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The rate of price rises at UK supermarkets hit a new high in the year to May due to coffee, chocolate and non-food goods.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and NielsenIQ said that the overall rate of inflation at grocers reached 9%.
While prices for fresh food have fallen marginally, the cost of commodities such as coffee and cocoa has jumped.
The government is in talks about asking supermarkets to cap prices on food items to help with the cost of living.
An agreement, which would be voluntary, would limit the cost of basic foods such as bread and milk.
But the BRC has dismissed caps, stating the government should focus on cutting red tape so resources could be "directed to keeping prices as low as possible", as opposed to "recreating 1970s-style price controls".
On Monday, Sainsbury's cut the cost of more than 40 of its own-brand products including cheese, yoghurt and cream.
"Whenever we are paying less for the products we buy from our suppliers, we will pass those savings on to customers," said Rhian Bartlett, its food commercial director.
The BRC and NielsenIQ figures, covering the week between 1 and 6 May, show that overall food inflation ticked lower from 15.7% in the year to April to 15.4%.
Despite the fall, the figure is the second highest rate of food inflation on record.
A decline in the rate of price rises does not mean food costs have fallen, it simply means they are going up at a slower pace.
Meanwhile, the pace of price rises for non-food goods grew from 5.5% in the year to April to 5.8% in May.
This is despite supermarkets making "heavy discounts" on goods such as footwear, books and home entertainment, according to Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC.
Fresh produce showed a slowdown in price rises, from 17.8% to 17.2% in May.
In April, supermarkets cut the price of milk by 5p, taking cost of a pint to 90p. However, that is still almost double pre-Covid prices in March 2020.
Price growth for ambient foods - which are goods that can be stored at room temperature - rose in the year to May from 12.9% to 13.1%. It is the fastest increase on ambient foods prices on record, said the BRC and NielsenIQ.
Ms Dickinson said: "The price of chocolate and coffee rose off the back of the ongoing high global costs for these commodities."
Last week, official figures showed that the overall headline rate of inflation had fallen sharply to 8.7% in April - the first time it fell under 10% since August.
However, the drop was less than economists and investors had expected after grocery price rises remained close to the highest rate in 45 years.
It is also still more than four times the Bank of England's 2% target rate of inflation. The Bank has lifted interest rates 12 times in a row to 4.5% in an attempt to calm price rises.
But following the higher-than-expected figure for April, some analysts speculated that interest rates could reach 5.5% by the end of the year.
Food production costs have risen due to a number of factors including the cost of energy which rose following the end of Covid lockdowns, which pushed up demand, as well as Russia's attack on Ukraine.
Russia, which is a major oil and gas producer, was hit with sanctions.
Ukraine - known as the breadbasket of Europe - is one of the biggest exporters of grain in the world and has seen shipments severely disrupted because of the war.
Adverse weather conditions in some parts of Europe and Africa also impacted some fresh vegetables earlier this year, leading to supermarkets introducing customer limits on sales of peppers, tomatoes and cucumber.
Wholesale gas prices have started to drop but retailers claim that falling production costs take time to filter through to supermarket shelves due to the long-term contracts they typically sign with food producers.
Mike Watkins, head of retailer and business insight at NielsenIQ, said: "Food retailing in particular is competitive, so hopefully the recent price cuts in fresh foods is a sign that inflation has now peaked, albeit ambient inflation may take a little while longer to slow." |
Michael Donnelly, pictured in Belfast on Tuesday, said the police apology was 50 years too late
One of the "Hooded Men", Michael Donnelly, has said he does not accept a police apology over his treatment.
Mr Donnelly was one of 14 men arrested in 1971 during internment without trial and questioned by the police and Army.
Two years ago the Supreme Court ruled that the techniques they were subjected to would be characterised as torture by today's standards.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) made a formal apology to the surviving Hooded Men on Tuesday.
The public apology came a day after the death of one of the men, Joe Clarke, at the age of 71.
The apology had been hand delivered to Mr Clarke by his solicitor on Thursday, four days before he died.
Mr Donnelly, who is from Londonderry, told BBC Radio Foyle's The North West Today programme that the apology is "50 years too late" for him and he said that it personally feels "fairly meaningless".
"I do not accept it - not at all," Mr Donnelly said.
During their detention, the Hooded Men said they were forced to listen to constant loud static noise; deprived of sleep, food and water; forced to stand in stress positions; and beaten if they fell.
The men also said they were hooded and thrown from helicopters a short distance off the ground, having been told they were hundreds of feet in the air.
PSNI Det Ch Supt Ian Saunders said the police had issued the apology for the "actions and omissions of police officers involved in their treatment whilst in police custody in 1971".
"The police service recognises the significant step taken today in issuing this apology," he said.
"It is our view this was the right thing to do to help give the Hooded Men and their families recognition about how they were treated," he added.
Some of the Hooded Men and families gathered after the announcement was made
Mr Donnelly described the ordeal of being placed into a helicopter with his hands tied behind his back and being told that he was going to be pushed out from a great height over a body of water.
He also described at one stage thinking he was going to die during his detention after being severely beaten by his captors.
"I was trying to survive literally by the second, you could barely breathe at times when you were wearing the hood," he said.
"Sometimes I thought I was going to survive and then other times I thought I was going to die."
Mr Donnelly said he does not see why he should forgive anyone for his treatment.
The Hooded Men case has been the subject of multiple legal actions in the UK and Europe for decades.
In 1976, the European Commission of Human Rights ruled that the five techniques used on the men amounted to torture.
This ruling was later referred to by the European Court of Human Rights in 1978, which held that the UK had carried out inhuman and degrading treatment, but fell short of defining it as torture.
In 2019, Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan, Northern Ireland's most senior judge, said their treatment "would, if it occurred today, properly be characterised as torture".
In 2021, the Supreme Court issued their ruling that the men's treatment would be characterised as torture by today's standards.
On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the UK government said it acknowledged "the pain and suffering felt by so many during the Troubles".
"There are several ongoing legal proceedings in relation to this incident, and therefore it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage," the spokesperson said. |
A criminal investigation has been launched into the death of an elderly woman who was struck by police escorting the Duchess of Edinburgh.
Helen Holland, 81, was hit by a police motorbike at a junction in Earl's Court, west London, on 10 May.
The police watchdog said the constable riding the vehicle was being investigated for offences including causing death by dangerous driving.
It will then decide whether to refer the case for potential charges.
Ms Holland suffered serious injuries in the crash and died two weeks later having suffered "multiple broken bones and massive internal injuries", according to her son.
Buckingham Palace said the Duchess of Edinburgh was "deeply saddened" by Ms Holland's death
In addition to causing death by dangerous driving, the officer is being investigated for causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving, as well as potential gross misconduct, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said.
However, it does not necessarily mean that charges or disciplinary proceedings will follow.
IOPC director Amanda Rowe said it was crucial a "thorough, independent investigation" was carried out "to establish the full circumstances, which will include the actions and decision making of the officer under investigation".
"At the end of our investigation, we will decide whether to refer the matter to the Crown Prosecution Service for a charging decision and whether the officer should face disciplinary proceedings," she said.
Buckingham Palace previously said the duchess was "deeply saddened" by Ms Holland's death and had sent her "deepest condolences" to her family.
A spokesperson for the Met Police said: "We are aware that the IOPC has launched a criminal investigation in relation to the actions of an MPS officer involved in a fatal collision at West Cromwell Road, on Wednesday, 10 May.
"We continue to fully support the IOPC as they work to establish the facts around this incident.
"The officer is currently on restricted duties."
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Mary Withey's home was demolished on Sunday morning, making it the second of three to be removed
Two more homes close to the cliff edge in Norfolk have been demolished amid fears they would fall into the sea.
Residents left their chalets in The Marrams in Hemsby on Friday after the sandy cliffs beneath them eroded.
Some of the properties were within 1m (3.2ft) of the cliff edge.
A third property was pulled down on Saturday after several outbuildings were lost to the sea during high tide on Friday night.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. It took just a few hours to bring the first Hemsby property to the ground on Saturday
Nicolette, who was passing by as the second of the three homes was being pulled down, described it as "brutal" and said it was an "emotional experience" watching it.
She said: "People lived there, they enjoyed their times there and to see what coastal erosion is doing to not only the nature, the environment, but people's lives is really sad."
Trevor, who was with her, added: "I guess these people have seen it coming slowly for a number of years but it's happened so much quicker than people ever expected."
Sue, whose property was the first to be taken down, said it was "soul destroying".
Along with her neighbours, she spent Saturday morning hurriedly packing up her belongings before the demolition teams moved in.
Sue said she wished more could have been done to save her home of three years.
Sue, who did not want to give her surname, said watching her home being demolished was "soul destroying"
Watching her house being destroyed with her head in her hands, she said: "We've got some very happy memories there because it's got lovely energy to it, lovely atmosphere."
The demolition work is taking place on the north side of Hemsby gap in the direction of Winterton-on-Sea. The gap is a break in the dunes used by the lifeboat crew to access the beach.
Ms Withey said she felt "very sad" about the situation
Mary Withey was not there to witness her home being demolished on Sunday morning.
She said on Saturday that she and her partner "had got what we can" before the teams moved in.
"I'm not OK with it, it's been my home, I don't want to move... it's very sad," said Ms Withey, who lived in her house for four years.
Rob Eastaff, head of demolition, said other properties were at risk
Now all three homes have been demolished, a clean-up operation will take place on Monday.
All the materials will be taken to recycling centres, Rob Eastaff, head of demolition at the site, said.
The 50-year-old said it was "not pleasant" demolishing the homes, especially because he remembered going over the dunes to get to the beach as a 10-year-old boy.
He said to see the erosion that had happened over the past 40 years was a "terrible" thing.
Other properties are currently at risk, "but at the moment we are only engaged in these three", he added.
The two homes taken down on Sunday were on the eroded dunes on the north side of the gap
Lance Martin's property on the south side of the gap is one of those still at risk.
Mr Martin, who has lived there for almost six years, rebuilt what he described as his "dream home" after dragging it back further in-land.
After this weekend, however, he said there was less than 1m left at the back of his house.
He had hoped to move it again but there was uncertainty over whether his home could be saved.
Lance Martin has already moved his home further in-land
Mr Martin's property is teetering on the cliff edge
Jane Beck, head of property and asset management at Great Yarmouth Borough Council, said it was "extremely sad" for those involved.
"We're trying to do everything we possibly can to help them through that process," Ms Beck said.
The beach and surrounding area at Hemsby should be avoided, she added, and she urged people to stay away for their own safety.
The homes are being demolished before they fall into the sea
The only access road to properties on the Marrams has also been cordoned off and is expected to collapse.
Daniel Hurd, coxswain with the Hemsby lifeboat crew, said measures should have been put in place earlier
Great Yarmouth Borough Council's chief executive, Sheila Oxtoby, said the authority was looking to bring some rock on to the beach to protect the road access to a number of other properties as a "temporary solution".
It is understood 1,900 tonnes of granite are due to arrive on Wednesday.
Hemsby Lifeboat coxswain Daniel Hurd, however, said the current situation could have been resolved earlier.
He said: "I just think it's absolutely ridiculous, this has been an emergency for years and it's taken this weekend for them to see it's an emergency to then get a rock berm put on the beach."
But the council said it was a "real minefield of making sure that what local government and the authorities do is the correct line of procedure".
Hemsby, near Great Yarmouth, is home to about 3,000 people and was once home to a Pontins holiday camp.
Seven bungalows along The Marrams had to be demolished when sandy cliffs washed away in March 2018 and, in December 2013, "the worst storm surge in 60 years", destroyed seven homes.
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Glen Sannox and Hull 802 are still being completed at Ferguson Marine shipyard
Ministers will continue funding the construction of a second ferry at Ferguson shipyard despite it being cheaper to build a new ship elsewhere.
Economy Secretary Neil Gray said a review had found finishing the ship, known as Hull 802, did not represent value for money in "narrow" terms.
But he said completing the vessel at the nationalised yard was the fastest way of delivering more ferry capacity.
Pulling the plug would also threaten jobs and the wider economy, he added.
Mr Gray has issued a rarely-used ministerial direction to overrule the financial test.
Two CalMac ferries were ordered in 2015 when Ferguson Marine was owned by Jim McColl, a pro-independence businessman who had rescued the Port Glasgow yard from administration a year earlier.
The build soon ran into trouble - and the ships are now more than £200m overbudget and six years late. Mr McColl and the government-owned ferry procurement agency CMAL blame each other for the problems.
The current boss of the shipyard - which was nationalised in 2019 - now expects the first ship, Glen Sannox, to be delivered this autumn, followed by the as-yet unnamed Hull 802 in the late summer of 2024.
Mr Gray told MSPs that a "due diligence" review of requests for additional funding had found that completing Glen Sannox at the yard was the "cheapest option open to ministers".
But he continued: "The case for vessel 802 is more challenging - and I have accepted the judgement of the Scottish government accountable officer that the narrow value for money case has not been made."
Neil Gray said the value of completing Hull 802 could not be viewed in "narrow" monetary terms
The minister, however, said it was important to look at wider considerations including the impact on the shipyard, the wider community and national resilience.
"These are not matters that can be taken into account in a pure value for money exercise but clearly they are matters of the utmost importance," he said.
While the value for money assessment had concluded it could be cheaper to procure a new ferry elsewhere, that would lead to significant delays, as it could not be deployed before at least May 2027, he said.
"I do not consider it acceptable for our island communities to wait this further period," he said.
The repeated delays in the delivery of Glen Sannox and Hull 802 have had a major impact on the resilience of the ageing CalMac fleet, which has been hit by frequent breakdowns and soaring maintenance costs.
Last year a BBC Scotland documentary - The Great Ferries Scandal - presented evidence that the procurement process may have been rigged in favour of Ferguson Marine.
The investigation also questioned the quality of the design presented by Ferguson, even though it was given top marks by CMAL's evaluators. CMAL has denied any impropriety.
Mr Gray told MSPs he could not rule out further increases in costs for the two ferries because the shipyard was facing inflationary pressures and was still discovering "design gaps", some of which dated back many years.
Scottish Labour MSP Alex Rowley said what was missing from Mr Gray's statement was an apology.
"An apology to the islanders who have been so badly let down, an apology to the workers at Ferguson who have been so badly let down - and ultimately an apology to the people of Scotland for outrageous mismanagement of public funds," he said.
For the Scottish Conservatives, Graham Simpson said: "The building of ferries 801 and 802 has been a shambles from start to finish.
"In fact, shambles is not a strong enough word. It has been a scandal."
By his opponents' calculation, Neil Gray is the eighth minister to take responsibility for the CalMac ferry-building contract at Ferguson shipyard. He must hope he'll be the last, but he's off to a difficult start.
"Due diligence" is business-speak for checking out the prospects, liabilities and risks. Now complete, the cabinet secretary's admission that the second of the ferries no longer provides value for money is embarrassing, and a hostage to further misfortune.
Convention requires that a civil service "accountable officer" can be held responsible for releasing government funds, and must be able to tell auditors that spending provides value for money.
Following that due diligence, Gregor Irwin, the director-general for economy in the Scottish government, cannot do that on the second hull. So he has written to his political boss, Neil Gray, saying he will have to give written permission to over-ride that rule. It's a way of saying: "No minister, you're on your own with this."
Mr Gray has done so, wanting to give the shipyard a chance to succeed after this calamitous contract. Admitting defeat would surely sink the yard, and lose 340 jobs. Further contracts will require further investment, so the Scottish government is now considering the use of even more scarce public funds.
Former business minister Ivan McKee also hinted at discussions he must know something about, on selling the yard or entering a joint venture with a private company which could deploy it for the renewable energy boom.
The risk to jobs on the Clyde and Hebridean islands, because the CalMac fleet is old, unreliable and under-capacity, is on a far greater scale than the jobs at stake in Port Glasgow.
That leads to the other justification: the prospect of an alternative procurement meaning a further delay for islanders, estimated at 30 months beyond the current (though hardly reliable) delivery date for Hull 802.
What's missing is the new cost. Officially, the bill stands at £203m, of which £105m is for Hull 802. That's over and above the original £97m contract price.
Having only £6m contingency margin is very low for such a project. The Scottish government sunk more than £50m more into the yard when it drove the previous owners into administration.
Asked at Holyrood about updated costings, Mr Gray declined to say. It seems the yard's chief executive will now have to tot up the bill, including increased costs of supplies.
So either Neil Gray is not admitting how much more the ships are on course to cost, or he doesn't know. And if he doesn't know, how could he know that the project has failed its "value for money" test, or how much more money is being risked, by a decision that the civil service can no longer justify? |
The BBC's Russia Editor has questioned Alexander Lukashenko on nuclear weapons, after Russia recently said it is moving nuclear warheads to Belarus.
During a four hour "conversation" with journalists at the Palace of Independence in Minsk, Steve Rosenberg asked the leader of Belarus whether he would allow Wagner troops to attack Ukraine from their territory and whether he would really use Russian nuclear weapons. |
Last updated on .From the section Winter Sports
Mikaela Shiffrin became the greatest Alpine skier of all time with her 87th World Cup win - exactly 12 years after making her debut.
Slalom victory in Are, Sweden, saw the 27-year-old American surpass the record of 86 held by Swede Ingemar Stenmark since 1989.
She had drawn level with Stenmark in winning the giant slalom on Friday.
Shiffrin, who won her first World Cup in the same resort in 2012, said her achievement was "hard to comprehend".
She clocked one minute 41.77 seconds across her two runs, putting her 0.92 seconds ahead of Switzerland's Wendy Holdener in the standings.
"The best feeling is to ski on the second run when you have a lead," said Shiffrin.
"You have to be smart but also I just wanted to be fast too and ski the second run like its own race, and I did it exactly how I wanted and that's amazing."
Shiffrin, who turns 28 on Monday, was surprised on the finish line by her brother, Taylor, who she did not know was in attendance.
The Colorado native made her World Cup debut on 11 March 2011, competing in the giant slalom in the Czech Republic.
This season she has amassed 13 wins across all disciplines so far and has secured the overall, slalom and giant slalom World Cup crystal globes.
Meanwhile on the men's World Cup circuit, Marco Odermatt wrapped up his second successive overall title with giant slalom victory in Kranjska Gora.
He leads Norway's Aleksander Aamodt Kilde by 486 points with five races remaining, but retained his title with Kilde - Shiffrin's partner - skipping this weekend's giant slalom races. |
Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix is live on 5 Live and the BBC Sport website at 06:00 BST
Max Verstappen led a Red Bull one-two in qualifying at the Japanese Grand Prix with McLaren's Lando Norris best of the rest. Ferrari's Carlos Sainz was fourth, his team-mate Charles Leclerc eighth, and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso fifth. McLaren's Oscar Piastri was sixth ahead of Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, whose team-mate George Russell was ninth. Japanese Yuki Tsunoda delighted home fans packed into the glorious Suzuka circuit with 10th place.
Verstappen had looked a certainty for pole since the start of the weekend but in the end his margin was perhaps smaller than expected. Perez was just 0.066 seconds adrift of the three-time champion, who had been half a second clear of the field on this same circuit last September. Red Bull, though, were in a league of their own - Norris was 0.292secs off the pace in third, and himself a comfortable 0.193secs ahead of Sainz. Verstappen said he felt it had not been this greatest lap, adding: "It was quite close at the end. This track is very sensitive with the tyre with the Tarmac being aggressive, and when you really want to go to the limit, it doesn't always work out. "It is good to be on pole, a good starting position for tomorrow, and tomorrow is what counts." Perez said: "It was really close with Max. It felt like a good lap. It was quite tricky there, especially closing the laps it was easy to lose a couple of 10ths in the last sector. "We have been really close all weekend and when you are in that, little margins... anything can make a difference. "I didn't have a great exit (from the chicane) opening the lap; that could have been different. Our long-run pace was not that strong this morning but we have worked quite a bit and hopefully we will be strong." Norris was pleased with third, saying McLaren's "hard work was paying off" in trying to close the gap to Red Bull. Sainz was 0.485secs from pole, a step forward for Ferrari compared to last year but their least impressive qualifying performance of the year. And Leclerc, while only 0.104secs off the Spaniard, was perplexed as to where his pace has gone this season. Leclerc has been the faster Ferrari driver on balance through their time as team-mates and he has been re-signed for next season alongside Lewis Hamilton while Sainz is looking for a drive. But Sainz has been more impressive this season and Leclerc said after qualifying: "That's the best I can do. Honestly, I don't get it." It was an encouraging day for Alonso, whose Aston Martin has major floor upgrades this weekend and the veteran Spaniard put them to good effect. Second fastest in the first session, Alonso slipped back as qualifying progressed and others found their feet. He was seventh after his first run in the final top 10 shoot-out and was encouraged by his engineer to try to find the extra 0.15secs that separated him from a place in the top four at the time. Alonso replied saying: "I don't know what to do to go faster; it felt like a good lap." But he found almost exactly that time to move up and split the Ferraris and McLarens. The 0.569secs that separated Hamilton from pole was seen as progress at Mercedes. Hamilton said: "It's been a night and day different weekend so far in terms of how comfortable I felt in the car, we did a really good job of analysis back at the factory to try to understand how we can get the car in a sweeter spot. "The car has a been much nicer to drive this weekend and particularly at a track like this where you need a nice balance, this is the nicest it's been for three years. "Last year we were a second off, 0.7secs today."
The race now boasts views of Japan's legendary blossoms with its new April date
But fans at Suzuka seem more interested in their unique way of celebrating the sport, dressing as cars, horses and even koalas, depending on who they are supporting
Qualifying was fairly straightforward, but there was a crash for Logan Sargeant during Friday practice a Suzuka - crashing after the Esses in what is a famously demanding track
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Mr Rutte has been holding three days of talks to try to save his coalition
The Dutch government has collapsed because of a disagreement between coalition parties over asylum policies, Prime Minister Mark Rutte has said.
The four parties were split in crisis talks chaired by Mr Rutte on Friday.
Mr Rutte then met King Willem-Alexander in The Hague on Saturday and agreed to lead a caretaker government until fresh elections, expected in mid-November.
Coalition partners had objected to his proposal to restrict the scope for immigrant families to reunite.
The government was set up a year and a half ago but the parties have been opposed on migration for some time.
Mr Rutte gave no details of his talks with the king, which lasted about an hour and a half. "It was a good discussion, but I'm not saying anything else because these discussions are confidential," he told reporters.
His conservative VVD party had been trying to limit the flow of asylum seekers, following a row last year about overcrowded migration centres. His plans were opposed by his junior coalition partners.
Mark Rutte said he would hand his resignation to King Willem-Alexander on Saturday
Asylum applications in the Netherlands jumped by over a third last year to more than 47,000 and government figures said earlier this year that they expected roughly 70,000 applications in 2023.
This week, Mr Rutte tried to force through a plan which included a cap on the number of relatives of war refugees allowed into the Netherlands at just 200 people per month.
But junior coalition partners the Christian Union, a pro-family party, and the socially-liberal D66 were strongly opposed.
"The decision was very difficult for us," Mr Rutte told journalists as he announced his cabinet's resignation. The differences in views between the coalition partners were "irreconcilable", he added.
"All parties went to great lengths to find a solution, but the differences on migration are unfortunately impossible to bridge."
A media scrum welcomed Mark Rutte as he arrived at the Huis ten Bosch Palace in The Hague to meet Dutch King Willem-Alexander
A compromise proposal, known as the "emergency brake", which would only trigger the restrictions in the event of an excessively high influx of migrants, was not enough to save the government.
"The four parties decided that they cannot reach an agreement on migration," the Christian Union's spokesman Tim Kuijsten said. "Therefore they decided to end this government."
Mr Rutte, 56, is the country's longest serving prime minister and has been in office since 2010. The current government - which took office in January 2022 - is his fourth coalition.
He said he still had the energy for a fifth term, but a final decision would have to await consultations with his party.
He has been under pressure on migration because of the rise of far-right parties such as Geert Wilders' PVV.
The Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB), which became the biggest party in the upper house of parliament after a shock election win in March, said they will not serve in any future government led by Mr Rutte. |
Coach driver Anthony Jones - who sent this picture - described a "frustrating" situation with queues at the port
Travellers at Dover remain in long queues to catch ferries to France after waits in excess of 12 hours - although port authorities say the situation is now improving for new arrivals.
Speaking to the BBC on Sunday evening, parents told of coachloads of children still waiting to cross the Channel after arriving late on Saturday.
Port managers said all traffic was now inside the port ready for processing.
Disruption and delays were first reported on Friday night.
Extra ferries that were laid on overnight on Saturday were not enough to prevent the queues at Dover increasing through much of Sunday.
Officials cite slower border processing and a higher-than-expected number of coaches as causes of the delays.
The port said late on Sunday that around 40 coaches were still awaiting immigration processing, down from 111 earlier in the day.
P&O Ferries said that around 20 coaches were still waiting to board its ferries and that their wait time would be around five hours.
The company had earlier said wait times were around 10 hours, though many coach passengers and drivers contacted the BBC to say their waits had actually been much longer.
One driver taking a group from Cardiff to Austria said they had been in the vehicle for 14 hours.
Coach passengers ended up camping on the floor of a service station in Folkestone, due to delays in nearby Dover
On Saturday evening, holidaymaker Jennifer Fee said her coach was "turning around and going back to London" having been told there was "no chance of a ferry today".
Ms Fee sent the BBC footage of passengers camped out on the floor of a service station in nearby Folkestone - where coaches had been "stacked up" due to delays at the port.
Coach driver Zaishan Aslam was driving a group of schoolchildren from Cheltenham to Italy. He told the BBC they all arrived in Dover at 14:00 BST on Friday, and were finally on a ferry at 03:30 on Saturday.
The group have now arrived at their final destination, but Mr Aslam said they are coming back to the UK on Friday and he dreads to think what the situation with the ferries will be then.
The situation is "totally ridiculous", Mr Aslam said. "It's as if it was caused deliberately to deter coach drivers and schoolchildren from travelling".
Rob Howard, a teacher in Dorset travelling by coach with a group of schoolchildren, was on his way to northern Italy via Dover.
They arrived at the port at 16:00 on Saturday, but the group decided to turn around after waiting for more than 17 hours, Mr Howard said.
He said passengers were each given a chocolate bar and less than a bottle of water during those 17 hours, and "there was a smell of urine all over the place" as some coach toilets leaked.
The government has said it is in close contact with port authorities.
In an interview with the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said the delays were a result of a "combination of factors", including the high volume of coaches.
She said she sympathised with families and school children trying to get away on Easter holidays, and expected the problems to ease soon.
Labour's shadow levelling-up secretary, Lisa Nandy, told Sky News issues like the port delays could have been avoided "if the government got a grip, got down to brass tacks and started doing the actual job".
Officials have explained that long border processing times were partly to blame for delays - and ferry companies said bad weather had disrupted some journeys.
The port said ferry companies received 15% more coach bookings for the Easter period than what had been expected. Boarding coachloads of passengers is much slower than boarding cars.
Responding to claims of lengthy delays in border checks, officials in northern France said on Saturday that there were "no difficulties that we know of," but that many coaches had arrived to travel at around the same time.
All border checkpoints were operational and border police had switched some car checkpoints into slots for coaches, French officials added.
Simon Calder, travel correspondent at the Independent, said processing times since the UK left the EU had increased sharply "and that would seem to explain the delays".
An EU border at Dover meant things were "gumming up", as each individual passport had to be inspected and stamped after Brexit, he told the BBC on Saturday.
Asked whether the delays were a result of Brexit, Labour's Ms Nandy said: "The point is not whether we left the European Union or not... the point was that we left with a government that made big promises and once again didn't deliver."
And speaking to Sky News, Ms Braverman said viewing delays at the port as "an adverse effect of Brexit" would not be a fair assessment.
Many coaches stuck in Dover have been carrying schoolchildren from across the UK on school trips abroad.
Schoolteacher Sarah Dalby told the BBC her group began their journey from Nottinghamshire and 24 hours later were still in the queue for passport control at Dover.
"Nobody has been to speak to us in the whole time. There is no information available. No food or water," the head of science at Worksop College added.
The port apologised for "prolonged delays" and said the tailbacks were being cleared.
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Sharon Beshenivsky had been a PC for less than a year before she was murdered in Bradford in November 2005
Almost 20 years after PC Sharon Beshenivsky was shot and killed on her daughter's fourth birthday, the last member of the armed gang responsible for her death has been found guilty of her murder.
The conviction of Piran Ditta Khan, 75, marks the end of almost two decades of evading justice for his part in the killing of the West Yorkshire Police officer after she interrupted a raid at a Bradford travel agents on 18 November 2005.
For Andy Brennan, who was then the detective superintendent tasked with leading the manhunt, Khan's conviction is the fulfilment of a long-held promise he made to PC Beshenivsky's husband, Paul, on the day of her death.
"I gave him a commitment on that day that we would go to the 'nth' degree to make sure all of those responsible would be placed before the court," he says.
Before the fatal shooting in Bradford city centre earlier that evening, PC Beshenivsky had been coming to the end of her shift and was soon due to head home to join the birthday celebrations for the couple's little girl.
Mr Brennan remembers that he and Mr Beshenivsky were still surrounded by unopened cards and presents as he made his promise.
It was "very humbling to see how he controlled himself in front of the children having been given the news of his wife's death," Mr Brennan says. "It was an emotional time."
"I'm a father, but, for me, in that position at that time, I couldn't show my emotions because Paul was looking at me to tell him what was going on and what we were going to do," he adds.
Sharon Beshenivsky was a mum to three children and two stepchildren with her husband Paul
PC Beshenivsky, a 38-year-old mother of three as well as two stepchildren, had been an officer for just nine months when she was gunned down in a raid at the Universal Express travel agents.
Shot at close range and left lying on the pavement, her injuries were instantly fatal.
Her colleague, Teresa Milburn, then 37, was also shot and seriously injured at the same time, though she survived the attack.
The pair had been responding to a silent panic alarm which had been activated at the travel agents on Morley Street just 30 minutes before the end of their shifts that Friday afternoon.
In the huge manhunt that followed, the gang, who had escaped with little more than £5,000, were eventually caught.
Before Khan was convicted, a further six men had been sentenced in connection with PC Beshenivsky's death
In 2006, Muzzaker Imtiaz Shah and Yusuf Abdullah Jama were sentenced to life and told they would both serve at least 35 years in jail for PC Beshenivsky's murder.
A third man, Faisal Razzaq, was cleared of her murder but found guilty of manslaughter. He was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 11 years.
A year later, Hassan Razzaq, the brother of Faisal, was also convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
That same year, Raza Ul Haq Aslam, was convicted of robbery and jailed for eight years.
However, two suspects remained at large. One was Mustaf Jama, who had used a friend's passport to flee to his native Somalia. The other wanted man, Piran Ditta Khan, had escaped to Pakistan.
Jama was eventually extradited in 2007 when he was smuggled out of Africa in an undercover operation. The brother of Yusuf Jama, he was found guilty of murder and jailed for life with a minimum term of 35 years.
But it was to be another 17 years before Khan was to face justice for his role as the robbery's instigator.
Piran Ditta Khan fled to Pakistan after PC Beshenivsky's murder in 2005, but was extradited in 2023
Back in 2006, when Mr Brennan was piecing together the investigation, detectives built a picture that showed Khan was the mastermind behind the plot.
Khan had used the travel agents to send money to Pakistan and knew that "substantial amounts" of cash would be held at the premises.
Looking back, Mr Brennan says: "The information we were getting was that he was more important in relation to the organisation of what had taken place than any of the other six individuals.
"The more information and evidence we got, the clearer his role became of being an instigator."
But by the time police were in a position to arrest him, Khan had already fled to Pakistan - something Mr Brennan says was "seriously disappointing".
Getting Khan back to face justice was a long and drawn-out process.
Because there is no extradition treaty between the UK and Pakistan, a diplomatic request was made by the UK for his removal.
Mr Brennan said: "I spent about 12 to 18 months every week going down to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Home Office.
"I was meeting them on a weekly basis to say, this is the position we're in, these are the individuals we want back.
"We put pressure on them [the authorities in Pakistan] all the time, but effectively we were in their hands to arrest one of their citizens."
Up until January 2020, Khan remained free. However, he was eventually arrested in Pakistan, with his solicitor describing him as a "scared and shivering man".
It then took another three years before Khan was brought back to the UK.
By the time of Khan's extradition, Mr Brennan had retired from West Yorkshire Police, but recalls being "elated" by the development.
"I knew this was always bubbling away in the background and would never be allowed to go away," he says.
"When I left the case it wasn't complete, but it never left me.
"So, when I found out he was on his way back to the UK, I was incredibly pleased. I remember having a glass of wine."
Mr Brennan describes Khan as a "very dangerous man" who was "incredibly greedy" and "entirely responsible" for what had taken place.
The former officer says: "He managed to persuade a group to commit this robbery on the pretext that there was a significant amount of money there.
"But they fled with £5,000 and committed the murder of a police officer on duty."
Teresa Milburn, who was also injured, said her colleague PC Beshenivsky did not stand a chance against the gunmen
Now all those responsible for the events of 18 November 2005 have been convicted, Mr Brennan says he believes the bravery of both PC Beshenvisky and PC Milburn should be officially recognised.
"I know this case inside out and I look back on their actions that day," he says.
"They turned up to a silent alarm taking place - that would usually indicate a robbery or something more serious - and in that knowledge they approached the premises.
"Both Sharon and Teresa are extremely brave to have done what they did. They could have waited by their cars or could have radioed for armed assistance, but they didn't.
"I think that was down to the fact they wanted to protect the public and make sure the occupants in the travel agents were safe and well."
Meanwhile, Mr Brennan says that though Khan's conviction may have been a long time in the making, he was never in any doubt the promise he made to PC Beshenivsky's family would be fulfilled.
"I made it perfectly clear to Sharon's family, to Teresa and to the public, that we would leave no stone unturned to get justice," he says.
"I had a superb team working with me who gave 110%.
"So, in my mind, I was confident we would find everyone involved on that horrific day."
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Last updated on .From the section Premier League
Cole Palmer scored twice deep into stoppage time to complete his hat-trick and earn Chelsea a remarkable win against Manchester United despite having previously given up a two-goal lead.
The latest winner scored in Premier League history, timed at 100 minutes 39 seconds, stunned United, who led through nine minutes of injury time, and sent Stamford Bridge into delirium.
United were ahead with 99 minutes 17 seconds on the clock, the latest a side has ever led in a Premier League match they have gone on to lose.
The two late strikes capped off a breathless game that started at pace, with Blues captain Conor Gallagher slamming the hosts in front, and barely relented throughout.
Inside 20 minutes Palmer doubled the hosts' lead from the spot after Antony fouled Marc Cucurella.
But Alejandro Garnacho sparked a United comeback when he pounced on Moises Caicedo's poor pass across the back.
Bruno Fernandes pulled United level just five minutes later when he headed in Diogo Dalot's cross.
Garnacho scored his second when he headed in an excellent outside-of-boot cross from Antony past goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic, with what United thought was the winner.
That was before a dramatic end to the match saw Chelsea take all three points.
Substitute Noni Madueke was brought down by Dalot in the area and Palmer stepped up confidently to bring the scores level on 100 minutes.
Then in the 101st minute, Palmer picked the ball up from a short corner and his drilled shot was deflected past United goalkeeper Andre Onana to spark wild scenes in the stadium.
Since signing for Chelsea in the summer for a fee of £42.5m, Palmer has hit the ground running at Stamford Bridge.
The 21-year-old has been the standout player in an inconsistent season for Chelsea and their young squad.
Palmer's hat-trick brings his goal tally to 16 in the league - joint-second and only behind Manchester City's Erling Haaland.
He has seven goals in his last four games for the club as he continues to be the shining light for Mauricio Pochettino.
He also has a 100% record from the penalty spot and has scored eight so far this season - such is his quality it did not feel in doubt that he would score both spot-kicks in this match.
Having made his England debut in November and been included in the most recent squad, on this form he is looking ever more likely to be included by Gareth Southgate for Euro 2024 this summer.
It's been an inconsistent season for Manchester United and this performance summed up the campaign they are having so far.
They were pounced on by Chelsea at the beginning of the match, did not seem to have an answer to the Blues' intensity, and were lucky to not be further behind before they started their comeback.
Garnacho's effort was rewarded with a gift when Caicedo played him in for his first and he was the furthest United player forward when he got on the end of Antony's cross to score what looked to be the winning goal.
There are many questions for manager Erik Ten Hag to answer and the manner of this loss will bring an extra amount of scrutiny.
Ten Hag's side faced 81 shots across their three Premier League fixtures in March, another 28 here, and the question as to why they are so easy to create chances against will continue to be asked.
It is the second time in as many matches that United have not won a Premier League game when leading in stoppage time and this result leaves them 11 points away from an unlikely Champions League place.
• None Moisés Caicedo (Chelsea) is shown the yellow card for excessive celebration.
• None Goal! Chelsea 4, Manchester United 3. Cole Palmer (Chelsea) left footed shot from the right side of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Enzo Fernández following a corner.
• None Attempt blocked. Carney Chukwuemeka (Chelsea) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Marc Cucurella.
• None Goal! Chelsea 3, Manchester United 3. Cole Palmer (Chelsea) converts the penalty with a left footed shot to the bottom right corner.
• None Penalty conceded by Diogo Dalot (Manchester United) after a foul in the penalty area.
• None Attempt saved. Noni Madueke (Chelsea) left footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Enzo Fernández.
• None Attempt missed. Benoît Badiashile (Chelsea) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Cole Palmer with a cross following a corner. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page |
Greater Manchester Police said officers were continuing to search Kersal Wetlands for evidence
Human remains which were found in a secluded woodland were those of a man who was "likely to be aged older than 40" and had "only been deceased for a matter of days", police have said.
A torso was found wrapped in plastic by a passer-by in Kersal Wetlands, Salford, on Thursday evening, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said.
A representative said specialists were carrying out DNA tests to identify him.
Ch Supt Tony Creely said the "tragic case" was "moving at pace".
He said a murder investigation was continuing and forensic tests had confirmed that the victim was "a man who could not have survived".
He said that "so far, nothing further than the human remains... have been found" and there remained "a number of unknowns" in the case.
He said inquiries would "take time", but "at the heart of our investigation is this man and his family".
"We are using all forensic techniques available to identify him as soon as we can so we are able to support his loved ones during this devastating time."
Thanking locals for their co-operation, he added that the presence of officers and specialist teams had "caused disruption in the local area, and may continue to for some time yet, but we value any information [the public] have been able to pass to us".
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Wildcat Haven has written to North Wales Police after it took the animal, named Finlay
A cat seized by police has prompted a legal complaint by a wildlife rescue group which said the animal suffered mental trauma.
Wildcat Haven wrote to North Wales Police after it took Finlay the cat.
It was seized by the force after it received a report the organisation was keeping an unlicensed Scottish wildcat.
The animal was returned after four months when police said tests showed Finlay was a common tabby. The force has declined to comment.
Wildcat Haven, based in St Asaph, Denbighshire, has said he suffered "physiological and psychological trauma", and has made a number of claims about police actions.
Wildcat Haven's lawyer, Joseph Morgan, said the group found the animal dehydrated, soaking wet and close to death as a three-week-old kitten in the Scottish Highlands.
Believing he was a Scottish wildcat, he was taken to an enclosure in Conwy for rehabilitation before eventual release.
Plans to release Finlay in spring 2022 were derailed on Valentine's Day in February that year, when officers took him from the farm claiming he was being held without a licence.
Wildcat Haven claimed no licence was required to rehabilitate Finlay.
Mr Morgan said: "North Wales Police acted excessively in seizing Finlay from Wildcat Haven's care and holding on to him for over four months.
"In doing so, they undermined months of hard work that went into rehabilitating Finlay for release into the wild, meaning that Wildcat Haven has had to start from square one in their journey to see Finlay in the wild again."
Wildcat Haven is also unhappy police do not believe Finlay is a wildcat, but a domestic tabby with some wildcat genes.
The assessment could pose problems for the group if it does release Finlay into the wild, as it could be committing an offence under the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006.
Finlay was not returned until 28 June 2022, allegedly in a "very poor state". Wildcat Haven said it took more than six months to bring him back to good health.
Its director Emily O'Donoghue said: "Finlay was wrongly seized as no licence is required for the rehabilitation and release of a Scottish wildcat."
She claimed that he was kept "in a quarantine cage for four-and-a-half months", and on his return he was "emaciated".
Wildcat Haven said Finlay was discovered in the Scottish Highlands as a kitten
"The police returned him because they said he was a domestic tabby cat, even though an assessment of him arranged by the police gave him a score which should have identified him as a Scottish wildcat, according to the scientific literature," Ms O'Donoghue said.
The police, she claimed, caused Finlay to "suffer unnecessarily" and delayed his release.
"We will continue to fight for his freedom," she said.
While North Wales Police has declined to comment on Wildcat Haven's claims, it has previously said it kept Finlay at a special facility where it had regular visits and vet assessments.
It said there was no evidence of disease and Finlay displayed traits of domestic cat behaviour.
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What started with pictures in Edinburgh, took Ross Burns to locations all around the UK including the Finnieston Crane in Glasgow
When Ross Burns first took a photo of one of his son's toy cars while on a daily walk he did not think it would turn into an obsession that has seen him complete 1,000 days of taking pictures in different locations.
It started as a lockdown project in 2020 but he caught the bug and it turned into a three-year project capturing images of his son's Hot Wheels miniature cars in locations from Edinburgh Castle to Buckingham Palace.
The 43-year-old, from Edinburgh, said he started taking out the toy cars when he went for walks with his six-year-old son Daniel.
He posted the pictures on his Instagram account and received an encouraging reaction. So he carried on.
When restrictions began to ease, he decided to take the cars all around the UK.
"It's also been a fun hobby for me and Daniel to do together," Ross says.
"He likes copying my photos and creating his own. Seeing him sprawled flat on a pavement to get the perfect angle is pretty funny."
Ross, the head of communications at Edinburgh Napier University, says that after a few weeks he set himself the challenge of doing it for a full year and then he would stop.
"But clearly I was hooked and another 635 days on, I'm still at it," he says.
"The great thing now is that the world has opened up a lot more so it's become a pictorial diary of my life."
The cars have been on a tour around the UK, in locations such as Glasgow, Newcastle, Aberdeenshire and London.
Ross's car tour took him to Buckingham Palace
Ross says he has seen other people doing similar things in other countries, including Dnipro in Ukraine
Ross says: "It's exciting when I go away for a couple of days and the first thing I pack are the Hot Wheels.
"London is amazing for locations although the one downside of it no longer being lockdown is places are far busier and getting shots without people in them is a challenge."
He has also appreciated the reaction from the wider community about his posts, saying he has received messages from the USA and Japan.
Ross started the project as a hobby in lockdown
He is unsure how long he will continue to take the pictures.
"I said after a year of doing it that I would stop," he says.
"Now I've done 1,000 days straight and seen my pictures progress from very amateur efforts to something more pleasing. I've got a big decision to make." |
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Ros Atkins on... the Russian social media videos appearing to show Kremlin drone attack
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has denied his country carried out an alleged drone attack on the Kremlin, which Russia says was an attempt on President Vladimir Putin's life.
"We don't attack Putin or Moscow. We fight on our territory. We are defending our villages and cities," he said, speaking on a visit to Finland.
The Russian president's office said defences downed two drones overnight.
It threatened to retaliate when and where it considered necessary.
Unverified footage circulating online shows smoke rising over the Kremlin - a large government complex in central Moscow - early on Wednesday. A second video shows a small explosion above the site's Senate building, while two men appear to clamber up the dome.
The Russian presidency said Ukraine had attempted a strike on Mr Putin's residence in the Kremlin and described it as "a planned terrorist act and an assassination attempt on the president".
Officials said two drones targeting the complex had been disabled using electronic radar assets, adding that President Putin had not been in the complex at the time of the alleged attack.
But Ukraine has said the Russian accusations are merely a pretext for massive attacks on its territory and the US says it is treating the Russian claims with a lot of caution.
Mr Putin appears to be one of the most closely-guarded leaders in the world. At Putin events in Moscow attended by BBC journalists, extremely tight security has been in place, including extensive checks and long convoys of vehicles with airspace closed and traffic halted.
However if what the Kremlin is saying is true, it will raise questions about how well protected the president really is.
There will also be scrutiny over the effectiveness of Russian air defences. In recent months, anti-aircraft systems have been spotted on Moscow rooftops in the vicinity of key buildings.
They have been placed there because the Kremlin is concerned that Ukraine, or those sympathetic to Ukraine, may attempt to carry out aerial attacks on high-value targets.
Whatever actually happened on Wednesday morning, the question now is how Russia will respond. Some officials have already called for tough action. Russian generals have warned many times of harsh responses to any strikes on Russian territory.
But it is unclear whether Russia has the capacity to carry out meaningful retaliatory strikes, or whether this incident will lead to any significant escalation on the battlefield inside Ukraine.
A Ukrainian presidential adviser told the BBC the incident indicated Russia could be "preparing a large-scale terrorist provocation" in Ukraine.
Mykhailo Podolyak said attacking Moscow made no sense for Ukraine but would help Russia justify its own attacks on civilian targets.
On Wednesday Russian strikes on Ukraine's southern Kherson region killed 21 people. Mr Zelensky said the shelling had hit "a railway station and a crossing, a house, a hardware store, a grocery supermarket and a gas station". The victims included supermarket customers and employees of an energy company who were performing repairs, officials said.
Mr Podolyak added that any drones flying over locations in Russia were down to "guerrilla activities of local resistance forces".
"Something is happening in RF [Russian Federation], but definitely without Ukraine's drones over the Kremlin," Mr Podolyak said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he could not validate Russia's accusation that Ukraine had tried to kill Mr Putin, but said he would take anything the Russian presidency said with a "very large shaker of salt".
Mick Mulroy, a former US deputy assistant secretary of defence and CIA officer, told the BBC that if reports of the incident were accurate, it was "unlikely" to be an assassination attempt as Ukraine tracks President Putin's movements closely and he was not in Moscow at the time.
"This may have been to show the Russian people that they can be hit anywhere and that the war they started in Ukraine may eventually come home to Russia, even the capital," he said.
Alternatively, if the reports were not accurate, "Russia may be fabricating this to use as a pretext to target President Zelensky - something they have tried to in the past", Mr Mulroy said.
Russia also noted the alleged drone incident had come shortly before Russia's 9 May Victory Day parade in Moscow, which foreign dignitaries were expected to attend.
The parade will go ahead as planned, Russian officials said.
Moscow's mayor on Wednesday announced a ban on unauthorised drone flights over the city.
Several Russian cities had already announced they would scale back this year's Victory Day celebrations.
Russian authorities have cited security reasons and attacks from pro-Ukrainian forces for the changes. Explosions and fires have occurred in Russia in recent weeks. |
Oil and gas giant Shell has had some of its adverts banned for misleading claims about how clean its overall energy production is.
The ban applies to one TV advert, a poster displayed in Bristol and a YouTube ad, all shown in 2022.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled they all left out information on Shell's more polluting work with fossil fuels.
Shell said it "strongly" disagreed with the ASA's findings.
The adverts cannot be shown in their current form again, the ASA ruled.
Shell had stated that the ads were intended to raise awareness of the lower emissions energy products and services it is investing more money in.
The ASA ruled that the YouTube advert incorrectly gave the impression that low-carbon energy products made up a significant proportion of Shell's energy products, when in fact they did not.
Shell said that people who saw the adverts would already be well-informed of its operations and would mainly associate the brand with petrol sales.
But the ASA said the selection of ads were likely to mislead consumers as they "misrepresented the contribution that lower-carbon initiatives played, or would play in the near future" compared with the rest of the company's operations.
One of the banned advertisements was a poster shown in Bristol, with the text "Bristol is ready for cleaner energy". It included text quoting the number of homes in the South West of England which used renewable electricity. The ASA ruled the poster was misleading because it gave the impression that Shell as a whole was providing cleaner energy.
The ASA said Shell's poster gave the wrong impression that overall, Shell provided predominantly clean energy across its whole business
"We also considered that the emphasis the ads placed on "Ready", implied that lower-carbon energy products, like those shown in the ads, already comprised a significant proportion of the energy products Shell invested in and sold in the UK, or were likely to do so in the near future," the ASA said.
A spokesperson for Shell said the ASA's decision "could slow the UK's drive towards renewable energy".
"No energy transition can be successful if people are not aware of the alternatives available to them. That is what our adverts set out to show, and that is why we're concerned by this short-sighted decision," the spokesperson added.
The ruling comes as the ASA is combatting companies overstating their environmental friendliness, known as "corporate greenwashing". Last year, it banned a Tesco plant-based burger ad, a Persil advert, and two HSBC adverts over their claims of environmental benefits, which the agency deemed "misleading". |
Sarah Polley won the Best Adapted Screenplay award for Women Talking
Canadian film-maker Sarah Polley has shared a "cruel" April Fools' joke played on her by none other than her 11-year-old child.
A letter turned up on Saturday morning, reading "We say this to you with the deepest regrets: the Oscar you received was given by mistake."
Polley won the best adapted screenplay for Women Talking at the 95th Academy Awards in Los Angeles last month.
The letter, posted on Twitter, asked her to "mail it back" to California.
It said she could keep the award for one more week so she could "enjoy its presence" in her home.
But ultimately, it needed to be returned so it could go to the "rightful" winner: All Quiet on the Western Front.
"We are sorry for your loss, but it is only fair that the play with the real best adapted screenplay gets the Oscar."
Polley's child went on to joke that Oscar bosses had realised their error on the day the award was given - but wanted to avoid another blunder like La La Land being named winner of Best Picture in 2017 instead of Moonlight.
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The film-maker behind All Quiet on the Western Front, Edward Berger, got in on the joke.
"To save on mailing costs as I live overseas the Academy has asked me to provide you with my address so you can ship the Oscar directly," he tweeted to Polley.
"I will follow up shortly. Ok with you?"
Polley, who shot to fame as an actor in the 1990s, swiftly realised the letter was not written by the Academy, but by her child as an April Fools' Day prank.
But she made it clear she wasn't impressed - saying her 11-year-old "swung low" for April Fools' Day.
"We feel it is wrong you get this on 1 April as you will probably think it is a joke, and we feel that is wrong, so another letter will be sent assuring you that this is not a joke," the letter said.
"This is much too cruel to be a joke, ergo we deeply apologise for any inconvenience we may have caused you." |
Finland's outgoing Prime Minister Sanna Marin and her husband Markus Raikkonen have filed for divorce.
"We are grateful for the 19 years together and our beloved daughter," Ms Marin said on Instagram on Wednesday.
The couple married in 2020, when Ms Marin was leading the country's pandemic response, and they share a five-year-old daughter.
She is due to leave office after her centre-left party lost the general election last month.
In a story posted on her Instagram account, Ms Marin said she is "still best friends" with Mr Raikkonen, who is a businessman and former professional footballer.
"We will continue to spend time together as a family and with each other," she added.
Ms Marin, 37, became the world's youngest prime minister when she took office in 2019. But she lost out in a tight race to the National Coalition Party, headed by Petteri Orpo, and the right-wing populist Finns Party, led by Riikka Purra, in April.
It was a bitter defeat for Ms Marin. While she increased her party's seats and secured 19.9% of the vote, her coalition partners all lost significant numbers of seats.
Her government has formally resigned but will continue serving on a caretaker basis until the formation and appointment of a new government. Mr Orpo has said he hopes to conclude negotiations by June.
Ms Marin has enjoyed high polling throughout her time in office, with many praising her for steering Finland into Nato and navigating her country through the Covid-19 pandemic.
But she is also a polarising figure in Finland, with headlines pertaining to her personal life surfacing in recent months.
She has frequently been a target for criticism for her apparent love of partying - most notably when a video of her at a party singing, dancing and drinking circulated on social media in August 2022.
At the time, Ms Marin said the video had been filmed on "private premises" and that she had spent "an evening with friends".
But the video prompted dozens of complaints alleging Ms Marin's behaviour undermined Finland's "reputation and security".
The incident led to many women coming out in support of Ms Marin. In Finland, women took to social media to post videos of themselves dancing in solidarity.
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Capaldi had to rely on the crowd to finish his Glastonbury set
Lewis Capaldi warned fans he might have to take a break from public life when vocal problems threatened to derail his Glastonbury set at the weekend.
A sympathetic crowd helped him through the performance, singing his biggest hit Someone You Loved back to him while he stayed largely silent.
"I feel like I'll be taking another wee break over the next couple of weeks," he told his audience, having taken three weeks off to "rest and recover" ahead of the festival.
"So you probably won't see much of me for the rest of year, maybe even. But when I do come back and when I do see you, I hope you're still up for watching us."
It leaves a question mark hanging over the singer's summer schedule, which includes slots at the Reading and Leeds Festivals and two dates in Edinburgh.
Capaldi's health problems date back to the pandemic, when he went back to his hometown for the Covid lockdown, expecting to start work on his second album.
His first, Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent, sold more than any other in the UK in 2019 and it would go on to be the biggest seller in 2020 as well.
It meant expectations were high for album number two. He was feeling the pressure, and it would take its toll physically and mentally.
"Making the first album was as close to dreams coming true as you could possibly get," the Scottish singer-songwriter told the makers of a Netflix documentary about his life.
"But as soon as the first album does well, it's like can he do it again though?"
Capaldi celebrated with a bottle of Buckfast when he won a Brit Award in 2020
Lewis Capaldi: How I Feel Now follows the rise of the star from his childhood in Whitburn, West Lothian, to chart success, a sold-out arena tour and celebrity status.
The self-proclaimed "Scottish Beyoncé" and "America's sweetheart" has also won a huge following on social media, thanks to his unfiltered humour and a willingness to poke fun at himself.
"A global pandemic is only in the top three weird things to have happened to me in the last three years," he tells programme makers.
But the documentary also looks at the effect that rapid success has had on his mental health, leaving him dealing with panic attacks, a shoulder twitch and a diagnosis of Tourette Syndrome.
And it tackles his "imposter syndrome", which even a kind email from Elton John telling him he writes "beautiful songs that resonate with millions" cannot correct.
After reading the email aloud, Capaldi says: "It's nice but I obviously still feel like an imposter. I don't think it's ever going to go away."
Elton John has called Capaldi the next British superstar
During the documentary his shoulder twitch appears to worsen as he continues writing - apparently fruitlessly - for his second album.
Lacking confidence in his own abilities, he works with other songwriters first over Zoom from his parents' garden shed, then travelling to London and Los Angeles.
But he sets himself a high bar, judging everything against Someone You Loved - his breakout single which reached number one on both sides of the Atlantic.
"I'm not confident in my abilities as a songwriter and I think that's got worse the more successful I've got," he says.
"The twitch that I have gets worse when I sit down to play the piano. Physically painful," he tells the documentary makers.
"And I get really short of breath and it's like my back kills me when I go to do it. Which is quite ... frightful."
Capaldi agonised over song-writing for the new album
Capaldi also speaks candidly about the panic attacks he suffers from, which make him feel like he's "going insane".
"I'm completely disconnected from reality," he says. "I can't breathe, I can't feel breath going in. I get dizzy, I feel like something's happening in my head and I'm sweating.
"My whole body starts to do what my shoulder does and I'm convulsing. Either I feel like I'm going to be stuck like that forever or I'm going to die."
He can spend up to seven hours on the phone to his mum, Carol, as she tries to calm him down.
To Capaldi, those physical symptoms are a perfectly reasonable reaction to having his "world turned upside down".
"For me it's a like a completely normal reaction to this. If you are put in this situation, you are going to have something like this, especially if you are already an anxious person, which I guess I was.
"I didn't ever have the pressure that came to make me full blown but we are there now so we just need to deal with it."
Lewis Capaldi's debut, Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent, was the UK's biggest-selling album of 2019 and 2020
A therapist has told him some of his issues relate to the death of two close relatives as a child, including the aunt whose suicide inspired Before You Go.
It feeds his anxieties about his own heath and mortality.
Carol says her son - like everyone - is complicated: "He's not just the comedian that we all think he is."
"And that's where the conflict possibly is as well," adds his dad, Mark. "Because the darkness comes over the happy chappy guy and manifests itself in all the tics, the anxiety and all the other things that he's kind of surrounded in."
Despite initially resisting the efforts of his family and friends to get treatment for his debilitating twitch, writing and recording for the second album was eventually put on hold for the sake of his mental health.
That's when he was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome, a condition that causes people to make involuntary sounds or movements called tics.
It was a diagnosis that made "complete sense" to the singer and reassured the self-confessed hypochondriac that he was not dying.
He's been told that he will see a marked improvement if he can reduce his anxiety - something he is trying to do with medication, exercise and (relatively) healthy eating.
Lewis Capaldi: How I'm Feeling Now is on Netflix. You can find information and support for issues raised in this story at BBC Action Line.
This article was first published on 3 April 2023. |
Ukraine's military has accused Russian forces of blowing up a major dam in the Moscow-seized region of Kherson in the south of the country.
President Zelensky shared a video of the damaged Kakhovka dam on his Telegram page.
Read more on this story. |
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Prof Dame Sally Davies tells the Covid inquiry that "it wasn't just the deaths, it was the way they died".
England's former chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies was close to tears at the Covid Inquiry as she apologised to families bereaved by the pandemic.
"It wasn't just the deaths, it was the way they died... it was harrowing and it remains horrible," she said.
She also said the UK did not have enough resilience to cope with the pandemic, with fewer doctors, nurses or hospital beds than similar countries.
The inquiry is currently examining the UK's preparedness ahead of Covid.
In her evidence, Dame Sally also expressed concern about the impact of the lockdowns on children and students.
"We have damaged a generation, and it is awful... watching these people struggle," she said.
The former chief medical officer told the inquiry the UK did not have plans in place to cope with a Covid pandemic, but she added "it didn't have resilience either".
Compared with similar countries, the UK was at the bottom of the table for numbers of doctors, nurses, beds, IT units and ventilators per 100,000, she said.
During questions about preparation exercises for pandemics, Dame Sally broke off to say: "Maybe this is the moment to say how sorry I am to the relatives who lost their families."
"I heard a lot about it from my daughter who was on the front line as a doctor in Scotland," she added.
Dame Sally Davies became chief medical officer in 2010 and left in 2019 to be replaced by Sir Chris Whitty. He is due to give evidence on Thursday along with Sir Patrick Vallance, who was the government's chief scientific adviser during the pandemic.
At the same hearing, George Osborne said his spending cuts meant the UK was better able to cope with the pandemic.
The former chancellor argued that without austerity Britain would have been "more exposed" and rejected claims his approach left the health and social care "depleted" ahead of the Covid pandemic.
Last week Sir Michael Marmot, a professor of epidemiology at University College London told the inquiry that the UK had entered the pandemic with "depleted" public services.
Asked by inquiry lawyer Kate Blackwell KC if he agreed with the statement, Mr Osborne said: "Most certainly not, I completely reject that."
He accepted more money could have been spent on the NHS, but said as chancellor he had to balance demands for resources from other public services.
"You can't just say we like public spending to be higher without explaining where you get money from," he told the inquiry.
He said the public had elected the Conservatives to government in 2010 and 2015 knowing the party was planning to cut public spending.
During the period, cuts were introduced in welfare spending, school building programs, local government, police, courts and prisons. There was also an overall squeeze on health spending.
George Osborne was quizzed on the impact of spending cuts
Mr Osborne - who was chancellor from 2010 to 2016 - said: "If we had not done that Britain would have been more exposed, not just to future things like the coronavirus pandemic, but indeed to the fiscal crisis which very rapidly followed in countries across Europe.
"If we had not had a clear plan to put the public finances on a sustainable path then Britain might have experienced a fiscal crisis, we would not have had the fiscal space to deal with the coronavirus pandemic when it hit."
The British Medical Association said Mr Osborne's "denial" of a connection between austerity and the impact of the pandemic on the most vulnerable was "staggering".
On Monday, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) produced a report which said austerity had led to unsafe staffing in public services leaving the UK "hugely unprepared" for Covid.
During the one hour 20 minute question session, Mr Osborne was also asked about the Treasury's planning for potential national lockdown.
He said the department had plans for an outbreak of influenza but added "given what subsequently happened that was very small scale".
"There was no planning done by Treasury - or any western Treasury - for asking the entire population to stay at home for months and months on end.
"If someone had said to you the UK government should be preparing for a lockdown that might last for months, then I have no doubt the Treasury would have developed schemes it did subsequently develop around the furlough and the Covid loans.
"Planning could have been done for a furlough scheme in advance - I'm not clear that would have made a better furlough scheme than the one we as a country actually saw."
Earlier in the day, Sir Oliver Letwin, a senior minister in David Cameron's government, told the inquiry a rapid turnover of civil service staff hindered the government's ability to plan for pandemics.
He also warned that the UK was "wildly under-resilient" and said there should be a minister "solely devoted" to the subject.
Labour said the admissions were "too little, too late", adding the Conservatives "cannot be trusted to protect the public from the emergencies of tomorrow".
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The bullet that killed Olivia was fired through the front door
A man has been found guilty of murdering nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel, who was fatally shot in her home in Liverpool.
Thomas Cashman, 34, killed Olivia and injured her mother Cheryl Korbel as he chased a fellow drug dealer into their home on the evening of 22 August.
There were gasps and tears in court as he was convicted, with Ms Korbel later saying she felt "ecstatic".
Merseyside Police said Cashman was "not worthy of walking the streets".
Cashman, who was also found guilty of wounding Ms Korbel, the attempted murder of Joseph Nee and possession of firearms with intent to endanger life, will be sentenced on Monday.
The jury of 10 men and two women at Manchester Crown Court took nine hours and three minutes to reach their unanimous verdicts.
BBC Panorama investigates how Liverpool came to dominate the UK drug market and how organised crime brought death to Olivia Pratt-Korbel's door.
Ms Korbel, 46, wearing a pink cardigan and holding a teddy bear, sat with her children Chloe and Ryan in the court as the verdicts were read out.
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Cashman wiped away tears in the dock and turned to his family in the public gallery behind, shaking his head.
One of his relatives could be heard saying "appeal it" and they left the courtroom shouting and swearing.
During the trial, the jury heard 36-year-old Nee, who has a number of previous convictions, was the intended target of the attack.
Cashman, who made up to £5,000 per week dealing cannabis in Liverpool, had been lying in wait for his fellow drug dealer at about 22:00 BST, the jury was told.
He shot at Nee in the street and wounded him but his gun jammed as he tried to finish the job.
Thomas Cashman was convicted following a trial, which lasted more than three weeks
Nee fled for his life - heading towards the light of an open door - the home of Ms Korbel, who had heard the commotion.
But, as she tried to close the door to keep the strangers out, Cashman shot again.
The bullet went through the door, through her hand, and fatally hit Olivia in the chest.
Cashman then fled the scene, running across back gardens.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Police release footage of the arrest of Thomas Cashman
The court heard Nee and his family "had their enemies" and it was not the first time he had been targeted in a shooting.
Nee had been shot at on 8 August, two weeks before the shooting in which Olivia was killed.
During a previous hearing, which could not be reported until the conclusion of this trial, the court was told the shootings came after a feud between two families.
There had been a "background of hostility" between Nee's family and another, the court heard.
The same self-loading pistol used by Cashman to kill Olivia had been fired at Nee in the earlier incident, police said.
The defence sought to elicit further material supporting a feud between the two families, including a fight in prison involving two of them and an alleged "straightener" in a pub.
There was insufficient evidence Cashman was involved in the shooting on 8 August but he had not been eliminated by police, the court heard.
Olivia's murder made national headlines. A child gunned down inside her own home, where she should have been safest.
The case is considered a real low. But it's not a new low for Liverpool.
Eerily, exactly 15 years to the very day, 11-year-old Rhys Jones was fatally shot by a stray bullet.
Olivia's murder carried the sense of history repeating itself.
Maybe that's why it provoked such a strong reaction within the local community.
Detectives say that information flowed into their incident room in a volume they haven't experienced before.
And even some of those who might have been expected to put up a wall of silence spoke out.
Criminals talked about "a line having been crossed".
During the trial, Cashman, a father-of-two, had told the court he had been at a friend's house where he counted £10,000 in cash and smoked a spliff at around the time of the shooting.
But a woman, who had had a fling with Cashman, told the jury he came to her house after the shooting, where he changed his clothes and she heard him say he had "done Joey".
It can now also be reported that Paul Russell, 41, admitted driving Cashman away from a house where he fled to following Olivia's murder and disposing of his clothing.
Russell, of Snowberry Road, Liverpool, pleaded guilty to assisting an offender at a hearing at Liverpool Crown Court in October and will also be sentenced on Monday.
Journalists were prevented from reporting his plea until the conclusion of Cashman's trial.
Det Supt Mark Baker, the senior investigating officer in the case, said Cashman's actions were "abhorrent".
He said officers were still "hunting down" those who had enabled Olivia's murder and finding the weapons, which had not yet been recovered, was key.
"When he found out that he had shot an innocent young girl, he should have had the courage to stand up and come forward," he said.
"Instead, he chose to lie low despite the fact that he was a dad himself.
"He is not worthy of walking the streets of Merseyside, and neither are those who think they can bring fear or intimidation to our communities through the use of firearms."
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Last updated on .From the section Rugby Union
England prop Vickii Cornborough has retired from international rugby, saying she does not feel mentally ready to return after giving birth to twins last summer.
The 34-year-old won 75 caps for the Red Roses and reached two World Cup finals.
She has been on maternity leave from the England set-up.
"I'm probably the strongest I've ever been but I'm just not there yet mentally because having twins is really hard," Cornborough told BBC Sport.
"Living off a couple of hours of sleep a night is not conducive to a high-performance pressure environment.
"Stepping away from the Red Roses and announcing my retirement is the right thing for me to do."
The Harlequins prop made her England debut in 2015 and played at the 2017 and 2021 World Cups.
She won four Six Nations titles in a row for England between 2019 and 2022.
Her last Test for England was their World Cup final defeat by New Zealand in 2022, a match she played while unaware she was pregnant.
England will host the Women's World Cup in 2025 for the first time since 2010.
"It's a big weight off my shoulders to finally admit it to myself and say I'm ready [to retire]," said Cornborough, who has maintained a career in the technology industry with the same company for 10 years, alongside her England contract.
"It's a life-changing decision. It's something I'm excited but nervous about because England has been my life for the last 10 years."
She credits her "dual career" with Cloud Direct for giving her the "choice of when and how I can retire from professional rugby on my terms.
Cornborough was the second England player, after lock Abbie Ward, to announce a pregnancy after the Rugby Football Union (RFU) updated its maternity policy in February 2023.
Previously, the RFU did not have a maternity policy designed specifically for players.
Cornborough, who was elected vice-chair of the Rugby Players Association in 2019, becoming the first woman to hold an RPA leadership role, described the old policy as "not fit for purpose".
She is also keen to celebrate the different paths that she and Abbie Ward have taken on their journeys to motherhood.
"I'm a very private person and I didn't want it going out everywhere, there are so many emotions," she said.
"I wanted to control my own narrative."
Weeks before Cornborough gave birth to her twin daughters, her sister Sam, who also has two young children, was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Cornborough is an ambassador for Rugby Against Cancer and took part in cancer charity Macmillan's Brave the Shave campaign, raising more than £5,000.
"She had quite an aggressive form of cancer - she had to have a mastectomy followed by chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hormone therapy," said Cornborough.
"She's just completed chemo - she's an absolute trooper. She was worried about losing her hair and losing her anonymity. I said: 'Why don't I lose my hair as well?'
"My hair used to be down to my waist. I've now sent it to the Little Princess Trust." |
The government first promised guidance for schools in relation to transgender pupils more than five years ago.
And while the Department for Education (DfE) says it will finally publish new guidance for schools in England this term, for many this cannot come soon enough.
Finding a school willing to talk about its transgender policies is almost impossible.
BBC News contacted head teachers across England but almost all were too anxious to be interviewed on camera. They did not want to draw attention to their school - or pupils who identify as trans or non-binary.
In 2018, the government said it would work with the human-rights watchdog to publish "comprehensive guidance for schools on how to support trans pupils". Without it, many schools are making their own decisions, such as whether to introduce gender-neutral toilets or changing rooms - and how they are used.
Some teachers told BBC News they worried whatever they did would "not only be criticised but publicly vilified" and, while schools needed clarity, it was a "no-win" situation.
Others said they might have to consult solicitors, amid fears of doing the "wrong thing".
Head teacher Kevin Sexton told BBC News many schools wanted better guidance and advice to help make decisions "in the best interests of the child".
His, Chesterfield High School, a mixed-sex comprehensive in Crosby, Merseyside, has developed its own approach.
The school has more than 1,200 pupils, 10-20 of whom identify as transgender, non-binary or gender fluid.
There are single-sex and gender-neutral toilets, with floor-to-ceiling lockable cubicles and a supervising member of staff. And private PE changing rooms, used by all the trans pupils, are available to all.
The school's support for children questioning their gender identity had been developed over the past decade, Mr Sexton said.
"We've tried to create a school that's tolerant and inclusive," he said.
"We'll work with individual children to actually think about what they want to use and access - and it becomes really manageable."
Chesterfield High had never faced a challenge from parents - but other head teachers had.
Head teacher Kevin Sexton says everyone should feel safe and happy at school
Using the survey tool Teacher Tapp, BBC News asked almost 7,000 teachers in England a series of questions about their experience with transgender pupils.
About 8% of primary-school teachers said they taught trans or non-binary pupils, compared with 75% in secondary.
And just over half said they would not be very or at all confident about the next steps to take if a child wanted to change their name, use different pronouns or change their appearance, hairstyle or clothes - what is known as socially transitioning.
When and how schools should involve parents if a child wishes to identify as a gender different to their birth sex - and what to do if a parent disagrees - are among the most controversial matters the guidance is expected to address.
Every classroom at Chesterfield High School has a pride flag
A report into gender-identity services in England says socially transitioning may have significant psychological effects - and better information is needed about its outcomes.
And last year, an NHS England consultation proposed socially transitioning should be considered in certain circumstances only, such as to alleviate or prevent "clinically significant distress".
About three-quarters of the teachers in the Teacher Tapp survey said their school would support a child who wished to socially transition.
And 39% of the secondary teachers who responded said they would support this, regardless of parental consent.
"Everyone involved in a child's life should work together and investigate why a child may feel a certain way," says Tanya Carter, of the Safe Schools Alliance organisation, which is worried about how some schools are managing gender identity.
"Teachers are not doctors. [Socially transitioning] is something that should only be done with medical oversight. Concerns arise when schools affirm someone as the opposite sex, locking in what may or not may not be a transient phase in that child's life."
The organisation receives several messages every day from both parents and teachers worried about toilets, changing rooms, sports and overnight accommodation on school trips becoming mixed-sex.
"We get parents who have found out that their children have been socially transitioned behind their backs at schools, because the schools haven't spoken to parents," Miss Carter says. "Schools are keeping secrets from parents."
Penni Allen, who runs Chesterfield High's wellbeing unit, says the school takes parents' views into account but that "doesn't mean that we're not going to continue supporting that child".
The school tries to de-escalate any emotions and issues with parents and help the child understand what they are feeling.
"Some children will come and say they're just exploring," Mrs Allen says. "Others will say they've been feeling this way for quite some time. They might just be at the start of a journey that never goes anywhere.
"It's not about putting them on a pathway. We don't put your child in a box and put a label on it that says, 'Your child is now trans.'
"We like to think we've got a good relationship with parents here… and hopefully, we get it right."
Penni Allen runs Chesterfield High's wellbeing unit, where pupils can talk to counsellors about difficulties, including around gender identity
BBC News spoke to parents of trans children at other schools in England but, as with teachers, it is difficult to find a view everyone agrees with and will speak about on record.
Some parents told BBC News they did not want any decisions made without their approval and were not happy with their children changing their names or pronouns.
Some felt their children may be struggling with their sexual orientation, rather than gender identity, and needed space and time to explore that before making other decisions, which could potentially lead down a medical pathway such as puberty blockers.
But others wanted schools to put their child's choices first, regardless of their own involvement, and were supportive of their trans identity and socially transitioning.
The decisions schools make, or do not make, can have a huge impact on the young people affected.
Ellie, 18, was the first pupil to publicly identify as non-binary at their Catholic school, an isolating and frustrating experience.
The lack of government guidance means teachers "can't do their jobs properly", Ellie says. And they were "learning as they went" when Ellie wanted help.
"A lot of them just don't know how to deal with things - or they're worried about saying the wrong thing, especially with it being a faith school," Ellie says.
"It's just really important that teachers and school staff feel like they know what they're talking about when a student comes to them and they're facing a gender-identity issue or a sexuality issue."
And teachers' worries about the reaction from the media and some parents may be a barrier to schools making changes that support pupils.
Ellie, 18, was the first pupil to publicly identify as non-binary at their Catholic school
The guidance will build upon existing guidelines to protect people from discrimination.
But in a move signalling just how sensitive the matter is, the Department for Education will publish a draft for consultation before the final guidance is issued, which is rare for non-statutory - advisory, rather than compulsory - guidance.
It is likely to cover issues such as whether single-sex schools are legally obliged to admit transgender pupils or whether schools should inform parents if their child is questioning their gender.
It may also offer advice on sleeping arrangements during residential trips and how to manage single-sex sports. But it is not clear whether schools would receive additional funding to help them make any changes.
A Department for Education official said it was "important that we take the time to get this right" so the guidance on such "sensitive matters" was "as clear as possible for schools". The guidance would be "based upon the overriding principle of the wellbeing and safeguarding of children, and it will consider a range of issues".
Every day, Teacher Tapp asks thousands of primary and secondary teachers, in both the state and private sector, questions about their experiences in the classroom.
According to the survey for BBC News, 9% say there are adequate support services to which to refer children experiencing unease about their gender identity.
The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) says it receives a "steady stream" of inquiries from its members.
In 2022, alongside other teaching unions, it published guidance on balancing transgender pupils' needs with those of others, within the legal framework of the Equality Act.
But ASCL director of policy Julie McCulloch says without official guidance, schools are working "in a vacuum". And it is calling for it to be published and fully consulted on as soon as possible.
"There are parents and people in the wider school community who understandably have very strong views about this issue," Ms McCulloch says. "So there's also pressure coming on schools from their communities to make sure they get this right."
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Last updated on .From the section European Football
Former Arsenal, Real Madrid and Germany midfielder Mesut Ozil has retired from football at the age of 34.
Ozil won nine trophies during his club career including four FA Cups and the Spanish La Liga title in 2012.
He also won 92 caps for Germany and was part of the team that lifted the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
"It has been an amazing journey filled with unforgettable moments and emotions," Ozil said in a statement on social media.
"I've had the privilege to be a professional football player for almost 17 years now and I feel incredibly thankful for the opportunity.
"But in recent weeks and months, having also suffered some injuries, it's become more and more clear that it's time to leave the big stage of football."
Ozil began his career at Schalke and Werder Bremen before moving to Real Madrid in the summer of 2010, winning La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup.
He joined Arsenal for a then club record fee of £42.4m in September 2013, winning back-to-back FA Cups in his first two seasons before being named player of the season in his third, and then winning the cup again in 2017.
The playmaker became the highest-paid player in the club's history in January 2018, signing a three-and-a-half-year deal on about £350,000 a week before tax, but fell out of favour under new Arsenal boss Unai Emery.
After Emery's dismissal in December 2019 Ozil returned to the side under interim boss Freddie Ljungberg and kept his place under new permanent manager Mikel Arteta, before the coronavirus pandemic forced a three-month suspension of the top flight in March 2020.
Ozil did not play for the club when football resumed in June, although he would claim a fourth FA Cup winners' medal when the Gunners beat Chelsea in the 2020 final.
He joined Fenerbahce on a free transfer in January 2021 but had his contract cancelled by mutual consent in July 2022 when he joined Istanbul Basaksehir, where injuries limited him to just eight appearances.
Ozil could have played for Germany or Turkey at international level but chose to play for the country of his birth.
He was named man of the match as Germany Under-21s beat England in the European U21 Championship final in June 2009, having already made his debut for the senior side aged 20 earlier that year.
Ozil was named Germany player of the year five times and was part of the side that reached the semi-finals of the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012, as well as winning the 2014 World Cup.
However, he retired from international football in 2018, citing the "racism and disrespect" he faced in Germany over his Turkish roots after he was criticised for being photographed with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
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Hannah Waddingham, Julia Sanina, Alesha Dixon met for the first time on Wednesday - three weeks ahead of Eurovision
Eurovision co-host Alesha Dixon says May's contest is "so much more than a competition", as Liverpool prepares to stage the event on Ukraine's behalf.
"It's very important. We feel that sense of responsibility, to do it with joy, love," she said.
The Britain's Got Talent judge will present alongside Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham and Ukrainian musician Julia Sanina for the semi-finals.
Graham Norton will complete the line-up for next month's final in Liverpool.
Sanina, who is the front woman of Ukrainian rock band The Hardkiss which will open the first semi-final, said this year's contest was a "big deal" for her country.
"Even last year, when people were watching Eurovision from bomb shelters, lots of them were still voting and wanted to win," she added.
"We have to always balance the joy and the love with what Julia just said," Waddingham said. "People voting from the bomb shelters hits me more than anything and there's the reason I wanted to get involved."
Normally the country that wins Eurovision then hosts it the following year, but organisers decided that due to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine it was too dangerous to stage one of the world's biggest events.
The presenters will front the song contest at three live shows - two semi-finals on Tuesday 9 and Thursday 11 May.
The BBC's Eurovision commentator Graham Norton will then join the trio for the final on Saturday 13 May, splitting his time between the stage and the commentary booth he's sharing this year with Mel Giedroyc.
More than 160 million will watch the song contest over the three live shows
Rehearsals for the hosts, as well as for the 37 acts competing, will begin at the beginning of May, and Waddingham told BBC News she's looking forward to the results the most.
"It's the age-old Terry Wogan and Katie Boyle saying 'Good evening Portugal' - that literally gives me shivers of excitement," she said.
"My 12-year-old self couldn't believe I'd ever be saying that. Honestly it makes me quite emotional."
As this year's host broadcaster, the BBC has announced extensive plans for its Eurovision coverage over the next three weeks, including an appearance from Bucks Fizz star Cheryl Baker in EastEnders, and special shows dedicated to the contest from Bargain Hunt to Pointless.
All the build-up, insights and analysis is explored each week on a BBC podcast called Eurovisioncast.
Eurovisioncast is available on BBC Sounds, or search wherever you get your podcasts from. |
A 5% pay rise from April has been offered to NHS staff in England, including nurses and ambulance workers.
In addition, staff have been offered a one-off payment of at least £1,655 to top up the past year's pay award.
Unions are recommending members back the deal, after nearly two weeks of talks with ministers, raising hopes the bitter dispute may be coming to an end.
The offer covers all NHS staff except doctors, who are on a different contract.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay said it was a "fair pay rise" that would also protect the government's commitment to halve inflation.
"I hugely admire the incredible work of NHS staff," he said. "I look forward to continuing our work together to make the NHS a better place to work."
Mr Barclay said there had been movement on both sides and praised the "constructive engagement" of the unions.
Fourteen unions were represented at the talks, covering:
The biggest three - the Royal College of Nursing, Unison and the GMB - are all backing the deal, while Unite the Union has said it cannot recommend it to members but will put it to a vote.
Unison head of health Sara Gorton said: "It's a shame it took so long to get here.
"Health workers had to take many days of strike action and thousands more had to threaten to join them to get their unions into the room and proper talks under way."
If her members accepted the deal, it would mean a "significant" boost in pay, Ms Gorton added.
RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said: "Members took the hardest of decisions to go on strike and I believe they have been vindicated today."
But Unite told BBC News that it is not advising its members on how to vote on the pay offer because "it falls short of what we were asking for".
Speaking to BBC News, Unite official Onay Kasab said members "wanted a consolidated payment... they did not want one-off non-consolidated sums".
The offer, he claims, is "not really going to help recruitment in the NHS" because "only current staff members will get it".
It comes after a winter of industrial action, with nurses, ambulance staff and physios all striking.
The unions put further action on hold, after the two sides agreed to discussions last month.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was "delighted" with the agreement over pay during a visit to a hospital in London on Thursday afternoon.
Despite weeks of criticism from opposition parties and unions about the government's "dither and delay" leading to more strikes, Mr Sunak said: "We have taken a reasonable approach throughout."
He also called the pay "affordable for the taxpayer and continues to deliver on my promise to halve inflation".
Mr Sunak and Mr Barclay visited a hospital in London on Thursday.
A Downing Street spokesperson later added the government does not believe the pay offer will be inflationary.
When asked about the fact it had said, earlier in the dispute, that giving more than a 3.5% pay award could stoke inflation, Mr Sunak's deputy spokesperson said he did not believe that would happen with this deal, adding: "We don't believe so. The two one-off payments for 22/23 we don't believe will create future inflationary pressures."
The spokesperson added the rise for the coming year would also not stoke inflation, since "5% is broadly in line with pay growth in the wider economy so we don't see it having an impact on private sector pay which ultimately leads to inflation".
And when asked whether the money to fund the rise would have to come from the existing NHS/Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) budget the spokesperson insisted frontline service would not suffer and discussions were taking place between the DHSC and the Treasury.
When asked about further money for the NHS to fund the deal, the spokesperson again said discussions would take place with the Treasury.
However, shadow health secretary Wes Streeting criticised the "last minute" nature of the offer, calling the government "incompetent" and saying Mr Barclay "doesn't know how he's going to pay for it".
"Even when they arrive at a solution it's so late that it causes a new wave of problems."
NHS staff have seen pay rise by an average of 4.75% during 2022-23 - with the lowest paid receiving the biggest rises - but unions had been asking for above-inflation rises, which at one point, would have equated to an increase of more than 14%.
The one-off payment to top up that pay award starts at £1,655 for the lowest-paid staff such as cleaners and porters and rises to just over £2,400 for the most senior front-line roles such as nurse consultants.
For staff in management positions, such as directors of nursing and chief finance officers, the one-off payment is worth up to £3,789.
The government had originally offered 3.5% from April, for the 2023-24 financial year - but during the talks, ministers agreed to 5%. The lowest paid will receive more.
Matthew Taylor, of the NHS Confederation, which represents managers, said health leaders would "breathe a sigh of relief". "We now await the decision of union members," he said.
He also urged the British Medical Association to enter talks - junior doctors staged a three-day walkout this week, in their fight for a 35% pay rise.
They say this is needed to make up for below-inflation wages rises over the past 15 years - but ministers say it is unaffordable.
Ministers have offered the BMA talks on the same basis as with the other unions - but it has declined.
Strike action has also been paused in Wales and Scotland by most unions while new offers are considered. The GMB in Scotland has accepted the Scottish offer, worth 14% over two years. |
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The assailant pointed the gun at Mr Khan and ordered him to take off his watch
CCTV capturing the moment former world boxing champion Amir Khan was robbed at gunpoint has been shown in court.
Mr Khan, 36, was targeted when he and his wife left the Sahara Grill restaurant in Leyton, east London, in April last year.
Snaresbrook Crown Court has heard he was forced to hand over his bespoke £72,000 Franck Muller watch by gunman Dante Campbell, 20.
The assailant pointed the gun in his face and said: "Take off the watch."
Ismail Mohamed, 24, from Edmonton; Ahmed Bana, 25, from Tottenham; and Nurul Amin, 25, from Harringay; all north London, all deny conspiracy to rob.
Campbell, from Hornsey in north London, has pleaded guilty to the charges, the jury has been told.
The robbery, which lasted just seconds, was captured on CCTV played to the jury.
In the footage, Mr Khan is seen smiling as he leaves the restaurant with his wife Faryal Makhdoom, 31, before crossing the road towards a waiting car being driven by the sportsman's friend, Omar Khalid,
Two robbers get out of a silver Mercedes coupe parked in front and a hooded man jogs towards Mr Khan, raises his arm and points a gun at the boxer.
Mr Khan previously told the court that having a gun pointed at him was scarier than any of his fights
Mr Khan hands over his watch and the robbers run back to the Mercedes.
They drive away as members of the public rush towards Mr Khan.
Mr Bana is alleged to have been the driver of the car, which dropped Campbell and another unknown robber at the scene before serving as the getaway vehicle.
Mr Amin and Mr Mohamed, along with another man who is not on trial, are said to have acted as "spotters" - dining in the restaurant to keep track of Mr Khan's movements and relay them by phone to Mr Bana.
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Johnson was "kind and wonderful" and always had "a twinkle in her eye", her family and representatives said
Actress Meg Johnson, who appeared in three of the UK's most popular soap operas, has died at the age of 86.
A soap stalwart, Johnson was Coronation Street's Eunice Gee and Brookside's Brigid McKenna, before joining Emmerdale as Pearl Ladderbanks in 2003.
In a statement, her family, talent agency Jorg Betts Associates and ITV said she had been "kind and wonderful" and always had "a twinkle in her eye".
They said she had dementia in recent years, but "battled on" regardless.
They said it was with "great sadness" that they had to announce she died "peacefully" on Saturday evening, "surrounded by her family"
"Meg was a kind and wonderful lady, full of warmth and always with a twinkle in her eye," they said.
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They said she had had "an outstanding career" and had "battled on personally and professionally regardless" after her dementia diagnosis.
"She will be greatly missed by everyone who knew her," they added.
A host of soap stars took to social media to pay tribute to Johnson, including her Emmerdale co-star Danny Miller, who said he was "truly devastated".
"Pearl was a fair way to describe our lovely Meg," he said.
He said she was the creator of the phrase "pig's bum" which she would say whenever she forgot her lines and had been "a loved soul throughout the building".
Former cast member Gemma Oaten said the "late and great" Johnson had been a "beautiful woman inside and out, who was always so kind to me".
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Born in Manchester in 1936, Johnson had a number of TV roles before making her Coronation Street debut in 1976 as Brenda Holden.
She went on to jon the soap's cast as Eunice Gee in 1981, a role she returned to several times for the next two decades.
She was also part of the cast of Victoria Wood: As Seen On TV in the mid-1980s, alongside the late comedian, as well as Dame Julie Walters and Celia Imrie, and in 1997, she took to the stage in the original cast of the London revival of Chicago, playing prison warder Matron Mama Morton for more than a year.
In 2000, she was cast as Brigid McKenna in Channel 4's Brookside, playing the role until the soap's cancellation in 2003, when she moved on to Emmerdale, where she portrayed the much loved character Pearl Ladderbanks for 17 years.
Johnson was married to ITV Granada continuity announcer Charles Foster, who was widely reported to have died earlier in 2023.
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The decorative planter urn has gone missing
Police are investigating the theft of a decorative planter urn and flowers that were stolen from the grave of Dame Vivienne Westwood.
The iconic fashion designer, who was born in the village of Tintwistle, Derbyshire, before moving to London, died in December.
She was laid to rest in the village, where a florist - who had been tending to the grave at Westwood's family's request - was told of the theft.
Dame Vivienne was born in the village in 1941 before moving to London in 1958.
She went on to be one of Britain's most recognised fashion exports and took on a series of causes, campaigning on issues such as fracking, climate change and nuclear weapon disarmament.
A memorial at Southwark Cathedral in London in February was attended by dozens of celebrities, many donning her pieces in tribute.
She was then laid to rest at a private family funeral in the Derbyshire village.
Dame Vivienne Westwood was born in Tintwistle in 1941 before moving to London in 1958
Florist Anja Norris - who runs a business in nearby Glossop - was chosen to design and make the floral attachments to the grave.
Of the theft, Ms Norris said she was shocked the "very heavy" urn had been taken, adding a car would have been needed to move it.
"It's just so disrespectful, I hope they bring it back," Ms Norris told the BBC.
Master florist Anja Norris said she was shocked at the theft
Derbyshire Police said officers were called to a report of the theft, in Chapel Brow, just after 18:20 BST on 28 May.
Anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area between midnight on 21 May and midday on 28 May has been asked to contact the force.
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Last updated on .From the section Plymouth
Plymouth Argyle have sacked head coach Ian Foster after just three months in the job.
The former England Under-20s boss has been in charge of the Championship club since early January after Steven Schumacher left for Stoke City.
After an initial good start, Argyle's form fell away drastically over the past two months as they won just one of 11 Championship games.
The slump has left Argyle one place and one point off the relegation places.
Director of football Neil Dewsnip and first-team coach Kevin Nancekivell will take charge of the team for the remainder of the season.
First-team coach Simon Ireland and goalkeeping coach Daryl Flahavan - who joined the club under Foster - will stay in their roles.
"Ian was hired through a thorough and extensive recruitment process and his coaching credentials really stood out when making the appointment," chairman Simon Hallett said in a statement on the club website.
"But we have to balance long-term stability against short-term decisions, and we have given Ian as long as possible to see if results could improve.
"Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case, and we feel now is the right time to make a change to give us the best chance of securing survival."
Argyle's 1-0 loss to Bristol City at Home Park on Easter Monday was their fifth successive home game without a goal. In two of those games they failed to register a shot on target, leading to calls from some supporters for Foster to go.
Foster, who left his role as Steven Gerrard's assistant at Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq to take over at Argyle, was unbeaten in his first five games in charge of the side as he led Argyle to a win over Sutton United in the FA Cup and league victories over Cardiff City and Swansea City.
But following an extra-time loss to Leeds United in an FA Cup fourth-round replay, a 2-0 win at Middlesbrough and two draws were the only positive results in the following 11 league games.
Immediately after the Bristol City loss, Foster said he had had no discussions with the Argyle board about his future in the role, or any concerns that the club might seek a new head coach.
"Nobody's happy when you don't win a game of football - this is our lives and our livelihoods," Foster told BBC Radio Devon.
"We're fighting and that's the key thing. We're not a group who take things lightly, we're not a group that give in, we're not a group who look for excuses.
"We take responsibility and we'll try our best to go again."
Foster's hand was not helped by a number of key loan players leaving soon after his arrival.
Finn Azaz was recalled by Aston Villa and sold to Middlesbrough, while Luke Cundle joined Stoke after returning to Wolves.
But he mainly brought in inexperienced youngsters on loan to replace the players he lost, while he failed to get goals out of previously free-scoring Ryan Hardie and Morgan Whittaker over the past two months.
Foster also cut an isolated figure at times. He only recently brought in a first-team coach in former Huddersfield coach Ireland - and relied heavily on the staff still at the club after Schumacher's departure.
Foster's tenure is the shortest of any permanent Argyle boss - only Steve McCall's 15-game spell in long-term caretaker charge before Neil Warnock took over between January and March 1995 was shorter.
Plymouth Argyle's decision to go with a man who had never been the number one with a men's senior side was seen as a bit of a gamble at the time.
With his success with England Under-20s and the accomplishments of other England youth coaches such as Steve Cooper and Rob Edwards, the club could be forgiven for thinking they were hiring someone who could offer similar success.
But after an initial good start, Argyle's form has faded badly. A lack of goals has been synonymous with a side that has lost its attacking impetus.
Foster was not helped by losing players such as Azaz and Cundle in January, but replacements that he knew from his time with England Under-20s like Alfie Devine and Darko Gyabi have not had the same impact.
Having seemed like shoo-ins to stay in the Championship just two months ago, Argyle must now act quickly to find a replacement that can keep them in the division less than a year after winning League One with a club record 101 points. |
Gary Lineker has said he will try to keep speaking up for people with "no voice", after criticism of his tweets on the government's asylum policy.
The Match of the Day host had said the language setting out the plan was "not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s".
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said she was disappointed by the remarks.
The BBC said it was having a "frank conversation" with Lineker about the BBC's need to remain impartial.
On Tuesday, the government outlined its plans to ban people arriving in the UK illegally from ever claiming asylum, in a bid to address a rise in the number of people crossing the Channel in small boats.
Opposition MPs and humanitarian organisations have strongly criticised the proposals to detain and swiftly remove adults regardless of their asylum claim - but the PM and home secretary have defended the plan, saying stopping the crossings is a priority for the British people.
The presenter described it on Twitter as an "immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s".
His remarks were criticised widely by Conservative MPs and ministers, including Ms Braverman and Downing Street.
The furore surrounding Lineker's latest remarks puts pressure on the BBC, with director general Tim Davie having made impartiality a cornerstone of his leadership.
Responding to some of the criticism on Wednesday, Lineker tweeted: "Great to see the freedom of speech champions out in force this morning demanding silence from those with whom they disagree."
He followed up shortly after with: "I have never known such love and support in my life than I'm getting this morning (England World Cup goals aside, possibly). I want to thank each and every one of you. It means a lot.
"I'll continue to try and speak up for those poor souls that have no voice."
Earlier, Ms Braverman told BBC One's Breakfast she was "disappointed, obviously" in his comments.
"I think it's unhelpful to compare our measures, which are lawful, proportionate and - indeed - compassionate, to 1930s Germany.
"I also think that we are on the side of the British people here."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Suella Braverman says she is "disappointed" by Gary Lineker's tweet
Downing Street later said Lineker's criticism of the new asylum policy was "not acceptable".
The prime minister's press secretary told reporters: "It's obviously disappointing to see someone whose salary is funded by hard-working British (licence fee) payers using that kind of rhetoric and seemingly dismissing their legitimate concerns that they have about small boats crossings and illegal migration."
But beyond that, they added, "it's up to the BBC" and they would not comment further.
A spokesman for Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said comparisons with Germany in the 1930s "aren't always the best way to make" an argument.
Lineker, who has presented Match of the Day since 1999, is the BBC's highest paid star, having earned about £1.35m in 2020-21.
He has in the past been vocal about migrants' rights and has taken refugees into his home. He has also been critical of successive Conservative governments over issues including Brexit.
In October, the BBC's complaints unit found Lineker had broken impartiality rules in a tweet asking whether the Conservative Party planned to "hand back their donations from Russian donors".
The comment came after the then Foreign Secretary Liz Truss urged Premier League teams to boycott the Champions League final in Russia over the invasion of Ukraine.
Mr Davie said in 2020 he was prepared to sack people to protect the BBC's reputation for impartiality.
He issued new social media guidelines and said he was willing to "take people off Twitter" - a comment which Lineker responded to at the time by saying "I think only Twitter can take people off Twitter".
The presenter's frequent outspoken online posts have been viewed by some as a test of the BBC's ability to balance its impartiality duty with its ability to attract top talent in the era of social media.
Earlier on Wednesday, when asked about how many "strikes" the presenter has had over social media posts, Mr Davie said he wasn't going to speak specifically about individuals.
He added: "I think the BBC absolutely puts the highest value on impartiality and that's clearly important to us."
In a series of tweets on Wednesday, Lineker indicated he had no intention of retracting his comment or steering clear of politics outside of his work for the BBC.
Richard Sambrook, the BBC's former director of global news, said the controversy highlighted the need for the broadcaster to clarify how impartiality rules apply to its sport staff and freelancers.
He told Radio 4's PM programme similar cases would "corrode trust" in the BBC unless the position was made clearer.
The Lineker row also comes amid scrutiny of the circumstances surrounding the appointment of BBC chairman Richard Sharp and his relationship with Boris Johnson.
A committee of MPs said last month Mr Sharp had committed "significant errors of judgement" by not disclosing his involvement in the then-prime minister's financial affairs while seeking the senior BBC post. Mr Sharp insists he got the job on merit.
The broadcaster's editorial guidelines state the organisation is "committed to achieving due impartiality in all its output" and that "public comments, for example on social media, of staff [or] presenters... can affect perceptions of the BBC's impartiality".
A spokesperson for the corporation said: "The BBC has social media guidance, which is published.
"Individuals who work for us are aware of their responsibilities relating to social media.
"We have appropriate internal processes in place if required.
"We would expect Gary to be spoken to and reminded of his responsibilities."
The corporation has also responded to previous criticism of Lineker by highlighting that he is not involved in its news or political output and is a freelance broadcaster, not a member of staff. |
Virginia Crosbie was allegedly the co-host of a drinks event when Covid restrictions were in place
A Conservative MP has apologised for attending an event in Parliament while Covid restrictions were in place.
The Guido Fawkes website reported that Virginia Crosbie, MP for Ynys Mon, was the co-host of a drinks event on December 8 2020.
The site quoted a WhatsApp message from Baroness Jenkin describing the event as "joint birthday drinks".
Ms Crosbie confirmed the event took place but said she had not sent out any invitations.
"Regarding reports of an event held on 8 December 2020 I would like to set out the facts," she said in a statement.
"The invitation for this event was not sent out by me. I attended the event briefly, I did not drink and I did not celebrate my birthday. I went home shortly after to be with my family.
"I apologise unreservedly for a momentary error of judgment in attending the event."
The event came under the spotlight when Boris Johnson criticised the Privileges Committee ahead of its damning report into his conduct and accused Sir Bernard Jenkin of "monstrous hypocrisy" for allegedly attending the event with his wife.
Ms Crosbie is a former parliamentary private secretary to ex-health secretary Matt Hancock.
At the time of the event, London was still under restrictions banning indoor mixing of people from different households.
The leader of Anglesey council leader, Plaid Cymru's, Llinos Medi, accused Ms Crosbie of showing "complete contempt towards the people she represents and for the laws she was partly responsible in creating".
"Under the circumstances, I would hope Ms Crosbie refers herself to the Metropolitan Police and to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner so that they can investigate if the party was illegal and if any further action is necessary," she said.
The police force says it is assessing a report it received on 15 June "regarding media reporting of alleged breaches in Parliament on December 8 2020 in the Houses of Parliament". |
Pope Francis arrives for the weekly general audience in St Peter's Square on Wednesday
Pope Francis could be discharged from a Rome hospital "in the coming days" after he was admitted with a respiratory condition.
The pontiff has seen a "marked improvement in his health" after he received antibiotics for a bronchitis infection, the Vatican said.
The Pope spent the afternoon "devoting himself to rest, prayer and some work".
He was admitted to Gemelli Hospital on Wednesday, for what was initially said to be a scheduled check-up.
There he was then diagnosed with bronchitis, and given an antibiotic infusion, a statement from the Vatican said.
"Based on the expected progress [of his health], the Holy Father could be discharged in the coming days," the Vatican statement said, quoting his medical team.
Earlier on Thursday, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the 86-year-old "rested well during the night".
"This morning after breakfast, he read some newspapers and resumed work," he said.
He added that he then went to the chapel of the hospital, where he prayed and received the Eucharist.
This is the busiest time of the year for Pope Francis, with many events and services scheduled ahead of Easter weekend.
Palm Sunday Mass takes place this weekend, with Holy Week and Easter celebrations following next week.
Italian news agency Ansa reported nurses were optimistic he would be out of hospital in time for Palm Sunday.
The Argentine pontiff marked 10 years as head of the Catholic Church earlier this month. He has suffered a number of health issues throughout his life, including having part of one of his lungs removed at age 21.
While keeping a busy schedule and travelling widely, he has for the past year used a wheelchair because of knee pain and admitted last summer he had to slow down. |
Seven children and two adults have been injured after a car crashed into a primary school building in Wimbledon, south-west London.
A gold-coloured Land Rover crashed into The Study Preparatory School in Camp Road just before 10:00 BST.
A major incident has been declared and several people are being treated by paramedics.
An air ambulance is at the scene and firefighters have also been deployed to the area. |
Over 20 people died from the mass shooting, and 22 more were injured
The Texas gunman who killed 23 people at a Walmart in 2019 has been sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences in federal prison.
The 24-year-old had pleaded guilty after federal prosecutors said they would not seek the death penalty.
The sentencing follows two days of emotional testimony from witnesses, as the murderer sat face-to-face with survivors and relatives.
It was one of the deadliest mass shootings in US history.
As police escorted Patrick Crusius out of the courtroom, Dean Reckard, whose mother, Margie Reckard, was killed in the shooting, shouted: "We will be seeing you again, you coward."
The killer could still face the death penalty on capital murder charges in state court.
Over 50 people sat in the crowded court in El Paso on Friday morning, while more gathered in an overflow area outside to watch the sentencing.
Carrying an assault-style rifle, the attacker targeted mostly Hispanic shoppers when he killed 23 and injured 22 more in the US-Mexico border town of El Paso.
The gunman, who is white, had posted a hate-filled, anti-immigrant screed online minutes before he sprayed shoppers with bullets.
In February, he pleaded guilty to 90 charges, including 23 counts for hate crime acts that resulted in death, 22 hate crime acts that caused bodily injury, 23 counts of using a firearm in a federal crime of violence resulting in death and 22 counts of using a firearm in a federal crime of violence.
Survivors and family of those killed in the mass shooting spoke directly to the gunman for the first time on Wednesday.
The attacker showed little emotion throughout the sentencing, where the loved ones of his victims delivered emotional statements, calling him a "monster", "killer", and a "parasite".
Some family members rebuked the gunman for his reactions during their statements.
"You can roll your eyes, you can smile, you can smirk," said the granddaughter of David Johnson, who was killed.
One tearful girl said: "I used to be a happy, normal teenager, until a coward chose to use violence against the innocent. I'm no longer as happy as I used to be."
Kathleen Johnson told the gunman she now has night terrors and post-traumatic stress disorder after losing her husband in the attack.
Hands and feet shackled, the gunman nodded "yes" on Thursday when asked by the son of another victim if he was sorry for his actions.
The judge requested he receive mental health treatment at ADX Florence, a maximum facility prison in Colorado.
On 3 August 2019, the gunman entered the Walmart parking lot dressed in protective ear muffs and safety glasses, wielding a high-powered assault-style rifle and opened fire.
He continued to shoot inside the store, injuring and killing victims in the checkout area, between shopping aisles and at a bank near the entrance.
He was arrested the same day.
He admitted to leaving his home near Dallas - roughly 650 miles away - to go to the border town, which is 80% Hispanic, to target Latinos.
Those who were killed ranged in age from a three-year-old child, whose parents were also killed, to elderly grandparents. Eight of the victims held Mexican citizenship. |
Police cars were parked outside the temporary housing unit in Sidegate Lane on Friday
A man and a woman have been arrested on suspicion of murder after the body of a two-year-old girl was found at a property, police have said.
Suffolk Police said the toddler's remains were found at a temporary housing unit on Sidegate Lane in Ipswich at about 11:45 BST on Friday.
The force said a Bedfordshire man and a woman of no fixed abode, who are both 22, were arrested in Bury St Edmunds.
A representative said the pair were "known to the victim".
They added that officers were "not seeking any other suspects in connection with this case at this time".
Appealing for information, Supt Jane Topping said the force was "still looking to establish the exact circumstances leading to the death of this child".
"Clearly, such a discovery is extremely distressing for everyone concerned," she said.
"We'd ask people not to speculate on social media as to the identity of the child or to the circumstances surrounding her death."
Ipswich Borough Council, which operates the housing unit, has declined to comment
She added that a "highly visible presence of officers" would "continue in the area for the next few days with reassurance patrols".
"These officers are available to speak to concerned members of the community," she said.
"This is a fast-moving investigation and we are appealing to the local community for any information which may aid this investigation."
Ipswich Borough Council, which operates the housing unit, has declined to comment.
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At least 29 people have been killed and one injured in a fire in a nightclub in Turkey.
The Masquerade club, in the basement of a high-rise building in Istanbul, was closed and being renovated during the day.
The fire broke out just after midday, Istanbul governor Davut Gül said, adding that the cause was unclear.
Mr Gül said that the victims of the fire were thought to have been involved in the renovation work.
Eight people, including the nightclub manager and a person responsible for the renovations, have had warrants out for their arrest in connection with the fire as investigations continue.
Three of them have been detained, while warrants are outstanding for others.
Firefighters and other first responders surrounded the charred and smoking entrance to the club, which occupies two floors underneath a 16-storey residential building in the city's Gayrettepe district.
The number of victims has rapidly increased throughout the afternoon, with the governor's office issuing a string of updates.
The newly re-elected Mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, said the club had not applied for the correct construction permit.
"There is no application [to the local municipality] for a renovation or a construction regarding the place and as it was two floors down from the ground level, it [the work] wasn't visible," he said.
He also offered his condolences on social media to the victims.
"May God have mercy on our citizens who lost their lives, and I wish a speedy recovery to our injured," he said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Turkey's President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is aware of the tragedy following a phone call with interior minister Ali Yerlikaya. |
Willoughby said it felt "very strange indeed sitting here without Phil"
Holly Willoughby has said she feels "shaken, troubled and let down" as she returned to ITV's This Morning.
The presenter's appearance on Monday's show was her first since the departure of her co-host Phillip Schofield.
Willoughby addressed viewers directly and said it felt "very strange indeed sitting here without Phil".
She added recent events had been "a lot to process" and thanked viewers for their messages of support.
Her statement received a mixed response on social media, with some viewers questioning her authenticity.
Schofield left his role on This Morning last month following reports of a rift with Willoughby.
The 61-year-old later exited ITV altogether after he admitted lying about an affair he had with a young male colleague while he was still married.
Josie Gibson is currently standing in as Willoughby's co-presenter
On Monday, Willoughby asked viewers: "Are you OK? I hope so, it feels very strange indeed sitting here without Phil. I imagine you might be feeling a lot like I have, shaken, troubled, let down, worried for the wellbeing of people on all sides of what's going on, and full of questions.
"You, me and all of us at This Morning gave our love and support to someone who was not telling the truth, who acted in a way that they themselves felt they had to resign from ITV and step down from a career that they loved.
"That is a lot to process, and it's equally hard to see the toll that it's taken on their own mental health."
Willoughby presented Monday's episode of This Morning alongside Josie Gibson, a former Big Brother winner who regularly guest presents the ITV daytime show.
Willoughby continued: "I think what unites us all now is a desire to heal, for the health and wellbeing of everyone. I hope that as we start this new chapter and get back to a place of warmth and magic that this show holds for all of us, we can find strength in each other.
"And from my heart, can I just say thank you for all of your kind messages, and thank you for being here this morning. Every single person that works on this show will continue to work hard every single day to bring you the show that we love."
In an interview with BBC News last week, Schofield said he had accepted his career was over following the affair, describing it as a "grave error".
A source close to Schofield told the Sun he would not be watching Willoughby's return on Monday, commenting: "He physically could not watch - he's not there yet. Even listening to the opening credits would be hugely triggering."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Phillip Schofield said the affair was his "biggest, sorriest secret"
Willoughby's statement at the start of Monday's This Morning seemed heartfelt and difficult for her to deliver - she was seen holding Gibson's hand for emotional support.
Perhaps one of the most striking things was that Willoughby only used Schofield's name once, right at the beginning.
After that, she did not even refer to his gender when discussing recent events. "They themselves felt they had to resign from ITV and step down from a career that they loved," she said in reference to Schofield.
Willoughby's continued presence on the programme will depend on her authenticity, and some viewers on social media were sceptical about her statement.
Some users drew comparisons with the speech Jennifer Aniston's character gave in Apple TV's The Morning Show - which also had a storyline about a disgraced former presenter. Others compared Willoughby's tears to former health secretary Matt Hancock's on Good Morning Britain in 2021.
One viewer recalled guest presenter Alison Hammond becoming emotional about Schofield last week, writing: "On Friday, I believed Alison and you could tell she was truly upset. Unfortunately, I didn't feel the same listening to Holly Willoughby this morning."
Another viewer referred to Willoughby's almost angelic on-screen look: "If I was a cynical person, I'd say they've made a very conscious decision to dress Holly Willoughby in white for her big speech."
Willoughby's emotional opening speech did not overshadow the rest of the programme. She and Gibson cleanly and skilfully segued into the show's regular tone and content
Any viewers who happened to tune in at 10:05 would never have known from watching the subsequent items about hay fever, holiday scams and BBQ king prawns that the episode had opened in such an unusually serious way.
The next few weeks will be crucial for Willoughby in proving she can still connect with viewers
This will have been exactly what bosses wanted, sending the message to viewers - and advertisers - that it's very much business as usual and the programme is not going anywhere.
But will the audience be convinced? Those watching on Twitter, admittedly an unrepresentative platform, were sceptical of Willoughby and the sincerity of her statement.
If the TV star wants to survive on the show, she will have to use the next few weeks to prove that she can still connect with viewers and build an authentic chemistry with the various guest hosts. |
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A deadly fire at a school dormitory in Guyana appears to have been started by a pupil who was angry her mobile phone had been confiscated, officials say.
Nineteen people - mostly female students - were killed in the blaze in the South American country in the early hours of Monday.
The dorm was reportedly locked and had covered windows which trapped victims.
The teenage suspect is currently in hospital with burns, and has reportedly admitted to the arson.
Authorities are now taking advice on whether to charge her, according to a government source who spoke to the AFP news agency.
The fire was started in the bathroom area and eventually tore through the whole building, which was partially made of wood and was housing 57 pupils at the time.
Survivors of the incident in the central town of Mahdia spoke of being woken up in the middle of the night by screams.
The building, which housed 57 people, was completely destroyed
The girl is accused of threatening her attack after being disciplined for having a relationship with an older man, according to an Associated Press report.
It has emerged that the dorm administrator - who lost her five-year-old son in the fire - was unable to locate the keys to unlock the door in her state of panic.
Firefighters are said to have resorted to smashing through the walls to help people escape.
But they initially struggled to contain the fire because of bad weather conditions.
As well as the victims who died - most of whom were indigenous girls - several other people were injured.
They were taken to hospital, some of them in the capital Georgetown, and a number of them remain in a serious condition.
Local media reported that the fire was so severe that DNA testing was required to identify some victims.
The fire was earlier labelled a "major disaster" by President Irfaan Ali.
• None At least 19 children dead in Guyana school fire |
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Footage shows the moment Margaret Barnes made the "mistake that ultimately cost her her life"
A man who murdered a 71-year-old woman after she mistook his home for a B&B and got into his bed, has been jailed for at least 14 years.
Margaret Barnes, from Birmingham, died after being attacked in July 2022 while she was visiting Barmouth, Gwynedd.
David Redfern, 46, was given a life sentence at Caernarfon Crown Court and will serve a minimum of 14 years.
Margaret Barnes' daughter, Natalie Barnes, told the court her murder had "completely destroyed our family life".
Redfern found Mrs Barnes asleep in his bed and dragged her downstairs before kicking and stamping her to death.
Mrs Barnes had been out drinking with friends and had been planning to stay at a B&B on Marine Parade, where Redfern lived.
She mistakenly went into Redfern's house, which was unlocked, and went straight to his bedroom and fell asleep.
Prosecutor Michael Jones said this was a "mistake that ultimately cost her her life".
Mrs Barnes died in the street following the attack in Barmouth, Gwynedd, last July
Before Redfern was sentenced, Natalie Barnes told the court: "Every morning, we wake up struggling to cope with the fact that we will never see her again.
"My dad and my brother can't come to terms with the fact that Mum called out for them as she was dying, but they were unable to help her.
"It has literally destroyed our family. We no longer talk about anything other than mum's death.
"It is no longer enjoyable to see each other. Dad has completely withdrawn from family life.
"Mum didn't need to die. We don't understand why she had to."
David Redfern found Mrs Barnes in his bedroom, dragged her downstairs and kicked and stamped on her
Mrs Barnes' granddaughter, Robyn Barnes, fought back tears as she read a victim impact statement to the court.
"My grandmother was taken from us in a way we never imagined," she said.
"We struggle to think how she suffered in the last few moments of her life.
"There's an empty seat at our table at Christmas and for birthdays.
"She will never be there for the milestones in my life. She will never see me get married. She will never be able to meet my children.
"We miss her every day. We will miss her forever. We are completely heartbroken."
Redfern denied murdering Mrs Barnes, but was found guilty after a trial
He said Redfern had watched Mrs Barnes with a "threatening attitude" as she crouched on the ground trying to gather together her possessions.
The judge said although Redfern had brought Mrs Barnes water, cushions and took her pulse, he refused to call an ambulance when asked by a neighbour.
"The jury has found that she was killed by the kick or stamp which you delivered with the intention of doing her really serious physical harm," Judge Bourne said.
"Now, I accept you must have been very shocked to find a stranger in your house, in your bedroom.
"I also work on the assumption that she behaved aggressively towards your partner, accusing her of stealing and lunging towards her.
"But your reaction surpassed anything that a reasonable person could imagine.
"You're a large and strong man, aged 45 at the time. She was small and slight, at least 25 years older than you, and clearly affected by alcohol and unsteady on her feet."
Redfern had told the jury he "just wanted to get this strange woman out of the house"
Judge Bourne said the weight of the aggravating and mitigating factors almost made them cancel each other out.
"I attach particular weight to the lack of intention to kill and to the sudden and bizarre circumstances in which your un-premeditated offence was committed," he said.
"Those things do not begin to excuse what you did. They do however differentiate this case to many others."
Speaking after sentencing, Det Supt Mark Pierce, of North Wales Police, said Redfern had shown no remorse during his two-week trial.
The officer said he had tried to blame Mrs Barnes and subjected her family to "the trauma" of a court case.
"How a 21st (133kg), 6ft 1in (185cm) man could have inflicted such catastrophic injuries on a frail, 71-year-old lady, 25 years his senior, is beyond the comprehension of any reasonable person," he said.
"David Redfern is a cowardly, vicious bully and will now spend at least 14 years behind bars."
He praised Mrs Barnes' family for their "courage and dignity".
"They can now start to re-build their lives," he added.
Rhian Jones, speaking for the CPS after sentencing, said: "David Redfern's reaction to the mistake was unjustified and completely out of proportion to the situation.
"The strong evidence presented by the CPS has resulted in this conviction, and justice for Margaret Barnes.
"Her loss will continue to be felt by her family and friends, who have our deepest sympathy, but we hope the conclusion of the case will help them in their grief." |
President Erdogan's powers have increased dramatically since he first led Turkey in 2003
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been in power for more than 20 years and he is favourite to win five more, having narrowly missed out on a first-round victory.
Turkey is a Nato member state of 85 million people, so it matters who is president both to the West and to Turkey's other partners including Russia.
Mr Erdogan's opponent in a second-round run-off on 28 May is Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who was backed by six opposition parties and won almost 45% of the vote - some 2.5 million votes less than his rival.
Turkey has become increasingly authoritarian under President Erdogan and this was the opposition's biggest chance yet to defeat him, with Turks struggling with soaring inflation and reeling from twin earthquakes that have left more than 50,000 people dead.
Whoever wins the vote on 28 May will win the presidency.
His AK Party has been in power since November 2002, and he has ruled Turkey since 2003.
Although Turkey's 64 million voters are deeply polarised, the 69-year-old leader has an in-built advantage over his rival.
Mr Erdogan's allies control most mainstream media, to the extent that state TV gave the president 32 hours and 42 minutes of air time and his challenger just 32 minutes, at the height of the campaign in April.
Monitors from the international observer group OSCE said there was an unlevel playing field and biased coverage in Turkey's vote, even if voters had genuine political alternatives.
Initially Mr Erdogan was prime minister, but he then became president in 2014, running the country from a vast palace in Ankara. He responded to a failed 2016 coup by dramatically increasing his powers and cracking down on dissent.
Leading Kurdish politicians have been jailed and other opposition figures threatened with a political ban.
But this election was the opposition's biggest hope of unseating the president yet.
Increasing numbers of Turks have blamed him for rampant inflation of 44%, and academics say the real rate is far higher than that.
He and his ruling AK Party were widely criticised for their response to the double earthquakes in February that left millions of Turks homeless in 11 provinces.
And yet most of the cities which are considered Erdogan strongholds still gave him 60% of the vote.
His party is rooted in political Islam, but he has forged an alliance with the ultra-nationalist MHP.
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, 74, is an unlikely choice of candidate to unseat the president.
He is seen as a mild-mannered and bookish opponent and presided over a string of election defeats at the helm of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP).
He polled well in the first round, taking Mr Erdogan to his first run-off, but not as well as the opinion polls had indicated he would.
Mr Kilicdaroglu secured the backing of six opposition parties, including the nationalist Good party and four smaller groups, which include two former Erdogan allies one of whom co-founded the AK Party.
Kemal Kilicdaroglu has agreed that the leaders of his alliance will all share the role of vice president
He also has the support of Turkey's second-biggest opposition party, the pro-Kurdish HDP, whose co-leader described the elections as "the most crucial in Turkey's history".
His biggest hope of snatching victory from a president buoyant after his first-round lead lies in increasing the support of both nationalist and Kurdish voters. A difficult feat when Turkey's nationalists want the next president to take a tougher line on Kurdish militants.
In the lead-up to the second round, he made a clear pitch to nationalist voters, banging his fists on the table and vowing to send home 3.5 million Syrian refugees. This was already his policy, but now he has decided to make a big point of it.
Kemal Kilicdaroglu's selection was not universally popular as the mayors of Istanbul and Ankara were potentially stronger candidates. Both are party colleagues who took control of Turkey's two biggest cities in 2019 for the CHP for the first time since 1994.
He is also a member of Turkey's Alevi minority, and when the opposition candidate drew attention to his roots Mr Erdogan accused him of seeking to exploit it.
His Nation Alliance, also known as the Table of Six, are united in their desire to return Turkey from the presidential system created under Mr Erdogan to one led by parliament.
The leaders of the other five members of the alliance have agreed to take on the roles of vice-president. But even if they were to win the presidency, the Erdogan alliance won a majority in parliament on 14 May and would make reforms very difficult.
Turnout in the first round was already very high at almost 89% among voters in Turkey.
If Mr Kilicdaroglu is to make up the 2.5 million votes between him and President Erdogan, he will need to win over voters who backed ultranationalist candidate Sinan Ogan who came third in the first round with 2.8 million votes.
That task was made even harder when Mr Ogan endorsed the president.
His demand is for a tougher stance on tackling Kurdish militants and returning Syrian refugees.
Mr Kilicdaroglu had already adopted a more strident tone on Syrians since the first round, promising to "send away" all refugees as soon as he came to power.
Reacting to Mr Ogan's decision to back his rival, he said the vote was now a referendum: "We are coming to save this country from terrorism and refugees."
President Erdogan said he had made no deals with Mr Ogan: 450,000 refugees had already returned home and the plan was to send back another million, he said.
The ruling AK Party of Recep Tayyip Erdogan has forged an alliance with the nationalist MHP and together they have secured a majority of 322 seats in the 600-seat parliament, down on five years ago.
Parties tend to form alliances because they need a minimum of 7% support to enter parliament.
The six-party opposition wants to change that but its Nation Alliance only managed 212 seats.
The pro-Kurdish party ran under the banner of the Green Left to avoid a potential election ban, and came third with 61 seats.
Under the Erdogan reforms, it is now the president who chooses the government, so there is no prime minister.
Under Turkey's revamped constitution allowing only two terms as president, Mr Erdogan would have to stand down in 2028 if he won the 28 May run-off. There are currently no plans for a successor.
He has already served two terms but Turkey's YSK election board ruled that his first term should be seen as starting not in 2014 but in 2018, when the new presidential system began with elections for parliament and president on the same day.
Opposition politicians had earlier asked the YSK to block his candidacy.
Under an Erdogan presidency, Turkey can expect increased control of state institutions and the media and a greater crackdown on dissent. Inflation is likely to remain high because of his preference for low interest rates.
Internationally, he could continue to resist Sweden's bid to join Nato and will paint himself as a mediator between Ukraine and Russia.
Mr Kilicdaroglu and his allies want to remove the president's right to veto legislation, cutting the post's ties to political parties and making it electable every seven years.
He wants to bring inflation down to 10% and send 3.5 million Syrian refugees home. President Erdogan has promised to speed up the voluntary repatriation of a million Syrians.
Mr Kilicdaroglu also wants kickstart Turkey's decades-long bid to join the European Union and restore "mutual trust" with the US, after years of fractious relations during the Erdogan years. |
A woman hid in a bank vault to survive a mass shooting in Kentucky, and the Kentucky governor says he was close friends with some of the victims. Here's what we know so far. |
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Drone footage posted by Ukrainian official shows Lviv debris after Russian strike
At least nine people have been killed and power at Europe's largest nuclear plant has been lost after Russia launched missiles across Ukraine.
The attacks hit cities from Kharkiv in the north to Odesa in the south and Zhytomyr in the west.
Buildings and infrastructure were hit in Kharkiv and Odesa, with power blackouts in several areas. Attacks on the capital Kyiv are also reported.
Ukraine said Russia fired 81 missiles, in what is the biggest strike in weeks.
The military claimed it successfully shot down 34 cruise missiles and four of the eight Iranian-made Shahed drones which were fired.
The attacks mark the biggest day of Russian missile strikes on Ukraine since the end of January, when 11 people died after dozens of buildings were struck in several regions.
In Thursday's attacks, at least five people were killed in Lviv in western Ukraine, after a rocket hit their home, the region's governor Maksym Kozytskyi said on Telegram.
Russian shelling killed three people in the southern city of Kherson, where a public transport stop was hit, Ukraine's presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak said.
While one person died and two others were injured following drone and missile strikes in the Dnipropetrovsk region, according to governor Serhii Lysak.
Nuclear energy operator Energoatom said a strike at the Zaporizhzhia plant meant the "last link" between the facility and the Ukrainian power system was cut off.
For the sixth time since it was taken over by Russia a year ago, the facility is now operating on diesel generators, which have enough supplies to last at least 10 days.
The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) called for a commitment to protecting the safety of the plant, saying he was "astonished by the complacency" surrounding the successive strikes since the invasion began.
"Each time we are rolling a dice. And if we allow this to continue time after time then one day our luck will run out," Rafael Grossi said.
Russia-installed officials in the Moscow-controlled part of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region said the halt in electricity supplies to the power station from Ukrainian-held territory was "a provocation".
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was "a difficult night", after Russia resumed its "wretched tactics".
He said energy systems were being restored and all services were working after the "massive" rocket attack struck critical infrastructure and residential buildings.
In Kyiv, emergency services are at the scenes of blasts in western and southern districts of the capital where the mayor, Vitaly Klitschko, said explosions had taken place.
Mr Klitschko said cars were burning in the courtyard of one residential building and he urged people to stay in shelters. Much of the city has been left without electricity, with four in 10 people without power, he added.
People gathered outside a residential building in Kyiv following the strikes
A mass missile attack struck an energy facility in the port city of Odesa, triggering power cuts, its governor Maksym Marchenko said. Residential areas were also hit but no casualties were reported, he added.
"About 15" strikes hit Kharkiv city and region, with "critical infrastructure facilities" and a residential building targeted, regional administration chief Oleg Synegubov said.
Other regions hit include Vynnytsia and Rivne in the west, and Dnipro and Poltava in the centre of the country.
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion just over a year ago. Since then tens of thousands of combatants and civilians have been killed or injured and millions of Ukrainians became refugees.
The US Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines, suggested on Wednesday that President Putin might be planning to drag out the war for years but that Russia was not strong enough to launch major new offensives this year.
She said the war in Ukraine had become a "grinding attritional war in which neither side has a definitive military advantage".
"We do not foresee the Russian military recovering enough this year to make major territorial gains, but Putin most likely calculates the time works in his favour, and that prolonging the war including with potential pauses in the fighting may be his best remaining pathway to eventually securing Russia's strategic interests in Ukraine, even if it takes years," she said.
Emergency workers attended burning cars damaged by the Russian missile strikes in Kyiv
Ms Haines said Russia might turn to defending the territories it now occupies, adding that it would need additional "mandatory mobilization and third-party ammunition sources" to sustain even its level of operations in Ukraine.
Ukraine's military says it has pushed back intense Russian attacks on the embattled eastern city of Bakhmut despite Russian forces claiming to have taken control of its eastern half.
Moscow has been trying to take Bakhmut for months, as both sides suffer heavy losses in a grinding war of attrition.
"The enemy continued its attacks and has shown no sign of a let-up in storming the city of Bakhmut," the general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said. "Our defenders repelled attacks on Bakhmut and on surrounding communities."
Between 20,000 and 30,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded in the battle for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut since it began last summer, Western officials say. The figures cannot be verified independently. |
Paul Heaton also paid for drinks at 60 pubs to mark his 60th birthday last year
Pop star Paul Heaton said he is putting money behind the bar of four pubs in Warrington so fans attending a festival can "have a drink on him".
The ex-Housemartins and Beautiful South singer is playing the Neighbourhood Festival in Victoria Park this weekend.
He also paid for drinks at 60 pubs to mark his 60th birthday last year.
In a Facebook post, Heaton said the gesture was a "thank you and a small amount of help" during the cost of living crisis.
The pubs involved will be the The Bull's Head on Church Street, The Kings Head on Winwick Street and The Cheshire Cheese on Knutsford Road, which are all within a couple of miles of the festival site.
The Facebook post said: "Money will also be left behind the bar of the festival's own pub, the Neighbourhood Inn for anyone heading into the festival early looking to catch any of the artists kicking off the different stages each day.
"A similar process will be running local to the other Paul Heaton shows over this summer."
Heaton shot to fame with the Hull-based Housemartins in the early 80s.
They had two successful albums and a number of hit singles, including a cover version of Caravan of Love which reached Number One in the UK charts in December 1986.
After the band split he formed the Beautiful South in 1988, which became one of the biggest-selling UK acts of all time, releasing 15 albums over nine years.
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• None Drinks on the Housemartin as singer pays for pints
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Listen: Trump discusses secret documents in an audio recording first obtained by CNN
An audio recording in which Donald Trump appears to acknowledge keeping a classified document after leaving the White House has been obtained by US media.
In the recording, the former president is heard riffling through papers and saying: "This is highly confidential."
It was first obtained by CNN, but the BBC's US partner CBS also has the clip.
Mr Trump has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of mishandling sensitive documents.
CNN was the first to publish the roughly two-minute recording, which it said came from a July 2021 meeting at Mr Trump's Bedminster, New Jersey golf club between him and several people working on the memoir of his former chief of staff Mark Meadows.
Mr Trump is heard saying "these are the papers" and referring to a document about Iran, which he calls "highly confidential".
"This was done by the military and given to me," he says. "See as president I could have declassified it. Now I can't, you know, but this is still a secret."
It appears to be the same audio recording cited by federal prosecutors in their indictment of Mr Trump.
It is not clear from the indictment, however, if the documents referenced in the recording were ever recovered by investigators.
Prosecutors allege the former president showed classified documents to people without security clearance on two occasions, including a writer and two members of staff.
Mr Trump is facing 37 counts of illegally retaining classified documents and obstructing the government's efforts to get them back.
He has said all the documents he took with him from the White House were declassified, but the published audio recording appears to contradict this.
Files were allegedly stored in a ballroom at Donald Trump's Florida property Mar-a-Lago
In an interview last week with Fox News, the former president denied that he showed secret documents to people unauthorised to view them in the Bedminster meeting.
"There was no document. That was a massive amount of papers and everything else talking about Iran and other things," Mr Trump said, adding that he was presenting "newspaper stories, magazine stories and articles".
The recording, however, appears to suggest that Mr Trump was referencing specific files.
A source familiar with the investigation told CBS News on Tuesday that the Iran memo referenced by Mr Trump in the recording is not among the confidential memos he is accused of keeping after leaving the White House.
He was indicted alongside an aide, Walt Nauta, who had been expected to plead not guilty at a hearing on Tuesday. That hearing, however, was postponed until 6 July after his flight was cancelled due to bad weather.
The former president's trial is scheduled for 14 August but that is likely to be delayed. A judge is yet to rule on a motion from prosecutors seeking to delay it until 11 December.
On Monday, the federal judge overseeing the case denied a request from government prosecutors to keep the list of potential witnesses secret. |
A woman hit by a police motorcycle escorting Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, through London has died.
The family of 81-year-old Helen Holland, from Birchanger in Essex, said she fought "for her life for nearly two weeks... but irreversible damage to her brain finally ended the battle".
Buckingham Palace said the duchess was "deeply saddened" and sent her "deepest condolences" to all the family.
The police watchdog is investigating the crash.
Ms Holland had been in London visiting her sister when she was struck at the junction of West Cromwell Road and Warwick Road in Earl's Court on 10 May.
Following the crash, her family said she was in a coma, and on Friday the police said she remained in a critical condition.
Announcing her death, her son, Martin Holland, said his mother had died after "suffering multiple broken bones and massive internal injuries".
Sophie, who is married to the King's youngest brother, will get in touch privately with Ms Holland's family.
She gained the title of Duchess of Edinburgh when her husband Prince Edward took on a new role in March.
Sophie is deeply saddened by Helen Holland's death, the palace says
Chief Supt Richard Smith, head of the Metropolitan Police's Royalty and Specialist Protection Unit, said the "tragic outcome is being felt by colleagues across the Met" and "thoughts are very much with the woman's family and loved ones".
"Officers know that their actions, both on and off duty, are open to scrutiny and following our referral of the incident, the IOPC launched an independent investigation - we continue to co-operate with and support that inquiry," he said.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which investigates the most serious incidents involving officers, said its inquiry was "at an early stage".
It issued a witness appeal last week and said it "would still like to hear from anyone who saw or recorded any part of this incident who is yet to speak to us".
The watchdog also said it had been in touch with Ms Holland's family to explain its role and would keep them updated on the investigation.
The duchess has recently returned from a two-day visit to Iraq's capital Baghdad where she met the country's leaders and visited a girls' school to hear from pupils about their education.
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Sleaze. It's a big word, and it gets lobbed around at Westminster rather a lot.
It tends to refer to alleged wrongdoing, often financial or moral.
The thing is, it can take in everything from an MP who ends up in jail - think the MPs' expenses scandal just for starters - to alleged procedural or administrative cock-ups that are soon forgotten.
So how big a deal is the investigation into the prime minister by the parliamentary commissioner for standards?
On the Richter scale of these things, it feels like a rather minor tremor. Think a few loose roof tiles rather than anything much more.
There are two things at the crux of this.
The first is what Rishi Sunak chose to say, and, crucially, not to say, in front of what is known as the Liaison Committee of MPs at the end of last month.
He was asked explicitly, by the Labour MP Catherine McKinnell, "there is nothing as prime minister you wish to declare?".
And he did not at that point refer to a childcare company his wife Akshata Murty has shares in which looks likely to benefit from this spring's Budget.
"All of my disclosures are declared in the normal way," Mr Sunak replied.
But in announcing his investigation, the website of the standards commissioner, Daniel Greenberg, pointed to a particular rule in the code of conduct of MPs, stating that "members must always be open and frank in declaring any relevant interest in any proceeding of the House or its Committees, and in any communications with ministers, members, public officials or public office holders".
The implication being that the prime minister should have referred explicitly to his wife's shareholding in front of the committee.
The added twist here, a symptom of the chaos at Westminster in the last year or so, is the Register of Ministerial Interests, which has conventionally been updated around every six months, hasn't seen the light of day since last May.
So when the prime minister said to the Liaison Committee, as he did, that his "disclosures are declared in the normal way" they haven't actually been published.
He has said he has informed officials in the Cabinet Office, but whatever he told them, and they told him about whether it should be explicitly registered, has not been publicly declared.
Incidentally, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer found himself in a run-in with the parliamentary commissioner for standards last summer.
It was Mr Greenberg's predecessor then, Kathryn Stone.
She found he had breached the MPs' Code of Conduct eight times, describing the breaches as "minor and/or inadvertent" over declarations that were late.
Sir Keir apologised. The row very quickly blew over.
The prime minister will hope his encounter with Mr Greenberg is also quickly forgotten about, although it will increase the scrutiny of Ms Murty's other business interests and the declarations relating to them.
It is a reminder for Downing Street of another two things: the inevitable stories, borne of intrigue and fascination, relating to the Sunaks' vast wealth, of which this is the latest.
And that if you say on your first day in the job of prime minister, almost six months ago now, that your government will be defined by "integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level", you bet people will hold you to it. |
Fatoumatta Hydara died two days after her daughters Naeemah Drammeh and Fatimah Drammeh
A man who killed his neighbour and her two daughters by setting their flat on fire has been found guilty of murder.
Fatoumatta Hydara, 28, died along with Fatimah and Naeemah Drammeh, aged three and one, after their home in Clifton, Nottingham, was set alight in November.
Jamie Barrow, 31, had admitted their manslaughter at Nottingham Crown Court but denied three counts of murder.
On Tuesday a jury found him guilty of the more serious charges.
The trial heard Barrow had poured petrol through the letterbox of the family's Fairisle Close flat in the early hours of 20 November and set it alight.
Jurors were told he had a grievance about bags of rubbish being left in an alleyway behind where he and the victims lived but the prosecution did not accept Mrs Hydara was the person responsible and police said no clear motive had been established.
Prosecutors said Barrow knew the flat's front door was the only way in and out when he set the fire.
He had claimed he thought the property was empty but the court was told he did nothing when he heard screams.
Mrs Hydara and her daughters died from smoke inhalation.
Prosecutors said Barrow had lit the fire using tissue paper and petrol from his motorbike.
They said it would have been clear the family were inside because a pram was left outside the door and there was light coming from the hallway.
After setting the fire Barrow was seen on CCTV walking away from the burning flat with his dog while smoking a cigarette, police said.
Emergency services attended the scene and police said Barrow later returned and asked officers "how bad" the fire was.
Barrow, who admitted drinking "seven or eight" pints of lager before starting the fire, had given evidence to the police afterwards when detectives were treating the incident as a hate crime.
He later admitted his involvement to them.
In court he claimed he had been suffering from a "very, very low mood" and was "wallowing in self-pity" before starting the fire, caused partially by his emotionally unstable personality disorder.
He said he did not expect the blaze to take hold as rapidly as it did and was driven to admit what he had done to officers due to "an immense amount of guilt".
In addition to murder, Barrow was also convicted of one count of arson being reckless as to whether life was in danger and is due to be sentenced at the same court on Friday.
Some members of the victims' family, to whom he apologised while giving evidence, wept after the verdicts were delivered.
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After Barrow's conviction, relatives of Mrs Hydara and her children released a statement describing their pain and grief.
They said: "Words cannot quantify how much our family have suffered because of the horrific actions of one man.
"Neither can we quantify the emotional, psychological, physiological and financial impact of the crime Jamie Barrow committed against Fatoumatta, Fatimah and Naeemah.
"His actions were utterly heartless and cruel - and have caused a multigenerational trauma that we will never understand.
"Fatoumatta was a caring daughter, wife, sister, mother and friend. If love and compassion could make a person immortal, she would have lived forever.
"She had a pure heart and was greatly loved for her personality and qualities.
"She was the most incredible mother to Fatimah and Naeemah, two angels who deserved a beautiful childhood and a full life.
"Nottingham and the rest of the world have been denied potential future teachers, civil servants, doctors - who knows what they could have been?
"They lived a short but meaningful life, such was the joy and happiness they brought to us all."
Barrow had claimed he did not realise anyone was inside the flat
Mrs Hydara's family thanked the Gambian community in the UK and internationally for the support it had offered them since the fatal fire.
They also thanked Nottinghamshire Police, the Crown Prosecution Service, and the jurors.
Before they died Mrs Hydara and her children had been planning to move to the US to be with her husband Aboubacarr Drammeh.
Det Insp Kaz Smithson, who led the investigation, said: "Jamie Barrow committed the most despicable crime anyone could ever commit.
"He destroyed a whole family and took away their dreams of a happy life together in America.
"Today, justice has been served for Fatoumatta, Fatimah and Naeemah and their family, all of whom have carried themselves with incredible dignity since the night of this truly awful crime.
"Barrow denied the killings were deliberate but, thankfully, my investigative team was able to provide overwhelming evidence that this tragic event was indeed murder.
"We saw through his lies and, thankfully, so did the jury."
The family had been planning a new life overseas
After the hearing Nottinghamshire Police said Barrow's motive for starting the fire might never be known but jurors heard one theory was that he wanted to rehoused by local authorities.
Ch Insp Karl Thomas said: "I acknowledge there are many members of the community who believe these murders were a hate crime.
"It's important to say that, following a very detailed and thorough investigation by a large team of detectives, the investigation team left no stone unturned to investigate the circumstances and presented the evidence to the jury to reach these verdicts."
Mrs Hydara's husband Aboubacarr Drammeh read a family statement outside court following the verdicts
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Florida's Supreme Court delivered two rulings on abortion on Monday, with competing consequences.
First, the court upheld the state's right to prohibit abortion, giving the green light for a six-week ban to take effect on 1 May.
The near-total ban will block almost all access in the US South, where Florida had been something of a haven for those seeking abortions, surrounded by states that had already implemented six-week or total bans on the procedure.
The ruling was applauded by national anti-abortion activists, many of whom see a six-week ban as the gold standard for abortion policy. The decision is a "victory for unborn children", said Katie Daniel, Florida policy director of Susan B Anthony Pro-Life America.
But in a 4-3 vote, the justices also approved a November ballot initiative that, if approved, would overturn the six-week ban and enshrine broad abortion access in the state's constitution.
The decisions have sharpened the glare of the political spotlight on the Sunshine State, and set up perhaps the highest stakes abortion fight since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in June 2022.
The six-week ban in Florida - the country's third most populous state - may affect more women than any other statewide ban implemented since the repeal of Roe.
Just over 84,000 women received abortions in Florida last year, state data says. According to pro-choice research group the Guttmacher Institute, that figure showed a 12% jump over 2020, which researchers attribute mostly to out-of-state patients.
Some Florida lawmakers, many of whom voted for the six-week ban last year, called the law a compromise, adding that it includes exceptions for cases involving rape, incest, abnormalities and when the mother's life is in danger.
But pro-choice activists have warned that even with these exceptions, strict abortion bans can endanger women's health, pointing to cases involving pregnancy complications in states such as Texas.
And, they add, Florida's six-week law is particularly restrictive, requiring patients seeking abortions to have two in-person doctor appointments with a 24-hour waiting period in between.
"At six weeks most women have no idea that they're even pregnant," said Anna Hochkammer, executive director of the pro-choice group Florida Women's Freedom Coalition. "A mammoth health crisis is about to befall us."
Florida's new abortion landscape also has significant political consequences. The November referendum, experts say, has handed Democrats a chance to highlight an issue where they have a proven electoral edge.
In the almost two years since Roe was overturned, pro-choice activists have won all seven abortion-related ballot initiatives, even in Republican-led states. And sustained public support for abortion access has been credited with helping Democrats over-perform in both state and national races.
"Abortion is an opportunity for Democrats and it remains a problem for Republicans," said Republican strategist Kevin Madden, who was a spokesman for Utah Senator Mitt Romney's presidential campaigns. "This gives them [Democrats] some wind at their backs."
Already, Democrats have moved to press that advantage in Florida.
On Tuesday, within a day of the abortion rulings, top US House of Representatives lawmakers convened a special hearing in the state, which the chamber's minority leader Hakeem Jeffries called "ground zero" for abortion access.
Hours after that, on a call with reporters, Biden campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodríguez said the same as she worked to tie the Florida ban to Donald Trump, now the presumptive Republican nominee.
Mr Trump "is directly to blame", Ms Chávez Rodríguez said. "Because of Donald Trump, Maga [Make America Great Again] Republicans across this country are ripping away access to reproductive healthcare."
And Ms Chávez Rodríguez went further, suggesting the Florida abortion fight could help tilt the electoral scales, giving Democrats a fighting chance to flip the state in November.
"We definitely see Florida in play," she said. "We're clear eyed about how hard it is to win Florida… But we also know that Trump does not have it in the bag."
Few people think that these rulings will actually swing the presidential contest in Florida - a Republican stronghold for over a decade. But experts say there is indeed now an opening for Democrats to once again over-perform and potentially flip some down-ballot contests, including some competitive Senate and House races.
Veteran Democratic strategist Simon Rosenberg said that the abortion vote would bring "enormous amounts of money, volunteers and energy into the pro-choice side, which changes the politics in the state".
"All of a sudden what we knew about Florida in 2024 is now unsettled," he said. "A six-week abortion ban is a bridge too far for the people of Florida, the polling on this is really clear."
Early surveys on the ballot initiative itself, dubbed Amendment 4, tell a similar story, indicating that more than 60% of Floridians support the amendment - clearing the bar to pass.
But whatever the result of November's vote, Florida will spend the next several months under a six-week abortion ban.
Those seeking the procedure after that will have to travel several hours and two states north to North Carolina, which still allows abortions until 12 weeks. After that, the closest option is southern Virginia - nearly 900 miles from Florida's southern tip, or a 14-hour car ride, one way. |
Darryn Frost had fought the attacker with a narwhal tusk on display at Fishmongers' Hall
Members of the public who tackled the man behind the London Bridge attack in 2019 are among the recipients of the final civilian gallantry awards approved by the late Queen.
The list includes a Queen's Gallantry Medal for Darryn Frost who used a narwhal tusk to fend off Usman Khan outside the Fishmongers' Hall event.
The same award goes to two ex-offenders - John Crilly, who used a fire extinguisher on the attacker, and Steven Gallant, who helped confront him until police arrived.
Mr Gallant, who had been convicted of murder but has since been freed, has since spoken of wanting to inspire prisoners wanting to turn their lives around.
He was commended for standing his ground against Khan, who was carrying two knives and wearing what turned out to be an imitation belt of explosives.
The bravery award winners are among 15 people praised for their heroic actions in the last list approved by the Queen, who died last September.
Such awards in future will be known as the King's Gallantry Medal or the King's Commendation for Bravery.
In November 2019 Khan fatally stabbed Cambridge University graduates Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23, and injured three other people at the conference held by an organisation involved in the rehabilitation of offenders in the City of London. He then ran on to London Bridge, and was later shot dead by armed officers.
A porter at the hall, Lukasz Koczocik, also received a Queen's Gallantry Medal for forcing Khan out of the venue, using an ornamental spear, despite him having sustained serious injuries from three stab wounds.
And prison officer Adam Roberts was commended for providing emergency first aid, while the attack was going on around him.
The bravery awards include those caught up in the terror attack beside London Bridge that claimed two lives
The five men brought together by the event were commended for the courage of their response - using improvised weapons and facing great danger themselves, as they chased the attacker on to the bridge.
Mr Frost used a narwhal tusk that had been on display at Fishmongers' Hall and pinned Khan down, despite the risk from what had seemed to be the suicide belt.
The final Queen's awards also include a posthumous Queen's Gallantry Medal for John Rees, who at the age of 88, died when he intervened in a knife attack at a shop in Penygraig, Rhondda in south Wales in May 2020.
There are also awards for Lisa Way and Ayette Bounouri who came to his assistance. Mrs Bounouri used a shopping basket to try to deflect the attacker.
The recipients, announced by the Cabinet Office, are nominated by the public in recognition of "exemplary bravery in saving the lives of others".
They are approved by the monarch, on the advice of the George Cross Committee which considers such awards, with these latest civilian honours the first for two years.
Oliver Dowden, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said the latest recipients were "extremely worthy winners" of the Queen's last such awards.
"We all hope we'd react with courage in the face of danger. These people have lived through that test, and responded in the most admirable way," said Mr Dowden.
• None Honour for man, 88, who died trying to stop killer |
Germany's labour market has a shortage of hundreds of thousands of skilled workers
While other countries are trying to restrict migration, the German parliament has passed a radical new law to attract migrant workers to Germany.
That means less red tape and lower hurdles for migrant workers from outside the European Union.
A Canada-style points-based system will take into account age, skills, qualifications and any link to Germany.
Criteria will be lowered for salary, educational level and German language ability.
This would make it easier for migrants to come to Germany with, or even without, a job offer. Incentives include being able to bring not only spouse and children, but also parents.
This is a major shift in policy for Germany. For decades German governments have resisted the idea that Germany is a country of migration.
The first generation of so-called "guest workers" from Turkey in the 1960s were seen as exactly that: "guests" who were supposed to help the economy and then leave.
Conservative-led governments in particular, including Angela Merkel's administration, struggled with the idea of a society open to migrant workers - despite the fact German society is increasingly diverse. More than a quarter of the population in Germany is either foreign-born or has at least one foreign-born parent.
After years of low unemployment German business leaders are sounding the alarm about the lack of workers. The problem is exacerbated by an ageing population: baby-boomers born in the 1960s will soon start heading for retirement.
Ministers warn that millions of job vacancies already need filling, and describe the labour shortage as the biggest risk facing the German economy.
When Olaf Scholz's centre-left Social Democrat SPD party beat Mrs Merkel's conservatives in 2021, the new SPD-Green-liberal coalition made easing migration rules one of its flagship policies.
This coalition has been plagued by rows between the Greens and the business-friendly liberals over climate change policies. But both parties do agree on migration: the liberals want workers for the economy; the Greens more human rights in migration policy.
But Friday's parliamentary debate about the law was ferocious. Conservatives voted against the bill, outraged that the new law would allow some rejected asylum seekers already here to find work.
The far-right AfD also voted no, saying that Germany was not a country of "immigration" but rather a "homeland", reflecting the party's increasingly nativist view of what it means to be German.
The AfD does not reflect mainstream society's view that Germany needs migrant workers. But despite this, or maybe because of it, the party is reaching unprecedented numbers in the polls.
In the latest ARD Deutschland Trend, the party reached 19% this week, the highest it has ever scored in this poll. Chancellor Olaf Scholz's SPD party has slumped to 17%.
The political climate in Germany is polarised and febrile when it comes to migration. The government wants it, the economy needs it and parliament has now voted for it. But will all voters accept it? |
King Charles III meets members of the public during his visit to Kinneil House, marking the first Holyrood Week since his coronation
King Charles III was greeted by crowds as he arrived in Scotland for a special week of events.
He met two Fair Queens in Bo'ness, Falkirk, before travelling to Edinburgh where he was presented with the keys to the city.
Earlier a practice procession was held in the capital's Old Town ahead of a special ceremony of thanksgiving.
King Charles will be presented with the Scottish crown jewels during the event at St Giles' Cathedral on Wednesday.
The celebrations mark the first Holyrood Week since his coronation in May.
An early morning practice procession has been held in Edinburgh's Old Town
Among those who met the King on Monday was Bo'ness Fair Queen, Lexi Scotland, who was wearing her ceremonial robes and a crown.
She was joined by May Garrow, 99, who won the title in 1936.
Afterwards Ms Garrow said: "I've never actually shook hands with him before. I'll not wash that hand anymore."
The King then met with Sustainable Thinking Scotland, which operates from Kinneil House on the outskirts of the town.
The organisation grows sustainable food which in turn is given for food parcels.
King Charles III attended a tour of the Royal Yacht Britannia, to mark 25 years since her arrival in Edinburgh
Later the King took part in the Ceremony of the Keys on the Palace of Holyroodhouse forecourt before he joined former Royal Yacht Britannia sailors in reviving an old navy tradition.
The King drank a tot of rum as he returned to the vessel the Royal Family called home at its dock in Leith.
King Charles and Queen Camilla are also expected to visit the Great Tapestry of Scotland, seeing a newly stitched panel dedicated to the couple.
Before the service at St Giles' on Wednesday, there will be both a royal procession and a people's procession along the Royal Mile.
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The people's procession will consist of about 100 people representing different aspects of Scottish life.
The Stone of Destiny will be present at the ceremony in St Giles' Cathedral, where the King will be presented with the Honours of Scotland.
Afterwards there will be a gun salute at Edinburgh Castle and a flypast by the Red Arrows.
Each year the monarch traditionally spends a week based at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, known as Holyrood Week or Royal Week in Scotland.
King Charles III received the Keys to the City of Edinburgh from Lord Provost Councillor Robert Aldridge during the Ceremony of the Keys on the forecourt of the Palace of Holyroodhouse
Edinburgh City Council has said those wishing to view the processions should plan ahead.
Lord lieutenant Robert Aldridge said: "The eyes of the world will be upon us once again as we mark the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III and Her Majesty Queen Camilla."
He warned residents to expect disruption across the city, particularly in the Old Town.
"We're working with our partners to manage this as best we can and to keep residents, businesses and visitors updated on the events," he added.
"For those who wish to enjoy the royal and people's processions, I urge you to please plan ahead and keep an eye on our website and social media channels for the latest advice and guidance."
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China's peace plan for Ukraine could be used as a basis to end the war, Vladimir Putin has said.
But Mr Putin said the plan could be put forward only when they are ready "in the West and Kyiv".
The Russian leader met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday in Moscow to discuss the conflict, and relations between the two countries.
China's plan, published last month, does not explicitly call for Russia to leave Ukraine.
Listing 12 points, it calls for peace talks and respect for national sovereignty, without specific proposals.
But Ukraine has insisted on Russia withdrawing from its territory as a condition for any talks - and there is no sign that Russia is ready to do that.
On Wednesday the Moscow-backed authorities in annexed Crimea said an attack by three waterborne drones on the Black Sea Fleet in the Bay of Sevastopol had been repelled with no damage to the fleet. The report could not be independently confirmed.
On Monday, explosions in another part of Crimea were said by Ukraine to have destroyed Russian missiles being transported by rail.
The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that calling for a ceasefire before Russia withdrew "would effectively be supporting the ratification of Russian conquest".
In a joint news conference after talks with Mr Xi ended, Mr Putin said: "Many provisions of the Chinese peace plan can be taken as the basis for settling of the conflict in Ukraine, whenever the West and Kyiv are ready for it."
But Russia had yet to see such "readiness" from the other side, he added.
Standing alongside the Russian leader, Mr Xi said his government was in favour of peace and dialogue and that China was on the "right side of history".
He again claimed that China had an "impartial position" on the conflict in Ukraine, seeking to cast Beijing as the potential peace-maker.
The pair also discussed growing trade, energy and political ties between the two nations.
"China is the leading foreign trade partner of Russia," President Putin said, pledging to keep up and surpass the "high level" of trade achieved last year.
Mr Xi left Russia on Wednesday, his plane departing from a Moscow airport.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. China 'not impartial in any way', White House says
According to Russian state media, the two leaders also:
There are growing concerns in the West that China might provide military support for Russia.
Speaking in Brussels, Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said his alliance had not "seen any proof that China is delivering lethal weapons to Russia".
But he added there were "signs" that Russia had requested weapons, and that the request was being considered in Beijing.
A joint statement released by China and Russia after the meeting between the two leaders said the close partnership between the two countries did not constitute a "military-political alliance".
Relations "do not constitute a bloc, do not have a confrontational nature and are not directed against third countries", they added.
Mr Putin also used the press conference to accuse the West of deploying weapons with a "nuclear component" and said Russia would be "forced to react" if the UK sent shells made with depleted uranium to Ukraine. .
The UK's Ministry of Defence said depleted uranium was a "standard component" which had "nothing to do with nuclear weapons".
Mr Xi was given a fanfare welcome when he arrived at the Kremlin for a second day of talks on Tuesday.
He said he was "very happy" to be in Moscow and described talks with President Putin as "frank, open and friendly".
His visit to Russia came days after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for President Putin on war crimes allegations.
The state visit was mirrored by Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's surprise visit to Kyiv - making him the first leader of Japan to visit a country in conflict since World War Two.
President Zelensky said he will join the G7 summit in Japan in May via video link at the invitation of Mr Kishida.
He told a press conference on Tuesday afternoon that he had also asked China to get involved in talks but was waiting for an answer.
"We offered China to become a partner in the implementation of the peace formula," he said. "We invite you to the dialogue; we are waiting for your answer." |
Brothers Maksym (left) and Ivan (right) signed up to fight for Ukraine together after Russia launched its full-scale invasion
Maksym had been fighting for 200 hours without a break when he was killed by a Russian sniper in the city of Bakhmut.
"For eight days he did not eat, or sleep," his mother Lilia says. "He couldn't even close his eyes for five minutes because the sniper could shoot."
There's a reason why she now calls Bakhmut "hell". It's the city that took the life of one son and left her only other child seriously injured.
Her one scant comfort - that one died saving the life of the other.
Maksym and Ivan volunteered to fight when Russia invaded Ukraine last year. At the time Maksym was 22 years old and Ivan just 18.
Ivan, the younger brother who still carries the scars, says they were inseparable. "He was always with me and I with him. For me, he was the dearest person."
Ivan shows me videos and photos of them together - in a trench, in a military vehicle, trying to get some rest.
As time passes, you see two smiling, handsome young men change, gradually appearing wearier as war strips away their innocence.
The two brothers were inseparable - fighting and resting together at the front
Their last moments together were spent engaged in brutal house-to-house fighting in Bakhmut. "It was impossible to sleep there. We were being attacked 24/7," Ivan says.
The brothers' unit was trapped in a windowless room of a building. They'd had to punch through walls to make firing positions. That's when they received an order to pull back.
Ivan recalls the moment before he was wounded. "I remember I was reloading; I came out from behind a wall and there was a flash. I was paralysed and I fell."
He says he then felt the warmth of the blood flowing from his injuries to his face. He didn't think he'd survive. "I thought I was done; I'll bleed out and that'll be it."
But Maksym came running to his rescue and dragged him back inside a building for cover.
"He revived me, took out my broken teeth and began to give me first aid," says Ivan. That included piercing a hole in Ivan's throat to prevent him from choking.
Ivan shares a video of his brother tenderly wiping the blood away soon after the explosion. Another widely shared clip shows Ivan struggling to walk with a gaping wound to his face, but still clutching his Ukrainian flag: a symbol of bravery and resistance in the battle for Bakhmut.
Ivan has no doubts that he would have died if it weren't for Maksym's actions. "My brother didn't let me die. He saved me."
Ivan (seen here recovering in hospital) had a hole cut in his throat by his brother to help him keep breathing
Maksym urgently called on the radio for help. But the first medics that tried to reach him were all killed in their vehicle when it was struck by a Russian anti-tank missile. It took another nine hours before Ivan could be rescued.
And then came Maksym's extraordinary act of self-sacrifice. Rather than travel with his brother to safety, he volunteered to stay in Bakhmut, to lead their unit.
Still fighting there a week later, Maksym was killed by a Russian sniper.
In Ukraine the funerals of soldiers are now as constant as the sound of artillery on the front line. But they're not all like Maksym's. Alongside his grieving family, the entire town of Tomakivka had come out to pay their respects.
They knelt as the funeral procession made its way to the cemetery - some clasping flowers or Ukraine's flag. The prayers and sombre music accompanied by tears and sobbing.
Serhii (left) and Lilia were supported by the entire town at their older son's funeral
For the past year, Maksym and Ivan's parents had been living their sons' battles vicariously. Lilia and Serhii were having sleepless nights too - waiting anxiously to hear from their boys. They'd often receive a short text to reassure them, says Lilia - "We're good, mum."
But then came the news they'd been dreading.
Lilia weeps over Maksym's coffin before it's finally lowered into the ground - accompanied by a volley of gunfire. "We still can't believe it. My soul is torn," Lilia tells me after the funeral. She says her only reason to continue living is for her younger son.
She tells me Maksym had the chance to leave with Ivan, but he would not abandon their younger, less experienced comrades.
"He's a hero. He's an angel. He's sunshine. He would never leave his brother even though he knew he would die himself."
Ukraine won't say how many lives have been lost in this war. But look around the cemetery and you soon realise the entire country is paying an extremely heavy price.
My brother gave his life for our freedom. Unfortunately, freedom comes with blood
At this one small graveyard, in this one small town, there are rows and rows of freshly dug graves surrounded by flowers. Maksym's was one of three soldiers' funerals the local priest was conducting that week.
For Roman, who was once himself a soldier before taking holy orders, it was harder than most. He is a family friend and prayed with Maksym and Ivan's parents for the safe return of their boys, whom he knew.
"You often have to bury soldiers," said Roman. "But not your friends."
At the funeral, Ivan is still clutching the Ukrainian flag which he carried when wounded - signed by his comrades including his brother. The blood from his own wounds staining the blue and yellow cloth.
I ask him if he now regrets his decision to join the army. He replies: "We understood that we might not return, but it's an honour to fight for Ukraine. That's why I don't regret it in any way.
"My brother gave his life for our freedom. Unfortunately, freedom comes with blood." |
The BBC Singers, a choir of 20 musicians, had been due to close in July
The BBC has paused its decision to close the BBC Singers, after "a number of organisations" came forward to offer alternative funding.
The group, which is the UK's only full-time professional chamber choir, was targeted by budget cuts shortly before celebrating its 100th anniversary.
The proposal sparked a backlash, with 140,000 people signing a petition urging the BBC to reverse its decision.
A temporary reprieve has been granted, as new funding models are explored.
"I am confident that this does secure their future," said Simon Webb, the BBC's head of orchestras and choirs.
"But this has all happened just in the last few days - and what we're looking for now is a little bit of time to quietly, confidentially have conversations with these external partners."
He declined to name the organisations involved but said the choir would still be called the BBC Singers - a name they adopted in 1972, having previously been known as the Wireless Singers, the BBC Chorus, the Variety Chorus and even the Kentucky Minstrels.
The BBC also confirmed that the ensemble would appear at this year's Proms concerts.
Previously, the 20-member choir had been due to close in July, meaning they would miss the summer music festival entirely.
Jonathan Manners, producer and acting co-director of the BBC Singers, said the group were "delighted" at the opportunity for the BBC to work with the Musicians' Union "to try to secure the future of the BBC Singers, which can only be a positive thing".
He added that the Proms would be "incredibly emotional for everyone involved with the BBC Singers, but also in choral music, because I think the last few weeks have shown how people look up to the BBC Singers".
Naomi Pohl, general secretary of the Musicians' Union, said: "The outpouring of love for the BBC Singers and orchestras over the past few weeks has been incredible and we know our members are hugely grateful for all the support they've received."
The corporation's U-turn was received with relief by many in the arts world.
"This is wonderful news," tweeted actor Samuel West, who performed with the BBC Singers at the 2002 Proms. "Thank you @BBC for listening to reason, and music, and beauty."
"Rejoice! What a fabulous way to start a Friday," added former MP Ed Balls. Opera star Jennifer Johnston said she was "cautiously optimistic", while conductor John Rutter thanked "all who raised their voice" in protest.
That included thousands of amateur singers in choirs across the UK and abroad, who joined forces to produce a video pleading for the BBC Singers to be saved.
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Choirmaster Sam Evans, who organised the video campaign, also welcomed the latest development.
"It goes to show that when you've got an important message, you can make your voices heard," he said.
"I don't want to fight the BBC," he added. "I feel like the BBC is a family member, but sometimes people in your family take wrong turns and they need to be told that they're making a mistake."
Audience members watching the choir perform at the BBC's Maida Vale studios on Friday were pleased about the reprieve.
"I sing in chamber choirs and I can tell you that all the chamber choirs and singers that we know in London are absolutely fed up about what was happening because the [BBC] Singers are a class apart," said one, called Wendy.
"[They are] really fantastic singers, and the country doesn't respect really how good they are. I think it might start to now."
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The decision to close the BBC Singers was part of a wider programme to downsize the BBC's classical music groups, announced at the start of the month.
It also involves a 20% reduction of roles in the BBC's English orchestras - the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Concert orchestra and the BBC Philharmonic.
Tenor Adrian Thompson performs the world premiere of Judith Weir's In The Land of Uz with the BBC Singers and conductor David Hill in 2017
The BBC said it was part of a plan that "prioritises quality, agility and impact". According to the latest BBC annual report, £25m was spent on orchestras and performing groups in the last financial year.
The BBC says it needs to find £400m in savings by 2027 because of the two-year freeze in the licence fee imposed by the government.
The move caused consternation across the classical music world. Cellist Julian Lloyd Webber called the cuts "lamentable" and said they called the future of the licence fee into question.
"What has happened to our nation's beloved BBC - the organisation that has been responsible for some of the greatest classical music broadcasts in history?" he said in the Radio Times.
On Thursday, the Telegraph reported that Britain's pre-eminent conductor, Sir Simon Rattle, "may be willing to boycott the BBC Proms" in protest at the cuts.
The Musicians' Union has said it would continue to fight to save roles in other BBC performing groups.
The BBC Singers, based at Maida Vale, perform across the UK and around the world, making annual appearances at the BBC Proms.
The BBC Concert Orchestra can be heard on BBC Radio 2's Sunday Night Is Music Night and on BBC Radio 3. It explores a wide selection of music, ranging from classical to contemporary.
The BBC Philharmonic is based at Media City UK in Salford, and performs an annual season of concerts at Manchester's Bridgewater Hall, as well as giving regular concerts at other venues across the north of England.
The BBC Symphony Orchestra plays a major role at The Proms, and also has an annual season at London's Barbican. Its commitment to contemporary music is demonstrated by a range of premieres each season.
In a statement, the BBC said it would "continue to engage with the Musicians' Union and the other BBC Unions about our proposals on the BBC's English Orchestras".
"The financial challenges are still there," said Mr Webb, "but we've set out our plan… and now we're listening.
"If there are counter-proposals, we're very much listening to that, as we have done with the BBC Singers." |
Nicholas Whitehead says the sign started out as a "wild conversation"
It is the mid Wales landmark that started out as a joke and lasted for 20 years.
Now, it is making a comeback.
Up until last November, there was a billboard for Llandegley International on the A44 in Powys between Rhayader and Kington.
But drivers who followed the directions to Terminal 1 or 3 ended up not at an airport, not even an airfield, but just a field on the outskirts of the village.
The sign was taken down last year when the man who spent £25,000 keeping it in place decided he would try to make it an official landmark.
Nicholas Whitehead launched a crowdfunding campaign with the slogan "give us a sign".
Six months later, a brand-new one has appeared.
The airport's "founder" said he was delighted.
"When the sign came down we gained thousands of followers on Facebook. There was so much support for getting another, I felt sure the crowd-funder would work," he said.
Nicholas Whitehead launched a crowdfunding campaign to fund a new sign
"In a time of austerity, no local authority would want to pay for this, so we tried to raise all the money ourselves. We only needed £1,300 and we raised £2,000."
The extra money will be donated to the Wales Air Ambulance, which Mr Whitehead said he was happy to support given the aviation connection.
Mr Whitehead was a journalist and editor for the Brecon and Radnor Express, and a writer on Radio 4's comedy sketch show 'Week Ending'. He also worked on the satirical magazine 'Squib' with Monty Python's Terry Jones.
With a sense of the absurd and a desire to do "something completely different", he created the fictional airport in 2002.
"It started off as a wild conversation with friends one evening. We thought of renting a sign for something that wasn't really there, possibly a project that didn't exist, and we settled on the airport."
He soon realised the plan was possible.
"I approached Wrexham Signs, who own the billboard, and expected them to say, 'you can't do that'. But apparently, you can," he said.
"As a journalist, you find that whatever you do, someone, somewhere, is going to get upset about it. But Llandegley International is the exception. People love it."
In the sign's original location near Crossgates, it cost about £1,500 per year to maintain. But thanks to the crowd-funding, a new one has been installed to the east of the village.
The Richards family offered to put the sign outside their farm near Llandegley, where it can stay permanently.
Holly Richards says the sign has become a "talking point" once more
Holly Richards jumped at the chance to help out: "We were sad to see it go, so at the first chance of having it back we were happy to put it on our land.
"Since the sign has come back the social media response has been great. It's become a real talking point once more."
Fencing contractor Fred Morris put up the new sign and described it as a bit of a folly: "When you tell people where you come from, they ask 'have you seen the sign for the airport?' People play along with the joke."
The sign has become a popular spot for photos and selfies, though people are warned to be careful
Mark Lythgoe co-owns a nearby roadside snack van and said it had been great for business.
"We've had a lot of people asking where the airport is," Mr Lythgoe said. "We're thinking of renaming the van the international departure lounge. It's all a bit of fun."
The airport has taken off on Facebook. Thousands of followers enjoy updates about Llandegley's impressive environmental credentials, and engage in flights of fancy about the "top secret" Terminal 2. The latest "project" is a 10-minute shuttle service to the Hay Festival.
Mr Whitehead now keeps the old sign in his garden in Wembury, Devon.
He said the airport had helped him to see a more positive side to social media.
"There's been an outpouring of love. People have said the Llandegley International Facebook page is one of the best things on the internet, because there's no unpleasantness," he said.
When asked if he thought the airport was real, he said: "It exists in the same way songs exist. If you set fire to the scrap of paper on which Paul McCartney wrote Yesterday, that wouldn't destroy the song.
"The song exists as a shared experience; it's indestructible. It's the same with the airport."
The sign was altered in 2019 in memory of long-time fan of the airport, Jill Dibling
With a permanent sign in place and a big online fanbase, Mr Whitehead said he hoped to gain official recognition for the quirky institution he founded.
"It's not exactly a national monument - but it is a national treasure. It has become an item of Welsh heritage."
For now, he is happy Llandegley International is on the road again. |
Menai Bridge was closed at five minutes' notice in October 2022
Major safety issues which forced the closure of one of the two bridges linking Anglesey to the Welsh mainland were first spotted more than 30 years ago.
The Menai suspension bridge was closed at five minutes' notice in October when engineers found "serious safety risks".
It did not reopen until February.
BBC Wales has seen an engineer's report which said that the parts of the bridge which caused concern last year were recommended for replacement in 1991.
The Welsh government said inspections recommended by engineers have always taken place.
The risks identified in October centred on the bridge hangers that hold the road deck in place, but according to the report, problems were spotted decades ago.
Some hangers were replaced between 1989-1991, but the majority were left in place.
Rhun ap Iorwerth, Member of the Senedd (MS) for Ynys Môn, said it was "scandalous" that the hangers were not replaced sooner.
Although the Menai Bridge was built in 1826, the hangers were installed between 1938 and 1941 when the bridge was strengthened.
But last year, engineers preparing to paint the hangers looked back through old inspection reports on the bridge, and found serious issues with the hangers were raised 35 years ago.
The 2022 engineer's report, seen by BBC Wales, states that "significant concerns regarding the... capacity of the hangers were identified during structural investigations in the late 1980s and early 1990s".
The report added: "These structural investigations led to the replacement of 40 hangers and a recommendation to replace the remaining hangers on a rolling basis thereafter."
However, rolling replacements were not carried out.
The Menai Bridge was built in 1826
Following the bridge closure, preparations have begun to replace the hangers in the coming months.
Mr ap Iorwerth said: "If 40 hangers were replaced around 1990, and there was a recommendation to replace the rest, then there should have been a programme in place to change all the hangers over time.
"It's scandalous that successive governments didn't make sure that the long-term wellbeing of the bridge was assured.
"The way in which the bridge had to be closed with no notice last October was hugely problematic - we shouldn't have been in a position where a decision to close it needed to be made that quickly."
Nia Jones, of the Anglesey Tourism Association, said the island was thrust into a "chaotic situation" with "no notice" after the sudden closure of the bridge.
"It did hit the towns of Porthaethwy (Menai Bridge) and Beaumaris dreadfully, they became ghost towns overnight," she said.
"The retail sector of both those major towns of the island, in the run-up to Christmas, was devastating.
"We have to accept that the bridges need maintenance, and Menai Bridge is now in need of now of major maintenance. Some forward thinking and planning was needed in hindsight."
The bridge became the responsibility of the Welsh government when it was set up in 1999, though maintenance is carried out by a company called UK Highways (A55) Ltd, which took over the job in 1998.
The company told Robin Williams of Anglesey council that safety remained its top priority and IT had carried out extensive repairs over the past 25 years.
The Welsh government said: "The 1988 report recommended that the hangers should be inspected rather than automatically replaced, as part of a rolling programme of principal inspections.
"Principal Inspections have been undertaken since the 40 hangers were replaced and these inspections did not recommend replacing any further hangers on the Menai suspension bridge." |
José Andrés founded his charity group after the 2010 Haiti earthquake
World Central Kitchen (WCK) founder José Andrés says he is "heartbroken" over the deaths of aid workers in a strike by Israel - which he has urged to stop its "indiscriminate killing".
Seven of the US-based food charity's workers were killed on Monday when leaving a warehouse in Gaza.
In his statement, Mr Andrés said he was grieving for the victims' families.
"These are people... angels," he wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter. "They are not faceless... they are not nameless."
"The Israeli government needs to stop this indiscriminate killing," he added. "It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon."
In a separate statement, WCK's chief executive officer Erin Gore said the killing of the aid workers was "unforgivable".
"This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war," she said.
President Joe Biden spoke to the organisation's founder, Mr Andrés, saying he was "heartbroken" over the deaths, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Tuesday.
Mr Biden "is grieving with the entire WCK family", she said.
Mr Andrés, a two-star Michelin chef, established WCK in response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.
The group has provided meals in a host of war-torn places, including Ukraine. It has become one of the main suppliers of desperately needed aid to Gaza.
The group has named the seven killed:
The three British nationals killed were part of WCK's security team, according to the group, while the rest worked for the agency's "relief" team.
WCK has paused operations in the country as a result of the killings. The organisation said the strike happened despite "co-ordinating movements" with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The IDF said it was conducting a "thorough review" into what it called a "tragic incident".
Mr Netanyahu confirmed on Tuesday that "innocent people" were hit in what he called an "unintentional" strike.
"It happens in war, we check it to the end, we are in contact with the governments, and we will do everything so that this thing does not happen again," he said.
Mr Andrés said he had served alongside some of the workers providing humanitarian aid in several countries.
"No more innocent lives lost," he wrote on X. "Peace starts with our shared humanity. It needs to start now."
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Papa Stour lies off the west coast of Shetland's mainland
People living in one of the remotest parts of Scotland are to get a high-speed broadband link from space.
The UK government has announced that residents on Papa Stour, an island to the west of the Shetland mainland, will get a link to a satellite internet connection.
Work to connect to one of the low earth orbit (LEO) satellites will be completed later this week.
Papa Stour has the smallest population of Shetland's inhabited islands.
UK minister for data and digital infrastructure, Sir John Whittingdale, said: "Improving Papa Stour's connectivity is a major milestone in our efforts to close the digital divide as it transforms the lives of the island's residents and visitors."
The equipment to receive the satellite connection is expected to be in place on Papa Stour later this week and it will then link with OneWeb's LEO satellites to beam the high-speed broadband connection to the island from space.
Paul Coffey, of Clarus Networks Group, said: "Until now, Papa Stour residents have been constrained due to unreliable and slow internet connectivity.
"This installation is a landmark step in connecting remote communities, offering new possibilities for UK business and tourism." |
Two mounted police officers rode after a man spotted holding his mobile phone while driving.
They saw him driving through East Reach in Taunton, Somerset last Tuesday and quickly turned their horses around and caught up with him.
It is illegal to hold and use a phone, tablet, or any device that can send or receive data, while driving or riding a motorcycle.
Avon and Somerset Police said the man had been issued with a traffic offence report and would be issued with a £200 fine plus six points on his licence, or he could choose to take the matter to court. |
Last updated on .From the section Tennis
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Novak Djokovic dried the court with his towel and urged the crowd to "blow" in a farcical rain delay as his Wimbledon title defence began with a win.
But after the first set there was no play for 80 minutes, despite the closed roof, with Djokovic dabbing the grass before ground staff used leaf blowers.
"Every time I come out I normally have racquets, not towels - it was fun to do something different," Djokovic said.
"It was a little bit [of] a strange feeling but hopefully you guys liked it.
"It was definitely frustrating for all the crowd waiting for us to come out on court. We both wanted to play but the conditions were not great and still slippery.
"Once the roof was open it was a different story and after five or 10 minutes we were able to play."
Djokovic, aiming to secure his eighth Wimbledon title and match Roger Federer's record for a male player, will now play Australia's Jordan Thompson, ranked 70th in the world, following his five-set win over American Brandon Nakashima, 55th in the world.
Amusing scenes as Djokovic tries to dry the court
Djokovic, who has not lost on Centre Court since being beaten by Andy Murray in the 2013 final, was a break up in the first set, but complained the surface was getting slippery with drops of rain falling.
He wrapped up the set just before a shower at 14:20 BST, with the roof then fully closed 15 minutes later.
But in that time enough water had got on to the court before the covers came on to cause a lengthy delay.
With the covers off and the roof still closed, the players inspected the surface at 14:55, but were not happy with it and the crowd were told by the umpire that "the court is taking longer than expected to dry".
There followed some amusing scenes when Djokovic appeared with a towel, urged the 15,000-strong crowd to "blow" at the same time to dry the court, with him then wiping the grass himself.
After that, three members of ground staff, each armed with a leaf blower, also tried to dry the surface, while the fans began to get restless with a half-hearted slow hand clap and then a Mexican wave.
With the leaf blowers and the towel not doing enough, the roof was reopened at 15:40 in an attempt to dry the grass naturally with the rain having stopped.
It did the job and play resumed just before 15:50 with Djokovic able to take control with two breaks in the second set against his opponent, who battled hard but was outclassed.
If he keeps winning, Djokovic will not have to play a top-30 ranked opponent until the fourth round at the earliest.
Russia's seventh seed Andrey Rublev is a potential opponent for Djokovic in the quarter-finals and he began his campaign with a 6-3 7-5 6-4 success over Australia's Max Purcell.
Rublev, unable to play at Wimbledon in 2022 because of the ban handed out to Russian and Belarusian players after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, was only in trouble in the second set at 5-2 down before he won five games in a row in a 6-3 7-5 6-4 victory.
"I feel really happy to be back, because I haven't played much Wimbledon - I was injured or it was the pandemic or then they ban us," said Rublev.
"It feels really special to play at one of the best tournaments and to get a win was a nice moment."
Asked if he felt Wimbledon made a mistake by forcing the ban on Russian players last year, Rublev, who wrote 'No War Please' on a camera lens after advancing to the final at the Dubai Championships in February 2022, replied: "We were talking and I think we could find the solution.
"If we really want to help or do what is better for tennis and for the people, obviously there were better options. Not just to ban, because in the end, [there] was no difference.
"But it is what it is. Now we are here, and I'm really happy to be back and to compete."
Norwegian fourth seed Casper Ruud, who lost to Djokovic in last month's French Open final, was tested by Laurent Lokoli of France before eventually going through in four sets on Court One.
Ruud will play Great Britain's Liam Broady in the second round.
Elsewhere, there were successes for 14th seed Lorenzo Musetti and 17th seed Hubert Hurkacz against Juan Pablo Varillas of Peru and Albert Ramos-Vinolas of Spain respectively.
But there was a first-round exit for Canadian 11th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who lost in four sets to American Michael Mmoh.
The first three sets all went to tie-breaks before Mmoh, ranked 119th in the world and whose only previous singles appearance at Wimbledon was a first-round loss in 2018, closed out a 7-6 6-7 7-6 6-4 victory.
Number eight seed Jannik Sinner from Italy completed his victory over Juan Manuel Cerundolo on Centre Court at 21:20 BST, but ninth seed Taylor Fritz was one of the players forced off by bad light - the American is 3-2 up on serve in the final set against Germany's Yannick Hanfmann.
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Just Stop Oil have said they were not responsible for an incident at ex-chancellor George Osborne's wedding, which saw a protester throw orange confetti over the newly married couple.
The protest was similar to those carried out by the environmental group.
But, a spokesperson told the BBC they did not know the protester's identity.
The group had posted a clip from news agency PA on Twitter with the message: "You look good in orange George Osborne."
In the video a woman in a smart floral dress approaches George Osborne and Thea Rogers as they leave the church and begins throwing confetti, taken from a union jack paper bag.
In a statement the group said: "If it was a form of protest (which is yet to be established) we applaud it and thank the person concerned.
"It was peaceful and not especially disruptive but got massive media attention for Just Stop Oil's demand."
The group added that the media should focus on more important issues including the government's decision to license over 100 new oil and gas projects and wildfires in Canada.
It came as an email, widely shared online, made several unsubstantiated claims about Mr Osborne's private life.
Reports suggest Mr Osborne has contacted the police about the email.
Around 200 people, including ex-Prime Minister David Cameron and Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove attended the ceremony in the village of Bruton, Somerset.
Mr Osborne was previously married to Frances Osborne, but the pair divorced in 2019 after 21 years of marriage.
Ms Rogers previously worked as an adviser to Mr Osborne, and in 2016 was awarded an OBE for her work. |
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The impact of the 7.4 magnitude earthquake in Taiwan
Chang Hsin had just woken up in the Taiwanese city of Hualien on Wednesday when her entire block started shaking.
"The walls were crumbling. Shortly after, another quake hit, causing the entire house to tilt," the 59-year-old told the BBC.
Ms Chang was in her third floor apartment when the 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit, which killed nine people and left more than 1,000 injured in Taiwan's worst earthquake in 25 years.
Images of Ms Chang's Uranus Building apartment block have been shared across the world. The building is tilted over and rescue workers are attempting to shore up the 10-storey structure, to prevent it from falling over.
After the shaking finished Ms Chang started screaming for help, and then saw a fire engine outside.
"I urged them to hurry. I kept yelling 'quickly, quickly or the next aftershock is coming,'" she recalled.
"The house started to tilt while I was still inside," she said. "My legs were shaking, and I couldn't stand steady. I still can't calm down, especially with the aftershocks last night."
Local reports said one female teacher died in the building when she returned to rescue her cat.
Chang Hsin, right, and Wei Pang-Huan lived inside the Uranus Building
Ms Chang was speaking to the BBC from a shelter for people affected by the earthquake. Sitting next to her was Wei Pang-Huan, 60, who lived on the fifth floor of the Uranus Building.
The block is due to be demolished on Friday, and Ms Wei wasn't sure if she would be able to collect any of her belongings.
"All my belongings are in the building. I wonder if I could go inside to retrieve some important items, but it depends on the rescue team's instructions," she said.
Rescuers in Taiwan are working to reach more than 600 people stranded after the earthquake hit the eastern county of Hualien.
Some stuck in tunnels and near a national park have been rescued by helicopters, but 34 are still missing.
One Singaporean woman, who was was stuck in the mountains for a day and half, said "it's your worst nightmare coming true".
"It's like what they show in the movies. You never think you're going to experience something like that," she told the BBC.
"We felt the earth tremble and we just held on to each other. My husband was hit by some stones and we just hung on to each other for I don't know how long until it passed," she added.
"It was a terrible, terrible experience with aftershocks and tremors and rocks falling every few minutes."
She eventually made it to a hotel, where she received first aid.
The earthquake, which struck 18km (11mi) south of Hualien, was followed by more than 200 aftershocks, dozens of which were at least 6.5 magnitude or more, hindering search and rescue efforts. Taiwanese authorities expect there to be more aftershocks in the next few days.
Lai Su has lived at the bottom of a landmark gorge, just outside Hualien, for 35 years. She said Tuesday's earthquake was like nothing she has ever experienced.
"At the time I was in Hualien driving my car and the car began to move like it was dancing," she told the BBC.
"Usually when there is a quake at night and we are sleeping, we can't be bothered to get out of bed, but this time I would definitely have jumped out of bed and run."
For Ms Chang, her immediate future in Hualien city is looking uncertain. "I can only stay in the shelter now as I don't have a place to stay. I will go to work during the day and return to stay at night. |
Daniel Allen was remanded in custody to reappear by video link on 26 March
A man has appeared in court in Enniskillen charged with murdering four people who were found dead following a fire in County Fermanagh.
Daniel Sebastian Allen, whose address given as Molly Road, Enniskillen, is charged with four counts of murder.
The 27-year-old is also charged with arson with intent to endanger life and criminal damage.
A baby and two teenagers were among those who died in the fire in Derrylin, County Fermanagh, last Tuesday.
Those who died have been named locally as Crystal Gossett, her son, Edward, 16, and her daughter, Diane, 19.
The name of the young child, believed to be 18-months old, is not yet known.
The PSNI has confirmed that formal identifications of the victims have yet to take place.
The court heard that Daniel Allen had been detained in hospital under police guard after the fire.
When asked if he understood the charges, Mr Allen nodded and replied: "Yes".
A detective inspector told the court he could connect him with the charges.
Mr Allen was remanded in custody to reappear by video link on 26 March. |
China is pressuring Uyghurs living abroad to spy on human rights campaigners by threatening families back home, researchers say. Refugees and activists tell the BBC intimidating tactics are tearing communities apart.
"My dearest son," said Alim's mother as she flickered into view. "I didn't think I'd see you before I died."
Alim - not his real name - says he was overcome by the moment. The reunion over a video call was their first contact in six years, since he fled as a refugee to the UK.
But it was bittersweet: someone else was in control of the call. Like all Uyghurs - a mostly Muslim minority from north-western China - Alim's mother lives under intense surveillance and control. They could never call each other directly.
Instead, a middleman phoned Alim and his mother from two separate mobiles. He held the phone screens to face each other, so the pair could see wobbly images of each other - and hear muffled sound from the speakers.
Alim says they barely spoke, and spent most of the call in tears.
He doesn't know if the plain white wall he could see behind his mother was in her house in Xinjiang or an internment camp, where the Chinese government is alleged to have detained more than a million Uyghurs. China has long denied those charges.
But Alim says he knew this contact with his mother would come at a cost - because the man brokering the call was a Chinese police officer.
Uyghurs in China live under intense surveillance and more than a million have allegedly been detained in internment camps (file photo from 2019)
When the officer called again, he asked Alim to attend meetings of Uyghur human rights activists, gather intelligence and pass it back to the Chinese state.
"Whenever there was an anti-China protest in London, they would call me and ask who would be attending," says Alim, who shared with the BBC recordings of the phone calls requesting he work as a spy.
Alim was offered money, too, so he could try to befriend the leaders of campaign groups - many of them UK citizens - by taking them to restaurants and picking up the bill.
The officer suggested setting up a company as a front, in case suspicions were raised about his newfound wealth. Plenty of businesses had already been set up on behalf of others for that exact purpose, Alim was told.
The implied threat, that his family may come to harm if he refused, has left him in a vicious bind.
"They are using my family as hostages," Alim says. "I am living in a dark moment."
Watch more on BBC Newsnight on BBC Two at 22:30 on Monday 31 July, or catch up afterwards on BBC iPlayer
The tactics employed by governments to police their diasporas abroad are known as transnational repression.
Research suggests this particular kind - controlling access to family members in the home country through video calls, in exchange for compliance overseas - is commonly used by Chinese police.
Dr David Tobin at the University of Sheffield has conducted some of the most comprehensive research on the topic to date, with his colleague Nyrola Elimä. They have interviewed and surveyed more than 200 members of the Uyghur diaspora in several countries. He says all Uyghurs living outside China are victims of transnational repression.
"Family separation is the central tactic," he says. Even where phone calls are technically possible, relatives still living in China won't pick up, according to Dr Tobin. He says there is an assumption that calls will be monitored, and a fear that communicating freely will put them at risk.
Dr David Tobin says all Uyghurs living abroad are victims of transnational repression
This severing of family ties allows Chinese police to step in and offer tightly managed access - over video calls - as an incentive to comply, with the threat of repercussions for the family if they do not.
In the UK, Dr Tobin surveyed or interviewed 48 Uyghurs, from a population of about 400 people. Of those, two-thirds reported having been contacted directly by Chinese police - and pressured to spy, refrain from advocacy work, or stop speaking to the media.
And Uyghurs in the UK are far from the worst affected.
In Turkey, traditionally a safe haven for Uyghurs where 50,000 live in one of the largest communities outside China, 80% of the 148 of respondents reported similar threats from Chinese authorities.
Abdurehim Paraç arrived in Istanbul in 2014, having fled China a year earlier.
"Turkey was completely different to anything we'd experienced. We could travel wherever we wanted. The police didn't bother us," he says. "I couldn't believe such a life was possible."
But in the past few years, the picture has changed for Uyghurs in Turkey. Reports that police based in China have pressured people to spy on each other have filtered through the community, splintering their sense of camaraderie.
Abdurehim Paraç says Turkey was a safe haven for Uyghurs, but China's tactics are driving the community apart
In a video posted on Facebook, a young Uyghur man who appears to have been captured and beaten by his peers, offers a troubled confession - admitting to spying on behalf of Beijing. While the circumstances surrounding the scene are unclear, the footage has been circulated among the Uyghur community, and the man has been widely condemned online.
The accumulation of stories like these is having an effect, Abdurehim says.
"Young people are distancing themselves from Uyghur protests and meetings. They are worried that people there might be spies," he says. "China's plan is working."
Dr Tobin thinks Turkish authorities are aware of what's happening and have been slow to respond. "The more dependent a country is on investment from China, the more likely it is to cooperate or to turn a blind eye," he says.
Turkey is seen as having grown closer to China in recent years, and questions have been raised about its commitment to protecting its Uyghur community.
The Turkish government did not respond to a request for comment.
But China is not only targeting people in countries where it has economic supremacy.
Julie Millsap, a US-born activist who works with the Uyghur Human Rights Project in Washington DC, says China has tried to pressure her through her in-laws.
Julie Millsap, a US-born activist, says her husband's family in China faced police harassment for her work with Uyghurs
Her husband is Han Chinese, part of the country's largest ethnic group, and the two met in China before moving to the US capital in 2020.
After Julie began campaigning on behalf of Uyghurs, local police began dropping in on her extended family in China, saying they "wanted to be friends".
She and her husband received threatening messages from her sister-in-law's phone, suggesting Julie's children may end up "as orphans". "They weren't written in a language style that she used," says Julie, who suspects the police were instructing her to send them.
During a recent video call between her husband, in Washington DC, and his sister, in China, the police happened to stop by, allowing Julie to record the moment, and confront one of the officers directly.
"He stammered and asked us not to misinterpret his intentions," she says. The officer told her police were arranging visits to all local families with US relatives, in light of the "delicate" relationship between the US and China.
Julie Millsap confronted a police officer who dropped in on her sister-in-law in China
Julie recognises that a white American and a Han Chinese family are afforded a degree of safety that Uyghurs are not. "But we're still talking about police harassment, about threats, about a daily reality that is anything but good," she says.
She thinks it is alarming that Chinese authorities feel comfortable targeting foreign citizens and attempting to dictate their work.
The US government is beginning to address the problem formally.
In March, senators introduced the Transnational Repression Policy Act, listing a range of abuses including "coercion by proxy", which covers threats to family members overseas. If passed, the law would see the creation of a dedicated phone line to report threats, and prompt Congress to bring sanctions against perpetrators wherever possible.
Abduweli Ayup, a Uyghur rights campaigner based in Norway, thinks the US legislation would be a step in the right direction, but that Western governments should go further. Each time a case is reported to the authorities, questions should be lodged directly with the Chinese government, requesting assurance that family members are safe, he says.
"We are your citizens, your neighbours and your taxpayers. Our governments should take some responsibility," says Mr Ayup.
Dr Tobin recognises the complications inherent in tackling the issue. "Saying 'would you like to speak to your family?' isn't a crime. We know it's a threat. We know it breaks communities, and causes mental health problems and trauma, but it is not a crime on British soil," he says.
The UK Home Office says attempts to intimidate overseas critics are "unacceptable", that an internal review into transnational repression is underway, and all such incidents should be reported to law enforcement.
In a statement, the Chinese Embassy in London called the allegations of transnational repression "totally groundless". The Chinese government "protects Uyghurs and their communication with overseas relatives in accordance with the law", it said.
Alim chose not to report his case to the police, but confessed his predicament to a group of Uyghur rights activists in London.
One of the group's leaders told us the requests were very common, and posed challenges to the integrity of the community - but insisted their advocacy work would continue. In their experience, almost all advances from Chinese police are rejected.
Alim wrestled with the issue before reaching a decision. "I realised that betraying others for the sake of my family would mean selling out my nation, and I couldn't do that.
"If that was the price I had to pay, so be it." He too refused China's offer. |
Bills could rise after water suppliers in England said they were ready to spend £10bn on tackling sewage spills.
The privately owned companies have apologised for the amount of contaminated water being discharged into rivers and seas, amid mounting public anger over the practice.
Some campaigners have cautiously welcomed the move, but others say firms are shifting the cost on to billpayers.
The industry paid out £1.4bn to shareholders in 2022.
Musician and environmental campaigner Feargal Sharkey called it a "half apology" that was another attempt to extract more money from customers.
"What I am actually hearing is no apology for the fact we have paid them for a service we haven't got, they are now suggesting we pay them a second time for a service we haven't had," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"We should have an apology for the suggestion they are going to put bills up by £10bn for their incompetence and their greed. This is nothing to celebrate."
Companies are sometimes allowed to spill sewage into open water following heavy rainfall to prevent the system becoming overloaded and backing up into people's homes.
But campaigners have long said these spills are happening too often. In 2022, raw sewage was dumped into rivers and seas for 1.75 million hours - or 825 times a day on average.
Untreated sewage contains bacteria such as E.coli and viruses like hepatitis, that can be harmful to animals and humans. Swimming in water where untreated sewage is discharged can lead to serious illnesses such as stomach bugs, which may cause diarrhoea and vomiting, as well as respiratory, skin, ear and eye infections.
Wildlife including fish and insects can also experience kidney issues and die from sewage pollution.
Water UK, the body which represents England's nine water and sewage companies, apologised on behalf of the industry for not "acting quickly enough".
Ruth Kelly, the organisation's chair, told BBC News: "We're sorry about the upset and the anger from the fact that there have been overspills of untreated sewage onto beaches and into rivers over the past few years.
"We're sorry that we didn't act sooner, but we get it."
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Environment Agency chairman Alan Lovell welcomed the companies' apology but said he wanted to "see action and a clear plan for delivery".
The companies said on Thursday they were ready to spend £10bn raised from investors to tackle the problem - but admitted customers could see a "modest" bills rise as firms looked to recover the costs over time.
Water regulator Ofwat said on Thursday it would review the commitment to assess what impact it could have on consumers before spending begins.
There are many ways that water companies can spend the money to reduce sewage spills including:
But the water companies have come under significant criticism for suggesting bills could be raised to pay for this investment whilst continuing to pay out profits to shareholders.
Downing street has said that water companies should put "consumers above profits".
The prime minister's deputy official spokesman said the apology from water companies was welcome but acknowledged that more needed to be done.
"And we've been clear throughout that we don't want to see things disproportionately impacting customer bills, especially given we know that there are people up and down the country who are struggling with the cost of living, which is why we provided the help we have in that area."
It is not yet known how much bills could rise with the new investment as Ofwat will not make a decision until the end of 2024 on spending plans.
Marine conservation charity Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) welcomed "the long overdue apology" but said the investment should not be paid for through higher bills.
"The UK public has already paid for environmental protection from sewage - but we're yet to see it. And whilst the water industry rakes it in, this investment pledged by Water UK must come out of water company profits, not from the bill payer," said Izzy Ross, campaigns manager at SAS.
Commons Environmental Audit Committee chair, Conservative MP Philip Dunne, told the BBC he hoped Ofwat would approve the investment plan.
Last year his committee warned the UK's rivers were a "chemical cocktail" of raw sewage, microplastics and slurry.
"The water and sewage sector is in listening mode and has provided a promising plan to tackle poor water quality and take vital steps to improve the country's ageing sewerage infrastructure," he said.
Jim McMahon MP, Labour's shadow environment secretary, said the government was partially to blame for the situation.
"Thirteen years of Tory government failure has left a broken system, capped by an appalling track record of inaction. The Conservatives are the problem not the solution," he said.
This sentiment was supported by Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey. "The one apology missing here is from the environment secretary," he said. "This Conservative government has been pathetic on stopping sewage discharges into rivers."
The Green Party called for water and sewage companies to be brought back into public ownership.
Sewage spills can cause algae blooms which starve fish and other organisms of oxygen
Water UK said the companies also committed to cutting spills by up to 35% by 2030 and sharing real time data on how often sewage was being spilled into rivers and seas.
But this is not a new pledge, as the government announced last month the sharing of data would be a legal requirement for water companies by 2025.
Water UK also said companies would reduce the number of sewage spills by up to 140,000, compared with 2020, when there were more than 400,000 spills.
Environmental campaign group Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (Wasp) said that promise was "meaningless" unless the volume being spilled is also reduced. Currently, water companies are only required to monitor if a spill is happening but not how much is released.
Peter Hammond, from Wasp, told Radio 4's Today programme: "All they are promising to do is reduce the number of spills, we still don't know whether they are trickles or tsunamis of sewage going into the river[s]".
Water and sewage services in the UK are devolved and in Scotland and Northern Ireland are provided by government-run companies, in Wales it is not-for-profit. They have their own action plans to tackle sewage spills which are not included in Water UK's announcement.
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Geraint Davies has said he does not recognise the allegations
Three female MPs have said they were warned about Geraint Davies in their first weeks in Westminster.
They were told by other MPs to "watch out" for him, they say.
The Swansea West MP was suspended by the Labour Party following reports by the Politico website of "completely unacceptable behaviour".
Two formal complaints have now been made against the politician but he has said he does not recognise the allegations.
The three MPs who spoke to BBC Wales included two from the Labour Party and one Conservative.
One new Labour MP claimed she was subject to lewd comments and inappropriate touching.
"He was always lewd and yuck in terms of his behaviour, it was just his MO [modus operandi]," she said.
"It was never sinister, just inappropriate. He'd make lewd comments or touch your arm when you were next to him in the voting lobby. It just made you feel uncomfortable.
"If you saw him in the tea room, you would avoid sitting on his table and pray he wouldn't come and sit with you."
She added: "When I first became an MP, he was one of the ones you'd be warned about. Several people sat me down and told me to watch out for him.
"It's about time this came to light."
The Swansea West MP has said he does not recognise the allegations
A second female Labour MP told BBC Wales that she was also advised by fellow MPs to avoid Mr Davies.
The second MP had not experienced or witnessed any inappropriate behaviour herself, and therefore did not raise the issue with the party.
She believes the party needed to reassess its procedures.
"The Labour Party have a new complaints process, but we now need to question if it's working. There needs to be a review of that process to see whether it's working and if it's robust enough," she said.
"Why do we need to put the onus on young women to come forward and to make an official complaint before action is taken?
"There is now a lot of talk amongst female MPs on how we change the culture in Westminster because enough is enough."
A Conservative female MP has revealed she was also warned about Mr Davies when she first went to Westminster.
She said: "During the day, he is dismissive and rude to you. But when he has a drink - and you go to speak to him - his eyes light up in the creepiest way."
Another Labour MP told BBC Wales they were "amazed" it had taken so long for allegations about Geraint Davies' behaviour to become public.
"Everybody had heard about Geraint," they said.
Asked about Labour's procedures for dealing with allegations of inappropriate behaviour, the MP said the party's "hands were tied" until somebody had submitted a written complaint.
Mr Davies has been approached for comment but has not responded.
However, in response to earlier claims, he told Politico he did not recognise the allegations.
"If I have inadvertently caused offence to anyone, then I am naturally sorry as it is important that we share an environment of mutual and equal respect for all," he said.
First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford said his party has "acted swiftly" to suspend Mr Davies.
On a visit to Edinburgh, Mr Drakeford told the BBC the accusations against Mr Davies are "very serious" and "need to be taken seriously".
Originally Labour said it had not received a formal complaint, but the BBC now understands that one has been made.
It's understood that following an overhaul of its complaints procedures, the Labour Party introduced a new process last year which it believes is robust, and is one that complainants can have confidence in.
A Labour spokesperson has previously said: "These are incredibly serious allegations of completely unacceptable behaviour.
"We strongly encourage anyone with a complaint to come forward to the Labour Party's investigation.
"Any complainant will have access to an independent support service who provide confidential and independent guidance and advice from external experts throughout the process."
Labour general secretary David Evans said a review has been launched into the complaints process following previous incidents, including an aide receiving a warning after allegedly groping a junior staff member.
In an email sent on Thursday, he said: "Since the stories two weeks ago, it has been my urgent focus that we review the formal processes through which our colleagues can report such behaviour, how we work together with independent complaints bodies to ensure rigorous outcomes and protection for staff while investigations are ongoing, and how we can create a culture in which colleagues feel safe and encouraged to make a complaint if they need to.
"I have been working together with a taskforce of the party's senior leadership team to move this review forward as quickly as possible." |
The bullet that killed Olivia was fired through the front door of her home
The man who murdered nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel has been jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 42 years in prison.
Thomas Cashman, 34, refused to go into the dock for the sentencing and none of his family were present in court.
He fatally shot Olivia and injured her mother Cheryl Korbel as he chased a fellow drug dealer into their Liverpool home on the evening of 22 August 2022.
The judge said his failure to appear was "disrespectful" to Olivia's family.
John Cooper KC, defending, said Cashman had not attended the hearing as he claimed the Crown Prosecution Service were singing "we are the champions" following his conviction.
He said Cashman was concerned proceedings were "turning into a circus".
Sentencing him in absentia at Manchester Crown Court, Mrs Justice Amanda Yip said drug dealer Cashman was "not of previous good character", had made it clear he was a criminal and had "demonstrated no remorse".
"His failure to come into court is further evidence of that," she said.
Thomas Cashman was convicted following a trial, which lasted more than three weeks
She said Cashman "relentlessly pursued" Joseph Nee into Olivia's home, where the schoolgirl had left her bed after hearing the commotion.
"She came downstairs to seek the comfort of her mother," she said.
"Her last words were 'Mum, I'm scared'.
"In a terrible twist of fate, she had stepped directly into the line of fire."
The judge said she had considered handing down a whole-life order, meaning Cashman would never be released from prison, but had decided it was not merited because the planning and premeditation in his attack was not directed at Olivia.
She also praised the bravery of a woman who gave evidence against Cashman, who was granted lifetime anonymity.
Earlier in the hearing, Ms Korbel was in tears as she clutched a teddy bear made from her daughter's pyjamas while giving her victim impact statement in the witness box.
"I cannot get my head around how Cashman continued to shoot after hearing the terrified screams and utter devastation he had caused," she said.
"His actions have left the biggest hole in our lives."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Olivia Pratt-Korbel's mother: "Justice has prevailed and I cannot begin to express our relief"
Ms Korbel told the court life was "so very quiet" without her daughter, adding: "I just can't cope with the silence."
She said she spent every afternoon thinking about the end of the school day and her "sassy, chatty girl who everyone adored" adding: "My mind keeps telling me that I've forgotten to pick her up from school."
She added that Olivia's grandmother had died on Sunday night, but had thankfully "lived long enough to see that coward found guilty".
Olivia's father John Pratt told the court he was "heartbroken" and had "nightmares about how she died [that] won't go away".
Speaking directly to the absent Cashman, he said: "You have denied my beautiful girl Olivia her future.
"I will never see her on her wedding day, and walk her down the aisle... and see her grow into the beautiful woman she was destined to become.
"We have been robbed of her future. Because of you, she will be forever nine."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Judge passes mandatory life sentence for the murder of Olivia Pratt-Korbel
Cashman, who told the court he made up to £5,000 every week from dealing cannabis in Liverpool, was found guilty of murdering Olivia after a trial which lasted more than three weeks.
The jury heard 36-year-old Nee was the intended target of the attack and Cashman, armed with two guns, had been "lying in wait" for his fellow drug dealer.
Nee had run towards the open door of Olivia's home after her mother went out to see what the noise was, the court heard.
However, when she realised it was gunshots, she ran back into her house and tried to close the door to keep the strangers out, but Cashman shot again.
The bullet went through the door and Ms Korbel's hand, before hitting Olivia in the chest.
Cashman, a father-of-two, denied being the gunman and had claimed he was at a friend's house counting £10,000 in cash and smoking cannabis at the time of the attack.
BBC Panorama investigates how Liverpool came to dominate the UK drug market and how organised crime brought death to Olivia Pratt-Korbel's door.
There were gasps from the public gallery as the sentence was announced.
Olivia's mum Cheryl and other relatives were crying, while some police officers were also tearful.
Outside the courtroom, Olivia's mum and aunties are hugging and crying.
This isn't just about justice for the nine-year-old and her family. It's also a moment for the whole community in Dovecot, Liverpool.
The lengthy imprisonment of Thomas Cashman will reassure those he intimidated, and who lived in fear of him. They may feel a bit safer as a result.
But it won't solve the bigger issues which allowed him to flourish. The drugs trade will continue, and the availability of firearms is still a problem.
The jailing of Cashman is a big victory for the police. But they know there's still much to do, to clean up the streets where he operated.
Speaking after the sentencing, Ms Korbel said her family "can now draw a line under seven months of agonising torment we have had to endure at the hands of Cashman".
"Justice has prevailed and I cannot begin to express our relief," she said.
She also thanked the witnesses "who bravely assisted the prosecution case and defied the usual stance [that] 'people do not grass'".
She said they welcome the sentence "but my family and I have already started our life sentence having to spend the rest of our lives without Olivia".
John Pratt's sister Louise added that while they were "happy" with the outcome, they "would not be celebrating, as nothing will fill the gap left in our lives following the loss of Olivia".
Det Supt Mark Baker, who led the investigation, said the "courage and bravery of Olivia's family [was] in direct contrast to the cowardice shown by Thomas Cashman".
He said the sentence has been welcomed by Merseyside Police, adding that it meant Cashman "won't be out until he's a very old man".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Bodycam footage of the moment Thomas Cashman was arrested
Commenting on Cashman's refusal to enter the dock, a Ministry of Justice source said Olivia and her family "weren't able to hide from Thomas Cashman's crime, so he shouldn't be able to hide from justice".
"This is exactly why the Deputy Prime Minister [Dominic Raab] is committed to changing the law so that offenders are forced to face the consequences of their actions," they said.
Mr Raab said in February he was examining whether judges should be able to impose longer terms on those who refused to come to court after Zara Aleena's killer did not appear for sentencing.
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Ron Fealey died in hospital after being hit by a car on Christmas Eve
A woman has appeared in court accused of a drink-drive collision on Christmas Eve which killed a great-grandfather.
Katrina Mahoney, 33, appeared before Merthyr Tydfil magistrates court charged with causing death by driving without due care and attention while over the alcohol limit.
The court was told she intends to plead guilty in Merthyr Crown Court.
Ron Fealey, 82, was allegedly struck by her car and died in hospital from his injuries.
The case was adjourned to the crown court on 14 August.
Katrina Mahoney was found to have 73 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, the court heard
Mr Fealey was allegedly hit by her Nissan Qashqai on Avenue De Clichy in Merthyr on 24 December 2022.
The court heard she was found to have 73 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, more than twice the legal limit.
A charge of failing to report an accident was dropped by the prosecution as the time limit had expired.
In a tribute released after his death, retired nurse Mr Fealey was described as "one of a kind; funny, intelligent and caring".
He was a "stalwart" of Dowlais rugby club, where he was a committee member who would "always be respected and remembered".
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. |
Last updated on .From the section Championship
Play-off hopefuls West Bromwich Albion came from two goals down to snatch a dramatic point against a resurgent Watford at the Hawthorns.
Second-half strikes from Edo Kayembe and Mileta Rajovic put the Hornets in control.
Brandon Thomas-Asante halved the deficit with an angled shot, and Darnell Furlong's piledriver in added time completed an impressive comeback by the Baggies.
Watford interim boss Tom Cleverley was denied a second victory since replacing Valerien Ismael last month and they are 14th in the table, while the Baggies strengthened their grip on fifth place.
Hornets goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann was called into action inside the first 10 minutes when Thomas-Asante robbed Francisco Sierralta and fired at goal.
Ryan Porteous denied Mikey Johnston the opportunity to profit from the rebound, deflecting his effort over the bar.
Moments later, Bachmann thwarted Thomas-Asante again, this time palming away his goal-bound header, before he saw another effort sail over the bar.
The striker completed a frustrating first half in stoppage time when he failed to direct Tom Fellows' cross on target.
Watford offered little in terms of attacking threat before the break, but the second half was a different story as, on 51 minutes, Kayembe put them in front by controlling a weak clearance from a corner and unleashing a powerful strike low into the net from the edge of the area.
Suddenly, the visitors were in the ascendancy. Alex Palmer pushed away Tom Dele-Bashiru's forceful effort from distance before Emmanuel Dennis struck the post from a tight angle.
Their pressure told again on 66 minutes when Rajovic, who had only been on the pitch for 10 minutes, tapped home Jamal Lewis' byline cross at the back post.
But West Brom hit back through Thomas-Asante four minutes later as he collected substitute Grady Diangana's reverse pass and found the net via a deflection off Porteous.
Furlong struck in the 91st minute after combining well with Diangana, firing into the roof of the net from the edge of the area and giving Bachmann no chance.
The valuable point inches Albion closer to the play-offs with the three teams below them - Norwich, Coventry City and Preston - all suffering Monday defeats.
"For me, the team was managing the first half well. In the second half we dropped. After the two goals they scored everything was difficult.
"In football, you can never give up. You need to keep giving your best to see what you can achieve. Fortunately, we achieved the point. Unfortunately, we couldn't achieve three points.
"Watford is a team with a lot of energy, quality and legs. We started to concede things because we didn't arrive on on time in places and opened a lot of spaces. They can make differences with those spaces. that was the consequence of the two goals we conceded.
"It is necessary to be able to bounce back in football. Situations won't always happen like we want them to happen."
"It is a bit of both really [point gained and two dropped]. At this stage of the season performances have to count for a lot. A draw and a good performance, I see as a positive.
"But in the matter of which it has happened you can't help but feel deflated. It is my job to pick the players up and if we sustain that level of performance, we will be picking up a lot of points.
"The first half was cagey, they are a really well coached side. They watched how we played on Friday and had a lot of rotations to combat that. I asked the lads to impose themselves on the game second half and that's exactly what they did.
"Coming here and controlling the game is not an easy thing to do. I don't think there could be any complaints if we [had] won the game."
• None Goal! West Bromwich Albion 2, Watford 2. Darnell Furlong (West Bromwich Albion) right footed shot from outside the box to the top left corner. Assisted by Grady Diangana.
• None Attempt saved. Ryan Andrews (Watford) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Jamal Lewis with a cross.
• None Attempt saved. Matheus Martins (Watford) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
• None Attempt missed. Edo Kayembe (Watford) left footed shot from outside the box is too high.
• None Attempt saved. Yáser Asprilla (Watford) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Matheus Martins.
• None Goal! West Bromwich Albion 1, Watford 2. Brandon Thomas-Asante (West Bromwich Albion) right footed shot from the right side of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Grady Diangana with a through ball. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page |
UFC fighter Conor McGregor has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman after an NBA Finals basketball game in Miami earlier this month.
A legal letter outlining allegations, sent to Mr McGregor and seen by BBC News, states the alleged assault took place in a bathroom at Kaseya Center.
A lawyer representing Mr McGregor said: "The allegations are false. Mr McGregor will not be intimidated."
The City of Miami Police said an investigation had been opened.
In a statement, UFC said it was aware of the allegations and was gathering further details. The Miami Heat, which hosted the NBA Finals game, said it was conducting a full investigation.
The woman's lawyer, Ariel Mitchell, said her client had been watching game four of the NBA Finals on Friday 9 June before the alleged incident happened.
In the legal letter to Mr McGregor, Ms Mitchell alleged the woman was forced into a men's bathroom by security guards from the NBA and Miami Heat before being violently sexually assaulted by Mr McGregor.
The letter claimed the woman was able to free herself from the bathroom, but left behind her purse, which she is said to have retrieved after pleading with security guards.
It alleges that security for the league, team and arena "aided and abetted" Mr McGregor by trapping and isolating her in the bathroom.
In an interview, Ms Mitchell said she had obtained video footage showing part of the alleged incident.
A police report relating to the incident was made on Sunday 11 June, the City of Miami Police told BBC News.
"This is an open investigation so no additional information can be released at this time," a police department spokeswoman said.
Mr McGregor's appearance at the NBA Finals made headlines after the Irish former champion hit the Miami Heat's mascot during half-time, in an apparent stunt for a pain relief spray he was promoting.
The person acting as the mascot was taken to a local hospital for treatment after the incident, the Athletic reported. |
Stephen and Carol Baxter's local yacht club said the couple would be "much missed"
A man has been charged with murdering a married couple found dead at their seaside home, Essex Police said.
The bodies of Stephen Baxter, 61, and Carol Baxter, 64, were discovered at the property on Victory Road, West Mersea, near Colchester, on 9 April.
Luke D'Wit, 33, of Churchfields, West Mersea, has been charged with murder, possession of a Class A drug, and theft.
He is due to appear before Chelmsford Magistrates' Court on Saturday.
Police said two other people arrested in connection with the incident, a man and a woman, have been released on bail.
Det Insp Lydia George, said: "This is a significant development in our investigation as we piece together the circumstances around the deaths of Carol and Stephen."
A family member found the pair deceased at their home in West Mersea
The couple's deaths were initially treated as "unexpected and not suspicious" but the force said it had changed direction after an "extensive investigation and toxicology analysis" conducted as part of during a post-mortem examination.
Tests showed the couple had ingested the synthetic opioid drug fentanyl.
A brief inquest hearing at the coroner's court in Chelmsford on Thursday heard Ms Baxter died from "combined fentanyl and promethazine toxicity with terminal bronchopneumonia".
A cause of death of "cardiomegaly and alcoholic liver disease with fentanyl intoxication" was recorded for Mr Baxter.
The inquest was adjourned pending the ongoing police investigation.
The couple were directors of Cazsplash, a firm which produces shower mats and bathroom accessories.
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A video still from the fatal Paris traffic stop shooting
Prosecutors have begun piecing together what happened before the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Nahel M by a police officer.
The officer has been charged with homicide and remains in custody.
In their outline of events after questioning eyewitnesses and reviewing CCTV footage, prosecutors say the teenage driver had already ignored a police demand to stop, when officers caught up with the car and drew their weapons.
Meanwhile an account has been posted online by one of the passengers, which French media say they have verified but the BBC has not.
In this account the passenger, also a teenager, says the officers hit Nahel M with the butts of their guns three times, causing him to take his foot off the brake of the car.
Prosecutors are due to talk to this witness on Monday.
Around 08:00 on Tuesday, two policemen on motorcycles spotted a Mercedes with a Polish number plate driving fast in a bus lane, Nanterre prosecutor Pascal Prache told journalists.
Turning on their siren, the officers caught up with the car at a traffic light. Three young men were inside.
The officers told the driver to stop but the vehicle pulled away, ignoring the red light. The officers gave chase and notified their unit by radio.
At 08:16, the Mercedes stopped in heavy traffic. Both officers got off their motorcycles, drew their weapons and approached the car.
They later told prosecutors that they pointed their guns at the driver to "deter him from driving away again".
They asked the driver to turn off the ignition, but the car moved forward. One of the officers fired, fatally wounding the young man in the chest.
After the car ran into a roadside barrier, one of the passengers was arrested and the other fled on foot.
The passenger says the three friends were driving around Nanterre when the car strayed into the bus lane and was chased by two policemen on motorcycles.
After Nahel stopped the car, the young man says in his video and in an interview with Le Parisien newspaper, one of the officers hit the teenage driver with the butt of his gun.
He alleges that the second policeman also struck Nahel before the first officer again hit him.
He told Le Parisien that the blows left Nahel M "a little stunned".
The third blow, according to this account, caused Nahel to take his foot off the brake and the vehicle to move forward. After the officer fired, Nahel M slumped forward and his foot pressed on the accelerator, the passenger said.
When the car came a standstill, the passenger said, he decided to flee because he was afraid he would be shot too.
Questions have been asked about the car, a Mercedes A class AMG. Officials describe it as a rented vehicle.
The passenger who fled said that someone had lent it to the three youths, without giving any details.
According to the French motoring website Autoplus, German sportscars with Polish number plates can be hired for €300-3,000 (£260-2,600) a day.
This type of short rental is popular with young men in French housing estates, Autoplus says.
Nahel M did not have a criminal record but was known to police.
He had previously been cited for driving without a licence - he was too young to have one - and for refusing to comply with an order to stop.
He was due to appear before a juvenile court in September. |
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Seven Just Stop Oil protesters have been arrested while trying to halt the annual Pride parade in central London.
Images on social media showed police removing demonstrators who managed to briefly stop the march.
The Metropolitan Police said seven people were arrested for public nuisance offences.
Before the parade started, LGBTQ+ Just Stop Oil members called on Pride to stop accepting sponsorship money from "high-polluting industries".
Organisers estimate more than 30,000 participants from across 600 organisations took part in the parade.
Speaking after the arrests, Will De'Athe-Morris, from Pride in London said he did not want the protest to overshadow the parade's core message.
"Pride is a protest and pride is a celebration," he told the BBC. "We are protesting for LGBT+ rights and for our trans siblings, who must never march alone."
"So for us anyone who tries to disrupt that protest and parade is really letting down those people who use this space once a year to come together to celebrate and protest for those rights."
Protesters stopped in front of a Coca-Cola float in Piccadilly
Police said the parade was briefly delayed for around 17 minutes while officers dealt with the protesters at Piccadilly's junction with Down Street.
BBC Radio London's Rob Oxley said the protesters "sat down in front of the Coke float for around 20 minutes".
"The DJ on the float continued to play music and the crowd cheered as they were removed."
Organisers estimated around 30,000 participants from across 600 organisations took part in the parade
Before the parade started, LGBTQ+ members of Just Stop Oil called on organisers to condemn new oil, gas and coal licences.
"These partnerships embarrass the LGBTQ+ community at a time when much of the cultural world is rejecting ties to these toxic industries," they said in a statement.
LGBTQ+ people are "suffering first" in the "accelerating social breakdown" caused by climate change, they added.
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, says many people involved in the parade are passionate about tackling climate change, but disruption isn't the right approach
The procession started at midday at Hyde Park Corner and people peacefully made their way through Westminster's streets - it finished at Whitehall Place.
A number of stages hosted performances from LGBTQ+ acts as part of the celebrations.
The parade began at Hyde Park Corner and weaved its way through central London - it is due to end at Whitehall Place
Mr De'Athe-Morris urged protesters not to "rain on this parade".
"There are so many more opportunities during the year to share your messages, please don't try and rain on this parade," he said.
"We don't want to see a day marred in any way by people trying to disrupt it."
Earlier, Sadiq Khan described Just Stop Oil as a "really important pressure group" despite the disruption threats. |
OpenAI has released GPT-4, the latest version of its hugely popular artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT.
The new model can respond to images - providing recipe suggestions from photos of ingredients, for example, as well as writing captions and descriptions.
It can also process up to 25,000 words, about eight times as many as ChatGPT.
Millions of people have used ChatGPT since it launched in November 2022.
Popular requests for it include writing songs, poems, marketing copy, computer code, and helping with homework - although teachers say students shouldn't use it.
ChatGPT answers questions using natural human-like language, and it can also mimic other writing styles such as songwriters and authors, using the internet as it was in 2021 as its knowledge database.
There are concerns that it could one day take over many jobs currently done by humans.
OpenAI said it had spent six months on safety features for GPT-4, and had trained it on human feedback. However it warned that it may still be prone to sharing disinformation.
GPT-4 will initially be available to ChatGPT Plus subscribers, who pay $20 per month for premium access to the service.
It's already powering Microsoft's Bing search engine platform. The tech giant has invested $10b into OpenAI.
In a live demo it generated an answer to a complicated tax query - although there was no way to verify its answer.
GPT-4, like ChatGPT, is a type of generative artificial intelligence. Generative AI uses algorithms and predictive text to create new content based on prompts.
GPT-4 has "more advanced reasoning skills" than ChatGPT, OpenAI said. The model can, for example, find available meeting times for three schedules.
OpenAI also announced new partnerships with language learning app Duolingo and Be My Eyes, an application for the visually impaired, to create AI Chatbots which can assist their users using natural language.
However, like its predecessors, OpenAI has warned that GPT-4 is still not fully reliable and may "hallucinate" - a phenomenon where AI invents facts or makes reasoning errors. |
Last updated on .From the section Tennis
Just Stop Oil protesters interrupted play twice at Wimbledon by throwing orange-coloured confetti and jigsaw pieces on to court 18.
The contest between Grigor Dimitrov and Sho Shimabukuro was targeted by two protesters.
A third protester then targeted Katie Boulter's match against Daria Saville. Two men and a woman were arrested.
Environmental protest group Just Stop Oil has targeted various sporting events, including an Ashes Test.
Followers of the group - which calls for the government to halt all new oil, gas and coal projects - also disrupted the rugby union Premiership final and the World Snooker Championship.
In a statement after the first episode, the All England Club (AELTC) said: "Following an incident on court 18, two individuals have been arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass and criminal damage and these individuals have now been removed from the grounds."
A man and woman had run on to the court, throwing confetti and jigsaw pieces from a Wimbledon 'Centre Court View' jigsaw puzzle box on to the grass. The man sat down on court 18 before he was removed.
A couple of hours later another man ran on to the same court, where British number one Boulter had just resumed her rain-interrupted first-round match against Australian Saville.
The crowd booed the protesters with some heard shouting "get off".
Following the breaks in play, a Wimbledon shop worker told BBC Sport they had stopped selling jigsaws for now.
Just Stop Oil said in a statement its supporters had thrown "environmentally friendly orange confetti glitter and jigsaw pieces" and that "play was briefly delayed whilst marshals picked up the pieces".
• None Just Stop Oil: What is it and what does it want?
Home secretary Suella Braverman condemned the actions of the protesters as "selfish" and "unacceptable", and said she had chaired a meeting at Downing Street with representatives of various sports organisations to try to "prevent further disruptions".
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer added: "We must protect the right to peaceful protest, but that does not give licence to a vocal minority to spoil events that millions of us enjoy."
The meeting followed a spate of protests at high-profile sporting events, with Just Stop Oil disrupting the second Ashes cricket test at Lord's last week, attempting to spread orange powder on the wicket.
This year's Grand National was also disrupted after animal rights activists attached themselves to fences, with police making multiple arrests.
Wimbledon organisers previously urged spectators to "be considerate" when they were asked about the possibility of climate change protests, and they also increased security checks at this year's event.
The tighter security had led on Monday to delays in getting fans into the grounds.
Despite the measures, Wimbledon became the latest sporting event to find its green surface turned briefly orange.
AELTC chief executive Sally Bolton said earlier this week the club had "taken account of what we've seen elsewhere so security has been uplifted in various places around the grounds".
An environmental activist previously tied themselves to the net post during the French Open semi-final between Casper Ruud and Marin Cilic in 2022.
'It's not pleasant' - Dimitrov on interruption to his match
Bulgaria's Dimitrov won his first-round match against Shimabukuro after the brief protest early in the second set. Dimitrov said the disruption had been handled well by staff and the timing of a rain delay that came almost immediately afterwards had also been helpful.
"Obviously, it's not pleasant," he said. "Sometimes you're just at the wrong place at the wrong time.
"Everyone in a way did their part as quick as possible.
"Rain was coming so it was also a little bit fortunate to come off the court and have some time to kind of regroup a little bit and shake it off."
Boulter added: "I think we all sympathise with what they're going through completely. At the same time I don't know if it's the right place or time.
"When I think back to people who have sat here... 30 hours trying to watch tennis, it's really tough on them.
"I'm pretty sure there will be a reaction to what's been happening and there will be more security in place or whatever they need to do to ensure that it doesn't happen again."
Wimbledon have not said if they will be implementing any additional security measures, but are working "closely" with police.
"We are disappointed that three individuals sought to disrupt the enjoyment of others today and we continue to work closely with our partners in the Metropolitan Police as we look into every aspect of today's events," a statement read. |
There are plans for local radio stations in England to share some programmes with neighbouring areas
The BBC's regional TV bulletins and local radio and online output in England are being disrupted by a 24-hour strike on Wednesday and Thursday.
National Union of Journalists (NUJ) members working for BBC Local started the action at 11:00 GMT in response to plans to merge some local radio shows.
The NUJ said the proposals would "undermine already hollowed out local radio content across England".
The BBC said it had "tried to minimise disruption as much as possible".
Plans for its 39 local stations to share more shows would "see no overall reduction in staffing levels or local funding" and deliver "even greater value to communities", a BBC spokesperson said.
The strike means most 13.30, 18.30 and 22:30 regional TV news programmes across England are not expected to be broadcast.
Shortly after 11:00 on Wednesday, some local radio stations broadcast a syndicated programme. Others kept their own shows, although many used stand-in hosts.
The NUJ said it expected more than 1,000 staff to take part. When the strike ends at 11:00 on Thursday, they will then start a continuous work to rule - sticking strictly to the requirements of their contract, for example not taking on extra duties or overtime.
Programming in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is not affected.
The union said staff saw the strike as "a last resort".
NUJ general secretary Michelle Stanistreet said: "It's not simply a question about jobs and conditions for our members - they believe passionately in the value that quality local content brings to their audiences, journalism that is trusted and relied upon in the communities they serve.
"The BBC's raiding of local radio budgets to fund its Digital First strategy is wrongheaded and risks undermining a vital part of our public service broadcasting."
Wednesday's walk-out coincides with the chancellor's Budget day. Further strikes are being considered for May's local elections, the coronation and the Eurovision Song Contest.
Under the BBC's proposals, the 39 English stations would keep their own weekday morning programmes but then share 20 afternoon weekday shows, with some stations sharing schedules between 14:00-18:00 with neighbouring stations and others remaining local.
There would be 10 shared shows after 18:00 and a single all-England programme after 22:00. Weekend output will also be affected.
The 39 BBC Introducing shows, which help to discover up-and-coming musicians, will also be cut to 20 - but with extra timeslots to ensure a broad range of music can still be played.
The BBC has said local news bulletins and live sports programming will be maintained.
A BBC spokesperson said on Wednesday: "We are obviously disappointed that the strike has gone ahead. We have a plan to modernise local services across England - including more news journalists and a stronger local online service - which will see no overall reduction in staffing levels or local funding.
"Our goal is a local service across TV, radio and online that delivers even greater value to communities.
"We will continue to engage with the trade union and do everything possible to minimise the impact on staff."
The BBC plans also include creating 11 investigative reporting teams across the country, launching dedicated online services for Bradford, Wolverhampton, Sunderland and Peterborough, and creating a new fund to commission original local programmes and podcasts.
Separately, there have been recent protests about proposed cuts to BBC Radio Foyle in Northern Ireland. |
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. It would be strange for me to name dates but we are ready for counter-offensive, says Mr Danilov
Ukraine is ready to launch its long-expected counter-offensive against Russian forces, one of the country's most senior security officials has told the BBC.
Oleksiy Danilov would not name a date but said an assault to retake territory from President Vladimir Putin's occupying forces could begin "tomorrow, the day after tomorrow or in a week".
He warned that Ukraine's government had "no right to make a mistake" on the decision because this was an "historic opportunity" that "we cannot lose".
As secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, Mr Danilov is at the heart of President Volodymyr Zelensky's de facto war cabinet.
His rare interview with the BBC was interrupted by a phone message from President Zelensky summoning him to a meeting to discuss the counter-offensive.
During the interview, he also confirmed that some Wagner mercenary forces were withdrawing from the city of Bakhmut, the site of the bloodiest battle of the war so far - but he added they were "regrouping to another three locations" and "it doesn't mean that they will stop fighting with us".
Mr Danilov also said he was "absolutely calm" about Russia beginning to deploy nuclear weapons to Belarus, saying: "To us, it's not some kind of news."
Ukraine has been planning a counter-offensive for months. But it has wanted as much time as possible to train troops and to receive military equipment from Western allies.
In the meantime, Russian forces have been preparing their defences.
Much is at stake because the government in Kyiv needs to show the people of Ukraine - and Western allies - that it can break through Russian lines, end the effective military deadlock and recapture some of its sovereign territory.
Mr Danilov said the armed forces would begin the assault when commanders calculated "we can have the best result at that point of the war".
Asked if Ukrainian armed forces were ready for the offensive, he replied: "We are always ready. The same as we were ready to defend our country at any time. And it is not a question of time.
"We have to understand that that historic opportunity that is given to us - by God - to our country we cannot lose, so we can truly become an independent, big European country."
He added: "It could happen tomorrow, the day after tomorrow or in a week.
"It would be weird if I were to name dates of the start of that or those events. That cannot be done…. We have a very responsible task before our country. And we understand that we have no right to make a mistake."
Ukrainian troops have spent months training on Western equipment ahead of the expected attack
Mr Danilov dismissed suggestions the counter-offensive had already begun, saying that "demolishing Russian control centres and Russian military equipment" had been the task of Ukrainian armed forces since 24 February last year - the date Russia launched the invasion.
"We have no days off during this war," he said.
He defended the decision by Ukraine's army to fight in Bakhmut for so many months, a battle that has cost the lives of many of its soldiers.
"Bakhmut is our land, our territory, and we must defend it," he said. "If we start leaving every settlement, that could get us to our western border as Putin wanted from the first days of the war."
He said that "we control only a small part of the city, and we admit to that. But you have to keep in mind that Bakhmut has played a big role in this war."
Asked if Wagner mercenaries were leaving, he replied: "Yes, that is happening. But it doesn't mean that they will stop fighting with us. They are going to concentrate more on other fronts… they are regrouping to other three locations."
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With nurses staging their most extensive strike and other unions walking out, the NHS faced one its most bitter disputes
It was one of the most bitter disputes in the history of the NHS, with the Royal College of Nursing staging its most extensive strike action ever. But as a deal with ministers was reached in England this week, the BBC can now reveal details of the secret and unprecedented talks.
On cold, frosty mornings on nurses' picket lines the rhetoric was fiery and noisy. Striking nurses condemned the government for failing to open pay talks. Ministers criticised walkouts affecting patients.
But behind the scenes it was a very different story. Secret contacts were being made between the two sides.
From early January there were confidential approaches from an unofficial source to the Royal College of Nurses (RCN), the nurses' union, about the possibility of talks beginning in England. This involved putting out feelers to see what might bring the nurses' union to the table.
Strikes by nurses and other health unions - representing paramedics, midwives and other NHS staff - had been triggered when ministers insisted on sticking to the recommendations of the independent pay review body (PRB). It had proposed average increases of 4%.
The RCN's original demand for a wage rise of 5% above inflation - equivalent at one point to 19% - was unaffordable, ministers said.
The government is ultimately responsible for setting NHS pay in England, funded by the Department of Health and Social Care. NHS Employers are involved in detailed negotiations.
But now these secret contacts had been made, it was not obvious to the RCN how closely they were linked to Downing Street or other parts of Whitehall.
The approaches seemed highly unorthodox. Usually it would be obvious whether ministers or officials were making a proposal.
But all became clear on 21 February with a call from Downing Street to the Royal College of Nursing. There was an invitation to talks which would include the idea of a one-off payment for the current financial year, a key demand of the nurses. The public announcement came as a big surprise even to some civil servants.
The prime minister was signalling a change of tack. Previously there had been denials that any more money was available. In return for the invitation to talk the RCN had to agree to call off an escalated two-day strike in England affecting all care, including emergencies.
The Royal College of Nursing's Pat Cullen had a high profile in the media and seemingly high public support
And so began the chain of events which led to last Thursday's pay offer to nurses, paramedics, midwives and other health staff in England.
There were shades of international diplomacy and intrigue in the negotiations. Back-channels and deniable contacts had steered a damaging dispute into calmer waters.
The stakes could not have been higher, as on the face of it the NHS strikes and widespread disruption had seemed destined to rumble on for months. But so far, these tentative talks were only with the RCN. The other health unions, representing paramedics and a range of health staff, were irritated. They were not invited to the table.
It seemed that the government was deliberately focusing on the nurses' union because of what seemed to be rising public support. RCN's general secretary Pat Cullen had a high profile in the media.
The RCN discussions with ministers remained shrouded in secrecy. Early encounters took place at an undisclosed location to avoid the media.
But that changed on 2 March when the other unions were invited to join the talks. Assurances were given that more money was available but the unions had to agree to keep the process confidential.
The result was an intensive series of meetings at the Department of Health and Social Care in Victoria Street, close to Westminster Abbey.
They took place on the ninth floor in offices which have traditionally been occupied by ministers. Health Secretary Steve Barclay had chosen to move down one floor to an open plan office with civil servants.
Union officials were intrigued to note they were meeting in an office once occupied by Matt Hancock. It was the scene of his kiss with his then-aide Gina Coladangelo, caught on CCTV and the images leaked to a newspaper. They joked about the possible presence of cameras.
The six members of the NHS staff council, representing the main health unions, along with one other official, were used to talks with employers. Sara Gorton of Unison, who chairs the council, says of the unprecedented situation they were in: "The process was unique in that the secretary of state was personally involved and negotiated directly with unions."
What was also highly unusual was the presence of Treasury officials as well as negotiators from NHS Employers and health staff. It seemed they wanted to keep a close watch on money being offered.
Unison's Sara Gorton said it was a unique situation for the health secretary to negotiate directly with unions
One union source said it became clear we were "negotiating with people who weren't used to it". Another added that they had "never worked in this way before".
There was a determination on the part of ministers to avoid leaks. Data sheets given to the negotiators had to be handed back at the end of each day. When the union team took the paperwork for their own private discussions they had to hand over their phones to prevent photos being taken. No paper was allowed to leave the building.
Perhaps in a bid to demonstrate Whitehall austerity there was no regular supply of refreshments. One participant remembers "coffee and an occasional biscuit". Another said they decided to bring in their own glasses for water.
For lunch they were taken down to the department's canteen, escorted at all times around the building. Occasionally they nipped out for fresh air and a quick visit to a local sushi bar.
The days were long with formal talks in full sessions interspersed with negotiating teams retreating to smaller offices. Sometimes they ran on beyond midnight. They knew the outcome of their work would be vitally important for the whole NHS in England.
Steve Barclay was present for much of the process, as was health minister Will Quince - though he had to take his leave one day because the King was visiting his constituency.
According to one union source: "Steve Barclay was constructive and there was not the heated atmosphere seen before Christmas."
One government source describes the secretary of state's style: "What gets him going is seeing a problem through - like a maths problem - he doesn't make a big noise and gets his head down."
Health Secretary Steve Barclay was "constructive" in talks, a union source said
There were tensions at times, but no serious fallings out. Late on Wednesday evening a deal was done. Exhausted participants retired, relieved but knowing it had to be sold to members.
Rachel Harrison of the GMB reflects on the outcome: "They were very long days locked on the ninth floor but it was what we asked for - we wanted to be invited in and they did."
Unions had insisted before entering the talks that it had to be "new money" which funded any pay offer. Ministers, after the deal, said the funding would not come from NHS frontline budgets.
But there is still ambiguity about the source of the money, with government sources saying some would come from existing planned Department of Health and Social Care spending and the rest after negotiation with the Treasury.
The pay dispute started with ministers insisting that they would follow recommendations of the pay review body and not negotiate directly with unions. But it was face-to-face talks which broke the deadlock.
The deal - a one off payment and a 5% pay rise for the year starting in April - included an agreement to review the composition and remit of the PRB.
Yet this is not the end of the process. The dispute will only end once health union members give their approval - and that is far from certain.
There is a separate and ongoing doctors' pay row. There are different pay discussions in Scotland and Wales.
But strikes which have caused frustrating delays for patients and damaged staff morale have for now come to an end in England. As one union source reflects: "What a shame it took so long." |
Millions of pounds have been paid out in the last ten years to people who were abused in the Scouts, lawyers say.
BBC File on 4 contacted 13 law firms who specialise in child abuse claims, and data from the eight that responded revealed more than £6m had been paid out in compensation in the last decade.
Some 166 cases were settled over the same time, while more female survivors were now coming forward, lawyers said.
The Scout Association said it was "deeply sorry" anyone suffered abuse.
It comes as two women, who both say they were abused in the Scouts, have started a campaign asking the organisation to change its safeguarding policy.
File on 4 contacted 13 firms who specialise in abuse claims, all in the Association of Child Abuse Lawyers.
According to data from the lawyers who responded, at least 260 claims were taken on against the Scouts in the last ten years, and 166 cases were settled. Some 50 had been unsuccessful and others were still ongoing.
The BBC asked the Scouts how much money it had paid out in the last ten years.
The association said it had not been able to get to a definitive number because much of the information related to historical cases and was spread across numerous insurers - but the number of payouts broadly matched what they were aware of.
According to the association, 96% of claims related to offences that happened prior to 2013 - with many from the 1960s to 1990s. But some have happened more recently, including in the last few years.
Hundreds of thousands of children across the UK are signed up as members of the Scout Association, whose programmes include Squirrels, Beavers, Cub Scouts, as well as Scouts and Explorer Scouts for older children.
Abbie Hickson, from Bolt Burdon Kemp solicitors, says her firm has settled more than 100 abuse claims in the last ten years. She said a key problem was "safeguarding policy relies much on the integrity of the adult involved".
"Scout leaders who sexually abused children in their care are by their very nature highly manipulative, secretive, devious and opportunistic individuals. And their very aim is to separate a child from the group in order to facilitate that abuse."
Dino Nocivelli, from Leigh Day solicitors, has spent the last 20 years representing abuse survivors. He said the number of female complainants was rising.
Young women were able to join the Venture Scouts from 1976. Then, in 1991, girls were allowed to join across all age groups - but it wasn't until 2007 that it became compulsory for Scout groups to accept girls.
"In the last 12 months, a number of women and girls have contacted me about sexual abuse in the Scouts," Mr Nocivelli said. "This is not an issue from the 60s, 70s, 80s. This abuse is happening in the 2000 and the 2010s and sadly the 2020s."
Sheanna Patelmaster, 27, and Lucy Pincott, 29, both say they were abused when they joined the Scouts, in 2007.
Sheanna was 13, and her leader was 24. She says he noticed she was having an unhappy time at home and offered to let her stay at his house one night a week after Scouts. It was there, she says, he sexually assaulted her on numerous occasions.
Lucy was also 13 when she says she was groomed by a young leader. He bought her necklaces and he would often arrange to meet her before Scouts.
It was at one of these meetings that Lucy says she was forced to have sex with him. She says the sexual abuse continued for nine months in the grounds where the Scout meetings took place and on camps.
Lucy says other adult volunteers were aware of what was going on but failed to report the abuse. She subsequently sued the Scout Association for failing in their duty of care. It didn't accept liability but settled out of court, paying Lucy £160,000.
Sheanna and Lucy have now set up a petition asking the Scouts to change their safeguarding policies.
They want a paid safeguarding lead officer in every Scout county in the UK, who would be responsible for monitoring the conduct of volunteers and ensuring allegations of abuse are properly reported. They are calling for both the Scouts and Girlguiding to be subject to an inspection regime, similar to Ofsted.
The campaign, called Yours in Scouting, includes a call for personal testimonies from anyone who has suffered abuse in the Scouts.
In a statement, the Scout Association told the BBC: "Any form of abuse is abhorrent and we're sorry for Sheanna and Lucy's terrible experiences."
It added: "In the UK almost half a million young people enjoy Scouts every week and nothing is more important than their safety. We have robust safeguarding policies, training and procedures in place. These are now reviewed every other year by the NSPCC." |
An uneasy calm is returning to Israel after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he would delay a key part of controversial plans to overhaul the justice system.
On Monday night he said he would pause the legislation to prevent a "rupture among our people".
However it is unclear what a delay will achieve beyond buying time.
It followed intensified protests after he fired his defence minister, who had spoken against the plans.
In unprecedented events, the country's biggest trade union called a strike, and Israelis watched society close down around them.
From the main airport to shops and banks - even in hospitals - services were stopped. The co-ordinated action was designed to push Mr Netanyahu back from the brink of pushing through the reforms by the end of this week.
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid called it the "biggest crisis in the history of the country".
The government, Israel's most right-wing ever, is seeking to take decisive control over the committee which appoints judges. The reforms would give the parliament authority to override Supreme Court decisions with a basic majority and would make it difficult to declare a prime minister unfit for office and remove them from power.
Mr Netanyahu said the changes would stop courts over-reaching their powers, but critics said they would help him as he faces an ongoing trial for corruption. He has been on trial facing charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three cases. The prime minister denies any wrongdoing and claims he is the victim of a "witch hunt".
The proposed changes have provoked an outpouring of anger from nearly all parts of Israeli society, including parts of its powerful military, since they were announced on 4 January.
Many Israelis also rallied in support of the judicial reforms in Jerusalem on Monday
When he finally addressed the nation on Monday night, he was quick to cast blame. He accused an "extremist minority" of trying to divide the nation, and criticised military reservists who had opposed the bill by saying they wouldn't report for duty. His own part in the country's upheaval was not acknowledged.
The solution Mr Netanyahu has proposed will buy him time, but it won't solve the problem - demonstrators were fighting for this bill to be scrapped, not delayed.
Israel's opposition have said they'll enter into fresh dialogue.
Mr Netanyahu's far-right coalition partner, the Jewish Power party, said they had withdrawn a veto on any delay to passing the reforms in return for a guarantee that Mr Netanyahu would pass them during the next session of parliament.
That could happen any time from the end of April, when parliament returns following a recess which begins on Sunday.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, Jewish Power's leader, also said he accepted the delay because, in exchange, Mr Netanyahu had agreed to put his national security ministry in charge of a new "national guard".
In the heart of Jerusalem, around the Knesset, supporters and critics held counter-protests. One thing united them - the blue and white flag waved by both groups. This is one nation, for weeks bitterly divided and Israelis know it is not over yet.
Police had to separate rival groups of protesters in Jerusalem
Protests erupted on Sunday after Netanyahu fired his defence minister Yoav Gallant, who had spoken out against controversial plans to overhaul the justice system.
However a nationwide strike put forward by the Histadrut labour union was called off after Mr Netanyahu said he would delay the reforms.
Israel's president, Isaac Herzog, said the delay was "the right thing to do". He had previously called for an immediate halt to the plans.
Mr Lapid cautiously welcomed the delay to the reform package.
"If the government engages in a real and fair dialogue we can come out of this moment of crisis - stronger and more united - and we can turn this into a defining moment in our ability to live together," he said.
Elsewhere, the White House said US President Joe Biden would address the Israeli prime minister's decision later on Monday.
Spokesperson John Kirby said the United States remained concerned about the situation in Israel but declined to comment specifically on the delay. |
The council's leader Bridget Smith said it had helped address a reliance on expensive agency staff
The local government minister has formally requested a council ends its trial of a four-day week "immediately" over concerns about "value for money".
South Cambridgeshire District Council's trial was due to run until 2024, but in a letter, Lee Rowley said such an approach could breach its legal duties.
The Liberal Democrat-led council is the first in the UK to trial the system.
Defending the scheme, leader Bridget Smith said it had helped address a reliance on expensive agency staff.
She said an assessment showed that "performance was maintained" and added that she was "surprised" to receive the letter and wanted to meet "with ministers to discuss this matter".
The authority started the pilot in January for the 450 desk-based staff at its office in Cambourne.
It was recently extended until next March.
Mr Rowley said his department would "shortly be issuing clear guidance" about the working practice
Mr Rowley wrote to Ms Smith with a formal request for the council to "end your experiment immediately".
He said he had concerns about the impact of the trial on the needs of local taxpayers at a time when the council should be "cutting backlogs, answering queries and improving efficiency".
"I strongly believe in the ability of councils to innovate and find new ways to discharge their responsibilities," he said.
"Removing up to 20% of the capacity to do those activities is not something which should be acceptable for a council seeking to demonstrate value for money for its taxpayers and residents."
He said while some private sector organisations "may choose to experiment with their own capital and capacity regarding 'four-day working weeks', local government should not do the same".
He added that such an approach could breach the council's legal duties under the Local Government Act and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities would "shortly be issuing clear guidance".
About 450 staff at South Cambridgeshire District Council have been trialling a four-day week
In a statement, the council leader said she was "surprised to receive Mr Rowley's letter and we have written to him to request a meeting with ministers to discuss this matter".
"This is a trial, but we have already seen strong independently assessed evidence which showed that performance was maintained, and in some cases improved, in the first three months," she said.
"At the start of our trial, we were carrying a £2m annual agency bill.
"During the first three months of the trial, we filled four permanent posts that had previously been impossible to fill [and] this has reduced our annual bill by £300,000."
She added that as time had gone on, it had become "increasingly clear that recruitment has been positively affected, both in terms of the quality and number of applicants, and the consequent success in filling vacant posts".
Joe Ryle, director of the 4-Day Week campaign group, also criticised Mr Rowley's request.
He said the move "flies in the face of all the evidence, which shows the four-day week has been a huge success at the council".
"The four-day week with no loss of pay is already being rolled out across the private sector, so it's only fair the public sector are included too," he added.
"There is no good reason to end this trial, which is already bringing many benefits to council workers, local residents and saving the council money."
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• None Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. |
King Charles III has been presented with Scotland's crown jewels in Edinburgh in a ceremony to mark his Coronation.
He received the crown and sceptre which form part of the Honours of Scotland.
The national thanksgiving service at St Giles' Cathedral also featured a new sword named after the late Queen Elizabeth.
Before the service, the crown jewels were brought from Edinburgh Castle to St Giles' in a procession down the Royal Mile involving about 100 people from various aspects of Scottish life.
More than 700 members of the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force were part of the procession.
The event was rounded off by a 21-gun salute at Edinburgh Castle and a Red Arrows flypast.
Protesters chanted "not my king" gathered on Edinburgh's Royal Mile ahead of the thanksgiving service.
Another anti-monarchy group hosted a rally outside Holyrood, which was attended by Greens co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater.
That concludes our coverage of the thanksgiving and dedication. The editors were Paul McLaren and Heather Sharp, and the writers were Bryn Palmer, Craig Hutchison and Antoinette Radford. Thank you for joining us. |
Police were called to Priory Road, Dartford at 12:45 BST on Saturday by neighbours who reported hearing gunshots
A woman has been taken to hospital with serious injuries consistent with gunshot wounds after being held hostage at her home in Kent.
Police were called to Priory Road, Dartford at 12:45 BST on Saturday when neighbours reported hearing gunshots.
Witnesses described how officers cordoned off the road and ordered people to stay inside their homes.
Following an hour-long stand-off, neighbours described hearing two rounds of gunshots.
Kent Police confirmed a man and a woman had been taken to a London hospital with serious injuries consistent with gunshot wounds.
Following an hour-long stand-off, neighbours described hearing two rounds of gunshots
"Officers, along with a trained police negotiator, attended and attempted to engage with a man inside the address," a spokesperson for the force said.
"Police are treating this as an isolated incident and are not looking for anyone else in connection with it."
Officers remain at the scene and enquiries are ongoing to determine what happened.
Witnesses who lived nearby said the woman had been "held hostage" by a man at the back of the property.
Witnesses described how Kent Police officers cordoned off the road and ordered people to stay inside
One woman, who wished to remain anonymous, described the scene as "chilling".
"I was in the house and my husband and two girls were out - they couldn't get back home," she said.
"I went out and was told 'get back - you must stay indoors'. I went to the garden where I could see more."
About an hour after police entered the property, she said she heard gunshots before a person was carried out on a stretcher.
"It was pandemonium", she added. "I heard five gunshots - a pause and then another five."
Officers remain at the scene in Dartford
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Plans to make it more difficult for children to illegally buy e-cigarettes in England are to be laid out by the government next week.
An enforcement squad made up of trading standards officers will be set up to carry out test purchases and clamp down on shops selling vapes to under-18s.
The Department of Health says it will allocate £3m to tackle the issue.
Health Minister Neil O'Brien said he was particularly concerned about the rising use of disposable vapes.
The measures will also call for help in identifying how best to stop children from vaping.
Only people aged 18 and over can buy vapes or e-cigarettes in the UK, but there has been growing pressure on the government to crack down on them being illegally sold to children.
NHS figures for 2021 showed that reported usage of e-cigarettes had risen to 9% among 11 to 15-year-olds in England - up from 6% in 2018. In the same period, vaping among 15-year-old girls jumped from 10% to 21%.
A more recent survey from public health charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) and King's College London found that about one-in-11 (8.6%) young people in England either occasionally or regularly vape.
Mr O'Brien will make a speech at the Policy Exchange on Tuesday announcing an "illicit vapes enforcement squad" which will carry out projects across England, including making test purchasing at convenience and vape shops.
It will also issue guidance on how to ensure the laws are being complied with, as well as having the power to remove illegal products from sale.
Vapes or e-cigarettes are considered safer than normal cigarettes because they do not contain harmful tobacco, and they have become popular in helping people to quit smoking.
However, the NHS advises that vapes are not risk-free, and the long-term implications of using them are not yet clear. The vapour can still contain small amounts of chemicals, including nicotine.
Trading Standards has previously said that shops selling illegal vapes and the sale of e-cigarettes to children were the top threats to the UK's High Streets.
There is concern that cheap, brightly-coloured vapes are ending up in the hands of 12 and 13-year-olds, with experts discouraging young non-smokers from taking up the habit.
Action on Smoking and Health has called for plainer packaging on vaping products to make them less attractive to children.
ASH Chief Executive Deborah Arnold said she was pleased the government has "finally announced funding for enforcement to tackle the scourge of underage sales".
She called for other "obvious measures" to be put in place, including taxing disposable vapes to raise their cost to more than "pocket money prices" and introducing plain packaging.
Councils in England have also said vapes should be kept out of sight of children in shops and the legal minimum age of 18 should be marked clearly on each product.
The UK Vaping Industry Association said the solution is to enforce existing laws on retailers rather than focus on packaging. |
Video filmed on a phone shows the moment a driver in Spain lost control of their car before getting caught in floodwaters.
It happened after the driver tried to cross an inundated road in Molina de Segura on the south coast.
The country has been hit by heavy rains after a prolonged drought.
Spain's state weather agency AEMET had been on track to register the driest spring since records began in 1961.
Other videos of the incident on social media appear to show that the driver was unharmed. |