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Thousands may have lost out to crypto trading app - BBC News | 2023-03-18T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Experts who investigated iEarn Bot say it could be part of one of the biggest-ever crypto scandals. | Technology | Thousands of people are believed to have lost their savings after investing in a cryptocurrency trading app called iEarn Bot.
Experts who have investigated the company say it could be one of the largest crypto scandals to date.
Trading in cryptocurrencies has become popular, with people often promised large rewards over short periods.
But law enforcement agencies warn of a growing number of scams and recommend investors conduct "due diligence".
Roxana, not her real name, is from Romania. She says she lost hundreds of euros when she invested in iEarn Bot. She asked not to have her identity revealed as she fears her professional reputation might be damaged.
Customers buying the bots - like Roxana - were told their investment would be handled by the company's artificial intelligence programme, guaranteeing high returns.
"I invested in a bot for one month," Roxana tells the BBC. "You could see in the app how many dollars the app was creating: there were graphics showing how the investment was progressing.
"It looked quite professional until, at some point, they announced maintenance." At that point, for some time, withdrawals from the app were frozen.
"Some people started to say 'I cannot withdraw... what is happening'," explains Roxana. "I made the request to withdraw and the money just disappeared. The portfolio became zero - but I was never credited on my wallet with any money."
In Romania, dozens of high-profile figures, including government officials and academics, invested via the app.
Roxana says she felt reassured in investing in iEarn bot because it was recommended, among others, by Gabriel Garais, a leading IT expert in the country, through a referral scheme.
"We had the knowledge to think this might be a scam," she says, "but the fact that, in between us and the company there was a reputable teacher, meant that we didn't check too much - we didn't doubt too much."
But Mr Garais insists he too is a victim, as he was fooled into investing his own savings in the app and lost his money.
After iEarn Bot blocked the withdrawals in Romania, Mr Garais publicly distanced himself from the company in a video published originally on YouTube and then shared on Telegram, in which he said the way iEarn Bot behaved pointed to a Ponzi scheme rather than a legitimate tech company.
What happened in Romania is not an isolated incident. Nor is it unique to Romania.
Silvia Tabusca, a Romanian organised crime expert from the European Center for Legal Education and Research, began looking into iEarn Bot after dozens of people lost their money in Romania, including her family members. She discovered that many people in other countries had also lost their money in the scheme.
What surprised her most was the scale of the operation.
Silvia Tabusca, an expert in organised crime, has been surprised by the scale of the operation
"From what we have seen, the number of investors is quite high," she says. "In Indonesia, for example, they [iEarn Bot] claim they had 800,000 customers."
"At first the app works very well," says Ms Tabusca.
"When they have enough investors and enough money invested in a specific country, they don't allow that country to withdraw any more - and they open other countries."
iEarn Bot presents itself as a US-based company with excellent credentials, but when the BBC fact-checked some information on its website, it raised some red flags.
The man whom the site names as the company's founder told us he had never heard of them. He said he has made a complaint to the police.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, alongside companies such as Huawei and Qualcomm, are all named as "strategic partners" of iEarn Bot, but they too said they have no knowledge of the company and they are not working with it.
On the website, the company does not provide any contact information. When the BBC checked the history of its Facebook page, we learned that until the end of 2021, the account was advertising weight-loss products. It is managed from Vietnam and Cambodia.
iEarn Bot places a big emphasis on pushing investors to recruit more people to join the app.
"The way people in this company operate is more similar to a Ponzi scheme, than an actual business," says Ms Tabusca.
The BBC has also seen chat conversations where people, who claim to be from iEarn Bot's customer service, told investors that in order to withdraw their money, they must pay a 30% fee.
"Some people were quite desperate to get their money back, so they paid the fee - but they still couldn't withdraw," says Ms Tabusca.
The BBC has repeatedly approached iEarn Bot for comment but so far it has not responded.
In some countries, such as Nigeria and Colombia, local leaders were pushed by iEarn Bot mentors - with whom they only ever communicated on Telegram - to organise recruiting events.
Andres, from Colombia, said he actively recruited people to join the app. He still believes the company is legitimate.
"They had their registration in the US that showed they were legit," he says. "And they were paying."
In his country, withdrawals were stopped in December. People were told the company was transforming investment in USDT - a well-established cryptocurrency - into a new coin called iBot, which had the same value.
Investors were asked to be patient until March, when the new coin was expected to be officially launched. But people are still waiting to access their money.
"[People] took loans to invest. They used money from other sources, many people were affected," says Andres. "As the local leaders did not have answers, people started to get angry."
With the help of an analyst, the BBC managed to identify one main crypto wallet that received payments from about 13,000 potential victims, for a profit of almost $1.3m (£1m) in less than one year.
But we could not track down where and to whom the money went.
For investigators, this is a common issue.
"One of the challenges is to identify and attribute who the illicit actor is, where the value is going, and then being able to take investigative steps and law enforcement action," says Patrick Wyman, chief of the FBI's new Virtual Assets Unit.
Investigations in this sort of scheme, he says, go global quickly.
Such investigations require international co-operation and may take longer, but he insists that those responsible are eventually brought to justice.
Patrick Wyman says educating people on investment risks is key to stopping scammers
The FBI set up the Virtual Assets Unit last year in order to respond to the growing number of crimes using virtual currencies.
It invites people who have been victims of scams to make a complaint on the FBI's dedicated page.
But law enforcement agencies maintain the best way to fight scammers remains prevention.
"Knowledge - and doing some due diligence before the investment - it's critical," says Mr Wyman.
"It's like everything else: if it sounds too good to be true, it often is."
Clarification 21st March 2023: This article has been updated to more precisely reflect Gabriel Garais's involvement with iEarn Bot, through a referral scheme also used by others, and to make clear that he had released a video publicly distancing himself from the company. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-64939146 |
Harry Styles checked staff were ok after his Grammys performance went wrong - BBC News | 2023-03-18T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The star made sure the technicians responsible for his performance were OK following a stage mishap. | Entertainment & Arts | Harry Styles had a nightmare at February's Grammy Awards, when the stage he was performing on started to spin in the wrong direction.
The star and his dancers quickly had to adapt their routine when a technical malfunction put their stage in reverse.
But rather than berate the technicians, Styles "called the team in charge to make sure they were OK," says Grammys set designer Julio Himede.
The mishap "was heart-breaking," he told the BBC's Eurovisioncast podcast.
"In rehearsals his performance was so polished. I was sitting there admiring how amazing Harry and his dancers were to just run with it and cope with it.
"To continue the performance live and all of a sudden think, 'I have to just go in reverse now', is quite incredible".
Dancers had previously said they had to think on their feet when the turntable they had rehearsed on started spinning the wrong way
After the Grammys, Himede's next major project is the set design for the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest.
He said mishaps like the one Styles endured show why multiple rehearsals are so important for live television.
"What's really interesting about working on Eurovision is that we have 37 artists performing on that stage," he told Eurovisioncast.
"Whereas, when we do the Grammy's we might have up to 13 performances. Everything [at Eurovision] is bigger and larger. Everything's faster."
He explained that a typical award show has three minutes between performances. At the song contest, the stage has to be reset in less than 60 seconds.
"It is mesmerising because most people don't realise, unless you're there in the arena, what it takes.
"It's chaotic, but it's organised chaos".
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This year's Eurovision stage is based on the themes of "togetherness, celebration and community", acknowledging that the UK is hosting the show on behalf of last year's winners, Ukraine.
The stage "takes inspiration from a wide hug, opening its arms to Ukraine, the show's performers and guests from across the world," Himede said when his design was unveiled last month.
Construction will begin at Liverpool's M&S arena by the end of the month, with several previously-booked shows cancelled or moved to make way for the competition.
Weeks of rehearsals will be held to ensure that none of the performers suffer a similar fate to Styles, in front of the contest's 160 million viewers.
Tickets for the nine shows in Liverpool sold out in 90 minutes last week, with fans being warned that hotels they have booked are being targeted by phishing email cyber-attacks putting their data at risk.
The stage design is intended to give the impression of the contest "opening its arms to Ukraine"
All the build-up, insights and analysis is explored each week on a new BBC podcast called Eurovisioncast.
Eurovisioncast is available on BBC Sounds, or search wherever you get your podcasts from. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64991570 |
Antonio Conte criticises Tottenham Hotspur ownership and 'selfish' players - BBC Sport | 2023-03-18T00:00:00 | null | A furious Antonio Conte says his Tottenham players are "selfish" and the club "can change the manager but the situation cannot change". | null | A furious Antonio Conte says his players are "selfish" and Tottenham "can change the manager but the situation cannot change" in a stinging criticism of the club's culture.
The Spurs boss said his team "don't want to help each other" after a 3-3 draw at Southampton on Saturday.
"Tottenham's story is this - 20 years there is this owner and they never won something. Why?" Conte said.
Spurs had led by two goals at St Mary's but conceded twice in 15 minutes.
"The fault is only for the club, or for every manager that stay here?" said Conte. "I have seen the managers that Tottenham had on the bench. You risk to disrupt the figure of the manager and to protect the other situation in every moment.
"Until now I try to hide the situation but not now because, I repeat, I don't want to see what I have seen today because this is unacceptable and also unacceptable for the fans."
• None 'Conte blames Spurs players but is part of problem'
Tottenham have won one trophy since the ownership group, chaired by Daniel Levy, took over the club in 2001 - the League Cup in 2008.
They have had 11 different managers in that time, including three since the 2019 departure of Mauricio Pochettino, who took them to the Champions League final before being sacked six months later.
Spurs are out of all cup competitions this season with Sheffield United knocking them out of the FA Cup before AC Milan ended their Champions League hopes - and Conte said it is time for the club and players to start taking responsibility.
"Not only the club, the manager and the staff. The players have to be involved in this situation because it is time to change this situation if Tottenham want to change," he said.
"If they want to continue in this way, they can change the manager, a lot of managers, but the situation cannot change. Believe me.
"Maybe previously in the other games something can change. But here we're used to it for a long time. The club has the responsibility for the transfer market, every coach that stayed here has the responsibility. And the players? The players? Where are the players?
"In my experience, I can tell you that if you want to be competitive, if you want to fight, you have to improve this aspect. And this aspect, I can tell you, in this moment is really, really low. And I see only 11 players that play for themselves."
• None Listen to the latest The Far Post podcast
When asked why this is the case at Tottenham, Conte said: "Because they are used to it here, they are used to it. They don't play for something important here. They don't want to play under pressure, they don't want to play under stress."
Spurs remain fourth in the Premier League and had the chance to go above Manchester United into third with victory over Southampton, but during his damning media conference after the match, Conte said if their current form continues they will be lucky to secure a Champions League spot at all.
He said: "There are 10 games to go and some people think we can fight. Fight for what with this spirit, this attitude, this commitment? What? For seventh, eighth, 10th place?
"We are 11 players that go into the pitch. I see selfish players, I see players that don't want to help each other and don't put their heart.
"I am not used to this position. I'm really upset and everyone has to take their responsibility."
Conte had said on Thursday he does not expect to get sacked by the club, after comments he made following Spurs' European exit that they may decide to dismiss him before his contract ends in the summer.
He said those comments were "a joke", but indicated in his criticism that the club are "worse" than last season when they pipped London rivals Arsenal to a top-four spot.
"It's much better to go into the problem, because the problem is that for another time we showed that we are not a team," Conte said.
"Before today I prefer to hide this situation and to try to speak, to try to improve the spirit, the situation, with the words, With a lot of situations.
"If I have to compare last season and this season, we have to improve, but now we are worse in this aspect. When you are not a team, anything can happen, in any moment. Today is the last situation.
"Being a team, it is the most important thing. To understand that we play for the badge."
Midfielder Dejan Kulusevski said Tottenham's performance at Southampton was "not good enough" as the draw made it five away matches without a win in all competitions.
"Being up 1-0, 2-1, 3-1, the game should be finished so very bad from us," the Sweden international told Tottenham's website.
"The penalty is not even a pen but we shouldn't be in that situation so it is completely our fault. We are very disappointed with ourselves and it is not good enough.
"It feels like a loss. We needed this win. We know this three points was very important and we prepare for this game a lot this week. We are very disappointed."
• None Our coverage of Tottenham Hotspur is bigger and better than ever before - here's everything you need to know to make sure you never miss a moment
• None Everything Spurs - go straight to all the best content | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/65002960 |
Cardiff crash: Cause of death for three not yet determined - BBC News | 2023-03-18T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Further tests will determine how Eve Smith, Rafel Jeanne and Darcy Ross died, an inquest hears. | Wales | Eve Smith, 21, Rafel Jeanne, 24, and Darcy Ross, 21, died in the collision
Further investigations are needed to determine the cause of death for three people found in a car crash two days after going missing, an inquest has heard.
Eve Smith, 21, Darcy Ross, 21 and Rafel Jeanne, 24, were found in a car off a major road in Cardiff.
Post-mortem examinations have been done, Pontypridd Coroner's Court heard.
But a provisional cause of death was not done "pending further investigation of histology and toxicology".
Two others who were in the car, Sophie Russon, 20, and Shane Loughlin, 32, were taken to hospital in a critical condition after the crash at about 02:00 GMT on 4 March.
The victims of the crash were not found for almost two days.
Sophie Russon, 20, and Shane Loughlin, 32, are seriously injured in hospital
The three women, from Newport, had gone to The Muffler club in the city's Maesglas area on the night of the crash.
They then travelled 36 miles (58km) to Trecco Bay Caravan Park, in Porthcawl, Bridgend county, with the two men, both from Cardiff, but were not found until the early hours of 6 March.
The inquests were adjourned until a later date for further investigations to be carried out.
People gathered to grieve for the victims of the crash | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-64987581 |
Italy leaves children of same-sex parents in limbo - BBC News | 2023-03-18T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Italy's right-wing government prompts an outcry by halting registration of children of same-sex parents. | Europe | Milan's centre-left mayor Giuseppe Sala allowed same-sex parents to register their children, but has now been forced to halt the practice
In 2018, Maria Silvia Fiengo and Francesca Pardi were among Italy's first same-sex couples to be registered as parents.
The mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, took a progressive stance and allowed children born to parents of the same gender to be acknowledged in the absence of clear national legislation.
For Maria Silvia and Francesca - and their four children Margherita, twins Giorgio and Raffaele, and Antonio - being finally recognised as a household after years of legal challenges and discrimination was "truly incredible".
This week, however, what was then seen as a major victory for equality and acceptance by the LGBT community was reversed.
Italy's right-wing government instructed Milan's city council to stop registering the children of same-sex parents, reigniting a debate around Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's conservative agenda.
Hundreds of people protested against the government ban in Milan on Saturday.
The newly elected leader of the centre-left Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, was among them. She said her message to the prime minister was "not to discriminate against the daughters and sons of these wonderful families".
"We are talking about boys and girls already growing up in our communities and going to our schools," Ms Schlein said. "It is no longer tolerable, and these families are tired of being discriminated against.''
Hundreds of people rallied in support of same-sex couples in Milan
Ms Meloni, who leads the far-right Brothers of Italy party, made anti-LGBT rhetoric a cornerstone of her electoral campaign, promising to protect traditional values.
"We were always a family, but being officially recognised as such by our own mayor made us feel welcome," said Maria Silvia Fiengo. "Today, looking at what the government is doing, and knowing that other families won't be able to have the same opportunity, we feel discouraged."
However, stiff resistance from Catholic and conservative groups meant that the law stopped short of granting adoption rights to same-sex couples as well. Opponents said it would encourage surrogate pregnancies, which are still illegal in Italy.
That left a regulatory vacuum surrounding several aspects of LGBT family life, including adoption. Solutions aimed at getting around bureaucratic hurdles were reached on a case-by-case basis, as cases went to court.
Some local administrators, including the centre-left mayor of Milan, decided that children of same-sex couples would be registered independently.
Ahead of her election victory, Giorgia Meloni campaigned against what she termed "gender ideology" and the "LGBT lobby"
Mr Sala has now announced he has been forced to halt the practice after he was sent a letter by the interior ministry. It cited a ruling by Italy's highest court requiring court approval for legal recognition of parental status.
"It is a clear step backwards, politically and socially, and I put myself in the shoes of those parents who thought they could count on this possibility in Milan," said the mayor in his daily podcast Buongiorno Milano, adding that he was left with no other choice.
Children who are denied the right to have both parents recognised on their birth certificate are left in a legal limbo.
Their families face a range of challenges. In the most extreme scenario, if the legally recognised parent were to pass away, the children could become wards of the state and face the prospect of being orphaned.
In Italy's LGBT community, this has led to a growing sense of frustration and anxiety, while the Meloni government's hostile approach to LGBT rights has further exacerbated the issue.
"Children end up having limited access to key services and benefits, such as healthcare, inheritance and child support," said Angelo Schillaci, law professor at Sapienza University in Rome.
"At present, only one parent is recognised by law, the other one is a ghost. In real life, parents and children play together, cook together, play sports and go on holiday together. But on paper, they are apart, the state does not see them. It's a paradoxical situation."
Maria Silvia Fiengo and Francesca Pardi were registered as parents of their four children in Milan in 2018
The prime minister, elected last September, has been a vocal supporter of traditional family and Christian values, campaigning against what she calls "gender ideology" and the "LGBT lobby". Months before she came to power, she proposed a law that would make surrogacy by an Italian citizen a universal crime, and it is still on her party's agenda.
"Boys and girls with two mothers and two fathers already exist in Italy, Prime Minister Meloni should get over it," said Alessia Crocini, president of the Rainbow Families association. "We must guarantee our children the same rights as their peers."
"We feel under attack," said Angela Diomede, who was planning to take part in the Milan rally with her wife and their six-year-old girl. "I don't understand this obsession of the government with targeting children, it doesn't lead anywhere."
Italy's Senate this week also rejected a proposal for a standardised European parenthood certificate that would be recognised across all 27 member states of the EU.
For children, it would mean proof of parenthood and for parents it would be a guaranteed right to be recognised across the EU, protecting rights such as inheritance and citizenship.
But for Italy's far-right infrastructure minister, Matteo Salvini, it was a step too far. "A person can be heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual: love is free, beautiful and sacred for all," he tweeted.
Brussels cannot impose the concept of family on us: a child needs a mother and a father. Children are not bought, not rented, not chosen on the internet
Riccardo Magi, an opposition MP in favour of the Europe-wide certificate, complained: "The world goes one way, the [Italian] government goes the other."
The debate is being followed closely from the north-eastern city of Udine by Stefano Zucchini and his husband Alberto.
They have two six-year-old twins, who were born in California through surrogacy, and hope to be legally recognised as a family one day. In the US, they are both recognised as parents. But in Italy, Stefano is listed as a single father, and that legal status makes life complicated.
"Even things that are normal for most people, such as driving the kids to the kindergarten or to a doctor appointment, can become a challenge," he told the BBC.
"They don't see us, but our love is as strong as ever. That, for sure, exists."
• None Italy may jail people smugglers for up to 30 years | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64967517 |
Lance Reddick, star of The Wire and John Wick, dies aged 60 - BBC News | 2023-03-18T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Reddick, who played Charon in the John Wick action-thriller movies, died of natural causes. | US & Canada | Actor and musician Lance Reddick was known for starring in the John Wick movie franchise and the HBO series The Wire
Lance Reddick, an actor in the popular HBO series The Wire, has died aged 60, according to US media outlets.
Reddick was also known for starring as Charon in the John Wick action-thriller movie franchise.
The musician and actor died suddenly of natural causes on Friday in his Los Angeles home, his publicist said.
Police were called to the actor's house around 09:30 local time (16:30 GMT), the publicist told US media.
"Lance will be greatly missed," his publicist, Mia Hansen, said in a statement. "Please respect his family's privacy at this time."
Reddick had been in the middle of a press tour for the fourth instalment of the John Wick movies, which is slated to be released on 24 March.
He is also set to appear in the upcoming John Wick spinoff, Ballerina, starring Ana de Armas.
Reddick, a native of Baltimore, appeared in more than a dozen films and shows during his 25-year acting career.
He was Charon, the hotel concierge at a New York criminal underground hub called The Continental Hotel in the John Wick movies. He appeared in the original movie, its two sequels and is set to appear in the fourth instalment.
The actor was also known for his breakout role as Baltimore police lieutenant Cedric Daniels in The Wire, a series that ran from 2002 to 2008 and examined the narcotics scene in Baltimore from the perspective of law enforcement as well as drug dealers and users.
Reddick told the Guardian in 2010 that he thought the show would be a "hit" but did not anticipate it "would become this phenomenon".
The actor was in the Resident Evil Netflix series and the science fiction-action movie Godzilla vs. Kong.
He was known for his voice acting work as well, including for the TV series Rick and Morty.
Reddick studied classical music at the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester in New York, where he received a bachelor's degree before attending the Yale School of Drama.
He earned a SAG Award nomination in 2021 along with fellow cast members for his role in the film One Night in Miami.
The actor is survived by his wife, Stephanie, as well as a daughter, Yvonne Nicole Reddick, and a son, Christopher Reddick.
Reddick told the Los Angeles Times in 2009 that he felt like an "artist at heart".
"When I went to drama school, I knew I was at least as talented as other students, but because I was a black man and I wasn't pretty, I knew I would have to work my butt off to be the best that I would be," he said at the time.
His death comes two years after Reddick's co-star Michael K Williams, who played Omar in The Wire, died of an overdose. Last year, four people were charged for allegedly selling the drugs that Williams took before his death.
• None Four charged in drug death of The Wire actor | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-64959805 |
Ecuador earthquake kills at least 15 people - BBC News | 2023-03-18T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | A 6.7-magnitude quake off Ecuador's southern coast left people trapped in collapsed houses. | Latin America & Caribbean | Emergency services survey the damage in Cuenca, following the powerful 6.7 magnitude earthquake in southern Ecuador
At least 15 people have died and more than 400 are injured after a 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck Ecuador's southern coast.
Buildings were damaged in several cities when the earthquake hit at around midday local time (17:00 GMT).
The southern province of El Oro was the worst affected and 12 people died there, authorities said.
Northern Peru felt the quake and a 14-year-old girl died in Tumbes, a border province, when her home collapsed.
In Ecuador, Machala and Cuenca were among the cities that suffered damage to buildings and vehicles, as emergency services rushed to help people.
The epicentre was near Balao, about 80km (50 miles) from Ecuador's second-largest city, Guayaquil, where about three million people live.
"We ran from the house," Machala resident Exon Tobar told the BBC. "The ground - it was a very powerful explosion - it made it shake and it made the electric cables, the windows, and everything move. People were in the streets praying because it didn't stop."
Chunks of buildings fell into the road in Guayaquil
President Guillermo Lasso asked Ecuadoreans to remain calm as officials assess the damage.
He also visited a hospital in the city of Machala to meet with some of the injured people.
The government said more than 250 injured people were treated in the town of Pasaje, in El Oro, and nearly all of them were eventually discharged.
Several roads have been blocked by landslides, while several homes, educational buildings and health centres have been damaged, authorities said.
One person was reported killed in the city of Cuenca, in Azuay province, after a wall collapsed onto their car, while three people died when a security camera tower came down on Jambelí Island, in El Oro province.
There have also been reports of the earthquake being felt in several other cities, including Manabi, Manta and the capital Quito.
This is the strongest quake to hit Ecuador since 2016, when nearly 700 people died and thousands were injured. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-65004163 |
Rail strikes: Transport ministers should follow health lead, says RMT - BBC News | 2023-03-18T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Mick Lynch says ministers must offer "new money" in union talks, as rail strikes take place. | UK | Transport ministers must follow the example of their colleagues in the Department of Health and offer "new money" in union negotiations, the head of the RMT union says.
Mick Lynch was speaking at a picket line at London's Euston station as rail workers strike over pay and conditions.
Train passengers are facing further disruption this weekend as a result.
It follows a week of strike action from teachers, junior doctors and civil servants as well as rail workers.
Mr Lynch said ministers in the health service had shown a small "change in attitude" in offering NHS staff in England - including nurses and ambulance workers - a 5% pay rise from April as part of government negotiations.
"The difference in that is there are no conditions, it's new money - but our members are expected to swallow vast changes to their working conditions and they're not prepared to do that to get a very modest, poor pay rise," he said.
"In order to get something moving they'll have to take away some of the conditions they've put on this proposal, and we want some fresh money in the pay proposal, so we'll see what happens next week."
Three of the biggest unions - the Royal College of Nursing, Unison and the GMB - are backing the deal.
In Saturday's rail strike, workers at 14 train operators are walking out over a long-running dispute over pay, job cuts and conditions.
Across the UK, only between 40 and 50% of trains are expected to run on Saturday, with no services at all in some places.
Rail passengers have been advised to check before travelling, with services starting later and finish much earlier than usual.
Football fans, those making the journey to Cheltenham Festival by train and people travelling for the weekend are among those expected to be affected.
Some travellers posted on social media about disruption to their journeys.
"I hate train strikes, M6 is just traffic forever," wrote a supporter of Aston Villa Football Club who are playing Bournemouth at Villa Park stadium in Birmingham this afternoon.
"Missing Southampton FC because of train strikes is miserable, come on you saints. Wishing I was there," wrote another football fan travelling to a separate game.
Another said: "Train strikes. Roadworks everywhere. Rain. It's almost as if a higher power is telling me not to go to Queens Park Rangers today."
The Rail, Maritime and Transport union said more than 20,000 workers were walking out on Saturday.
Steve Montgomery. who chairs the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), said the latest strike action would be a "further inconvenience" for passengers "who have already experienced months of disruption".
"Unfortunately, while we will pull out all the stops to keep as many trains running as possible, there will be reduced services across many parts of the rail network on strike days, so our advice is to check before you travel," he added.
RMT members also walked out on Thursday and further strike action is planned for 30 March and 1 April.
Unions say any pay offer should reflect the rising cost of living, which is currently above 10%.
On 19 January, the RDG offered the RMT a 9% pay rise over two years for crew and station staff in a bid to end the long-running strike action.
Mr Lynch said the private rail companies were "in complete chaos".
He said the RDG needed to "sort themselves out and settle our dispute with an improved offer".
"They are incapable of providing a decent service to passengers and the sooner they are brought into public ownership the better."
Following the walkout, there are warnings that trains services could also be disrupted on Sunday morning as some rolling stock will not be in the right depots.
On Friday, a five-week strike by 1,000 Passport Office workers was announced and security guards at Heathrow Airport's Terminal Five said they would strike for 10 days. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64998204 |
Unison members accept Scottish government pay offer - BBC News | 2023-03-18T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The pay deal - which was made to 160,000 NHS staff, equates to an average 6.5% increase in 2023/24. | Scotland | The pay offer was made to NHS staff, including nurses, midwives and paramedics
Members of Scotland's largest NHS union, Unison, have voted to accept the Scottish government's pay offer.
In a digital ballot where 54% of eligible members voted, 78.5% accepted the offer.
Another union, GMB Scotland, accepted it earlier in the week after 59.7% of balloted members agreed to the deal.
The pay deal - which was made to 160,000 NHS staff, including nurses, midwives and paramedics - equates to an average 6.5% increase in 2023/24.
It also includes the commitment to modernising Agenda for Change (AfC), which is nearly 20 years old, to support workforce recruitment, sustainability and retention.
AfC is the main pay system for staff in the NHS, excluding doctors, dentists and senior managers.
Unison Scotland's health committee chairwoman Wilma Brown said: "While acceptance of this pay offer removes the spectre of industrial action, there is no room for complacency.
"This deal does nothing to solve the NHS Scotland staffing crisis.
"Government commitments to review the working week, deliver fair wage rises on promotion and tackle the workforce crisis must make rapid progress."
She added that it must also be backed up with new money to ensure patients and staff got the NHS they deserved.
The union's head of health Matt Mclaughlin said: "This deal was agreed after intensive talks between the government, unions and employers.
"There's now a need to get back around the table to sort out the staffing crisis in Scotland's NHS."
He added that patients were waiting too long for routine operations and staff were working under unacceptably stressful conditions.
"Unison has agreed to go straight back into talks with the government to review nursing, reduce staff vacancies and look again at NHS pay structures," Mr Mclaughlin said.
"The NHS needs to be made fit for purpose so staff can provide a world-class service." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-65001544 |
My dad wouldn't want Stone of Destiny at Coronation - BBC News | 2023-03-18T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Ian Hamilton, who died last year, was a student when he broke into Westminster Abbey and took the stone in 1950. | Scotland | The Stone of Destiny was originally used during the coronation of Scottish kings
The son of the man who removed the Stone of Destiny from Westminster Abbey and smuggled it back to Scotland says his father would be against it returning for the King's Coronation.
Ian Hamilton, who died last year, was a student when he broke into the abbey and took the stone in 1950.
His son Jamie said his father would not want the stone to go to London for the crowning of King Charles in May.
"I think his view would be it's ridiculous," he said.
The Stone of Destiny is seen as a historic symbol of Scotland's monarchy.
It was used in the inauguration of Scottish kings for centuries but was seized by England's King Edward I in 1296 and built into a coronation throne at Westminster Abbey.
In 1950, Mr Hamilton and three other students from Glasgow carried out an audacious heist in order to make a bold statement about Scottish nationalism.
They broke into the abbey and whisked away the 150kg (336lb) red sandstone block, accidentally splitting it in two in the process.
It was found months later, 500 miles away, at the high altar of Arbroath Abbey.
This picture shows the Coronation Chair and the Stone of Destiny in 1937
The stone was taken back to Westminster Abbey and was used in the coronation of Queen Elizabeth in 1953.
It remained in London until it was agreed that it would be legally moved to Edinburgh Castle in 1996.
It now lies alongside the crown jewels of Scotland in the castle's Crown Room but will be temporarily taken to London to be used in the coronation ceremony for King Charles III in May.
Mr Hamilton's son Jamie, 62, said his father would have said the stone should rest in Scotland.
He said: "If people want to be crowned on it they should come to Scotland and be crowned on it. I think that would be his standpoint."
Ian Hamilton died last year at the age of 97
The ancient stone was damaged when the students dragged it from the abbey in 1950.
Mr Hamilton's son Jamie told the BBC he had a fragment of the red sandstone in a piece of jewellery his father gave to his mother.
He said his father did not really sit down and explain to his children what he had done.
"I think it was something that we just gathered over time and made up our own story," he said.
Jamie Hamilton said his dad would think the idea was ridiculous
Kathy Richmond, the head of collections at Historic Environment Scotland, said that when the stone was legally returned to Scotland in 1996 it was agreed it would still be used to crown the monarch.
"We have a royal warrant which says that the stone is to be kept in Scotland and it's to be transported back to Westminster abbey for any future coronation," she said.
Dr Lucy Dean, from the University of the Highlands and Islands, said it was important the stone was used in the new ceremony because it had such a rich heritage.
"It's a symbol of royal power but it's also a symbol of nationhood and identity for both Scotland and the British Isles," she said.
"In Scotland it was used in inaugurations up to the 13th Century when it was taken from Scotland to England by Edward I and it was taken as a prize essentially.
"But during that time in England, it gained new meaning."
Plans are now being made for the return - with the guarantee it comes back to Scotland after the coronation. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-64978455 |
Penygraig: Honour for man who died trying to stop killer - BBC News | 2023-03-18T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | John Rees died trying to save a nurse from a woman armed with a knife. | Wales | John Rees was stabbed while his wife Eunice sat in a car outside
A man who died attempting to save a nurse from an armed assailant in a shop has been recognised for his bravery.
John Rees, 88, intervened to stop Zara Radcliffe from attacking shoppers in Penygraig, Rhondda on 5 May 2020.
Lisa Way and Ayette Bounouri will also get Queen's gallantry medals for attempting to prevent her onslaught.
Both women said they were honoured to be recognised but it was "bitter sweet" given that Mr Rees was killed.
Radcliffe was detained with a hospital order after admitting Mr Rees' manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility.
The 30-year-old also pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of three others.
Mr Rees intervened when Radcliffe, who had schizophrenia, began attacking shoppers at a Co-op store.
He was at the shop counter when he saw her enter and begin stabbing at passing customers with a kitchen knife.
Ayette Bounouri and Lisa Way said they were honoured to be recognised but it was "bitter sweet"
He took hold of Radcliffe's right arm and placed himself between her and nurse Gaynor Saurin while trying to defuse the situation.
Mrs Way, who recounted the incident with Mrs Bounouri in an interview on BBC Radio Wales Breakfast, said there was "just no talking to" Radcliffe.
Trying to help Mr Rees, Mrs Way grabbed the assailant's arm while Mrs Bounouri tried to use a shopping basket to disarm her.
As they tried to distract Radcliffe, she lunged at Mrs Way several times with the knife before stabbing her, leaving "blood running down my neck".
Zara Radcliffe admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility
Mrs Bounouri said she grabbed Mr Rees by his jacket and dragged him from the front to the back of the shop to try to "get him to safety" but the attacker followed and Mrs Bounouri tried to fight her off.
Mrs Way described how she ran out of the shop "screaming for someone to try and help us" and she called the police who arrived on the scene quickly.
Despite their bravery Mr Rees was stabbed and bludgeoned to death with two wine bottles and a fire extinguisher.
The attack unfolded in a Co-op in Penygraig, Rhondda Cynon Taf
The two women have since since become friends, along with Ms Saurin.
"It's interesting how the worst situation can bring people together," said Mrs Bounouri.
Mrs Way agreed, adding: "We've got each other."
Welsh Secretary David TC Davies said the three "showed true heroism by standing up to protect others".
The awards form part of the final civilian gallantry list to be approved by the late Queen Elizabeth II.
They recognise the bravery of people who have put themselves in danger trying to save lives.
The three are among 15 named in the 2023 Civilian Gallantry List, published by the Cabinet Office on Saturday. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-64992811 |
Who is Peter Murrell? SNP chief and Scotland's 'First Husband' - BBC News | 2023-03-18T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The chief executive of the SNP for the past 24 years has resigned, What do we know about him? | Scotland politics | The power couple - Nicola Sturgeon is the outgoing FM of Scotland and Peter Murrell was chief executive of the SNP
Peter Murrell was a constant in the hierarchy of the Scottish National Party for more than two decades.
He became chief executive as the sun was setting on the last century and as the dawn was rising on the new chapter of devolution.
During the 58-year-old's tenure the party grew in confidence and became an indomitable election winning machine.
But in the public's eye he would be remembered for something else - being married to Scotland's first minister.
It was on a summer's day in 2010 when Nicola Sturgeon married her long-term partner Peter at a ceremony in Glasgow.
He had already been SNP chief for 11 years and she was deputy first minister in charge of the health brief for the Scottish government, led by Alex Salmond.
Politics played its part in bringing these two together. According to a biography of Ms Sturgeon by David Torrance they first met in 1988 at an SNP youth weekend and became a couple in 2003.
They never had children but Ms Sturgeon later revealed the painful experience of suffering a miscarriage when she was 40, shortly before the 2011 Scottish parliamentary election campaign.
"Sometimes... having a baby just doesn't happen - no matter how much we might want it to," she said.
Peter Murrell and Nicola Sturgeon were married in 2010 in Glasgow
The powerful couple would be seen together at party conferences, outside polling stations and at official events such as the Queen's Jubilee concert. But while relaxed in each other's company, they were not gushy hand-holders who lingered before a gathered media.
On occasions when asked about her husband - notably during her appearance on ITV's Loose Women - Ms Sturgeon was quick to credit Mr Murrell for his cooking skills.
She has also given insight into how he has supported her political leadership. Ms Sturgeon told the Sunday Times: "One of the things I value is that he's happy with me having the public role... He's not one of those guys who would feel threatened by it. He doesn't have that sort of ego, he's very self-assured."
Mr Murrell has similarly spoken of his respect for his wife's intellect, saying: "She's very, very sharp and on top of whatever the issue of the day is. That spark is always there. We are constantly having conversations that I'm amazed by."
It clearly suited the FM's husband to be in the background but he, and his role as chief executive, came under scrutiny during the inquiry into the Scottish government's handling of complaints against former first minister Alex Salmond.
At the Holyrood Inquiry in 2020, Mr Murrell denied plotting against Mr Salmond. But opposition MSPs believed that Mr Murrell contradicted himself, and Ms Sturgeon, over some of the details he gave in evidence.
He was pressed repeatedly about whether the meetings between Ms Sturgeon and Mr Salmond were SNP business, as the first minister had insisted, or government business - which would need to be officially recorded.
Under Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell the SNP was an election winning machine
Mr Murrell was back in the media spotlight in December last year when it was confirmed he had given a loan of £107,620 to the SNP to help it out with a "cash flow" issues.
The SNP had repaid about half of the money by October of that year and the party's official line was that the loan was a "personal contribution made by the chief executive to assist with cash flow after the Holyrood election".
These questions were difficult ones for Ms Sturgeon and she had to awkwardly bat away media probes about what she knew of her husband's financial situation - "that is for him," she said at an FM's update at the beginning of the year.
Despite this discomfort she continued to lead the country and he continued to be in charge of the party machine.
But then Ms Sturgeon announced her decision to resign. Some commentators said it would be inevitable that Mr Murrell would also have to go but his departure has happened before his wife's.
Pressure mounted on him when two of the three candidates vying to be new party leader and first minister publicly questioned the contest they were taking part in.
From the outset, contender Ash Regan said Mr Murrell's position as SNP chief executive was a "clear conflict of interest".
And this theme would not go away with another candidate, Kate Forbes, questioning the integrity of the electoral process.
What led the chief executive to go was linked to a row about party membership and who would be voting in this election.
One point of pride for Mr Murrell had been his campaign to increase followers after the failed Scottish independence referendum of 2014 and the coronation of his wife as leader and first minister.
The SNP went from a membership of less than 25,000 in 2013 to more than 125,000 by December 2019.
But that figure has fallen back to 72,000 and the party only reluctantly confirmed this when media and opposition pressure, plus questions from all three candidates, became too much.
The power couple who helped shaped Scottish politics in the first two decades of this century are no more - Mr Murrell is now gone and his wife will soon follow. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-64972863 |
Boris Johnson: Ex-PM to reveal evidence in his defence over Partygate - BBC News | 2023-03-18T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Boris Johnson faces a marathon televised hearing this week to convince MPs he did not mislead Parliament. | UK Politics | Boris Johnson will publish evidence in his defence ahead of a grilling by MPs over whether he misled Parliament about Covid rule-breaking parties.
The former prime minister faces a crucial televised evidence session in front of the Commons Privileges Committee on Wednesday.
The committee is yet to publish its final verdict - but its initial update earlier this month said Mr Johnson may have misled Parliament multiple times.
Wednesday's session, which could last up to five hours, will be a key chance for Mr Johnson to persuade the seven cross-party MPs who make up the committee that he did not mislead MPs in December 2021.
That would include when he told the Commons that he had "been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party and that no Covid rules were broken".
Sources close to Mr Johnson say he will publish a "compelling dossier" that will provide evidence and arguments that he did not knowingly mislead parliament.
If he fails to convince the committee and is found guilty, he could be suspended from the Commons, and even faces a recall petition, which would trigger a by-election, if that suspension is for more than 10 days.
Crucially, though, MPs would have to approve any sanction on Mr Johnson.
In May last year, an inquiry by senior civil servant Sue Gray found widespread rule-breaking had taken place, and Mr Johnson was among 83 people fined by police for attending law-breaking events.
The Sunday Times, Observer and Sunday Telegraph report that Mr Johnson's "dossier" will include advice he claims he was given at the time by No 10 aides, advising him that Covid rules were not broken.
The Sunday Times quotes one source saying the messages show "in black and white" that what Mr Johnson told Parliament was what he had been advised to say by officials and his No 10 team, claiming he was forced to rely on advice because he was not at some of the events.
Cabinet minister Oliver Dowden - who served in Mr Johnson's government - told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday programme he expected the former prime minister to "put forward a robust defence of his conduct".
The newspapers also report that Mr Johnson's defence may repeat allegations of bias levelled at the former top civil servant Sue Gray, whose inquiry found widespread rule-breaking had taken place in Whitehall during Covid.
Sue Gray produced a highly critical report into lockdown parties under Boris Johnson that contributed to his downfall as PM
Sue Gray has since resigned and has been offered a job as Sir Keir Starmer's chief of staff, which caused anger among allies of Boris Johnson including his former cabinet colleagues Jacob Rees-Mogg MP and Nadine Dorries MP.
The Labour Party has said it will give all the information related to its approach to her to the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) - the government's appointments watchdog.
But minister Jeremy Quin has said her proposed move may have breached Whitehall's rules, as approval must be obtained prior to a job offer being announced.
Downing Street sources say any sanctions against Mr Johnson would be a matter for the House of Commons and MPs will therefore be given a free vote - meaning they will not be "whipped" to vote a certain way.
That means Tory MPs would not be asked to vote one way or another, as they were over the proposed suspension of Owen Paterson in November 2021, when Mr Johnson was still prime minister.
The government tried to block Mr Paterson's suspension from the Commons but, after a backlash, was later forced to U-turn. He then resigned as an MP.
At the time, Mr Johnson came in for criticism from many of his own MPs about being told to back Mr Paterson, amid Labour accusations of "sleaze". The first Partygate stories broke only a few weeks later.
The Paterson row was the beginning of the end for Mr Johnson's time as prime minister, and Mr Johnson later admitted he "crashed the car" in his handling of the case.
A spokesman for Mr Johnson said: "The Privileges Committee will vindicate Boris Johnson's position.
"The evidence will show that Boris Johnson did not knowingly mislead parliament." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65001385 |
Man sent bailiffs to Luton Airport for Wizz Air refund - BBC News | 2023-03-18T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | An out-of-pocket dad sends in reinforcements to claim money from an airline over a cancelled flight. | Beds, Herts & Bucks | Russell Quirk and two of his three daughters, who were due to go on a family holiday to Portugal
A passenger sent bailiffs to Luton Airport to confront Wizz Air over money owed to him after his family's flights were cancelled at the last minute.
Russell Quirk said he was left with little choice but to find another route to Portugal which cost him £4,500.
After months of waiting for Wizz Air reimbursement, he went to court and ended up sending in the bailiffs.
Wizz Air paid up, apologised and said it "fell short of our own aspirations and our customers' expectations".
The company is one of a number of budget airlines facing county court claims against them, as consumer magazine Which? reported.
The way customers have been treated by Wizz Air has been "shocking, shambolic and shoddy", Mr Quirk, a property expert from Brentwood, in Essex, told the BBC.
He had booked flights from Luton Airport to Faro in January last year for a family holiday with his wife and three daughters in the May half-term.
He awoke early on the morning of their flight to find a message from Wizz Air saying it was cancelled.
The Quirk family had booked to fly to Portugal from Luton with airline Wizz Air
"There was no explanation, no alternative offered and no apology," he said.
"I had to wake my three daughters and tell them we weren't going on holiday - they were very upset."
With hotels, transfers and an airport lounge already paid for, he said the only viable option was to find another carrier, which the family took the following day.
Those flights, together with money lost on a night in hotel rooms and other expenses, cost him £4,500, he said.
On his return he tried to get recompense from Wizz Air, but he said it took almost two months for the cost of his original flights to be returned along with other legal compensation.
But, he said Wizz Air repeatedly ignored his claim for "consequential losses" - the £4,500 extra he had spent.
He took his case to the county court but said Wizz Air "ignored" the judgement made against the company, so bailiffs were sent in to the Wizz Air desk at Luton Airport.
"Their option was to hand over the money or the bailiffs would take it in goods - it might have been chairs, tables, computers or an aircraft," said Mr Quirk.
He joked that he might have liked a plane at home, but the company did pay him his money.
He said taking his case to court cost him about £180 in court fees, plus £60 to send in the bailiffs - although additional costs associated with the bailiff visit would have had to be paid by Wizz Air.
Mr Quirk said: "Increasingly businesses are thinking they can treat customers like dirt and I'm determined to eradicate that.
"My message is, where big companies stonewall you, if you persevere you can get what is owed to you."
A spokesperson for Wizz Air said: "In the summer of 2022, due to unprecedented levels of disruption across Europe and the UK which affected the entire industry, we fell short of our own aspirations and our customers' expectations.
"When things went wrong, we did not react quickly enough to manage the high volume of customer claims that resulted from this disruption. We are sorry about this and we are working to ensure that our customers' experience with Wizz is better this year.
"Since December, Wizz has paid all CCJs [county court judgements] where it received the judgment, and is continuing to work to settle all other outstanding claims as quickly as possible."
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The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-64999557 |
Junior doctor strike led to 175,000 cancellations - BBC News | 2023-03-18T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The walkout was the most disruptive NHS strike yet this winter - but pay talks have now been agreed. | Health | More than 175,000 patient appointments and procedures had to be cancelled in England when junior doctors went on strike this week, figures reveal.
That makes it the most disruptive NHS strike yet this winter.
Tens of thousands of medics took part in the 72-hour strike, with more senior hospital colleagues asked to cover.
Junior doctors' representatives at the British Medical Association (BMA) have now accepted an offer to enter pay talks with the government.
The BMA said it would not announce new strike action while the negotiations were taking place.
While emergency care was provided by consultants during the strike, many planned, non-urgent treatments were rescheduled.
NHS England medical director Prof Sir Stephen Powis said: "Despite the huge efforts that NHS staff made to keep patients safe and minimise disruption, this strike was on an unprecedented scale and had a greater impact than all the other industrial action we have seen so far this winter combined.
"Over 175,000 appointments and procedures were rescheduled to protect emergency, critical and urgent care for patients, which will inevitably impact on efforts to tackle the Covid backlog."
Some of the delayed appointments and procedures will include hip and knee operations, as well routine checks for patients with conditions such as diabetes and even cancer.
The NHS has been trying to tackle a backlog made worse by Covid - there are still 7.2 million people on waiting lists for treatment in England.
Nurses, ambulance workers and physios have also staged strikes this winter, but have now paused action while they consider a pay offer from government.
The Department of Health and Social Care said it deeply regretted the cancellation of appointments but was "pleased" the BMA had agreed to enter talks, on the same terms as unions representing the other NHS workers.
It added the government was seeking a "fair settlement which recognises the crucial role of junior doctors and the wider economic pressures facing the UK".
The BMA said it sent a letter to Health Secretary Steve Barclay on Friday after the government's new pay offer to other NHS workers, proposing to meet next week.
In a Twitter post, the BMA said its aim was to achieve full pay restoration, adding it would enter the negotiations in "good faith".
The BMA is calling for a 35% pay rise for junior doctors, arguing this would reverse 15 years of cuts.
Junior doctors represent nearly half of the medical workforce in England and include those who have just graduated from university, through to some with 10 years of experience.
Two-thirds of junior doctors are members of the BMA.
The latest figures suggest at least 86,000 were involved in the industrial action this week.
Dr Vivek Trivedi and Dr Rob Laurenson, the co-chairs of the BMA junior doctors committee, said: "Every day junior doctors despair as they see operations cancelled and treatment postponed for the millions on the waiting lists because our health services are in crisis.
"But rescheduling appointments as a result of the strike action could have been avoided if the health secretary had come to the table and negotiated an agreed settlement with us before any strike action was taken.
"The NHS had more than two months' notice that we would strike for 72 hours if the ballot was successful; the government has been in no doubt about our campaign for full pay restoration for over six months and this has been borne out by the number of junior doctors in England who have taken part in the industrial action."
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-64995025 |
SNP leader candidates call for 'robust' audit of vote system - BBC News | 2023-03-18T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Teams for Kate Forbes and Ash Regan believe party members and the public need reassurance over the ballot. | Scotland | Two of the three candidates vying to be leader of the SNP want an independent auditor to oversee the leadership vote.
Kate Forbes' campaign manager, MSP Michelle Thomson, said concerns had been raised about the integrity of the ballot process.
Ash Regan said an auditor would provide transparency to party members and the public.
The SNP has so far refused to say how many party members will be able to take part in the leadership vote.
That is despite all three candidates in the contest - Ms Forbes, Ms Regan and Health Secretary Humza Yousaf - calling on it to do so.
The SNP's national secretary, Lorna Finn, has written to the candidates to address their concerns about transparency.
She said it was not clear to her what their concerns were, but she was "satisfied as to the integrity of the ballot".
The ballot, she said, is being managed by an independent company, Mi-Voice, which the SNP has used for internal contests since 2013.
"No-one in HQ has access to live data from the ballot or any Mi-Voice systems, and no-one will know the result until it is provided to me by Mi-Voice on 27 March," the national secretary wrote.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told the BBC she also had no doubts about the integrity of the voting system.
SNP president Michael Russell said he has told Ms Finn that he supports publishing the membership figures, but has said he was "disgusted by the abuse directed at SNP staff by individuals who damage our cause and aid our enemies".
The national secretary said she had asked the SNP's executive committee to release the membership figures on Thursday.
The party had previously said it would only make the figure public after the result of the vote is announced on 27 March, but senior SNP sources are understood to be confident publication will be brought forward.
The SNP said its membership had reached 125,000 by 2019, but the Electoral Commission put the figure at 104,000 two years later.
The Mail on Sunday reported that Southampton-based polling firm Mi-Voice, which is overseeing the leadership vote, had been given the names of just 78,000 members by the SNP.
Ms Regan has called for transparency in an open letter, also written on behalf of Ms Forbes, to SNP chief executive officer Peter Murrell - who is the husband of Ms Sturgeon.
Mr Murrell was urged to clarify how many "paid-up" members the party has, and the number of digital and postal voting papers that have been released.
It is widely believed that Mr Yousaf is the preferred candidate of Ms Sturgeon and the wider party hierarchy, with Ms Regan previously claiming that his supporters were being "bussed in" to hustings events by SNP HQ.
Candidate Humza Yousaf has also asked for clarity over party membership
Ms Regan told BBC Scotland she would like to see the appointment of an independent election monitor to ensure the vote is fair.
"My concern is that the membership of the SNP and the country need to have full transparency and honesty in the process," she said.
"So the fact that all the teams haven't been given something as simple as the number of members in the SNP is obviously a concern."
Ms Thomson, who is supporting Ms Forbes, said some concerns that had been raised about the ballot were "based on hearsay or are from bad faith actors".
However others had been expressed by longstanding party members, she added.
She said she had written two letters to the party's national secretary but had not yet had a response.
Michelle Thomson confirmed she had asked for the appointment of an independent auditor
In a statement Ms Thomson said: "There seems to be a perception that the third party company operating the ballot process is a) independent and b) are responsible for the entire process.
"This is not the case - they are simply a company contracted by the SNP to provide services to their client's specification. This is entirely different.
"The SNP themselves remain ultimately accountable and responsible for many of the processes, oversight and ultimate integrity of the ballot."
Ms Thomson said the fact that questions were being asked could only further undermine trust in headquarters.
"This is not a position I wish to see," she said. "We all agree that the party must unify around any newly elected leader.
"I have asked that the SNP appoint a robust, experienced, third-party auditor of both the ballot processes and the eventual tally of the vote. This third party must have full oversight of all membership numbers, data and processes.
"This should be done without delay."
However SNP MP Gavin Newlands dismissed the statement by Ms Thomson, tweeting that he could not believe "this Trumpian nonsense has now hit my own party".
He insisted the vote was being carried out by "a highly regarded and independent third party".
Humza Yousaf's team said they would be happy for the SNP to provide whatever reassurances are required but added that the way in which the ballot is being questioned would be very upsetting for party members.
This leadership contest continues to cause headaches for the SNP.
Nicola Sturgeon's resignation was a blow in the first place.
Many of the first minister's opponents were relieved that a politician who had delivered a string of landslide election victories for her party was leaving the stage.
Plenty of her supporters worried that her departure was an implicit admission that Scottish independence could not be delivered any time soon.
Now the race to succeed Ms Sturgeon is posing further problems.
Divisions on economics and social issues, as well as on tactics and the party's record in government, have been exposed for all to see and for rivals to exploit.
It's also clear that many backers of Kate Forbes and Ash Regan are deeply suspicious about the manner in which the party hierarchy appears to be swinging behind Humza Yousaf.
Their calls for transparency about the election process have already been dismissed on Twitter by one SNP MP, Gavin Newlands, as "Trumpian nonsense" and fake news.
If senior party figures join the MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North in rubbishing the concerns of Ms Forbes and Ms Regan, the distrust - and the pain - for the SNP could become even worse.
Ms Sturgeon, who said she expected the party to publish figures on the number of eligible voters on Thursday, told reported she had "100% confidence in the integrity" of the voting system.
Speaking to BBC Scotland, she said: "There's been one specific issue raised by candidates that I think the NEC has been right to look at again.
"Beyond that, as far as I can tell, there are no specific concerns being raised. It's a general concern and I don't think that general concern is justified."
She said candidates to succeed her "should remember that the task is to retain the trust of the Scottish people".
An SNP spokesperson previously told BBC Scotland that the candidates had been told "responsibility for the leadership election does not rest with any member of staff".
Deputy First Minister John Swinney said he did not know how many members the party has, adding: "I quite understand why people would want to know that data at this stage rather than at the end of the process."
Westminster leader Stephen Flynn told BBC Scotland on Tuesday he had "no idea", adding: "I think the last time I heard it was about 100,000."
Earlier in the campaign, the party's national executive committee was at the centre of a row over blocking media access to party hustings events for the leadership contest - a decision that was reversed.
The ballot to find a replacement for Ms Sturgeon, which uses the single transferable vote system, opened on Monday with the winner to be announced on 27 March. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-64972800 |
Sam Neill diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma - BBC News | 2023-03-18T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The Jurassic Park star opens up about living with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in his new memoir. | Entertainment & Arts | Sam Neill played palaeontologist Dr Alan Grant in the 1993 film Jurassic Park, and later reprised the role
The actor Sam Neill has revealed he has had "a ferocious type of aggressive" non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
The Jurassic Park star, 75, was diagnosed with Stage three cancer in March 2022 and thought: "I'm crook, I'm dying."
Unable to work, he started writing as a distraction and to "give me a reason to get through the day," he tells the BBC.
In his new memoir, Did I Ever Tell you This?, he discusses his illness and his near 50-year career on screen.
Neill first noticed he had lumpy glands in his neck on a publicity tour for Jurassic World Dominion last year.
When doctors told him what was wrong, he said his reaction was "pretty phlegmatic", but it made him "take stock of things."
"I thought I need to do something, and I thought, 'Shall I start writing?'" he says.
"I didn't think I had a book in me, I just thought I'd write some stories. And I found it increasingly engrossing.
"A year later, not only have I written the book - I didn't have a ghost writer - but it's come out in record time.
"I suspect my publishers, they're delightful people, but I think they wanted to get it out in a hurry just in case I kicked the bucket before it was time to release the thing."
Indeed at one point he thinks the subtitle for the book might have been Notes from a Dying Man.
There are, he says, "dark days." He lost his hair after the first round of chemotherapy and writes in the memoir that when he looks in the mirror, "there's a bald, wizened old man there."
"More than anything I want my beard back. I don't like the look of my face one bit."
Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is a less common cancer that develops in the lymphatic system - the vast network of vessels and glands in the body.
But the star of films including The Piano, and TV's Peaky Blinders, is now in remission and remains positive.
"I'm not afraid of dying," he says. "What I don't want to do is to stop living, because I really enjoy living."
He continues: "I've regarded it as an adventure, quite a dark adventure, but an adventure nevertheless. And the good days are just fantastic and when you get some good news it's absolutely exhilarating."
The book, he is at pains to stress, is not about cancer. "I can't stand cancer books."
Instead it is mostly about what he calls his "fun" and "unlikely" life and long career. He's appeared in more than 70 films, working alongside actors including Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett and Jeff Goldblum.
He doesn't think screen acting has changed much over the decades but he does have a grumble about "mumbling" - actors who fail to enunciate their lines.
"I think it's a thing that a lot of young actors have that it's kind of sexy to have a whispering kind of thing that no one else can hear."
He blames neck microphones, which he says enable actors to "get away with whispering and mumbling because the neck microphone is going to record everything."
"It's ridiculous. We speak so we can be understood. We don't go around mumbling because someone has hung a microphone around our necks."
In the book Neill travels "through the past and the alleyways of my life." It was "a pleasure", he says, before mischievously adding: "Mostly." And at times he is refreshingly uncensored.
He describes his co-star in The Piano, the American actor Harvey Keitel, as "truculent and difficult and a bit graceless".
There is also clearly no love lost between Neill and the Australian actress Judy Davis. They appeared together in three films including My Brilliant Career and he says she's the only actress who "made it clear I wasn't in her league."
"Look," he adds, "I should've probably called this book, Spilling the Beans, because some beans I probably shouldn't have spilled and one of them was meeting Barbra Streisand."
He was flown to meet her in a hotel suite in New York in the early 1980s, to discuss a role in her film Yentl.
While he says he has always admired her, he admits: "I've never enjoyed her singing."
So when she sang not one, but two, songs from the film, at full volume from a distance of about five feet away from him, he was, he says, "in a state of shock and dismay."
Neill's new memoir is full of family photos and also sees him "spill the beans" on other famous faces
He is currently starring in the TV series The Twelve
Neill is also the man who didn't want to be James Bond. He auditioned for the part in the 1980s, on the say-so of his "assertive" agent and against his better judgment.
"I really didn't want to be the Bond that everyone didn't like.
"I didn't really want that gig at all because you're stuck with it for the rest of your life... I have never wanted to be a celebrity."
The book ends with good news. While Neill still has to undergo chemotherapy treatments, the tumours have gone.
Indeed he is about to start work on a new film in Australia with the star of American Beauty, Annette Bening. He is currently starring in the ITVX legal drama series The Twelve.
"The last thing I want is for people to obsess about the cancer thing," says Neill, "because I'm not really interested in cancer.
"I'm not really interested in anything other than living."
Did I Ever Tell You This? by Sam Neill is out on 23 March. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64969344 |
Deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia is war crime - UN - BBC News | 2023-03-18T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | A report by the UN says over 16,000 children have been transferred to areas under Russian control. | Europe | Over 16,000 children are thought to have been transferred to Russia or Russia-controlled areas.
Russia's forced deportation of Ukrainian children to areas under its control amounts to a war crime, UN investigators have said.
The UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine said there was evidence of the illegal transfer of hundreds of Ukrainian children to Russia.
The Commission's report is categorical that Russia also committed other war crimes in Ukraine.
They include attacks on hospitals, torture, rape and wilful killings.
Ukraine government figures put the number of children forcibly taken to Russia at 16,221.
Russia has introduced policies such as the granting of Russian citizenship and the placement of children in foster families to "create a framework in which some of the children may end up remaining permanently" in Russia, the report notes.
While the transfers were supposed to be temporary "most became prolonged", with both parents and children facing "an array of obstacles in establishing contact", UN investigators wrote.
In some cases, parents or children told the Commission that once in Russia-controlled areas, transferred children were made to wear "dirty clothes, were screamed at, and called names." They also said that "some children with disabilities did not receive adequate care and medication."
The burden of contacting their parents fell primarily to the transferred children as the adults faced "considerable logistical, financial, and security challenges" in finding or retrieving their children, the report says.
It also quotes witnesses as saying that the smaller children transferred may have not been able to establish contact with their families and might, as a consequence, "lose contact with them indefinitely".
The forced deportations of Ukrainian children "violate international humanitarian law, and amount to a war crime", concludes the report.
The UN said that in addition to the rapes, killings and "widespread" torture, Moscow could be responsible for the even more serious "crimes against humanity" - notably the wave of Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure that began last October.
The commission is also trying to determine whether the bombing and siege of the city of Mariupol last May might constitute a crime against humanity.
The investigators said they had also documented "a small number" of violations committed by Ukrainian armed forces. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64985009 |
Nicola Sturgeon's legacy as first minister in eight charts - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | As she prepares to leave office, what do the numbers tell us about Ms Sturgeon's record on the key issues? | Scotland politics | Nicola Sturgeon is preparing to leave office after more than eight years as Scotland's first minister, with MSPs giving her a standing ovation on Thursday as she made her final speech in the Scottish Parliament before standing down.
Ms Sturgeon has spoken of her pride at what she has accomplished - pointing to Scotland's ambitious climate change targets, record funding for the NHS and her remarkable eight election wins.
But her political opponents have claimed that Scotland's schools and hospitals are in a worse state now when she took over.
We dove into the statistics to try to draw some hard conclusions about what Ms Sturgeon's record time in office has meant for Scotland's economy, politics and climate change credentials, as well as its health and education systems.
Nicola Sturgeon's term in office has seen the SNP all but wipe its political rivals off the electoral map.
The party had already chased down and overtaken Labour at Holyrood, seizing power in 2007 and securing an unprecedented majority in 2011 with Alex Salmond at the helm.
But within months of Ms Sturgeon taking charge, the SNP also enjoyed remarkable general election.
The party won all but three of the 59 seats in Scotland in the 2015 election, gaining 40 from Labour and 10 from the Liberal Democrats.
Labour's collapse was so comprehensive that the Conservatives achieved what once seemed unthinkable by replacing them as the second party in Scotland right through to the local elections in 2022 - but the Tories did not come close to catching the SNP.
Ms Sturgeon's run continued with thumping Holyrood victories in 2016 and 2021, as well as another big UK win in 2019.
The fact the 2017 general election came as a setback - when the SNP won "only" 35 seats - only underlines how total the SNP's domination of electoral politics in Scotland has become in recent years.
Scotland's record toll of drug-related deaths is perhaps the country's grimmest statistic of recent years.
It has by far the worst death rate recorded by any country in Europe, and was 3.7 times higher than the UK as a whole when the last comparable figures were available.
A slew of policy responses have been tried - including working groups, action teams and a dedicated minister for the issue - without managing to make any significant reduction to the figures.
After years of alarming acceleration, there was a slight fall in the number of deaths in the most recent figures - but the death toll from drugs continues to be far higher than it was before Ms Sturgeon took office.
Further attempts to turn the tide are in the pipeline, with the government's top lawyer reassessing whether safe consumption rooms can be set up to help prevent overdoses.
A new Scottish income tax regime was set up on Ms Sturgeon's watch, and in the most recent budget her government doubled down on its approach of raising rates at the top end.
The five-band system introduced in 2016 has resulted in higher earners paying more than those elsewhere in the UK, and those on the lowest incomes paying slightly less.
Ministers have always been careful to strike the balance so that the majority of Scots ratepayers - currently 52% of them - pay less in tax than they would if they lived south of the border, to the tune of £22 a year.
The differences are much starker at the top end. Someone earning £50,000 a year in Scotland will see an extra £1,552 go to the taxman compared to the UK regime, and those on £100,000 pay an extra £2,606.
Questions have been raised about the amount of extra cash this actually raises once behavioural changes are factored in, and whether it could impact on productivity.
But the government views it as an important principle in the social contract - that those who earn more should pay a bit more in order to help build a "fairer society".
The aim of the changes to the income tax system has been to shift wealth from the better off to those on lower incomes.
Another major part of this agenda has been the creation of Social Security Scotland, a new welfare agency set up to deliver benefits devolved to Holyrood in the wake of the 2014 referendum.
These are often designed to be more generous than the UK equivalents being replaced, and welfare spending is projected to rise considerably in the coming years - one of the only areas of the budget forecast to actually go up.
This chart - using figures from the Institute for Fiscal Studies - incorporates a range of different measures including the income tax system, benefits like the Scottish Child Payment and Best Start Grant, and the action taken to mitigate UK benefit capping moves like the "bedroom tax".
It shows that - at least in theory - the poorest households in Scotland have more disposable income than their counterparts in England and Wales, while better-off ones have comparatively less.
It doesn't adjust for changes in behaviour or cover the sharply varying rates of council tax in different areas, but it does illustrate the Scottish government's broader goal of redistributing wealth across society.
It was famously Ms Sturgeon's "number one priority" and one she wished to be judged on - closing the gap in educational outcomes between school pupils from better off and more deprived areas.
It was a bold policy promise, but one which has been thrown back in her face repeatedly by opponents in the years since, because the gap has stubbornly refused to close.
The government points to the Covid pandemic as a major factor, by having a disproportionate impact on learning for children from more deprived backgrounds.
And it might well be the case that some of the efforts to tackle child poverty and expand childcare provision will, in time, have a positive impact on educational attainment.
But education reforms have stuttered throughout Ms Sturgeon's time in office, with a flagship piece of legislation shelved in 2018 and work to replace the qualifications and schools bodies ongoing.
Ms Sturgeon was one of the first politicians to formally announce a "climate emergency" back in 2019.
She also brought the Scottish Greens into government, met Greta Thunberg at COP26 as the climate conference kicked off in Glasgow in 2021, and has called for a "just transition" away from North Sea oil and gas.
This was a major shift for a leader who only a few years earlier had committed to "maximise economic recovery from the North Sea" and who leads a party whose most famous slogan was once "It's Scotland's oil".
Under Ms Sturgeon, the Scottish government has set ambitious targets for cutting carbon emissions to "net zero" by 2045. However it has not always lived up to those lofty aims, with interim goals missed.
And the Committee on Climate Change has warned that Scotland has now lost its lead over other parts of the UK, warning that progress on cutting emissions had "largely stalled".
The NHS has just limped though its most difficult winter ever, having already been rocked to its foundations by the Covid pandemic.
But lockdown was actually the only time the government's waiting times target - for 95% of patients to be seen within four hours - has actually been hit in recent years.
Hospital delays became a weekly fixture of questions to the first minister from opposition leaders, with Ms Sturgeon frequently confronted with case studies of patients who had been left waiting for hours for an ambulance to arrive or in accident and emergency units.
While she would always admit that these stories were unacceptable, she would also highlight that the challenges are not unique to Scotland.
However direct comparison is extremely difficult - for all that politicians regularly try - because of the differences in how A&Es are categorised in different parts of the country, and how the figures are compiled.
Ms Sturgeon entered politics largely because she wanted Scotland to be independent, and entered Bute House off the back of a referendum campaign which fell short of achieving that goal.
Did she move the dial on the issue which has driven her politics since her teenage years?
Polls suggest that the country remains every bit as divided over the issue as it was on the day she took over from Alex Salmond.
There was a bounce for No following 2017's post-Brexit election, and a bump for Yes during the Covid pandemic - which is often hailed as Ms Sturgeon's best leadership moment.
Her supporters argue that being within margin-of-error touching distance of victory is a pretty good starting point for a new campaign, given the Yes movement started the previous one miles behind.
But she is leaving behind a party divided on how to pursue independence, with the UK government continuing to refuse to allow a second referendum and the Supreme Court having rejected the notion of Holyrood holding a vote on its own.
A planned SNP conference to set a new strategy was postponed following Ms Sturgeon's resignation announcement, and it will be down to her successor to try to chart a course towards a goal which ultimately eluded her. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-64785030 |
Israel protests: Netanyahu addresses nation after turmoil over judicial reforms - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The Israeli prime minister says the country is at a "dangerous crossroads" as he acts to try and defuse widespread anger over the plans. | Middle East | Four hours after the sacking of Israel’s defence minister led to spontaneous protests across the country, an uneasy calm is beginning to return.
Today has been unprecedented. 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 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu back from the brink of forcing through controversial judicial reform legislation by the end of this week.
When he finally addressed the nation tonight, he was quick to cast blame. He accused an ‘extremist minority’ of trying to divide the nation, and criticised military reservists who’d opposed the bill by saying they wouldn’t report for duty. His own part in the country’s upheaval wasn’t acknowledged.
The solution 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.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners have been offered a new national guard to ensure their continuing support. 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. Tonight Opposition Leader Yair Lapid has called this "the biggest crisis in the history of the country".
Israelis know it isn’t over yet | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-65085001 |
Nato condemns 'dangerous' Russian nuclear rhetoric - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | President Putin says Russia will station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. | Europe | President Putin announced he would station nuclear weapons in neighbouring Belarus on Saturday
Nato has condemned Russia's "dangerous" and "irresponsible" rhetoric after Vladimir Putin's decision to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.
The organisation is "closely monitoring" the situation and said the move would not lead it to change its own nuclear strategy.
The US said it did not believe Russia was preparing to use nuclear weapons.
Belarus shares a long border with Ukraine, as well as with Nato members Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.
Ukraine has called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to address the potential threat of President Putin's announcement on Saturday.
President Putin said Moscow would not be transferring control of its arms to Minsk and that Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko - a firm ally of the Kremlin and supporter of its invasion of Ukraine - had long raised the issue with him.
Ukraine says the move violates nuclear non-proliferation agreements - an accusation President Putin has denied, instead comparing it to the US stationing its weapons in Europe.
But Nato on Sunday described Russia's reference to nuclear sharing as "misleading".
"Nato allies act with full respect of their international commitments," Nato spokesperson Oana Lungescu said.
The military alliance also accused Russia of consistently breaking its own arms control commitments, including the country's decision to suspend the new START treaty - a deal signed in 2010 which limits the number of US and Russian nuclear warheads and gives each the power to inspect the other's weapons.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell urged Belarus to opt out of the deal with Putin, warning the country could face further sanctions if it went through with it.
"Belarus can still stop it, it is their choice," he wrote on Twitter.
On Sunday, a top security adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of making Belarus a "nuclear hostage".
Oleksiy Danilov wrote on Twitter that Russia's plans were a "step towards internal destabilisation" in Belarus and predicted anti-Russian sentiment in the country would grow.
Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said Russia's deployment of nuclear weapons in her country "grossly contradicts the will of the Belarusian people" and would make it a potential target for retaliatory strikes.
But Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Ukraine's ministry of defence, told the BBC that Ukraine was used to nuclear threats from Russia, adding that the deployment in Belarus would not change the outcome of the war.
"They cannot win this war because it is for them unsustainable, it is unwinnable, [and] they cannot defeat Ukraine because we have been living with the hypothetical threat of a possible nuclear strike from day one of the large-scale invasion," he said.
Mr Sak said there was nothing new in Russia's behaviour, as it had been stationing military equipment in Belarus since the start of the war in 2022.
Mykhailo Podolyak, another senior adviser to President Zelensky, characterised the move as "scare tactics" and said the Russian leader was "too predictable".
Analysts at the US think tank Institute for War said the risk of escalation to nuclear war following the announcement remained "extremely low".
A small number of Iskander tactical missile systems, which can be used to launch nuclear weapons, have already been transferred to Belarus, President Putin said in his address on Saturday.
This will be the first time since the mid-1990s that Moscow will have based nuclear arms outside the country.
The Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 meant weapons became based in four newly-independent states - Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan - with the transfer of all warheads to Russia completed in 1996.
Russia will start training crews to operate the weapons from next week. The construction of a storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus will be completed by 1 July, President Putin said.
The announcement comes only days after Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Moscow, during which Russia and China issued a joint statement saying "all nuclear powers must not deploy their nuclear weapons beyond their national territories, and they must withdraw all nuclear weapons deployed abroad". | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65081575 |
Humza Yousaf succeeds Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Scotland's health secretary defeats rivals Kate Forbes and Ash Regan in a vote of party members. | Scotland politics | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Humza Yousaf told his party now it is time for the SNP to come together and deliver independence
Humza Yousaf is to succeed Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader and Scotland's first minister after a vote of party members.
Mr Yousaf defeated rivals Kate Forbes and Ash Regan in a leadership contest that exposed deep divisions within the party.
The 37-year-old is the first Muslim to lead a major UK party.
He is set to be confirmed as the first ethnic minority leader of a devolved government on Tuesday.
Mr Yousaf is currently Scotland's health secretary and was widely assumed to be Ms Sturgeon's preferred successor, although she did not explicitly back any of the candidates in the contest.
The leadership election was decided by the Single Transferable Vote system, with 50,490 of the SNP's 72,169 members casting a ballot - the vast majority of them online.
Mr Yousaf failed to win a majority in the first round of voting, but won 52.1% of the votes after second preference votes from Ms Regan, who was eliminated after finishing third, were redistributed.
Ms Forbes came second with 47.9% of the votes when second preferences were included, with Mr Yousaf receiving 26,032 votes and Ms Forbes 23,890.
The new SNP leader will face a vote in the Scottish Parliament - which he is certain to win - on Tuesday before becoming Scotland's sixth first minister.
He had been the clear favourite with the bookmakers during the contest, although polling expert Prof Sir John Curtice said ahead of the result that Ms Forbes appeared to be more popular with Scottish voters as a whole.
Ms Forbes, a member of the evangelical Free Church of Scotland, had been attacked by the SNP hierarchy during the contest over her socially conservative views on issues such as gay marriage, abortion and having children outside of marriage.
Speaking after being confirmed as the new leader at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, Mr Yousaf said it would be "the greatest honour and privilege of my life" to be the next first minister.
And he called on the party to unite behind him after what has often been a fractious leadership contest.
He said independence would be won "on the doorsteps" and pledged to kickstart a grassroots campaign, adding: "We will be the generation to win independence for Scotland".
Mr Yousaf added: "In the SNP we are a family. Over the last five weeks we may have been competitors or supporters of different candidates.
"We are no longer team Humza, or team Ash, or team Kate, we are one team."
Mr Yousaf also said his grandparents had arrived in Scotland from Pakistan in the 1960s barely able to speak a word of English, and would not have believed "in their wildest dreams" that their grandson would one day become first minister of Scotland.
Ms Sturgeon, who was Scotland's longest-serving first minister, announced last month she was stepping down after more than eight years in the job.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Humza Yousaf defeated rivals Kate Forbes and Ash Regan in the leadership contest
She said Mr Yousaf will be an "outstanding" leader as she congratulated him on his appointment, adding: "I could not be prouder to have him succeed me".
It was the first time the SNP has had a leadership contest since 2004, with Ms Sturgeon being unopposed when she replaced Alex Salmond in 2014.
Mr Yousaf becomes only its fifth leader since 1979, and will face the task of uniting a party that has dominated Scottish politics in recent years but which has looked deeply divided in the wake of Ms Sturgeon's resignation.
Ms Sturgeon's surprise announcement that she was resigning came just three weeks after she insisted that she had "plenty in the tank" and still believed she would lead Scotland to independence.
Her husband, Peter Murrell, was forced to resign midway through the campaign after it emerged the party's membership stood at 72,000 rather than the 104,000 it had consistently claimed to have.
The party still faces a police probe over the use of £600,000 which was raised by activists who were told it would be ringfenced for a second independence referendum, and questions over why Mr Murrell gave a SNP a loan of more than £100,000 in June 2021.
The SNP and Mr Murrell both deny they have done anything wrong, with Ms Sturgeon saying she "can't recall" when she first learned of her husband's six-figure loan.
Mr Yousaf was seen as the "continuity candidate" throughout the campaign - a strong position given Nicola Sturgeon's enduring popularity with SNP members.
He had by far the most endorsements from MSPs and MPs, including most of Ms Sturgeon's inner circle.
That means he should have a relatively easy time putting together a cabinet and bringing the party back together in parliament.
He was also the candidate best-placed to bring the Greens back into government, although they are meeting this afternoon to decide their next steps.
But it is inescapable that Mr Yousaf's margin of victory was razor-thin. A big, big chunk of the SNP voted for candidates promising change.
So the question now will be the extent to which the "continuity candidate" seeks to differentiate himself from his predecessor's agenda. Will he forge on with all of her policies, or seek to carve out more of an identity for himself?
And given he only just won over half of his own party, will he be able to replicate Ms Sturgeon's popularity with the broader electorate when the next election rolls around?
Mr Yousaf had pitched himself to some extent as the "continuity candidate" during the leadership campaign, and was forced to deny claims that the SNP establishment was doing everything it could to ensure he won.
He has often spoken of his admiration for Ms Sturgeon, but insists that he is "his own man and will do things my own way".
He was on the receiving end of a withering attack from Ms Forbes in a live STV debate, when she told him: "You were transport minister and the trains were never on time, when you were justice secretary the police were stretched to breaking point, and now as health minister we've got record high waiting times".
But Ms Forbes congratulated him on his success, saying: "Whatever the robust disagreements or frank exchanges of the last few weeks, I am confident we will unite behind Humza as our new party leader in the shared and common objective of independence."
Ms Regan, who had always been regarded as the outsider in the contest, tweeted her congratulations to Mr Yousaf after what she described as a "lively contest" and urged everyone to "get behind Team SNP".
His supporters say Mr Yousaf is a polished communicator who is best placed to unite the party and maintain the power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens - which had been widely expected to collapse if either Ms Forbes or Ms Regan had won.
Mr Yousaf was congratulated by his wife Nadia El-Nakla, as well as his daughter and step-daughter
The Scottish Greens said its council had voted unanimously to continue to support the agreement with the SNP and for its MSPs to back Mr Yousaf in the vote to become the next first minister.
Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie said: "This overwhelming endorsement of our arrangement will allow us to continue with the progressive, collaborative politics we know can help deliver a fairer, greener and more equal Scotland for all."
Mr Yousaf was first elected in 2011 as a regional MSP for Glasgow and was appointed a junior minister the following year, before becoming justice secretary in 2018 and health secretary three years later.
He will immediately face having to make a host of tough decisions, including whether to fight the UK government's block on Scotland's gender reforms in the courts - Mr Yousaf says he wants to but only if the legal advice is that it stands a chance of success - and what to do with other controversial polices inherited from Ms Sturgeon such as the deposit return scheme and new national care service.
The country's health service has seen record waiting times under Mr Yousaf's watch - although he points out that the issue is not unique to Scotland - and he will now also be ultimately responsible for an education system that has so far shown little sign of achieving Ms Sturgeon's mission of closing the wide attainment gap between the wealthiest and most deprived pupils.
After being voted leader of the Scottish National Party, we ask - who is Humza Yousaf?
Available now on BBC iPlayer (UK only).
Downing Street said the prime minister was looking forward to working with Mr Yousaf, but stressed it will be focused on the "issues that matter to people" such as reducing inflation and dealing with the cost of living crisis rather than independence.
Douglas Ross, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, said he had "serious concerns" about Mr Yousaf's ability, adding: "We hope he does not lurch from failure to failure as he did when he was Nicola Sturgeon's health secretary, justice secretary and transport minister".
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar - who was at school with Mr Yousaf at the private Hutchesons' Grammar in Glasgow - said the election of a first minister from an ethnic minority background would be a "significant moment for Scotland".
But he said Mr Yousaf was inheriting "the SNP's woeful record, but he has not inherited Nicola Sturgeon's mandate", and called for a Holyrood election to be held.
Mr Ross and Mr Sarwar will both stand against Mr Yousaf in the first minister vote in the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday afternoon, as will Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton - although none of the opposition leaders has any prospect of winning. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-65086551 |
Gwyneth Paltrow ski crash trial: Accuser heard 'blood-curdling scream' - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | A man suing Gwyneth Paltrow over a ski crash says it sounded "like someone was out of control". | US & Canada | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
A man suing Gwyneth Paltrow over a ski accident heard a "blood-curdling scream" shortly before the collision, a court in Utah has heard.
Terry Sanderson, 76, said it sounded "like someone was out of control" and he had never been hit so hard skiing.
He accuses the actress of being responsible for the 2016 crash and is seeking damages of $300,000 (£245,000)
Ms Paltrow, 50, has denied being responsible and countersued for $1 and her legal costs.
A ski instructor told the jury on Monday that the actress was not a reckless skier.
Testifying on Friday, Ms Paltrow had said the incident in Park City, Utah, left her with a sore knee and she got a massage afterwards.
On Monday, Mr Sanderson described hearing the scream in the moments before the collision, saying: "It was like somebody was out of control and going to hit a tree and was going to die."
He said he had never been struck so hard while skiing, describing the crash as a "serious, serious smack".
Mr Sanderson also told the court he had suffered physical, mental and emotional injuries from the accident, describing himself being a "self-imposed recluse" since.
He said these medical issues had changed his relationships with his children, as well as contributing to his split from his partner and losing friends.
A lawyer for Terry Sanderson told the jury last week that the Hollywood actress's "reckless" actions had caused the collision on the slopes of Deer Valley ski resort.
Describing the aftermath, Mr Sanderson told the court he remembered hearing a "very angry" male voice accusing him of being at fault for the collision, which was later said to be that of Deer Valley ski instructor Eric Christiansen.
Mr Sanderson said the man had been "insistent" he was the "bad guy" in the situation and had been trying to bully him.
In his own testimony, Mr Christiansen said it was "ridiculous" to claim he had been hostile towards Mr Sanderson, given instructors who get into confrontations with guests "don't last" at the ski resort.
He told the jury Ms Paltrow was not a "reckless" or "dangerous" skier and was skilled at "making short radius turns".
Mr Christiansen, who was teaching Ms Paltrow's son Moses on the day, said that neither she nor Mr Sanderson had asked for assistance from a ski patrol after the incident.
He said if anyone had asked for help "that would have changed everything", as when people are hurt ski patrol must be called to take statements and assess the extent of the injuries.
Mr Christiansen also denied there had been a "cover-up" to protect the actress. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-65095127 |
How will Scotland's new first minister be appointed? - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Humza Yousaf will face a vote in the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday before being confirmed as the country's sixth first minister. | Scotland politics | Humza Yousaf has won the race to succeed Nicola Sturgeon as leader of the SNP, and will now face a vote in the Scottish Parliament before being confirmed as the country's sixth first minister.
About 50,000 of the SNP's 72,000 members took part in the leadership vote, which saw Mr Yousaf defeat Kate Forbes and Ash Regan.
The leadership election was decided by the Single Transferable Vote system, with Mr Yousaf failing to win a majority in the first round of voting.
But he won 52.1% of the votes after second preference votes from Ms Regan, who was eliminated after finishing third in the first round, were redistributed.
Ms Forbes came second with 47.9% of the votes when second preferences were included, with Mr Yousaf receiving a total of 26,032 votes and Ms Forbes 23,890.
When Ms Sturgeon announced that she was standing down, she said she would continue as first minister until her successor was chosen.
It is expected that she will now formally inform the King of her intention to resign as first minister after more than eight years in the role.
On Tuesday, Mr Yousaf will be nominated by MSPs to replace Ms Sturgeon as first minister.
Any MSP from any party can also be nominated for the role. There were seven candidates in 2003, with Ms Sturgeon defeating then-Conservative leader Ruth Davidson in 2014, Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie in 2016 and both Mr Rennie and current Tory leader Douglas Ross in 2021.
It is expected that Mr Yousaf will be up against Mr Ross, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton this time around - although none of the opposition leaders has any prospect of winning.
After the nominees have all made a brief speech in parliament, MSPs will vote for their preferred candidate.
A candidate must receive more votes than all of their rivals combined in order to win.
If this does not happen, the contender with the least number of votes drops out and another round of voting is held.
This process continues until one candidate gets a majority of the votes cast.
The parliament's presiding officer, the equivalent of the Speaker in the House of Commons, will then recommend to the King that he appoints the winning candidate as first minister of Scotland. Unless something truly remarkable happens, that will be Mr Yousaf.
In the unlikely event that parliament cannot elect a first minister within 28 days, an election would be held.
The new first minister will be formally sworn in - probably on Wednesday - in a short ceremony at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Nicola Sturgeon was sworn in in a simple ceremony at the Court of Session in Edinburgh
He will then take the "official declaration", or oath of office, with the court's Lord President also asking them to take a vow as Keeper of the Scottish Seal.
Finally, he will also make an oath of allegiance to the King.
The first minister is likely to start the process of appointing government ministers after he has been sworn in.
Mr Yousaf - a republican - will also become a member of the King's Privy Council group of advisors, and is likely to be invited for a private audience with the monarch.
On Thursday, he will face opposition leaders for the first time at the weekly First Minister's Questions session. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-65080624 |
Prince Harry and Elton John appear at High Court in Associated Newspapers hearing - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The Duke of Sussex has accused the publisher of the Daily Mail of unlawful information gathering. | Entertainment & Arts | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
The Duke of Sussex unexpectedly appeared at the High Court as legal proceedings began over alleged phone-tapping and other breaches of privacy.
Prince Harry, who is one of those suing Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mail, was joined in the court room by singer Sir Elton John.
The duke claims "suspicion and paranoia" were caused by Associated's publication of some articles.
The publisher "vigorously denies" all the claims against it.
Prince Harry arrived at the High Court on Monday morning, while Sir Elton, who is also involved in the legal proceedings, joined proceedings at lunchtime.
Sir Elton John arrived at the High Court on Monday lunchtime
The pair, along with actresses Sadie Frost and Liz Hurley, are among the individuals who allege unlawful information gathering by the company, which also publishes the Mail on Sunday.
Others taking part in the legal action include Sir Elton's husband David Furnish, and Baroness Doreen Lawrence, the mother of Stephen Lawrence, who was murdered in a racist attack in 1993.
The four-day preliminary hearing in London is considering legal arguments and a judge will decide whether the case will go any further. Associated Newspapers (ANL) wants to end the claims without trial.
David Sherborne, the lawyer for the group of prominent individuals, said: "The claimants each claim that in different ways they were the victim of numerous unlawful acts carried out by the defendant, or by those acting on the instructions of its newspapers, the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday."
He said the alleged unlawful activity included "illegally intercepting voicemail messages; listening into live landline calls; obtaining private information, such as itemised phone bills or medical records, by deception or 'blagging'".
The activity also allegedly included "using private investigators to commit these unlawful information gathering acts on their behalf and even commissioning the breaking and entry into private property".
He added: "They range through a period from 1993 to 2011, even continuing beyond until 2018."
Actress Sadie Frost also appeared on Monday, and sat two seats away from Harry in the courtroom
In a document filed on Prince Harry's behalf, Mr Sherborne said the duke was "troubled that, through Associated's unlawful acts, he was largely deprived of important aspects of his teenage years".
In particular, he said, the prince had "suspicion and paranoia" caused by the publication of articles by ANL using unlawfully gathered information.
The barrister said: "Friends were lost or cut off as a result and everyone became a 'suspect' since he was misled by the way that the articles were written into believing that those close to him were the source of this information being provided to Associated's newspapers."
He added: "The claimant regards Associated's unlawful acts to amount to a major betrayal given promises made by the media to improve its conduct following the tragic and untimely death of his mother, Princess Diana, in 1997."
Sir Elton's lawyer said the singer and his husband were "appalled" by ANL's alleged conduct
The High Court was told Sir Elton and Mr Furnish's landline at their home in Windsor was tapped by a private investigator on the instructions of Associated Newspapers Limited.
Mr Sherborne said they were "mortified to consider all their conversations, some of which were very personal indeed, were tapped, taped, packaged and consumed as a commercial product for journalists and unknown others to pick over regardless of whether or not they were published".
The High Court heard Sir Elton and Mr Furnish had not seen a copy of their first child's birth certificate before it was unlawfully obtained by ANL.
Baroness Doreen Lawrence, whose son Stephen was murdered in a racist attack, also attended court on Monday
Mr Sherborne also told the court a private investigator acting on behalf of ANL hacked Hurley's phone and placed a "sticky window mini-microphone" outside her home.
He added her ex-boyfriend Hugh Grant's car was bugged to unlawfully obtain information about her finances, travel plans and medicals during her pregnancy.
He also told the court ANL paid a private investigator to unlawfully find the address of a man it believed was the male lover of Liberal Democrat politician Sir Simon Hughes.
Baroness Lawrence's bank accounts were monitored to check whether she was receiving any money from other newspapers during the Daily Mail's Justice for Stephen Lawrence Campaign, Mr Sherborne alleged.
"She finds it hard to believe the level of duplicity and manipulation that was clearly at play, knowing now as she does that the Daily Mail's outward support for her fight to bring Stephen's killers to justice was hollow and, worse, entirely false," he said.
ANL has said it categorically denies the serious claims made in the litigation and will vigorously defend them if necessary.
The group launched the legal action last year. ANL's lawyer Adrian Beltrami KC said, in written submissions, that the legal actions had been brought too late, were "stale" and the claims were "largely inferential".
The barrister said the individuals had to prove they did not know earlier, or could not have discovered earlier, they might have had a claim against ANL for alleged misuse of their private information.
He said none of the group said they believe they continued to be targeted by unlawful information-gathering after 2015.
In a statement after Monday's hearing, it added: "A private investigator whose 'confessions' form a key element of a privacy case being brought against Associated Newspapers by Prince Harry, Baroness Doreen Lawrence, Elton John and others has denied their allegations that he acted illegally against them on behalf of the Daily Mail or Mail on Sunday."
It said while the Mail's "admiration of Baroness Lawrence remained undimmed", we are "profoundly saddened that she has been persuaded to bring this case".
It added: "The Mail remains hugely proud of its pivotal role in campaigning for justice for Stephen Lawrence. Its famous 'Murderers' front page triggered the Macpherson report."
The Duke of Sussex was last seen in the UK at the late Queen's funeral
The duke's appearance on Monday is believed to be the first time he has been back in the UK since the late Queen's funeral in September.
His surprise return comes nearly three months after he publicised his troubled relationship with his father the King and brother the Prince of Wales in his controversial autobiography Spare.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also released a Netflix documentary in December, titled Harry & Meghan.
The King was due to be away on Monday on the first official state visit of his reign, but the trip to France was cancelled due to rioting over pension reforms.
He is due to leave for a state visit to Germany on Wednesday morning.
Buckingham Palace said he was not in Windsor or London on Monday.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been asked to vacate their UK home, Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor estate, in a move sanctioned by the King.
The duke is also taking legal action against the Home Office over security arrangements when he is in the UK, raising questions about his own security provisions during this visit. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-65087072 |
Poole oil leak not as bad as first thought, says harbour commissioner - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The pipeline was shut down and specialist oil spill companies brought in after the 200-barrel leak. | Dorset | Perenco said the leak was "quickly stopped and contained"
An oil leak from a pipeline at an onshore oil field into Poole Harbour was "not as bad as initially thought", Poole Harbour Commissioners (PHC) said.
About 200 barrels of reservoir fluid, including oil, leaked from the pipeline run by Perenco on Sunday.
PHC said "two clusters" of oil remained in the harbour - at Poole Marina and at Ower Bay, near the source of the leak.
The government said investigations were under way to find the cause of the fault and prevent any recurrence.
There are concerns for the impact the incident will have on wildlife in the area, with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) saying it had received reports of "oiled birds" being spotted around the bay on Monday.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Aerial footage shows a large boom across Poole Harbour the day after the leak
People are being urged not to swim at the harbour or surrounding areas.
PHC chief executive Jim Stewart said more than 100 people, aided by a helicopter and drones, had been involved in the clean-up.
He said aerial footage gathered on Monday morning suggested there had been "a 60-70% reduction in oil sightings on the water".
"We are pleasantly surprised that it's not as serious as we initially thought," he said.
"Currently there seems to be a substantial reduction of oil slicks from yesterday and there are just two places in the whole of the harbour that we can see which has got the black crude oil that was released."
PHC urged members of the public not to try to help and leave it to the specially trained teams.
The leak came from Wytch Farm, an oil field and processing facility that produces about 14,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
Oil was pictured on the surface of the water at Poole Harbour on Sunday afternoon
In the House of Commons, South Dorset MP Richard Drax asked the government to ensure that a full investigation into the "potentially catastrophic" leak was carried out by a regulator.
His Conservative colleague Sir Robert Syms, the MP for Poole, said: "Clearly this has an impact on public confidence, which is why we need an inquiry to look at it."
Rachael Maskell, Labour MP for York Central, asked: "...can [the minister] say when the infrastructure was last examined for its compliance with safety?"
Environment minister Rebecca Pow said investigations were already under way, adding: "There's a full regime... run through the regulator for checking the pipework and so forth, but... all of the records and the maintenance records will be looked at."
Boat owner Steve Harding said he first encountered oil on the water on Sunday at the the exit to Salterns Marina on the eastern side of the harbour.
"I'm out on the water quite a lot and this was definitely noticeable - there was a significant amount of oil on the surface of the water," he said.
"The sea area that this has dispersed over looks to be pretty big, unfortunately. I certainly won't be on the water this week."
Annie Gilbert and her husband Ian have run a business fishing for bass in the harbour for almost 20 years.
"Poole Harbour is a bass nursery area - and obviously the fish come in to breed and spawn. It may affect us in the future," she said.
The leak came from Wytch Farm oil field
PHC said on Sunday that Perenco had reported "no risk" of further leakage after the pipeline was shut down and booms were placed on either side of the leak to minimise pollution.
Perenco said each barrel contained 158 litres (35 gallons) of fluids which were "a mix of water with a small amount of oil" made up of 85% water and 15% oil.
PHC said the "maximum amount" of crude oil leaked was six tonnes.
About 5,000 acres of Poole Harbour is a Site of Special Scientific Interest
People I've been speaking to here at Poole Harbour are concerned.
The skipper of a charter boat heading out to sea told me he didn't know what he would find in the water; and fishing boats are loading up for a day at sea, hoping their work will be unaffected.
Their crew members are all asking the same questions as the authorities: just how much oil has leaked, how easily can it be cleaned up, and how serious will any lasting impact be?
It may take some time to establish that. But in an area popular with swimmers and nature lovers, it's a case of watching and waiting and hoping for the best.
Poole has the largest natural harbour in Europe and about 5,000 acres of it is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
Its salt marshes and mudflats are a feeding and breeding-ground for seabirds including spoonbills, avocets and black-tailed godwits.
The National Trust said it was "not aware" of any pollution washing ashore on its land, including Brownsea Island nature reserve, following the spill.
The harbour is also home to an osprey reintroduction programme, and a male returned to the site at the weekend
The harbour is also home to an osprey reintroduction programme, aiming to establish a breeding population of the fish-eating birds of prey after 200 years.
Anyone who has come into contact with the spill should wash themselves immediately with soap and water. If eyes have come into contact with the spill, they should be rinsed with water.
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• None Harbour clean-up under way after 200-barrel leak
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-65085130 |
SNP to announce Nicola Sturgeon's successor - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The party will confirm their next leader later after a process that has revealed deep divisions. | Scotland politics | Humza Yousaf, Ash Regan and Kate Forbes are the three candidates in the contest to succeed Nicola Sturgeon
The winner of the contest to succeed Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader is to be announced later.
Ash Regan, Humza Yousaf and Kate Forbes have been standing in the race, with the successful candidate to be revealed in Edinburgh at about 14:00 BST.
The winner will face a vote at Holyrood on Tuesday before also being confirmed as Scotland's new first minister.
Ms Sturgeon announced last month that she was standing down after more than eight years in the roles.
The online ballot of SNP members closed at midday, with the result to be announced two hours later by SNP national secretary Lorna Finn in front of an audience of about 300 people at Murrayfield Stadium.
It is the first time the SNP has had a leadership contest since 2004, with Ms Sturgeon being unopposed when she replaced Alex Salmond in 2014.
Whoever wins will become only its fifth leader since 1979, and will face the task of uniting a party that has dominated Scottish politics in recent years but which has looked deeply divided in the wake of Ms Sturgeon's resignation.
Bookmakers have Health Secretary Mr Yousaf - seen as Ms Sturgeon's preferred successor - as the clear favourite to win the leadership election, which is being held under the Single Transferrable Vote system.
However, polling expert Prof Sir John Curtice said Ms Forbes, who has been on maternity leave from her finance secretary role, appears to be more popular than Mr Yousaf among Scottish voters as a whole.
Meanwhile, Ms Regan is best known for quitting as a junior minister over the Scottish government's controversial gender recognition reforms, and is generally regarded as being the outsider in the contest.
But Sir John said there had been little polling of SNP members during the campaign, and therefore "none of us know what is going to happen" - with the outcome potentially hinging on who voters put as their second-choice candidate.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Nicola Sturgeon addressed the Holyrood chamber for the last time as first minister on Thursday
Ms Sturgeon's surprise announcement that she was resigning came just three weeks after she insisted that she had "plenty in the tank" and still believed she would lead Scotland to independence.
Her husband, Peter Murrell, quit as the SNP's chief executive midway through the leadership contest after being forced to admit its membership had fallen from 104,000 to 72,000 since December 2021.
The party previously ridiculed newspaper reports that it had lost 30,000 members, and had refused to tell the three candidates how many people would be able to vote in the leadership election.
SNP media chief Murray Foote also resigned over the row, with the party still facing a police probe over the use of £600,000 which was raised by activists who were told it would be ringfenced for a second independence referendum, and questions over why Mr Murrell gave the SNP a loan of more than £100,000 in June 2021.
The party and Mr Murrell both deny they have done anything wrong, with Ms Sturgeon saying she "can't recall" when she first learned of her husband's six-figure loan and that the "resources that he lent to the party were resources that belonged to him".
Mr Yousaf has denied allegations that the contest was specifically designed by the party hierarchy to help him win, with both of his rivals questioning the fairness and transparency of the process.
The early stages of the race saw Ms Forbes, a member of the evangelical Free Church of Scotland, come under fire from senior SNP figures, including Deputy First Minister John Swinney, over her conservative views on social issues such as gay marriage, abortion, trans rights and having children outside marriage.
Mr Swinney - a staunch ally of Ms Sturgeon for decades - is also set to leave the government once a successor is appointed.
Ms Forbes later hit back by slating the competence of Mr Yousaf in a live TV debate, while also launching thinly-veiled criticism of Ms Sturgeon when she said that "more of the same" would be an "acceptance of mediocrity".
The attack did little to placate those colleagues who were already pondering whether they could serve under Ms Forbes because of her views on social issues - with the SNP's deputy leader at Westminster, Mhairi Black, warning that the party could split if the finance secretary wins.
The new leader will immediately face having to make a host of tough decisions, including whether to fight the UK government's block on Scotland's gender reforms in the courts - only Mr Yousaf says he wants to - and what to do with other controversial polices inherited from Ms Sturgeon such as the deposit return scheme and new national care service.
They will also find themselves in charge of a health service with record waiting times and an education system that has so far shown little sign of achieving Ms Sturgeon's mission of closing the wide attainment gap between the wealthiest and most deprived pupils.
There is also doubt about the future of the SNP's power sharing agreement at Holyrood with the Scottish Greens if either Ms Forbes or Ms Regan become first minister because of their opposing views on issues such as gender self-identification and economic development.
Green co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater said at the weekend that the new first minister must have "progressive values" if the agreement is to continue, and that a commitment to climate justice and trans rights were "non-negotiable".
Much of the focus of the contest has been on how the candidates would look to build support for independence, with polls suggesting that it remains broadly where it was when Ms Sturgeon took over the party leadership after the referendum in 2014 - although it has fluctuated over that time.
Despite the turmoil that has hit the party over the past month, Ms Sturgeon has said that she is leaving whoever replaces her with a "brilliant foundation" on which to build, pointing to her eight election victories as party leader and first minister.
She has also dismissed suggestions from some within her party - including its interim chief executive Michael Russell - that the SNP is currently in "a mess", insisting that it was instead merely going through "growing pains" that are "necessary but difficult".
The outgoing first minister carried out her final official engagement before leaving office on Friday, when she opened a £33m treatment centre for orthopaedic surgery in Kirkcaldy.
Ms Sturgeon had been given a standing ovation in the Scottish Parliament the previous day, when she said her time as first minister "truly has been the privilege of my lifetime" and thanked Scots for "placing your trust in me".
It is not yet known what she will do after leaving office - beyond learning to drive and "probably" writing a book about her 30 years in politics - but few expect her to still be serving as a backbench MSP when the next Holyrood election is held in 2026.
The UK government's Scottish secretary, Alister Jack, has urged whoever replaces Ms Sturgeon to "turn from confrontation to collaboration" in their relationship with Westminster, saying that the "fundamental political differences" between them should not stop the two governments working together to improve people's lives.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar claims that the new first minister will have no mandate to govern and has called for a Holyrood election to be held - pointing to similar demands made by Ms Sturgeon for a general election during last year's Conservative leadership contest. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-65065112 |
Laughing gas: Experts warn nitrous oxide ban will not stop use - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The government defends new plans to tackle anti-social behaviour by clamping down on nitrous oxide. | UK Politics | A ban on laughing gas will not stop people using it and will drive it into criminal hands, say experts.
The government has defended its plans to tackle anti-social behaviour, including making the possession of nitrous oxide a criminal offence.
The Drug Science scientific charity says a blanket ban "is completely disproportionate" and "would likely deliver more harm than good".
The £160m plan will also address homelessness, begging and graffiti.
Unveiling his plans to clamp down on anti-social behaviour on Monday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said there was a need for a "zero-tolerance" approach and stressed the importance of "immediate justice".
Speaking at a boxing club in Chelmsford, Essex, Mr Sunak said he wanted to deal with a small minority of people who were being disruptive.
The decision to make nitrous oxide a Class C drug goes against advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), which recently said nitrous oxide should not be banned under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
Its review also found "no substantive evidence of links between nitrous oxide and anti-social behaviour" aside from littering.
On Monday afternoon, Home Secretary Suella Braverman told MPs the government was expected to "take a broader view" on the ACMD's findings, adding there was still "emerging evidence that [nitrous oxide] does cause serious harm to health and wellbeing".
She said the government would "put an end to hordes of youths loitering in and littering parks with empty canisters".
But shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper claimed the government's crackdown was "too weak, too little and too late".
"There are 10,000 fewer neighbourhood police and PCSOs on our streets today than there were seven years ago," she said.
She said Labour supported a ban on nitrous oxide, but stressed it needed to be part of an integrated anti-social behaviour strategy.
The gas, sold in metal canisters, is known as NOS and is one of the most-used drugs by UK 16 to 24-year-olds.
Heavy use can lead to a vitamin deficiency that damages nerves in the spinal cord.
Proposals in the government's crackdown on anti-social behaviour also include:
Some 16 areas will get funding for either the "hotspot" policing or a new "immediate justice" scheme, where those who carry out anti-social activity will undertake repair and clean-up works within 48 hours of being handed orders. Four areas will trial both schemes.
Victims of anti-social behaviour will get a say in people's punishments "to ensure justice is visible and fits the crime", the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said.
The government defended its move to clamp down on laughing gas, with Policing Minister Chris Philp saying there were concerns that nitrous oxide was being consumed on "a very large scale".
Questioned about the decision to go against ACMD advice, he told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme: "We have taken a broader view - considering firstly the social harms caused by nitrous oxide, the contribution it makes to anti-social behaviour, a sense sometimes of menace in local communities, the littering that goes with it and also the very early evidence of some medical harm."
In its policy paper, the government said it intends to make nitrous oxide a Class C drug with potential prison sentences and unlimited fines for unlawful supply and possession, when parliamentary time allows.
David Badcock, chief executive of Drug Science, said he was "disheartened" at the proposed ban and the government was "going completely against its own advisory panel".
He went on to ask: "What's the point in the ACMD when the very best scientists and experts have looked at the evidence and advised what to do and they completely ignore it?"
Steve Rolles, senior policy analyst at the Transform Drug Policy Foundation, said criminalising nitrous oxide would "hand control of the product to criminal gangs".
Prof Adam Winstock, an addiction medicine specialist and founder of the Global Drug Survey, told the BBC that getting a criminal record "is going to be a far greater harm than the risks for the vast majority of people using nitrous oxide".
Rishi Sunak during a Q&A session in Chelmsford on Monday
It is already illegal to produce or supply the gas for its psychoactive effects under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016, but this does not cover possession unless it is with the intent to supply.
According to the ACDM, the number of deaths and demand for treatment for problematic use of nitrous oxide remains low compared with other drugs.
However, there have been reports of an increase in neurological harms, including nerve and spinal cord damage, related to heavy and persistent use.
Nitrous oxide is also regularly used as an anaesthetic in medicine and dentistry, and as a gas for making whipped cream in cooking.
The Liberal Democrats said: "Making something like this illegal doesn't work and hands profit and control to serious criminals." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65085987 |
Actor Orlando Bloom meets children affected by Ukraine war and visits Zelensky - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | null | The Lord of the Rings star, who is a goodwill ambassador for Unicef, also met President Zelensky. | null | Actor Orlando Bloom has visited a centre in Kyiv which provides support to children affected by the war in Ukraine.
The Lord of the Rings star, who is a goodwill ambassador for the UN children's organisation Unicef, also met with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and praised the strength of the Ukrainian people as "awe-inspiring". | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65085212 |
Welsh: Law to help all Wales' pupils speak confidently by 2050 - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | But campaigners are warning of a danger that the aim is "too vague and the actions insufficient". | Wales | The Welsh government has published its White Paper on Welsh language and education
A new law will help all pupils in Wales become confident Welsh speakers by 2050, the Welsh government has said.
Proposals for a new Welsh Medium Education Bill have been published by Labour ministers and Plaid Cymru.
Plaid Cymru said it set the foundation for every pupil to have Welsh-medium education.
But campaigners have warned of a "danger that the targets are too low, the aim too vague, and the actions insufficient".
Proposals include reflecting the target of one million Welsh speakers by 2050 in law as well as giving legal status to the language categories for schools.
The aim is to increase Welsh language provision within English-medium schools and also to increase the number of schools in the Welsh-medium category.
There is also a proposal to establish a clear system to describe language skill levels so that everyone has a common understanding of Welsh skills, including employers.
Enabling all pupils to leave school as a "confident speaker" would mean having the ability to work through the medium of Welsh.
A consultation will be open until 16 June, and the Welsh government has pledged to introduce a Welsh Education Bill before the end of the parliamentary term.
The Minister for Education and Welsh Language Jeremy Miles said the government was "committed to a future where everyone has the ability and opportunity to use Welsh in their everyday lives".
Other proposals include requirements on local authorities to promote Welsh-medium education, a national plan by ministers which would include targets for the recruitment of Welsh-medium teachers and a commitment to conduct a study looking at accelerating the growth of Welsh-medium education.
The proposals aim to improve pupils' confidence with their Welsh language skills
Plaid Cymru MS Cefin Campbell said the proposals go "further towards ensuring that our education system delivers Welsh to all pupils in a way that creates confident speakers" and where Welsh-medium provision is normalised.
"The proposals offer a foundation towards an education system that delivers Welsh-medium education for all pupils," he said.
Language campaigners Cymdeithas yr Iaith described the White Paper as "an important step forward".
However, it said the final law should include "ambitious statutory targets in terms of developing the Welsh-language education workforce and increasing the number of children receiving Welsh-medium education".
Welsh Conservative shadow minister for the Welsh language, Samuel Kurtz MS, said: "It's important that parental choice is included in the Labour-Plaid Cymru plans and that we have enough teachers able to teach their subjects well through the medium of Welsh."
A Welsh Language Education Bill is a pledge in the co-operation agreement between the government and Plaid Cymru, but the First Minister Mark Drakeford and Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price clashed over Welsh language education last December.
In the Senedd chamber, Mr Drakeford said "compulsory education for everybody through the medium of Welsh" was not the answer to growing the language. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-65082197 |
Teachers' strikes: NEU urges teachers to reject new pay deal - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Schools in England could face further strikes, as the NEU is unhappy with the government's offer. | Family & Education | Teachers from the National Education Union held three national strike days in February and March
Schools in England could face further strike action as the National Education Union has asked teachers to reject a new pay offer, after intensive talks.
The government has offered teachers a £1,000 extra cash payment this year and a 4.3% rise for most staff next year.
Many teachers in England received a pay rise of 5% in September 2022 but unions say this was a cut due to inflation.
Thousands of schools were disrupted by the latest walkout by teachers who are members of the NEU.
Four unions have been involved in six days of intensive talks with the education secretary since 17 March about teachers' pay, conditions and workload.
The NAHT, NEU, ASCL and NASUWT unions have been calling for above-inflation pay rises, funded by extra money from the government rather than coming from schools' existing budgets.
The government says it is giving schools £2.3bn over the next two years and starting salaries for new teachers will reach £30,000 next year.
It says this is "a fair and reasonable offer" and commits to reducing workload by five hours each week.
In an interview with the BBC, Kevin Courtney, the NEU's general secretary, said his union was unhappy with the offer and believed it was "not fully funded in schools, and that the majority of schools would have to make cuts in order to afford it".
Members will be able to vote on the offer through an electronic ballot, which will run until Sunday. The result of that will be announced at the NEU conference on 3 April.
More walkouts could be called if members reject the offer.
Mr Courtney said the "lack of teacher pay rises" was one reason schools were struggling to recruit and retain staff.
"That's impacting on children's education every day," he said.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Mr Courtney said the government "isn't funding schools well enough".
If accepted "60% of schools would have to make cuts to fund even this inadequate offer", he said.
He stressed that if further strikes were planned "local arrangements" would be made to ensure Year 11 and Year 13 students would be in school ahead of exams.
The NASUWT union is also recommending its members reject the government's offer. It says the government has chosen to respond only to a small number of the working-condition issues raised by unions.
The school leaders' union, the NAHT, is asking members whether they want to accept or reject the offer.
It will also ask if they would be prepared to vote for industrial action if the offer is rejected.
Results of their first ballot in January showed that the majority of members were in favour of strike action but turnout was 42%, under the legal requirement of 50%.
The ASCL is also consulting its members.
More than 50% of schools in England were fully closed or restricted attendance during strike days on 15 and 16 March, according to government data
Teacher salaries fell by an average of 11% between 2010 and 2022, after taking inflation into account, the Institute for Fiscal Studies says.
The government had offered most teachers a 3% rise for the next school year, 2023-24.
The NEU says the new pay offer will give teachers an average increase of 4.5%, but experienced teachers will get 4.3%. The union says this is a real-terms pay cut which will leave many teachers still struggling to make ends meet.
The BBC has been told if the unions reject the offer, the decision on how much teachers will be offered will be passed to the pay review body, an independent body which gathers evidence on what some public sector workers are paid. But if this happens, the £1,000 cash payment for this year would not happen.
Outside a primary school in Manchester, Fahad, who has two primary school-aged children, says he is still supportive of the teachers' demands even if more strikes go ahead.
"These professions should be looked after and given more support and more increase in pay," he says.
Farnaz said teachers were well within their rights to strike if they wanted to, but that "it's hard when they're off because then I have to take time off work".
"I hope they come to some sort of agreement and that (teachers) do get what they want," she adds.
A Department for Education spokesperson said the government had put forward a "fair and reasonable offer, backed with funding for schools".
"The offer provides an average 4.5% pay rise for next year, puts £1,000 into the pockets of teachers as a one-off payment for this year, and commits to reducing workload by five hours each week.
"This is a good deal for teachers that acknowledges their hard work and dedication."
Fahad, who has two children in primary school, says if more strikes go ahead he is still supportive of teachers' demands
The dispute over teachers' pay has been resolved in Scotland.
Teachers in Scotland have accepted a 7% rise for 2022/23, which will be backdated to April. They have also accepted a 5% rise in April 2023, and a 2% rise in January 2024.
Teachers from the largest teaching union in Wales, the NEU, have agreed on an increased pay offer of 8% for 2022/23, which consists of a 6.5% annual pay rise and a one-off lump sum payment, as well as a 5% pay rise for 2023/24.
But Wales' school leaders' union, NAHT Cymru, has rejected the offer and says funding arrangements remain a major concern for school leaders. Members are continuing to take action short of strikes - which includes refusing to attend evening meetings and only responding to calls and emails between 09:00 and 15:00 BST.
In Northern Ireland, five unions are also continuing to take action short of a strike. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-65037422 |
Mass Israel protests after Netanyahu fires defence minister - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Thousands demonstrate after the firing of Yoav Gallant - who spoke out over controversial judicial reforms. | Middle East | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets across Israel after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his defence minister.
Yoav Gallant had spoken out against controversial plans to overhaul the justice system.
In Jerusalem, police and soldiers used water cannon against demonstrators near Mr Netanyahu's house.
Early on Monday morning, Israel's President Isaac Herzog called on the government to halt the reforms.
"For the sake of the unity of the people of Israel, for the sake of responsibility, I call on you to stop the legislative process immediately," he said on Twitter, adding that "the eyes of all the people of Israel are on you".
The US also said it was deeply concerned about the developments and called for a compromise.
A week of disruption had already been planned over the new law.
The reforms include plans that would give the government decisive control over the committee which appoints judges.
They would also make it harder for courts to remove a leader deemed unfit for office, which has angered many who consider it in the interests of the incumbent, Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces an ongoing trial for corruption.
Mr Netanyahu says the reforms are designed to stop the courts over-reaching their powers and that they were voted for by the public at the last election.
After protesting outside Mr Netanyahu's home, the demonstrators - many flying Israeli flags and banging pots and pans - then evaded police forces to arrive at Israel's parliament, the Knesset.
One government employee told the BBC that she felt Mr Netanyahu "crossed every line we have as a democratic country".
"We're defending the last bit of democracy we have and I can't go to sleep this way. I can't do anything until we stop this craziness", she said.
Protesters duck below blasts of water fired from a water canon
In Tel Aviv, flag-waving protesters blocked one of the main highways for more than two hours, before they were cleared by mounted police and water cannon.
Mr Gallant is a former soldier, who for weeks has heard from reservists who were unhappy with the proposed law change.
In early March, fighter pilots in an elite Israeli Air Force squadron vowed not to attend training, in an unprecedented protest against the government.
They later agreed to attend and hold talks with their commanders.
Mr Gallant spoke out against the law on Saturday, where he said members of the Israeli Defence Forces were angry and disappointed.
Mr Netanyahu - who was out of the country at the time of Mr Gallant's TV appearance - said he no longer had faith in him as defence minister.
The prime minister wants to get the new legislation through parliament by the end of the week.
The two politicians are members of the same Likud party and while the defence minister won the backing of some fellow members, others on the far right called for him to go.
A week of disruption had already been planned over the controversial plans to overhaul the justice system
After he was fired, Mr Gallant took to Twitter to reaffirm: "The state of Israel's security has always been and will always be my life's mission."
Israel's opposition leader Yair Lapid described Mr Gallant's sacking as "a new low" for the government.
"Netanyahu can fire Gallant, but he can't fire reality or fire the people of Israel who are fronting up to resist the coalition's madness," Mr Lapid added.
A White House spokeswoman raised US concerns about the situation, saying: "As the president recently discussed with Prime Minister Netanyahu, democratic values have always been, and must remain, a hallmark of the US-Israel relationship."
She added that "fundamental changes" to a democratic system should be "pursued with the broadest possible base of popular support".
"We continue to strongly urge Israeli leaders to find a compromise as soon as possible." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-65083776 |
Nashville school shooting: Six killed by 28-year-old ex-student in Tennessee - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Nashville police say the shooter was a 28-year-old former student at the private Christian school. | US & Canada | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Police says the Nashville suspect was a female armed with assault weapons
Six people - three children and three staff - have been killed in a shooting by an ex-student at a school in the US city of Nashville, Tennessee.
Three of the victims were pupils aged nine or under at Covenant School. Police named them as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney.
The adult victims were named as Cynthia Peak, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60, and Mike Hill, 61.
The private Christian school has about 200 students.
It teaches pupils from three years old up to around 12.
Ms Peak was a substitute teacher working at the school that day. Mr Hill was a janitor and Ms Koonce was described as the Head of School on Covenant's website.
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Police said the suspect was 28-year-old Audrey Hale, who identified as transgender.
Hale was armed with three guns, including a semi-automatic rifle, and was shot dead by police.
Police received the first call about the incident at 10:13 local time (15:13 GMT) on Monday.
The suspect drove to the school in a Honda Fit and got in by firing through one of the school doors, which were all locked.
Video later released by Nashville police show Hale using a gun to gain entry by shattering glass panes on the front doors, then wandering the school's deserted corridors - at one point walking past a room labelled "Children's Ministry".
In the CCTV footage, Hale is wearing what looks to be a protective vest and carrying an assault-style rifle in one hand, with a second, similar weapon also visible hanging from the left hip.
The shooter fired at police from the second floor when they arrived
Hale fired shots on the ground floor before moving to the building's second floor.
As police cars arrived, Hale fired on them from the second floor, striking one in the windscreen, said police.
One officer was injured by broken glass. Police rushed inside and shot the suspect dead at 10:27.
A search of a nearby parked car led officers to "firmly believe" that Hale was a former student of the school, said police.
Police spoke with the attacker's father during a search of a nearby home that was listed as the shooter's address.
Nashville Police Chief John Drake said investigators there found a manifesto and "a map of how all of this was going to play out", including entry and exit points at the school building.
He also said the shooter had conducted surveillance while planning the attack.
After the shooting, parents gathered at a nearby church to be reunited with their children. As buses of children arrived, they hung their heads and hands out of the windows to wave to their parents, according to the Tennessean newspaper.
The Presbyterian-affiliated Covenant School is located in the upmarket Green Hills neighbourhood, just south of downtown Nashville.
The mother of one pupil said her son had been left traumatised by the shooting.
"I think he's doing better now that he knows that the shooter is dead," Shaundelle Brooks told BBC News.
"These are conversations we shouldn't be having," she added. "We're failing our children."
The killer shot through a locked side door to break inside
By nightfall on Monday, the entrance to Covenant looked like that of any other church that has a school, except for the growing memorial and police presence.
There was a sign outside promoting registration for a summer programme and the Easter Sunday service schedule.
"When I heard it I couldn't get any more work done. I was sad and angry," says Mark from south Nashville.
"Bringing flowers is my way of paying respects to the lives lost."
In a statement, Nashville Mayor John Cooper said the city had "joined the dreaded, long list of communities to experience a school shooting".
"We have to do more to stop gun violence," he said, once again calling on Congress to pass gun control laws. "It is ripping our communities apart, and ripping at the very soul of this nation."
The attack was America's 129th mass shooting of 2023, according to Gun Violence Archive, a non-profit that tracks gun violence data.
According to data compiled by Education Week, there have been 12 school shootings that have resulted in deaths or injuries in the US this year up until the end of last week.
Have you been affected by what's happened? Are you in the area? If it's safe to do so, you can get in touch by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any submission. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65092102 |
Families of HMS Dasher dead want honest answers - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Aircraft carrier HMS Dasher exploded in 1943 killing 379 - 80 years on relatives feel cheated of the truth. | Scotland | HMS Dasher was a merchant ship converted into an aircraft carrier
The families of hundreds of sailors killed in Scottish waters during World War Two, say they have been cheated of the truth.
At poignant events marking the 80th anniversary of the sinking of aircraft carrier HMS Dasher, the desire to know what happened to the bodies of hundreds of its crew was stronger than ever.
The vessel blew up in the Firth of Clyde on March 27th 1943 and went down within eight minutes not far from the shore. The cause is not clear but it did not involve enemy action.
There are continuing questions about what might have happened to those who lost their lives.
Last weekend, descendants of those lost, accompanied by Royal Navy personnel and representatives of the Royal British Legion took the ferry from Ardrossan to Brodick on the Isle of Arran.
The ferry stopped over the site of the wreck of HMS Dasher. Wreathes were laid over the side after a short service of commemoration.
Dame Mary Richardson attended the memorial and has tried for many years to find out what happened to the remains of crew members
Dame Mary Richardson, aged 87, was there remembering her father George Habgood. She later read a tribute in a remembrance service at the HMS Dasher memorial gardens in Ardrossan.
Out of 528 personnel on board, the death toll was 379 but only 23 were given official burials. Some of those were carried out in Ardrossan cemetery.
Dame Mary and other relatives of victims have been trying for decades to find out what might have happened to the bodies of the rest of the crew.
She told BBC News: "There were so many families there who had links with Dasher and it is quite clear the Dasher memory is embedded in these families - there were some there with three generations and they are still asking questions.
"There is a feeling they've been cheated - that they've never been given their right to an honest and full answer and I think that has to come. Far from dying out, it is as strong as it ever was."
HMS Dasher blew up in the Firth of Clyde in March 1943
Witnesses at the time have passed on testimony that there were many more than 23 bodies washed ashore and suggested there must be unmarked graves.
Bill Watson's father, also named Bill, was a student in 1943 and working as a volunteer ambulance driver. Mr Watson told us that his father was asked to work with others recovering bodies washed up on the shoreline around Ardrossan.
He said: "There were two in each group and there were several groups. His recollection is there were many trips. They would get six of these poor souls onto these ambulance trailers and they would be taken to local mortuaries. Some were laid out in a hall on the dancefloor.
"His estimation - him and his small group - is greater than 50 - if there were other groups you would assume many more than 50."
Bill Watson's father - also Bill - worked as a volunteer recovering bodies from the shore in 1943.
Dame Mary Richardson has been told by one family member that his step-father was an 18-year-old sailor serving on a minesweeper which was in the area at the time.
He had spoken of taking part in a burial party and recalled that some bodies were buried on an island. Dame Mary has personally funded an archaeological survey of Sanda island off the Mull of Kintyre. This has revealed some intriguing indentations near the shoreline.
Many were presumed dead but relatives never found out what happened to their remains
The survey was carried out by Drone Scotland acting for GUARD Archaeology (formerly part of Glasgow University).
It concludes: "The survey located an anomaly that has the characteristics that are associated with burial and, especially, mass burial; a measurable dip in the ground surface coupled with distinct edges where the cut was made."
The report does make clear though that there is only the "potential" for there to be graves on the site.
In a statement, the Royal Navy has said that the creation of a mass unmarked grave would clearly run counter to Admiralty policy on the burial of wartime casualties and that all sources relating to the sinking of HMS Dasher are in the public domain.
As the anniversary events drew to a close, Dame Mary made it clear she would continue her investigation and, working with other families, campaign for more official information to be revealed.
She connects with words from the wartime poem The Life That I Have by Leo Marks.
"It makes me very sad," she said. "It's a commemoration of these men - but I think like in the poem "sleeping in the long green grass" for 80 years but alone and unrecognised.
"Eighty years is a long time and by the time 100 years comes I won't be here - so I've got a limited time to find these men". | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-65086104 |
Civil servants to strike in April - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The PCS union said 130,000 members voted to strike on 28 April in a continued row over pay, pensions and job security. | Business | Members of the PCS union walked out on Budget Day
More than 130,000 civil servants have voted to go on strike next month over pay, pensions and job security.
The PCS union said its members voted to take action on 28 April to increase the pressure on the government and were "not backing down".
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: "Ministers need to resolve the dispute by putting money on the table."
The government said their demands would cost an "unaffordable £2.4bn".
Urging the PCS union to call off the strikes, a spokesperson said the government's focus was to "ease the pressure on households across the country" as the cost of living soars.
"That is why public sector pay awards strike a careful balance between recognising the vital importance of public sector workers, while delivering value for taxpayers and avoiding higher prices in the future," the government spokesperson added.
Members of the PCS union, who have been offered a 2% to 3% increase, last walked out on Budget day earlier this month.
The PCS union represents hundreds of thousands who work in government departments as well as those at organisations such as Ofsted, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and Border Force.
It has been calling for a 10% pay rise, better pensions, job security and no cuts to redundancy terms.
Mr Serwotka said: "We know our strikes have already caused serious disruption. The new strikes and another national day of action will pile the pressure on a government that refuses to listen."
The union said the all-out strike on 15 March was "brilliantly" supported by members, with big picket lines and demonstrations.
Teachers, junior doctors, rail workers and London Underground tube drivers are some of the industries whose workers have walked out in disputes - mainly over pay - over the last year as wages do not align with the rising cost of living.
One of the biggest days of strikes was whilst Chancellor Jeremy Hunt deliver his Budget, with workers congregating around Westminster.
Members from 186 different employers were balloted over the latest strike action last week, the PCS union said.
• None More civil servants to strike on Budget day | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65091905 |
Gwyneth Paltrow trial: Ski instructor in witness box over US ski crash - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Eric Christiansen testifies over the skiing accident that involved the US actress at an upmarket resort in Utah. | US & Canada | 'The first thing I did was observe them on the ground'
Owens asks Christiansen: "Did you try to figure out what had happened?" Christiansen says he did: "The first thing I did was observe the way they were on the ground. Sanderson's head was uphill, his skis downhill." They were very close to the edge of the run; after the fall, both had their skis below them, still had their boots on and Paltrow was on top Sanderson, he adds. He's asked about what it means having their boots on. Christiansen says this means the following: "They went down with no heavy impact that would knock them over." It would be very difficult to get in that position without someone hitting from behind, he says. The next thing he observed is what they were saying, he says; Paltrow was saying she'd just been hit, Sanderson said she'd just appeared in front of him and that he was sorry. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-us-canada-65065144 |
More storms feared after Mississippi tornado - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Friday night's tornado in the southern US killed 26 people and has displaced hundreds more. | US & Canada | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
More severe weather could be on its way to the US state of Mississippi following the tornadoes which killed 26 people, the governor has warned.
Governor Tate Reeves said significant risks remained in parts of the state.
Hundreds of people have been displaced in the wake of the tornadoes which tore through Mississippi and Alabama on Friday night.
The mayor of one of the worst affected towns said he had lost personal friends in the disaster.
Friday's tornado was the deadliest in the state of Mississippi in more than a decade. At least 25 people have died in the state, with one person confirmed dead in neighbouring Alabama.
Trees have been uprooted, trucks have overturned into houses and power lines have been brought down by the tornado - classified as "violent" and given the second-highest rating possible.
More than 36,000 people remained without power as of Monday morning in what is one of the poorest regions in the country.
On Saturday, survivors of the disaster could be seen walking around, dazed and in shock. Sunday, on the other hand, has been a hive of activity.
Volunteers, some coming from neighbouring Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee, have been helping with the clean-up operation.
President Joe Biden has declared a state of emergency and deployed federal resources to help with the rescue and response in some of the worst-hit towns.
The devastation is so great, it must be difficult to know where to begin. Crews are working to remove broken trees that are pinning down power lines, with thousands of people losing power during Friday's storm.
Stations have been set up outside some of the few buildings still partially standing where people can collect water and sandwiches.
But while local communities are grappling with the response, there are warnings of further severe storms to come.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Governor Tate Reeves told reporters he was "damn proud to be a Mississippian"
Speaking at a news conference convened in the western town of Rolling Fork, Governor Reeves said: "What we've seen, much like the storm that occurred Friday night, is in the 24-36 hours that are leading up to this afternoon, it appears that the risks seem to be getting worse and worse, not better.
"And when you stand here and see this, what feels like a beautiful weather day in Mississippi, please be aware and please know: if you are south of I-55 in Mississippi today there are significant risks. We are prepared."
The governor said it had been "heart-breaking" to see the loss and devastation caused by the twister, but said he was "damn proud to be a Mississippian" after seeing how locals had responded.
"Because Mississippians have done what Mississippians do," he said. "In times of tragedy, in times of crisis, they stand up and they show up, and they're here to help themselves, help their neighbours."
In the town of Rolling Fork, where about one-fifth of the population lives below the poverty line, the extent of the devastation is still difficult to comprehend.
As you approach the town from the south, you can clearly see the tornado's path. A straight line of trees have been stripped of their branches and uprooted, while others to either side are untouched.
Debris is strewn across the acres of farmland that surround the town, where parts of buildings and vehicles were deposited.
Mayor Eldridge Walker, also speaking at Sunday's news conference, said the town would come back "bigger and better than ever before" to rounds of applause from those who gathered.
"I'm not only just the mayor of this community, but I've lost personal friends," he said.
"I'm also the local funeral director - now I'm having to meet those who have lost loved ones and help them make it through."
US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas visited Rolling Fork, where he pledged to help rebuild stronger buildings.
Mr Mayorkas said the stronger buildings would prevent the same tragedy happening again as severe weather events increase in frequency and gravity.
He earlier pledged to help the people of Mississippi, "not just today but for the long haul".
"It is inspiring to see the people of Mississippi come together... and the people of this country come together to assist those in dire need," he said.
Soon after he spoke a lightning storm put a pause on the recovery operation.
More than 20 million Americans are under threat of severe storms on Monday.
The impact of climate change on the frequency of storms is still unclear, but we know that increased sea surface temperatures warm the air above and make more energy available to drive hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons.
As a result, they are likely to be more intense with more extreme rainfall.
Are you or your family in the affected areas? If you are safe to do so, please share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any submission. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-65082746 |
Five planets line up with Moon in night sky - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus, Mars and the Moon aligned in an arc across the evening sky. | Science & Environment | Jupiter, Venus, the Moon, and Mars were all expected to be easily visible but Uranus and Mercury a bit harder to spot
Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus, Mars, and the Moon aligned in an arc across the evening sky on Monday, with some visible to the naked eye.
This is often called "a planetary parade" and was visible after sunset in the west.
A good view of the horizon and clear skies offered the best chance of spotting the alignment.
Last summer Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn came together in a rare planetary conjunction.
The best shot at spotting the planets on Monday was away from any bright city lights, somewhere with a clear, unobstructed view.
You needed to be observing early in the evening because Mercury and Jupiter quickly disappeared over the horizon.
Some of the best views were from northern parts of Scotland and its islands because of clear skies.
Prof Catherine Heymans, the Astronomer Royal for Scotland, watched the spectacle from Edinburgh's Portobello beach.
"Planet spotting on a crystal clear night along with so many other planetary parade enthusiasts was an absolute delight!" she told the BBC.
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original tweet on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. End of twitter post by Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans
Astronomer Jake Foster from Royal Observatory Greenwich said such alignments were very particular to our perspective from Earth.
"The planets aren't aligned right now, they are all spread out across the Solar System but just from our perspective, every once in a while they get close enough to each other in the sky that we're able to see quite a few at once," he said.
Anglesey, north Wales, has some of the darkest skies in Europe.
Ynys Enlli (Bardsey Island), off the Llŷn Peninsula, has become the first site in Europe to be awarded International Dark Sky Sanctuary certification.
Speaking from Anglesey, Dani Robertson, the dark skies officer for North Wales, said the evening had been a visual treat despite a light cloudy haze.
"I'm in my back garden and I can see a very nice little crescent Moon, to the top left and just above it I can see Mars, which has a lovely red glow, and a bit lower towards the horizon there's a really bright light and that's Venus," she said.
"If it were clearer, I could see all of it, the only one you wouldn't be able to see is Uranus, you'd need a telescope."
In Hexham, near the border with Scotland, Dan Pye from the Kielder Observatory said seeing the planets in alignment offered perspective about our place in the solar system.
He said: "Over the course of the night the distance between these objects shifts as the moon goes around us, we move a little further around the sun, and the planets continue their journeys around the sun.
"I think witnessing this, helps you realise that connection we have to the cosmic ballet we have with other objects in just our very local space theatre."
Ms Robertson, an amateur astronomer, said that 98% of people in the UK lived under polluted skies.
"It's a shame because that's our home galaxy, another part of being human that is being denied to lots of people," she said.
"When we look at the night sky, things like Taurus, the Pleiades, the Moon, they've been the same for the whole of human existence."
But she said that unlike other types of pollution, this one was relatively easy to fix permanently.
"Once we've fixed a light to make dark skies, that's the problem solved."
Dan Pye at the Kielder Observatory looking up at Mars, the Moon and Venus aligning | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-65056407 |
Rotherham grooming survivor awarded £425k after suing rapist - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Liz says she is "proud" to have brought the action against the man who raped her as a teenager. | Sheffield & South Yorkshire | It is hoped the case will encourage other survivors to take action
A rapist convicted as part of the Rotherham grooming scandal has been ordered to pay £425,000 in damages to his victim by the High Court.
The grooming survivor, who is known as Liz, started civil proceedings against Asghar Bostan in 2020.
Bostan was jailed for nine years in 2018 following a trial at Sheffield Crown Court.
Liz said she was "proud" to have brought the case and hoped it would show survivors could get justice.
She said she was approached to take the action as a test case.
"I decided to go with it, not having my hopes up, but we managed to get a result," she said.
Her solicitor Robin Tilbrook described it as an "ice-breaker" of a case, which would allow "others to follow".
Asghar Bostan was jailed for raping Liz in 2018
During Bostan's trial in 2018, Liz recounted being raped twice by him at a flat in Rotherham after being given alcohol and drugs.
His prosecution followed the National Crime Agency's Operation Stovewood inquiry into historical sexual abuse in Rotherham.
Liz said despite his conviction she did not believe the judicial process worked for abuse survivors.
"We've been walking around for years and years full of trauma and psychological damage," she said.
She said they had faced a constant battle, but hoped her legal action would show that survivors could come forward and get justice.
"I wanted to give something back not only to myself, but to other survivors and do something not only for Rotherham but for all the UK," she said.
Referring to the damages of £425,934.09 she was awarded, she said it had not "sunk in" yet.
"I am really, really pleased for the outcome and really, really pleased this might open the floodgates for other survivors.
"It will never heal the past, we will always walk in these shoes, but it is about closing a chapter."
Mr Tilbrook said the key question for bringing action was that the defendant had been convicted, in this case of two counts of rape.
"The damage is endured for the life of the victim therefore the amount of damages are always likely to be very large."
He said his client had been "very brave" and was a "great example to all the other victims".
Liz said: "I am proud this is what I have done and this could help so many people."
Bostan was released from prison in 2022, and the Probation Service said sex offenders faced some of the "strictest licence conditions", adding: "If an offender breaches their conditions we will not hesitate to return them to prison to protect the public."
Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-65090793 |
Linda Nolan says cancer has spread to her brain, in fourth diagnosis - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The Nolans singer calls her latest diagnosis “frightening”, but says she is “staying positive”. | Entertainment & Arts | Linda Nolan said she was not giving up and was "staying positive"
Singer Linda Nolan has revealed her cancer has spread to her brain, in her fourth diagnosis with the disease.
Part of the singing group The Nolans, alongside her sisters, Linda, 64, told Good Morning Britain she was diagnosed last week.
"Obviously that's very frightening because there isn't much help for brain cancer at the moment, apart from radiotherapy which I'm going to be having."
She said she will take a "wonder drug".
The singer did not name it, but added: "There is a new drug that's been in use for a year for brain cancer and we're going to try me on that as a chemo drug, with some other treatment."
The Nolan sisters, pictured during the late 70s: Linda, Anne, Bernie and Maureen
She and her sisters, Bernie, Maureen, Anne, Coleen and Denise, formed a singing group during the 70s. enjoying a string of hits, including 1979's I'm in the Mood for Dancing and Don't Make Waves.
Less fortunately, they have also had to deal with diagnoses of cancer many times in their family.
Linda was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006; it returned in her hip in 2017. Then in 2020, she was told it had spread to her liver. Her husband, Brian, died of skin cancer in 2007.
Two of her sisters were also diagnosed with breast cancer - Bernie, who died in 2013 aged 52, and Anne who has been diagnosed twice but is now in remission.
Linda, who has appeared on Loose Women and Celebrity Big Brother in recent times, said it was "scary".
"I'm not giving up, I'm positive," she insisted. Acknowledging that she would be losing her hair for a fourth time because of chemotherapy, she said one of her sisters had joked: "At least you've got some nice wigs!"
Nonetheless, she added it was a "really, really scary trip to be on, this one".
She said she realised something was wrong after she experienced some "quite nasty falls" and is now using a wheelchair and staying with her sister Denise.
The Nolan Sisters pictured in 2012 (L-R: Linda, Coleen, Bernie and Maureen)
The singer had been hoping that it was "something to do with my spine" as "my speech hadn't been affected or my vision.
"I wasn't getting headaches - so, really, it was a shock that the doctor said, 'it's in your brain'."
"The hope is that [the drug she is using] will do wonders for me, please God."
She added that she was determined to get out and about in her wheelchair, rather than sit at home and "feel sorry for myself".
She told Good Morning Britain, she was getting fresh air and "making the most of every day - and spending it with people I love".
However, she did feel "angry" at getting cancer again, she said.
"There's moments where I am in a heap in the corner, crying. I try not to say 'why me?' because why not me?"
"You know, there's so many people who are suffering with this terrible disease, but I think I talk about it, and I always have.
"Maybe I can help somebody who is on their own and say: 'It's OK to cry, it's OK to feel angry, it's OK to feel sorry for yourself - but just don't let it overtake you.'"
She added that she and her sisters had been tested for the BRCA1 cancer gene - which can leave women at a higher risk of ovarian and breast cancer - but they did not have it.
"The professor at the genetic testing [centre] said there will be a gene somewhere, they just haven't found it yet." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-65086268 |
Police strip-searched children as young as eight - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Some children were strip-searched in the back of police vans, schools and fast-food outlets. | UK | Children as young as eight are being strip-searched by the police, according to a report showing "deeply concerning" and "widespread" failures.
It also found some children were strip-searched in the back of police vans, schools and fast-food outlets.
The report by Children's Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza showed 2,847 children were strip-searched in England and Wales from 2018 to mid-2022.
The National Police Chiefs' Council will "carefully consider" the findings.
The Runnymede Trust, a race equality charity, said: "Our children are being failed by the state institutions there to protect them."
The report found black children were up to six times more likely to be searched than the overall child population.
More than half (52%) of the searches took place without an appropriate adult confirmed to be present - a legal requirement, except when there is serious risk to a child's life or welfare.
And the data shows 51% of the searches led to no further action.
Dame Rachel requested data in the wake of the Child Q scandal, which came to light in March 2022.
The case of the 15-year-old - strip-searched at school by two female Metropolitan Police officers while on her period and without an appropriate adult present - drew national outrage.
It prompted Dame Rachel to request figures from Scotland Yard, which she found so concerning that she then asked all forces for comparable data.
Some 39 of 43 forces responded. The figures cover searches under stop-and-search powers over four-and-a-half years.
They reveal evidence of "deeply concerning practice", Dame Rachel said.
Her office identified searches at 27 forces which raise concerns about children's safeguarding, or indicate a breach of the statutory code of practice. It has asked for these to be referred to the police watchdog.
Of the nearly 3,000 searches, almost a quarter (24%) took place on children aged 10-15. The youngest was eight years old.
The vast majority were boys (95%), and black boys accounted for more than a third (37%) of strip-searches.
Dame Rachel said it was "utterly unacceptable" that black children were six times more likely to be strip-searched compared with the national child population. White children were around half as likely.
"We cannot have black children treated like this," she said.
Children's Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza says the findings of her report were "utterly unacceptable"
Guidelines need to be strengthened urgently to ensure they are followed properly and "to robustly challenge a culture that has allowed widespread failures to go unchallenged", she said.
She continued: "This data, combined with that which I received from the Metropolitan Police last year, is the clearest indication yet that what happened to Child Q was far from an isolated incident."
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, she warned that strip-searches can be traumatic for children, and the first thing officers should do is "call mum and dad".
Dame Rachel said she wanted to ensure that if strip-searches were done there was "really good justification".
Policing Minister Chris Philp said there needed to be clarity on why these searches were undertaken.
"Very often criminal gangs exploit young people to transport drugs concealed in intimate body cavities", he said.
"It is important that these searches get done to safeguard young people who may be getting exploited", he told BBC Breakfast.
In 45% of cases the location of the strip-searches was not recorded.
But Dame Rachel said the data also revealed "some places that are really not acceptable for a strip-search" including amusement parks and takeaway outlets. Fourteen strip-searches were in police vehicles or schools.
Police guidelines say that strip-searches under stop and search can occur at a nearby police station or other nearby locations out of public view - but not a police vehicle.
Other recommendations in the report include that the Home Office should require forces to report annually on the strip-searching of children under stop and search, and that parents or guardians should be informed before a strip or intimate search of a child.
Separate Home Office figures, from November, show 3,133 children aged 10-17 were strip-searched in custody in the year to March 2022.
Chief Constable Craig Guildford, from the NPCC, said any search of a child should be carried out in line with the law and police policy.
He said the NPCC was working with other policing bodies to "implement positive change wherever it is required", adding: "We will carefully consider the findings from the children's commissioner as part of this work".
The Home Office said nobody should be strip-searched because of their race and ethnicity, and there were safeguards to prevent this.
A spokesperson said: "We take the concerns raised about children's safeguarding extremely seriously.
"The Independent Office for Police Conduct is currently investigating several high-profile incidents of strip-search of children and it is vital that we await their findings."
The figures follow last week's damning report into the Metropolitan Police by Baroness Casey, which said London's black communities have been "over-policed and under-protected".
It said previous data found "significant racial disproportionality" in the strip-searches of children by Met officers.
The report said this gave weight to the claim that "adultification" - where black children are treated as adults and as a threat, justifying greater use of force or intrusion - was present in the force. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65081765 |
Where next for Scotland as the Nicola Sturgeon era ends? - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The first minister's resignation triggered a divisive leadership campaign - but what could happen now? | Scotland politics | Nicola Sturgeon is standing down after eight years as first minister
If Nicola Sturgeon had prevailed, Scotland would be going to the polls again this autumn to consider dissolving the 316-year-old union with England.
Last summer, the outgoing first minister proposed 19 October 2023 as the date when, for the second time in nine years, voters would be asked "Should Scotland be an independent country?"
The plan she set out in Edinburgh was thwarted by politicians and judges in London.
The Conservative prime minister Boris Johnson refused to recognise a pro-independence majority in the Scottish Parliament - the accepted trigger for the first referendum in 2014 - as a mandate for a second vote.
Then, in November, the UK Supreme Court ruled that the Scottish Parliament did not have the power to organise its own referendum without Westminster's approval.
The Supreme Court issued its ruling on the indyref2 case in November 2022
The judgment laid bare the true nature of the 1707 union which created the state of Great Britain. While theoretically a marriage of equals, one partner, it seemed, could not leave without the other's consent.
Ms Sturgeon had run out of road and she knew it.
After briefly flirting with the idea of treating the next general election as a referendum in all but name, she announced her resignation less than three months after the court ruling.
Her departure marks the end of a remarkable career as a political campaigner.
"Eight election victories in eight years as first minister, that's the verdict that matters to me," said Ms Sturgeon in her 286th and final session of First Minister's Question Time on Thursday.
Triumphs in three general elections, two Holyrood elections, two local government elections, and a European parliamentary election are impressive for sure - but, unusually for a political party, winning elections to enact policies in government is not actually the central mission of the SNP.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Nicola Sturgeon addresses the Holyrood chamber for the last time as first minister
On the binary measure of independence, Ms Sturgeon, like Alex Salmond before her, leaves office as a failure. Scotland remains in the United Kingdom.
She began campaigning for independence as a teenager in 1980s Ayrshire and was just 21 when she first stood for election, unsuccessfully challenging Labour in the working class Glasgow Shettleston constituency under the SNP slogan "Free by '93".
Thirty years on, the SNP has made great strides towards its goal but Ms Sturgeon's resignation implicitly acknowledges that Scotland will not be "free" by '23, or any time soon after.
The abrupt announcement of her departure set in train a damaging and divisive leadership contest, with splits emerging on economic and social issues as well as on electoral and constitutional strategy.
Discipline, for which the SNP had been famed, began to crumble.
Even contenders for Ms Sturgeon's crown publicly criticised the lack of progress on independence during her eight years in office.
Humza Yousaf, Kate Forbes and Ash Regan are competing to become the next SNP leader
"For too many years, we've become the party of referendums rather than the party of independence," said Finance Secretary Kate Forbes, who promises to "turn a divided nation into a settled majority" for leaving the UK.
According to former minister Ash Regan: "The SNP has lost its way. There's been no progress on independence in the last few years, despite the worst UK governments of all time."
"I think what we are now hearing publicly is what many people have been saying privately for a long time," says James Mitchell, professor of public policy at Edinburgh University.
The SNP's looming crisis deepened when the party admitted that it had covered up a dramatic fall in its membership, prompting the resignations of director of communications, Murray Foote, and chief executive Peter Murrell, who is married to Ms Sturgeon.
Also following his wife out of government are two of her most trusted lieutenants, senior adviser Liz Lloyd and Deputy First Minister John Swinney.
It has been a chaotic and painful few weeks for the SNP and yet the final days of the first minister's tenure have been characterised by boosterism and denial.
"The SNP's not in a mess," Ms Sturgeon insisted on ITV's Loose Women. "It's going through, how can I put this, some growing pains right now."
Then there was her denial that SNP president Mike Russell had said the party was in a mess.
Mr Russell had answered the question "Is your party in turmoil?" with the words: "Well, I think it's fair to say that there's a tremendous mess and we have to clear it up."
Ms Sturgeon also insisted that her party had not lied to journalists about its plummeting membership figures despite evidence to the contrary, not least the resignations of Mr Foote and Mr Murrell.
The whole membership affair was, leadership contender and Health Secretary Humza Yousaf told Tuesday's Times Radio debate, a "total own goal".
So, is Nicola Sturgeon's dream of a sovereign Scottish state, standing tall on the world stage, dead and buried?
History says don't be so sure.
On the day the Hollywood epic Braveheart had its American premiere in Seattle, a more peaceful political drama was playing out on the streets of the old country.
The death of the Conservative MP for Perth and Kinross had triggered a by-election, and the SNP candidate Roseanna Cunningham was on the march - and under attack.
A senior Tory accused Ms Cunningham - caricatured as Republican Rose because she opposed the monarchy - of fighting a campaign "against Queen and country".
At 18 years old, I was easily the least experienced journalist on the by-election trail - but even I could see that the Tories were in trouble in territory which they had dominated for decades.
Their candidate, a gaffe-prone merchant banker, was keen to talk about one topic above all others, campaigning (literally) under the banner: "A Strong Union".
You could understand why. The spoils of Empire; the unifying experience of defying Hitler's Germany; and the creation of the welfare state had all bound Scotland tightly into the union.
Roseanna Cunningham (centre) put independence at the heart of her by-election campaign in 1995
Margaret Thatcher's response, as Conservative prime minister during the 1980s, was to fight and win a war abroad while hastening a profound economic shift at home.
Her vision of a modern British economy meant moving away from state subsidy of heavy industry; weakening the trade unions; and encouraging the creation of wealth through private enterprise.
For many in Scotland, where culture, tradition and pride were intertwined with coal, steel and textiles, the pace of change was bewildering.
A lack of direct and obvious benefit from the vast quantities of oil being sucked out of the North Sea also contributed to a rise in nationalist sentiment.
By the time of the Perth and Kinross by-election, Scotland was rediscovering an old identity.
When it premiered in Stirling that autumn, Braveheart's romanticisation of the wars of independence from England in the 13th and 14th Centuries seemed in tune with the mood of the moment.
Having placed independence front and centre in her campaign, Ms Cunningham won handsomely, further reducing Tory Prime Minister John Major's slender majority in the House of Commons.
"Scotland is waking from its slumber," proclaimed the victorious new MP during a feisty and raucous declaration in the city hall.
Was it though? The SNP had scored spectacular by-election successes before — Motherwell in 1945; Hamilton in 1967; and Glasgow Govan in 1973 and 1988 — only to lose each seat at the subsequent general election.
This time was different. Perth remains SNP territory to this day.
The party may be in trouble now but, with large majorities of younger voters telling pollsters that they support independence, the constitutional question which hangs over Scottish politics is not going away.
It is a question which Labour, a party forged in the din of Scotland's industrial revolution, has tussled with since its creation.
The Scottish Labour Party was founded in 1888 by two extraordinary but very different men, the miner and trade unionist Keir Hardie, and the aristocratic adventurer RB Cunninghame Graham.
Hardie went on to become the first leader of the UK Labour Party in 1906; Cunninghame Grahame the first president of the Scottish National Party in 1934.
The most fundamental change to Scottish governance in the democratic era was delivered by Labour when the Scottish Parliament took charge of domestic affairs such as health and education in 1999.
But it was the SNP which benefited most, gradually capturing almost all of the post-industrial seats which Labour had held for decades and, from 2007, taking charge of the Scottish government.
Labour's Donald Dewar was the first first minister of Scotland when the Scottish Parliament opened in 1999
Nearly a quarter of a century later, Labour is led by Keir Hardie's namesake, Sir Keir Starmer, who spies an opportunity in the SNP's travails.
On Friday I accompanied Sir Keir, Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar and shadow climate change and net zero secretary, Ed Miliband on a trip to SSE's Beatrice wind farm off the east coast of Caithness.
The leader of the opposition at Westminster was in buoyant form, and no wonder.
His party sees the departure of multiple election winner Nicola Sturgeon — whom he calls a "giant in Scottish politics" — as great news.
"The SNP is imploding," he told me on the harbour side at Wick. "I think everybody can see that."
The party, he added, "has run out of road when it comes to the case for independence and that's shone a light on their record".
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With a large and sustained polling lead across the UK, and signs of improvement in Scotland, Labour may be in a positive place but the path to Downing Street is not straight and clear, running through mixed terrain.
First, there is the cosmopolitan and multicultural domain of London and other big English cities.
Then there are the more socially conservative, Brexit-inclined "red wall" seats, in the Midlands and the north of England, which switched from Labour to Boris Johnson's Conservatives at the last general election.
Finally there is the party's old Scots fiefdom, stretching from Ayrshire in the west through the central belt to Fife in the east, where the SNP have dominated with a pro-independence, pro-European message since 2015.
The SNP hold 45 of the Scottish 59 seats at Westminster (two more have defected to Alex Salmond's Alba Party since the last general election) but Labour strategists now reckon at least 15 of those would be competitive based on current polling, particularly in Glasgow, Fife, Midlothian and East Lothian.
With that in mind, on this trip Sir Keir appears to have adopted the doctor's maxim: first, do no harm. In our interview he uses the word "humility" a lot.
"I think Labour lost its way and got too far from voters here in Scotland and that's why I've spent a lot of time in Scotland listening, engaging, talking about the future," he says.
Precisely what he means by getting too far from the voters is not terribly clear.
Sir Keir Starmer, Ed Miliband and Anas Sarwar travelled to the Beatrice wind farm off Caithness on Friday
How would he respect the democratic will of the Scottish people to remain in the European Union, and the pro-independence majority in the Scottish Parliament?
The real answer to both questions is, he won't. But that would sound harsh so he adopts softer language.
On Brexit he says: "If you want a closer relationship with the EU, I hear you, I agree with you and we will set about ensuring that we do have that close relationship."
On independence he rejects "breaking up the United Kingdom," while recognising that there is a "desire for change".
Labour's attempt to defuse independence as an issue is to acknowledge an asymmetry in political and economic power between the prosperous south east of England and other parts of the UK, which it proposes to tackle by embracing some of the recommendations in Gordon Brown's recent commission on the UK's future, while considering whether to adopt others.
Already on Labour's agenda are House of Lords reform; decentralisation of economic power to the nations and regions of the UK; and improved intergovernmental working between the various administrations of these islands.
"Decisions should be made by people most closely affected by those decisions," says Sir Keir.
Isn't that an argument for independence?
No, he insists, it's an argument for local decision-making within the UK framework.
"The people in the Highlands can make decisions in partnership with the Labour government about the future living standards here, the future jobs, the skills we're talking about this morning," he explains.
Aware of this looming Labour threat, the SNP is keen to conflate Sir Keir's party with Rishi Sunak's, reminding voters that Labour and Tories joined together in the Better Together campaign against independence in 2014.
Labour politicians joined Conservative and Liberal Democrat counterparts to campaign for the union ahead of the 2014 referendum
Sir Keir's decision to approvingly quote Margaret Thatcher in a speech on crime while in Stoke this week makes the SNP's job easier while underlining the Labour leader's difficulty in assembling such a diverse electoral coalition.
Still, he can take comfort that his opponents here also face immense challenges.
The new SNP leader will have to tackle deep-rooted problems in Scotland's public services which are costing and blighting lives.
He or she will also be under pressure to set out a credible route map towards — and a credible plan for — independence.
And the winner must also reunite a divided party in time for a general election expected to be held next year in which, it is now clearer than ever, Scotland will be a key battleground. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-65063944 |
DR Congo man uses bare hands to rescue trapped gold miners - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | null | Authorities say nine men survived the incident in the Democratic Republic of Congo. | null | Following heavy rain, a tragedy was narrowly averted at a collapsed gold mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo after nine miners emerged from the rubble.
Footage shows the men crawling out of the narrow entrance after a man used his bare hands to clear away debris.
A lack of safety procedures and proper equipment are factors often blamed for issues at local mines. Incidents like this are considered quite common in South Kivu province, which is peppered with informal, often-hazardous mining sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-65095295 |
Nitrous oxide: Southend mum's campaign over 'laughing gas' - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Bereaved mum Emma Cain approaches people she sees inhaling "laughing gas" and issues stark warnings. | Essex | Emma Cain still has one of Jon's prized possessions, his acoustic guitar
A bereaved mother has described how she stops other youngsters in the street who she sees inhaling volatile substances to warn of the dangers.
Emma Cain's son, Jon, died aged 17 from cardiac arrest in 2011 immediately after inhaling butane.
A government review is considering whether possessing nitrous oxide, the most commonly taken volatile substance, should be criminalised.
"Anyone who I see using it, I will stop them," said Miss Cain, from Southend.
Butane, which is contained in aerosols, is the gas primarily associated with substance abuse in the UK.
It carries a far greater risk of fatality than nitrous oxide, an anaesthetic which is also one of the most-used drugs by UK 16 to 24-year-olds.
On one occasion, the 45-year-old said she picked up the box containing her son's ashes to show it to four young people outside her house who were inhaling from balloons.
"They were all very polite and respectful. One of them was quite freaked out about it, and two or three of them let go of their balloons when I asked them to," she said.
"I tell them 'this is my son, he's in a box, stop doing it, you're hurting yourselves'.
"I'm just one person, trying to stop people from doing it, and if that means I have to stop them on the street, I will do that.
"I will tell them it's dangerous, and that they're playing with their lives."
Jon, far right, taught himself guitar
Jon auditioned for Britain's Got Talent three times, and went to watch an X Factor live show with his mum, Emma
Jon taught himself how to play guitar and auditioned three times for Britain's Got Talent.
"He was amazing," said Miss Cain.
"These substances should be put under, at the very least, class B, so a penalty can be given for wrongful use."
Essex Police have seized nitrous oxide canisters in Southend, including these, during the summer
Southend West MP, Anna Firth (left) met with the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, last week
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) is expected to provide a recommendation in 2023 on whether nitrous oxide should be criminalised.
The 2019-20 Crime Survey for England and Wales indicated it was the second most-used illegal drug among 16-24 year olds, with more than 500,000 taking it.
The Conservative MP for Southend West, Anna Firth, met with Conservative Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, earlier this month, to discuss the issue.
"Nitrous oxide is a toxic presence on our seafront," said Ms Firth.
In a statement, Essex Police said: "We appreciate and understand concerns regarding the use of this substance and we will always arrest and seek to prosecute those caught supplying nitrous oxide.
"We work closely with our agency partners and others across the county to deal with any anti-social behaviour connected with this substance."
A Home Office spokesperson said: "Given concerns about the use of nitrous oxide by young people, the former home secretary sought advice from the independent ACMD last year.
"When the ACMD responds, the government will consider the advice carefully."
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• None Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-63076794 |
Germany 'mega strike': Public transport network halted over pay - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The 24-hour walkout is one of the largest the country has experienced in decades. | Europe | Monday's strike is expected to be the largest in Germany for decades
Germany's transport network is at a near standstill as the country experiences one of its largest strikes in decades.
Staff at airports, ports, railways, buses and subways walked out shortly after midnight for a 24-hour stoppage.
Two of the Germany's largest unions are demanding higher wages to help with the rising cost of living.
The country's Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said she was optimistic an agreement would be reached this week.
"Many public service workers are suffering the high energy prices and high inflation," she told Reuters on Monday. "That's why it's our job to find a good agreement."
There have recently been smaller walkouts by other public servants.
Monday's "mega strike", as it has been dubbed in local media, has affected commuter and regional trains operated by Deutsche Bahn, Germany's national rail operator.
Local transport services, including trams and buses, are also not operating in seven states.
"Petrol and food prices have risen," one protester in Berlin told the AFP news agency. "I'm feeling it in my wallet."
Members of two of Germany's biggest unions are involved in Monday's strike
Thousands of flights have been cancelled, including at two of the country's biggest airports - Munich and Frankfurt.
Multiple flights from Munich Airport were also disrupted on Sunday by strike action.
"I am a bit shocked actually," said one man, who was trying to fly to the Spanish city of Málaga. "I didn't hear of it [the strike], so I have to find out what to do right now."
Germany's airport association said about 380,000 air travellers would be affected by the strike but added it was "beyond any imaginable and justifiable measure".
Jenny Hill, the BBC's Berlin correspondent, said it was very rare for a dispute over pay to escalate so dramatically in Germany, but this time two of the country's largest unions have joined forces.
Verdi represents about 2.5 million employees across the public sector, including in public transport and at airports. It wants to secure a 10.5% pay rise for staff.
EVG represents about 230,000 employees at Deutsche Bahn and other bus companies. It wants a 12% rise in pay.
Both unions hope the strike will increase pressure on employers ahead of another round of pay negotiations this week.
In an interview with the German newspaper Bild, the chief of Verdi, Frank Werneke, described the pay rise as "a matter of survival for many thousands of employees."
"The people are not only underpaid, they are hopelessly overworked," he said.
EVG chairman, Martin Burkert, told the regional Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper that employers had not yet made a viable offer to them and warned there could be further strikes, including over the Easter holiday break.
On Monday he added to Reuters: "We expect an offer over which we can negotiate. To this day we don't have one."
Ms Faeser said that the government had "presented a good offer".
"I now expect the unions to move away from their high demands and meet us somewhere along the way," she added.
Thousands of flights have been cancelled because of the strike
Deutsche Bahn is among the organisations that have condemned the strike, describing it as "completely excessive, groundless and unnecessary".
Some employer representatives have also warned the unions are making unreasonable demands that risk alienating the public.
Nevertheless, successful wage increases have been negotiated recently. Postal workers won an 11.5% pay rise in early March.
Monday's strike follows a similar walkout in February. More than 2,300 flights were cancelled and representatives of small and medium business associations accused the unions of taking the whole country hostage for their own interests.
There have also been multiple walkouts by other public service sectors in recent weeks, including childcare and education. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65083774 |
Israel defence minister fired in legal reform row - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Yoav Gallant is sacked by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after opposing the controversial shake-up. | Middle East | Israeli's defence minister has been sacked after he spoke out against controversial plans to overhaul the justice system.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summoned Yoav Gallant to a meeting and told him he no longer had faith in him as defence minister.
The plan to limit the powers of the judiciary led to months of protests.
Tens of thousands of protestors returned to the streets on Sunday night following Mr Gallant's dismissal.
In Jerusalem, police and soldiers used water cannon against demonstrators near Mr Netanyahu's house.
The leaders of the protest accuse Mr Netanyahu of behaving like a dictator and destroying the security of Israel.
The new law makes it harder for courts to remove a leader deemed unfit for office, which has angered many who consider it in the interests of the incumbent, Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption.
The leader of the opposition, Yair Lapid, described Mr Gallant's sacking as a new low for the government, while Mr Gallant himself has described the planned legislation as an "immediate and tangible danger" to state security.
In a brief televised statement on Saturday night, Mr Gallant said members of the Israeli Defence Forces were angry and disappointed, with an intensity he had never seen before.
Shortly after his dismissal a day later, Mr Gallant wrote on Twitter: "The state of Israel's security has always been and will always be my life's mission."
The defence minister had won the backing of some fellow members of Mr Netanyahu's Likud party, but others on the far right had called for him to go.
The law is part of the right-wing coalition government's contentious plan to limit the powers of the judiciary.
The reforms include plans that would give the government full control over the committee which appoints judges, which he has said will pass in the Knesset next week.
Far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir supported Mr Netanyahu's move, saying,"The prime minister decided on the necessary step and I congratulate him for that."
It includes enabling parliament to overrule decisions made by the Supreme Court - a move that critics say will undermine the independence of the judiciary and could be used for political ends.
But Mr Netanyahu says the reforms are designed to stop the courts overreaching their powers and that they were voted for by the public at the last election.
Israel's opposition leader Yair Lapid described Mr Gallant's sacking as "a new low" for the government.
"Netanyahu can fire Gallant, but he can't fire reality or fire the people of Israel who are fronting up to resist the coalition's madness," Mr Lapid added.
Former defence minister Benny Gantz praised Mr Gallant, who he said had put the security of the country above all interests. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-65080919 |
Can Humza Yousaf unite the SNP? - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Humza Yousaf faces several challenges as he takes over as SNP leader and Scotland's first minister. | Scotland politics | Humza Yousaf will face several challenges in his new job
Humza Yousaf faces some enormous challenges as he takes over from Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader and Scotland's first minister.
Being the leader of a divided nation and a divided party is difficult.
The narrow nature of his victory does not make it any easier.
In his acceptance speech, he acknowledged the "bruising" nature of the leadership campaign and called for divisions to be healed quickly.
To some extent that will depend on what he decides to do next.
He will need to consider carefully whether he wants to give his defeated rivals jobs in government and if so which posts to offer.
One of his supporters told me to expect a "generosity of spirit".
Having defeated Kate Forbes by 52% to 48% she enjoys a substantial following in the party.
Humza Yousaf defeated Ash Regan and Kate Forbes in the leadership contest
Might he want to recognise that with a very big job? If so, the most obvious upgrade from her current role as finance and economy secretary would be to deputy first minister.
That's not a prediction. Just an observation. I expect that whatever she might be offered, Kate Forbes would want a fair amount of autonomy if she is to continue in government.
If he can reach an agreement with her, that could go some way to easing tensions.
Then of course there are significant policy issues to be addressed. Not least the Scottish government's response to the UK blocking the gender recognition reform bill.
At the start of the leadership contest Humza Yousaf seemed committed to challenging that position in court. More recently, he has left a little more room for manoeuvre by saying he would be guided by the legal advice he receives.
While his power-sharing partners in the Greens will be looking for a robust approach, that could risk prolonging divisions in his own party. Careful handling is required.
Humza Yousaf noted in his acceptance speech that delivering independence is the shared goal that unites the SNP.
While that is substantially true, it may not be the only factor. It seems to me electoral success and the strong leadership of Alex Salmond and then Nicola Sturgeon have also had a binding effect.
It is not yet clear whether Humza Yousaf can maintain their grip.
His approach to the independence question will also be important.
While he has distanced himself from the idea of using the next election as a substitute referendum, he has promised to renew calls for the UK government to give Holyrood the power to hold a vote.
That may help to underline his commitment to the cause but it is not likely to alter Rishi Sunak's response, which has been to reject indyref2.
He also risks sending out a mixed message to the wider Scottish public.
Humza Yousaf has promised to be a first minister for everyone in Scotland and to earn the trust and respect of those who are not persuaded on independence by governing well and focusing on shared priorities.
If the first thing he does is to formally demand another independence referendum, he may struggle to convince some that he is serious about those commitments.
He has said dealing with cost of living pressures and NHS recovery will be his first concerns.
These are another two massive challenges that suggest the new first minister's honeymoon period in office, if he gets one, may be particularly short.
After being voted leader of the Scottish National Party, we ask - who is Humza Yousaf?
Available now on BBC iPlayer (UK only). | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-65095168 |
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's defiant leader - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | How an ex-commando became the most dominant figure in the country's recent history. | Middle East | Benjamin Netanyahu is serving an unmatched sixth term in office as prime minister
Benjamin Netanyahu is facing one of the biggest crises of his long political life, amid uproar over his government's attempts to change the way the country's judicial system works.
Re-elected for a record fifth time in November 2022, leading the most right-wing coalition in Israel's history, he promised to govern for all Israelis, regardless of political differences. But, instead, his planned reforms have met with mass protests on a scale barely seen since the creation of the state 75 years ago.
The Likud party leader's return to power followed a relatively brief spell in opposition after 12 straight years as prime minister, his dramatic comeback sealing a belief among his supporters that "King Bibi" is politically invincible.
Israel's longest-serving leader, Mr Netanyahu has held office six times - more than any other prime minister in the country's history.
The 73-year-old's unrivalled success owes much to the image he has cultivated as the person who can best keep Israel safe from hostile forces in the Middle East.
He has taken a tough line towards the Palestinians, putting security concerns at the top of any talk of peace, and long warned of existential danger to Israel from Iran.
But hanging over his political achievements is the cloud of an ongoing criminal trial for alleged bribery, fraud and breach of trust - charges he fiercely denies. And for a man described by the Times of Israel as "ultra-divisive", his opponents see him as a danger to Israeli democracy itself.
Benjamin Netanyahu was born in Tel Aviv in 1949. In 1963, his family moved to the US when his father Benzion, a prominent historian and Zionist activist, was offered an academic post.
At the age of 18, he returned to Israel, where he spent five distinguished years in the army, serving as a captain in an elite commando unit, the Sayeret Matkal. He was wounded in a raid on a Belgian airliner hijacked by Palestinian militants which landed in Israel in 1972, and fought in the 1973 Middle East war.
Mr Netanyahu (R) was a captain of the elite Sayeret Matkal commando unit
In 1976, Mr Netanyahu's brother, Jonathan, was killed leading a raid to rescue hostages from a hijacked airliner in Entebbe, Uganda. His death had a profound impact on the Netanyahu family, and his name became legendary in Israel.
Mr Netanyahu set up an anti-terrorism institute in his brother's memory and in 1982 became Israel's deputy chief of mission in Washington.
Overnight, Mr Netanyahu's public life was launched. An articulate English speaker with a distinctive American accent, he became a familiar face on US television and an effective advocate for Israel.
He was appointed Israel's permanent representative at the UN in New York in 1984.
Mr Netanyahu became involved in politics when he returned to Israel in 1988, winning a seat for the Likud party in the Knesset (parliament) and becoming deputy foreign minister.
He later became party chairman, and in 1996, Israel's first directly elected prime minister after an early election following the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin.
Mr Netanyahu has a loyal political base in the Likud party
Mr Netanyahu was also Israel's youngest leader and the first to be born after the state was founded in 1948.
Despite having fiercely criticised the 1993 Oslo peace accords between Israel and the Palestinians, Mr Netanyahu signed a deal handing over 80% of Hebron to Palestinian Authority control and agreed to further withdrawals from the occupied West Bank, to much opprobrium from the right.
He lost office in 1999 after he called elections 17 months early, defeated by Labour leader Ehud Barak, Mr Netanyahu's former commander.
Mr Netanyahu stepped down as Likud leader and was succeeded by Ariel Sharon.
After Mr Sharon was elected prime minister in 2001, Mr Netanyahu returned to government, first as foreign minister and then as finance minister. In 2005, he resigned in protest at the Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Gaza Strip.
His chance came again in 2005, when Mr Sharon - just before a massive stroke that left him in a coma - split from Likud and set up a new centrist party, Kadima.
Mr Netanyahu won the Likud leadership again and was elected prime minister for the second time in March 2009.
He agreed to an unprecedented 10-month freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank, enabling peace talks with Palestinians, but negotiations collapsed in late 2010.
Although in 2009 he had publicly announced his conditional acceptance of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, he later toughened his position. "A Palestinian state will not be created, not like the one people are talking about. It won't happen," he told an Israeli radio station in 2019.
Palestinian attacks and Israeli military action repeatedly brought Israel into confrontation in and around the Gaza Strip before and after Mr Netanyahu returned to office in 2009.
The fourth such conflict in just 12 years erupted in May 2021, putting a temporary halt to efforts by parties opposed to Mr Netanyahu to oust him following a series of inconclusive elections.
Israel has fought four major conflicts with militants in Gaza
Although during the conflicts Israel had the support of the United States, its closest ally, relations between Mr Netanyahu and President Barack Obama were difficult.
They reached a low point when Mr Netanyahu addressed Congress in March 2015, warning against a "bad deal" arising out of US negotiations with Iran over its nuclear programme. The Obama administration condemned the visit as interfering and damaging.
The advent of Donald Trump's presidency in 2017 led to a closer alignment between US and Israeli government policies, and within a year Mr Trump announced his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
The move sparked fury across the Arab world - which supports the Palestinians' claim to the eastern half of Jerusalem occupied by Israel since the 1967 Middle East war - but it handed Mr Netanyahu a major political and diplomatic coup.
And in January 2020, Mr Netanyahu hailed Mr Trump's blueprint for peace between Israel and the Palestinians as "the opportunity of the century", though it was spurned by Palestinians as one-sided and left on the table.
Mr Netanyahu also saw eye-to-eye with Mr Trump on Iran, welcoming the president's withdrawal in 2018 from the Iran nuclear deal and reinstatement of economic sanctions.
Mr Trump however made stinging remarks about the Israeli leader, accusing him of disloyalty, after he congratulated Joe Biden on winning the presidency in November 2020.
After 2016, Mr Netanyahu was dogged by a corruption investigation, which culminated in him being charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust in connection with three separate cases in November 2019.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. After being charged in 2019, Benjamin Netanyahu railed against what he saw as an "attempted coup"
Mr Netanyahu is alleged to have accepted gifts from wealthy businessmen and dispensed favours to try to get more positive press coverage.
He denies wrongdoing and says he is the victim of a politically motivated "witch hunt" engineered by his opponents. He went on trial in May 2020, becoming the first serving prime minister to do so.
The spectacle did not, though, harm his electability.
"We have won a huge vote of confidence from the people of Israel," he told jubilant supporters in November.
For his political base, Mr Netanyahu's return marked the start of another, new dawn. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18008697 |
Warning big infrastructure projects moving too slowly - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The National Infrastructure Commission says the government's approach to big projects is "off track". | Business | The first drill which began boring the tunnel for HS2 in West London
The government is moving too slowly with its infrastructure projects to meet its economic targets and climate goals, a new report suggests.
The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) said it should focus on fewer, bigger and better targeted initiatives for growth and a lower carbon economy.
It said hyperfast broadband coverage had improved but advances in UK homes' energy efficiency were "negligible".
The government said it was committed to net zero.
The Commission said progress towards major infrastructure objectives had stuttered over the last year "just as the need for acceleration has heightened".
"In a range of areas government is off track to meet its targets and ambitions," the panel of independent experts said.
The NIC called for a "greater sense of certainty" around progressing HS2, which earlier this month the government said was being delayed by two years.
Similarly, it said more clarity was needed for Northern Powerhouse Rail - a major rail system to for the north of England - stressing that delays inevitably push back the economic benefits for communities.
There had been positive growth in broadband and renewable electricity, both of which had enjoyed a "relatively stable policy environment", the report said.
But the NIC was critical of the installation of low carbon heating solutions or the securing of a sustainable balance of water supply. The report pointed out the gap between ambition and reality: the government wants to install at least 600,000 heat pumps each year by 2028 but in 2021 only 55,000 were fitted.
Meanwhile, 1.5m gas boilers were installed, the Commission said.
It noted the government wants 300,000 public electric vehicle (EV) charge points installed by 2030 but has 37,000 in place.
The Commission said the government needed "policy staying power" to deliver long-term goals.
It urged government to move away from "small scale funding and repeated consultations" to focus on fewer but bigger projects and to allow regional centres greater funding and decision making powers. It said "unblocking" the planning regime for nationally significant infrastructure projects was the first big step.
It identified 10 priorities including an acceleration of home energy efficiency improvements and the faster roll out of EV public charge points.
It also highlighted the need to finalise proposals on water efficiency labelling and new building regulations to achieve the 110 litres per day consumption target by 2050.The Commission also warned that the UK must remain attractive to investors and said policies in the EU and US make the "investment environment more challenging".
"Ambitious and stable policy from government, alongside effective regulation, is critical for providing the private sector with the certainty it needs to invest," the report said.
In a statement, a Treasury spokesperson said: "We are committed to achieving our net zero goals and are spending £12.6bn this decade to cut national energy consumption by 15%.
"Delivering high quality infrastructure is the foundation of our future growth and we have maintained our total investment at record levels over the next five years with the Commission recognising our progress on gigabit broadband rollout and renewable electricity generation."
Earlier in March Transport Secretary Mark Harper said the government was investing more than £40bn in transformational transport schemes over the next two financial years across the country. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65081390 |
Boat Race 2023: Cambridge's men and women complete boat race double - BBC Sport | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | null | Cambridge's men win the Boat Race to complete a double for the university over rivals Oxford. | null | Last updated on .From the section Rowing
Cambridge's men won the Boat Race to complete a double for the university over rivals Oxford.
They held off a late charge from Oxford on choppy waters to win by just over a length for their fourth victory in the past five races.
Earlier, Cambridge's women took victory by four-and-a-quarter lengths over Oxford despite a protest from their opponents over potential encroachment.
It was a sixth straight win for the women's team.
"The rush of emotions when we crossed the line, there's nothing like it," said Cambridge men's cox Jasper Parish, whose brother Ollie was also part of the team.
"That was the time of our lives, I'll remember this for a long time."
The Cambridge boat earned a warning from umpire Tony Reynolds as Oxford, with the weight advantage, pulled ahead early in the race.
A bold move from Jasper Parish paid off when he steered his crew closer to the bank in Fulham hoping to find friendlier waters.
This gave Cambridge a half-length lead which they held on to until the finish, despite a spirited effort from Oxford.
In the women's race, Oxford made an aggressive start with the weather making for rough conditions, but Cambridge soon took control of the race and maintained a steady pace to coast to victory.
The umpire was forced to issue stern warnings to both as they came close to colliding before Cambridge stretched into the lead.
Oxford protested against the result after the race as they believed Cambridge had encroached, but the umpire dismissed the plea as there was no contact.
Cambridge president Caoimhe Dempsey, the only returnee for either team, said she was "proud" of her crew.
"That was a whirlwind of a race," she told BBC Sport. "The conditions changed so much from start to finish. I'm so proud; it is still sinking in. The girls are so tenacious, strong and brave."
On the near collision, Dempsey added: "That is the nature of the boat race. It makes it so exciting."
Cambridge lead the rivalry 47-30 in the women's event, while Cambridge men have won 86 times to Oxford's 81. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rowing/65082185 |
Clearview AI used nearly 1m times by US police, it tells the BBC - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Clearview AI has been used by the police nearly a million times in the US, it tells the BBC. | Technology | Facial recognition firm Clearview has run nearly a million searches for US police, its founder has told the BBC.
CEO Hoan Ton-That also revealed Clearview now has 30bn images scraped from platforms such as Facebook, taken without users' permissions.
The company has been repeatedly fined millions of dollars in Europe and Australia for breaches of privacy.
Critics argue that the police's use of Clearview puts everyone into a "perpetual police line-up".
"Whenever they have a photo of a suspect, they will compare it to your face," says Matthew Guariglia from the Electronic Frontier Foundation says. "It's far too invasive."
The figure of a million searches comes from Clearview and has not been confirmed by police. But in a rare admission, Miami Police has confirmed to the BBC it uses this software for every type of crime.
Clearview's system allows a law enforcement customer to upload a photo of a face and find matches in a database of billions of images it has collected.
It then provides links to where matching images appear online. It is considered one of the most powerful and accurate facial recognition companies in the world.
Hoan Ton-That, founder and CEO of Clearview AI, speaking with the BBC
The company is banned from selling its services to most US companies, after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) took Clearview AI to court in Illinois for breaking privacy law.
But there is an exemption for police, and Mr Ton-That says his software is used by hundreds of police forces across the US.
Police in the US do not routinely reveal whether they use the software, and it is banned in several US cities including Portland, San Francisco and Seattle.
The use of facial recognition by the police is often sold to the public as only being used for serious or violent crimes.
In a rare interview with law enforcement about the effectiveness of Clearview, Miami Police said they used the software for every type of crime, from murders to shoplifting.
Assistant Chief of Police Armando Aguilar said his team used the system about 450 times a year, and that it had helped solve several murders.
However, critics say there are almost no laws around the use of facial recognition by police.
Mr Aguilar says Miami police treats facial recognition like a tip. "We don't make an arrest because an algorithm tells us to," he says. "We either put that name in a photographic line-up or we go about solving the case through traditional means."
There are a handful of documented cases of mistaken identity using facial recognition by the police. However, the lack of data and transparency around police use means the true figure is likely far higher.
Mr Ton-That says he is not aware of any cases of mistaken identity using Clearview. He accepts police have made wrongful arrests using facial recognition technology, but attributes those to "poor policing".
Clearview often points to research that shows it has a near 100% accuracy rate. But these figures are often based on mugshots.
In reality, the accuracy of Clearview depends on the quality of the image that is fed into it - something Mr Ton-That accepts.
Civil rights campaigners want police forces that use Clearview to openly say when it is used - and for its accuracy to be openly tested in court. They want the algorithm scrutinised by independent experts, and are sceptical of the company's claims.
Kaitlin Jackson is a criminal defence lawyer based in New York who campaigns against the police's use of facial recognition.
"I think the truth is that the idea that this is incredibly accurate is wishful thinking," she says. "There is no way to know that when you're using images in the wild like screengrabs from CCTV."
However, Mr Ton-That told the BBC he does not want to testify in court to its accuracy.
"We don't really want to be in court testifying about the accuracy of the algorithm… because the investigators, they're using other methods to also verify it," he says.
Mr Ton-That says he has recently given Clearview's system to defence lawyers in specific cases. He believes that both prosecutors and defenders should have the same access to the technology.
Last year, Andrew Conlyn from Fort Myers, Florida, had charges against him dropped after Clearview was used to find a crucial witness.
Mr Conlyn was the passenger in a friend's car in March 2017 when it crashed into palm trees at high speed.
The driver was ejected from the car and killed. A passer-by pulled Mr Conlyn from the wreckage, but left without making a statement.
Although Mr Conlyn said he was the passenger, police suspected he had been driving and he he was charged with vehicular homicide.
His lawyers had an image of the passer-by from police body cam footage. Just before his trial, Mr Ton-That allowed Clearview to be used in the case.
"This AI popped him up in like, three to five seconds," Mr Conlyn's defence lawyer, Christopher O'Brien, told the BBC. "It was phenomenal."
The witness, Vince Ramirez, made a statement that he had taken Mr Conlyn out of the passenger's seat. Shortly after, the charges were dropped.
But even though there have been cases where Clearview is proven to have worked, some believe it comes at too high a price.
"Clearview is a private company that is making face prints of people based on their photos online without their consent," says Mr Guariglia.
"It's a huge problem for civil liberties and civil rights, and it absolutely needs to be banned."
Viewers in the UK can watch the Our World documentary into Clearview AI on BBC iPlayer | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-65057011 |
Israel protests: PM Netanyahu delays legal reforms after day of strikes - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | His proposed changes provoked an outpouring of anger from nearly all parts of Israeli society. | Middle East | 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. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-65093509 |
NI charity funding package being finalised, government says - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The announcement comes four days before money from the European Social Fund comes to an end. | Northern Ireland | Many of the organisations which stand to lose EU funding help people with learning difficulties to gain workplace skills
The UK government has said a financial package is being finalised to help Northern Ireland charities facing a funding crisis at the end of March.
The announcement comes four days before money from the European Social Fund (ESF) comes to an end due to Brexit.
Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said he was "well aware of the need to deliver quickly".
Some charities have warned they would have to cut staff and support programmes if funding is not replaced.
It is still not clear if the UK government package will fully replace all the ESF funds.
The problem relates to the switchover from EU to UK funding and mainly applies to organisations which help people find employment.
About £40m a year of money from the ESF will come to an end on Friday.
This money was 35% match-funded from Stormont, giving £54m in total.
The UK government's Shared Prosperity Fund is due to replace the ESF funding.
Speaking to MPs, Mr Gove said his ministerial colleague Dehenna Davison had "been working to ensure we deal with the cliff edge".
He said the total amount of spending being talked about was £26.9m.
Organisations who help people with disabilities to work warned as far back as 2019 there was a "lack of detail" about what would replace EU funding.
A leader in the sector said their warnings had been "ignored and disabled people have been abandoned".
But despite that warning four years ago, many groups do not yet know if their work will be funded on 1 April.
But although an application process for £42m available over two years took place in December 2022 and January 2023, organisations who applied have still not been told if they will receive funding.
Before Mr Gove's announcement, BBC News NI obtained a briefing paper from the Northern Ireland Union of Supported Employment (NIUSE) which was published in May 2019.
It warned then of "an absence of specific detail" about how the Shared Prosperity Fund would operate.
Now we are at crisis point with less than five days to go - Edyth Dunlop from NIUSE
"ESF is the primary and consistent source of funding for employment projects for disabled people in Northern Ireland," it said.
The briefing paper also warned there was a "lack of clarity" about long-term funding and that replacing ESF was "a critical issue".
The NIUSE represents a range of groups including Mencap, Disability Action, Action Mental Health and the Now Group who train and support people with disabilities to find employment.
Some groups have warned the most vulnerable people in society will suffer if services lose funding.
They have also said that hundreds of jobs in the community sector are at risk.
The 2019 policy paper highlighted concerns over loss of EU funds
Edyth Dunlop from NIUSE said the 2019 briefing paper showed the organisation had been "forewarning" both the UK government and Northern Ireland administration for years about the end of ESF funding.
"Now we are at crisis point with less than five days to go and it could have been diverted," she said.
"We have been ignored and disabled people have been abandoned.
"Often those most vulnerable are the easiest to ignore."
Northern Ireland has the lowest rate of employment for people with disabilities in the UK.
Just over a third of disabled people in Northern Ireland are in work, compared with more than half in the rest of the UK.
Ms Dunlop told BBC News NI that "it doesn't make sense to not continue vital services which address this".
"From 1 April there will be no pre-employment training for disabled people or those most vulnerable unless actions and decisions are made now," she said.
"We want to work with the local departments and develop solutions together and address the high rate of economic inactivity and disability employment gap."
Other organisations which work with groups like vulnerable young people or the long-term unemployed are also threatened by the uncertainty about funding.
The Department for the Economy (DfE) was the managing authority for ESF in Northern Ireland.
In a statement issued before Mr Gove's announcement, DfE said it "empathises with the concerns of the sector currently supported under the NI European Social Fund (ESF) Programme".
"The UK government has committed to fully replace EU structural funds through their Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF)," they continued.
"We have been clear with all providers for some time now that we have no ability to finance this activity beyond March this year when the SPF is due to start." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-65081565 |
Ukraine war: Drone downed over Russia, Moscow says - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Kyiv has dismissed previous claims that it has attacked Russian civilian targets with explosive drones. | Europe | A Ukrainian drone has been shot down by Russian air defences, Moscow has said.
The drone came down in the town of Kireyevsk - some 400km (249 miles) from the Ukraine border - on Sunday, the defence ministry announced.
Russian state media is reporting that at least three people were injured in an explosion after it was brought down.
Ukraine has dismissed previous claims that it has attacked Russian civilian targets with explosive drones and has not yet commented on this incident.
Moscow has deployed hundreds of drones against Ukraine.
Russian law enforcement authorities say the drone - said to be a Strizh-type (Tu-141) UAV packed with explosives - was brought down at 15:20 local time (13:20 BST), causing a large crater in the heart of Kireyevsk.
Several apartments have reportedly been damaged in the town - which lies in the Tula region, 220km south of Moscow - but there have not been any serious injuries.
In a statement on its Telegram channel, the Russian Defence Ministry accused Ukraine of attempting to carry out a strike.
"The grouping of Russian air defence systems deployed in the Tula region - S-300 and Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile systems, as well as Pole-21 electronic warfare systems - provide reliable cover from this direction," the defence ministry said.
"In particular, the Pole-21 electronic warfare complex handled the Ukrainian strike drone, which resulted in its navigation system being disabled."
In December, Moscow said three Russian air force personnel died after being wounded by falling debris from a drone that was shot down at the Engels airbase in the south of the country.
The Engels air base has been repeatedly used by Russia to carry out missile strikes on various targets in Ukraine since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion last February. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65082747 |
UK is poorer as a country, says Michael Gove - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The levelling up secretary blames war in Ukraine and pandemic, but denies government is at fault. | Business | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Michael Gove says the Ukraine war and Covid pandemic made the UK poorer
The UK is poorer than it would have been, partly due to the war in Ukraine, but also the pandemic, Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove has admitted.
But he said ministers were taking action on the soaring cost of living, including giving help on energy bills.
The head of the independent forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), said living standards were seeing their biggest squeeze on record.
Richard Hughes said Brexit had been similar to the pandemic in its impact.
"It's a shock to the UK economy of the order of magnitude to other shocks that we've seen from the pandemic, from the energy crisis," he told the BBC.
Poor productivity had also hurt growth, he said.
And he warned living standards would not return to pre-pandemic levels for another five to six years.
Asked whether he agreed with the OBR's assessments, Mr Gove said economic forecasting was "a very difficult exercise". He added that the UK was dealing with "the aftershocks of two significant events".
"[There's] both the war in Ukraine, the first time we've had war on this scale on the continent in Europe since the Second World War, and the Covid pandemic, the biggest global health pandemic since the end of the First World War," he told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme.
"They have had a huge effect on our economy and on others' economies."
Mr Gove denied that the government was to blame after 13 years in power, but added: "One can always do better, yes."
However, he insisted ministers were taking action to address soaring inflation - the rate at which prices rise - by taxing oil and gas firms' profits and lowering household energy bills.
He also said the Budget had taken steps to help people back to work and to help families, including with childcare.
The OBR forecasts that inflation will fall below 3% this year - down from 10.4% currently - as food and energy prices rise less quickly.
But speaking on the same programme, OBR chairman Richard Hughes said the outlook was volatile given Britain was a net importer of food and energy - the prices of which were set in global markets.
Mr Hughes added that the longer term outlook for the economy was bleak, with people's real spending power - allowing for inflation - not forecast to recover to pre-pandemic levels until the end of the decade.
Mr Hughes blamed a range of issues for holding back the economy, saying: "We've lost around 500,000 people from the labour force, we've seen stagnant investment since 2016 and also our productivity has slowed dramatically since the financial crisis and not really recovered."
He also said that overall output was forecast to be 4% lower than it would have been as a result of leaving the EU.
Last week the Bank of England put up interest rates for the 11th time since December 2021 as it continued its battle to ease inflation.
The decision to lift rates to 4.25% from 4% came after the inflation rate rose unexpectedly last month to 10.4%. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-your-money-65079792 |
Man who praised Samuel Paty murder found guilty of terrorism offences - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Ajmal Shahpal posted an image of a terrorist victim's severed head on Twitter. | Nottingham | Amjal Shahpal praised the killer of French school teacher Samuel Paty for being "as brave as a lion" on Twitter
A man who posted an image of a terrorism victim's severed head on Twitter, urging others to decapitate those who insult Islam, has been found guilty of encouraging terrorist acts.
Ajmal Shahpal also praised the killer of French school teacher Samuel Paty for being "as brave as a lion".
The 41-year-old, of Birkin Avenue in Radford, Nottingham, was convicted after a trial at Birmingham Crown Court.
He is due to be sentenced on 13 April.
Jurors deliberated for about five hours before convicting Shahpal by majority verdicts of one count of intentionally encouraging terrorist acts and one of doing so recklessly.
Ajmal Shahpal was on trial at Birmingham Crown Court
He was cleared of a third charge of encouraging acts of terrorism.
After the verdicts, Judge Melbourne Inman KC rejected a bail application and remanded Shahpal in custody.
The judge told him: "You have been convicted of two offences. Obviously I will have to decide what the sentence is in due course, but a custodial sentence is inevitable for this type of offence.
"In the circumstances therefore, you will be remanded in custody pending your sentence."
A two-week trial was told Shahpal was arrested at his home in March 2021 after tweeting messages backing a Pakistan-based political party which supported the "out-of-hand murder of those who it thinks have committed blasphemy".
Opening the Crown's case against Shahpal at the start of the trial, prosecutor Dan Pawson-Pounds said: "This is a case about terrorism, that is the encouragement by this defendant of others to commit acts of terrorism.
"He did that by publishing tweets on his Twitter account which specifically encouraged others to behead those who he believed had insulted his religion, his religion being Islam."
Jurors were told Shahpal, originally from Kashmir, sent some of the tweets on his open account on 26 September 2020, a day after Charlie Hebdo's former office in Paris was targeted for a second time by Islamic extremist Zaheer Hassan Mehmood.
The court was also told he expressed support for extremists who had attacked those he viewed as blasphemers, including French school teacher Samuel Paty, who was killed on 16 October 2020.
He also tweeted an image of the severed head of Mr Paty lying on the street, saying that "the insolent had been sent to hell".
Samuel Paty was killed after receiving threats when he showed cartoons of Mohammed to a class
Further tweets said that whoever insulted Islam should be killed, and threatened the French government.
During his evidence, Shahpal claimed he was retweeting other people's views "just to have some more followers".
He told jurors he did not know he had retweeted a picture of Mr Paty's severed head, claiming: "At the time I did not know what picture it was that I was retweeting.
"A friend of mine who set up this account for me, he told me that if you do this, you are going to get more followers."
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The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-65086949 |
Nashville school shooting: Nashville shooter bought seven guns legally - police - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Police are giving an update on the school shooting that left six dead, including three children. | US & Canada | Robert Gay is calm and thoughtful as he speaks to me by phone about the Katherine Koonce he knew while in grade school.
Koonce, one of the victims of Monday’s shooting, was the Head of the Covenant School.
She was also a teacher at Christ Presbyterian Academy, which Gay attended from 2000-2006. He and his brother were good friends with Koonce’s son, David.
“She always made her students feel that they were loved by a God who cared about them personally and that it was our job to show that love to each other as fellow people,” Gay said.
“She was so engaged with all the students.”
The school community was tight-knit, with less than 150 students enrolled there at the time. Gay says everyone knew everyone.
“She helped identify the best ways for students to learn,” he said. “She could speak really carefully in a way that would encourage students to see the best in them and to grow.”
“That encouragement is one of the biggest things I remember about her along with an incredible intelligence. Students walked away feeling empowered and maybe smarter than before she came into the room.” | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-us-canada-65087221 |
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu vows to continue with legal reforms - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Protests continue after MPs voted to stop the attorney general from being able to declare a leader unfit. | Middle East | Benjamin Netanyahu (R) promised to curb the powers of the judiciary after returning to power in December
Israel's prime minister has said he will press on with his "responsible legal reforms", despite continuing protests over them.
The passing of a new law on Thursday that makes it harder for courts to remove a leader deemed unfit for office has angered many people.
It is considered to be in the interests of the incumbent, Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption.
Hours after the vote, opponents began what they called a "day of paralysis".
Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in Tel Aviv and other cities, and blocked major roads. A large Israeli flag and a banner with the declaration of independence were also draped over a wall in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Police used water cannon and mounted officers to disperse a crowd on a busy Tel Aviv highway and said they had arrested dozens of people across the country for public disturbance.
In the evening, protesters began marching towards the ultra-Orthodox Tel Aviv suburb of Bnei Brak, where there is widespread support for the government.
Ahead of the event, protesters set up chairs and tables, surrounded by Israeli flags, and invited members of the community to meet them for reconciliation talks about the planned law changes. There were heated conversations.
Photos emerged on social media of one of the protest leaders, a doctor, lying bloodied on the ground after being hit by a car. But the organisers later said that it had been an accident, not a deliberate act.
Amid the growing political turmoil at home, Mr Netanyahu travelled to the UK on Thursday ahead of a meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Friday.
Mr Netanyahu vowed to "do everything to calm the situation and bring cohesion" and to reach a solution acceptable to both supporters and critics of the proposal.
But he vowed to press ahead with the reforms, including plans to give the government full control over the committee which appoints judges, which he has said will pass in the Knesset next week.
"We cannot allow any dispute to endanger our collective future," he said.
Protesters draped a large Israeli flag on a wall of Jerusalem's Old City
Opposition leader and former prime minister, Yair Lapid, has dismissed Mr Netanyahu's promises as "lies".
"Stop the attempt to turn us into an undemocratic country," Mr Lapid urged the prime minister. "Listen to the hundreds of thousands of loyal patriots who took to the streets."
National Unity Party leader and former defence minister Benny Gantz tweeted that he believed many in the Israeli parliament, known as the Knesset, were opposed to the changes.
"Tonight it is clear beyond any doubt that the coup will seriously damage democracy and Israeli society," said Mr Gantz. "This would be a direct violation of Israel's security and a lack of national responsibility of the first order."
The new Incapacitation Law, which passed by 61 votes to 47 in the 120-seat Knesset following a heated all-night debate, prevents a prime minister from being declared unfit to hold office by the attorney general.
It stipulates that only the prime minister or three-quarters of their cabinet can declare them unfit to hold office on physical or psychological grounds.
The law is part of the right-wing government's contentious plan to limit the powers of the judiciary, which has led to months of protests.
The governing coalition introduced the legislation last month after Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said Mr Netanyahu could not be involved in its judicial overhaul due to the potential conflict of interest arising from his ongoing court cases.
He is standing trial on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three cases. He denies any wrongdoing and says he is the victim of a "witch hunt".
The new law would effectively prevent Ms Baharav-Miara from declaring Mr Netanyahu unfit to hold office if she believes that he is attempting to halt his trials.
Ofir Katz, a member of Mr Netanyahu's Likud party, argued the legislation would bring "stability" by making it harder to remove a prime minister against their will.
Police used water cannon to in an attempt disperse protesters blocking a major road in Tel Aviv
The protests have continued to grow since Mr Netanyahu returned to power at the end of last year, leading the most right-wing, nationalist coalition in Israel's history and promising to curb the powers of the judiciary.
The changes would ultimately strip the Supreme Court of crucial powers to strike down legislation.
Mr Netanyahu says the reforms are designed to stop the courts over-reaching their powers and that they were voted for by the public at the last election.
Most legal scholars say they would effectively destroy the independence of the judiciary, while opponents describe them as an attempted "regime coup".
Earlier this week, the coalition announced it would delay part of the judicial overhaul until after the Knesset's break for the Jewish Passover holiday.
But, crucially, the coalition also said it would attempt to push through key changes to the judicial appointments committee before the recess starts on 2 April, albeit with some modifications it sees as a gesture to soften the reforms.
The opposition immediately rejected the move, while protest leaders said the announcement was not a compromise but a declaration of war against Israeli democracy and its citizens. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-65049937 |
Italian art experts astonished by David statue uproar in Florida - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | A Florida school head was forced out after the famous Michaelangelo statue was shown to art students. | Europe | The Florence museum that houses Michelangelo's statue of David has invited teachers and students from a Florida school to visit, after an uproar over an art lesson.
The school's principal quit after a complaint about a sixth-grade art class that included an image of the statue.
A parent had complained the image was pornographic.
Cecilie Hollberg, director of Galleria dell'Accademia, has now issued the invitation to the class.
She said the principal should be "rewarded, not punished".
"Talking about the Renaissance without showing the David, an undisputed icon of art and culture and of that historical period, would make no sense," Ms Hollberg said.
The controversy began when the board of Tallahassee Classical School - a charter school in Florida's state capital - pressured principal Hope Carrasquilla to resign after three parents complained about a lesson that included a photo of the 17ft nude marble statue.
The statue, one of the most famous in Western history, depicts the biblical David going to fight Goliath armed only with a sling and his faith in God.
The board reportedly targeted Ms Carrasquilla because the parents claimed they weren't notified in advance that a nude would be shown, with one parent calling the statue "pornographic".
The incident has left Florentines and experts on Renaissance art bewildered.
The David is considered a masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance and a symbol of humanist values. It has been displayed in the Galleria dell'Accademia since 1873.
Ms Hollberg said she was "astonished", stating that to think that the David statue could be considered pornographic means not only failing to understand the Bible, but Western culture itself.
"I cannot believe that actually happened, at first I thought it was fake news, so improbable and absurd was it," she said.
"A distinction must be made between nudity and pornography. There is nothing pornographic or aggressive about the David, he is a young boy, a shepherd, who even according to the Bible did not have ostentatious clothes but wanted to defend his people with what he had."
The mayor of Florence, Dario Nardella, also invited the teacher who showed the students the image of Michelangelo's David to visit the city and its works of art.
"Mistaking art for pornography is simply ridiculous," he tweeted. "Art is civilisation and those who teach it deserve respect."
In an interview with Slate online magazine, Barney Bishop, chairman of the school board, said that last year the principal sent a notice to parents warning them that students were going to see Michelangelo's David, but this wasn't done this year.
He called it an "egregious mistake" and said that "parents are entitled to know anytime their child is being taught a controversial topic and picture".
According to Florentine art historian and dean of the University for Foreigners in Siena, Tomaso Montanari, such an attitude is "disconcerting".
"First comes the dismay at the absence of educational freedom, as it should not be restricted or manipulated by families," Mr Montanari said.
"On the other hand, from a cultural perspective, the Western world has a tendency to associate fundamentalism and censorship with other societies, believing it possesses the capability to spread democratic ideals worldwide.
"But this cultural backsliding clearly highlights the presence of fundamentalist views within the West as well."
While several parents and teachers plan to protest Ms Carrasquilla's resignation at the school board meeting, she isn't sure she would take the job back even if it were offered.
"There's been such controversy and such upheaval," she said in an interview with the Associated Press. "I would really have to consider, 'Is this truly what is best?'"
Back in Florence, Ms Hollberg remarked: "From majestic statues to charming fountains and paintings, Italy is overflowing with works of art, not just in its museums, but in all its cities, squares and streets, with some featuring naked figures.
"Does that make it pornography? Should entire cities be shut down because of the artistic depictions of the human form?" | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65087218 |
Heathrow strike forces BA Easter flight cancellations - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The move is due to a planned 10-day strike by some Heathrow security workers in the Unite union. | Business | British Airways is cancelling around 32 flights a day to and from Heathrow Airport at the start of the Easter holidays.
The move is due to a planned 10-day strike by 1,400 Heathrow security workers in the Unite union, who are taking action in a dispute over pay.
BA said it had offered a range of options to affected customers.
Heathrow says contingency plans will be put in place to ensure it can "operate as normal".
Workers at Terminal 5, which is used by British Airways, will take part in the action, as will those who check cargo.
The walkout is due to start on 31 March and end on 9 April. Talks last week failed to avert the action.
BA has been told by the airport to reduce its schedule on those days by 5% and has stopped selling tickets.
In a statement, the airline said: "We've regrettably had to make a small number of adjustments to our schedule.
"We've apologised to customers whose travel plans have been affected and have offered them a range of options, including rebooking onto a new flight with us or another airline, or requesting a full refund."
A Heathrow spokesperson said: "We will not let these unnecessary strikes impact the hard-earned holidays of our passengers."
The airport said it was deploying 1,000 additional staff, together with its management team, who will be in the terminals providing assistance to passengers over the Easter break.
It said it may take "a little longer than usual to get through security", and advised passengers to help ensure a smooth departure by checking their flight status before travelling to the airport, and by having their liquids and electronics ready for security.
Sharon Graham, general secretary of the Unite union, said "our members are simply unable to make ends meet due to the low wages paid by Heathrow. They are being forced to take strike action due to need not greed."
Heathrow says it has offered a 10% pay rise.
Strike action in other countries, notably France, has already caused a number of airlines to cancel flights this year.
Monday's strike in Germany has also caused cancellations.
How will the Heathrow strike affect your plans? You can get in touch by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
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• None Strike action: What do rail workers, nurses and others want? | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65091012 |
Jonathan Majors: Creed III actor arrested on assault charges - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The Hollywood star's lawyer says his client is innocent and expects charges to be dropped imminently. | World | Creed III actor Jonathan Majors has been arrested on strangulation, assault and harassment charges.
The New York Police Department said Mr Majors, who stars alongside Michael B Jordan in the recently released film, was involved in a domestic dispute with a 30-year-old woman on Saturday.
"The victim informed police she was assaulted," a police spokesperson said.
Mr Majors was briefly taken into custody. A lawyer for the 33-year-old actor denied any wrongdoing.
The NYPD said they were called around 11:14 local time after receiving a 911 call from an apartment in Manhattan's Chelsea district.
They added the woman suffered minor head and neck injuries and was taken to hospital.
He was released from custody by Saturday night, an NYPD spokesperson told the Associated Press news agency.
In a statement obtained by the BBC, Mr Majors' lawyer said the actor was "completely innocent" and alleged the star was the victim of the altercation involving a woman known to him.
Priya Chaudhry said: "We are quickly gathering and presenting evidence to the District Attorney with the expectation that all charges will be dropped imminently.
"This evidence includes video footage from the vehicle where this episode took place, witness testimony from the driver and others who both saw and heard the episode, and most importantly, two written statements from the woman recanting these allegations.
"All the evidence proves that Mr Majors is entirely innocent and did not assault her whatsoever."
Mr Majors' arrest comes just weeks after the actor presented an award at the Oscars.
His career took off after breaking through in 2019's The Last Black Man in San Francisco, before going onto to star in Netflix western The Harder They Fall and Marvel Comics film Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania.
Jonathan Majors, right, and Creed III co-star Michael B Jordan recently presented an award at the Oscars | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-65081847 |
MoT: Northern Ireland delays remain despite record number of tests - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The Department for Infrastructure says more than 500,000 tests were conducted in the last six months. | Northern Ireland | Some motorists are facing waits of more than three months at their closest test centre
Some drivers in Northern Ireland are still struggling to book an MoT despite a record number of tests being carried out in the last six months.
There has been a backlog since testing was suspended several times in 2020.
The Department for Infrastructure (DfI) said more than 500,000 tests were conducted in the last six months as part of efforts to cut delays.
But some drivers trying to book online still face long waits for an appointment.
Between September last year and the end of February 2023, a total of 506,967 full vehicle tests had been carried out by the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA), she added.
That is a 22% increase on the same period in 2021/2022.
"This increase in capacity has been achieved by adopting a range of measures including the recruitment of additional vehicle examiners, the use of overtime to provide cover for leave and by offering vehicle test appointments on a Sunday and bank holidays, when testing is not normally available," the DfI said.
"The DVA currently issues reminder notifications six weeks in advance of your MoT expiry date.
"The DVA will keep this notification period under review as it continues to manage the demand for vehicle testing."
They added that it did not currently hold information to enable it to accurately report the average waiting times for vehicle tests "given that this position changes on a regular basis".
BBC News NI logged on to the booking system on Friday to check the current availability.
The soonest date some MoT centres are offering in Northern Ireland are in June and July
It appears many motorists are facing two or three-month delays for an MoT, unless a cancellation appears, when using the DVA online system.
An MoT certificate ensures a vehicle meets legal standards and is required for tax and insurance purposes.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) previously said it would not penalise drivers whose MoT has expired as long as they met a number of criteria.
The PSNI told BBC News NI that exemption remains in place.
"In the event police encounter a vehicle with no current MoT, so long as we can ascertain that a vehicle is roadworthy, has a forthcoming MoT test date and is not sorned (statutory off road notification), then police will not take any further action," a spokesperson said.
As for insurers, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said "where motorists in Northern Ireland have a confirmed MoT appointment booking for their test, they should not be prejudiced by a lack of a valid MoT certificate if it has run out before the test takes place".
ABI said its members had agreed to maintain cover for customers who, "through no fault of their own", could not get a test.
"However, motorists whose MoTs are due must keep trying to book a test with the DVA, even if the date falls after when their MoT certificate expires."
The spokesperson added that insurers must keep their vehicle in a roadworthy condition.
Drivers requiring an MoT to tax their vehicle, who cannot get an appointment before their current certificate expires, are asked to "book the earliest available appointment and keep checking the booking system for an earlier appointment", according to the DfI.
"If they get to within five days of the expiry date of their vehicle tax and they have been unable to secure an appointment or their vehicle tax has expired, they should contact the DVA customer services team at dva.customerservices@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk and they will do their best to get an urgent appointment for the vehicle," a spokesperson added.
MoT tests in Northern Ireland were first suspended in January 2020 due to safety concerns about equipment being used during the tests.
Then Covid-19 hit, bringing another halt to MoT tests in March 2020.
Testing resumed in stages from June 2020, at a reduced capacity due to social distancing measures, before returning fully in July 2021.
A new online booking system was set up in September 2021 to deal with the backlog that built up from January 2020, but it initially faced technical problems and created further delays. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-65061824 |
England 2-0 Ukraine: Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka score in comfortable win - BBC Sport | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | null | England maintain their winning start to their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with a comfortable victory over Ukraine at Wembley. | null | Last updated on .From the section England
England maintained their winning start to Euro 2024 qualifying with a comfortable victory over Ukraine at Wembley.
Gareth Southgate's side built on the foundation of their first away win against Italy since 1961 with an efficient performance that was more than enough to see off the visitors.
England struggled to build any momentum until record scorer Harry Kane made it 55 international goals when he bundled in Bukayo Saka's cross at the far post eight minutes before half-time.
The second arrived three minutes later and was all Saka's own work, the Arsenal winger turning away from his man on the edge of the area and curling a superb effort beyond the reach of Anatoliy Trubin and into the top corner.
Leicester City's James Maddison made a good impression on his first England start while Brentford's Ivan Toney won his first cap as a late substitute, captain Kane making way once there was never any serious danger of a Ukrainian comeback.
Saka is part of England's young generation that Southgate hopes will form a key component of their Euro 2024 campaign and the quest to finally claim a major trophy - and what a talent he is.
Saka has been outstanding as Arsenal lead the Premier League table and after a fine World Cup in Qatar he has simply carried on the form he has been showing all season.
He was a constant danger down England's right flank and the 21-year-old merely confirmed what he is showing on an almost weekly basis, namely that he has a golden future ahead of him.
Saka's cross unlocked a well-organised Ukraine defence for Kane to pounce and set England on their way before producing a superb piece of individual skill to effectively end the contest.
England manager Southgate could not have hoped for a better start to these qualifiers as two of arguably their more testing fixtures have resulted in maximum points.
And he will be happy with portions of England's performances in both games, particularly the first half against Italy in Naples and the manner in which they closed this game out with the minimum of fuss.
England are the favourites to qualify at the top of their group and secure a place at the Euros in Germany, where they will be among those touted as potential winners, and these opening two games have certainly justified that status.
They survived a poor second half in Italy and a drab first half-hour here but the end results certainly count as a job well done.
• None Attempt saved. Jack Grealish (England) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Conor Gallagher.
• None Attempt missed. Harry Maguire (England) header from the left side of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Jordan Henderson with a cross following a corner.
• None Attempt saved. Harry Maguire (England) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Ben Chilwell with a cross.
• None Attempt saved. Conor Gallagher (England) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Ben Chilwell.
• None Delay over. They are ready to continue.
• None Delay in match because of an injury Taras Stepanenko (Ukraine). Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page
• None Our coverage of your Premier League club is bigger and better than ever before - follow your team and sign up for notifications in the BBC Sport app to make sure you never miss a moment | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/65004815 |
School buses escorted by police after Tennessee shooting - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | null | Police cars line the street after a Tennessee school shooting. | null | After a school shooting in Tennessee, police cars and yellow buses wait outside the crime scene. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-65093519 |
Lebanon reverses decision to delay daylight savings time change - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Christian authorities changed clocks on Sunday, in defiance of a move meant to help fasting Muslims. | Middle East | Churches, business and schools changed their clocks as usual on Sunday, which was the last in March
Lebanon's government has reversed a decision to delay the shift to daylight savings time by a month, which had sparked both anger and confusion.
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced that clocks would now go forward on Wednesday night.
He had agreed to a delay last week so Muslims could break their fasts earlier during the holy month of Ramadan.
But Christian authorities defied the order and changed their clocks as usual on Sunday, which was the last in March.
Many businesses, media outlets and educational institutions followed suit, leaving people living in one of the smallest countries in the Middle East struggling to deal with two different time zones.
Mr Mikati, who is a Sunni Muslim, insisted on Monday that his initial decision to delay the time change until 20 April to "relieve" those fasting during Ramadan had not been for "sectarian reasons", adding: "A decision like this should not have triggered such sectarian responses."
He blamed the deep political and religious divisions that have resulted in parliament being unable to agree on a new president since October and a caretaker cabinet with limited powers being left to run the country.
"The problem is not summer time or winter time... The problem is the presidential vacuum."
The political paralysis has also compounded Lebanon's crushing economic crisis, which has left more than 80% of the population living in poverty and struggling to afford food and medicine. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-65090888 |
Dramatic scenes from school shooting in Tennessee - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | null | Six people, three of them children, have been killed in a primary school shooting in Nashville. | null | Six people, three of them children, have been killed in a primary school shooting in Nashville. The shooter was a 28-year-old female who was killed by police, officers said. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-65094530 |
Silicon Valley Bank: Collapsed US lender bought by rival - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The collapsed lender was seized by US regulators after a run on the bank. | Business | The assets and loans of collapsed US lender Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) are being bought by rival First Citizens BancShares.
Investors welcomed the deal, sending First Citizens shares up more than 40%.
The rise helped drive broader gains in banking shares, which have been in turmoil since SVB's failure sparked fears over the stability of the sector.
In Europe, worries over the strength of Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse led to a rushed takeover by rival UBS.
The deal for SVB brings to a close a saga that started earlier this month after a run on the bank forced US regulators to take over. Its collapse was swiftly followed by the failure of another US lender, Signature Bank.
The demise of the two were the biggest bank failures in the US since the financial crisis of 2008.
Under the SVB takeover deal, all 17 former SVB branches will open under the First Citizens brand on Monday. SVB customers are being advised to continue using their current branch until they receive notice from First Citizens Bank that their account has been fully moved across.
First Citizens is based in Raleigh, North Carolina and calls itself America's biggest family-controlled bank. It has been one of the largest buyers of troubled banks in recent years.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, the US financial regulator that announced the deal, said First Citizens had bought around $72bn of SVB's assets at a discount of $16.5bn - a deal that will make the bank one of the 25 biggest in the US.
The FDIC said it would retain control of about $90bn of SVB's assets and estimated the cost of the SVB failure to its deposit insurance fund would be about $20bn. It will also receive an equity stake in First Citizens worth up to $500m.
The FDIC said it had received 27 bids from 18 bidders before settling on the First Citizens deal.
The UK arm of SVB was bought by HSBC earlier this month for £1.
Interest rates were cut sharply during the 2008 global financial crisis and again during the Covid pandemic as central banks around the world sought to encourage economic growth.
But rates have been rising over the past year as central banks try to rein in soaring prices.
These rate rises have hit the value of investments that banks keep some of their money in, and contributed to the bank failures in the US.
The worry that has unnerved financial markets is that there could be other problems in the banking sector, which have not yet emerged.
Central banks around the world have stressed that the banking system is safe and lenders are well capitalised.
Sarah Hewin, head of Europe & Americas research at Standard Chartered bank, told the BBC's Today programme that there is a "very febrile environment" among investors.
"At the moment there's a lot of psychology rather than reality which is running markets."
On Sunday, the head of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, said there was a "need for vigilance" given the turbulence in the banking sector and warned it was "clear that risks to financial stability have increased".
"At a time of higher debt levels, the rapid transition from a prolonged period of low interest rates to much higher rates... inevitably generates stresses and vulnerabilities."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Is this the start of a financial crisis? | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65084248 |
X-Ray: Locals fix nurse's kitchen after extension issues - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Nurse Catharine Lewis thanks locals and tradespeople who stepped in after her builders walked out. | Wales | Work has resumed on the property after support from her community
A nurse has been overwhelmed by people's generosity after her kitchen extension plan turned into a nightmare.
Catharine Lewis from Tonyrefail, Rhondda Cynon Taf, hired a company to construct her extension, but the builders stopped before its completion.
It meant she had to wash dishes in a downstairs basin, mop up regular leaks in the bathroom and set up a makeshift kitchen in her lounge.
Others agreed to help after her story was shown on BBC Wales' X-Ray TV show.
Mrs Lewis had agreed a price of £57,000 with her builders to create a ground floor extension in January last year.
The work was originally expected to take 12 weeks, but it ran months over schedule, by which time she had paid out £61,000 and, by December, the builders abandoned the project, citing several issues.
"We have a completely open, exposed house and every time it rains it pours in," said Mrs Lewis in an interview for the programme last month.
Catharine Lewis hired builders to construct her extension but they stopped before its completion
Supports have been installed to prevent Mrs Lewis's back wall from collapse
After it aired, she said she had been inundated with "amazing" offers of help.
"Plumbers, electricians, carpenters, roofers, general labourers, tilers, everything possible to potentially get this finished," said Mrs Lewis, who had worked full time throughout pandemic at an NHS intensive care unit.
One building team has already strengthened the support under a bedroom, and a kitchen firm has offered to supply a kitchen at cost, and fit it for free.
Neighbour Nicola Wellman also set up a GoFundMe page that has raised more than £5,000.
And the community has rallied around offering to do everything from drying clothes to even doing her dishes.
Building work has resumed on the extension thanks to people's goodwill
"It feels like it's gone from a light at the end of the tunnel to floodlight showing me that I can make my house a home again for my family," said Mrs Lewis.
Nicky Middleton, from N&K Kitchens, told X-Ray it had dozens of happy customers who were satisfied with their work.
He said bad weather delayed work on Mrs Lewis' extension, with unforeseen building issues then leading to significant extra costs.
He claimed they walked off the job because Mrs Lewis owed them money for outstanding invoices, and that while he regretted the state her home was left in, he blamed structural issues at the back of the property on work done by a previous builder.
The last episode of X-Ray is aired on BBC One Wales on Monday at 20:00 BST, repeated on Wednesday at 22:30 and will be available on iPlayer, with the series coming to an end after 22 years | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-65079928 |
Guns and bullets found in Ballinamallard hedge during litter pick - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | A member of the public found them inside a plastic bag as they picked litter in County Fermanagh. | Northern Ireland | The litter pick was taking place at Baragh Gardens in Ballinamallard
Two guns and bullets were found by a member of the public during a community litter pick in County Fermanagh.
They were discovered inside a plastic bag in a hedge at Baragh Gardens in Ballinamallard on Saturday afternoon.
The police cordoned off the area and Army ammunition experts were called in to determine whether the weapons were real or fake.
It is understood they confirmed the guns were real and the items were taken away for forensic examination. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-65080300 |
Ministers see off Tory rebels over migration plans - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | A group of MPs say they have assurances after seeking to toughen up rules for removing migrants in the Illegal Migration Bill. | UK Politics | The UK government has defused a rebellion from backbenchers wanting to toughen up new rules for removing migrants.
A group of Tory MPs had tabled several amendments to the Illegal Migration Bill, ahead of votes in Parliament.
But some withdrew their proposals, after minister Robert Jenrick said he would "engage" with Tory MPs who have concerns.
It follows talks between them and Home Secretary Suella Braverman.
The legislation, unveiled earlier this month, would prevent anyone entering the UK illegally from claiming asylum.
It is central to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's pledge to "stop" small boats crossing the English Channel, but has provoked outrage among charities and opposition parties, which say it breaches international law.
Some Conservative MPs, however, believe it does not go far enough and tabled a series of amendments aiming to further toughen the bill.
Amendments they were supporting included one aiming to make it harder to challenge removal orders issued by courts.
Another would have meant the duty to remove migrants would apply irrespective of any orders issued by the European Court of Human Right (EHCR).
The Strasbourg-based court, unpopular on the Tory right, blocked the removal of migrants to Rwanda last year pending legal challenges.
Mr Jenrick assured Tory MPs he would speak to those who feared human rights law would interfere with the legislation.
Speaking during the bill's committee stage, he said: "I am certainly keen to give them an undertaking to engage with them and other colleagues who are interested in these points ahead of report stage of the bill.
"We are united in our determination that this bill will be a robust bill, that it will be able to survive the kind of egregious and vexatious legal challenges that we have seen in the past, and that it will enable us to do the job and to remove illegal immigrants to safe third countries like Rwanda."
Mr Sunak has made "stopping" small boats one of his top priorities as prime minister
Mr Jenrick also made commitments designed to resist pressure from a different group of Tory MPs to create more safe and legal routes for asylum seekers.
The group, led by East Worthing and Shoreham MP Tim Loughton, put forward proposals that would force ministers to establish more such routes before the rest of the bill can come into force.
They had been signed by former Brexit secretary David Davis and Dame Diana Johnson, the Labour chair of the home affairs select committee.
But Mr Sunak's spokesman told reporters it was necessary to "get a grip on those crossing illegally" before new legal routes are set up.
This was "so we can plan and make a proper decision about the numbers of people the country, local authorities, councils, GPs, are able to deal with each year," he added.
Mr Loughton withdrew the amendment after Mr Jenrick committed "to engage with him and other colleagues", and "if necessary bringing forward further amendments to ensure there are new routes in addition to the existing schemes".
On Monday night, MPs voted to reject four amendments that would have:
More than 45,000 people entered the UK via Channel crossings last year, up from about 300 in 2018.
Under the new bill, people removed from the UK would be blocked from returning or seeking British citizenship in future. Migrants will not get bail or be able to seek judicial review for the first 28 days of detention.
It will also place a legal duty on the home secretary to detain and remove those arriving in the UK illegally, to Rwanda or a "safe" third country - this will take legal precedence over someone's right to claim asylum.
In a letter to MPs following publication of the bill earlier this month, Ms Braverman conceded there is a "more (than) 50% chance" the bill is incompatible with international law.
It is expected to come up against opposition in the House of Lords, and subsequently expected to face a wave of legal challenges, whilst opposition parties have dismissed it as unworkable. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65084430 |
Outrage at new project for firm behind P&O sackings - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | DP World has been chosen to run a new freeport, despite having sacked 800 workers without notice last year. | Business | A decision to allow the owner of P&O Ferries to be involved in a major new infrastructure project has sparked outrage, after the firm sacked 800 workers without notice last year.
DP World has been approved to co-run the Thames Freeport in Essex, as part of Rishi Sunak's freeports plan.
The Trades Union Congress said it was an "appalling decision", enabling other employers "to act with impunity".
The government said the new freeport would "help to grow the economy".
P&O Ferries sacked hundreds of seafarers in March 2022 and replaced them with foreign agency workers paid less than the minimum wage.
The move sparked outrage and led to calls for P&O's boss Peter Hebblethwaite to resign.
A week afterwards, Mr Hebblethwaite admitted to MPs that the decision had broken employment law.
At the time, the government called the workers' treatment "wholly unacceptable".
Grant Shapps, who was then transport secretary, said the law would be changed to stop companies firing staff on-the-spot.
The government also cancelled a contract with P&O Ferries in May, a decision it said was in response to the sackings.
But on Monday, the government confirmed it had recently approved plans for the Thames Freeport, and that it would be run by a partnership between DP World, carmaker Ford and Forth Ports.
The port will receive £25m in government funding, which will go to local authorities, as it works to attract £4.6bn more in public and private investment.
Paul Nowak, general secretary of the TUC, said ministers should have "stripped the company of all its public contracts and severed commercial ties" after the P&O sackings.
"But the government has chosen instead to reward DP World with another bumper deal. This is giving a green light to other rogue employers to act with impunity."
A spokesperson for Thames Freeport said that DP World and its partners had invested heavily in port and logistics infrastructure over the past decade.
They added that the new port would benefit the "levelling up of the region", with more than 21,000 direct and indirect jobs created.
The government said the project would lead to "much needed" investment in the area.
Local authorities will administer the government funding "to benefit the entire region", it added, while the freeport will receive "potentially hundreds of millions in locally-retained business rates".
Freeports aim to create economic activity - like trade, investment and jobs - near shipping ports or airports. Goods imported into freeports are exempt from taxes, called tariffs, that are normally paid to the government.
Eight freeports have already been set up in England, with more in the pipeline.
The Thames Freeport will be made up of three sites - the London Gateway in Thurrock, the Port of Tilbury near Southend-on-Sea, and Ford's Dagenham car plant. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65086060 |
Nashville shooting: Survivor of Illinois tragedy makes angry plea - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | null | After surviving a mass shooting in Illinois, a woman visiting Nashville confronts media. | null | This video can not be played
To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-65095161 |
PM looks forward to working with SNP leader Yousaf - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Rishi Sunak congratulates Nicola Sturgeon's successor, saying they should both focus on "issues that matter". | Scotland | Victory by 52% to 48% is not the ringing endorsement Humza Yousaf would have wanted from the party membership, but a win is a win and it was accepted by all three candidates.
It is a massive personal moment for Mr Yousaf, but very quickly he will no longer be able to bask in the glory because he will be immersed in the detail and challenges that come with this big responsibility.
Under Alex Salmond and then Nicola Sturgeon, the SNP was a fairly united party and able to keep everybody on pretty much the same page, but underlying tensions have bubbled to the surface during this campaign.
Mr Yousaf has called for the party to come together and those signals in the days ahead will be important - will he try to bring in Kate Forbes and Ash Regan?
But some arguments will continue because they were pretty fundamental – the direction to take on independence, whether to challenge the UK government on its decision to block the gender reform legislation passed by Holyrood.
We now know Mr Yousaf's position is pretty secure, with the Greens - who share power – deciding they want to continue that agreement and backing him as first minister.
So he will easily see off the challenge from other parties in tomorrow's vote, but it is straight down to work because there are enormous challenges facing the Scottish government – trying to bring down huge NHS waiting lists, levels of poverty and drug-related deaths.
He now also carries the torch for the SNP’s ultimate goal of independence. It is clear he will continue to pursue that goal, as well as use Holyrood’s devolved powers to tackle some of the big challenges of the day, including the cost of living crisis.
There is always a tension in that. His rivals say every time he talks about independence, he is prolonging division in the country, whereas Humza Yousaf himself says he wants to govern for all the people of Scotland. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-scotland-65086830 |
Where do SNP candidates stand on the key issues? - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Three candidates - Ash Regan, Humza Yousaf and Kate Forbes - are standing to succeed Nicola Sturgeon. | Scotland politics | Three candidates - Ash Regan, Humza Yousaf and Kate Forbes, are standing in the contest to succeed Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader and Scotland's first minister.
The winner will be decided by a vote of SNP members, with the result to be announced on 27 March.
Here is where the contenders stand on some of the key issues facing the country:
All three candidates have said they believe Scotland will become independent within the next five years.
Ash Regan has pitched herself as the candidate who is best placed to unite and reinvigorate the independence movement, and has accused her two opponents of being "wishy for washy" on the issue.
She wants to create a cross-party Independence Convention, and has said a majority of people voting for parties who back independence in any election would be enough to trigger negotiations with Westminster on Scotland leaving the UK through her "voter empowerment mechanism"
Kate Forbes has taken a more cautious approach, saying that she wants to build support for independence to a point where it is well beyond 50% by winning over people who are currently opposed to the idea.
Ms Forbes has said she would do this by using the existing powers of the Scottish Parliament to show that Scotland can flourish, and through "gentle persuasion, making the economic case and earning people's trust".
Humza Yousaf has also spoken of the importance of building support for independence by talking about policies rather than process, but has said he could consider a snap Holyrood election as part of a strategy to secure independence.
He said: "We have got to inspire people with a vision for independence. We have to make sure that we're not obsessing about Section 30s and de facto referendums because people just don't get inspired by that."
Mr Yousaf is the only candidate to have said he would challenge the UK government's block on the gender recognition reforms in the courts and to have backed the proposals in the final vote last December.
The health secretary has warned the SNP against a "lurch to the right" on social issues, which he said could see it "lose vast swathes of support" and make it "very possible we will not be electable".
But he has faced accusations - which he strongly denies - that he "ducked" the vote that legalised gay marriage in 2014 because of religious pressure from a Glasgow mosque.
Ash Regan quit as the Scottish government's community safety minister over the gender reforms, saying that her conscience would not allow her to support the self-identification plans.
She is a long-standing critic of the proposals and has said she would "never vote for anything that would put women and girls in danger".
Ms Regan has also made clear she would not challenge the UK government block in the courts as "I don't believe we would win".
Kate Forbes did not take part in the final vote on the gender reforms as she was on maternity leave, but was one of the SNP politicians who had previously signed an open letter to Nicola Sturgeon highlighting concerns over the legislation.
She has said she would not have supported the reforms if she had been in parliament, and it seems unlikely that she would launch a legal challenge to the UK government's veto.
Ms Forbes, who is a member of the Free Church of Scotland, has faced fierce criticism from senior SNP figures including Deputy First Minister John Swinney over her opposition to gay marriage and her socially conservative views on issues such as abortion and having children outside marriage.
Kate Forbes has said she would not raise income tax for higher earners and would instead focus on growing the economy and expanding the tax base by cutting red tape for businesses - including a pause on the deposit return scheme - and improving transport infrastructure.
The finance secretary was on maternity leave when the Scottish government raised income tax rates for higher earners, and has said she wants Scotland to be a high growth economy "so that high tax is no longer required".
She has argued that the only way of cutting poverty is "make the Scottish economy more prosperous because that creates more, better jobs and raises more funding to reinvest in front line services".
Humza Yousaf has outlined a plan to fast-track the expansion of childcare to one and two-year-olds, which he believes would be a game changer for working families and the wider economy. The UK government has unveiled a similar plan for England.
He backed the recent income tax rises, and argues that the "failed economic consensus of both Westminster parties has given Scotland the worst of both worlds - low growth and low productivity, combined with unacceptably high poverty and inequality".
He has said he wants Scotland to "chart a different course" and to create a "wellbeing economy" that "puts the equality, happiness and health of all Scotland's citizens at its heart" and which would see trade unions and workers have a greater input into economic policy and has said that small businesses could be excluded from the deposit return scheme for the first year.
Ash Regan wants a pause to the deposit return scheme, which aims to improve recycling rates for single-use drinks containers but has been at the centre of controversy over its impact on smaller firms such as craft breweries.
She has said the scheme was an example of the Scottish government failing to listen to what people were saying, and that some businesses "just don't know how they are going to make this work".
Ms Regan has also said that many of the issues facing the Scottish economy, including child poverty rates, cannot be fixed under devolution and that the country needs the full economic levers of independence.
Humza Yousaf - who is currently the country's health secretary - has said he would be open to changing controversial plans to create a national care service if he becomes first minister by working with critics of the scheme in an attempt to find compromise.
His supporters say that Mr Yousaf has the experience of guiding the NHS through the aftermath of the Covid pandemic, and has managed to avoid the strikes by health workers that have hit other parts of the UK.
He apologised for soaring NHS waiting times during the recent BBC Scotland TV debate, telling an audience member whose husband was facing a wait of between three and six years for knee surgery that "not just myself as health secretary, but the entire government is focused on reducing those waiting lists".
Ash Regan has said that improving the health service would be her main objective if she becomes the country's next first minister.
She wants to hold a summit of frontline health workers to identify and then tackle the issues facing NHS staff.
Ms Regan said: "There has been too much focus on targets and goals - the nurses and midwives I've met during this leadership election are telling me they are exhausted, the NHS has been running on goodwill for too long, it is time for change".
Kate Forbes has said she wants to rethink the national care service plans because the scheme must have the confidence of everyone who delivers and uses it if it is to be successful.
She has also proposed setting up an inquiry to look at giving the NHS a radical overhaul, but has stressed that it must remain free at the point of need.
Ms Forbes said: "We shouldn't be shy of discussing the need for reform in order to ensure that our NHS is prepared, and not just for the next year, but it's still providing treatment free at the point of need in the next few decades."
Kate Forbes has said she wants to simplify the education system and "empower" teachers and other frontline staff by reducing the burden on them, giving them greater freedom over staffing and resources and allowing them to get on with the job of teaching children.
She said: "What I want to see is an education system that teachers our children and that ensures that when they leave school they are ready for further education or they are ready for the workplace".
Ms Forbes has also highlighted the importance of cutting poverty levels, saying that some children in Scotland are arriving at school "too hungry to learn".
Ash Regan believes many teachers are having to spend too much time dealing with bureaucracy and "filling in forms" rather than teaching, and wants to free them up from that.
She has also said that some schools are expecting teachers to also effectively be psychologists and social workers.
Ms Regan has said that some schools could therefore have an in-house social worker "which could take that away from the teachers and free them up just to teach, which is obviously what they do best".
Humza Yousaf has said he wants to reduce inequality and for "every single child in Scotland to have the same opportunities both my girls have".
He has admitted that the Scottish government has "much further to go" in closing the attainment gap between the wealthiest and most deprived pupils.
Mr Yousaf wants to expand the provision of free school meals, breakfast clubs and after-school clubs, with a particular focus on those areas with the highest deprivation, and to improve the early diagnosis of autism and learning difficulties. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-64943150 |
Jack Ma: Alibaba founder seen in China after long absence - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The 58-year-old reportedly visited a school that he founded in his hometown of Hangzhou. | China | Jack Ma had rarely been seen in public since late 2020
Alibaba founder Jack Ma, who has rarely been seen in public in the past three years, has resurfaced at a school in Hangzhou, a report says.
The 58-year-old has kept a low profile since criticising China's financial regulators in 2020.
Mr Ma was the most high-profile Chinese billionaire to have disappeared amid a crackdown on tech entrepreneurs.
He recently returned to China after more than a year overseas, according to the South China Morning Post.
The Alibaba-owned newspaper said he had made a short stopover in Hong Kong, where he met friends and also briefly visited Art Basel, an international art fair.
It added that Mr Ma has been travelling to different countries to learn about agricultural technology, but made no reference as to why he had disappeared from public view in recent years.
Mr Ma, a former English teacher, met staff and toured classrooms at the Yungu School in Hangzhou, the city in which Alibaba is headquartered.
He talked about the potential challenges of artificial intelligence to education, according to the school's social media page.
"ChatGPT and similar technologies are just the beginning of the AI era. We should use artificial intelligence to solve problems instead of being controlled by it," he said.
Once the richest man in China, Mr Ma gave up control of financial technology giant Ant Group in January this year.
It was seen by some commentators as further evidence that he had fallen foul of the Chinese Communist Party for becoming outspoken and too powerful.
In October 2020, Mr Ma told a financial conference that traditional banks had a "pawn-shop mentality".
The following month, Ant's planned £26bn stock market flotation, which would have been the world's largest, was cancelled at the last minute by Chinese authorities, who cited "major issues" over regulating the firm.
Since then, there have been reported sightings of him in various countries including Spain, the Netherlands, Thailand and Australia.
Last November, the Financial Times newspaper reported that Mr Ma had been living in Tokyo, Japan for six months.
When Mr Ma first stopped making public appearances, it was rumoured that he had been placed under house arrest or had been otherwise detained. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-65084344 |
Nitrous oxide: Possession of laughing gas to be criminal offence - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Targeting the use of nitrous oxide is part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour. | UK Politics | Nitrous oxide, sold in metal canisters, can lead to a vitamin deficiency that damages nerves in the spinal column
Possessing laughing gas is to be made a criminal offence for the first time, the government has announced.
There will also be tighter controls on retailers to prevent the supply of nitrous oxide for misuse.
It goes against recommendations from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) which recently advised against new laws to ban nitrous oxide.
Nitrous oxide, sold in metal canisters, is known as NOS and is one of the most-used drugs by UK 16 to 24-year-olds.
The details are expected to be released on Monday. The BBC understands the ban would be issued under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, which regulates drugs based on their perceived harm and potential for misuse.
It is already illegal to produce or supply the gas for its psychoactive effects under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016. The law makes production, supply and importation of nitrous oxide for human consumption illegal, but not possession.
The change is part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour, which Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will announce on Monday for England and Wales.
The plans will also give police and councils additional powers to deal with people who are "causing nuisance" by blocking shop doorways, asking for money at cash machines or leaving their belongings on pavements.
These people will then be "directed towards the support they need", such as accommodation, mental health or substance misuse services.
"The debris and paraphernalia which causes blight will then be cleared," the government added.
Outlining the reasons behind the nitrous oxide ban, the government said it was "concerned about the rise in health and social harms" of laughing gas, "particularly to young people".
"We are for the first time making possession of nitrous oxide an offence; preventing supply for misuse by putting tighter controls on retailers; and giving greater powers to law enforcement to take action against those who are in breach," it added.
Speaking on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Michael Gove said: "We are doing this because if you walk through any urban park you will see these little silver cannister which are the evidence of people regarding public spaces as arenas for drug taking.
"It is unacceptable. People should feel those spaces are being looked after in a way which means they are safe for children."
The levelling up secretary said the drug has an "intoxicating and potentially damaging effect on young brains and young nervous systems".
Heavy use can lead to a vitamin deficiency that damages nerves in the spinal column.
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Several drugs charities have criticised the announcement, claiming criminalising possession could lead to the drug becoming more dangerous.
Steve Rolles, senior policy analyst at the Transform Drug Policy Foundation, said: "The idea that this is a deterrent effect is ridiculous it just criminalises users and will hand control of the product to criminal gangs.
"This is just political theatre - if you need any proof you just need to see that they have ignored their own advisers. This is a particularly ugly example of performative politics."
Transform Drug Policy Foundation is a charity which campaigns for drugs to be legalised and regulated.
Prof Adam Winstock, an addiction medicine specialist and founder of the Global Drug Survey, told the BBC that getting a criminal record "is going to be a far greater harm than the risks for the vast majority of people using nitrous oxide".
Reducing the risks of nitrous oxide is "better achieved with smart education, not blunt regulation that may compound existing harms and create new ones", he added.
Earlier this year the Home Office asked the ACMD to provide advice on whether to make possession of nitrous oxide a crime.
The report recommended the substance should not be controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act - which allows the use of life sentences for those supplying or producing some drugs.
The ACMD stated the Psychoactive Substances Act - which limits prison sentences to a maximum of seven years - "remains appropriate legislation".
It said sanctions for the offences would be disproportionate with the level of harm associated with nitrous oxide, as well as creating "significant burdens" for legitimate uses of the substance.
The review also found "no substantive evidence of links between nitrous oxide and anti-social behaviour" aside from littering.
Alexandre Piot, director of research at the Conservative Drug Policy Reform Group, said it was "shocking that the government feels it knows better than its own independent body of experts set up by law".
"The more they don't listen to them, the more drug policy will continue to fail," he said.
Nitrous oxide is regularly used as an anaesthetic in medicine and dentistry, and as a gas for making whipped cream in cooking.
Labour backed the plans to ban the sale of nitrous oxide. Shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell said its use "causes a huge amount of littering disruption and anti-social behaviour".
She added: "We do need to tackle at source these kind of behaviours that are blights on our community."
It comes as the government unveils a new strategy to crack down on anti-social behaviour.
Public drug use, fly-tipping and low-level crimes such as graffiti are to be targeted with a strategy of "hotspot" policing and "short and sharp" punishments.
People who vandalise public spaces will have to repair the damage they cause within 48 hours of being given an order.
A pilot, covering 10 areas, aims to show the public such acts are "quickly and visibly" punished.
Ms Powell said the plans "amount to nothing".
Labour have also accused the government of cutting neighbourhood policing, leading to fewer offenders being punished.
"We've heard it all before from this government and I think we have to judge them by their record," Ms Powell added. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65079772 |
Two mothers react to Nashville school shooting - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | null | Two mothers react after a woman opened fire inside a Nashville school and killing six people. | null | Six people, three of them children, have been killed in a primary school shooting in Nashville. The shooter was killed by police, officers said. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-65093794 |
NFT: Plans for Royal Mint produced token dropped - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Plans for a government-backed digital token, ordered to be created by Rishi Sunak, have been axed. | UK Politics | Plans for the NFT for Britain were launched when Rishi Sunak was chancellor
Plans for a government backed non-fungible token (NFT) produced by the Royal Mint have been dropped, the Treasury has announced.
Rishi Sunak ordered the creation of a "NFT for Britain" that could be traded online, while chancellor in April 2022.
NFTs are assets in the digital world that can be bought and sold, but which have no physical form of their own.
The Royal Mint announced it was "not proceeding with the launch" following a consultation with the Treasury.
Economic Secretary Andrew Griffiths said the department would keep the proposal "under review".
NFTs have been touted as the digital answer to collectables, but some sceptics fear they could be a bubble waiting to burst. They have been used as speculative assets and some have sold for millions of dollars.
Responding to the announcement, Harriet Baldwin, chair of the Treasury Select Committee, said: "We have not yet seen a lot of evidence that our constituents should be putting their money in these speculative tokens unless they are prepared to lose all their money.
"So perhaps that is why the Royal Mint has made this decision in conjunction with the Treasury."
NFTs are unique units of digital data that use the same "blockchain" technology behind cryptocurrencies - such as Bitcoin. The records cannot be forged because the blockchain ledger is maintained by thousands of computers around the world.
The digital tokens, which emerged in 2014, can be thought of as certificates of ownership for virtual or physical assets, and can be bought using traditional currency or cryptocurrency.
The Treasury is working to regulate some cryptocurrencies and had planned to enter the NFT market as part of a wider bid to make the UK a hub for digital payment companies.
In April 2022, the then-chancellor Mr Sunak said: "We want to see the [cryptocurrency] businesses of tomorrow - and the jobs they create - here in the UK, and by regulating effectively we can give them the confidence they need to think and invest long-term."
Among the best-known NFTs are a series known as the "Bored Ape Yacht Club", which give the bearer ownership over a unique picture of a cartoon ape. Prices of the NFTs plummeted last year after crypto exchange FTX went bankrupt. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65094297 |
Antonio Conte: Tottenham manager leaves after 16 months in charge - BBC Sport | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | null | Manager Antonio Conte leaves Tottenham after 16 months in charge and his dismissal comes after he called the Spurs players "selfish". | null | Last updated on .From the section Tottenham
Antonio Conte had been Spurs manager since November 2021 Manager Antonio Conte has left Tottenham Hotspur by mutual consent after 16 months in charge. Conte called the Spurs players "selfish" and criticised the club's culture in a remarkable news conference after their recent draw at Southampton. Tottenham are fourth in the top flight but are out of all cup competitions. Conte's assistant Cristian Stellini will step up as head coach for the rest of the season, with former midfielder Ryan Mason his deputy. "We have 10 Premier League games remaining and we have a fight on our hands for a Champions League place," chairman Daniel Levy said. "We all need to pull together. Everyone has to step up to ensure the highest possible finish for our club and amazing, loyal supporters."
• None Who should be Conte's long-term Spurs successor? 'I see selfish players' - Conte furious after what proves to be his final game with Spurs His departure means Spurs are searching for their fourth permanent manager in four years since Mauricio Pochettino left in 2019. They suffered a tame exit to AC Milan in the Champions League earlier in March, after Championship side Sheffield United knocked them out of the FA Cup at the start of the month. Italian Conte, who had won league titles with former clubs Chelsea, Juventus and Inter Milan, was appointed in November 2021 after Spurs sacked Nuno Espirito Santo. They struggled for consistency for much of his early tenure before a six-game unbeaten run, including a 3-0 win over rivals Arsenal, secured a top-four finish. But Tottenham's troubles have continued this season with nine defeats and four draws in 28 league games and questions about the playing style.
• None Listen to the latest The Far Post podcast Conte's Spurs were loudly booed after the 0-0 draw against Milan which resulted in a 1-0 loss on aggregate and condemned the club to another campaign without a trophy. His last match in charge saw Tottenham throw away a 3-1 lead to draw at struggling Southampton on 18 March, with Conte launching a furious criticism of his players and the club after the match. "Tottenham's story is this: 20 years there is this owner and they never won something. Why?" Conte said. "Until now I try to hide the situation but not now because, I repeat, I don't want to see what I have seen today because this is unacceptable and also unacceptable for the fans." Tottenham have won one trophy since the ownership group chaired by Levy took over the club in 2001 - the League Cup in 2008 - and have had 11 different managers. Conte's exit, by mutual consent, takes the number of managerial departures this season to 11 - a new Premier League record. There have been nine sackings and two departures - Conte and Graham Potter leaving Brighton for Chelsea - during this campaign, while the previous record was the 10 sackings in 2021-22. Only six top-flight managers have been in charge for more than three years, with the league average now standing at about two years. This season saw Conte requiring gallbladder surgery in February. He was absent for a victory over Manchester City on 5 February and, after briefly returning for two matches, missed another four games to focus on his recovery in Italy, with Stellini taking charge in his place. Three close friends of Conte's, Spurs fitness coach Gian Piero Ventrone, Sinisa Mihajlovic and Gianluca Vialli, have all died in recent months.
• None Our coverage of Tottenham Hotspur is bigger and better than ever before - here's everything you need to know to make sure you never miss a moment
• None Everything Spurs - go straight to all the best content | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/64168691 |
Poole Harbour: Clean-up under way at after 200-barrel fluid leak - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | People are being urged not to swim at the harbour or in the surrounding areas until further notice. | Dorset | Poole Harbour Commissioners said an oil spill plan had been activated
A clean-up operation is under way after about 200 barrels of reservoir fluid including oil leaked into the water at Poole Harbour in Dorset.
A major incident was declared when a leak occurred at a pipeline operated by gas company Perenco, under Owers Bay on Sunday.
Members of the public have been urged not to swim at the harbour or nearby until further notice, Poole Harbour Commissioners said.
Perenco said it was "under control".
The company said a small amount of reservoir fluid - made up of 85% water and 15% oil - escaped from the pipeline.
The leak came from Wytch Farm, an oil field and processing facility that produces about 14,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
Poole Harbour commissioners, who regulate activities on the harbour, said Perenco reported "no risk" of further leakage, and the surface slick is "already dispersing".
Poole is the largest natural harbour in Europe and a site of special scientific interest, which is home to a range of wading birds.
In a statement PHC said: "It is estimated that approximately 200 barrels of reservoir fluid has been released into the water column in Poole Harbour.
"Anyone who has come into contact with the spill should wash immediately with soap and water. If eyes have come into contact with the spill, they should be rinsed with water."
Oil was pictured on the surface of the water at Poole Harbour earlier
It added it had activated its oil spill plan and the pipeline had been shut down, with booms placed on either side of the leak.
Companies specialising in oil spill response have also been mobilised, according to PHC.
Poole Harbour commissioners said a further assessment of the clean-up operation would be made on Monday morning.
Franck Dy, Perenco UK's Wytch Farm general manager, said: "Any spill is an extremely serious matter and a full investigation will be launched to ascertain what happened in Poole Harbour.
"It is important to stress that the situation is under control, with the discharge of fluids having been stopped and the spill is being contained."
The MP for Poole, Sir Robert Syms, said he and neighbouring South Dorset MP Richard Drax have requested the government take an urgent question on the incident on Monday.
Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Council said it was "working as part of a multi-agency response to the major incident declared this afternoon".
In a statement on Twitter, council leader Philip Broadhead added the leak had been declared as a major incident so that "all relevant partner agencies [were] working together".
On Sunday afternoon, the Environment Agency said it had received reports of a "large amount of oil" in Poole Harbour.
In a statement, the agency said: "We are supporting the port authority and other partners in responding to this incident."
Dorset Police said it was informed by PHC at 13:43 BST on Sunday of an oil leak in Poole Harbour.
In a statement, the force said the incident was being led by PHC and there was no requirement for police attendance.
"We will continue to liaise with our partner agencies and offer support if required," the force added.
Follow BBC South on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to south.newsonline@bbc.co.uk. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-65081094 |
Afghanistan girls' education: 'When I see the boys going to school, it hurts' - BBC News | 2023-03-27T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Afghan teenage girls describe feeling "broken" at being barred from attending school under Taliban rule. | Asia | Left to right: Habiba, Mahtab and Tamana - they are all devastated that young women in Afghanistan cannot attend school
"Every day I wake up with the hope of going back to school. They [the Taliban] keep saying they will open schools. But it's been almost two years now. I don't believe them. It breaks my heart," says 17-year-old Habiba.
She blinks and bites her lip trying hard not to tear up.
Habiba and her former classmates Mahtab and Tamana are among hundreds of thousands of teenage girls who have been barred from attending secondary school in most of Afghanistan by the Taliban - the only country to take such action.
One-and-a-half years since their lives were brought to a halt, their grief is still raw.
The girls say they fear that global outrage over what's happened to them is fading, even though they live with the pain every day - intensified this week when another school term started without them.
"When I see the boys going to school and doing whatever they want, it really hurts me. I feel very bad. When I see my brother leaving for school, I feel broken," says Tamana. Her voice trembles and tears roll down her cheeks but she goes on.
"Earlier, my brother used to say I won't go to school without you. I hugged him and said you go, I'll join you later.
"People tell my parents you shouldn't worry, you have sons. I wish we had the same rights."
There was a little freedom at the beginning, but gradually that changed
Any hopes they might have had of schools being reopened have been dented by the increasing restrictions the Taliban government has imposed on women.
"There was a little freedom at the beginning, but gradually that changed," Habiba says.
The first restriction following the secondary school ban came in December 2021, when the Taliban ordered that women would have to be accompanied by a male relative if travelling more than 72km (48 miles).
In March 2022, the Taliban government announced that secondary schools would reopen for girls, only to close them within hours.
Less than two months later, a decree was passed that women would have to wear clothing that covered them from head to toe, including a face veil.
In November, women and girls were barred from parks, gyms and swimming pools. Girls were no longer allowed to choose subjects such as economics, engineering and journalism at university.
A month later, a massive blow was delivered when universities were closed to female students, and women were banned from working in domestic and international NGOs except those in the health sector.
Life has no meaning without education. I think death is better than a life like this
"If these limitations increase, I don't think this life is worth living anymore for women. We don't have access to our basic rights as human beings. Life has no meaning without education. I think death is better than a life like this," Mahtab says.
Mahtab had been injured in a bombing at Sayed Ul-Shuhada school in May 2021, when the Taliban were fighting the forces of the previous government of Afghanistan.
"I had injuries on my neck, face and foot. They were painful. But I was determined to continue studying," she says. "I even attended my mid-term exam, but soon after the Taliban came and it was all over."
The Taliban have said that schools and universities are only temporarily closed to women and girls until a "suitable environment" can be created. It is evident that there are divisions within the Taliban government on the issue, but so far any efforts by those who believe girls should be allowed to study have yielded no results.
Regarding some of the other restrictions, the Taliban say they were imposed because women were not wearing a hijab (head covering) or following Islamic laws. Enforcement of the Taliban's rules isn't uniform across provinces, but the regulations create an environment of fear and confusion.
"We always wear a hijab. But it doesn't make a difference. What do they mean? I don't understand," Tamana says.
In our time in Afghanistan before and after the Taliban takeover, we have never met an Afghan woman not wearing a hijab.
When I see my brother leaving for school, I feel broken
To counter the shrinking public spaces for women, Laila Basim had co-founded a library for women in Kabul which we visited in November last year. Thousands of books were neatly stacked on shelves that covered three walls of the room. Women came in to read books, and sometimes just to meet each other - an escape from being indoors in their homes.
Now the library is closed.
"Twice when the Taliban shut the library, we managed to reopen it. But the threats increased day by day. I got phone calls saying how dare I open a library for women. Once they came to the library and told women that they had no right to read books," says Laila. "It became too risky to run it, so I had to take the inevitable decision to shut it down."
Laila Basim has closed the women's library since this photo was taken in November
She says she will continue to find other means to fight the Taliban's policies.
"Of course, I am scared, but the closure of the library is not the end of the road. There are other approaches through which we can raise the voices of Afghan women. It is difficult and will require sacrifices, but we have started it and are committed to it," she adds.
For women who are the only earning members of their families, it's hard to even get from day to day.
Meera (name changed) is a widow in her mid-forties. She used to work as a cleaner at a girls' school, supporting her family of 10. She lost her job when the school closed, and, amid an economic crisis in the country, she's not found much work since.
She now begs on the streets of Kabul.
"I feel like I'm not alive. People know I have nothing so they try to help me out. It is better to die than to live a life without dignity," she says, weeping inconsolably. "If I get potatoes one day, I peel them and cook them. The next day I cook the peelings to feed my family."
Even amid her struggles, Meera wishes her daughters could go to school.
"If they could be educated, they could get jobs. One of my daughters wants to study law and another wants to study medicine. I tell them that I will find money for their education, even if I have to beg for it, but they can't go to university because the Taliban don't allow it," she adds.
"There is nothing except pain or sorrow in every house now," she says. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-65058099 |
Cardiff crash: Bereaved father's emotional tribute to daughter - BBC News | 2023-03-09T00:00:00 | null | Everton Smith says daughter Eve was “everything a father could wish for”. | null | The father of a woman who died in a crash that killed three people has spoken of his devastation.
Eve Smith, 21, along with with Rafel Jeanne, 24, and Darcy Ross, 21, died after a crash near the A48 at St Mellons in the early hours of Saturday.
Speaking outside his business in Newport, Everton Smith said daughter Eve was “everything a father could wish for”.
Eve, from Newport, had something "so special", Mr Smith said.
“She was just so intelligent, she knew her mind,” he added. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-64909756 |
Abi Burton: 'I nearly died' - the Olympian sectioned and fighting back from an induced coma - BBC Sport | 2023-03-09T00:00:00 | null | British Olympian Abi Burton was sectioned for 26 days and spent 25 days in an induced coma - this is her story. | null | Last updated on .From the section Rugby Union
When Abi Burton returned to England after missing out on a medal at the Tokyo Olympics, she felt "really, really lost".
"It was a really tough time," she recalls of the months that followed Team GB's defeat in their rugby sevens bronze-medal match in July 2021.
But Burton, 22, had no idea just how tough life was about to get.
One year on from losing to Fiji, she was sectioned for 26 days, spent 25 days in an induced coma, and contracted pneumonia twice.
This is her story.
As Burton looked back on her first Olympic experience, she knew she and her team-mates would have inspired a new generation of sevens players. It was not enough.
"You feel empty because you work towards an Olympics for so long and then you don't come away with what you want to achieve," she tells BBC Sport's Jo Currie.
Rugby had defined Burton's life, but she was soon given a "new perspective".
Burton, who made her England debut aged 18, says she first noticed a change in her behaviour when she started to feel "really down" and had no energy.
She remembers being put on anti-depressants because "the first thing people go to is mental health".
"I was in training camp and I hadn't been selected for the European tournament, which was to help us qualify for the World Cup," she says. "It was the first tournament I hadn't gone to in my four years of playing.
"They said to have a bit of time at home, to try and figure out what's wrong."
Then - on 15 June 2022 - she suffered her first fitting seizure, while sitting at the dinner table with her mum.
After being assessed in hospital she was discharged as it was her first seizure and "could also be the last".
But her behaviour would change significantly.
"I went from being a timid, unresponsive person, to really quite manic behaviour," she says. "I was really aggressive towards my parents, siblings and even the dog."
Burton does not remember that period of her life - including two tournaments she played in. She even told her parents she did not want them at the London Sevens - the first time they would have been able to watch her in England in the national shirt.
"As my behaviour got a lot worse, I couldn't function properly in daily life," she says.
After more seizures, Burton was sectioned, and says doctors thought she had stress-induced psychosis.
"My mum and dad had to basically just let them take me and hope they could fix me," she says. "I can't imagine how scary that was for them."
'I rugby tackled a few of the security guards'
Burton spent 26 days in Fieldhead - a psychiatric hospital in Wakefield - and her behaviour continued to deteriorate.
"I was being treated for psychosis, basically," she says. "They didn't rule out an autoimmune illness, but they didn't test me for it either."
Burton's behaviour and seizures did not improve until her father was approached by a member of the autoimmune diseases research staff who had reviewed her notes.
"He came up to my dad and said: 'I think your daughter has something physical, I don't think it's mental."
After tests, Burton was diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis, which occurs when the body's immune system mistakenly attacks the brain.
Richard Robinson - chief medical officer at the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust - describes it as a "very rare" disease that presents a "major challenge for clinicians worldwide to diagnose and investigate".
After Burton's diagnosis she was moved to a different hospital but was initially treated in the acute assessment ward as there were no beds available in the stroke and neurology unit.
"It was a battle for my dad every day because he was trying to stop me from being aggressive towards people, but he's no doctor so he didn't know how to treat me," she says.
"I was so poorly. I knocked a few people out of the way trying to escape the ward. I rugby tackled a few of the security guards apparently, trying to bust my way through the doors, which are magnetic and don't open normally."
Once a bed became free on the stroke and neurology unit, Burton's family made the difficult decision to have her put in a coma so she could receive plasma exchanges.
"They knew they couldn't treat me," she says. "I was too agitated, it had gone too far."
Burton spent more than three weeks in a coma - at the same time her team-mates were competing in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Burton contracted pneumonia twice while she was in the coma and when she came out of it she was unable to walk and talk, and had lost more than three stone.
"I don't think I realised how poorly I was when I first woke up, and I had no desire to ask," she says.
"I had no muscle. I thought: 'This is awful. This isn't me. I don't look like me.' It was really tough."
The physical challenges were obvious, but Burton also had to contend with the fact she had missed out on a home Commonwealth Games.
"I grieve for that part because it was taken away from me," she says. "For so many years, rugby was my identity and then I couldn't play."
But Burton was not going to give up. After completing an intensive programme set by Team GB's doctor, she returned to training with her team-mates last month.
"I'm very stubborn and I like to do things a certain way," she adds. "When I was told I couldn't, I said: 'I am!'"
After a whirlwind 2022, Burton has set herself targets both on and off the rugby field.
On it, she wants to return to the World Sevens Series this year, then make amends for the disappointment of Tokyo, at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
"Next season, a medal at the Olympics is the goal and I want it to be a gold," she says.
She also wants to raise awareness of autoimmune encephalitis in the hope no-one else has to go through what she has.
"If I could never play rugby again then I would be gutted, but if I can raise awareness to help change the protocols in the NHS, then I'd be content with that," she says.
"I could never have been diagnosed, and I could have died if I hadn't. It's hard to imagine what the outcome could have been. It could have been a lot different."
• None A raw documentary goes inside the high stakes world of parole hearings
• None Go Hard or Go Home: | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/64876477 |
Ukraine war: Russia fires hypersonic missiles in new barrage - BBC News | 2023-03-09T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | At least nine people die as Russia fires powerful weapons, including hypersonic missiles. | Europe | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
At least nine people have died in a new wave of strikes across Ukraine in which Russia used powerful weapons, including rare hypersonic missiles.
Russia had reportedly not fired Kinzhal hypersonic missiles - which can evade air defences - since the early months of the conflict.
The latest barrage was the most severe to hit Ukraine for weeks.
It cut power to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant - Europe's biggest - although it was later restored.
On Thursday Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said: "High-precision long-range air, sea and land-based weapons, including the Kinzhal hypersonic missile system, hit key elements of Ukraine's military infrastructure."
It was the biggest day of Russian strikes on Ukraine since the end of January,
The Ukrainian military claimed it had successfully shot down 34 cruise missiles and four Iranian-made Shahed drones.
But it also said it had been unable to intercept the six Kinzhal ballistic missiles - nor was it able to destroy older weapons, such as Kh-22 anti-ship missiles and S-300 anti-aircraft missiles.
"This was a major attack and for the first time with so many different types of missiles," the Reuters news agency quoted a Ukrainian air force spokesperson as saying. "It was like never before."
President Vladimir Putin has highlighted Russia's investment in ballistic hypersonic missiles, which can travel at more than five times the speed of sound.
Nuclear energy operator Energoatom said the strike at the Zaporizhzhia plant had cut off the link between the facility and the Ukrainian power system.
For the sixth time since it was taken over by Russia a year ago, the facility operated on diesel generators until the link was restored later on Thursday.
Electricity is needed for cooling radioactive material present at the plant.
"Today's loss of all external power once again demonstrated how fragile and dangerous the situation is for the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant," said Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Earlier on Thursday he had called for an international commitment to protect the plant, following a series of 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," Mr Grossi said.
In the capital Kyiv, emergency services attended the scenes of blasts in western and southern districts.
A missile also hit 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.
Elsewhere, 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. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64903202 |
Gary Lineker: Why his comments present a problem for the BBC - BBC News | 2023-03-09T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | How the presenter's remarks, comparing UK asylum policy to 1930s Germany, place the BBC in a pickle. | Entertainment & Arts | The BBC is speaking to Lineker over comparing UK asylum policy to 1930s Germany
As the UK's most scrutinised media organisation in increasingly polarised times, to say Gary Lineker's recent tweets cause difficulty for the BBC is an understatement.
The director general, Tim Davie, has made impartiality a key platform of his leadership.
Trust in the corporation is at the heart of this. It matters if the public believes its public service broadcaster doesn't represent their views, or that the BBC is shaped by a particular perspective.
Davie has previously said: "If you want to be an opinionated columnist or a partisan campaigner on social media then that is a valid choice, but you should not be working at the BBC."
All staff and on-air talent are bound by "due" impartiality which the BBC is committed to achieving across its output.
Director general Tim Davie has said people who want to be opinionated columnists should not be working at the BBC
Ofcom defines due impartiality, an important distinction from simply impartiality, as "means adequate or appropriate to the subject and nature of the programme".
To use the classic example: If someone says the earth is round, the BBC does not have to give equal weight to someone else who claims the earth is flat.
Lineker is a sports presenter. He tweets on his personal Twitter account.
If a news presenter commented, as he has done, about the government's asylum policies, or about Brexit for example, they would at the very least receive a very serious warning.
Lineker, as somebody associated with sport for the BBC, and who argues he is a freelancer, is in a different position.
"I try to be sensible," he told Radio 4's Media Show in 2021, saying that as a freelancer he's "considerate" to his employers when it comes to what he tweets.
He added that the BBC rules "only apply to people in news and current affairs".
From the outside, it can appear more complicated.
The BBC's editorial guidelines state: "Where individuals identify themselves as being linked with the BBC, or are programme makers, editorial staff, reporters or presenters primarily associated with the BBC, their activities on social media have the potential to compromise the BBC's impartiality and to damage its reputation."
Lineker presents Match of the Day, the BBC's flagship football programme
Lineker's Twitter account has 8.7m followers. So he has a huge platform.
And, whatever the set up of the BBC as a broadcaster, with sport and news being distinct from one another, for audiences that distinction can be less clear. In many people's minds, if you are on the BBC, you work for it, and Lineker happens to be one of corporation's most high profile presenters.
That's why the BBC's editorial guidelines also say that people with platforms have a greater responsibility to uphold impartiality.
Last year, a different tweet by Lineker was found to have broken BBC rules. That concerned a post about the then-Foreign Secretary Liz Truss urging a boycott of the Champions League final in Russia.
The Match of the Day host added: "And her party will hand back their donations from Russian donors?"
The BBC's Executive Complaints Unit ruled that, although the star is not required to uphold the same impartiality standards as BBC journalists, he has an "additional responsibility" because of his profile.
"We expect these individuals to avoid taking sides on party political issues or political controversies and to take care when addressing public policy matters," the ruling said.
To his detractors, Lineker has form. He has made comments before that some have found controversial, including, in 2016, that the government's treatment of asylum seekers was "hideously racist and utterly heartless".
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
But he is also a much loved and well respected sports broadcaster. Match of the Day is a very popular programme.
He may be the BBC's highest paid star, but he could probably earn even more if he switched to another broadcaster.
Lineker clearly cares deeply about the issue of migrant crossings, and he has taken refugees into his own home in the past.
He has not removed his original Twitter comments criticising the government's asylum announcements, which he posted on Tuesday.
After those tweets caused controversy, he tweeted on Wednesday: "Great to see the freedom of speech champions out in force this morning demanding silence from those with whom they disagree."
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He also thanked his followers for their "love and support", pledging to "continue to try and speak up for those poor souls that have no voice".
Lineker appears bullish. And he isn't the only sports presenter straying into politics this morning, with BT Sport anchor Jake Humphrey describing the government's "stop the boats" pledge as being "a cruel slogan".
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The News Agents presenter and former BBC journalist Emily Maitlis said it was "curious that Gary Lineker [was] free to raise questions about Qatar's human rights record - with the blessing of the BBC - over the World Cup, but cannot raise questions of human rights in this country if it involves criticism of government policy".
However, this is arguably a false equivalence. Voicing an opinion on a government policy about migrant crossings, a divisive subject, is not the same thing as highlighting well-documented human rights breaches in Qatar, something which is a matter of fact.
The BBC is in a difficult position. They say a "frank" conversation is being had with Lineker. But in the end, what are the options?
With some Conservative MPs calling for him to be sacked, not for the first time, the pressure is mounting.
Perceptions on impartiality matter, but it's also clear that impartiality can be politicised by people who have an agenda against the BBC.
As it navigates the demands of its editorial standards, its talent and its audiences, the BBC is walking a tightrope. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64889868 |
Budget 2023: Struggling parents to get more help with childcare - BBC News | 2023-03-09T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The government is attempting to boost the number of people in work, a key economic challenge for the UK. | Business | Research shows the lack of affordable childcare is a barrier for many people hoping to work
Struggling parents are set to get more help with childcare as the government tries to boost the number of workers.
The plan is part of a comprehensive strategy to get hundreds of thousands of workers back into the workforce.
The strategy - set to be announced at Wednesday's Budget - will include more funding for childcare, thought to be focused on people on Universal Credit.
Currently those eligible for this support pay upfront and then claim a refund.
This form of support has been frozen for several years, and has fallen well behind the surging cost of care.
The BBC understands that an advertising campaign encouraging older workers who have left the workforce since the pandemic to return could also be launched.
The government is also considering allowing international students to work more than the current limit of 20 hours a week.
There are expected to be changes to disability benefits too.
Insiders say there is a "carrot and stick" approach to try to boost the workforce, a key economic challenge for the UK.
Last month the Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey told the BBC that the failure of the UK workforce to return to its size before the pandemic was "unusual".
"What is unusual is that most other countries have seen that labour force participation has reversed itself [since the pandemic] to a greater or lesser extent that has not happened in this country. And that is what marks out the UK".
The government has been investigating the source of the shortage and broadly attributes it to early retirees, carers, students and long term sick.
While the government has downplayed the impact of post Brexit shortages of European workers in certain key sectors, the Migration Advisory Committee is also expected to expand its key Shortage Occupation List soon.
The aim of this series of Budget interventions which could see bespoke strategies for millions of non-workers, is to persuade the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to increase its projections for the size of the workforce and so for its growth forecasts. This could in theory help limit the need for further tax rises or spending cuts.
The OBR has been historically very cautious in assuming the success of such policies. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64902154 |
Afghanistan blast: Taliban governor killed in his office - BBC News | 2023-03-09T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | A provincial governor is the most senior official to be killed in attacks since the Taliban retook power. | Asia | Governor Muzammil arrived in his office moments before the explosion, one survivor said
The Taliban governor of Afghanistan's northern Balkh province has been killed in a suicide attack claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group.
Mohammad Dawood Muzammil was killed in his office in the provincial capital, Mazar-e Sharif, on Thursday.
He is the most senior Taliban official to be killed since the militants returned to power in 2021.
Violence has since decreased sharply, but pro-Taliban figures have been targeted by IS.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Twitter that the governor had been "martyred in an explosion by the enemies of Islam".
Muzammil had led the fight against IS in his previous posting as governor of the eastern province of Nangarhar. He was moved to Balkh last October.
Balkh police spokesperson Mohammed Asif Waziri said the explosion occurred on Thursday morning on the second floor of the governor's office.
"There was a bang. I fell on the ground," Khairuddin, who was wounded in the blast, told AFP news agency. He said he had seen a friend lose a hand in the explosion.
A man who was wounded in the attack at the governor's office is admitted to hospital
Later on Thursday, IS said one of its soldiers had managed to enter the building and detonate his suicide belt. Some security guards were also killed in the blast, the statement added.
A day earlier provincial Taliban authorities said they had killed eight "rebels and kidnappers" in Mazar-e Sharif.
The Taliban were ousted as Afghanistan's rulers in 2001 - the militant Islamist group swept back to power in August 2021 after US-led forces pulled out.
A string of deadly bomb blasts since then has mainly targeted mosques and minority communities, many claimed by the regional affiliate of the militant Islamic State (IS-K) group, who are bitter rivals of the Taliban. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-64899335 |
Boris Johnson gives evidence in Dominic Raab bullying probe - BBC News | 2023-03-09T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Dominic Raab served as deputy prime minister and foreign secretary under Boris Johnson. | UK Politics | Former prime minister Boris Johnson has given evidence to the inquiry into allegations of bullying against Dominic Raab, the BBC has been told.
Senior lawyer Adam Tolley KC is investigating eight formal complaints about the deputy PM's behaviour.
A spokesman for Mr Johnson said: "It would be inappropriate to comment on an ongoing inquiry." It is not clear what evidence Mr Johnson gave.
Mr Raab, who is also the justice secretary, denies claims of bullying.
He is facing multiple complaints from civil servants, who have worked with him in a range of government departments.
The MP for Esher and Walton held several cabinet positions throughout Mr Johnson's three-year premiership - including foreign secretary and justice secretary.
Mr Raab was sacked when Liz Truss became prime minister in September but was returned to the cabinet by his close ally Rishi Sunak when he then became PM.
Mr Tolley was asked to launch an investigation in November and his interviews have been taking place in recent weeks.
The eight complaints involve at least 24 people.
They include six from his time at the Ministry of Justice, one from his period at the Foreign Office, and one from his time at the former Department for Exiting the European Union.
Some of the witnesses have given positive and some have submitted negative evidence about Mr Raab, the BBC understands.
Some individuals have proactively offered to give evidence to the inquiry, and others have been contacted by Mr Tolley's team.
The investigation is now in its final stages.
Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the FDA union, which represents civil servant, had called on Mr Sunak to suspend Mr Raab while he is under investigation.
But Mr Sunak said he would wait for the outcome of Mr Tolley's inquiry before taking any action. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-64896582 |
Harry and Meghan's children get official royal titles - BBC News | 2023-03-09T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Archie and Lilibet are named as Prince and Princess of Sussex on the Royal Family's website. | UK | The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's children have officially been named as prince and princess on the Royal Family's official website.
It comes the day after Prince Harry and Meghan announced their daughter Lilibet had been christened and they used the title princess for the first time.
Archie, three, and Lilibet, one, are named as the Prince and Princess of Sussex on the line of succession page.
They are sixth and seventh in line to the throne.
Previously they were listed as Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor and Miss Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor.
The rules governing the titles of royal children were set out by King George V - Queen Elizabeth's grandfather - in 1917.
Archie and Lilibet were not prince and princess at birth, because they were not grandchildren of the monarch, but they gained the right to these titles when King Charles acceded to the throne.
A spokesperson for Prince Harry and Meghan said: "The children's titles have been a birthright since their grandfather became monarch.
"This matter has been settled for some time in alignment with Buckingham Palace."
It comes after the couple announced that Lilibet, who was born in June 2021, had been christened at their home in California.
The Right Reverend John Harvey Taylor, the Bishop of Los Angeles, presided over the christening last Friday.
Prince Harry and Meghan relocated to the United States after stepping down as working royals in 2020. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64901227 |
Cancer in crisis warning over long treatment waits in Wales - BBC News | 2023-03-09T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Ailsa Guard waited seven months from the point of suspicion to start treatment for breast cancer. | Wales | Ailsa Guard waited more than 140 days for cancer treatment
Cancer care is in crisis in Wales as some patients face anxious waits for treatment, a charity has warned.
About half of all patients will be treated within 62 days of the disease being suspected, but for gynaecological cancers it is as low as a quarter.
Head of Macmillan Cancer Support Richard Pugh said: "We're in a bad place in Wales at the moment."
Wales' top cancer doctor Prof Tom Crosby said more patients were being treated, but demand is growing.
The target is that 75% of patients will wait less than 62 days from the point of suspicion to starting treatment - but this has never been met, with the number currently at 52.9%.
Ailsa Guard described being pushed to her limits, with her mental health being badly affected, as she waited seven months from the point of suspicion to start treatment for breast cancer.
"I just went into a bit of a meltdown, thinking I'm going to die from this because I don't know how long this has been in my system," she said.
The mother-of-two found a lump under her arm in November 2021, and her GP referred her for a scan.
It proved inconclusive, but a second scan on 2 February, 2022 was diagnosed as cancer.
Ailsa Guard - pictured during treatment - faced an anxious wait before it started
"I naively thought you get told you have cancer and things are done really quickly," she said, explaining that she eventually started chemotherapy in June 2022.
"I'm a completely different person coming out of it the other side. It's been one of the most horrendous, draining periods of my life."
"In the beginning it was the delays that changed me a lot. That started the anxiety off in me - I felt like I was in a little box screaming and no one was listening to me. I was having to chase things."
She described "screaming and shouting" for quicker treatment, adding: "I was only 46 then - 47 now - I don't want to die, I've got two kids, I've got a life, I want to live."
A year on from first finding the lump, she has had five months of chemotherapy, has just finished a course of radiotherapy and is about to start two years on a new drug.
The target is three quarters of patients will wait less than 62 days from the point of suspicion to starting treatment.
"The figures are showing that we're in trouble and cancer is in crisis in Wales, with that target not being met again," Mr Pugh added.
"This isn't just this month. It's an ongoing basis and we have to call it out for what it is - we're in a bad place in Wales at the moment."
He described the impact of waiting as "huge", with the effect on individuals and families growing the longer it goes on.
Mr Pugh said: "We used to see a lot of people who are worried.
"Well, now we are seeing worried-diagnosed and what that means is they're coming forward for more information from us and other charities - particularly around psychological services and counselling."
Ailsa Guard is about to start taking a new drug as treatment continues
For gynaecological cancers, there were 76 cases in December, with 25% treated within the target.
Head and neck cancers also saw just a quarter of cases treated within the target, though there were fewer cases.
Lower gastro-intestinal cancers, such as bowel cancer, accounted for 189 cases in December, with just 34.9% of them being treated in under 62 days.
Urological cancers had similarly high numbers at 265, with 39.6% meeting the target.
Other cancers fare better - there were 286 skin cancers in December with 74.8% meeting the target, though that is still slightly below the target.
So why is there such a discrepancy between the different types of cancers?
"Our staff are diagnosing and treating more patients than they've ever treated before," explained Prof Tom Crosby, national clinical director for cancer in Wales.
"But demand is outstripping the capacity we have.
"And although the reasons for that shortfall and capacity vary between people, between machines, between facilities and hospitals... the main problem we have is in the cancer workforce and it's just not very easy to correct in the short-term."
He also described pathways for patients as varying wildly. Some need just one or two tests to confirm cancer, while others may need five steps and these can be more complicated.
Earlier this year, the Wales Cancer Network launched a three-year improvement plan to tackle patient outcomes and experiences.
Within that were plans for rapid diagnostic centres and regional hubs.
While patients might be accustomed to travelling further for treatment at specialist cancer centres, Prof Crosby said he would like to see resources being pooled in other areas too.
Despite waits, patient surveys suggest 92% rate their care as either very good or excellent.
But Prof Crosby described the situation overall in Wales as "unacceptable", adding: "I would say that the challenges we are facing, we haven't experienced ever before.
"I wouldn't like to use the word crisis. I don't predict that the performance in our pathways will get a lot worse, but I think it will take a little while before they get better."
A Welsh government spokesman said: "The NHS is working hard to reduce waiting times and we are investing heavily in cancer services to improve early detection and provide rapid access to investigation, treatment and high-quality care.
"We recently announced £86m for new cancer diagnostic and treatment facilities and are increasing the number of training places for specialists in cancer diagnosis, treatment and palliative care." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-64888722 |
Former Shell boss Ben van Beurden's pay package jumps to £9.7m - BBC News | 2023-03-09T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Ben van Beurden's pay package rose by a third in 2022 after the firm made record profits. | Business | Former Shell boss Ben van Beurden received a pay package of £9.7m last year, up more than 50% from 2021.
His pay was revealed in the oil and gas giant's annual report and accounts.
Shell reported the highest annual profits in its 115-year history last year after a surge in energy prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Massive profits made by energy firms have added to pressure to tax them more as households struggle with rising energy bills.
When its results came out in February, opposition parties said the company's profits were "outrageous" and that the government was letting energy firms "off the hook" on taxation.
In 2021, Mr van Beurden was paid the equivalent of £6.3m - he was paid in euros because Shell had yet to move its headquarters from the Netherlands to Britain.
He was replaced on 1 January this year by Wael Sawan, the former head of Shell's gas and renewables business.
The annual report said Mr Sawan was appointed on a salary of £1.4m, although performance-related payments can often add to the overall pay package considerably. Mr van Beurden's salary was £1.4m in 2022.
Mr van Beurden's pay package was criticised by human rights and environment charity Global Witness.
"It's a sign of just how broken our energy system is that Shell and other fossil fuel companies have made record-breaking profits from an energy crisis that's forcing families to choose between heating their homes and putting food on the table," said Alice Harrison, fossil fuels campaign leader at Global Witness.
"We're calling on the UK government to implement a people-first windfall tax in next week's Spring Budget, which includes executive bonuses."
Dean Bruckner, policy director at the UK Shareholders' Association, which campaigns for shareholders' rights, said he had concerns that Mr van Beurden's pay package looked "indefensible".
He said pay settlements such as this risk bringing "the corporate world into disrepute".
Inflation in the UK has been soaring, with huge increases in the cost of energy a key factor.
As prices rise across the board, putting pressure on struggling households, so oil and gas firms have been coming under political pressure.
When he was chancellor, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak brought in a 25% Energy Profits Levy.
This was increased to 35% from January 2023 by current chancellor Jeremy Hunt, and will run until 2028.
The levy applies to profits made from extracting UK oil and gas, but not on refining, or selling petrol and diesel.
Less than 5% of Shell's profits come from UK production.
The scheme was criticised because it allowed oil firms an 80% investment allowance which overall allowed then to claim back 91p in every pound invested, including in oil and gas.
This investment allowance was reduced from 80% to 29% from 1 January.
However, the biggest oil producer in the North Sea, Harbour Energy, has been a vocal critic of the tax.
It said on Thursday that the Energy Profits Levy had "all but wiped out our profit for the year". Harbour reported pre-tax profits of $2.5bn, but tax - including $1.5bn set aside for the levy - had left the company with $8m in post-tax profit.
The tax "has driven us to reduce our UK investment and staffing levels," said its boss Linda Z. Cook, who used to be a Shell executive.
She added that it had given impetus to the firm to expand internationally.
Harbour Energy has not gone ahead at drilling at two sites, and did not take part in the latest North Sea offshore licensing round, a spokesman said.
The planned job cuts are under consultation, the spokesman added. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64899421 |
Ukraine war: The cost and scale of rehabilitating the wounded - BBC News | 2023-03-09T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Ukraine is trying to rehabilitate thousands of soldiers left with life-changing war wounds. | Europe | Illya Pylypenko was badly wounded when his tank rolled over a mine in southern Ukraine
It was in early September last year, during Ukraine's grinding counter-offensive in the southern Kherson region, that Illya Pylypenko's war ended abruptly.
The soldier's tank drove over a mine as it headed into combat. When the 30-year-old regained consciousness, he was surrounded by fire.
"You are not thinking about what you need to do," he says. "You do it because you want to live."
Illya survived because he was able to crawl out and be evacuated by his comrades. He has since had several operations and skin transplants for his burns, and his right leg had to be amputated below the knee.
Six months later, he still contemplates his life-changing injuries.
"I had both disappointments and hope," he says. "The hardest stage of my treatment is behind me. I dream about walking soon."
Before the war Illya was an estate agent from Vinnytsya, in central Ukraine. A keen runner, he finished a marathon in 2021 and planned to compete in more. He signed up to fight just days after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February last year.
"You should not underestimate yourself but also you should not pity yourself," he adds. "Everything is still ahead of me. I'm alive and healthy. It's not the end."
Illya is one of 11,000 patients who've been treated at the Unbroken National Rehabilitation Centre so far
Lviv's general hospital is one of 244 across Ukraine which take in injured soldiers and civilians, treating them for physical and psychological wounds.
Men in military uniforms mix with members of the public. Subtle hints that these aren't normal times.
The deeper you go into the building, the more pronounced those clues become. Mostly young men fill the corridors - the majority are missing limbs.
In a war defined by artillery, the most common injuries are from exploding shells, according to Ukraine's health ministry.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one in two Ukrainians needed some form of rehabilitation before the invasion last year, when the country had already seen eight years of fighting in the east. The pandemic has also been partly blamed by the WHO.
Russia's full-scale invasion has dramatically increased the need for rehabilitation services across Ukraine.
Money from international allies and local sponsors has paid for the state-of-the-art gym these men are being trained in.
Most of those receiving treatment at the centre are missing limbs
Despite investment, Ukraine's health system is under strain.
Officials say they're struggling to deal with antibiotic resistance as hospitals become overcrowded with civilians and soldiers.
Cancer diagnoses and mental health provision have also been affected by prioritising wounded personnel.
Vasyl Strilka, who's in charge of physical rehabilitation at Ukraine's health ministry, admits more patients are dying because of cancelled operations and delayed cancer treatments.
While nine years of Russian aggression has left the country well-practised in treating injured soldiers, Mr Strilka says the quality of treatment they get can vary.
"There are some hospitals where doctors provide good rehabilitation," he tells me. "There are also some where doctors have not had any experience, and their care is not good enough."
As the soldiers are put through core stability exercises, their stares into the distance reflect the brutal fighting they've emerged from. Health officials say that because they are having to prioritise physical trauma, there is a growing mental health crisis across the population.
Despite all these hurdles, there are people who show a return to a fuller life is possible.
The BBC first met Hlib in May, lying in a hospital with a broken jaw and pelvis
On a bitterly cold Kyiv morning, the sight of Hlib Stryzhko jogging with his friends is a moving one.
We last saw him in May, when he was lying in a hospital bed with a broken pelvis and jaw.
He was injured while defending the south-eastern city of Mariupol early in the invasion. Despite then being captured, he somehow made it home.
He'd always said he wanted to return to the front line. However, after losing sight in one eye, he's been told his military days are over.
Now Hlib works at a veterans hub, organising events and lectures for other former soldiers.
"I struggled for a long time," he says. "Sadly, my unit doesn't exist any more as I knew it. Those who served there with me were either killed or captured.
"I then realised I wasn't betraying them by not returning."
Hlib now helps other veterans with their rehabilitation
The soldier says he's grateful to the psychologist who helped him deal with flashbacks, as well as the sense of guilt and loneliness.
"I had some challenges, like fully acknowledging all of the horrors I survived," he says, "as well as all of the wonderful things of this war, like the support of my friends."
The healing process for Ukraine's soldiers is made all the more difficult with the continued fighting.
This 26-year-old shows it is still possible, despite everything. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64862900 |
Weeping US Marine describes Afghan 'catastrophe' before Congress - BBC News | 2023-03-09T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | A congressional inquiry into the 2021 withdrawal hears emotional testimony from a bomb victim. | US & Canada | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Tyler Vargas-Andrews: "There was an inexcusable lack of accountability"
A former US Marine badly injured in Afghanistan has described the withdrawal in 2021 as a "catastrophe" in testimony before Congress.
Tyler Vargas-Andrews spoke in the first of a series of Republican-led hearings examining the Biden administration's handling of the pull-out.
He detailed a period of chaos and unpreparedness in the days after the Taliban captured Kabul.
Others spoke of enduring trauma and the moral injury of abandoning allies.
Sgt Vargas-Andrews, 25, was one of several US military personnel tasked with protecting Kabul's airport on 26 August 2021, when two suicide bombers attacked crowds of Afghans trying to flee the Taliban during the US evacuation.
Thirteen US soldiers died in the bombing, along with 170 Afghan civilians.
Sgt Vargas-Andrews testified that he and another US Marine had received intelligence about the bombing before it occurred, and that he had spotted the suspect in the crowd.
He said he had alerted his supervisors and requested permission to act but had never received it.
"Plain and simple, we were ignored," Sgt Vargas-Andrews said.
In emotional testimony, he described being thrown in the air during the bombing and opening his eyes to see his comrades dead or lying unconscious around him.
"My body was overwhelmed from the trauma of the blast. My abdomen had been ripped open. Every inch of my exposed body took ball bearings and shrapnel," he said.
Sgt Vargas-Andrews called the withdrawal a "catastrophe", adding: "There was an inexcusable lack of accountability and negligence."
"I see the faces of all of those we could not save, those we left behind," he said.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee inquiry into the evacuation from Afghanistan also heard from other US soldiers and veterans who spoke of the mental health toll that the withdrawal has had on them.
Retired Lt Col David Scott Mann, who worked to evacuate Afghans at the time, testified that the experience trying to get allies out had been "gutting".
He added that calls to the Veteran Affairs hotline spiked 81% after the withdrawal from Afghanistan, and he warned that the US was on the "front end of a mental health tsunami".
He said a friend he had served with had died by suicide in the aftermath.
"He just couldn't find his way out of the darkness of that moral injury," Lt Col Mann said.
Testimony from the majority of witnesses placed the blame on every presidential administration since US troops were first deployed to Afghanistan, from George W Bush to Joe Biden.
Witnesses also urged immediate action to help Afghan allies who are now in limbo both in Afghanistan and in the US.
"America is building a nasty reputation for multi-generational systemic abandonment of our allies where we leave a smouldering human refuse, from the Montagnards of Vietnam to the Kurds in Syria," Lt Col Mann said.
Republicans who had long pushed for an investigation placed the blame on the Biden administration.
Panel chairman Mike McCaul, a House Republican from Texas, said the withdrawal had been a "systemic breakdown of the federal government at every level, and a stunning failure of leadership by the Biden administration".
In response, Democrats spoke out in defence of President Biden.
Congressman Gregory Meeks from New York said that Mr Biden had "made the right decision to bring all our troops home".
"I can't in good conscience imagine sending more American men and women to fight in Afghanistan."
Mr Biden had previously said that he bore "responsibility for fundamentally all that has happened", but he also blamed former President Donald Trump for overseeing the withdrawal deal with the Taliban.
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• None US announces it has left Afghanistan | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-64897424 |
Cardiff crash: Dad who lost daughter says life has changed forever - BBC News | 2023-03-09T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The heartbroken dad of Eve Smith speaks outside his business where floral tributes have been laid. | Wales | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Everton Smith says daughter Eve was “everything a father could wish for”
The heartbroken father of one of the victims of a crash in Cardiff which killed three has said his life has changed forever after her death.
Eve Smith, 21, along with Rafel Jeanne, 24, and Darcy Ross, 21, died after a crash near the A48 at St Mellons in the early hours of Saturday.
A sixth person who had been with the five who were in the crash had been dropped home earlier.
The group were not found until the early hours of Monday morning, almost two days after they were last seen.
Everton Smith, pictured with his daughter Eve, has been left devastated by her death
Everton Smith spoke outside a martial arts school he runs in Newport's Commercial Street where dozens of floral tributes had been laid.
In the window was a display of photos of his daughter as well as a poem and a sign which said the business was closed until further notice.
Mr Smith said his daughter was "everything a father could wish for".
"It's going to change my life, I don't know how much it will," Mr Smith said.
"Nothing will be the same. I just need her here to get me through this. This is an impossible situation."
Ms Smith's sister Xana Doyle, 19, was also killed in a crash in Newport in 2015.
"This is like nothing anyone could expect to go through, it's like deja vu," Mr Smith said.
Mr Smith called his Eve beautiful and "so intelligent".
His son Zaine, on the right, said he and his sister were "the closest"
"I'm not surprised people have come and brought flowers," Mr Smith said.
"Anyone who met my daughter only had to meet her once to know there was something special about her."
He said the tribute at his business was not just for Eve.
"It's for Eve, it's for Darcy, it's for Sophie, it's for all of them," he said.
His son Zaine, 22, said he and his sister were "the closest".
Mr Smith read from the poem in the window.
"Even though I miss you, you're not too far away," he said.
"Because my heart is full of memories, and I treasure them every day."
Family solicitor, Andrew Collingbourne, said he was hoping to meet the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) on Monday.
He said: "I am satisfied there will be a fair and objective investigation into what has gone on."
The IOPC said on Tuesday it was investigating the actions of South Wales Police and Gwent Police.
Eve Smith, 21, Rafel Jeanne, 24, and Darcy Ross, 21, died in the collision
The women, from Newport, had gone to The Muffler club in the city's Maesglas area late on Friday.
They then travelled 36 miles (58km) to Trecco Bay Caravan Park, in Porthcawl, Bridgend county, with the two men, both from Cardiff.
Police are aware of a noise complaint made to the park's security lodge about the group, according to the PA news agency.
A caravan at the holiday park has been cordoned off.
The sixth person with the group, who was dropped off before the group was last seen at 02:00 GMT on Saturday in Cardiff, is said to be cooperating fully with police.
"Specialist officers are carrying out a detailed investigation to piece together what has happened," South Wales Police said.
Sophie Russon, 20, and Shane Loughlin, 32, are seriously injured in hospital
Investigations are ongoing to establish the exact time of the crash.
A spokesperson for Trecco Bay Holiday Park said: "We are assisting police with their enquiries and we will not be commenting further."
South Wales Police said: "Our thoughts continue to be with the families and all those affected by this tragic incident.
"Specialist officers are carrying out a detailed investigation to piece together what has happened.
"Family liaison officers are supporting the families involved at what must be a hugely difficult time for them." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-64907357 |
Tiger Woods' ex-girlfriend says she was tricked out of shared home - BBC News | 2023-03-09T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Erica Herman, who dated Mr Woods for six years, says she was told to pack for a holiday, then locked out. | US & Canada | A lawsuit filed by Tiger Woods' ex-girlfriend claims he tricked her into packing a bag and leaving their shared home before locking her out.
Lawyers for Erica Herman, who began dating the golfer in 2017, argue she is owed $30m (£25m) due to the way she was suddenly evicted from the house.
In a separate lawsuit, she wants a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) she signed with Mr Woods to be cancelled.
A representative for Mr Woods, 47, did not immediately comment.
The couple's break-up has not been formally announced. They have not been seen together in public since attending the US Open tennis tournament in New York last August.
Ms Herman, 38, had previously worked at the 15-time major champion's Florida restaurant, The Woods Jupiter.
A lawsuit she filed in October against a homestead trust held by Mr Woods has only now emerged. It alleges she was locked out of their shared home in Hobe Sound, Florida.
"Specifically, by trickery, agents of the Defendant convinced the Plaintiff to pack a suitcase for a short vacation and, when she arrived at the airport, they told her she had been locked out of her residence," according to the court documents seen by the BBC.
The legal action says Ms Herman's personal possessions were removed from the property.
She also says that $40,000 of her money was "misappropriated", adding that representatives of the trust then made "scurrilous and defamatory allegations about how she obtained the money".
Separate legal documents filed by Ms Herman's lawyers on Monday in a court in Martin County, Florida, near where the couple had been living together, challenge her NDA with Mr Woods.
The civil lawsuit, also reviewed by BBC News, argues Ms Herman's agreement with Mr Woods is "invalid and unenforceable" due to the 2022 Speak Out Act, which limits the enforceability of NDAs in cases of sexual assault or harassment.
However, her legal action does not detail any such allegations.
Ms Herman, her lawyers say, is "currently unsure what other information about her own life she may discuss or with whom".
Her attorney, Benjamin Hodas, did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment.
Ms Herman had been regularly seen by Mr Woods' side in the past six years, including as he was recovering from a severe car accident that, it was initially feared, could end his golf career.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. From 2021: Tiger Woods fans react to his car accident | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-64897829 |
Cardiff car crash: 'Public distress' over police handling - BBC News | 2023-03-09T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Plaid Senedd member highlights concern over police handling of a crash in which three people died. | Wales politics | Eve Smith, 21, Rafel Jeanne, 24, and Darcy Ross, 21, died in the collision
There is a great deal of public distress over the police handling of a car crash in which three people died, a Plaid Cymru politician has said.
The three were found in a car which had come off a major road early on Saturday morning. They had been reported missing almost two days earlier.
Senedd member Peredur Owen Griffiths said the "disquiet" from families of the victims cannot be ignored.
He said police prioritisation processes for missing persons needed to improve.
Two other people in the crash, who were also reported missing, were taken to hospital critically injured.
Police have previously said they cannot comment while an investigation is pending.
The South Wales and Gwent police forces were asked for a response to the Senedd proceedings.
Eve Smith, 21, Darcy Ross, 21, and Rafel Jeanne, 24, died in the collision after the crash on the A48 after a night out in Newport.
Ms Russon's mother Anna Certowicz has said police "didn't seem to think it was worth investigating", when the five people were reported missing.
Raising the matter in the Welsh Parliament on Wednesday, the South Wales East Member of the Senedd said: "There's been a great deal of public distress following the crash".
"You cannot ignore the public disquiet from the families and the friends of the crash victims", he added.
He quoted comments on BBC Wales by Winston Roddick, the former Police and Crime Commissioner for North Wales, on the police response.
Mr Roddick had said he was surprised about the lack of action by police, given reports that the phones and social media of the people involved had been inactive between their disappearance until they were found.
Mr Griffiths asked what input the Welsh government could have into improving police prioritising processes for missing persons to "ensure incidents like this can be avoided in the future".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Eve Smith, 21, Darcy Ross, 21 and Rafel Jeanne, 24, died after the crash
Social Justice Minister Jane Hutt said both Gwent and South Wales Police had referred themselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, who would "look at exactly what happened".
"We just have to recognise that extraordinary public grief that was expressed in the vigil for victims that took place at the site of the crash last night," she said.
Describing the crash as a "devastating tragedy", she said: "My thoughts remain with the families and the friends of the young people involved in the crash on the A48.
"This will be an extraordinarily difficult time for all affected by this terrible incident."
Senedd Presiding Officer Elin Jones said she remembered watching Rafel Jeanne in the same team as her nephew in primary school.
He was "such a young fast talent on the rugby field", she said.
"And on behalf of us all in the centre of our sympathies are with the friends and families of Eve, Darcy and Rafel, and our hopes are with Sophie and Shane for a full recovery," she said. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-64890998 |
WhatsApp: Rather be blocked in UK than weaken security - BBC News | 2023-03-09T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The encrypted app will refuse to comply with the Online Safety Bill if required to scan messages. | Technology | WhatsApp says it would rather be blocked in the UK than undermine its encrypted-messaging system, if required to do so under the Online Safety Bill.
Its head, Will Cathcart, said it would refuse to comply if asked to weaken the privacy of encrypted messages.
The app Signal previously said it could stop providing services in the UK if the bill required it to scan messages.
The government said it is possible to have both privacy and child safety.
WhatsApp is the most popular messaging platform in the UK, used by more than seven in 10 adults who are online, according to communication regulator Ofcom.
End-to-end encryption scrambles messages so even the company running the service cannot view the contents.
But critics of the Online Safety Bill say it grants Ofcom the power to require private encrypted-messaging apps and other services to adopt "accredited technology" to identify and remove child-abuse material.
Undermining the privacy of WhatsApp messages in the UK would do so for all users, Mr Cathcart said.
"Our users all around the world want security - 98% of our users are outside the UK, they do not want us to lower the security of the product," he said. And the app would rather accept being blocked in the UK.
"We've recently been blocked in Iran, for example. We've never seen a liberal democracy do that," he added.
Signal president Meredith Whittaker previously told BBC News it "would absolutely, 100% walk" and stop providing services in the UK if required by the bill to weaken the privacy of its encrypted messaging system.
She later tweeted she was "looking forward to working with @wcathcart and others to push back".
A day later, Mr Cathcart replied: "And very important we work together (and honoured to get to do so) to push back."
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Asked if he would go as far as Signal, Mr Cathcart said: "We won't lower the security of WhatsApp. We have never done that - and we have accepted being blocked in other parts of the world." And he feared the UK would set an example other nations might follow.
"When a liberal democracy says, 'Is it OK to scan everyone's private communication for illegal content?' that emboldens countries around the world that have very different definitions of illegal content to propose the same thing," Mr Cathcart said.
The government, and prominent child-protection charities, have long argued encryption hinders efforts to combat the growing problem of online child abuse.
"It is important that technology companies make every effort to ensure that their platforms do not become a breeding ground for paedophiles," the Home Office said.
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) says research shows grooming and child-abuse-image crimes recorded in the UK have increased dramatically.
The charity's Richard Collard said the Online Safety Bill "will rightly make it a legal requirement for platforms to identify and disrupt child sexual abuse taking place on their sites and services and companies could be preparing by developing technological solutions that protect the safety and privacy of all users, not least that of child abuse victims".
"Experts have demonstrated that it's possible to tackle child-abuse material and grooming in end-to-end encrypted environments," he added.
The government said: "The Online Safety Bill does not represent a ban on end-to-end encryption.
"It is not a choice between privacy or child safety - we can and we must have both."
But critics say the only way to check the contents of encrypted messages for child-sexual-abuse material would be to have services scan them on a device such as a phone before they are encrypted and sent. And this client-side scanning undermines the privacy encryption provides.
Lawyer Graham Smith tweeted: "You could argue that you don't break a fence by digging round the end of it - literally true but where does it get you if the objecti[ve] is to trespass on private property? And once the hole has been dug, you might as well not have the fence."
And Mr Cathcart asked: "If companies installed software on to people's phones and computers to scan the content of their communications against a list of illegal content, what happens when other countries show up and give a different list of illegal content?"
Dr Monica Horten, of digital-rights campaigners the Open Rights Group, said: "With over 40 million users of encrypted chat services in the UK, this turns it into a mass-surveillance tool, with potentially damaging consequences for privacy and free-expression rights."
The Information Commissioner's Office, which says it is working closely with Ofcom, told BBC News any interventions that could weaken encryption must be "necessary and proportionate".
"Where less intrusive measures are available, they should be used," it said. And it supported "technological solutions that facilitate the detection of illegal content without undermining privacy protections for everyone". | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-64863448 |
Phone-hacking: Prince Harry key figure in May trial - BBC News | 2023-03-09T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The Duke of Sussex is among high-profile figures bringing damages claims against a newspaper publisher. | Entertainment & Arts | The Duke of Sussex is one of a number of high-profile figures bringing damages claims against Mirror Group Newspapers
Prince Harry will be at the centre of a trial against a newspaper publisher over phone-hacking allegations.
The Duke of Sussex is one of a number of high-profile figures bringing damages claims against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) over alleged unlawful information gathering.
The trial is due to begin on 9 May, the week after the King's coronation.
He is one of a handful of representative claimants selected as test cases at a hearing in London.
Other celebrities involved in the case include the singer and former Girls Aloud star Cheryl, the estate of the late singer George Michael, ex-footballer and TV presenter Ian Wright and actor Ricky Tomlinson.
Mr Justice Fancourt ruled on Wednesday that the duke's claim should be one of those tried, saying it was an "obvious selection" because his claim covers an extensive period of time and 24 private investigators.
The court heard that the duke's case is that 148 articles published between 1996 and 2010 included information that was allegedly obtained through unlawful means, including phone hacking.
The estate of the late singer George Michael (pictured in 2013) is also involved in the legal action
The judge said the number of articles to be considered at trial should be reduced to about 33.
He said the duke's case is one which "will not settle", on the basis of what he has read and heard in court, adding: "So it will have to be tried at some stage and might as well be tried now."
David Sherborne, representing the claimants, said the duke would be the only witness in his claim.
The other claimants selected for trial are former Coronation Street actress Nikki Sanderson, comedian Paul Whitehouse's ex-wife Fiona Wightman and actor Michael Turner.
MGN is contesting the claims, arguing that some have been brought too late.
The publisher of titles including the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and the Sunday People, MGN has previously settled a number of claims against it in relation to unlawful information gathering, as has News Group Newspapers (NGN) - the publisher of the now-defunct News Of The World and the Sun - in a separate ongoing legal action. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64895912 |
Harry and Meghan's daughter Princess Lilibet Diana christened in US - BBC News | 2023-03-09T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Princess Lilibet Diana, who turns two in June, was christened at the couple's LA home last week. | UK | The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's daughter has been christened at the couple's California home.
Princess Lilibet Diana, who was born to Prince Harry and Meghan in June 2021, was christened on Friday.
The announcement is the first time she has been publicly called a princess and confirms that Harry and Meghan will use the royal titles for their children.
The couple's spokesperson said members of the Royal Family were invited to the christening.
Although Lilibet was not a princess at birth, because she was not a granddaughter of the monarch, she gained the right to that title when King Charles acceded to the throne.
Buckingham Palace has said the royal website - which currently lists her and brother Archie with the titles Miss and Master - will "be updated in due course" to reflect the title.
Lilibet is the second child of Harry and Meghan, who relocated to the US after stepping down as working royals in 2020. Their son Archie was born in May 2019.
The BBC understands members of the Royal Family were invited to the christening but it appears none were in attendance.
Harry and Meghan are understood to want their children to decide for themselves whether or not to use their titles when they are older.
The couple will not use the titles conversationally, the BBC understands, but Archie and Lilibet will be referred to as prince and princess in formal contexts.
The children will not be able to style themselves as HRH given the right to do so comes from their father and he stopped using it when he stepped back from being a working royal.
The rules governing the titles of royal children were set out by King George V in 1917.
As the children of the son of a sovereign, Archie and Lilibet are automatically entitled to be called prince and princess.
Right Reverend John Harvey Taylor, the Bishop of Los Angeles, presided over the christening.
The ex-newspaper journalist worked in the office of former US President Richard Nixon between 1984 and 1990 prior to being ordained.
Earlier this week, it emerged that Harry and Meghan were weighing up whether or not to travel to the UK for the King and Queen Consort's coronation.
A statement issued on behalf of the couple said Harry had been contacted about the event on 6 May by the King's private office via email.
The BBC understands some prospective guests are being asked to save the date ahead of official invitations to be sent later.
Buckingham Palace has declined to comment on the guest list. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64890702 |
Climate change: New idea for sucking up CO2 from air shows promise - BBC News | 2023-03-09T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | A new way of removing carbon from the air is up to three times more effective than current technology. | Science & Environment | A new way of sucking carbon dioxide from the air and storing it in the sea has been outlined by scientists.
The authors say that this novel approach captures CO2 from the atmosphere up to three times more efficiently than current methods.
The warming gas can be transformed into bicarbonate of soda and stored safely and cheaply in seawater.
The new method could speed up the deployment of carbon removal technology, experts say.
While the world has struggled to limit and reduce emissions of carbon dioxide in recent decades, several companies have instead focussed on developing technology to remove CO2 from the atmosphere.
Climeworks in Switzerland is perhaps the best known. Over the past ten years it has developed machines to suck in the air from the atmosphere that filter and trap the carbon dioxide molecules.
Climeworks have established the world's largest direct air capture plant in Iceland
At a plant in Iceland the captured CO2 is injected deep underground where it is permanently turned into stone.
The company has recently started selling a certified carbon removal service to large corporate clients including Microsoft, Spotify and Stripe.
However, one big problem for most current approaches to direct air capture is cost.
CO2, although a powerful warming agent, is relatively diluted in the atmosphere at around 400 parts per million (ppm) in air.
So big machines that require large amounts of energy are needed to both absorb and discharge the CO2.
This new approach, using off-the-shelf resins and other chemicals, promises far greater efficiency and lower cost, say the scientists involved.
The research team have borrowed an approach used for applications in water, and "tweaked" existing materials to remove CO2 from the air.
In tests, the new hybrid absorbing material was able to take in three times as much CO2 as existing substances.
Planting trees on a large scale, like here in China, is a cheap form of carbon removal but it uses large areas of land
"To my knowledge, there is no absorbing material which even at 100,000 ppm, shows the capacity we get it in direct air capture of 400 ppm," said lead author Prof Arup SenGupta from Lehigh University in the US.
"This simple ability to capture CO2 at a high quantity, in a small volume of material, is a unique aspect of our work."
The development, while in its early stages, has been welcomed by others in the field.
"I am happy to see this paper in the published literature, it is very exciting, and it stands a good chance of transforming the CO2 capture efforts," said Prof Catherine Peters from Princeton University, an expert in geological engineering, who wasn't involved in the research project.
"What is clever about this is that the starting point was a technology previously designed for applications in water. This advance applies this technology to the gas phase - a new idea."
"The demonstrated performance for CO2 capture is promising."
One of the big challenges in capturing CO2 is what to do with the trapped gas.
Storing it under the ground or sea in former oil wells is one widely used approach. But the new paper suggests that with the addition of some chemicals the captured CO2 can be transformed into bicarbonate of soda and stored simply and safely in sea water.
Despite the rapid deployment of renewable energy, controlling rising temperatures will likely require extensive carbon removal as well
Dr SenGupta says he now wants to establish a spin-off company to develop the technology further.
He believes that removing CO2 in this way will not only be critical to limiting the rise in global temperatures but could also be directly empowering for developing countries.
"We have to take it to places like Bangladesh, Barbados or the Maldives, they also have a role to play, they cannot be just bystanders who keep suffering."
Some scientists are reluctant to put too much emphasis on new and emerging technologies like direct air capture because they fear that it could dilute the carbon cutting efforts of governments and individuals.
But with the temperature thresholds of the Paris climate agreement under threat from rising emissions, many others feel that the rapid deployment of direct air capture in addition to massive cuts in carbon is the best hope of avoiding dangerous climate change.
"It has become even more important now that we are definitely in an overshoot regime, where we have to take carbon back from the environment," said Prof Klaus Lackner, a pioneer in the field of removing CO2.
"DAC will have to get cheaper to make a useful contribution. I am optimistic that it can do this."
Professor SenGupta shares that optimism, believing that this new approach can remove CO2 for less than $100 a tonne.
The research has been published in the journal, Science Advances. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-64886116 |