.

Speaking aboard Air Force One after the Venezuela operation, Trump described Petro as a "sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States," adding: "He's not going to be doing it for very long."

Petro denied the claims, saying it has "always been proven that I'm not involved in that."

"For 20 years I have been fighting against the drug cartels, at the cost of my family having to go into exile," he said.

A former guerrilla, Petro has pursued a "total peace" strategy since taking office, prioritising dialogue with armed groups. Critics say the approach has been too soft, with cocaine production reaching record levels.

Asked what failed and whether he accepted responsibility, Petro said coca cultivation growth was slowing and described "two simultaneous approaches."

"One, talking about peace with groups that are bandits. And the other, developing a military offensive against those who don't want peace."

He said negotiations were ongoing in southern Colombia, "where the greatest reduction in coca leaf cultivation has occurred" and "where the homicide rate in Colombia has fallen the most." Cocaine is made from the leaves of the coca plant.

The policy of dialogue, he said, was intended to "de-escalate violence", adding: "we're not fools, we know who we're negotiating with."

US involvement in Venezuela could last years, Trump says

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx20gyn8qvvo, 3 days ago

US President Donald Trump has said that his country's involvement in Venezuela could last for years.

He told the New York Times that "only time will tell" how long his administration would "oversee" the running of the South American nation following the seizure by US forces of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in a raid on Saturday.

Trump also did not say if or when elections would be held in Venezuela to replace the interim government headed by Maduro loyalist Delcy Rodríguez.

Meanwhile, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said the ouster of Maduro had set off an "irreversible process" that would lead Venezuela to be "free".

New York Times (NYT) journalists quizzed Trump on his plans for the future of Venezuela days after he had said his administration would run the oil-rich nation.

Earlier on Wednesday, the White House had said that the US would control sales of sanctioned oil "indefinitely".

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright argued that the US needed control over Venezuela's oil sales for leverage over the interim government in Caracas.

Trump said his administration would be "taking oil" from Venezuela, which has the world's largest proven reserves, but acknowledged it would "take a while" to get the country's oil industry up and running.

Venezuela's oil production has plummeted as a result of mismanagement on the part of the Maduro government and that of his predecessor, as well as years of US sanctions.

Trump told the NYT that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was "in constant communication" with Rodríguez, who was designated as Venezuela's interim leader by the country's Supreme Court, which is dominated by Maduro loyalists.

He added that Rodríguez is "giving us everything that we feel is necessary."

The US president had earlier said that the interim government had agreed to use the proceeds from the sale of its oil to buy only US-made goods.

According to the NYT reporters, Trump did not answer their questions about why he recognised Rodríguez as Venezuela's new leader.

Many Venezuela analysts had expected that the ouster of Maduro would be followed swiftly by the return to the country of opposition leaders Edmundo González and María Corina Machado.

But in his first news conference following the US raid, Trump was dismissive about Machado, alleging that she lacked the "respect" and support to lead Venezuela.

"I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader," he said.

Machado managed to unite opposition groups behind her ahead of the 2024 presidential election but was barred from running for the presidency by officials loyal to the Maduro government.

She then threw her weight behind former diplomat González, who acted as her proxy.

The electoral council, which is also dominated by government loyalists, declared Maduro re-elected. However, voting tallies collected by the opposition, which have been independently verified, suggest González won by a landslide.

González went into exile to escape the government repression that followed the election, and Machado went into hiding within Venezuela.

She embarked on a perilous journey by land, sea and air to reach Oslo in December to collect the Nobel Peace Prize she was awarded for her "tireless work promoting democratic rights" in Venezuela.

Her current whereabouts are unknown but she has said that she plans to return to Venezuela soon.

In an interview with Venezuelan opposition news site La Patilla, she insisted that the ousting of Maduro had set her country on an irreversible path towards freedom.

She said that she hoped this new phase of the transition process would be "as short and swift as possible".

She added that the interim government, which she said was "the same regime it was under Maduro" was "being given instructions to dismantle itself".

Machado insisted that González was the legitimate president-elect and urged that his mandate be respected.

She stressed that "the first thing" that needed to happen was for the political prisoners to be released.

Machado is not the only one who has been demanding that the more than 800 political prisoners held in Venezuela's notorious jails be freed.

On Wednesday, Republican lawmaker María Elvira Salazar published several posts on social media insisting they be released "immediately".

However, in his interview with the NYT, Trump instead "appeared far more focused on the rescue mission than the details of how to navigate Venezuela's future", according to the journalists who spoke to him.

Pressed on what the US plans for Venezuela are, he said that "we will rebuild it in a very profitable way".

He added: "We're going to be using oil, and we're going to be taking oil. We're getting oil prices down, and we're going to be giving money to Venezuela, which they desperately need."

The US president is expected to meet representatives of three of the largest US oil companies at the White House on Friday to discuss those plans further.

Meanwhile, the US Senate on Thursday voted 52-47 to take up a resolution intended to block the Trump administration from conducting further military action in Venezuela.

The vote clears the way for debate on the resolution invoking the War Powers Act, but another vote would be needed for the final passage.

It marks the first time during the second Trump administration that the Senate has voted to curb the president's use of military power.

But it remains largely symbolic as it is not clear whether it will also clear the House, and if it does the president can still use his veto power to block it.

Opposition leader Machado says her coalition should lead Venezuela

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0er4qd3115o, 5 days ago

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has said her coalition should "absolutely" be in charge of the country, following the US ousting of President Nicolás Maduro last week.

"We are ready and willing to serve our people as we have been mandated," Machado said in an interview with the BBC's US news partner CBS.

She thanked US President Donald Trump for his "leadership and courage" after US forces stormed Caracas and arrested Maduro, but said nobody trusted the deposed president's ally, who has been appointed as interim leader.

Machado and her opposition movement claimed victory in 2024's widely disputed elections, but Trump has refused to back her, saying she lacks popular support.

The former legislator, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year, described US military action in Venezuela over the weekend as "a major step towards restoring prosperity and rule of law and democracy in Venezuela".

She said she had not spoken to Trump this year, but expressed gratitude to him for deposing Maduro.

"President Trump's leadership and courage has brought Nicolás Maduro to face justice and this is huge," she told CBS.

Despite her overtures, the US president has publicly dismissed Machado as a credible successor to Maduro.

"I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader," Trump told a news conference on the day of the US operation, referring to Machado.

"She doesn't have the support within or the respect within the country. She's a very nice woman, but she doesn't have the respect."

Machado, who has been in hiding for months after being barred from running in the 2024 presidential elections in Venezuela, previously called for the opposition's substitute candidate Edmundo González to assume power after Maduro's arrest.

Machado rallied support for González in the election, and vote tallies released by her party suggest he won by a landslide.

However, Maduro was declared president by Venezuela's electoral council (CNE), a body dominated by government loyalists. The US and dozens of other countries recognised González as the president-elect.

David Smolansky, a spokesman for the Venezuelan opposition, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that there was no future for a well-functioning country without González and Machado in power.

"They could guarantee a democratic transition, and they have the respect of Venezuelans and several governments across the world," he said.

Asked why he thought Trump had so far chosen to back Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodríguez - formerly Maduro's vice-president - rather than the opposition, Smolansky said: "Every transition, when it begins, is not perfect - it's messy."

He also responded to suggestions that the opposition's lack of support within the military was one of the reasons Trump had chosen to back Rodríguez, saying there were members of the armed forces - both currently serving and in exile - that were ready to work with them.

Machado has said nobody trusted Rodríguez, telling CBS that the interim leader was "one of the main architects... of repression for innocent people" in the South American country.

"Everybody in Venezuela and abroad knows perfectly who she is and the role she has played," Machado said.

While Rodríguez, 56, has faced US sanctions for her ministerial roles in the Maduro administration, she has not been charged by US officials with any crimes.

Rodríguez was sworn in on Monday, two days after a US special forces breached Venezuelan security to arrest Maduro and his wife, First Lady Cilia Flores.

Earlier on Tuesday, Rodríguez rebuffed claims by Trump that the US was in charge of Venezuela.

"The Venezuelan government rules our country, and no-one else does," she said in a televised speech. "There is no external agent governing Venezuela."

US seizes fifth oil tanker linked to Venezuela, officials say

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdxj28xd542o, 2 days ago

US forces have seized another tanker in the Caribbean Sea, officials say, as the Trump administration continues its efforts to control exports of Venezuelan oil.

The tanker, the Olina, is on multiple countries' sanctions lists and the fifth vessel to be seized by the US in recent weeks.

The US is using the seizures to pressure Venezuela's interim government and remove the so-called dark fleet of tankers from service. Officials say this fleet consists of more than 1,000 vessels that transport sanctioned and illicit oil.

"Once again, our joint interagency forces sent a clear message this morning: 'there is no safe haven for criminals,'" said the US military's Southern Command on Friday.

The vessel reportedly left Venezuelan waters late on Sunday, after the US seized President Nicolás Maduro in an early morning raid.

Officials said Friday's operation was carried out before dawn by Marines and sailors in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, and that it was seized after it "departed Venezuela attempting to evade US forces".

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on X that it was "another 'ghost fleet' tanker ship suspected of carrying embargoed oil".

Noem also shared a video appearing to show troops dropping onto a ship from a helicopter, and described the operation as "safe" and "effective".

Maritime risk company Vanguard Tech said the vessel was attempting to break through the US naval blockade in the Caribbean. It had been sailing under a false flag registered to Timor-Leste, according to the International Maritime Organization.

Vanguard Tech added that the vessel's location tracker was last active 52 days ago, northeast of Curacao, and that "the seizure follows a prolonged pursuit of tankers linked to sanctioned Venezuelan oil shipments in the region".

The US had sanctioned the Olina last January, then named Minerva M, accusing it of helping finance Russia's war in Ukraine by moving Russian oil to foreign markets.

Earlier this week, the US said it seized two other tankers linked to Venezuelan oil exports in "back-to-back" operations in the North Atlantic and Caribbean.

One of them was the Russian-flagged Marinera seized with the help of the UK Royal Navy, which gave logistical support by air and sea.

The Marinera is allegedly part of shadow fleet carrying oil for Venezuela, Russia and Iran, breaking US sanctions. US officials said that Marinera was falsely flying the flag of Guyana last month, which made it stateless.

US authorities alleged the second tanker - the M/T Sophia - was "conducting illicit activities".

Experts have told BBC Verify that under UN international maritime law, authorities can board a stateless vessel.

President Donald Trump says Venezuela - which has the world's largest proven oil reserves - "will be turning over" up to 50 million barrels of oil worth some $2.8bn (£2.1bn) to the US.

The oil, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, would be sold "in the marketplace at market rates" and that the US would control how the proceeds were dispersed "in a way that benefits the Venezuelan people".

Meanwhile on Friday, US diplomats visited the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, to assess the possibility of re-opening an embassy in the Latin American country.

Diplomatic ties between the US and Venezuela were severed by Maduro in 2019. The new Venezuelan authorities have said they're engaged in exploratory talks on restoring relations.

Analysis: Why Trump chose Maduro's VP over Nobel winner

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c77krp7m362o, 4 days ago

Amid the many questions swirling since last weekend's dramatic events in Caracas – and there are many – one that refuses to go away centres on the bespectacled woman now leading what US officials are calling Venezuela's "interim authorities".

Why Delcy?

What is it about Delcy Rodríguez, daughter of a former Marxist guerilla and deputy to ousted dictator Nicolas Maduro, that has caught the eye of the Trump administration?

And why has Washington decided on an avowed "Chavista" revolutionary to stay in power, rather than backing the opposition leader, María Corina Machado, whose opposition movement is widely believed to have won the 2024 presidential elections?

The answer, according to one former US ambassador to Venezuela, is simple.

"They've gone for stability over democracy," says Charles Shapiro, who served as George W Bush's ambassador in Caracas from 2002-04.

"They've kept the dictatorial regime in place without the dictator. The henchmen are still there.

"I think it's risky as hell."

But the alternative, involving wholesale regime change and backing Machado's opposition movement, would have involved other dangers, including potential infighting among opposition figures and the alienation of those Venezuelans – perhaps as many as 30% – who voted for Maduro.

Ziemer agrees that Rodríguez may not find it difficult to do Washington's bidding when it comes to rolling out the welcome mat for US oil companies, offering greater co-operation on counter-narcotics and even scaling down Venezuela's relations with Cuba, China and Russia, especially if it means the gradual lifting of US sanctions.

"I think she can deliver on that," he says.

"But if the US is asking for genuine progress towards a democratic transition, that becomes much harder."

At the moment, this does not appear to be high on Washington's list of priorities.

In remarks to the media on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke of a three-stage plan for Venezuela, starting with stabilisation of the country and the marketing of 30-50 million barrels of oil under US supervision.

The plan would lead to what Rubio called "a process of reconciliation", including amnesties for opposition forces, the release of political prisoners and the rebuilding of civil society.

"The third phase, of course, will be one of transition," he said, without elaborating.

Article 233 of Venezuela's constitution calls for fresh elections within 30 days of a president becoming "permanently unavailable to serve" - something that would seem to apply to a situation in which Maduro languishes in a New York prison cell while awaiting trial.

But in an interview with NBC News on Monday, Trump said elections were not on the horizon. "We have to fix the country first," he said. "You can't have an election."

Gunson says Washington's decision not to go for regime change in the short term might make sense, but the absence of a medium- or long-term prospect is disappointing.

"Trump may be getting something out of this, but Venezuelans aren't," he says. "Ordinary Venezuelans are getting screwed as usual."

With the Trump administration talking up the prospects of international oil companies re-investing in Venezuela's corrupt and moribund petroleum infrastructure, Gunson says the reality may be more complicated.

"Nobody's going to come in here with the tens of billions of dollars that are required... to start the recovery process if the government is illegitimate and there's no rule of law," he says.

When the former Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez designated Maduro as his successor shortly before his death in 2013, the move was described as Chavez's "dedazo", a Spanish slang term meaning a "finger pointing", a personal anointment which bypasses the normal democratic process.

Ambassador Shapiro sees a parallel with the rise to power of Delcy Rodríguez.

"This is Trump's dedazo," he says.

US will control Venezuela oil sales 'indefinitely', official says

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgn7p7g79wo, 4 days ago

The US will control sales of sanctioned Venezuelan oil "indefinitely" as it prepares to roll back restrictions on the country's crude in global markets, the White House said.

Officials said sales were expected to start with 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil and the revenue would be controlled by the US government in order to maintain clout over the Venezuelan government.

"We need to have that leverage and control of those oil sales to drive the changes that simply must happen in Venezuela," Energy Secretary Chris Wright said.

It is not clear what portion of the revenues from the sale - which analysts expect to raise about $2.8bn (£2.1bn) - would be shared with Venezuela.

While White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the two sides had struck a deal, Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA said in a statement that negotiations over oil sales were ongoing within the framework that exists between the two countries.

"This process is based on similar rules to those in force with international companies," it said.

The comments came after US President Donald Trump announced on social media on Tuesday that Venezuela would be "turning over" up to 50 million barrels of oil to the US, and it would be sold at its market price.

The White House said the money would be deposited into US-controlled accounts, which Trump said he as president would control and use to benefit the people of Venezuela and the US.

White House officials said on Wednesday that they had already taken steps to start marketing the oil and the administration was working with key banks and commodity firms to execute the sales.

As part of the plan, the US is preparing to "selectively" roll back sanctions, which have restricted sales of Venezuelan crude for decades.

"We're going to let the oil flow," Wright told a conference alongside energy executives in Miami. He added that the money would then "flow back into Venezuela".

"We are not stealing anyone's oil," he added later in an appearance on CNBC in which he said the administration's first priority for the funds was to stabilise the country's economy.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the aim was to disburse the money "in a way that benefits the Venezuelan people - not corruption, not the regime - so we have a lot of leverage to move on the stabilisation front".

Analysts said the impact of resuming oil sales would depend on the details.

But the plan drew swift criticism from Democrats, with Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut calling it "insane".

"They are talking about stealing the Venezuelan oil at gunpoint for a period of time undefined as leverage to micromanage the country," he told reporters. "The scope and insanity of that plan is absolutely stunning."

Venezuela has some of the world's largest proven oil reserves, but years of disinvestment, mismanagement and US sanctions have left it with output of only about a million barrels per day - less than 1% of global production.

That supply, which provided critical resources to the Venezuelan government, in recent years has been going primarily to China.

But that too has been disrupted in recent months after the US ramped up strikes and a blockade of Venezuelan tankers as part of its pressure campaign against Maduro.

On Wednesday, Beijing's foreign minister condemned the US seizure of Maduro and US plans to exert control over Venezuela's oil resources.

Trump is due to meet oil executives at the White House on Friday.

Analysts said that in the short term, US oil firm Chevron and US oil refineries, which are set up to process the kind of "heavy" crude that is characteristic of Venezuela's output, are well placed to benefit from increased flow of oil from Venezuela.

Chevron is the last major US oil firm operating in Venezuela, though some other European firms have outposts there.

The redirection of Venezuelan oil to the US could put pressure on Mexico and Canada, which produce similar crude and are currently the main sellers to US refineries.

Oil prices, which are already relatively low amid steady supply and muted demand expectations, slipped further over the last week on the prospect that Venezuela might have increased access to the global market.

But analysts have warned that meaningful expansion of the country's output will take years and billions of dollars in investment, which firms may be hesitant to undertake, given less risky opportunities in the US and in other countries such as Guyana.

Which countries could be in Trump's sights after Venezuela?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd0ye72r4vpo, 6 days ago

US President Donald Trump's second term is being shaped by his foreign policy ambitions.

He's followed through on threats against Venezuela by capturing its president and his wife from their heavily fortified Caracas compound in a dramatic overnight raid.

When describing the operation, Trump dusted off the 1823 Monroe Doctrine and its promise of US supremacy in the western hemisphere - re-branding it the "Donroe Doctrine".

Here are some of the warnings he's made against other nations in Washington's orbit in recent days.

Greenland

The US already has a military base on Greenland - Pituffik Space Base - but Trump wants the whole island.

"We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security", he told journalists, saying the region was "covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place."

The vast Arctic island, part of the Kingdom of Denmark, sits roughly 2,000 miles (3,200 km) to the north-east of the US.

It's rich in rare earth minerals, which are crucial for the production of smart phones, electric vehicles and military hardware. Currently, China's production of rare earths far outweighs that of the US.

Greenland also occupies a key strategic location in the North Atlantic, giving access to the increasingly important Arctic circle. As polar ices melt in the coming years, new shipping routes are expected to open up.

Greenland's Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen responded to Trump by describing the notion of US control over the island as a "fantasy".

"No more pressure. No more insinuations. No more fantasies of annexation. We are open to dialogue. We are open to discussions. But this must happen through the proper channels and with respect for international law," he said.

Any US attempt to seize Greenland would bring it into conflict with another Nato member, likely putting the alliance in peril.

Colombia

Just hours after the operation in Venezuela, Trump warned Colombian President Gustavo Petro to "watch his ass".

Venezuela's neighbour to the west, Colombia is home to substantial oil reserves and is a major producer of gold, silver, emeralds, platinum and coal.

It is also a key hub for the region's drug trade - most notably cocaine.

Since the US began striking boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific in September - saying, without evidence, they were carrying drugs - Trump has been locked in a spiralling dispute with the country's left-wing president.

The US imposed sanctions on Petro in October, saying he was allowing cartels to "flourish".

Speaking aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump said Colombia was being "run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States".

"He's not going to be doing it for very long", he said. Asked whether the US would carry out an operation targeting Colombia, Trump replied, "It sounds good to me".

Historically, Colombia has been a close ally in Washington's war on drugs, receiving hundreds of millions of dollars annually in military assistance to counter cartels.

Iran

Iran is currently facing mass anti-government protests, and Trump warned overnight that the authorities there would be "hit very hard" if more protesters died.

"We're watching it very closely. If they start killing people like they have in the past, I think they're going to get hit very hard by the United States," he told reporters on Air Force One.

Iran theoretically falls outside the scope defined in the "Donroe Doctrine", but Trump has nonetheless previously threatened the Iranian regime with further action, after striking its nuclear facilities last year.

Those strikes came after Israel launched a large-scale operation aimed at decapitating Iran's capability to develop a nuclear weapon, which culminated in the 12-day Israel-Iran conflict.

In a Mar-a-Lago meeting between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week, Iran was said to be top of the agenda. US media reported that Netanyahu raised the potential of new strikes against Iran in 2026.

Mexico

Trump's rise to power in 2016 was defined by his calls to "Build the Wall" along the southern border with Mexico.

On his first day back in office in 2025, he signed an executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico the "Gulf of America".

He has frequently claimed Mexican authorities aren't doing enough to stop the flow of drugs or illegal immigrants into the US.

Speaking on Sunday, he said that drugs were "pouring" through Mexico and "we're gonna have to do something", adding that the cartels there were "very strong."

Trump said he's offered to send US troops to Mexico to combat cartels, but President Claudia Sheinbaum has publicly rejected any US military action on Mexican soil.

Cuba

The island nation, just 90 miles (145 km) south of Florida, has been under US sanctions since the early 1960s.

It held close relations with Nicolás Maduro's Venezuela, which reportedly supplied roughly 30% of Cuba's oil in exchange for doctors and medics travelling in the other direction.

With Maduro gone, Havana could be exposed if oil supply collapses.

Trump suggested on Sunday that US military intervention there wasn't needed, because Cuba is "ready to fall."

"I don't think we need any action", he said. "It looks like it's going down."

"I don't know if they're going to hold out, but Cuba now has no income," he added. "They got all their income from Venezuela, from Venezuelan oil."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio - who is the son of Cuban immigrants - has long called for regime change in Cuba, telling journalists on Saturday: "If I lived in Havana, and I was in the government, I'd be concerned - at least a little bit".

"When the president speaks, you should take him seriously," he said.

Cuba defiant as it braces for post-Maduro era

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz9vg0w9w28o, 6 days ago

After Venezuela, there is no nation in the Americas more affected by the events in Caracas than Cuba.

The two nations have shared a political vision of state-led socialism since a fresh-faced Venezuelan presidential candidate, Hugo Chávez, met the aged leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, on the tarmac at Havana airport in 1999.

For years, their mutual ties only deepened, as Venezuelan crude oil flowed to the communist-run island in exchange for Cuban doctors and medics travelling in the other direction.

After the deaths of the two men, it was Nicolás Maduro - trained and instructed in Cuba - who became Chávez's handpicked successor, chosen partly because he was acceptable to the Castro brothers. He represented continuity for the Cuban revolution as much as the Venezuelan one.

Now he, too, is gone from the seat of power in Caracas, forcibly removed by the US's elite Delta Force team. The prospects for Cuba in his absence are bleak.

For now, the Cuban government has robustly denounced the attack as illegal and declared two days of national mourning for 32 Cuban nationals killed in the US military operation.

Their deaths revealed a key fact long-known about Cuban influence over the Venezuelan presidency and military: Maduro's security detail was almost entirely made up of Cuban bodyguards. Cuban nationals are in place in numerous positions in Venezuela's intelligence services and military too.

Cuba had long denied having active soldiers or security agents inside Venezuela, but freed political prisoners have often claimed they were interrogated by men with Cuban accents while in custody.

Furthermore, despite endless public proclamations of solidarity between the two nations, in truth the Cuban influence behind the scenes of the Venezuelan state is believed to have driven a wedge between ministers most closely aligned with Havana and those who feel that the relationship first established by Chávez and Castro has become fundamentally unbalanced.

In essence, that faction considers that these days Venezuela gets little in return for its oil.

Venezuela is believed to send around 35,000 barrels of oil a day to Cuba - none of the island's other main energy partners, Russia and Mexico, even come close.

The Trump administration's tactic of confiscating sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers has already begun to worsen the fuel and electricity crisis in Cuba and has the potential to become very acute, very quickly.

At best, the future looks increasingly complex for the beleaguered Caribbean island without Maduro at the helm in Caracas. Cuba was already in the grip of its worst economic crisis since the Cold War.

There have been rolling blackouts from end to end of the island for months. And the impact on ordinary Cubans has been taxing in the extreme: weeks without reliable electricity, food rotting in fridges, fans and air-conditioning not running, mosquitoes swarming in the heat and the fester of uncollected rubbish.

The island has experienced a widespread outbreak of mosquito-borne diseases in recent weeks with huge numbers of people affected by dengue fever and chikungunya. Cuba's healthcare system, once the jewel in the revolution's crown, has struggled to cope.

It is not a pretty picture. Yet it is the daily reality for most Cubans.

The idea that the flow of Venezuelan oil to Cuba could be turned off by Delcy Rodríguez fills Cubans with dread, especially if she looks to placate the Trump administration following the US raid against her predecessor and stave off the spectre of more violence.

President Trump insists Washington is calling the shots in Venezuela now.

While those comments were walked back - to an extent - by his Secretary of State Marco Rubio, there is no doubt that the Trump administration now expects nothing less than total compliance from Rodríguez as acting president.

There would be further, potentially worse consequences, Trump threatened, if she "doesn't behave", as he put it.

Such language - not to mention the US operation in Venezuela itself - has shocked and angered Washington's critics, who say the White House is guilty of the worst form of US imperialism and interventionism seen in Latin America since the Cold War.

The removal of Maduro from power amounted to kidnapping, those critics argue, and the case against him must be thrown out at his eventual trial in New York.

Unsurprisingly, Trump appears unfazed by such arguments, warning he might even carry it out again against the president of Colombia if need be.

He has dubbed the worrying new circumstances in Latin America the "Donroe Doctrine", in a nod to the Monroe Doctrine - a 19th Century colonialist foreign policy principle which warned European powers against meddling in the US sphere of influence in the Western hemisphere.

In other words, Latin America is the US's "backyard", and Washington has the unalienable right to determine what happens there. Rubio used that very term - backyard - about the region as he justified the actions against Venezuela on US Sunday talk shows.

He also remains key to what comes next for Cuba. The US economic embargo has been in place for more than six decades and failed to remove the Castro brothers or their political project from power.

Rubio - a Cuban American former Florida senator and son of Cuban exiles - would like nothing more than to be the man, or the man behind the man, who brought an end to 60 years of communist rule in his parents' homeland.

He sees the strategy of removing Maduro and laying down stark conditions to a more compliant Rodríguez government in Caracas as the key to achieving that self-professed goal in Havana.

Cuba has faced tough times in the past, and the government remains defiant in the face of this latest act of US military intervention in the region.

The 32 "brave Cuban combatants" who died in Venezuela would be honoured, said Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, for "taking on the terrorists in imperial uniforms".

"Cuba is ready to fall," retorted Trump on Air Force One.

Can Maduro's trusted lieutenant now work for Trump?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgx0ylzy8vo, 7 days ago

Many of those who tuned in to US President Donald Trump's news conference on Saturday were probably hoping to hear dramatic details of how US forces seized Venezuela's leader, Nicolás Maduro, in a pre-dawn raid.

But arguably a more surprising moment came when Trump announced that now that Maduro was in custody, the US would "run" Venezuela "until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition".

In another unexpected development, he added that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had been speaking to Maduro's Vice-President, Delcy Rodríguez, who he said was "essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again".

However, Rodríguez seemed less than co-operative in her own news conference later where she denounced Maduro's detention as a kidnapping and stressed that Venezuela would not become a colony.

Given these conflicting messages, many are asking who is now in charge in Venezuela.

Under Venezuela's constitution, it falls to the vice-president to take over should the president be absent.

So, on the face of it, the Venezuelan Supreme Court ruling that Delcy Rodríguez was the country's acting president seems like a logical step.

But most Venezuela watchers had expected the immediate aftermath of a US intervention to look differently.

The US - and many other nations - did not recognise Nicolás Maduro as Venezuela's legitimate president, having denounced the 2024 election as rigged.

Maduro was declared president by Venezuela's electoral council (CNE), a body dominated by government loyalists.

But the CNE never produced the detailed voting tallies to back up their claim and copies of voting tallies collected by the opposition and reviewed by the Carter Center suggested that the opposition candidate, Edmundo González, had won by a landslide.

In view of that, the US and dozens of other countries recognised González as the president-elect.

González, a little-known former diplomat, had the backing of popular opposition leader María Corina Machado, whom he replaced on the ballot after she was barred from running for office by officials from the Maduro government.

With the security forces cracking down on the opposition in the aftermath of the election, González went into exile in Spain and Machado into hiding in Venezuela.

For the past 18 months, they have been urging Maduro to step down and lobbying for international support for their cause, especially from the US.

Machado's profile was boosted by her winning the Nobel Peace Prize for "her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy" in Venezuela.

Following the publicity and recognition she received after embarking on a risky journey from her hiding place in Venezuela to Oslo to accept the award, many assumed that any post-Maduro scenario would see her returning to her homeland to take up the reins of power together with Edmundo González.

Machado herself posted a letter on social media following Maduro's capture declaring that the "hour of freedom has arrived".

"Today we are ready to enforce our mandate and take power," she wrote.

But the US president stunned journalists when he declared that Machado did not have the "support or respect" to lead the country.

Trump said that his team had not spoken to Machado following the US strikes, but Marco Rubio had spoken to Delcy Rodríguez.

Trump's next remark may provide the answer as to why the Trump administration is now Maduro's loyal lieutenant - at least for now.

Trump quoted Rodríguez as saying "we'll do whatever you want", adding "she really doesn't have a choice".

With Maduro's inner circle still seemingly in power in Venezuela, US officials may have considered that the smoothest transition would be provided by having someone from the existing government take over.

"They think that they can set up an arrangement that's like a guardianship as opposed to going in on the ground and taking over the day-to-day operations of the country," said Mara Rudman, a former senior national security official who worked in the Clinton and Obama administrations. She described the approach as unprecedented in modern times.

In his news conference, President Trump said that the US was "ready to stage a second and much larger attack if we need to do so", which appears to explain why he thinks that Delcy Rodríguez has no choice but to do the US's bidding.

The fact that Rodríguez was seen surrounded by some of the most powerful men in Maduro's inner circle hours after the president had been arrested and flown out of the country seems to suggest that she has won their backing, too.

Flanking her were her brother Jorge Rodríguez, who is the president of Venezuela's National Assembly, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino and the top commander of the armed forces, Domingo Hernández Lárez, among others.

This will have pleased US officials concerned that the capture of Maduro would lead to a potentially destabilising battle for control among his inner circle.

But the message Delcy Rodríguez had for the US would have been less pleasing to US ears.

She insisted that "there is only one president in Venezuela, and his name is Nicolás Maduro" and called his seizure "a kidnapping".

"We will never again be a colony of any empire," she insisted, promising to "defend" Venezuela.

While she certainly did not sound like the person Trump had described as "willing to do the US's bidding", there has been speculation that she may have struck a nationalistic note to keep Maduro's most loyal supporters on board.

Quizzed about Trump's support for Rodríguez and her remarks, Marco Rubio told CBS on Sunday that the US would make an assessment based on her actions, not her words.

"Do I know what decisions people are going to make? I don't," he added, seemingly implying that he was not as certain of Rodríguez's willingness to work with the US as Trump.

What he was adamant about was the US's willingness to pressure Rodríguez's interim government.

"I do know this, that if they don't make the right decisions, the United States will retain multiple levers of leverage to ensure that our interests are protected, and that includes the oil quarantine that's in place, among other things," he said.

In an interview with ABC, Rubio also appeared to suggest that fresh elections should be held in Venezuela.

"Government will come about through a period of transition and real elections, which they have not had," he told This Week.

He also appealed for "realism", suggesting that fresh elections would take time: "Everyone's asking, why 24 hours after Nicolas Maduro was arrested, there isn't an election scheduled for tomorrow? That's absurd."

John Bolton, who worked on plans to remove Venezuela's president when he was national security adviser in Trump's first term, welcomed the US military operation and Maduro's capture.

However, the prominent Trump critic told the BBC it was unlikely Rodriguez would bend the knee to the US, particularly as the regime still had backing from China, Russia and Cuba.

"The rational thing to do here is bring down what's left of the Maduro regime and put the opposition in power pending free and fair elections. They have people capable of running an interim administration while elections are set up."

Talk of fresh elections will no doubt disappoint not only María Corina Machado and Edmundo González but also many of the Venezuelans who voted for them and who have been adamant that they want to see those votes honoured.

The opposition has long insisted that free and fair elections are not possible while the key institutions involved in organising them are stacked with Maduro loyalists. A reform of those bodies will take time.

In the short term, therefore, Venezuela looks likely to be governed by Delcy Rodríguez and Maduro's inner circle - as long as they meet the Trump administration's expectations.

How long that may last will depend on whether Rodríguez can find a golden middle between accommodating Trump's requests and the Maduro base interests.

She may soon find herself between a rock and a hard place.

Who is Cilia Flores, Venezuela's first lady seized by the US?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgl7k91nl8o, 7 days ago

When US forces conducted a night raid on the Venezuelan capital Caracas, they didn't just drag President Nicolás Maduro from his compound and put him on a flight to New York - they took his wife too.

Cilia Flores, 69, has long been seen as one of the most powerful figures in Venezuela, a political operator in her own right who for decades has shaped the country's fortunes.

After years leading Venezuela's National Assembly, she helped consolidate her husband's grip on power after his 2013 presidential election victory.

As First Lady, she was dubbed "First Warrior" by Maduro. But in that role she publicly took a backseat - presenting a more family-oriented face to what critics say was a brutal regime.

She hosted a TV show, Con Cilia en Familia, and made occasional appearances on state television to dance salsa with her husband. But behind-the-scenes, she is thought to have been one of Maduro's key advisers, and an architect of his political survival.

Flores has faced allegations of corruption and nepotism, and in recent years her family members have been found guilty in US courts of cocaine smuggling.

She will now face drug trafficking and weapons charges in a New York court, along with her husband - who has long rejected the accusations as a pretext to force him from power.

Flores met Maduro in the early 1990s, when - as a young up-and-coming lawyer - she took on the defence of the plotters of the failed 1992 coup attempt.

Chief among them: Hugo Chávez, the man who would later become president.

It was during those years that she met Maduro, who at the time was working for Chávez as a security guard.

"I met Cilia in life," Maduro recounted. "She was the lawyer for several imprisoned patriotic military officers. But she was also Commander Chávez's lawyer and, well, being Commander Chávez's lawyer in prison... tough."

"I met her during those years of struggle, and then, well, she caught my eye."

From then, both their fates became linked to Chávez and his political movement, known as Chavismo.

After Chávez won the presidency in 1998, Flores quickly rose through the political ranks, joining the National Assembly in 2000 and becoming its leader in 2006.

For six years she led a virtually one-party parliament, with the main opposition parties refusing to participate in elections, saying they were not free and fair.

When Chávez died in 2013, Flores threw her weight behind Maduro, who narrowly won the subsequent presidential election.

Months later the pair married, formalising a years-long relationship in which they'd lived together, raising children from previous relationships: three of hers and one of his.

"She became a critical piece in Maduro's regime," said José Enrique Arrioja, a Venezuelan journalist and managing editor of Americas Quarterly.

"She was not only the emotional confidant of Maduro, but the professional confidant too. And she was very power-driven."

Across her career, she has faced numerous allegations of corruption.

In 2012, she was accused by unions of nepotism for influencing the hiring of up to 40 people, including numerous members of her family.

"My family came here and I am very proud that they are my family. I will defend them," she responded.

In November 2015, she became embroiled in the "Narco nephews" case, when two of her nephews - Francisco Flores de Freitas and Efrain Antonio Campo Flores - were arrested in Haiti in a sting operation by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

They were caught trying to smuggle 800kg of cocaine into the US.

Flores accused US authorities of having "kidnapped" her nephews - but a judge sentenced the two men to 18 years in prison for drug trafficking. They were returned to Venezuela in 2022 as part of a prisoner swap under the Biden administration.

But last month, the Trump administration announced fresh sanctions on the two nephews - as well as a third nephew, Carlos Erik Malpica Flores - with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying: "Nicolás Maduro and his criminal associates in Venezuela are flooding the United States with drugs that are poisoning the American people."

"Treasury is holding the regime and its circle of cronies and companies accountable for its continued crimes," he added.

The newly unsealed indictment against Flores accuses her - among other things - of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in 2007 to arrange a meeting between "a large-scale drug trafficker" and the director of Venezuela's National Anti-Drug Office.

"To her detractors, she is seen as part of a deeply corrupt, human-rights-abusing and brutal government," says Christopher Sabatini, Senior Fellow and Chatham House's Latin America programme.

"She was a power behind the throne," he adds. "But like any good power behind the throne, you really didn't see her hand that much, so no one really knew how powerful she was."

She is expected in court on Monday.

Additional reporting by BBC Mundo

'Fear in the streets': Venezuelans uncertain about what might happen next

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62077l3m7eo, 5 days ago

In the days since the seizure of Nicolás Maduro, Venezuelans have been coming to terms with an uncertain future as a new reality begins to set in.

Marcelo, a student based in Caracas, is among those welcoming Maduro's seizure, although he is careful not to celebrate publicly.

"There are still allies of Maduro that are in power, so there are a few reasons why we don't celebrate outside of our houses," he told the BBC World Service. "But I can assure you that the majority of the people of Venezuela are very happy for what happened."

He is not the only one exercising caution. The BBC has been asking people how they feel about recent events, and what might happen next. Many of those opposed to Maduro's government asked to remain anonymous, fearing for their safety.

But there are also those who support him. Rosa Contreras says she felt "humiliated" by the United States.

"It seems so easy how they took our president away," the 57-year-old said.

Dozens of people are reported to have been killed in the operation that led to the Venezuelan leader and his wife being seized from his compound in Caracas, before being taken to the US where they face drug trafficking and weapons charges.

The Cuban government says 32 members of its security forces were among those killed.

Shortly after Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were taken by US troops, President Donald Trump said his administration would "run" Venezuela.

But exactly what that would look like remains unclear. Maduro's vice-president, Delcy Rodríguez, has taken power in the interim. Far from a Maduro opponent, Rodríguez was his closest lieutenant.

Since she was named interim president, police have been patrolling the streets and journalists have been detained.

Speaking to the BBC at a rally calling for the jailed leader's release, Rosa Contreras said the image of Maduro waving after arriving in the US had inspired her to take to the streets to show her continuing support for Maduro.

"He had an attitude that sent us a message: if I'm standing here, you have to stand here, stand tall and keep going," she said.

Marcelo is also pleased that Maduro survived the US assault unscathed - but for different reasons.

"We want him to live every single day remaining in his life behind prison bars," he said.

Millions of people have left Venezuela in recent years due to political and economic crisis which has worsened under Maduro. But Marcelo said he had friends outside the country who would return if Maduro's fall led to a change in government and an end to Chavismo - the socialist political movement named after Maduro's predecessor Hugo Chávez.

"If the United States runs the country so there's a stable transition in Venezuela economically and socially, I think everyone would be OK with that, even if it's not a perfect solution," he added.

One opposition activist in his 60s from the north-western city of Maracaibo told the BBC that he lamented the loss of life in the US operation, but was happy Maduro had been seized and taken into custody.

"The man they took away has done a lot of harm. We're glad they have him over there," he said.

Under Chavismo, a lack of food and medicine had led to much suffering and death, he added.

"They gave the people the scraps while keeping the feast for themselves," a 33-year-old masseuse told the BBC, referring to Maduro's government.

She does not support Acting-President Delcy Rodríguez, but says "if this is the price we have to pay for a government transition then I accept it".

There is also concern over what might happen next - a common fear for those who spoke to the BBC. US President Donald Trump has not ruled out a second wave of strikes.

Gelén Correa, 50, who works in government social programmes, was defiant about the prospect of further military action, however.

"The [Venezuelan] people deserve respect. I am prepared to fight back," she insisted.

Should there be a second ground attack, Correa said the US would find Venezuelans "armed to the teeth".

Some Venezuelans doubted that Maduro's seizure would make much difference.

"They took the leader out but the regime is the same, so in that sense nothing has really changed," said 60-year-old José.

One man from Caracas complained that a kilogram of cornflour - used to make a popular food in Venezuela - had roughly tripled in price, while another man from Maracaibo said the price of bread had increased by about 30%.

A woman from Guyana City in the east of the country said that in the last two days, she saw few people in the streets, and there were no cars.

"You can see some military in the streets, some of them guarding supermarkets, because owners are scared of theft or robbery," she said, adding that "she, her family and friends are all scared to go out".

Another woman – a 34-year-old entrepreneur – told the BBC that she feared that there would be reprisals as there had been after the election in July 2024.

The electoral council - dominated by goverment loyalists - declared Maduro the winner of the poll, a result which the European Union, the United States and a number of Latin American nations refused to recognise, pointing to voting tallies collected by the opposition which suggested that their candidate had won.

This unease is not unfounded. Many protests in recent years had been met with repression by government forces and paramilitary groups loyal to the Maduro government.

"There are military people on every corner and groups of armed civilians supporting the government who are causing fear among the population," she said, adding that people were uncertain as to whether there would now be peace.

Her words were echoed by the masseuse, who also warned that the current situation was perilous, telling the BBC: "There's so much fear in the streets and in our homes."

Editing by BBC Global Journalism's Mark Shea

Trump says Venezuela will be 'turning over' up to 50 million barrels of oil to US

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4grxzxjjd8o, 5 days ago

Donald Trump has said Venezuela "will be turning over" up to 50 million barrels of oil to the US, after a military operation to remove President Nicolás Maduro from power.

The oil - worth about $2.8bn (£2.1bn) - will be sold at its market price, the US president wrote on social media, adding he would control the money raised and use it to benefit the people of Venezuela and the US.

His comments come after he said the US oil industry would be "up and running" in Venezuela within 18 months and that he expected huge investments to pour into the country.

Analysts previously told the BBC it could take tens of billions of dollars - and potentially a decade - to restore Venezuela's former output.

China, which has been the biggest buyer of Venezuelan oil in recent years, has condemned Trump's announcement as well as the US's reported demands that Venezuela gives its oil exclusively to them.

ABC News has reported, citing unnamed sources, that Trump had told Venezuela's interim leader Delcy Rodríguez to agree to an exclusive partnership with the US on oil production and sever economic ties with China, Russia, Iran and Cuba.

Trump posted on Truth Social on Tuesday: "I am pleased to announce that the Interim Authorities in Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 MILLION Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil, to the United States of America.

"This Oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!"

His comment came a day after Rodríguez, formerly Venezuela's vice-president, was sworn in as its interim president. Maduro has been brought to the US to face drug-trafficking and weapons charges.

The US president told NBC News on Monday: "Having a Venezuela that's an oil producer is good for the United States because it keeps the price of oil down."

Representatives from major US petroleum companies planned to meet the Trump administration this week, the BBC's US news partner CBS reported.

Analysts who previously spoke to the BBC were sceptical that Trump's plans would have a major impact on the global supply - and therefore price - of oil.

They suggested that firms would look for reassurance that a stable government was in place - and, even when they did invest, their projects would not deliver for years.

Trump has argued in recent days that US oil companies can fix Venezuela's oil infrastructure.

The country has an estimated 303 billion barrels - the world's largest proven reserve - but its oil production has been in decline since the early 2000s.

The Trump administration sees significant potential for its own energy prospects in Venezuela's reserves.

Increasing the country's production of oil would be expensive for US firms.

Venezuelan oil is also heavy and more difficult to refine. There is only one US firm, Chevron, currently operating in the country.

Asked for comment about Trump's plans for US oil production in Venezuela, Chevron spokesman Bill Turenne said the company "remains focused on the safety and wellbeing of our employees, as well as the integrity of our assets".

"We continue to operate in full compliance with all relevant laws and regulations," he added.

ConocoPhillips, a major US oil company that no longer has a presence in Venezuela, "is monitoring developments in Venezuela and their potential implications for global energy supply and stability", said spokesman Dennis Nuss.

"It would be premature to speculate on any future business activities or investments."

A third company, Exxon, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Wednesday that the US's "blatant military action against Venezuela, and its demand that Venezuela prioritise the US in disposing of its oil resources, is a typical act of bullying, a serious violation of international law, a severe infringement upon Venezuela's sovereignty, and a grave damage to the rights of the Venezuelan people".

She added: "I want to emphasise that the legitimate rights and interests of China and other countries in Venezuela must be protected... Co-operation between China and Venezuela is the co-operation between two sovereign states, which is under protection of international law and the domestic laws of the two countries."

While justifying the seizure of Maduro from Caracas, Trump also claimed that Venezuela "unilaterally seized and stole American oil".

Vice-President JD Vance echoed those claims on X after Maduro was taken, writing that "Venezuela expropriated American oil property and until recently used that stolen property to get rich and fund their narcoterrorist activities".

The reality is more complex.

US oil companies have a long history in Venezuela, extracting oil under licence agreements.

Venezuela nationalised its oil industry in 1976, and in 2007, President Hugo Chavez exerted more state control over the remaining foreign-owned assets of US oil firms operating in the country.

In 2019, a World Bank tribunal ordered Venezuela to pay $8.7bn in compensation to ConocoPhillips for the move.

That sum has not been paid by Venezuela, so at least one US oil company has outstanding compensation which is owed to it.

But BBC Verify's Ben Chu said the claim Venezuela has "stolen" US oil is too simplistic, as experts said the oil itself was never actually owned by anyone except Venezuela.

The ownership of natural resources by sovereign nations is considered a key tenet of international law.

'There wasn't even time for CPR': Iran medics describe hospitals overwhelmed with dead and injured protesters

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj9rengvnp9o, yesterday

Staff at several hospitals in Iran have told the BBC their facilities are overwhelmed with dead or injured patients, as major anti-government protests continue.

A medic at one Tehran hospital said there were "direct shots to the heads of the young people, to their hearts as well", while a doctor said an eye hospital in the capital had gone into crisis mode.

Two of the medical workers who spoke to the BBC said they treated gunshot wounds from both live ammunition and pellets.

On Friday, the US repeated that killing protesters would be met with a military response. Iran blamed the US for turning peaceful protests into what it called "violent subversive acts and widespread vandalism".

Reacting to the latest developments, President Trump posted on social media: "Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!"

Warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of death and injury

The protests began in the capital Tehran a fortnight ago over economic hardship.

They have since spread to more than 100 cities and towns across all of Iran's provinces. Hundreds of protesters are believed to have been killed or injured, and many more detained. BBC Persian has confirmed the identities of 26, including six children.

Members of the security forces have also been killed, with one human rights group putting the number at 14.

BBC Persian has verified that 70 bodies were brought to Poursina Hospital in Rasht city on Friday night. The morgue there was at full capacity, so the bodies were taken away. The authorities asked the relatives of the dead for 7 billion rials (£5,222; $7,000) to release them for burial, a hospital source said.

The BBC and most other international news organisations are unable to report from inside Iran, and the country has been under a near-total internet blackout since Thursday evening, making obtaining and verifying information difficult.

A hospital worker in Tehran described "very horrible scenes", saying there were so many wounded that staff did not have time to perform CPR.

"Around 38 people died. Many as soon as they reached the emergency beds... direct shots to the heads of the young people, to their hearts as well. Many of them didn't even make it to the hospital.

"The number was so large that there wasn't enough space in the morgue; the bodies were placed on top of one another.

"After the morgue became full, they stacked them on top of one another in the prayer room," she said.

The hospital worker said the dead or wounded were young people.

"Couldn't look at many of them, they were 20-25 years old."

A doctor who contacted the BBC via a Starlink satellite connection on Friday night said Tehran's main eye specialist centre, Farabi Hospital, had gone into crisis mode with emergency services overwhelmed.

Non-urgent admissions and surgeries were suspended and staff called in to deal with emergency cases, he said.

Iran's security forces often use shotguns which fire cartridges filled with pellets during confrontations with protesters.

'I saw one person who had been shot in the eye'

Another doctor from the city of Kashan in central Iran told the BBC many injured protesters had been hit in the eyes, and that his colleagues in hospitals across the city reported receiving many wounded people during Friday night's unrest.

Thursday night produced similar accounts.

A doctor at a medical centre in Tehran told the BBC: "The number of injured people and fatalities was very high. I saw one person who had been shot in the eye, with the bullet exiting from the back of his head.

"Around midnight, the centre's doors were closed. A group of people broke the door and threw a man who had been shot inside, then left. But it was too late - he had died before reaching hospital and could not be saved."

The BBC also obtained a video and audio message from a medic at a hospital in the south-west city of Shiraz on Thursday, who said large numbers of injured were being brought in, and the hospital did not have enough surgeons to cope with the influx.

What footage is emerging from Iran shows protesters in Tehran taking to the streets en masse on Friday night, burning vehicles, and a government building set alight in Karaj, near the capital.

The Iranian army has since said it will join security forces in defending public property.

It follows reports that Iranian security forces were spread thin as the unrest extended throughout the country.

Iranian authorities issued a series of co-ordinated warnings to protesters on Friday, with the National Security Council saying "decisive" legal action would be taken against "armed vandals".

Iranian police maintained that no one was killed in Tehran on Friday night, though they said 26 buildings were set on fire, causing extensive damage.

An eyewitness who joined the protests on Thursday and Friday nights in Tehran told BBC Persian Television that Gen Z Iranians have been instrumental in encouraging their parents and older people to come out and join the protest marches, urging them not to be afraid.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Saturday that Europe backed Iranians' mass protests and condemned the "violent repression" against demonstrators.

UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said on Friday the international body was very disturbed by the loss of life.

"People anywhere in the world have a right to demonstrate peacefully, and governments have a responsibility to protect that right and to ensure that that right is respected," he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz released a joint statement on Friday calling on Iranian authorities to "allow for the freedom of expression and peaceful assembly without fear of reprisal".

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei remained defiant in a televised address on Friday, saying: "The Islamic Republic came to power through the blood of several hundred thousand honourable people and it will not back down in the face of those who deny this."

In later remarks broadcast on state television, Khamenei reiterated that his regime "will not shirk from dealing with destructive elements" who he said were "trying to please the president of the US".

Meanwhile, the son of Iran's last shah, who was deposed by an Islamic revolution in 1979, described the protests as "magnificent" and urged Iranians to continue over the weekend.

"Our goal is no longer just to take to the streets. The goal is to prepare to seize and hold city centres," Reza Pahlavi said in a social media video.

US-based Pahlavi also said he was preparing to return to the country.

But former UK ambassador to Iran Sir Simon Gass told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that "we really shouldn't get too ahead of ourselves" when discussing regime change.

He said the lack of organised opposition within Iran meant people did not have an alternative figure to coalesce around as things stood.

However, he noted the protests were "a much wider movement" than previous flare-ups, which were triggered by Iranians finding it "almost impossible to make ends meet because of the disaster to the economy".

On Friday, President Trump reiterated his threat to Iran's leadership that the US would "hit them very hard" if they "start killing people".

He clarified that this did not mean "boots on the ground". Last year, the US conducted air strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Meanwhile, the US state department said accusations by Iran's foreign minister that Washington and Israel were fuelling the protests were a "delusional attempt to deflect" attention from the challenges the regime was facing.

Taghi Rahmani, an Iranian political activist who spent 14 years in prison and whose wife, Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, was re-arrested in December, said any lasting change must come from Iranians instead of foreign intervention.

The protests have been the most widespread since a 2022 uprising sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, who was detained by morality police for allegedly not wearing her hijab properly. More than 550 people were killed and 20,000 detained, according to human rights groups.

Additional reporting by Soroush Negahdari, Mallory Moench and Aleks Phillips

Iran protests: 'People are more angry and determined now'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2xew4w560o, 3 days ago

Vast crowds of Iranians have taken to the streets of the capital, Tehran, and several other cities, calling for an end to the Islamic Republic and in many places for the restoration of the monarchy.

Young and old, rich and poor, Iranians across the country and from all walks of life are now demonstrating their fury at the clerical establishment which has ruled them for close to half a century.

One young woman in Tehran told the BBC she was protesting because her dreams had been "stolen" and she wanted the regime to know that "we still have a voice to shout, a fist to punch them in the face".

Another spoke of the despair and hopelessness that is driving the protests.

"We're living in limbo," she said. "I feel like I'm hanging in the air with neither wings to migrate nor hope to pursue my goals here. Life here has become unbearable."

Day after day, since late December, protests in Iran have been spreading and building momentum, fuelled by deep-seated economic and political frustration.

"People are becoming bolder now," 29-year old Sina told the BBC on Thursday by text message from the city of Karaj, west of the capital Tehran. "I went to buy some groceries and people were speaking out loud against the regime in the daylight! I was thinking that the protests will stop but it hasn't lost its momentum."

It is hard to know the full picture of what is taking place because independent media are not allowed to operate freely in Iran, many people are fearful to speak publicly, and now the internet has been severely restricted. The BBC spoke to people before the near blackout.

But there is no disguising the extent of discontent, and the size of some of the protests filmed and posted on social media.

Iranians have a multitude of grievances against their government – from the absence of political freedoms to corruption and the state of the economy which has resulted in crippling price rises.

The last major protests in Iran were sparked, in 2022, by the death in custody of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, who was accused of not wearing the compulsory hijab properly.

This time it was a strike by shopkeepers at Tehran's historic grand bazaar on 28 December over the plummeting value of the Iranian currency which lit the match of a new crisis of legitimacy for the Islamic Republic.

Protests at universities followed. The institutions were swiftly ordered shut by the authorities, ostensibly because of cold weather. But by then, the spark had ignited a wider fire in the country, with clashes in many small towns and cities, particularly in the west of Iran.

Some of the chants heard on the streets over the past few days have been familiar. "Death to the Dictator" is a reference to the 86-year old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "Azadi, Azadi", or "Freedom, Freedom" is a common refrain.

Another popular chant: "This homeland won't be a homeland until the mullahs are buried."

New to these latest protests, however, is the chant: "Pahlavi will return," a reference to Reza Pahlavi, the son of the late Shah of Iran who was overthrown in 1979. It was he who called for people to turn out on the streets on Thursday night.

The protests of the last few days have seen increasing chants for the return of the monarchy.

"Personally I think he's the only way out of this," 26-year old Sara from Tehran told the BBC.

Other Iranians say that they see expressions of support for the monarchy as a sign of desperation to be rid of the current regime, and a lack of alternatives.

"I'm not the biggest fan of Reza Pahlavi. But to be honest my personal opinion is not important now," 27-year old Maryam from Tehran told the BBC. "Being and staying united is more important. It's a different vibe from the Woman Life Freedom protests [of 2022]."

She says they were characterised by grief for Mahsa Amini.

"But people seem more angry and determined now."

Another woman, in the western town of Ilam near the border with Iraq, described people raiding a supermarket linked to the regime, and throwing the produce away to show their disgust at the authorities.

She told the BBC she even knows young people from families affiliated with the regime who have been taking part in protests: "My friend and her three sisters, whose father is a well-known figure in the intelligence services, are joining without their father knowing."

This is an extraordinary moment in the country. And no one knows exactly where it will lead.

Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran's last shah at centre of protest chants

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62wx1gr8y4o, 3 days ago

Many demonstrators in Iran have been calling for the return of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran's last shah (king).

Pahlavi himself has called for people to take to the streets. So who is the former crown prince and how much support does he have?

Groomed from birth to inherit Iran's Peacock Throne, Reza Pahlavi was undergoing fighter pilot training in the United States when the 1979 revolution swept away his father's monarchy.

He watched from afar as his father, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi - once backed by Western allies - struggled to find refuge in another country and ultimately died of cancer in Egypt.

The sudden loss of power left the young crown prince and his family stateless, reliant on a dwindling circle of royalists and well-wishers in exile.

In the decades that followed, tragedy struck the family more than once. His younger sister and brother both took their own lives, leaving him the symbolic head of a dynasty many thought was consigned to history.

Now, at 65, Reza Pahlavi is once again seeking a role in shaping his country's future.

From his home in a quiet suburb near Washington DC, supporters describe him as low-profile and approachable - a frequent visitor to local cafés, often accompanied by his wife, Yasmine, without visible security.

In 2022, when asked by a passer-by whether he saw himself as the leader of Iran's protest movement, he and Yasmine reportedly replied in unison: "Change has to come from within."

In recent years, however, his tone has grown more assertive. Following Israeli air strikes in 2025 that killed several senior Iranian generals, Pahlavi declared in a press conference in Paris that he was prepared to help lead a transitional government if the Islamic Republic collapsed.

He has since outlined a 100-day plan for an interim administration.

Pahlavi insists this new confidence stems from lessons learned in exile and from what he calls the "unfinished mission" his father left behind.

"This is not about restoring the past," he told reporters in Paris. "It's about securing a democratic future for all Iranians."

Born in October 1960 in Tehran, Pahlavi was the shah's only son after two previous marriages failed to produce a male heir. He grew up surrounded by privilege, educated by private tutors, and trained from a young age to defend the monarchy.

At 17, he was sent to Texas to train as a fighter pilot. But before he could return to serve, the revolution toppled his father's rule.

Since then, Pahlavi has lived in the United States. He studied political science, married Yasmine - a lawyer and fellow Iranian-American - and raised three daughters: Noor, Iman and Farah.

Divisive legacy

In exile, Pahlavi has remained a potent symbol for monarchists. Many remember the Pahlavi era as one of rapid modernisation and closer ties to the West. Others recall a time marked by censorship and the fearsome Savak secret police, which was used to suppress dissent and was known for human rights abuses.

Over the years, his popularity inside Iran has fluctuated. In 1980, he held a symbolic coronation ceremony in Cairo, declaring himself the shah. Although it had little practical impact, some opponents say it undermines his current message of democratic reform.

He has made multiple attempts to build opposition coalitions, including the National Council of Iran for Free Elections, launched in 2013. Most have struggled with internal disagreements and limited outreach inside Iran.

Unlike some exiled opposition groups, Pahlavi has consistently rejected violence and distanced himself from armed factions such as the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK).

He has repeatedly called for a peaceful transition and a national referendum to decide Iran's future political system.

Pahlavi has received fresh attention in recent years. Chants of "Reza Shah, may your soul be blessed" - a reference to his grandfather - resurfaced during anti-government protests in 2017.

The killing of Mahsa Amini in police custody in 2022 ignited nationwide demonstrations, propelling him back into the media spotlight.

His attempt to unite Iran's fragmented opposition drew cautious international interest, but ultimately failed to maintain momentum. Detractors argue he has yet to build a durable organisation or an independent media outlet after four decades abroad.

A controversial visit to Israel in 2023, during which he attended a Holocaust memorial event and met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, further polarised opinion. Some Iranians viewed this as pragmatic outreach; others saw it as alienating Iran's Arab and Muslim allies.

After recent Israeli air strikes inside Iran, he faced difficult questions.

In an interview with the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg, he was asked whether he supported Israeli attacks that risked civilian lives.

He maintained that ordinary Iranians were not the target and said that "anything that weakens the regime" would be welcomed by many inside Iran - remarks that sparked fierce debate.

Backers and critics

Today, Pahlavi presents himself not as a king-in-waiting, but as a figurehead for national reconciliation.

He says he wants to help guide Iran towards free elections, the rule of law and equal rights for women - while leaving the ultimate decision about restoring the monarchy or establishing a republic to a nationwide vote.

His supporters see him as the only opposition figure with name recognition and a long-standing commitment to peaceful change.

Critics counter that he remains too dependent on foreign backing and question whether Iranians inside the country, weary after decades of political turmoil, are ready to trust any exiled leader.

While Iran's government portrays him as a threat, it is impossible to measure his true support without an open political space and credible polls.

Some Iranians still revere his family name; others fear replacing one unelected ruler with another, even under a democratic guise.

Pahlavi's father's body remains buried in Cairo, awaiting what royalists hope will be a symbolic return to Iran one day.

Whether the exiled crown prince will ever see that day - or a free Iran - remains one of the many unanswered questions about a nation still wrestling with its past.

Iran leader says protesters are vandals trying to please Trump

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g49djqqjgo, 2 days ago

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called anti-government protesters "troublemakers" who are trying "to please the president of the US".

Iran also sent a letter to the United Nations Security Council blaming the US for turning the protests into what it called "violent subversive acts and widespread vandalism" in Iran. Trump, meanwhile, said Iran was "in big trouble".

The protests, in their 13th day, erupted over the economy and have grown into the largest in years - leading to calls for an end to the Islamic Republic and some urging the restoration of the monarchy.

At least 48 protesters and 14 security personnel have been killed, according to human rights groups.

An internet blackout is in place.

"We will be hitting them very hard where it hurts," Trump said at the White House on Friday, adding that his administration was watching the situation in Iran carefully and that any US involvement does not mean "boots on the ground".

"It looks to me that the people are taking over certain cities that nobody thought were really possible just a few weeks ago," he said.

These remarks echo ones the US president made about the Iranian government on Thursday, where he pledged to "hit them very hard" if they "start killing people".

Khamenei remained defiant in a televised address on Friday.

"Let everyone know that the Islamic Republic came to power through the blood of several hundred thousand honourable people and it will not back down in the face of those who deny this," the 86-year-old said.

Later, in remarks made to a gathering of supporters and broadcast on state television, Khamenei doubled down, saying Iran "will not shirk from dealing with destructive elements".

Iran's United Nations ambassador accused the US of "interfering in Iran's internal affairs through threats, incitement, and the deliberate encouragement of instability and violence," in a letter to the Security Council.

Since protests began on 28 December, in addition to the 48 protesters killed, more than 2,277 individuals have also been arrested, the US-based Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) said.

The Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) said at least 51 protesters, including nine children, had been killed.

BBC Persian has spoken to the families of 22 of them and confirmed their identities. The BBC and most other international news organisations are barred from reporting inside Iran.

In a joint statement, the leaders of the UK, Germany and France said they were "deeply concerned about reports of violence by Iranian security forces, and strongly condemn the killing of protesters".

"The Iranian authorities have the responsibility to protect their own population and must allow for the freedom of expression and peaceful assembly without fear of reprisal," French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said.

UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the United Nations was very disturbed by the loss of life. "People anywhere in the world have a right to demonstrate peacefully, and governments have a responsibility to protect that right and to ensure that that right is respected," he said.

Meanwhile the Iranian security and judicial authorities issued a series of coordinated warnings, hardening their rhetoric and echoing an earlier message of "no leniency" by Iran's top security body, the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC).

Iran's National Security Council - responsible for domestic security and not to be confused with the SNSC - said "decisive and necessary legal action will be taken" against protesters, which it described as "armed vandals" and "disruptors of peace and security".

In a brief statement, it warned against "any form of attack on military, law-enforcement, or governmental facilities". The intelligence arm of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said it would not tolerate what it described as "terrorist acts", asserting that it would continue its operations "until the complete defeat of the enemy's plan".

Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran's last shah who was overthrown by the 1979 Islamic revolution, called on Trump on Friday to "be prepared to intervene to help the people of Iran".

Pahlavi, who lives close to Washington DC, had urged protesters to take to the streets on Thursday and Friday.

Protests have taken place across the country, with BBC Verify verifying videos from 67 locations.

On Friday, protesters amassed after weekly prayers in the south-eastern city of Zahedan, videos verified by BBC Persian and BBC Verify show. In one of the videos, people can be heard chanting "death to the dictator", referencing Khamenei.

In another, protesters gather near a local mosque, when several loud bangs can be heard.

Another verified video from Thursday showed a fire at the office of the Young Journalists Club, a subsidiary of state broadcaster Irib, in the city of Isfahan. It is unclear what caused the fire and if anyone was injured.

Photos received by the BBC from Thursday night also show cars overturned and set alight at Tehran's Kaaj roundabout.

The country has been under a near-total internet blackout since Thursday evening, with minor amounts of traffic returning on Friday, internet monitoring groups Cloudfare and Netblocks said. That means less information is emerging from Iran.

IHRNGO director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said in a statement that "the extent of the government's use of force against protesters has been increasing, and the risk of intensified violence and the widespread killing of protesters after the internet shutdown is very serious".

Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi has warned of a possible "massacre" during the internet shutdown.

One person who was able to send a message to the BBC said he was in Shiraz, in southern Iran. He reported a run on supermarkets by residents trying to stock up on food and other essentials, expecting worse days to come.

The shutdown of the internet has meant that cash machines are not working, and there is no way to pay for purchases in shops where debit cards cannot be used due to the lack of internet.

Mahsa Alimardani, who works for the human rights NGO Witness, told the BBC in London that she had not been able to make contact with her family since Thursday evening.

"It's very anxiety-inducing, not having access to information, not knowing if your loved ones participated [in the protests] or if they're okay," she said.

The protests began nearly two weeks ago with shopkeepers in Tehran angry about the collapsing currency, before spreading to students and street demonstrations.

The last major protests were in 2022, when demonstrations erupted after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman who was detained by morality police for allegedly not wearing her hijab properly.

More than 550 people were killed and 20,000 detained by security forces over several months, according to human rights groups.

Additional reporting by Reha Kansara, Kasra Naji and Soroush Negahdari

Trump's warning looms over Iran protests response

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c23r4yeyxl9o, 3 days ago

Tehran has witnessed its largest anti-government demonstrations in decades, as protests swept through dozens of districts across the capital and its wider metropolitan area of nearly 16 million people.

For several hours there on Thursday night, security forces appeared unusually restrained. In areas where crowds were especially large, police and security units largely avoided direct confrontation, raising questions about whether the authorities were deliberately holding back.

That restraint, however, appears selective and strategic rather than absolute. While Tehran has seen a comparatively cautious approach, reports from smaller cities and provinces around the country tell a far more violent story.

According to multiple Iranian human rights organisations, including the Germany-based Kurdish Iranian human rights group Hengaw and US-based Human Rights Activist News Agency (Hrana), more than 40 people have been killed since the protests began nearly two weeks ago.

BBC Persian's verification team has confirmed the identities of at least 21 victims through interviews with relatives, many of whom were killed in Lorestan and Kurdish-majority regions of Illam and Kermanshah provinces. Video evidence obtained by the BBC shows security forces firing directly at protesters. At least four security forces have also been killed.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has issued a firm warning, declaring that the Islamic Republic "will not back down in the face of vandals". In a speech on Friday addressing the unrest, he framed the protests as foreign-inspired sabotage.

Referring to property damage in Tehran, he said demonstrators had destroyed their own buildings "just to please the president of the United States".

Following the seizure by the US of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, many within Iran's leadership are increasingly concerned that the United States may be serious about its threats, particularly after a 12-day war with Israel last June, during which the US bombed Iran's nuclear sites, and the weakening of Iranian-backed militant groups across the region.

It is possible these developments could embolden Washington to strike Iran without fear of significant retaliation.

President Donald Trump has loomed large over the regime's calculations. Since almost the start of the protests, Trump has issued repeated warnings to Tehran, stating that the US would respond forcefully if peaceful protesters were killed.

In a recent US radio interview, Trump said Iran would "get hit very hard" if it repeated the mass killings seen during previous uprisings. He downplayed responsibility for deaths so far by attributing some to "stampedes", but stressed that Iranian authorities had been "told very strongly" where the red lines lay.

It is not clear whether these warnings may be behind the regime's response. In Tehran, where symbolically the costs are greatest, security forces appear to be exercising restraint to avoid images of mass bloodshed. Gunshots were reportedly heard late Thursday night in Tehran, but due to the near blackout of the internet it is difficult to verify exactly what is happening in the city.

Outside the capital, however, repression has been swift and lethal.

During the mass protests in Iran in 2022 following the death of the Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in police custody in Tehran, more than 500 people were killed, human rights groups say. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), along with its affiliated militias and anti-riot police, played a pivotal role in violently suppressing those protests.

Historically, the Islamic Republic has relied on a layered security apparatus to suppress mass protests. Alongside riot police, the regime deploys the Basij militia - a volunteer paramilitary force under IRGC control - often operating in plain clothes.

In more intense situations, command shifts from police to IRGC commanders, signalling that unrest is being treated as a national security threat rather than a civil disturbance. This escalation typically precedes harsher crackdowns, including mass arrests and lethal force.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian has called for tolerance of what he described as "legitimate protests," but his authority is limited. Ultimate control over security policy rests with the supreme leader, not the presidency.

The current approach suggests the regime is buying time, attempting to exhaust protesters, limit casualties in visible areas, and avoid crossing thresholds that could provoke direct foreign retaliation.

Huge anti-government protests in Tehran and other Iranian cities, videos show

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg7y0579lp8o, 3 days ago

Huge crowds of protesters have been marching through Iran's capital and other cities, videos show, in what is said to be the largest show of force by opponents of the clerical establishment in years.

The peaceful demonstrations in Tehran and the second city of Mashhad on Thursday evening, which were not dispersed by security forces, can be seen in footage verified by BBC Persian.

Later, a monitoring group reported a nationwide internet blackout.

Protesters can be heard in the footage calling for the overthrow of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the return of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the late former shah, who had urged his supporters to take to the streets.

It was the 12th consecutive day of unrest that has been sparked by anger over the collapse of the Iranian currency and has spread to more than 100 cities and towns across all 31 of Iran's provinces, according to human rights groups.

The US-based Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) has said at least 34 protesters - five of them children - and eight security personnel have been killed, and that 2,270 other protesters have been arrested.

Norway-based monitor Iran Human Rights (IHR) has said at least 45 protesters, including eight children, have been killed by security forces.

BBC Persian has confirmed the deaths and identities of 22 people, while Iranian authorities have reported the deaths of six security personnel.

The protests are seen as the biggest since 2009, when millions of Iranians took to the streets of major cities after a disputed presidential election. Dozens of opposition supporters were killed and thousands were detained in the ensuing crackdown.

On Thursday evening, videos posted on social media and verified by BBC Persian showed a large crowd of protesters moving along a major road in Mashhad, in the country's north-east.

Chants of "Long live the shah" and "This is the final battle! Pahlavi will return" can be heard. And at one point, several men are seen climbing on an overpass and removing what appears to be surveillance cameras attached to it.

Another video posted online showed a large crowd of protesters walking along a major road in eastern Tehran.

In footage sent to BBC Persian from the north of the capital, another large crowd is heard chanting "This is the final battle! Pahlavi will return". Elsewhere in the north, protesters were filmed shouting "Dishonourable" and "Don't be afraid, we are all together" following a clash with security forces.

Other videos showed protesters chanting "Death to the dictator" - a reference to Khamenei - in the central city of Isfahan; "Long live the shah" in the northern city of Babol, and "Don't be afraid, we are all together" in the north-western city of Tabriz.

In the western city of Dezful, footage sent to BBC Persian showed a large crowd of protesters and also security personnel appearing to open fire from a central square.

The BBC and other international news organisations are barred from reporting inside Iran, so social media is relied upon to find out and verify what is happening on the ground.

The evening protests came not long after Reza Pahlavi, whose father was overthrown by the 1979 Islamic revolution and lives in Washington DC, had called on Iranians to "take to the streets and, as a united front, shout your demands".

In a post on X, Pahlavi said "millions of Iranians demanded their freedom tonight", describing the protesters as his "courageous compatriots". He thanked US President Donald Trump for holding the "regime to account", and called on European leaders to do the same.

Pahlavi has also called for protests to continue from 20:00 local time (16:30 GMT) on Friday night.

There have also been separate calls for protests by Kurdish opposition groups and some university student groups.

Seventeen Iran-based rights activists, including imprisoned Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi, have meanwhile issued a joint statement saying that a peaceful transition from the Islamic Republic is an undeniable necessity for Iran's future.

Iranian state media downplayed the scale of Thursday's unrest. In some cases, they denied protests had taken place altogether, posting videos of empty streets.

Meanwhile, internet watchdog NetBlocks said its metrics showed that Iran was "in the midst of a nationwide internet blackout".

"The incident follows a series of escalating digital censorship measures targeting protests across the country and hinders the public's right to communicate at a critical moment," it warned, referring to previous losses of connectivity in several cities.

Earlier in the day, footage from Lomar, a small town in the western province of Ilam, showed a crowd chanting "Cannons, tanks, fireworks, mullahs must go" - a reference to the clerical establishment. Another showed people throwing papers into the air outside a bank that appeared to have been broken into.

Other videos showed many shuttered shops in a number of predominantly Kurdish cities and towns in Ilam, as well as Kermanshah and Lorestan provinces.

It followed a call for a general strike by exiled Kurdish opposition groups in response to the deadly crackdown on protests in the region.

At least 17 protesters have been killed by security forces in Ilam, Kermanshah and Lorestan during the unrest, and many of them have been members of the Kurdish or Lor ethnic minorities, according to Kurdish human rights group Hengaw.

On Wednesday, there were violent clashes between protesters and security forces in several cities and towns in western Iran, as well as other regions.

IHR said it had been the deadliest day of the unrest, with 13 protesters confirmed to have been killed across the country.

"The evidence shows that the scope of crackdown is becoming more violent and more extensive every day," said the group's director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam.

Hengaw said two protesters were shot dead by security forces in Khoshk-e Bijar, in the northern province of Gilan, on Wednesday night.

Iran's semi-official news agency Fars, which is close to the Revolutionary Guards, reported that three police officers were also killed on Wednesday.

It said two were shot dead by armed individuals among a group of "rioters" in the south-western town of Lordegan, and the third was stabbed to death "during efforts to control unrest" in Malard country, west of Tehran.

On Thursday, US President Donald Trump reiterated his threat to intervene militarily if Iranian authorities killed protesters.

"I have let them know that if they start killing people, which they tend to do during their riots - they have lots of riots - if they do it, we are going to hit them very hard," he said in an interview with the Hugh Hewitt Show.

Separately, the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said the Iranian economy was "on the ropes".

While speaking at the Economic Club of Minnesota on Thursday, he added: "[President Trump] does not want them to harm more of the protesters. This is a tense moment."

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian earlier called on security forces to exercise "utmost restraint" when handling peaceful protests. "Any violent or coercive behaviour should be avoided," a statement said.

Khamenei - who has ultimate power in Iran - said on Saturday that authorities should "speak with the protesters" but that "rioters should be put in their place".

The protests began on 28 December, when shopkeepers took to the streets of Tehran to express their anger at another sharp fall in the value of the Iranian currency, the rial, against the US dollar on the open market.

The rial has sunk to a record low over the past year and inflation has soared to 40% as sanctions over Iran's nuclear programme squeeze an economy also weakened by government mismanagement and corruption.

University students soon joined the protests and they began spreading to other cities, with crowds frequently heard chanting slogans critical of the clerical establishment.

In messages sent to the BBC, via a UK-based activist, a woman in Tehran said despair was driving the protests.

"We're living in limbo," she said. "I feel like I'm hanging in the air with neither wings to migrate nor hope to pursue my goals here. Life here has become unbearable."

Another said she was protesting because her dreams had been "stolen" by the clerical establishment and she wanted it to know that "we still have a voice to shout, a fist to punch them in the face."

A woman in the western city of Ilam said she knew of young people from families affiliated with the establishment who were taking part in protests. "My friend and her three sisters, whose father is a well-known figure in the intelligence services, are joining without their father knowing," she said.

The protests have been the most widespread since an uprising in 2022 sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman who was detained by morality police for allegedly not wearing her hijab properly. More than 550 people were killed and 20,000 detained by security forces over several months, according to human rights groups.

Lebanese army says it has taken over security in Hezbollah-dominated south

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj4ln977w0jo, 4 days ago

The Lebanese army says it has taken over security in the south of the country, which for decades had been dominated by the Iranian-backed movement Hezbollah, amid fears that Israel could escalate its military offensive against the group.

Lebanon has been under intense international pressure, particularly from the US, to disarm Hezbollah, a powerful militia and political party, since a ceasefire deal in November 2024 ended a devastating year-long war between Israel and Hezbollah.

The army had set a year-end deadline to clear the area south of the Litani river, about 30km (20 miles) from the border with Israel, of non-state weapons in the first phase of a government-backed plan.

The army said its objective had been achieved in an "effective and tangible way" but that there was more work to be done to clear unexploded ordnance and tunnels.

Responding to the Lebanese army's statement, the office of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said efforts toward fully disarming Hezbollah were "an encouraging beginning, but they are far from sufficient, as evidenced by Hezbollah's efforts to rearm and rebuild its terror infrastructure with Iranian support".

In recent months, Lebanese soldiers have dismantled infrastructure in areas once controlled by Hezbollah in the south without facing resistance from the group, which says it has complied with the ceasefire deal and removed its fighters from those areas, where Palestinian factions including Hamas had also operated.

But US and Israeli officials have expressed frustration with the pace of the army's efforts.

Israel has accused Hezbollah - which is considered a terrorist organisation by countries including the US and the UK - of trying to recover its military capabilities, including in the south. In recent days, Israeli media reported that Netanyahu had been given a green light by US President Donald Trump to intensify its military campaign against Hezbollah.

Despite the ceasefire, Israel has carried out near-daily attacks on targets it says are linked to Hezbollah and continues to occupy at least five positions in southern Lebanon.

The Lebanese government rejects the Israeli claims, and says Israel's actions are a violation of the ceasefire deal and an obstacle to the army's efforts.

Israel has not made the evidence it says it has about Hezbollah's activities public, and the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, known as Unifil, says it has seen no indication that the group is rebuilding its infrastructure in the areas where it operates.

Lebanese officials say the next stage of the army's plan will focus on the area between the Litani and the Awali rivers, which includes the port city of Sidon. There is no timeline for that, and the cash-strapped Lebanese army has also complained of insufficient funding and equipment.

Meanwhile, it is unclear if Hezbollah will resist the measures in other areas as it says it will not disarm north of the Litani. The group also has a strong presence in the eastern Bekaa valley and in Beirut's southern suburbs, known as the Dahieh.

Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun has rejected the use of force against the group, saying this could exacerbate sectarian divisions and lead to violence.

Hezbollah - which is also a political party with representation in parliament and in the government, and a social movement that runs hospitals and schools - still enjoys significant support among Lebanon's Shia community.

Opponents, however, see this as a unique opportunity to disarm the group, after its losses in the war. Hezbollah, so far, has rejected calls from the authorities to discuss the future of its weapons.

In Lebanon's south, tens of thousands of residents remain displaced and communities lie in ruins, as Lebanon's international partners have conditioned funds for reconstruction on measures that include action against Hezbollah.

Saudi-led coalition says UAE helped smuggle separatist leader out of Yemen

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y2mvp3r2do, 3 days ago

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen has alleged the United Arab Emirates helped smuggle a separatist leader out of the country after he was expelled from Yemen's presidential council and accused of treason.

A coalition spokesman said Aidarous al-Zubaidi, head of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), fled Aden on Tuesday night in a boat to Somaliland. He was then flown by a cargo aircraft to Abu Dhabi via Mogadishu under the supervision of UAE officers, he added.

There was no immediate comment from the UAE or STC.

The STC insisted Zubaidi was still working from Aden on Wednesday, after the coalition said he had failed to fly to Riyadh for talks and had fled to an unknown location.

The coalition also accused Zubaidi of moving STC forces from bases in Aden to his home province of al-Dahle and said it had carried out air strikes on them in response.

The STC said the strikes, which reportedly killed four people, were "unjustified" and "inconsistent" with calls for dialogue with Yemen's internationally recognised government, which is overseen by the presidential council and backed by Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been allies in the war against Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement over the past decade, but the infighting between the rival factions they support has deepened a rift between them and pushed southern Yemen to the brink of a new conflict.

On Thursday, coalition spokesman Maj Gen Turki al-Malki said it had "reliable intelligence" showing Zubaidi and his associates fled from Aden's port in the early hours of Wednesday on board a St Kitts and Nevis-flagged passenger ship.

The vessel sailed across the Gulf of Aden to Berbera in the breakaway region of Somaliland, where a Ilyushin Il-76 cargo aircraft was waiting, he added.

Malki said Zubaidi and his associates "boarded the aircraft under the supervision of UAE officers" and flew first to Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, before heading towards the Arabian Sea "without a declared destination".

"The aircraft disabled its identification systems over the Gulf of Oman, reactivating them only 10 minutes prior to landing at Al-Reef Military Air Base in Abu Dhabi," he added, without saying directly whether Zubaidi was still aboard.

Somalia's immigration agency said it was investigating an "alleged unauthorised use" of its airspace and airports.

STC-aligned forces have in recent years taken control of much of southern Yemen, which they want once again to be an independent state, by pushing out forces loyal to the government.

However, Saudi Arabia warned last week that the advances near the kingdom's borders constituted threats to its national security as well as the security and stability of Yemen.

It also accused the UAE of "pressuring" its separatist allies to push into eastern Yemen and expressed support for a demand from the presidential council for all Emirati forces to leave.

At the same time, the Saudi-led coalition - which was formed in 2015 by Arab states, including the UAE, after Houthi rebels seized control of north-western Yemen - struck what it said was a shipment of weapons and military vehicles for the STC that had arrived from the UAE.

The UAE expressed "deep regret" at the Saudi accusations and denied there were any weapons, but agreed to pull its remaining forces out of the country.

Since then, forces loyal to the government have retaken control of Hadramawt and al-Mahra with the help of coalition air strikes.

Witnesses and government officials told Reuters news agency on Thursday that Aden was also now coming under the control of Saudi-backed forces.

Footage shows violent clashes as Iran protests spread to more areas

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgm4y0ewe93o, 4 days ago

There were violent clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces in several locations in Iran on Wednesday, as a wave of unrest sparked by the country's economic crisis continued for an 11th day.

Iran's semi-official Fars news agency, which is close to the Revolutionary Guards, said two policemen were shot and killed by armed individuals in the south-western town of Lordegan.

Videos posted on social media showed a tense stand-off between protesters and security forces, with the sound of gunfire in the background.

In footage from several other areas, security forces appear to fire guns and tear gas towards crowds of protesters, some of whom are throwing stones.

The protests have so far spread to 111 cities and towns across all 31 provinces, according to the US-based Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA).

It has reported that at least 34 protesters and four security personnel have been killed during the unrest, and that 2,200 protesters have been arrested.

BBC Persian has confirmed the deaths and identities of 21 people, while Iranian authorities have reported the deaths of five security personnel.

The protests began on 28 December, when shopkeepers took to the streets of the capital, Tehran, to express their anger at another sharp fall in the value of the Iranian currency, the rial, against the US dollar on the open market.

University students soon joined the protests and they began spreading to other cities, with crowds frequently heard chanting slogans against the country's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and sometimes in support of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran's late former shah.

On Wednesday, videos verified by BBC Persian showed crowds protesting in Qazvin, north-west of Tehran, and chanting slogans including "Death to the dictator" - a reference to Khamenei - as well as "Long live the shah".

Footage from the Gulf port of Bandar Abbas, showed protesters chanting "Police force, support, support" before security forces disperse them.

In the Shia holy city of Mashhad, in the country's north-east, protesters were seen clashing with security forces and forcing them to retreat. Another video showed people chanting in support of the Pahlavi dynasty, which was overthrown by the 1979 Islamic revolution.

In the late afternoon, a large demonstration also took place in the south-western city of Abadan, near the border with Iraq, according to footage verified by BBC Persian, in which protesters chanted "Cannon, tanks, firecrackers! Mullahs must get lost", a reference to Iran's clerical leadership.

More footage filmed from a balcony in the city appeared to show security forces opening fire as they run away from advancing protesters, who are throwing stones and other objects.

As night fell, security forces were filmed firing tear gas to disperse a protest in Aligudarz, another western city, after a crowd had gathered in a square chanting "People's uprising, Viva!"

Footage also emerged of protesters in Qaemyeh, Fars province, toppling a statue of Qasem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force and one of the most powerful figures in Iran, who was killed in a US air strike on the orders of Donald Trump in 2020.

In Lordegan, Fars reported that two police officers were killed during a protest on Wednesday.

It added that the officers, whom it named as Hadi Azarsalim and Moslem Mahdavinasab, were shot dead by "armed individuals" who had been among a group of what it called "rioters".

It was not immediately possible to verify the report because the BBC and other independent international media are either not allowed to report from inside Iran or, if granted permission, face severe restrictions on their movements.

However, Lordegan has been the scene of violent clashes during the unrest, with two protesters killed there last Thursday.

Following a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Vice-President for Executive Affairs Mohammad Jafar Qaempanah said President Masoud Pezeshkian had ordered that "no security measures" be taken against peaceful protesters.

"Those who carry firearms, knives and machetes and who attack police stations and military sites are rioters, and we must distinguish protesters from rioters," he added.

State media also reported that the government had begun paying 71 million citizens a new monthly allowance equivalent to $7 (£5) to ease the pain of the high cost of living.

Meanwhile, judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei told police commanders that "rioters" would face "rapid" prosecution and punishment in order to serve as a deterrent.

Khamenei - who, as supreme leader, has ultimate power in Iran - said on Saturday that authorities should "speak with the protesters" but that "rioters should be put in their place".

His comments came after Trump threatened that the US would intervene if Iranian security forces killed peaceful protesters, saying: "We are locked and loaded."

Dr Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East programme at the London-based think tank Chatham House, told the BBC that the protests had quickly become political and were being driven by deep-seated anger among the public.

"People are fed up. They have no prospects for the future. Day-to-day life is becoming much more difficult," she said.

"If there is more momentum and if more people come out, [the protests] will be more serious and, of course, there the government response becomes more violent."

Sadegh Zibakalam, a political science professor at the University of Tehran, said the Iranian authorities might be resisting a harsher crackdown because of Trump's threats.

"Some Iranian leaders - Revolutionary Guard commanders and security forces - maybe they are a bit more cautious and are not in a hurry to suppress the crowd this time fearing it may create an American intervention," he told the BBC.

More than 550 people were killed and 20,000 detained in a violent crackdown on those protests by security forces, according to human rights groups.

'There are many challenges': Syrians in Turkey consider return after fall of Assad

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd74pxvrp10o, 14 days ago

The pull of home can be strong – even when it is a place you can't remember.

That is how it is for Ahmed, 18. He emerges from a mosque in the heart of Gaziantep in south-east Turkey - not far from the Syrian border - wearing a black T-shirt with "Syria" written on the front.

His family fled his homeland when he was five years old, but he is planning to go back in a year or two at most.

"I am impatient to get there," he tells me. "I am trying to save money first, because wages in Syria are low." Still, he insists the future will be better there.

"Syria will be rebuilt and it will be like gold," he says.

If he goes back, he will be following in the footsteps of more than half a million Syrians who have left Turkey since the ousting of Syria's long-time dictator, Bashar al-Assad, in December 2024.

Many had been here since 2011, when civil war began devouring their country.

In the years that followed, Turkey became a safe haven, taking in more Syrians than any other country. The number reached 3.5 million at its peak, causing political tension and - on occasion - xenophobic attacks.

Officially, no Syrian will be forced to go, but some feel they are being pushed - by bureaucratic changes, and by a waning welcome.

Civil society organisations "are getting the message from the authorities that it's time to go", says a Syrian woman who did not want to be named.

"I have a lot of good Turkish friends. Even they and my neighbours have asked why I am still here. Of course we will go back, but in an organised way. If we all go back together, it will be chaos."

Aya Mustafa, 32, is eager to leave - but not yet. We meet under a winter sun by the stone walls of a castle, which has towered over Gaziantep since the Byzantine era. Her hometown, Aleppo, is less than two hours' drive away.

She says going back is a constant topic of conversation in the Syrian community.

"Every day, every hour, we speak about this point," says Aya, whose family were lawyers and teachers back home, but had to start again in Turkey, baking and hairdressing to earn a living.

"We are talking about how we can return, and when, and what we can do. But there are many challenges, to be honest. Many families have children who were born here and can't even speak Arabic."

Then there is the level of destruction in new Syria - where war has done its worst - and where the interim president, Ahmed Al Sharaa, is a former senior leader of Al Qaeda who has worked to reinvent his image.

Aya saw the ruins of Aleppo for herself when she went back to visit. Her family home is still standing but now occupied by someone else.

"It's a big decision to go back to Syria," she says, "especially for people with elderly relatives. I have my grandmother and my disabled sister. We need the basics like electricity and water and jobs to survive there."

For now, she says, her family can't survive in Syria, but they will return in time.

"We believe that day will come," she says, with a broad smile. "It will take some years [to rebuild]. But in the end, we will see everyone in Syria."

A short drive away, we get a very different view from a Syrian family of four - father, mother and two teenage sons. The father - who does not want to be named - runs an aid organisation helping his fellow countrymen. Over glasses of tea and helpings of baklava, I ask if he and his family would move back. His response is swift and adamant.

"No, not for me and for my family," he says. "And the same goes for my organisation. We have projects inside Syria, and we hope to extend that activity. But my family and my organisation will stay here in Turkey."

Asked why, he lists problems with the economy, security, education and the health system. Syria's interim government "hasn't any experience to deal with the situation", he tells me. "Some ask us to give them a chance, but one year has passed and the indications are not good."

He too has visited the new Syria, and, like Aya, was not reassured. "The security situation is very bad," he says. "Every day there are killings. Regardless of who the victims are, they have souls."

His voice softens when he speaks of his 80-year-old father in Damascus, who hasn't seen his grandsons for 12 years, and may never see them again.

For now, he and his family can remain in Turkey, but he's already making contingency plans in case government policy changes.

"Plan A is that we will stay here in Turkey," he says. "If we cannot, I'm thinking about plan B, C and even D. I am an engineer, always planning."

None of those plans involve a return to Syria.

If going home is hard, staying in Turkey isn't easy either. Syrians have "temporary protection" that comes with restrictions. They are not supposed to leave the cities where they are first registered. Work permits are hard to get, and many are in low paid jobs, living on the margins.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan - who backed the uprising against Assad - has insisted that no Syrian will be driven out, but refugee advocates say there are growing pressures beneath the surface.

They point to the ending of free medical care for Syrians from January, and new government regulations which make it more expensive to hire them.

"These new elements cast a shadow over how voluntary returns are," says Metin Corabatir, who heads an independent Turkish research centre on asylum and migration, IGAM.

And he says presidential and parliamentary elections – due by 2028 – may be another threat for Syrians here.

"Normally President Erdogan is their main protector," Mr Corabatir tells me. "He says they can stay as long as they want. And he repeated this after the regime changed. But if there is an election, and a political gain for the AKP [ruling party] to make, there might be some policy changes."

Fresh elections could revive the xenophobic rhetoric that featured in the last polls, he warns. "Those feelings went to sleep," he says, "but I am quite sure the infrastructure of this xenophobic attitude is still alive."

On a cold grey morning at a border crossing an hour's drive from Gaziantep the hills of Syria are visible, a short distance away.

Mahmud Sattouf and his wife Suad Helal are heading to their homeland – this time just for a visit. They have Turkish citizenship, so they will be able to return. For other Syrians, the journey is now one-way.

Mahmud, a teacher, is beaming with excitement.

"We are returning because we love our country," he says. "It's a great joy. I can't describe it in words. As we say in English: 'East, west, home is best'."

He and Suad will move home in about a year, he tells us, when Syria is more settled, along with their four sons, and their families.

"I am 63," he says, "but I don't feel like I am an old man. I feel young. We are ready to rebuild our country."

How will it feel to be back for good? I ask.

"I will be the most happy man in the world," he says, and laughs.

Trump's grand plan to reshape the world order leaves Europe with a difficult choice to make

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c041n3ng03no, 3 days ago

For 80 years, what bound the United States to Europe was a shared commitment to defence and a common set of values: a commitment to defend democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

That era was inaugurated in March 1947 in an 18-minute speech by President Harry Truman, in which he pledged US support to defend Europe against further expansion by the Soviet Union.

America led the creation of Nato, the World Bank, the IMF and the United Nations. And it bound itself into what became known as the "rules-based international order", in which nation states committed to a series of mutual obligations and shared burdens, designed to defend the democratic world against hostile authoritarian powers.

Now, the new US National Security Strategy (NSS), published in December, signals that, for the White House, that shared endeavour has ended; that much of what the world has taken for granted about America's role is over.

The review refers to the "so-called 'rules-based international order'", putting the latter phrase in inverted commas: a kind of delegitimisation by punctuation mark.

Vice-President JD Vance warned America's European allies that this was coming in a speech at the Munich Security Conference in February 2025.

He told them bluntly that the real threat to Europe did not come from Russia but from within - from those censoring free speech, suppressing political opposition and therefore undermining European democracy. And he was damning about the "leftist liberal network".

The French newspaper Le Monde said the speech was a declaration of "ideological war" against Europe.

Last month's NSS codifies Vance's remarks, and, in black and white, elevates them to the status of doctrine.

"Certainly America is no longer the country that promoted the global values that have been in place since the end of the Second World War," says Karin von Hippel, who previously held senior positions in the US State Department and is a former Director of the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), a Whitehall think tank.

"It is shifting to a very different place."

So, if the world is indeed moving away from that order, what is it moving towards? And what does it mean for the rest of the world and in particular for Europe?

'We have a different world today'

"International institutions, notably the United Nations, have been marked by dramatically anti-American sentiment, and have not served our or any other particular purpose," says Victoria Coates, a vice-president at The Heritage Foundation, a prominent right-wing think tank in Washington.

In the eyes of Coates - who was previously the Deputy National Security Adviser to US President Donald Trump - change to the international order is inevitable in a changing world.

"The other issue we face here is that when that so-called rules-based international order was established after the Second World War, 80 short years ago, China wasn't a major concern.

"We just have a different world today."

This rules-based international order, built in the years after World War Two, was created by a generation that had come of age during an era of Great Power geopolitics, and had seen that system descend, twice, into catastrophic global conflict.

That international order, flawed and incomplete though it undoubtedly was, was the legacy of that experience.

But the NSS directly argues that American strategy went astray in the years since - and it blames what it calls "American foreign policy elites".

"They lashed American policy to a network of international institutions, some of which are driven by outright anti-Americanism and many by a transnationalism that explicitly seeks to dissolve individual state sovereignty," it says.

It suggests that in future, the US will seek to roll back the influence of supranational bodies.

"The world's fundamental political unit is and will remain the nation-state… We stand for the sovereign rights of nations, against the sovereignty-sapping incursions of the most intrusive transnational organizations…"

Elsewhere in the document, reflecting on the "balance of power", it states: "The outsized influence of larger, richer, and stronger nations is a timeless truth of international relations."

The Kremlin responded to the review with praise, saying much of it aligned with Moscow's own thinking.

"I think Trump, Xi, Putin and their more authoritarian acolytes are seeking to return us to an era of Great Power politics," says Field Marshal Lord Richards, who, as General Sir David Richards, was the head of the UK's armed forces from 2010 till 2013.

Yet Sir Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies at King's College London, believes the new Security Strategy is not as radical a break with the past as it may appear.

"We need to be careful about the rules-based international order, which is a term that came into general use in the last decade or so," he argues.

"Look back and you find plenty of violations of the rules, Vietnam for example. So there's a sort of rosy glow about the past at times and everyone should be careful about nostalgia for what was a complex past."

Muscular reassertion of the Monroe doctrine

Washington's military operation in the Venezuelan capital Caracas that led to the capture of the country's leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, is an early example of this more muscular assertion of sovereign unilateralism.

Some international law experts have questioned the legality of the Trump administration's actions, and argued the US may have violated international statutes governing the use of force.

The US maintains its actions were legally justified.

"Under American law it certainly was [legal]" Robert Wilkie, who served as an Undersecretary of Defense in the first Trump administration, has previously told the BBC.

"Maduro - most of our European partners have not recognised his regime so he is an illegitimate figure. Because of that he is stripped of the normal protections that heads of state would have [...]particularly when were are looking at constitutional provisions that exist in the United States, that would supersede anything the UN says."

The NSS claims, for the United States, the right to be the pre-eminent power in the Western Hemisphere, and to bend its Latin American and Caribbean neighbours into alignment with Washington's interests.

This is a muscular reassertion of the 1823 Monroe Doctrine and its promise of US supremacy in the Western hemisphere.

Colombia, Panama and Cuba are all also in the President's sights.

"This starts primarily with the Panama Canal," says Victoria Coates. "The degree to which control of the canal is necessary to the United States cannot be overstated."

China is now Latin America's biggest trading partner and a major infrastructure investor there. The NSS aims to roll back Chinese influence in Washington's backyard.

When the canal was handed over to Panama in 1999, says Coates, "we were in the assumption that China was a reasonable actor… That turned out not to be true…

"So making sure that the United States retains a prime position over the canal is critical, and I think Panama is for the first time getting that message from the United States."

But Sir Lawrence Freedman is among those who argue that the US's ability to control its neighbours is not unlimited.

"The Strategy Review might say this is our hemisphere and we can do what we want, but there are still constraints. They may have extricated Maduro and his wife, but they're still dealing with the old regime.

"They're not running the country, despite what Trump says."

Under the new strategy, the United States will no longer pressure authoritarian regimes to improve their human rights records.

In a phrase taken from the US Declaration of Independence of 1776, the review declares, "All nations are entitled by 'the laws of nature and nature's God' to a 'separate and equal station' with respect to one another."

In the Middle East, for example, the US says it will abandon the "misguided experiment with hectoring these nations - especially the Gulf monarchies - into abandoning their traditions and historic forms of government".

"The key to successful relations with the Middle East," it adds, "is accepting the region, its leaders, and its nations as they are while working together on areas of common interest."

But it seems the same level of respect for traditions and historic forms of government is not extended to the democratic and allied nations of Europe.

Whilst it refers to an American sentimental attachment to the European continent - and to Britain and Ireland - what's striking about this paper is that it seeks to redefine what is worth defending in the Western world.

This review is civilisational in its reach, and argues for a civilisation that is no longer built on the shared values of the Truman Doctrine, but instead on the primacy of the sovereign nation-state.

Where does this leave Europe?

The review is damning about Europe's "current trajectory" and raises questions about whether some European nations can be regarded as dependable allies in the future.

It talks about "economic decline" but adds that this is "eclipsed by the real and more stark prospect of civilizational erasure".

Elsewhere in the document, it states: "It is more than plausible that within a few decades at the latest, certain Nato members will become majority non-European," which raises doubts about their viability as long-term security partners, the strategy suggests.

"It's a very nativist document," argues Karin von Hippel. "It's very ideological. The underlying message is that the Christian white male is no longer running many of the countries [in the West] and we're seeing a threat to the dominance that the Christian white male has had in the United States and Europe.

"They're very careful not to say any of that explicitly but I think that's what's implied."

But Victoria Coates argues that, in her view, the "larger struggle we find ourselves in" is indeed civilisational.

"Sovereignty is also a critical issue," she says. "Looking at the European Union project, especially after Brexit, I think a lot of countries are wondering if subverting the national interest to Brussels is a winning strategy.

"I do think that is one of the institutions that the NSS does call into question."

This chimes with the interests of the American tech giants that oppose EU efforts to regulate their activities on the European continent.

Last month Elon Musk posted on X that the European Union should be abolished and sovereignty returned to the individual nation states.

'Cultivating resistance to Europe's trajectory'

The review is clear about how Europe can regain its "self-confidence".

It says: "The growing influence of patriotic European parties indeed gives cause for great optimism. Our goal should be to help Europe correct its current trajectory. We will need a strong Europe to help us successfully compete."

And one of its policies for doing this is by "cultivating resistance to Europe's current trajectory within European nations".

What is meant precisely by "cultivating resistance" raises many questions.

In Europe, some have already concluded that the USA may no longer be a reliable ally, at a time when Russia poses a growing threat. After Vice-President Vance's speech in Munich, Germany's Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said Europe would need to "achieve independence" from America with a reshaped Nato.

But this takes time.

"It's not achievable in the short term," says Sir Lawrence. "The Europeans have become very dependent upon the United States, and this was a matter of choice: it was cheaper and simpler.

"Though in practice it would be desirable to be able to act without the Americans… in practice it's going to take years to disentangle ourselves. And it'll be extremely expensive.

"So Europe has a difficulty: it can't rely on the Americans, but it can't operate easily without them."

As to the pressing question of what it means for Europe - and the EU - in the near future, Lord Richards issues a stark warning: "[It] risks falling between the cracks."

"The EU cannot be a Great Power, nor can any of its constituent nations," he argues. "[So] the UK/EU must decide under whose sphere of influence they should shelter?

"The answer is they are likely to remain in the USA's - and within a reshaped Nato."

'A popular revolt against the establishment'

But Lord Richards also believes that increased spending commitment is long overdue.

"European nations are going to have to spend much more on their own defence. This has long been coming but in the UK it is not yet translating into any fresh money. Indeed this year the armed forces are being required to save money rather than spend more."

The US has been pushing Europe to increase defence spending for years, notes Sir Lawrence.

"The message that Europe needs to do more for its own defence has been around a long time. It was pushed by both Obama and Biden."

Last year Trump secured from the European allies a commitment to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP - and in doing so may have done Europe a security favour, by pushing it, in the long term, towards greater operational independence from Washington.

"Spending has gone up quite significantly," says Sir Lawrence. "The Germans have been making quite impressive strides. So there is movement, not as fast as many would wish, but it's happening."

The review is clear about how America thinks it can "help" Europe. "We want to work with aligned countries that want to restore their former greatness," it says.

Ultimately, what the report reveals is not so much an ideological divide that separates the US and Europe, but one that slices through both continents.

Both sides of the Atlantic have certain concerns in common, argues Victor Mallet, a Paris-based journalist and author of a forthcoming book, Far Right France: Le Pen, Bardella and the Future of Europe.

"Concerns about immigration, concerns about the economy… and there's an extraordinary cultural gulf between supporters of people like Donald Trump, the National Rally in France, the AfD in Germany, and the intellectual, metropolitan, educated liberal elite.

"It's definitely a popular revolt against the establishment."

He believes that one of the problems is inequality. "America has, on average, the richest group of consumers the world has ever seen and yet many ordinary Americans find it hard to make ends meet and the same applies in Western Europe."

In the NSS, the US commits to scrapping certain practices, such as Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, that are derided by many in Trump's base.

In this document, the culture wars that shape America's bitter public discourse now to a degree also shape its in foreign policy, and - by extension, affect the security of the Western world.

Russia is not mentioned as a hostile power, despite its invasion of Ukraine, a Western ally.

For in the culture wars, some in Trump's Maga base see in Vladimir Putin not a foe but a natural ally in the defence of white, Christian nationalist civilisation: a man who proudly defends his country, its traditions and identity - the very attributes, after all, that they value and admire in Donald Trump.

Update: This article was updated to remove an incorrect reference to President George HW Bush having handed over the Panama Canal.

Top picture credit: AFP / Getty Images

How the 'postcode lottery' of parenting really impacts young children

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjdr42ez3d2o, 11 days ago

At a children's centre in south London, six soon-to-be parents are comparing notes on the size of their unborn babies. They are all discussing how big the foetus is at various stages of pregnancy, using fruit and vegetables as a guide.

Dan from Edinburgh says that his baby, due in early January, was at one point the size of a grapefruit. Another father - Shaun from Gateshead - chimes in that his is cabbage-sized.

All six people - among them, a nurse, an electrician, a writer, a publicist, a physician associate and a software developer - have travelled from across the country on a drizzly afternoon to take part in a social experiment.

BBC Radio 4's Today programme plans to follow these families for five years, chronicling the ups and downs of looking after a young child in modern Britain.

Early childhood is an important stage of life in determining a child's long-term future, scientists say. But it's also a period that can get lost in our national politics, which so often seems to focus on the needs of the elderly and middle-aged.

Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, says: "Talk to the overwhelming majority of parents, good parents, they will take bullets for their children. I don't think that's reflected sufficiently in the state."

And for many British parents raising a child can feel like a game of chance.

Access to childcare can be highly dependent on your postcode, campaigners say, and parental leave pay fluctuates wildly, depending on the generosity of employers, while others rely solely on statutory maternity and paternity leave pay.

So what effect does this so-called "lottery" of early years provision have, not only on the family but on the child and their future?

Generous employers vs statutory pay

Shaun, an electrician, is getting two weeks of paternity leave - the statutory minimum.

"It's not the best," he admits. "And I found out the other day, if we had to go into hospital earlier for whatever reason, I would have to use holiday for that. [It] only starts when [the baby] is born."

Still, he feels lucky. "My work's been quite flexible."

The UK has a mixed record on maternity and paternity pay, explains Abby Jitendra, policy adviser at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation think tank. Mothers get more time off compared with other European countries, but a relatively poor replacement for their wages, while fathers get one of the least generous deals in Europe, she argues.

But what really shines through is the sense of lottery. How much you're paid in your baby's first year is determined largely by your employer, she says - and this of course impacts how much time parents can afford to take off.

The state guarantees employed mothers a basic pay of 90% of their average weekly earnings for six weeks, and then a statutory minimum of £187.18 per week for the next 33 weeks (or 90% of their earnings, if that is lower). Employed fathers, meanwhile, receive that same statutory minimum for two weeks. Self-employed parents get a different benefit.

But certain employers - including some tech and financial services firms, and some highly unionised public sector employers - offer their staff much more. Some workers get six months off on full pay.

The income difference between those generous workplace policies and statutory provision is "really night and day", Ms Jitendra argues. It ultimately means that some parents are forced back to work much quicker than others, giving them less time with their children.

It is hard to pinpoint exactly what impact these policies have on a child's long-term future, says Emily Jones, an early years neuroscientist at Birkbeck, University of London.

Some assume that a generous maternity or paternity leave policy benefits an infant, because it allows a parent to be at home for more time during their child's crucial first year of development. But Prof Jones says it is more complicated.

What matters is that a baby has regular interaction with at least one "stable attachment figure", she says - it is not important whether that is a parent, or a nursery worker or childminder.

What is true, she says, is that a generous parental leave policy can reduce stress in a household, which certainly benefits a child.

Without decent parental leave, she says, there is a risk that parents are forced to "juggle" work with childcare, or simply get by on a lower income.

"Those increases in stress, not being able to spend the time you have with [the] baby in a relaxed way - those are things that are going to be problematic."

Low uptake of shared parental leave

Shaun and Miranda considered taking Shared Parental Leave (SPL), a state-funded scheme that allows parents to share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of state-funded pay - but they calculated that it wouldn't make financial sense for them.

Take-up of shared parental leave has risen since it was introduced by the Coalition in 2015, but it remains low. Just 1% of mothers and 5% of fathers used it between 2015 and 2020, a government report from 2023 suggests.

Among those fathers who did not take shared parental leave, almost half (45%) were not even aware the scheme existed, the report found.

Campaign group The Dad Shift, has argued that the scheme is "failing working families". According to the group's analysis of HMRC data, 95% of claims for state-funded SPL in 2024-25 were made by fathers or partners in the top half of earners.

But others argue that it should not be the responsibility of the state to ensure that everybody gets equal time off work to look after their child. Maxwell Marlow, director of public affairs at the Adam Smith Institute, a think tank, says there should be a "baseline minimum" maternity and paternity pay, but beyond that it should be left to individual workers to negotiate with their employers.

Any attempt by the government to expand parental leave provision risks placing onerous demands on already-struggling businesses, he thinks.

The Department for Work and Pensions say they have launched a review into parental leave and pay "to better support working families as part of our Plan for Change".

The childcare 'postcode lottery'

Miranda, a nurse, is already thinking about what happens when her maternity leave ends. Her own mother has saved up annual leave to use.

"Your mum's going to be very, very busy," Shaun laughs.

Working parents in England are now eligible for 30 hours of state-funded childcare per week during term-time, for children from the age of nine months to four.

The policy, which came fully into effect in September 2025, was initiated by the Conservatives and continued by Labour, and marked a "step change" in childcare provision, says Ms Jitendra.

Yet some families say they have fallen between the gaps.

That's because all adults in a household must be working and earn more than £10,158 but less than £100,000 per year to be eligible.

One father, David from London, whose wife was retraining to be an occupational therapist, told the BBC last year that he was devastated after realising they didn't qualify because she wasn't earning at the time.

"It seems to be a huge oversight," he said at the time.

Even for those who do qualify, a place is not guaranteed as nursery provision varies so much.

A report last year from Ofsted, the body that regulates and inspects early years education, found vast inequalities across different areas. For example, it identified Walsall in the West Midlands as a childcare "desert", with just 13.5 childcare places per 100 nursery-age children; while Richmond-upon-Thames in west London was named an "oasis", on account of its 39.8 places per 100 nursery-aged children. (This may sound low too but only 64% of children use formal childcare, and many only do so on certain days.)

This so-called postcode lottery is partly driven by money. Private nursery chains, which have become a bigger share of the childcare market in recent years, tend to open in more affluent areas where there is a greater profit incentive.

But the lottery is even more random than that. Even within postcodes, there's huge variability between nurseries based on training and experience of staff, argues Chris Pascal, a professor of early years education and the director of the Centre for Research in Early Childhood, a charity.

"It depends on [many things] - have they got people who love children, who enjoy their work, who have been professionally trained?"

A Department for Education spokesperson said they are investing £9.5bn into early years over 2026, part of an effort "to back working parents" by covering the costs of 30 hours childcare a week, saving families up to £7,500 per child per year.

They added: "The latest data shows childcare capacity is continuing to grow, and our new school-based nurseries and government-funded childcare expansion are already playing a vital role in supporting families in more disadvantaged communities."

Brain development and early socialisation

Sam Wass, a neuroscientist specialising in early years at the University of East London, says that during the first few years of a child's life, the learning capacity of an infant's brain "far outstrips an adult's brain".

Early socialisation is particularly important, he says. "What babies need and what they learn from the best are simple, slow, repetitious, face-to-face interactions."

Some experts think that the more support parents get - either from the state, or from their employer - the better their baby's brain develops.

Take childcare. Prof Pascal argues that what a child crucially needs during their early years is interaction, both from adults and from other children - and that a high-quality nursery can be the ideal environment for this.

There, professionally trained staff can teach children how to play, explore, and negotiate conflicts with other children - all of which helps stimulate their brains.

"A quality nursery is astonishingly good in terms of advancing a child's life chances," she says.

But Prof Jones thinks the long-term impact of nursery on a child's development is more complicated. Before a child turns two, she says, they need a "stable caregiver" they can interact with.

They can get that at nursery but they can also find it at home, she says.

It's after a child is two that nursery becomes "actively beneficial". At that point, "they start to interact with their peers and understand who other children are - that all becomes really important."

Baby boxes and green spaces

Anna and Dan, another couple taking part in the experiment, received a "baby box" in the post in the autumn - a cardboard box containing a digital thermometer, changing mat, mattress, health information, clothes, and baby books.

They live in Scotland, where every pregnant mother is entitled to one, as part of a policy introduced by the Holyrood government in 2017.

Anna says it's a "massive lifeline". "It really does provide everything you need for the first six months."

"We've heard about the box," Adam, from Staffordshire, says with a laugh. As he lives in England, he and his partner aren't eligible to receive one.

It's another of the other small differences that affect parents across the UK.

The benefits of the box aren't entirely clear. Research carried out at the University of Glasgow found that the introduction of the box brought no change to infant hospital admissions, though it did lead to a small increase in breastfeeding and a small decrease in tobacco exposure (perhaps because of health information included in the box on those topics).

The "absolute effects were small", the researchers concluded.

Then there is the varying availability - and quality - of parks, playgrounds, and libraries depending on where you live.

A report last year by charity, Fields in Trust, looked at how many people in Britain live within a 10-minute walk of an accessible green space (like a public park or an open sports field).

In big cities such as London, Manchester, and Liverpool, more than 95% of people have this benefit, the report found. But in other places - including East Lindsey in Lincolnshire - fewer than 75% do.

Prof Pascal says these public places are vital. "For young children, play is the stuff of life. This is how they operate, learn, interact.

"For cognitive development, brain development, play is where the child is really pushing the boundaries."

Ultimately, parenting in modern Britain remains unpredictable. Small, seemingly unimportant details - like postcode, or employment status - can have big effects on the amount of help a parent receives during the early years of their child's life.

Prof Pascal wants to see a change of thinking in the UK, so it's no longer left to chance. "Young children aren't just an individual or a family responsibility - they're a social and civic political responsibility," she argues.

But others say that big state handouts to parents end up placing a huge burden on the taxpayer - one that in their view the UK can't afford.

Back at the children's centre, the soon-to-be parents are aware of the unpredictable nature of parenting.

"We can have all the theories in the world about what kind of parents we're going to be, says Anna. "But it's going to depend on what kind of kid we get."

Top image credit: Getty Images

Why 2026 is Keir Starmer's make or break year

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8e98ykyywro, 12 days ago

Listen to Chris Mason read this article

"It seems to be pretty rife!" So said Sir Keir Starmer before Christmas, when asked about speculation around his future as prime minister.

He was appearing in front of senior MPs on parliament's Liaison Committee at the time and it is true that he uttered those words with a smile.

Nonetheless it is extraordinary - not just that we are in this place, but that he is acknowledging it.

Sir Keir is one of only two people alive to have led the Labour Party to a general election victory – and a 174-seat majority at that. Yet just 18 months later the recurring conversation at Westminster is whether he will still be prime minister this time next year.

A fleeting observer of global politics might reasonably assume the UK should be a haven of stability: a newish government with a colossal majority and years until the next general election.

Yet it is not just the prime minister, Labour MPs and their domestic political opponents who are talking about the prime minister's vulnerability - it is being noted in foreign capitals too.

"There's another roll of the dice coming," a seasoned observer on the diplomatic circuit said to me recently.

"The same numbers might still come up. But they might not."

Labour's crunch point in 2026

One very senior Labour figure admitted to me earlier this month, "I wouldn't insult your intelligence by trying to pretend campaigning to replace him isn't going on".

This is often what I'd describe as campaigning with a small "c" – discreet conversations and planning, the vast majority a long way from the public gaze and deniable.

The fulcrum of the political year ahead isn't likely to be until Thursday 7 May.

On that date there will be elections to the Welsh Parliament, the Senedd, the Scottish Parliament and to many local authorities in England, all with potentially huge consequences – both for how (and by whom) huge parts of the UK are run and for the career prospects (or the lack of them) of various political leaders, not least the prime minister.

It is the prospect of an almighty shellacking that prompts so many of the conversations about Sir Keir's future.

Labour is currently in power in the Senedd and also runs many of the urban councils in England where elections are being held.

Some Labour folk fret that leaving things until after the elections will be too late. That will be the point, they fear, that they lose so many of their councillors or devolved parliament members – and so the foot soldiers that so many local political campaigns depend upon.

But most assume the most likely crunch point comes after polling day.

Those supportive of the prime minister are pleading with their colleagues to "hold our nerve", as one put it to me.

"We've got to," they add. "What's the alternative?"

The prospect of change vs no change

There is a near universal acceptance, from Sir Keir's cheerleaders to his detractors in the Labour Party, that the government has to get vastly better at telling its own story and defining what it is about.

It is the cliché critique, made so often, by so many and for so long. But there is a reason for that: plenty think there has been nowhere near enough improvement.

"We campaigned offering 'change' but we have to be better at explaining what we're doing, why we're doing it and when, realistically, we might do it by," says one supporter.

"I despair at the storytelling. The Budget was a shambles. Politicians need to be like teachers: walk people through things. Don't line up the excuses. Make an argument. Pick a fight," adds a Labour critic.

A blitz of public facing activity from Downing Street is expected early in the new year, including plenty via their own social media channels and via more interviews with influencers as well as the more standard dealings with traditional political reporters from telly, radio, newspapers and news websites.

The key challenge for No 10 is what message they land upon and the extent to which they then stick to it. Expect the thrust of it to be that 2026 will be the year that people will start to feel the "change" Labour promised at the election.

And there will be plenty of talk about the cost of living.

The prime minister's supporters are highlighting that stability is a virtue, it is he who secured the mandate at the general election (which no successor would have) and any replacement, after a likely mighty messy leadership process, would inherit all of the underlying problems that have made his life so difficult in the first place.

In other words, be careful what you wish for.

It is Health Secretary Wes Streeting who is currently spoken of most widely as a possible successor to Sir Keir. But he is far from the only one. So is the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham. Then there is the Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and others.

But even among those Labour MPs who are not fans of the current PM, there is wariness.

"A fortnight on from Wes Streeting becoming prime minister, folk would still be saying he's good on the telly but actually wondering how much he's actually going to be able to change" is how one Labour MP – no fan of the prime minister – put it to me.

A similar critique is offered by others of other potential prime ministerial wannabes, which highlights another issue – even if the party does conclude Sir Keir Starmer must go, can it agree who might be better?

Labour doesn't tend to eject leaders with the ruthlessness the Conservatives are known for and the prime minister is nothing if not determined. In other words, amid all of the noise about the prospect of change, don't underprice the prospect of no change.

Wales, Scotland and a confluence of headaches

But Sir Keir Starmer is up against a lot.

Firstly, Wales. The elections to the Senedd will lead to a bigger parliament, with new, big constituencies and a proportional voting system.

And, for Labour, there is a confluence of headaches – not least the issue of double incumbency – the party is in government in both Cardiff and Westminster, making it far harder to apportion blame elsewhere for failings.

The mood in Welsh Labour is beyond bleak as they contemplate the prospect of losing power in devolved government for the first time since 1999, when what is now called the Senedd was set up.

In 2015, the seemingly impregnable Central Belt – and beyond – in Scotland fell to the Scottish National Party from Labour. In 2019, Labour's seemingly impregnable so-called "red wall" of Midlands and northern English seats fell to the Conservatives.

Both have since swung back to Labour, but now it confronts a shrivelling neither of those moments touched – the potential of losing Wales.

The psychological impact could be huge. The Welsh nationalists Plaid Cymru are upbeat to the point of almost not quite believing the reception they are getting.

But Reform UK look highly competitive too. So, what would happen in a scenario where Reform ended up the largest party but not large enough to govern alone and with no other party willing to go into coalition?

Would Plaid be willing to lead their own coalition, or a more informal arrangement with others, one critics might brand "a coalition of the losers"? Or could they refuse, and in doing so force another election?

Secondly, there is London, where Labour runs 21 of the 32 councils up for election.

"May looks really rough," says one plugged-in senior Labour figure in the capital. "There's Reform in the outer boroughs. The Greens in places like Hackney. Gaza-leaning independents in places like Redbridge. And we have so, so many MPs and party members in London.

"Come the weekend after the elections they'll be fretting in so many different directions all at the same time."

Five Labour councillors in Brent in north London defected to the Green Party a couple of weeks ago. Some Conservatives make positive noises about Wandsworth and Westminster.

As for Scotland, Labour will argue that Scottish voters should "consider the SNP's 18 years in government in Scotland, not Labour's 18 months in government at Westminster", as one senior figure in the Scottish party put it to me, and stress that voters are picking a first minister not a prime minister. Labour folk also think they are well placed financially compared to the SNP.

But some opinion poll evidence suggests the UK Labour government is more unpopular in Scotland than the SNP Scottish Government. And it is worth keeping an eye on Reform in Scotland too.

The fortunes of other parties

Outside London, in the rest of England, the Liberal Democrats also hope to make progress in the many areas, primarily in the south, where they won swathes of parliamentary seats in 2024.

If they don't, there may be internal grumbles that leader Sir Ed Davey isn't doing enough to make the most of their 72 MPs.

Then there is the Green Party of England and Wales, with its new leader who was elected in September.

Zack Polanski, who is more thoughtful in private than his often bombastic public persona might suggest, has overseen a surge in support for the Greens in opinion polls, but now confronts greater scrutiny and a party machine trying to rapidly scale up to deal with its growth.

As for the Conservatives, they are also enduring a slump in popularity at exactly the same time as Labour. Normally when one is up, the other is down, and vice versa.

That trough in support for the Tories imperils leader Kemi Badenoch, although her share price among Conservative MPs rose considerably in the final months of the year after a well received party conference speech and improved performances at Prime Minister's Question Time.

Her party's dismal poll ratings leave her vulnerable, just as Labour's leave the prime minister vulnerable.

But it is Sir Keir Starmer's future in office – or the potential lack of it – that will dominate so much political conversation in 2026.

Leading a government over the last 10 years in the UK has offered vanishingly little job security: Sir Keir is the sixth prime minister in a decade.

Brexit, the pandemic, flatlining living standards, conflict in Europe, the breadth of electorally viable political parties, the swirl of social media have all contributed, some at Westminster reflect, to the stamp of a much earlier sell by date on our leaders than ever before.

It will be quite a year ahead.

Top image credit: PA Wire

The myth of willpower - and why some people struggle to lose weight more than others

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2084q9079po, 7 days ago

Listen to this piece

"Fat people just need more self-control." "It's about personal responsibility." "It's simple, just eat less."

These were some of the 1,946 comments, posted by readers, beneath an article I wrote last year about weight-loss injections.

The idea that obesity is simply a matter of willpower is held by a great many people - including some medical professionals.

Eight out of 10 people said obesity could be entirely prevented by lifestyle choices alone, according to a study of people in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the US, which was published in medical journal The Lancet.

But Bini Suresh, a dietitian, who has spent 20 years working with obese and overweight patients, is exasperated by the idea.

This, she believes, is only a fraction of the picture.

"I frequently see patients who are highly motivated, knowledgeable and trying consistently yet still struggling with weight."

"Terms like 'willpower' and 'self-control' are the wrong words," agrees Dr Kim Boyd, medical director at WeightWatchers. "For decades people have been told to eat less and move more and they will lose weight... [But] obesity is much more complex."

She and other experts I spoke to suggest there are myriad reasons a person might be obese, some of which are not yet fully understood: but what is clear is that it is not a level playing field.

The government has turned to regulation to try to tackle this.

Its most recent move – banning junk food advertising on television before 9pm and completely for online promotions – comes into effect today.

Yet many think this too will only go so far in tackling what is now an overwhelming obesity problem in the UK - one that affects more than one in four adults.

A battle against biology

"The amount of weight people gain is significantly influenced by their genes and those genes are relevant for everybody," explains Prof Sadaf Farooqi, a consultant endocrinologist who treats patients with severe obesity and related endocrine disorders and leads the Genetics of Obesity Study, based at Cambridge University.

She says that certain genes affect the brain pathways that regulate hunger and fullness in response to signals sent by the stomach to the brain.

"Variants or changes in these genes are found in people with obesity, which means they feel more hungry and are less likely to feel full after eating."

Perhaps the single most important of these genes – at least the most important of those known about so far – is the MC4R gene. A mutation in this gene, which encourages overeating and means we feel less full, is carried by roughly a fifth of the global population.

"Other genes affect metabolism – how quickly we burn energy," adds Prof Farooqi.

"That means some will gain more weight and store fat from eating the same amount of food, than other people do, or they will burn less calories when they exercise."

She estimates that there are likely to be thousands of genes that have an influence on weight and that we only know in detail about roughly 30 to 40 of them.

"This is why the weight loss drugs coming on to the market are so effective and so important – they help to combat this."

The science behind yo-yo dieting

Yet even this is only part of the story.

Andrew Jenkinson, a bariatric surgeon and author of Why We Eat Too Much, explains that everyone has a weight their brain understands or thinks is the right weight for them - regardless of whether it's a healthy weight or not.

It's known as set weight point theory.

"This [set weight] is determined by genetics, but also by other factors, such as your food environment, stress environment and sleep environment."

And it means that body weight is like a thermostat: your body aims to maintain that preferred range. If weight drops below this "set point", hunger rises and metabolism slows, just as a thermostat turns up the heat when it's too cold, according to that theory.

Once your point is set, it's very difficult to alter it by willpower, Dr Jenkinson argues.

This can also explain yo-yo dieting. "For instance, if you're 20 stone and your brain wants you to be 20 stone and you go on a low calorie diet and lose two stone, your body's reaction to that is just the same as if you were starving," he says.

"It's going to have that reaction of voracious appetite, food-seeking behaviour and a low metabolism," he adds. "These appetite signals are profoundly strong. They're as strong as a thirst signal, they're there to help us survive…

"A voracious appetite is something that's really, really difficult to ignore."

As to the science behind this, Dr Jenkinson points to the role of leptin, a hormone produced by fat cells. "It acts as a signal to the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that basically controls your weight set point, to tell [it] how much energy storage the body has.

"The hypothalamus will look at the leptin level and if it looks like we're storing too much energy or too much fat, it will automatically alter our behaviour by decreasing our appetite and increasing our metabolism."

At least that's how leptin should work. Often, it fails, particularly in the Western food environment, he explains.

This is because the leptin signal shares a signalling pathway with insulin. "So if insulin levels are too high, it actually then dilutes the leptin signal and suddenly the brain can't sense how much fat is stored."

The good news is that this set point isn't fixed – it can shift gradually through sustained lifestyle changes, improved sleep, stress reduction and long-term healthy habits.

Much like resetting a thermostat – over time, slow, consistent adjustments can help the body accept a new, healthier range.

Obesity in UK: The perfect storm

None of this accounts for the rise in obesity – after all, our genes and the biological makeup of our bodies have not changed.

The proportion of adults classified as overweight or obese has steadily risen over the past decade, with the Health Foundation's 2025 analysis indicating that more than 60% of UK adults now fall into this category (including around 28% who are obese).

Part of this is down to the sheer volume – and affordability – of poor quality, high-calorie foods, and in particular ultra-processed foods. Add to that aggressive marketing and advertising of fast food and sugary drinks, growing portion sizes, and limited opportunities for physical activity (often due to urban design or time pressures), and it makes for a perfect storm.

"[As a result] we have become more obese as a population and, of course, those with a greater genetic propensity to put on weight have done so," says Prof Farooqi.

Public health experts refer to this as the obesogenic environment, a term first used in the 1990s as researchers began linking rising obesity rates to external factors like food availability, marketing, and urban design.

Together, many experts argue, these factors create constant cues and pressures toward overeating and inactivity, meaning even highly motivated individuals struggle to maintain a healthy weight.

But all of this also explains why willpower has become more of a loaded term too.

The personal responsibility debate

Sitting in her office at Newcastle City Council, public health director Alice Wiseman can see food everywhere. "There are coffee shops, bakeries and takeaways. You can't go to school or work without passing a food place.

"Visibility matters – if you pass lots of takeaways on your way to work, you're more likely to buy one. Your body's almost reacting to the food around it."

In Gateshead, where she is also public health director, planning permission has not been granted to a new hot food takeaway since 2015.

But across the wider country, the fast-food and takeaway industry has continued to grow – it is worth more than £23bn a year.

And UK food advertising spend is dominated by products high in fat, salt and sugar, such as confectionery, sugary drinks, fast food, and snacks, according to the latest Ofcom Communications Market Report.

But Ms Wiseman, who is vice president of the Association of Directors of Public Health, suggests the new measures introduced today to restrict TV and online advertising of junk food – or officially "less healthy food" – will only go so far.

A report last year by The Food Foundation also suggested that healthier foods are more than twice as expensive per calorie than less healthy foods.

"In families where money is tight it is difficult to afford to eat healthily," says Ms Wiseman.

"I'm not saying personal responsibility doesn't have a role to play. But when you think about it, you have to ask what has changed? We haven't suddenly got less willpower."

Ms Suresh agrees. "We're living in an environment engineered for over-consumption."

"Obesity is not a failure of character. It's a complex, chronic condition shaped by biology and a highly obesogenic environment. Willpower alone is not enough and framing weight loss as solely a matter of discipline does harm."

However, others have a different take on the word "willpower".

Prof Keith Frayn, author of A Calorie is a Calorie, agrees many overweight people would probably not have been so, 40 years ago. "It is the environment that has changed, not their willpower or anything else," he says.

But he adds: "I worry that dismissing 'willpower' makes it too easy to resign oneself to being at a weight that may not be what is desired, or best for health."

He points to large databases of people who have successfully lost weight and have maintained that weight loss, for example the National Weight Control Registry in the USA, with over 10,000 participants.

"Those people describe both losing weight and keeping it off as 'hard', the latter even harder than the former…

"I would suggest that if you were to tell those people that willpower has nothing to do with it, they would be quite affronted."

'You can't legislate people into shape'

The broader debate, of course, is how much responsibility the state should hold.

Ms Wiseman believes regulation is an important tool in tackling obesity, arguing that promotions such as buy-one-get-one free deals encourage impulse buying. But Gareth Lyon, head of health and social care at right-leaning think tank Policy Exchange, argues that more legislation is not the way forward.

"You can't legislate people into shape," he says.

"Bans and taxes on the foods that people enjoy eating are effective only in making life harder, less enjoyable and more expensive for people at a time when Britain is already struggling with the cost of living."

Christopher Snowdon, head of lifestyle economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs, a right-leaning think tank, also believes that obesity is an "individual problem", not a public health one.

'[Obesity] is because of choices made by that individual," he argues. "So ultimately, you can't go much beyond the individual. I find it a fairly bizarre idea that it's the government's responsibility to make people slimmer.

"I'd like to see a serious independent evaluation of these policies and if they don't work they should be repealed."

As for willpower, this will always play some sort of a role – what varies is the extent to which experts think it does.

Ms Suresh believes it is only one part of a bigger tapestry. And the first step is about educating people about what other factors are at play.

"This perspective shifts the focus from a moral judgement about willpower to a compassionate, science-informed support system which ultimately offers better chances for long-term success."

There are also ways to strengthen willpower, argues Dr Eleanor Bryant, a psychologist at Bradford University. "It's not constant all the time. It's affected by your mood, how tired you are and, in terms of eating, how hungry you are…"

What also matters is how you think about it. There are two types of willpower – flexible and rigid. Someone who is rigid sees it as black and white. "If you succumb to temptation you basically give in. You eat that biscuit and then you carry on eating."

In psychological terms, this is known as disinhibited eating. "Whereas, someone who is flexible says, 'OK, I've eaten one biscuit… but I will stop there,'" says Dr Bryant. "Needless to say, being flexible is much more successful."

But she says: "Exercising willpower with food is probably more difficult than in other areas [of life]."

Ms Suresh agrees, though she says that once people understand the limits of willpower, their ability to exercise it actually strengthens.

"When these patients understand that their struggle is rooted in biology, not lack of discipline, and are supported with structured nutrition, consistent meal patterns, psychological strategies and realistic goals, their relationship with food improves markedly."

Top picture credit: Getty Images

Starmer tells me he'll survive - but can he keep this new year's resolution?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly1lv92xrxo, 8 days ago

"I'll be sitting in this seat by 2027," Sir Keir Starmer told me, cracking a gag that if our conversation went well he would invite us into Downing Street to talk to us next year too.

There is never truly time off for prime ministers. In the hour before we sat down to speak, Sir Keir had been on the phone to Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky, and trying to work out what on earth had happened in Venezuela where his big political chum, US President Donald Trump, had just attacked and captured its leader, Nicolás Maduro.

By the time our interview, which was much longer than normal, had finished, Maduro had been charged in New York.

But as the year starts, Sir Keir seems to have had something of a refresh, a reboot. Maybe even just a bit of a rest with the family at Chequers, the prime minister's country retreat.

That certainly appeared to have left him in better spirits than at the saggy end of 2025, a dreadful political year for him.

But are he and his allies kidding themselves if they reckon his fortunes are about to improve?

The grisly truth for the prime minister is that many of his colleagues believe he's not very good at his job. Some of them would rather gamble and get him out this year.

But Sir Keir was having none of it when we spoke on Saturday morning.

On several occasions he told me he'd be "judged at the general election", insisting no one would take his five-year mandate from him - even if the best chance of stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK getting to No 10 might be for Labour to switch leader.

"This is the fight of our times and I intend to lead us," he said.

The problem for the prime minister is that he will be judged long before then – in a mega set of elections in May across the UK. He tried to protest, perhaps too much, that they are about who runs councils, and who runs the governments in Holyrood or Cardiff - and not about Westminster.

True - up to a point. But even though he may not want to admit it, No 10 will be judged by those elections too.

This did not stop Sir Keir suggesting that there were no circumstances under which he would walk away, even if one of his colleagues challenged him for the job, should those elections be disastrous for Labour.

He tried to explain his unpopularity by saying the public was understandably impatient for things to get better, trying to convince me, and you, that this year would be different.

The economy would improve despite rising unemployment, he said, when plans the government put in place during their first choppy year began to bear fruit.

He committed to close asylum hotels before the current deadline of 2029, although he wouldn't put a specific date on that.

He said too, with the caveat that it wasn't a done deal, that a peace deal in Ukraine felt more likely now than at any point since Russia's full-scale invasion.

He revealed for the first time that Western allies were now talking about how to integrate US and European forces to provide security for Ukraine - to guard a potential peace.

His big message to you is that this year we will "turn the corner".

The prime minister may have spoken with more energy than I've seen from him for a while – more relaxed, perhaps, with more time to talk.

But despite facing calls from many directions for a bolder approach, with much more political direction, more vigour, more speed and more urgency, his arguments were familiar ones.

When he finds himself in this much political trouble, does he need a different script?

No government, and certainly not one that has been unpopular for many months, gets everything its own way.

Sir Keir's problems are not just because government is hard, but because he and his colleagues have made mistakes, even in the last few weeks.

The prime minister told me he regretted saying he was "delighted" to welcome back the Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El Fattah to the UK after an outcry when comments he'd previously made - including calls for Zionists and police to be killed - surfaced.

Sir Keir blamed "the system" for not realising what the activist had said before - a fancier way of saying not my fault.

And he is courting obvious political risks as the year gets going. His friendship with the US president takes on a new jeopardy after Trump's strikes on Venezuela.

Having interviewed Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who opposed the war in Iraq remember, over the course of many years, the idea he would be comfortable with such action seems far-fetched.

He told me he was a "lifelong advocate of international law" but we "simply haven't got the full picture at the moment".

Some demanded he condemn it before we spoke on Saturday morning. And the government is likely to face more pressure to give an explicit view in Parliament in the coming days.

And there has always been bubbling pressure in the Labour ranks to undo or remake some of the results of Brexit.

Sir Keir denies he's doing that, but his new more concrete commitment to align more closely with the single market - the giant economic European trading zone - will likely provoke howls that he is going back on his vow never to try to undo the decisions that flowed from Brexit.

A commitment to cosy up to more of the single market will please some on his own side, but it is easy fodder for Reform and the Conservatives to use to claim he's going back on his word.

The prime minister was often criticised last year for being too downright gloomy.

Clearly he's trying to get away from that tone. But given the depth of his political problems, I wonder if his critics publicly, and even some of his allies privately, will think his attempts at optimism this weekend might seem somehow off-key.

Sir Keir is a careful politician. On brand, he said during our conversation: "There's always a caveat with me."

His supporters see that as a laudable steadiness. His detractors say it shows he lacks the cunning, quick instincts of the best politicians.

This weekend, the prime minister claims he'll survive the year, and that better times will soon arrive. The big, fat caveat to that? He can't guarantee that his party, and more importantly the public, will agree.

Top image: Getty Images

The debate about whether the NHS should use magic mushrooms to treat depression

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg936l88e7o, 10 days ago

Listen to Pallab read this article

Larissa Hope believes psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, helped her through a difficult mental health condition.

Back when she was 17 and starting out as an actress, she was cast in the TV drama Skins, but the new-found fame brought out a previously buried trauma. She didn't find antidepressants effective - but that small dose of psilocybin, which she took under clinical supervision, marked a turning point.

"When I experienced it, I burst out crying," she says today. "It was the first time in my life I had ever felt a sense of belonging and safety in my body I kept saying, 'I'm home, I'm home'."

Now, almost 20 years on, Larissa maintains that it was this, along with therapy, helped her confront suicidal feelings.

Not everyone feels the same. Jules Evans, a university researcher, had a very different experience when he first took LSD, albeit for recreational purposes, back when he was 18.

The trip sent him into what he describes as a "deluded" state.

"I believed that everyone was talking about me, criticising me, judging me. I thought, I've permanently damaged myself; I've permanently lost my mind.

"It was the most terrifying experience of my life."

Today he is director of the Challenging Psychedelic Experiences Project, which helps people experiencing difficulties after taking psychedelics. He says he felt socially anxious and suffered from panic attacks years after his own experience and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

But these two starkly different experiences are at the heart of a dilemma currently facing doctors, regulators and politicians.

That is: should doctors be allowed to prescribe treatments that involve the use of magic mushrooms and other potentially useful psychedelic drugs?

Magic mushrooms and depression

The question has come to the fore amid a series of new studies that suggest psychedelic drugs could help treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, PTSD, trauma and addictions such as alcohol and gambling.

The use of psychedelic medicine is illegal at present unless in authorised research or clinical trials. But since 2022, more than 20 such trials have tested different psychedelic medicines for conditions such as depression, PTSD, and addiction.

The results of many of these studies suggest that the treatments can help, while several others have mixed or unclear results.

Only a few so far have clearly found no benefit on their main measures.

Results from one of the largest clinical trials into the use of psilocybin, by UK biotech firm Compass Pathways, is due later this year.

The UK's medicines regulator is waiting for this data as it considers whether to relax the current tight restrictions and allow use of the psychedelic medicine outside research and trials.

Prof Oliver Howes, chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Psychopharmacology Committee, is optimistic. He says he sees psychedelics as a promising potential new treatment for psychiatric disorders - including for patients in the NHS.

"One of the key messages is that this is something we desperately need - more treatments and better treatments for mental health disorders…

"These treatments are really interesting because they've shown promise in these small-scale studies… and have the potential to work quicker."

But he is also cautious, emphasising the need to see results from the trials. "It's really important that we get evidence and not overhype the potential benefits."

Others have also urged caution. A report by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, published in September 2025, warned of the potential dangers of psychedelics, and doctors also stress that taking psychedelic drugs is not just illegal but can also be harmful.

Faster acting, fewer side effects?

Drug use is as old as civilisation itself. Magic mushrooms, opium and cannabis have long been used for both recreation and rituals.

By the 1960s and 1970s, LSD, also known as acid, was used by the counterculture movement, with Harvard psychologist and counterculture guru, Timothy Leary, urging young people to "turn on, tune in, drop out". In other words, to turn on and awaken their inner potential, tune in to the state of society around them and to drop out of social norms of the time.

But soon, these drugs were associated with social unrest and moral decline.

By the time they were banned in the late 1960s and early 1970s, greater restrictions were being applied to scientific research around them too.

But a series of ground-breaking scientific developments in the 2010s by Prof David Nutt and his team at Imperial College London began a process that may well end up changing that.

Subsequent clinical trials on depressed patients indicated that psilocybin was at least as effective as conventional anti-depressants, and with fewer side effects. But there was another big advantage, according to Prof Nutt: how fast-acting it is.

"We thought rather than wait for eight weeks for antidepressants to switch off the part of the brain associated with depression, maybe psilocybin could switch it off in the space of a few minutes."

This view, although scientifically promising, is not universally accepted.

Prof Nutt is a respected scientist, but his assertions have generated controversy.

He was dismissed in 2009 as chair of the government's drugs advisory body, the Advisory Committee on the Misuse of Drugs, by the then Labour Home Secretary Alan Johnson, following certain public comments - such as claiming there was "not much difference" between the harm caused by horse-riding and ecstasy - which were seen as incompatible with his role as a government adviser.

In recent years, Prof Nutt's studies sparked many more investigations across the world on the potential therapeutic benefits of other psychedelic drugs.

Should they really be available on the NHS?

At University College London, neuroscientist Dr Ravi Das has been trying to understand why some habits harden into addictions while others fade away. He believes psychedelics may help find the answer.

The study he leads has been recruiting heavy drinkers to test whether dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a short-acting psychedelic also used as a recreational drug, can be used to to target the brain's memory and learning systems.

It builds on evidence suggesting psilocybin can disrupt habitual behaviours linked to addiction.

"Every time someone drinks, a bit like Pavlov's dog, you're learning to associate things in the environment with the rewarding effect of alcohol," he says. "We've been focusing on whether certain drugs, such as psychedelics can break down those associations."

This is a very early-stage study, but if this and future trials are successful, the aim is to offer it as a treatment within the NHS (with regulatory approval).

"If psychedelic therapies prove to be both safe and more effective than current treatments, I would hope to see them made accessible via the NHS — rather than to just the privileged few who can afford them privately," he says.

Ketamine, which was the subject of a previous trial by Dr Das, sits in a different legal category and can be used as part of a medical treatment in the UK.

Other psychedelics, such as DMT, LSD, psilocybin and MDMA are currently deemed to have no legitimate medical use and so can only be used for research - and even then under very strict and hard-to-obtain medical licenses.

Dr Das believes positive results from trials might change views as the emerging scientific evidence mounts. "I hope if there's sufficient evidence, the government will be open to revising the scheduling of these drugs," he says.

However, an analysis, published in the British Medical Journal in November 2024 by a PhD student Cédric Lemarchand and colleagues, questioned how easy it was to determine the precise effect of psychedelic drugs.

"Because hallucinogens are often combined with a psychotherapy component, it is difficult to separate the effects of the drug from the therapeutic context, complicating comprehensive evaluations and product labelling."

It also suggested short-term trials may not detect "the potential for harm and serious adverse events from long-term use of hallucinogens… The potential for abuse or misuse must also be considered."

'People are suffering... It's a moral failing'

While research suggests therapeutic benefits from psychedelic medicines, doctors remain cautious. Prof Howes believes that - except for ketamine, which has been assessed by the regulator - psychedelic treatments should not be routine medical practice in the UK outside research settings, until larger, more rigorous trials provide more robust evidence for their safety and effectiveness.

"In a clinical trial setting, it's very carefully evaluated. If people take these on their own or in a backstreet clinic, then there is no guarantee of that and the safety issues start becoming a major issue."

His warnings are supported by figures from various studies, gathered by Challenging Psychedelic Experiences. It suggests that 52% of respondents who regularly use psychedelic drugs say they have had an intensely challenging psychedelic trip, 39% of whom considered it "one of the five most difficult experiences of their life".

In addition, 6.7% said they considered harming themselves or others following a challenging experience, and 8.9% reported they were "impaired" for more than a day after a difficult trip.

Some people required medical or psychiatric assistance and continued to feel worse for weeks, months, or in some cases years after their experience, according to Mr Evans.

"Ideally, I would love doctors and regulators to know more about these adverse effects, and how people can recover from them, before they say, any of these therapies are safe," he argues.

But Prof Nutt, Prof Howes and Dr Das, believe that progress into the clinic is being slowed by the difficulty of obtaining permission to carry out medically supervised clinical trials.

"There are so many people suffering unnecessarily," Prof Nutt told BBC News. "And some of them are dying, because of the unreasonable barriers to research and treatment that we face in this country. It is, in my view, a moral failing.

"When these medicines are proven to be safe and effective, I think it is vital they are made available through the NHS to all who need them, not limited to the private sector, as happened with medical cannabis."

Although he urges caution, it is a view shared by Prof Howes.

"There are big barriers to doing this research, so we do ask for the government to review the regulations of these substances, for research, because it does lead to long delays, and, we desperately do need new treatments."

The analysis from Mr Lemarchand calls for greater scrutiny of trials. "To guarantee that hallucinogens are rigorously vetted before endorsing them as safe and effective treatments medical journals must appraise the evidence more critically, fully account for limitations, avoid spin and unsubstantiated claims, and correct the record when needed."

The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs is also blunt in stating that Schedule 1 "contains those of no medicinal value," so they should sit under the tightest controls, it says. Ministers also tie the Home Office licensing regime directly to public protection.

The government has backed plans to ease licensing requirements for some clinical trials approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and Health Research Authority, with work under way to implement exemptions for certain universities and NHS sites. A cross-government working group is co-ordinating the cautious rollout, pending the results of pilot projects.

But some doctors, including Prof Howes, say changes are moving painfully slowly. "There's still a lot of red tape holding things up," he says.

Supporters of psychedelic medicines hope that so-called phase three trials by Compass Pathways, will lead to further relaxations, at least on research.

Larissa Hope, meanwhile, believes these trials are important.

She says that her experience of psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, helped her gain insight into her experiences of suicidal ideation and trauma.

"I had a solid plan to end my life. Then suddenly, death wasn't the only way," she says. "Under psilocybin, my nervous system began, for the first time, to recognise what peace felt like."

Top Image Credit: Getty Images

John Simpson: 'I've reported on 40 wars but I've never seen a year like 2025'

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj4qp17e1lqo, 14 days ago

Sensitive content: This article contains a graphic description of death that some readers may find upsetting

I've reported on more than 40 wars around the world during my career, which goes back to the 1960s. I watched the Cold War reach its height, then simply evaporate. But I've never seen a year quite as worrying as 2025 has been - not just because several major conflicts are raging but because it is becoming clear that one of them has geopolitical implications of unparalleled importance.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that the current conflict in his country could escalate into a world war. After nearly 60 years of observing conflict, I've got a nasty feeling he's right.

Nato governments are on high alert for any signs that Russia is cutting the undersea cables that carry the electronic traffic that keeps Western society going. Their drones are accused of testing the defences of Nato countries. Their hackers develop ways of putting ministries, emergency services and huge corporations out of operation.

Authorities in the west are certain Russia's secret services murder and attempt to murder dissidents who have taken refuge in the West. An inquiry into the attempted murder in Salisbury of the former Russian intelligence agent Sergei Skripal in 2018 (plus the actual fatal poisoning of a local woman, Dawn Sturgess) concluded that the attack had been agreed at the highest level in Russia.

That means President Putin himself.

The year 2025 has been marked by three very different wars. There is Ukraine of course, where the UN says 14,000 civilians have died. In Gaza, where Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu promised "mighty vengeance" after about 1,200 people were killed when Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023 and 251 people were taken hostage.

Since then, more than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli military action, including more than 30,000 women and children according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry – figures the UN considers reliable.

Meanwhile there has been a ferocious civil war between two military factions in Sudan. More than 150,000 people have been killed there over the past couple of years; around 12 million have been forced out of their homes.

Maybe, if this had been the only war in 2025, the outside world would have done more to stop it; but it wasn't.

"I'm good at solving wars," said US President Donald Trump, as his aircraft flew him to Israel after he had negotiated a ceasefire in the Gaza fighting. It's true that fewer people are dying in Gaza now. Despite the ceasefire, the Gaza war certainly doesn't feel as though it's been solved.

Given the appalling suffering in the Middle East it may sound strange to say the war in Ukraine is on a completely different level to this. But it is.

The Cold War aside, most of the conflicts I've covered over the years have been small-scale affairs: nasty and dangerous, certainly, but not serious enough to threaten the peace of the entire world. Some conflicts, such as Vietnam, the first Gulf War, and the war in Kosovo, did occasionally look as though they might tip over into something much worse, but they never did.

The great powers were too nervous about the dangers that a localised, conventional war might turn into a nuclear one.

"I'm not going to start the Third World War for you," the British Gen Sir Mike Jackson reportedly shouted over his radio in Kosovo in 1999, when his Nato superior ordered British and French forces to seize an airfield in Pristina after the Russian troops had got there first.

In the coming year, 2026, though, Russia, noting President Trump's apparent lack of interest in Europe, seems ready and willing to push for much greater dominance.

Earlier this month, Putin said Russia was not planning to go to war with Europe, but was ready "right now" if Europeans wanted to.

At a later televised event he said: "There won't be any operations if you treat us with respect, if you respect our interests just as we've always tried to respect yours".

But already Russia, a major world power, has invaded an independent European country, resulting in huge numbers of civilian and also military deaths. It is accused by Ukraine of kidnapping at least 20,000 children. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for his involvement in this, something Russia has always denied.

Russia says it invaded in order to protect itself against Nato encroachment, but President Putin has indicated another motive: the desire to restore Russia's regional sphere of influence.

An increasingly different America

He is gratefully aware that this last year, 2025, has seen something most Western countries had regarded as unthinkable: the possibility that an American president might turn his back on the strategic system which has been in force ever since World War Two.

Not only is Washington now uncertain it wants to protect Europe, it disapproves of the direction it believes Europe is heading in. The Trump administration's new national security strategy report claims Europe now faces the "stark prospect of civilisational erasure".

The Kremlin welcomed the report, saying it is consistent with Russia's own vision. You bet it is.

Inside Russia, Putin has silenced most internal opposition to himself and to the Ukraine war, according to the UN special rapporteur focusing on human rights in Russia. He's got his own problems, though: the possibility of inflation rising again after a recent cooling, oil revenues falling, and his government having had to raise VAT to help pay for the war.

The economies of the European Union are 10 times bigger than Russia's; even more than that if you add the UK. The combined European population of 450 million, is over three times Russia's 145 million.

Still, Western Europe has seemed nervous of losing its creature comforts, and was until recently reluctant to pay for its own defence as long as America can be persuaded to protect it.

America, too, is different nowadays: less influential, more inward-looking, and increasingly different from the America I've reported on for my entire career. Now, very much as in the 1920s and 30s, it wants to concentrate on its own national interests.

Even if President Trump loses a lot of his political strength at next year's mid-term elections, he may have shifted the dial so far towards isolationism that even a more Nato-minded American president in 2028 might find it hard to come to Europe's aid.

Don't think Vladimir Putin hasn't noticed that.

The risk of escalation

The coming year, 2026, does look as though it'll be important. Zelensky may well feel obliged to agree to a peace deal, carving off a large part of Ukrainian territory.

Will there be enough bankable guarantees to stop President Putin coming back for more in a few years' time?

For Ukraine and its European supporters, already feeling that they are at war with Russia, that's an important question. Europe will have to take over a far greater share of keeping Ukraine going, but if the United States turns its back on Ukraine, as it sometimes threatens to do, that will be a colossal burden.

But could the war turn into a nuclear confrontation?

We know President Putin is a gambler; a more careful leader would have shied away from invading Ukraine in February 2022. His henchmen make bloodcurdling threats about wiping the UK and other European countries off the map with Russia's vaunted new weapons, but he's usually much more restrained himself.

While the Americans are still active members of Nato, the risk that they could respond with a devastating nuclear attack of their own is still too great. For now.

China's global role

As for China, President Xi Jinping has made few outright threats against the self-governed island of Taiwan recently. But two years ago the then director of the CIA William Burns said Xi Jinping had ordered the People's Liberation Army to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027. If China doesn't take some sort of decisive action to claim Taiwan, Xi Jinping could consider this to look pretty feeble. He won't want that.

You might think that China is too strong and wealthy nowadays to worry about domestic public opinion. Not so.

Ever since the uprising against Deng Xiaoping in 1989, which ended with the Tiananmen massacre, Chinese leaders have monitored the way the country reacts with obsessive care.

I watched the events unfold in Tiananmen myself, reporting and even sometimes living in the Square.

The story of 4 June 1989 wasn't as simple as we thought at the time: armed soldiers shooting down unarmed students. That certainly happened, but there was another battle going on in Beijing and many other Chinese cities. Thousands of ordinary working-class people came out onto the streets, determined to use the attack on the students as a chance to overthrow the control of the Chinese Communist Party altogether.

When I drove through the streets two days later, I saw at least five police stations and three local security police headquarters burned out. In one suburb the angry crowd had set fire to a policeman and propped up his charred body against a wall.

A uniform cap was put at a jaunty angle on his head, and a cigarette had been stuck between his blackened lips.

It turns out the army wasn't just putting down a long-standing demonstration by students, it was stamping out a popular uprising by ordinary Chinese people.

China's political leadership, still unable to bury the memories of what happened 36 years ago, is constantly on the look-out for signs of opposition - whether from organised groups like Falun Gong or the independent Christian church or the democracy movement in Hong Kong, or just people demonstrating against local corruption. All are stamped on with great force.

I have spent a good deal of time reporting on China since 1989, watching its rise to economic and political dominance. I even came to know a top politician who was Xi Jinping's rival and competitor. His name was Bo Xilai, and he was an anglophile who spoke surprisingly openly about China's politics.

He once said to me, "You'll never understand how insecure a government feels when it knows it hasn't been elected."

As for Bo Xilai, he was jailed for life in 2013 after being found guilty of bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power.

Altogether, then, 2026 looks like being an important year. China's strength will grow, and its strategy for taking over Taiwan - Xi Jinping's great ambition - will become clearer. It may be that the war in Ukraine will be settled, but on terms that are favourable to President Putin.

He may be free to come back for more Ukrainian territory when he's ready. And President Trump, even though his political wings could be clipped in November's mid-term elections, will distance the US from Europe even more.

From the European point of view, the outlook could scarcely be more gloomy.

If you thought World War Three would be a shooting-match with nuclear weapons, think again. It's much more likely to be a collection of diplomatic and military manoeuvres, which will see autocracy flourish. It could even threaten to break up the Western alliance.

And the process has already started.

Top picture credits: AFP / Getty Images

Why Britain has a deer problem - leaving damage that costs millions

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9d93xzey70o, 14 days ago

Ben Martill often gazes out of his window to watch the deer roaming below. "In the past few years there have been loads of them," he says. Yet Ben doesn't live in rural woodland but in a block of flats on a fairly busy road in the market town of Horsham in West Sussex. He often sees deer on the main thoroughfares.

"There are herds running up Crawley Road," he says. "Loads congregate at night on the traffic island of the bypass."

Ben, 33, is a gardener, and some of his customers have had deer break down their fences and strip the bark from the trees. He's had a near miss in his car, too.

"I clipped one, poor thing. It darted off into the bushes."

These sorts of scenes have become increasingly common - and that comes with serious economic, social and environmental costs.

Deer numbers have rocketed over the last 40 years but since the Covid-19 pandemic, when culling dropped significantly, many deer experts like Jonathan Spencer, a former head of planning and environment at Forest Enterprise (now Forestry England), say the numbers have got completely out of hand.

No-one knows exactly how many there are but the Forestry Commission and the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) suggest there may be two million in Britain - a huge increase from the estimated 450,000 in the 1970s, according to the Forestry Commission.

Their impact is being widely felt, with the rising numbers leading to problems for drivers, farmers and businesses as well as wildlife and the countryside's natural landscapes.

While there are no recent official estimates of the total cost to the UK of damage caused by deer, it's clear that it is substantial. In 2021, Forestry and Land Scotland estimated the cost of the damage caused by deer just to young trees in Scotland's national forests and land at £3m a year.

Lucy Manthorpe runs a 400-acre organic arable farm in Suffolk and says she was losing over £10,000 worth of crops a year to deer damage on three fields. To solve it, she has employed a full-time worker whose main job is culling deer.

The deer problem is "costing us as a country," she argues.

Farmers and landowners can see losses easily run into the tens of thousands, according to the Forestry Commission, and some with high-value crops can see losses of as much as £1m in a year.

Tackling rising deer numbers is now seen as a priority by conservationists, farmers and the government alike - in 2022 Defra admitted: "We need to do more to sustainably manage deer."

The real problem emerges when it comes to deciding how to do that - with some more radical-sounding approaches pioneered overseas, including reintroducing wolves to the landscape. The Countryside Alliance, however, says this would be "disastrous".

From car crashes to trampled crops

There are few places in the world better suited to deer than modern Britain with its mild climate, open countryside, no animal apex predators and few human hunters.

An estimated 350,000 deer are removed from the British landscape annually via hunting and culling, according to the Country Food Trust, but the overall population is still rising - in 2023 parliament was told that up to 750,000 deer a year may need to be culled to keep the population stable.

The place where many of us have our closest encounter with a deer is when one of them meets the front of our car. The number of deer killed or injured on UK roads each year could be as high as 74,000, says the AA, leading to hundreds of human injuries and in some cases, fatalities. In October this year a 63-year-old motorcyclist in Oxfordshire died after hitting a deer, an inquest was told.

Then there is the impact on woodland. Natural regrowth of trees is almost impossible in areas of high deer density as they eat any fresh shoots which appear, says Alison Field, president of the Royal Forestry Society.

"The pressure of the deer now has become so great that we've lost the balance out of our landscape."

As far back as 2013, an academic study published in the Journal of Wildlife Management by University of East Anglia researchers suggested that around half of the UK's growing deer population needs to be shot each year to stop devastation of woodlands and birdlife.

Some people's gardens have also been affected by deer munching their flora. Large herds of fallow deer cause problems for arable farmers throughout the year, too, trampling freshly planted crops in the spring and then returning to nibble their way through the fields ahead of harvest time.

Why deer numbers grew and grew

There have been deer in mainland Britain for thousands of years but only two of the now six species that live here are natives, namely red and roe deer. Fallow deer were first introduced by the Romans in small numbers, and the species expanded under the Normans when owning a deer park was a must-have for any self-respecting nobleman.

"A few centuries ago deer were the property of a privileged few in deer parks, royal forests and chases," says Mr Spencer.

Three other Asiatic species - sika, Chinese water deer and muntjac - all arrived in the late 19th Century.

Mr Spencer explains how after the end of World War One, many grand estates fell into disrepair. In turn, park boundaries collapsed and the deer simply walked out.

It took a long time for numbers to reach their current level.

The 1963 Deer Act introduced restrictions on culling deer and the seasons during which that can happen. By the 1990s, deer had spread so widely that the gaps between separate populations had filled, explains Mr Spencer.

He suggests that the decreasing numbers of people who may previously have taken the odd deer for their dinner table is also a factor.

An added complication is that technically no-one owns Britain's deer. The law deems them res nullius, which literally means a thing belonging to nobody - so responsibility falls to individual landowners.

Bears, lynx and wolves

Bringing deer numbers under control could benefit farmers, the environment and communities across the country - but achieving a consensus on how to do that is not straightforward.

Some animal rights organisations that oppose deer hunting instead advocate non-lethal methods of management, including darting deer with contraceptives, or building more or better fencing.

However, groups including the British Deer Society (BDS), a charity that promotes sustainable deer management, consider these methods to be challenging to implement at scale as the person firing the dart has to get much closer than someone firing a rifle.

Fencing can be effective but comes with significant costs, requires ongoing maintenance and also has the unintended consequence of excluding other wildlife from woodlands, the BDS says.

Some big rewilding projects - especially those in more remote parts of Scotland, where most red deer in Britain live, according to the Woodland Trust - talk about another, even more dramatic option: the reintroduction of apex predators, and in particular lynx, which were once found across Britain, to control deer numbers.

There have also been some initial studies into the effects of reintroducing wolves. While there are no significant rewilding projects talking about using bears in Britain for this purpose, they lived here thousands of years ago and, in other parts of the world, they play a role in controlling deer populations.

The environmental campaigner and writer George Monbiot has said wolves and lynx could be relied on to "get on with the job". Trees for Life, which has a 10,000-acre rewilding estate in the Scottish Highlands, says: "Lynx could bring a wide range of ecological and societal benefits to Scotland."

In many parts of mainland Europe, including Italy, Switzerland, and France, lynx and wolves have returned to landscapes over the past 30 years. In 1995, wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in the United States to help manage the park's population of Rocky Mountain elk (similar to the red deer) - this was followed by the recovery of forests.

Dr Mike Daniel, who runs a Sustainable Deer Management course at the University of the Highlands and Islands in Perth, says: "Ecologically, wolves and lynx could thrive in the UK." But such plans would face likely opposition from farmers, landowners and local communities.

Countryside Alliance chief executive Tim Bonner says reintroducing wolves would "bring misery for livestock farmers". While it might be possible to reintroduce lynx, he says, "lynx predation could only ever be a small part of the annual cull required to keep numbers in check".

And Dr Daniel agrees that it would be difficult to have wolves and lynx co-exist alongside farms and estates: "Being honest, it's not a panacea," he says.

A natural resource?

Jonathan Spencer suggests that more radical measures may be required, to ensure long-lasting biodiversity improvements.

"There has to be a lot more recognition of the scale of the problem and some rather hard-hearted approaches like rounding up the deer and shooting them in an enclosure," he argues. "That would go down like a lead brick socially".

The Deer Act 1991 gives protections to wild deer but allows landowners or those with their permission to kill or take deer. Shooting seasons also restrict when some types of deer can be hunted, and there are strict rules around the type of rifles and ammunition that can be used to hunt them.

Culling significantly more deer also raises the question of what to do with the carcasses.

There is widespread agreement among some of the experts I've spoken to that eating more venison is an attractive option. "From a human point of view [deer] are a sustainable, natural resource," argues Charles Smith-Jones, a technical adviser at the BDS.

Venison is considered to be healthier than beef as it is lower in saturated fat and higher in various nutrients.

What's more, wild venison - or deer meat that has not been farmed - is also believed to be better for the environment as it has lower associated carbon emissions than farmed meat. (Mr Spencer warns against eating roadkill however, which could be a health risk.)

While there are professional cullers, such as Forestry Commission rangers who may shoot hundreds of deer a year, the BDS says 70% of deer shot in Britain are shot by people who are not employed to do it.

But there is also the question of what is most humane - and best - for the animals. Elisa Allen, vice-president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta), says: "We don't need to eat deer – and deer don't wish to be eaten." She calls instead for "humane, sustainable methods of population control".

'Nature is deciding'

Part of the problem is the fact that this is left up to individual landowners to resolve, resulting in inconsistencies. So, for example, measures taken by one landowner to manage deer on their property can be undone by a neighbour who decides not to do the same (as deer are pretty good at jumping walls and getting under fences).

The place where all these issues arguably come into starkest contrast is in Scotland, which is also home to Britain's largest deer-stalking estates and rewilding projects.

A law to introduce new powers to tackle numbers in areas facing climate and biodiversity crises is currently passing through the Scottish Parliament.

Scottish Agriculture Minister Jim Fairlie says he wants to see "a voluntary partnership with land managers and deer management groups".

In England, the government previously ran a consultation on deer management proposals, however its conclusions remain unpublished. A Defra spokesperson said: "There is a range of government support and grants available to help land managers manage these impacts, and we will be setting out further measures in due course."

The Welsh government says it is looking at ways to take forward its Wild Deer Management strategy, published in 2021.

Many of the same problems are faced across the island of Ireland where deer numbers have also risen significantly. Northern Ireland's Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs told us the impact of damage caused by deer is "reviewed on an annual basis".

But while governments in all parts of the UK may face tougher decisions ahead if they really want to bring deer numbers under control, the example of Lucy Manthorpe's farm shows the change that can be made to the landscape if the issue is tackled.

Since she hired staff to deal with it, areas that were barren ground have begun bursting with oxlips and early purple orchids. Rare trees are growing again too, she says.

The farm has also recorded significant increases in moths and breeding birds.

"The deer are not deciding what's going to happen any more," she tells me. "Nature is deciding."

To picture credit: Anadolu via Getty Images

This article was updated on 29 December 2025 to clarify that no significant rewilding projects propose reintroducing bears in Britain, and to clarify that there have been studies only into the effects of reintroducing wolves.

Iran anti-government protests spread to majority of provinces, videos show

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cre28d2j2zxo, 6 days ago

Protests have broken out in at least 17 of Iran's 31 provinces, presenting the largest challenge to the country's clerical establishment since 2022, a BBC Verify and BBC Persian analysis has found.

The BBC's analysis of protests includes only those for which we have verified video footage - the true number is almost certainly far higher. There are reports of protests in a further 11 provinces.

The wave of protests has spread rapidly across Iran since 28 December, when anger initially broke out in the capital Tehran following a fresh and sharp devaluation of the country's currency against the dollar and other major foreign currencies.

Verified footage from the last 10 days shows evidence of anti-government demonstrations and gatherings in more than 50 towns and cities across the country, including in several regions previously perceived as being highly loyal to the state.

More than 100 videos which we geolocated and checked for publication date paint a picture of the scale of the unrest, with people taking to the streets in many major cities in Iran and presenting the largest challenge to the state since the Women, Life and Freedom protests in 2022.

Footage has also shown protests in Qom in central Iran and Mashhad in the north-east, both of which have traditionally hosted populations extremely loyal to the Islamic Republic.

Prof Sina Azodi, Director of Middle East Studies Program at George Washington University, said that unrest in those cities was "very telling" and amounted to evidence that the government's "base of support is also suffering under the economic hardship".

Authorities have traditionally used violence to crush unrest. During the 2022 protests - sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who had been detained in Tehran for wearing "improper hijab" - more than 550 people were allegedly killed by security forces, according to human rights groups.

While the latest response by police and security forces initially appeared to be more restrained, verified footage has shown officers ramping up the use of force since Saturday. This change in approach coincided with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's first public reaction to the protests on that day, in which he said that "rioters must be put in their place".

Since the supreme leader's remarks, Iran's judiciary chief, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, said authorities would "listen to protesters and critics who legitimately and rightly have concerns about their livelihood and social and economic welfare".

But he added that they would "deal firmly with those who seek to exploit the situation, incite riots, and undermine the security of the country and the people". The powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has also issued warnings to protesters in Lorestan province that they will no longer tolerate street gatherings.

BBC Persian has so far confirmed the identities of at least 11 people reported dead since 28 December using a combination of verified funeral videos and interviews with family members and friends.

Foreign-based human rights group HRANA says at least 35 people have so far been killed in the unrest, including two affiliated with security forces.

One of the most violent crackdowns happened in Malekshahi, a small town in the western province of Ilam, on Saturday. Verified footage showed a small demonstration taking place at Commandery Boulevard, where the officers of several state institutions are located, before gunfire appeared to break out. Human rights groups said four people were killed in the incident, with the semi-official Mehr and Tasnim news agencies putting the figure at three dead.

Later footage showed a number of people being transported to hospital. It was unclear from the footage what condition those seen in the footage were in.

Multiple verified videos filmed in the nearby Ilam city show security forces firing shots towards Imam Khomeini Hospital in the centre of the city later on Saturday. Iran's president has ordered an investigation into the incident.

Security forces have also been firing on protestors in other cities. In Fasa in the south-western Fars province, forces wearing military and riot gear were seen firing towards demonstrators.

The demonstrations initially began as a backlash against what they say is the government's mismanagement of the country's struggling economy, which has increasingly floundered under the weight of international sanctions. Officials have also been accused of widespread corruption.

But in recent days the demonstrations have taken an anti-state tone, with protesters in numerous locations chanting slogans against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the clerical establishment that has been ruling the country since the 1979 Islamic revolution. Verified videos have also shown chants in support of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the Shah of Iran, and the pre-1979 revolution Pahlavi dynasty.

At the University of Tehran, some protesters chanted "death to the dictator" - a reference to Khamenei - as dozens of demonstrators flooded through the institution's main gate on 30 December.

And in the city of Iranshahr in the coastal Sistan and Baluchestan province, protesters set fire to a statue of Khamenei and the leader of the 1979 revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Holly Dagres, senior fellow at the Washington Institute and curator of the Iranist newsletter, said the Tehran government had learned few lessons from the 2022 protests which raged across Iran for more than four months.

"While the catalysts differ… the problems remain the same: systemic mismanagement, corruption, and repression," she said. "The countless anti-regime chants make clear that many Iranians are calling for the ouster of the Islamic Republic."

Despite the extent of the demonstrations, most of the experts who spoke to the BBC said they do not yet amount to an existential threat to the state.

"Security forces are loyal - there are no defections at this point and law enforcement forces are carrying out the orders," Azodi said.

"Furthermore, while the protests are widespread we are not seeing a clear strategy [or] attempt by the protesters to bring down the Islamic Republic."

Reporting by Shayan Sardarizadeh, Ghoncheh Habibiazad, Matt Murphy, Farzad Seifikaran, Emma Pengelly, Sherie Ryder, Yi Ma, Christine Jeavans, Jess Carr and Paul Brown

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