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Mark Margolis: Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul actor dies at 83 - BBC News | 2023-08-05 | Mark Margolis once said he based his role of drug kingpin Hector Salamanca on his mother-in-law. | Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul veteran actor Mark Margolis has died at the age of 83, according to his family.
Best known in the role of Hector Salamanca on both series, he played a drug cartel member who uses a wheelchair after a stroke.
He passed away in a New York City hospital on Thursday after a short illness, his son said in a statement.
Margolis also had acting credits in films such Scarface, and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and HBO series Oz.
In the Emmy-nominated role of Salamanca, Margolis portrayed a hyper-violent gangster who is unable to speak and uses only a bell and facial expressions to communicate.
The Breaking Bad Facebook account paid tribute to him, posting: "We join millions of fans in mourning the passing of the immensely talented Mark Margolis, who - with his eyes, a bell, and very few words - turned Hector Salamanca into one of the most unforgettable characters in the history of television.
Mr Margolis, who grew up in Philadelphia, also featured in films such as Going in Style, Dressed to Kill, and Arthur.
He also had roles in six films by director Darren Aronofsky.
"I am just a journeyman actor," he said in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter.
He moved to New York at a young age and studied under famous acting coach Stella Adler.
Despite having over 70 film credits - spanning five decades - he said that there were times when he struggled as a performer in his earlier years.
"Truth to tell, six months after Scarface," he once said, "I had to take a job with a real estate development friend for a few months just to get by."
He said that the Salamanca character was in part inspired by his mother-in-law, who also was unable to speak after a stroke.
"We used to visit her, and she couldn't speak. But she'd get excited when we came in the room, and the left side of her mouth would always do these contortions where the lips would push out, almost like she was chewing tobacco. So I kind of stole that from her."
In a 2013 interview, he told Time magazine that he enjoyed the challenge of acting without speaking.
"It was a marvellous creature! The fact that he didn't have any words was not an issue for me," he said.
"I was delighted not to have to learn any lines. I mean, I had to know what was going on, I had my cues, but the fact that I didn't have to master lines was great. I got to fly out to New Mexico and not worry about memorising anything."
Colleagues of his also paid tribute online.
"Mark made me laugh every time we were together on set," wrote writer Thomas Schnauz, who worked with him on both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.
"My love to his family and many, many friends," he added.
Peter Gould, one of the co-creators of Better Call Saul, tweeted: "Absolutely devastated to hear that we've lost Mark Margolis.
"Mark was brilliant, funny, a raconteur with a million stories. I miss him already." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66411829 |
Ukrainian sea drone targets Russian tanker - BBC News | 2023-08-05 | The unverified footage was shared with the BBC by a source at Ukraine's security service. | This is the moment a naval drone purportedly heads directly towards a Russian tanker in the Kerch Strait, south of the Crimean Bridge.
Unverified footage shared by a source at Ukraine's security service shows what they say is the drone moving across the Black Sea, as it approaches the Russian vessel.
Russian maritime officials said the Sig tanker's engine room was damaged in an attack, but no-one on board was injured.
A Ukrainian security service source told the BBC the operation was conducted jointly with the Ukrainian navy and that 450kg of TNT explosive had been used. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66414547 |
US approves postpartum depression pill - BBC News | 2023-08-05 | Clinical trials showed the drug helped to reduce depressive symptoms in as little as three days. | Clinical trials showed the pill helped to significantly reduce depressive symptoms within three days
The US has approved the first pill for postpartum depression.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said zuranolone, sold under the brand name Zurzuvae, has been approved as a once-daily pill taken for two weeks.
Until now, treatment for postpartum depression (PPD) was available only as an intravenous injection, the FDA said.
Drug manufacturers Sage Therapeutics and Biogen said the pill is expected to be available later this year. No price has yet been announced.
Similar to other forms of depression, symptoms of postpartum depression (PPD) can include sadness, loss of energy, suicidal thoughts, decreased ability to feel pleasure, or cognitive impairment, according to the FDA.
It is estimated that one in seven women experience symptoms of PPD in the US, research has found.
"Postpartum depression is a serious and potentially life-threatening condition in which women experience sadness, guilt, worthlessness—even, in severe cases, thoughts of harming themselves or their child," said Tiffany Farchione, head of psychiatry in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
"And, because postpartum depression can disrupt the maternal-infant bond, it can also have consequences for the child's physical and emotional development."
Access to an oral medication will be beneficial for many women "coping with extreme, and sometimes life-threatening, feelings", she added.
Clinical trials showed the pill helped to significantly reduce depressive symptoms within three days. The effect of the medication was maintained at four weeks after the last dose, the FDA said.
It noted that the most common side-effects from taking Zurzuvae can include drowsiness, dizziness, diarrhoea, fatigue, the common cold, and urinary tract infection.
The agency said labelling contains a boxed warning noting that Zurzuvae can affect a person's ability to drive and perform other potentially hazardous activities. It recommends patients should not drive or operate heavy machinery for at least 12 hours after taking it.
Sage Therapeutics and Biogen had also sought approval to use zuranolone for major depressive disorder (MDD), or clinical depression. However, the FDA said the medication did not provide substantial evidence of effectiveness and said an additional study or studies would be needed.
The companies said they were evaluating their next steps.
Sage Therapeutic said it was "highly disappointed for patients, particularly amid the current mental health crisis and millions of people with MDD struggling to find symptom relief." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66414446 |
Italian fugitive Vincenzo La Porta caught in Greece thanks to football photo - BBC News | 2023-08-05 | Vincenzo La Porta has been on the run for 11 years but was tracked down to Greece by police. | Napoli won their first Serie A title for 33 years in May as they drew with Udinese - stock photo from match
One of Italy's most dangerous fugitives has been caught in Greece after a photo of him cheering on his football team gave away his whereabouts.
Vincenzo La Porta, 60, is thought to have close ties to the Camorra organised crime gang in Naples.
He has been on the run for 11 years - but earlier this year was spotted in a photo of fans celebrating in Greece.
The Naples Carabinieri police said: "What betrayed him was his passion for football and for the Napoli."
Officers said the photos were taken after Napoli won its first Italian championship in over three decades earlier this year.
"With the championship victory, La Porta couldn't resist celebrating," police said.
La Porta has already been convicted in absentia in Italy for criminal association, tax evasion and fraud.
Police finally arrested him on Friday while he was riding his moped on the Greek island of Corfu and he is now currently in a jail awaiting extradition to Italy.
If he is extradited to Italy, he is due serve a prison sentence of 14 years and four months.
La Porta's lawyer told AP news agency: "He has started a new family in Greece... He has a nine-year-old boy and is working as a cook to get by. He suffers from heart ailments. If he's extradited, he and his family will be ruined."
The authorities were relentless in their pursuit of La Porta, tracking his financial and online movements closely and "waited for him to make a misstep".
Back in May, La Porta could not contain his excitement when Napoli won its first Serie A title after 33 years.
The police spotted him in a photo outside a Corfu restaurant among Napoli fans donning a baseball cap and waving the team's sky blue and white colours.
The investigators knew they had their man and followed him to Greece.
With a little help from their Greek colleagues, they arrested him on Friday, the Greek police said.
In January, this year, an Italian mafia boss who was on the run for decades was arrested after a Google Maps sighting. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66416101 |
Wrexham's Football League return watched by Hugh Jackman - BBC News | 2023-08-05 | The Hollywood actor joined celebrity owners to watch Wrexham's defeat to MK Dons. | Wrex-Men: Club co-owner Ryan Reynolds and guest Hugh Jackman - who play superheroes in Marvel movies - helped cheer on Wrexham's own on-pitch heroes
Hollywood actor Hugh Jackman joined Wrexham fans to watch the club's return to the Football League after 15 years.
The Wolverine star joined celebrity owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney at Wrexham AFC's first game in football's fourth tier since 2008.
The return has been a dream come true for long-suffering fans.
However, celebrations were short-lived as the club was on the receiving end of a 5-3 defeat to MK Dons.
Speaking before the match, Sandy Domingos-Shipley, from Toronto in Canada, said: "I'm continuing the party I had at the last game in Wrexham and ended at 4am."
She added: "We're here for the first game of the season and I wanted to party with some of the locals again - we've been here a few times last season so hopefully it will be a good win today and we can do some more partying later."
Wrexham co-owner Ryan Reynolds posed for pictures with fans before kick-off
Sandy said she had lived in the UK for a few years and liked to "get some Canadians together and use Wrexham as a meeting place".
She said the group started with about 60 people and now has 180, with members from "around the world".
"The community have been very welcoming," she said.
Wrexham won the National League title last season with 111 points, while Saturday's opponents, MK Dons, were relegated from League One.
Fans gathered outside the gates at Wrexham's ground early to try to get a glimpse of any celebrity rivals - and they weren't disappointed with Jackman pausing to wave to them.
Hugh Jackman was also at the Wrexham game with Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney
In February, Jackman told the BBC that many of Wrexham's rival teams offered him co-ownership when Ryan Reynolds bought the Welsh club.
The two celebrities have had a comedic feud for several years.
Sandy Domingos-Shipley (second left) is one of Wrexham's many international fans
Mandy and Harry Robinson, from Wrexham, have been coming to the stadium for in excess of 20 years.
Mandy said she had seen "really bad times" to the point where die-hard fans had to hold bucket collections in town to save the club.
"It was a bit upsetting but hey, we're here now."
Long-time Wrexham fans the Collins family said they hoped to get a glimpse of the club's celebrity owners at Saturday's game
The Collins family are season ticket holders and have been revelling in Wrexham's success since the take over by Reynolds and McElhenney.
"I think they've done an astonishing thing in terms of unlocking the potential of the club and the town and it all started with their investment," said Dan Collins.
Community groups have also been given plenty to shout about too as many have been given free tickets to matches to make the club as accessible as possible.
Sam Jones from Dynamic Wrexham, a charity that works with young people with disabilities, said: "It's absolutely fantastic. I think it's 56 different community groups that they've reached with the ticket scheme, so that's about 5,000 tickets in total."
Celebrations were short-lived for Wrexham as the team suffered a 5-3 defeat in their league opener
The "Wrex-factor" has encouraged fans to look back at the city's footballing history.
The Football Museum for Wales has launched a guided heritage tour to highlight the places in Wrexham where significant sporting moments occurred, including the founding of the FAW in 1876.
It also looks at the impact women and diverse communities have had on the sport.
Football coach Anne-Marie Withers, who has taken part in the tour, said: "I found it all really interesting and it gave me a massive insight into the history of football in Wrexham."
Delwyn Derrick, one of the tour guides, said re-joining the Football League was another huge moment for Wrexham fans.
"I think that's a huge point of pride for everyone who supports the club or just generally from the town to see Wrexham back in the Football League where we have always believed they belong." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-66407289 |
Alexei Navalny: Russian opposition leader's jail term extended to 19 years - BBC News | 2023-08-05 | The Russian opposition leader is found guilty of further offences in a trial held at a prison colony. | Mr Navalny appears on a screen via a video link from his penal colony during court hearings in Moscow, 22 June 2023
Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has told supporters not to lose the will to resist, after his jail term was extended to 19 years.
Mr Navalny was found guilty of founding and funding an extremist organisation. He denies the charges.
He was already serving a nine-year term for parole violations, fraud and contempt of court. The charges are widely viewed as politically motivated.
The trial was held in a remote penal colony, where he has been since 2021.
The Kremlin's most vocal critic will serve his time in a "special regime colony", which Russian state prosecutors had been calling for.
Even more restrictive than a high security colony, such prisons are normally reserved for dangerous criminals, re-offenders and those with life imprisonment.
There he is likely to face greater isolation, with further restrictions on communications with the outside world.
He could also receive fewer visitors than he is used to, including his family and defence team, and may face longer periods of solitary confinement.
After the verdict, in a message to supporters posted for him on X (formerly known as Twitter) Mr Navalny remained defiant. "You, not me, are being frightened and deprived of the will to resist. Putin must not achieve his goal. Do not lose the will to resist," he wrote.
For this court case the phrase "behind closed doors" felt like an understatement.
Alexei Navalny was tried in the high security prison in which he's currently incarcerated; the proceedings were closed to the press and the public.
But for the verdict the BBC was allowed into Penal Colony Number 6 in the town of Melekhovo, 150 miles east of Moscow, where a hall was turned into a makeshift courtroom.
Along with other journalists we crammed into a small room dubbed the "press centre" to watch events on a video screen. We weren't allowed into the makeshift courtroom itself (a prison hall) where the verdict would be announced.
As he entered the courtroom and sat down at a table, Alexei Navalny looked relaxed. For him there was no drama about this situation: in a message posted for him yesterday on social media Russia's most prominent opposition figure had made it clear he'd been fully expecting a "Stalinist" sentence.
There was a picture on the video screen. But the audio feed from the courtroom was of poor quality and intermittent.
When the judge pronounced Mr Navalny guilty and passed sentence, it wasn't immediately clear to the journalists watching and listening how long the new prison sentence was.
Later, Mr Navalny himself confirmed the figure, in the social media message posted for him.
"Nineteen years in a special regime colony. The figure doesn't mean anything. I fully understand that, like many political prisoners my sentence is for life. Life is measured either by my lifespan or that of the regime."
The new sentence "raises serious concerns about judicial harassment and instrumentalisation of the court system for political purposes in Russia," UN human rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement.
"Putin is trying to frighten as many Alexei supporters as he can", Mr Navalny's press secretary Kira Yarmysh said of his sentencing.
"We have to put all our efforts in trying to get rid of Putin, and this will mean that Alexei will be free," she added.
For more than a decade, Mr Navalny sought to expose corruption at the heart of Russian power. His video investigations have received tens of millions of views online.
A charismatic campaigner, he seemed to be the only Russian opposition leader capable of mobilising people in large numbers across Russia to take part in anti-government protests.
But in 2020, he was poisoned in Siberia by what Western laboratories later confirmed to be a nerve agent.
A later report by the investigative outlet Bellingcat and Russian news site The Insider implicated several agents of Russia's internal security service, the FSB, in the attack.
After recovering from the attack, Mr Navalny returned to Russia in 2021 despite warnings that he could face arrest. He was immediately arrested upon arrival at an airport in Moscow.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Alexei Navalny was filmed by the BBC saying goodbye to his wife in 2021 and then being led away by authorities | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66408444 |
Switzerland 1-5 Spain: Aitana Bonmati scores twice as La Roja march into quarter-finals - BBC Sport | 2023-08-05 | Spain reach the quarter-finals of the Fifa Women's World Cup for the first time after producing an outstanding display of firepower to send Switzerland out. | Last updated on .From the section Women's World Cup
Spain reached the quarter-finals of the Women's World Cup for the first time after producing an outstanding display of firepower to send Switzerland out.
La Roja were beaten 4-0 in their final group game by Japan five days earlier in Wellington but bounced back in style to score four times during a dominant first half showing in front of 43,217 - a record crowd for a football match in New Zealand.
Aitana Bonmati swept the Spanish ahead before Switzerland equalised when Laia Codina, without looking up, hit a back pass past her own keeper and into the net from 10 yards inside her own half.
Spain soon restored their lead through Alba Redondo's header before Barcelona midfielder Bonmati produced a classy finish to make it 3-1.
In an incredible opening half, Codina made up for her own goal by adding Spain's fourth after a scramble inside the box.
They added another after half-time through Jennifer Hermoso's clinical finish - her third goal of this tournament.
Jorge Vilda's side are the first to reach the last eight and will play the winners of Sunday's match between the Netherlands and South Africa in the quarter-finals in Wellington next Friday (02:00 BST).
• None Reaction and analysis as Spain hammer Switzerland to reach the quarter-finals
Spain produced the perfect response after being written off following the 4-0 hammering against Japan.
Boss Vilda promised a response from his players after that comprehensive defeat and he got one as the side ranked sixth in the world got the job done before half-time in Auckland.
Vilda responded to the Japan defeat by making five changes, giving a debut to goalkeeper Cata Coll in place of first-choice Misa Rodriguez, who had started the previous three games in New Zealand.
Coll will not have appreciated the wild back pass by her Barcelona team-mate Codina.
That aside, this was a highly impressive performance from a team that came into this World Cup with a cloud of doubt hanging over the squad after a feud between Vilda and many senior players.
Those differences have been put aside for now and Spain look like a team playing in harmony. This was their third win in four games in New Zealand.
One step too far for Switzerland
This was one game too many for Group A winners Switzerland, who had qualified for the knockout stage despite winning one game out of the three and scoring two goals in 270 minutes.
Ten of the starting XI at Eden Park were starting their fourth game after three successive clean sheets yet they were overwhelmed by their opponents.
Swiss boss Inka Grings had said that finding goals was a priority in training yet they struggled to trouble Spain's defence and registered just one attempt on target.
They head home from their second Fifa Women's World Cup having topped a group containing Norway, co-hosts New Zealand and the Philippines.
Having required a 121st minute winner in a play-off against Wales in Zurich to qualify, their World Cup ended in disappointing fashion, with their players looking crestfallen as they walked around the pitch applauding fans after full time.
"My team has invested everything at this tournament and I am very proud of them," said Grings.
"There is nothing I would change and I would select the same players again. There is nothing my players did wrong. They played a really good tournament. Maybe we should have been more defensive against Spain."
• None Attempt missed. Fabienne Humm (Switzerland) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Sandrine Mauron.
• None Noëlle Maritz (Switzerland) wins a free kick on the right wing.
• None Attempt missed. Ona Batlle (Spain) right footed shot from the left side of the box is too high. Assisted by Alexia Putellas.
• None Attempt saved. Eva Navarro (Spain) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66404305 |
Merthyr explosion: Teen saw boyfriend go up in flames - BBC News | 2023-08-05 | Hollie Lawrence, 19, describes how she and her boyfriend were severely burned in the explosion. | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. "Luke just went up in flames and I started screaming"
A teenager has told how she saw her boyfriend go up in flames following a gas explosion at her home.
Hollie Lawrence, 19, and Luke Cresswell, 20, were both severely burned in the blast in Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil on 1 February.
Hollie's father, Nial Lawrence, 54, claims he reported the smell of gas to housing association Merthyr Housing twice in the days before the blast.
Merthyr Housing has declined to respond to this claim.
This article contains some upsetting language and images
Following the explosion Hollie suffered a collapsed lung, was in a coma for eight days and her family was told she may not survive.
The Health and Safety Executive has found the explosion was caused by a leak from a gas pipe behind the units in the kitchen of the property.
Gas company Wales & West Utilities said it has received no reports of the smell of gas prior to the explosion and that the blast was unrelated to the gas mains network.
Hollie was burnt on 30% of her body, suffered a collapsed lung and was in a coma for eight days following the blast
Mr Lawrence has claimed he first complained of an "unusual gas smell" to Merthyr Housing on 24 January.
After nobody came out he said he called back to report the matter again on 30 January, two days before the explosion.
Hollie, who was in the kitchen with Luke at the time of the blast, said she was making a cup of tea when it happened.
"I looked at Luke and he just went up in flames and I started screaming," she said.
"One moment I'm on my chair and the next I'm by the back door… I just couldn't move. I felt like it was going on for about three minutes, I was screaming in pain."
The family were housed in a hotel for four months before being moved into sheltered accommodation
Luke added: "Everything just went up in flames, I felt like I was on fire. It was a horrendous feeling, I've never felt anything like it in my life."
"I ran out and tried to turn the shower on because I felt like I was on fire, but nothing. Then I was just calling Hollie, I just wouldn't leave the house without her."
Mr Lawrence, who had been watching a film in bed with his wife Sarah at the time of the blast, said the bed was lifted into the air and the bedroom doorframe was blown off the wall.
"It seemed like a plane just crashed into the house," he said. "That was the first thing I thought of but then straight away went 'no, gas explosion, because of the smell'.
"I just grabbed my wife... 'get out quick now'. Got onto the landing and my 13-year-old daughter was coming out of her bedroom, bawling in tears, screaming," he said.
Hollie was in a coma for eight days in hospital
Hollie said after she and Luke were out of the house with the rest of the family she began to feel numb.
"I remember looking at my hands and they were just dripping off with skin, it was all coming off."
Hollie and Luke were then taken to Morriston Hospital, Swansea, where Hollie was in a coma for eight days.
"I thought I was awake the entire time, it was horrible. It was a really painful experience," she said.
Hollie has had to end her apprenticeship as a tattoo artist due to her burns
Mr Lawrence said he Sarah were taken aside by hospital staff and told it was "minute by minute" as to whether Hollie would make it.
"Her life was in the balance for the first 72 hours," he said.
Luke said after asking doctors about Hollie's condition he was told it was not certain she was going to be ok.
"It was the most terrible news I'd ever received, because she means so much to me," he said.
He said that the first time he saw Hollie after she gained consciousness he "just couldn't stop smiling."
Hollie Lawrence and her boyfriend Luke were in hospital for about three weeks and her father Nial says he was told by doctors that she may not survive
Hollie, who was training to be a tattoo artist before the explosion, said she "can't even pick up the gun anymore".
"I feel that I've let down the people that I worked with, but they've been really good to me," she said.
"My legs are in agony all of the time, I have to have a walking stick which is a nightmare, my hands - I used to be very good at makeup, I can't do that any more.
"I had to learn how to walk again, learn how to grab stuff, I had to do everything all over again like I did as a kid."
Hollie says she has had to learn to walk again
Merthyr Housing has declined to respond to the family's claims that the smell of gas was reported to them before the explosion.
Wales & West Utilities said: "We had not been called to the property prior to 1 February, and no reports of a smell of gas in the area had been made to us. We can confirm that the incident was not related to the gas mains network.
"The pipes inside a property, such as the pipes leading into a home appliance like a cooker, are not part of the gas network that we manage."
"If anyone ever smells gas, thinks they have a gas leak, or suspects carbon monoxide poisoning, they should call us on 0800 111 999."
The Health and Safety Executive said in February that the explosion was the result of a "leak of natural gas", and that no gas safety breaches were identified.
South Wales Police announced on Wednesday it had found "no element of criminality connected to the explosion, and we will not be conducting any further enquiries into this incident".
A spokesperson for the force said: "This is now a matter for the housing association and the gas supplier." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-66404751 |
Blackpool: Two men arrested after death of baby boy - BBC News | 2023-08-05 | The child was unresponsive when taken to hospital on 27 July and later died, police say. | The little boy was taken unresponsive to Blackpool Victoria Hospital
Two men have been arrested after the death of a baby boy, police have said.
Officers were called after the child was taken unresponsive to a Blackpool hospital on 27 July, where he later died, Lancashire Police said.
A 34-year-old man was held on suspicion of murder while another man, aged 30, was held on suspicion of causing the death of a child and child neglect.
Both men, from Blackpool, have since been released on conditional bail pending further inquiries.
A spokeswoman from Lancashire Police said post-mortem tests had been carried out and further investigations were being undertaken into the cause of the baby's death.
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The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-66415479 |
Texas abortion ban temporarily lifted for medical emergencies - BBC News | 2023-08-05 | Women in the US state with pregnancy complications will be exempted from the abortion ban, a judge rules. | "I cried for joy when I heard the news," says lead plaintiff Amanda Zurawski
Women in Texas with serious pregnancy complications will be temporarily exempted from the southern US state's abortion ban, a judge has ruled.
Judge Jessica Mangrum said there was a lack of clarity in the legislation, siding with women and doctors who had sued Texas over the ban in March.
Doctors would not be prosecuted when exercising their "good faith judgement" for provision of abortions, she added.
The temporary injunction will be in force until the lawsuit is decided.
Friday's ruling is expected to be appealed by the state.
The Texas law that bans all abortions except in dire medical circumstances is seen as one of the strictest in the US.
Breaking the ban can carry a $100,000 (£78,000) fine and up to life in prison.
The legislation was introduced in 2022 - shortly after the Supreme Court overturned its 50-year-old Roe v Wade decision, meaning that millions of women across the country lost the constitutional right to abortion.
This case is the first brought on behalf of women who have been denied abortions since then.
The group of women and doctors are suing the state of Texas in the hope of changing the ban, to give doctors more leeway in determining when an abortion is necessary.
In her ruling in the city of Austin, Judge Mangrum wrote that women were "delayed or denied access to abortion care because of the widespread uncertainty regarding physicians' level of discretion under the medical exception to Texas's abortion bans".
She also said that doctors must be allowed to determine what constituted medical emergencies that would risk a woman's health or even life.
The temporary injunction is intended to last until the lawsuit is decided. But under Texas law, a ruling is automatically stayed as soon as it is appealed, so it could be blocked once the state appeals.
The Center for Reproductive Rights, which is suing Texas, hailed the ruling.
"Today's ruling alleviates months of confusion around what conditions qualify as medical emergencies under Texas' abortion bans, giving doctors permission to use their own medical judgment in determining when abortion care is needed," the group said.
Lead plaintiff Amanda Zurawski said that "for the first time in a long time, I cried for joy when I heard the news".
Ms Zurawski says her life was put at risk last year when she was denied an abortion.
The lawsuit filed last March against Texas presses for a binding interpretation of the medical emergencies in the current law.
The Texas attorney general's office argues that the exceptions being pushed by the plaintiffs would effectively allow ways of bypassing the ban.
"It would, for example, permit abortions for pregnant females with medical conditions ranging from a headache to feelings of depression," office lawyers say.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Texas abortion law: 'I waited for my daughter to die so I wouldn't die' | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66412846 |
Storm Antoni: Strong winds and heavy rain set to clear - BBC News | 2023-08-05 | The first storm to be named by the Met Office this year has brought "unseasonably" strong winds. | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Winds and heavy rain are set to ease across the UK as the first Met Office-named storm of the year clears.
Storm Antoni hit several parts of England, Wales and Northern Ireland between Friday and Saturday.
Some residents were evacuated due to flooding and events such as Brighton's Pride were also hit.
Yellow rain warnings in Northern Ireland and amber wind warnings in Wales and southwest England ended on Saturday.
The yellow warnings for thunderstorms in south-east England, including Brighton and London, ended at 22:00 BST, along with the yellow wind warnings in western areas including Cardiff and Bath.
The Met Office said winds would continue to ease overnight into Sunday, with "a few showers" persisting near coasts.
Storm Antoni hit late on Friday, with gusts of up to 65mph affecting exposed coastal areas.
The Met Office issued warnings for affecting areas encompassing Plymouth, Bristol and Bath in England and Swansea, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire in Wales.
It warned that danger to life from flying debris were possible and "large waves and beach material being thrown on to sea fronts, coastal roads and properties".
On Saturday, Cleveland Police said residents in Loftus and Carlin How, North Yorkshire were evacuated due to flooding. The force warned people not drive to the homes of relatives or make unnecessary journeys.
Trees fell on the road to Veryan on the Roseland Peninsula in Cornwall on Saturday
Met Office chief meteorologist Steve Willington previously said the storm has the potential to bring "potentially disruptive" weather as it moved from west to east.
Mr Willington said Northern Ireland would see some of the highest rainfall totals, with 40-60mm falling in some spots.
Meanwhile, Brighton's Pride still went ahead, despite the challenges from the weather and industrial action on the railways.
This person braved the wind and rain to head down to Brighton seafront
However, a Pride festival in Devon was scaled back due to concerns over strong winds.
Plymouth Pride 2023 said a "rainbow village" featuring up to 80 traders would be cancelled because of the potential for "flying gazebos".
Storm worries have seen the annual Stompin' on the Quomps festival cancelled for the first time in its 30-year history in Christchurch. Around 10,000 people had been expected to attend on Saturday.
Waves crashed against the shore in Portland, Dorset
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66413946 |
Ukraine war: Russia hits blood transfusion centre, says Zelensky - BBC News | 2023-08-05 | President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as a "war crime" and perpetrators as "beasts". | President Zelensky posted a photo purportedly showing Kupiansk's blood transfusion centre on fire after the Russian attack
A Russian "guided bomb" has hit a blood transfusion centre in north-eastern Ukraine, killing two people and injuring four, Ukrainian officials say.
Volodymyr Zelensky posted an image of the building on fire as a result of Saturday night's attack around Kupiansk, in the Kharkiv region.
"This war crime alone says everything about Russian aggression," he said.
Russia has not commented. It has previously denied all allegations of targeting civilians - or war crimes.
The city of Kupiansk and nearby settlements were seized by Russian troops in the first few days of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022.
The area was liberated during a Ukrainian counter-offensive last September, but comes under missiles and shelling daily.
In a post on social media, Mr Zelensky described the perpetrators as "beasts".
"Defeating terrorists is a matter of honour for everyone who values life," he added.
Mr Zelensky did not give details of the casualties. But local officials later posted the same image adding details about the attack on what they described as a non-residential building.
President Zelensky also said that on Saturday Russia separately carried out a missile attack, targeting an aeronautical company run by group Motor Sich in the western Khmelnytskyi region.
On Sunday, Russia's air defences destroyed a drone as it approached Moscow, the city's mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said.
Last week, an office block on a Moscow skyscraper was hit two days in a row by Ukrainian drones, Russian authorities said.
Ukraine has not publicly admitted carrying out such attacks.
Moscow has also accused Ukraine on Saturday of hitting a Russian tanker with 11 crew members in the Black Sea - the second such sea drone attack in as many days.
Russian maritime officials said the engine room of the Sig tanker was damaged in the attack in the Kerch Strait. No-one was injured.
The Kerch Strait connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, separating Crimea - Ukraine's peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014 - and Russia's Taman peninsula.
Ukraine has not publicly commented. But a Ukrainian security service source told the BBC a sea drone had been used.
In another development, the Chonhar road bridge linking mainland Ukraine to Crimea was hit by a Ukrainian missile strike on Sunday, according to Russia's RIA news agency.
This is the second time Ukrainian missiles have hit the bridge after an earlier attack in June forced it to close for repairs.
Moscow-installed Kherson regional governor Vladimir Saldo wrote on Telegram that another small bridge, connecting the port city of Henichesk and the narrow Arabat Spit on Crimea's north-east coast, had been shelled.
A civilian driver was hurt and a gas pipeline was damaged, leaving 20,000 people without gas.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch the sea drone hitting the tanker, according to Ukraine security sources | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66419331 |
German city hit by massive hail storm - BBC News | 2023-08-05 | Hail formed 30cm drifts in Reutlingen requiring snowploughs to be deployed, at the height of summer. | A storm with hail and heavy rain has hit the southwest German city of Reutlingen.
City officials have said the hail formed 30cm (12 inches) drifts in some areas and snowploughs were deployed.
About 250 firefighters took part in the clean up, in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66418007 |
Donald Trump social media post flagged by prosecutors in court filing - BBC News | 2023-08-05 | Prosecutors ask for limits on what Donald Trump is allowed to publicly say about the election fraud case. | Prosecutors in Donald Trump's upcoming trial have asked for limits on what the ex-president can publicly say about the case, after he shared a threatening message online.
In a filing late on Friday night, the prosecutors said they feared Mr Trump might disclose confidential evidence.
They justified the move citing a post by Mr Trump shared on Friday, saying it targeted people involved in the case.
But Mr Trump's team insisted the post was directed at political opponents.
On the Truth social network Mr Trump wrote "IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I'M COMING AFTER YOU!" on Friday afternoon, just a day after he pleaded not guilty to four charges in the alleged election fraud case.
The charges - which include conspiracy to defraud the US, tampering with a witness and conspiracy against the rights of citizens - stem from the former president's actions in the wake of the 2020 election, including around the 6 January Capitol riot.
In their filing, the office of Special Counsel Jack Smith said the post raised concerns that Mr Trump could publicly reveal secret material, including grand jury transcripts obtained from prosecutors.
Noting that Mr Trump has a history of attacking judges, attorneys and witnesses against him, Mr Smith's office warned that his behaviour could have "a harmful chilling effect on witnesses or adversely affect the fair administration of justice in this case".
The Republican has already hit out against the special counsel, telling a crowd of supporters in Alabama on Friday that Mr Smith was a "deranged human being" and "a bad guy".
The filing added that Friday's post "specifically or by implication" referred to those involved in the criminal case against him.
It added the order which they are seeking - known as a protective order - would not be "overly restrictive", saying that it did not prevent Mr Trump and his team discussing the case in the media and would allow him to access discovery materials for use in his defence.
"All the proposed order seeks to prevent is the improper dissemination or use of discovery materials, including to the public," the filing said.
Judge Tanya Chutkan gave Mr Trump's legal team until 17:00 local time on Monday to respond to the submission. Mr Trump's lawyers asked for three more days, but the judge denied their request.
In a statement shortly after the filing, a spokesperson for Mr Trump defended the social media post and insisted that he had been targeting political opponents.
"The Truth post cited is the definition of political speech," the statement said, adding that it was in response to "dishonest special interest groups" and political action committees attacking him.
Speaking later at a campaign rally in South Carolina, Mr Trump said he regards his indictment as a "great badge of honour".
He told the event that he was being indicted "because they're afraid of all of us", and wanted to silence him and his supporters - but America would be free again if he returned to the White House.
Judge Chutkan, a noted hardliner on cases against those accused of participation in the Capitol riots, is expected to call in attorneys from both sides on 28 August to discuss setting a trial date.
Prosecutors have already said that the case would benefit from a speedy trial.
But Mr Trump's defence attorney John Lauro has said his team will need more time to prepare. He said the prosecution's timeline was "somewhat absurd" given that the investigation itself had taken three years.
Mr Trump now faces five upcoming trials - three criminal trials which include the classified documents case, the hush money case, and these election charges; and two civil trials over business practices and alleged defamation of a woman who accused him of rape.
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-66417168 |
Carer shortage: Government urged to 'rocket boost' fostering - BBC News | 2023-08-05 | There are concerns that the number of families who want to foster but then drop out is "very high". | The cost of living was previously blamed for a rise in the number of children needing foster care
Ministers have been urged to "rocket boost" fostering to tackle a shortage of carers.
Dame Rachel de Souza, the Children's Commissioner for England, has warned that 71% of people who complete a fostering form subsequently drop out.
She fears bureaucracy may be putting people off and has suggested ministers could learn from the success of the Homes from Ukraine scheme.
The government has said it is investing £27m in the foster care system.
Dame Rachel raised her concerns during a special episode of BBC Radio 4's Today programme, which was guest edited by listeners.
Nearly 70,000 children live with almost 55,000 foster families across the UK each day, according to the Fostering Network charity.
This is nearly three-quarters of the 98,000 children in care away from home on any one day in the UK, the charity has said.
Dame Rachel said the Homes for Ukraine scheme, which found homes for 100,000 Ukrainian refugees last year, showed there was an "untapped well" of people who can foster.
She told the BBC the number of people who enquired about foster care and then did not go ahead with their applications seemed "very high".
"We need to make sure that bureaucracy doesn't get in the way," she said.
She urged the government to run a national fostering campaign.
Dame Rachel said it was "really important that we rocket boost fostering"
The Department for Education (DfE) said it had increased the national minimum allowance for foster carers by 12.5% and was piloting a foster care recruitment hub in the north east.
Earlier this year government figures showed there were 4,500 in West Yorkshire alone.
Rising costs and a fallout from Covid were blamed for the increase in the number of children going into foster care and for the shortage of foster families.
Children's minister Claire Coutinho told the BBC the pilot programme in the north east put together local hubs guiding families who wanted to foster.
"You can't just fund a system with money, you do need to make sure the reforms work properly," she said.
She explained that last year 138,000 people made enquiries to become a foster carer but only six per cent of them became one.
"People call up and say they want to be a foster carer and then they don't necessarily get that hand-holding to make what is ultimately a big decision in your life," she added.
Ms Coutinho said £11bn was being spent on the children's social care system overall.
Ms Coutinho said the government had plans in place
Last year the MacAlister review of children's social care in England called for £2.6bn of new spending over four years.
The government later faced criticisms for announcing £200m of investment in response.
But Ms Coutinho said the funding was not falling short.
She said the £200m was for testing out "really ambitious" plans to respond to the MacAlister review.
"We have got two years to make sure that the plans we have got in place work well on the ground," she added.
You can listen to the Messy Fostering Guest Edit of Today on BBC Sounds.
• None Early help for families urged in social care reset | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66416005 |
Ukraine's invisible battle to jam Russian weapons - BBC News | 2023-08-05 | Ukrainian and Russian electronic warfare units are trying to gain the upper hand on the battlefield. | Ukraine's electronic warfare units are fighting invisible battles against the Russians
In the early days of the invasion of Ukraine, experts were surprised at how poorly the Russian army's electronic warfare units performed. But nearly 18 months later they are causing significant problems for Ukraine's counter-offensive.
"Use single rounds," whispers a Ukrainian soldier hiding behind a wall near the eastern front line. "This way we will be able to last till the morning [if they come closer]."
The soldier's call-sign is Alain Delon, like the famous French film star of the 1970s. And like something from a spy movie, he is part of a lightly armed team of electronic intelligence officers - a high-priority target for the Russian army.
Alain fears Russian troops may have spotted their antenna and started heading for their base. He decides to change position. The key in electronic warfare is being invisible to the enemy.
Their job is to detect electronic signals from all kinds of Russian weapons - including drones, air defence systems, jammers, artillery, and multiple rocket launchers. They work out where the signals originate and the type of weapon, then pass on coordinates to other units that will aim to destroy the target.
This is a war of technologies
The information also helps commanders build up a picture of the battlefield.
"This is a war of technologies," Col Ivan Pavlenko, chief of the Ukrainian General Staff's electronic and cyber warfare department, tells the BBC.
"If I see a number of radio stations in the same place, I understand it's a command post. If I see some radio stations begin to move forward, I understand it could be a counter-offensive or an offensive."
This is an invisible conflict carrying on in parallel with the explosions, missile strikes and trench warfare that dominate the news.
Almost every modern weapon - from artillery installations to high precision missiles - uses radio waves, microwaves, infrared or other frequencies to receive data. This makes them vulnerable to electronic warfare, which aims to intercept and suppress those signals.
"If you're losing in electronic warfare, your forces will turn into a 19th century army," says Yaroslav Kalinin, chief executive of Infozahyst, a company that produces electronic warfare systems for the Ukrainian army. "You will be 10 steps behind your enemy."
Just like the Russians, the Ukrainians are trying to electronically jam their enemies' communications and weaponry
In recent years Russia has developed a range of jamming technology. This includes:
By the time of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Russia had 18,000 electronic warfare troops, Col Pavlenko says.
But the effect was less impressive than many had expected.
"They were trying to break down our radars, to penetrate our air defence systems," says Yaroslav Kalinin. "They were partially successful at this, but not completely."
Ukrainian air defence systems were still able to shoot down Russian jets. Russia's lack of air supremacy contributed to its failure to capture Kyiv quickly.
Russian forces also failed to shut down communications, which allowed the Ukrainian military to organise their defences. Although some military satellite networks were jammed, cellular and internet communications were largely unaffected.
When Russian troops were advancing towards Mykolaiv in February 2022, villagers used mobile phones to tip off the Ukrainian military about the movement of Russian columns.
The unit's soldiers cannot show their faces, to protect their identity
Expecting a walkover, Moscow may have thought they wouldn't need to fully deploy electronic warfare systems. But Bryan Clark, a senior fellow at Hudson Institute, a US think tank, says another problem was that electronic warfare units couldn't keep up with the rest of the troops.
"Russian systems are large unwieldy, vehicle-borne systems that are designed to be on the defensive," he says. "And as a result, their electronic warfare systems weren't very agile, they weren't very fast and they weren't very numerous."
But Russia has learned from its mistakes, he says. Instead of using large equipment that can be easily spotted and destroyed, it is now increasingly relying on smaller, more mobile devices.
Bryan Clark says Russia has managed to deploy hundreds of mobile electronic warfare units along the front line in an attempt to slow down Ukraine's counter-offensive. These range from GPS jammers to systems that suppress radar and prevent US aircraft identifying targets for Ukraine to attack.
Russian systems such as Zhitel and Pole-21 are proving to be particularly effective to jam GPS and other satellite links. They can disable drones that direct artillery fire and carry out kamikaze attacks on Russian troops.
Many of the sophisticated weapons provided to Ukraine by Nato countries are vulnerable to such jamming too because they use a GPS signal for navigation.
These hidden units go out in the field to track down Russian jammers so they can be destroyed
"Zhitel can jam a GPS signal within 30km of the jammer," says Mr Clark. "For weapons like [US-made] JDAM bombs, which use just a GPS receiver to guide it to the target, that's sufficient to lose its geolocation and go off target."
The same applies to the guided rockets fired by the Himars multiple rocket system, which made a big contribution to Ukraine's successful offensives last autumn.
Both sides have been trying to develop counter-measures against each other's jamming, including reprogramming weapons.
Bryan Clarke describes it as an intense competition of "move and counter-move".
Col Pavlenko does not deny that Russian systems can reduce the efficiency and accuracy of the weapons Ukraine has received from its Western partners. This just makes targeting Russian electronic warfare systems even more important, he says.
"Before we strike with a precision-guided munition, we have to provide intelligence. Is there any suppression in that area? If that area is affected by a jamming signal, we have to find the jammer and destroy it, and only then use this weapon."
Since February 2022 Ukraine has destroyed more than 100 major Russian electronic warfare systems, he says. The BBC cannot independently verify these numbers.
Intelligence units like Alain's work relentlessly to increase this number, by locating them.
Now at a new location, his team has intercepted radio communications between Russian soldiers, and they are listening in. It's a conversation between Russian artillerymen. Alain's team is now working to get their coordinates. In a war, he says, every bit of information can be important. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66279650 |
Imran Khan: Pakistan ex-PM given three-year jail sentence - BBC News | 2023-08-05 | The ousted prime minister was given a three-year jail sentence in a case of corruption he denies. | Ex-Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has called for nationwide protests after he was handed a three-year jail sentence over corruption allegations.
Mr Khan was found guilty of not declaring money earned from selling gifts he received in office. He denies the charges and says he will appeal.
After the verdict, Mr Khan was taken into custody from his home in Lahore.
In a pre-recorded statement posted after the verdict, he urged supporters to fight against the ruling.
"I have only one appeal, don't sit at home silently," he said in a video address posted to X, formerly known as Twitter. "I am struggling for you and the country and your children's future," he added.
The former cricketer-turned-politician, 70, was elected in 2018, but was ousted in a no-confidence vote last year after falling out with Pakistan's powerful military.
Mr Khan is facing more than 100 cases brought against him since his removal - charges he says are politically motivated.
However, the government has adamantly denied that there was any political motivation in Mr Khan's arrest or disqualification. Marriyum Aurangzeb, Pakistan's minister of information and broadcasting, told the BBC: "You have to be accountable for your deeds in law. This has nothing to do with politics. A person who has been proven guilty by the court has to be arrested."
Saturday's verdict centred on charges that Mr Khan incorrectly declared details of presents from foreign dignitaries and proceeds from their alleged sale.
The gifts - reported to be worth more than 140m Pakistani rupees ($635,000; £500,000) - included Rolex watches, a ring and a pair of cuff links.
"His dishonesty has been established beyond doubt," Judge Humayun Dilawar wrote in his ruling. Outside the courthouse, some pro-government demonstrators chanted "your show is over Khan".
Judge Dilawar said police had been instructed to arrest Mr Khan immediately. Within 15 minutes of the verdict, footage began to circulate on social media showing a line of police cars and trucks taking him away.
Imran Khan's lawyer, Intazar Hussain Panjutha, told the BBC the trial had been conducted by "a kangaroo-type court" in which "the accused was never given the opportunity to defend himself".
Police officers outside Mr Khan's home after he was handed a three-year jail sentence
"As a consequence of today's conviction, he has been barred to take part in the politics for five years," Mr Panjutha said.
"But if the sentence and the conviction is suspended as we are hoping by the superior courts, he will then be able to come back to politics."
Mr Khan has been sent to Attock jail, a small facility in Punjab province with historical ties to the military, about 85km (52 miles) from the capital Islamabad. A number of members of Mr Khan's party have previously been held at the compound, local media reported.
For months he had avoided arrest, with his supporters at times fighting pitched battles with police to keep him out of custody.
In May, Mr Khan was arrested for not appearing at court as requested. He was then released, with the arrest declared illegal.
When he was last arrested on 9 May, there were protests across Pakistan. Thousands of his supporters arrested were alleged to have been involved in the protests.
Since then, Mr Khan and his political party have faced a dramatic crackdown, with many of his senior leadership arrested, before announcing they were leaving the party. Many vocal supporters of Mr Khan - who would previously post regularly about him on social media - now feel nervous to express their opinion or even have quietly deleted their previous comments.
Some of those arrested supporting Mr Khan will face trial in military courts, despite an outcry from many in human rights groups.
Indeed, several hours after Mr Khan's arrest, there had not been the kind of mass political protests seen in May. In Lahore, the BBC Urdu team saw some supporters who had gathered outside his home chanting and waving flags picked up by police. Around Islamabad, there's no evidence of increased security.
When questioned by BBC HARDTalk as to whether he had created an atmosphere of hostility to the military resulting in violence, Mr Khan said he and his party had never advocated the use of violence and had a record of peaceful protest.
Mr Khan said the army in Pakistan was "petrified" of elections which his party would win "hands down" and, for that reason, "they're dismantling a democracy".
Pakistan's army plays a prominent role in politics, sometimes seizing power in military coups and, on other occasions, pulling levers behind the scenes.
Many analysts believe Mr Khan's election win in 2018 happened with the help of the military.
In opposition, he has been one of its most vocal critics, and analysts say the army's popularity has fallen.
Since being ousted, Mr Khan has been campaigning for early elections, but Saturday's ruling means he will be disqualified from running in the much anticipated poll.
Ms Aurangzeb insisted that there was "no correlation" between Saturday's ruling and he prospect of elections.
"Just because there are elections down the road doesn't mean that you can't arrest him," she told the BBC. She accused Mr Khan of sidestepping and evading the law.
Pakistan's parliament will be dissolved on August 9, leaving a caretaker government to take over in the run up to the elections.
No election date has been announced, although constitutionally they should take place by early November.
However, on Saturday the country's law minister said the new elections would have to take place after the results of a new census were implemented.
Azam Nazeer Tarar told Geo News TV that it could take about four months to produce new constituency boundaries based from the count, potentially delaying the election by several months. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-66414696 |
'It's like playing with death' - Ukraine's female front-line soldiers - BBC News | 2023-08-05 | Women in the Ukrainian military describe their battles against Russia and sexism within their ranks. | Andriana, pictured at a rehabilitation centre in Ukraine, where she is training to return to the front line
Ukrainian women have been signing up in growing numbers to serve as combat troops against Russia. The BBC spoke to three of the 5,000 female front-line soldiers who are fighting both the enemy, and sexist attitudes within their own ranks.
A slim, blue-eyed, brunette woman is working out in a gym. This might be unremarkable were it not for the fact that, according to the Russian media, she is dead.
Andriana Arekhta is a special unit sergeant in the Ukrainian armed forces, preparing to return to the front line.
The BBC found Andriana in a rehabilitation centre in Ukraine - in a location we cannot name for her safety - after she was injured by a landmine in the Kherson region in December.
Numerous text and video reports in Russian celebrate her "death" in graphic detail.
"They published that I am without legs and without hands, and that I was killed by them," says Andriana. "They are professionals in propaganda."
The reports include lurid descriptions of her - such as "executioner" and "eliminated Nazi".
Accusing her of cruelty and sadism without any proof, they appeared shortly after the Ukrainian army had liberated Kherson.
"It's funny to me. I am alive and I will protect my country," she says.
Eighteen months on from Russia's invasion, there are 60,000 women serving in the nation's armed forces. More than 42,000 are in military positions - including 5,000 female soldiers on the front line, the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine told us.
It added that no woman could be conscripted under Ukrainian law against her will.
But there are particular combat roles which some believe are better performed by women.
"I came to my commander and I asked him, 'what can I do the best?' He said: 'You will be a sniper,'" recalls Evgeniya Emerald - who carried out the role on the front line until recently.
Evgeniya Emerald, pictured with her three-month-old baby, ran a jewellery business before the war
She says female snipers have been romanticised since World War Two, adding there is a very practical reason for this reputation.
"If a man hesitates whether to make a shot or not, a woman will never.
"Maybe that's why women are the ones giving birth, not men," she adds, cradling her three-month old daughter.
The 31 year old, who had military training after Russia invaded Crimea but only joined the army in 2022, was the owner of a jewellery business before the full-scale war.
She has used her entrepreneurial experience to build a strong social media following, to help raise the profile of Ukrainian female soldiers.
Like Andriana, Evgeniya has been widely referred to as "a punisher" and "Nazi" by Russian media, with hundreds of reports discussing her front line role as a female sniper, and her private life.
Working as a sniper is particularly brutal - says Evgeniya - both physically and mentally.
"Because you can see what is going on. You can see hitting a target. This is a personal hell for everyone who sees that in a [sniper's] scope."
Evgeniya, and the other front-line women we have spoken to, cannot reveal the number of targets they have hit. But Evgeniya remembers the heightened emotion she felt when she realised she was probably going to have to kill someone.
"For 30 seconds I was shaking - my whole body - and I couldn't stop it. That realisation that now you'll do something that will be a point of no return.
"But we didn't come to them with a war. They came to us."
Evgeniya Emerald says working as a sniper is a particularly brutal form of warfare
The percentage of women in the Ukrainian military has been growing since the first Russian invasion in 2014, reaching over 15% in 2020.
But while many female troops are serving in combat roles against Russia, they say there is another battle within their own ranks - against sexist attitudes.
Evgeniya says she faced this before she established her authority and confidence as a front-line sniper.
"When I had just joined the special forces, one of the fighters came to me and said: 'Girl, what are you doing here? Go and cook borshch [Ukrainian traditional soup].' I felt so offended at that moment I thought, 'are you kidding me? I can be in the kitchen, but I can also knock you out'!"
Another Evgeniya, Evgeniya Velyka from the Arm Women Now charity - which provides help to the Ukrainian female soldiers - agrees: "In society [there] exists a strong opinion that girls go to the army to find a husband."
She says women have also told her about cases of physical abuse.
"We can't imagine the scale of the problem because not every female soldier wants to talk about this," she says.
Ukraine's deputy defence minister, Hanna Malyar, told the BBC those were just a "few cases" in contrast to the "hundreds of thousands" mobilised.
In 2021, the Ukrainian military released pictures of female soldiers practising for a parade in heels - sparking outrage
Women in the Ukrainian army do not have gender-appropriate uniforms. They are issued with ill-fitting male fatigues, including male underwear, and outsized shoes and bulletproof vests.
Even the deputy defence minister, Hanna Malyar, says her field uniform is designed for a man - which she has had to alter as she has "a small height". She adds the ceremonial uniform includes shoes with heels.
If women in the army want to wear female fatigues, they must currently either buy their own generic kit online, or rely on charities or crowdfunding.
This is why Andriana co-founded a charity called Veteranka [Ukrainian Women Veteran's Movement], which campaigns for equal rights for female military personnel, and for reforming Ukrainian army legislation to bring it in line with Nato legislation.
But Ms Malyar says the government has made progress. A uniform for women has been developed, tested and will enter mass production in the near future - although she could not specify when.
Sniper Evgenya Emerald says that despite such issues, "war doesn't have a gender".
"A war doesn't care whether you are a man or a woman. When a missile hits a house, it doesn't care if there are women, men, children - everyone dies.
"And it's the same on the front line - if you can be effective and you're a woman, why wouldn't you defend your country, your people?"
Iryna says a sniper's role in war has been romanticised
In the eastern Donbas region, sniper Iryna is involved in the counter-offensive right now. We secure a brief connection with her during a moment of peace on the battlefield.
She could be held up as an example of the reforms so many combat women have been working hard for - she is acting-up as a female commander of an all-male unit.
"A sniper's image is romanticised… and is beautiful due to the movies. In reality, it's hard work."
She describes how snipers lie still on the ground for up to six hours to fire a shot, followed by a rapid change in position.
"It's like playing with death," she adds.
The thousands of women serving have left behind careers, as well as their families.
Andriana left her job as the UN consultant on gender equality, under the Ukrainian Ministry of Veterans' Affairs, to join the Ukrainian military when Russia invaded last year.
"They took the best years of my life," the 35-year-old says. Thinking back to a time before the war, she adds: "I could travel and be happy, build a career and have a dream."
The mother of a primary school-aged boy, Andriana tearfully tells me she has not held her son for more than seven months. As she shows me pictures of him on her phone, a smile appears on her face, replacing her tears.
She is driven by the desire to secure him a peaceful future in his native country - not having to risk his life by fighting like his parents.
Andriana first joined the armed forces when Russia invaded Crimea in 2014
Unlike Evgeniya Emerald, who joined up after Russia's full invasion last year, Andriana has previous military experience.
In 2014 when Russia first attacked Ukraine, annexing Crimea and invading Donbas, she left her job as a brand manager and joined one of the first volunteer battalions - along with thousands of other Ukrainians. At the time, the military was smaller than it is now and was struggling.
Aidar battalion, where Andriana was serving, was accused by the Kremlin and Amnesty International of human rights violations - but the Ukrainian army told the BBC no substantive evidence to support such claims had been provided.
Amnesty also urged Ukrainian authorities to bring the volunteer battalions under effective lines of command and control, which they did.
Despite Andriana never being linked to any acts of misconduct, and her leaving Aidar eight years ago, Russian media continually accused her of "sadism", providing no evidence.
In Ukraine, she has been awarded medals for her service - one "for courage", another for being a "people's hero"
Andriana, who told the BBC she is no longer part of Aidar, said she felt obliged to re-join the army on the front line in 2022, as she already had much-needed combat experience.
Andriana working out in preparation to return to the front line
While Ukraine's Ministry of Defence said it could not provide the number of combat casualties - due to sensitivities of such information during wartime - the BBC has obtained data suggesting 93 Ukrainian servicewomen have been killed in action since the recent Russian invasion.
The data, from charity Arm Women Now, says more than 500 have been injured.
Andriana's phone book has turned into a list of the dead.
"I lost more than 100 friends. I don't even know how many phone numbers I need to delete."
But the price already paid was too high to give up, she said - as she turns to finish her rehabilitation training in the gym.
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Rasmus Hojlund: Manchester United complete £72m signing from Atalanta - BBC Sport | 2023-08-05 | Denmark striker Rasmus Hojlund joins Manchester United for £72m on a five-year deal from Serie A side Atalanta. | Last updated on .From the section Man Utd
Hojlund was unveiled to fans at Old Trafford before Manchester United's friendly against French side Lens on Saturday Manchester United have completed the £72m signing of Denmark striker Rasmus Hojlund from Atalanta. The 20-year-old, who joined the Serie A side in 2022 and scored 10 goals in 34 appearances last season, moves to Old Trafford on a five-year deal. "It is no secret I have been a fan of this great club since I was a small boy," Hojlund said. "I dreamed of walking out at Old Trafford as a Manchester United player." He is United manager Erik ten Hag's third summer signing after Mason Mount joined from Chelsea for £55m and Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana arrived for £47.2m. Ten Hag said of the new addition: "He is a real frontman. Very direct to the goal, very good presser, a physical presence. I think in the balance of this squad, we needed that, alongside Rashford, another player who is direct and can score a goal. That is all in his mind: he wants to score goals. "I think he has huge potential. And now it's up to him first, to explore that and we will support him, all the coaches, the team. The team was waiting for a type like him. They will integrate him in the dressing room and in the pitch; they will help him. "Finally, the player has to prove it. That is the character we need; we need hungry players and he is a player who is so determined to score goals, winning games and winning trophies." Ligue 1 champions Paris St-Germain were also reportedly interested in Hojlund as a potential replacement for France captain Kylian Mbappe, whose immediate future is unclear.
• None Rasmus Hojlund - all you need to know about Man Utd striker Hojlund will miss the opening weeks of the 2023-24 season, which United begin against Wolves on Monday, 14 August, after suffering a small injury during pre-season training with Atalanta. "I am incredibly excited by this opportunity to turn a dream into a reality, and I am determined to repay the faith the club has shown in me," Hojlund added. "It is still early in my career, but I know I am ready to make this step up and play with this group of world-class players. "Once I had spoken to the manager, I knew this environment would be perfect for my development; I am relishing the opportunity to work with one of the best coaches in the world. "Under his guidance and support I know that I am capable of achieving great things together with my new team-mates at this special club." Hojlund began his senior career at Copenhagen, making his Danish Superliga debut aged 17 in 2020 before switching to Austrian side Sturm Graz less than two years later. He spent only six months in the Austrian Bundesliga after joining Sturm in January 2022 but scored 12 goals in 21 games for the club.
• Find all the latest football transfers on our That impressive form led to his move to Atalanta for a reported £15m, some 10 times what Sturm Graz had paid for him. He made his international debut in 2022 and has scored six goals in six games in qualifying for Euro 2024. "Rasmus is a truly exceptional talent; he possesses technical and physical attributes which rank him among the best players in the world for his age group," said Manchester United football director John Murtough. "Throughout the summer we have acted quickly and decisively to secure our primary targets. This will ensure Erik and his coaches have the best opportunity to prepare the squad to push for further success." Hojlund received a rapturous reception as he made his way out of the players' tunnel to the centre circle, where he held up a shirt bearing his name - but no number - before Manchester United's friendly with Lens, which ended in a 3-1 victory for the Red Devils. His presence has generated a huge amount of attention, with a Danish TV crew flying in solely to cover the moment. The transfer represents something of a gamble for United, who were heavily linked with a move for Harry Kane. In the recent past, they have gone for experienced forwards in the form of Radamel Falcao, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and, most recently, Cristiano Ronaldo. Hojlund is at the other end of the age and development stage. It will be fascinating to see whether manager Ten Hag can develop him the same way he brought through so many excellent Ajax players who he guided to the semi-final of the Champions League in 2019. One game a week for the first four weeks of the Premier League season allows time for Hojlund, once fit, to settle in. It promises to be a fascinating period for this self-confessed United fan, whose reputation has grown considerably since he cost Sturm Graz £1.3m 18 months ago.
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• None Everything United - go straight to all the best content | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66414526 |
Kai Cenat: Twitch streamer's hyped PS5 giveaway sparks New York mayhem - BBC News | 2023-08-05 | Police say influencer Kai Cenat could be charged with inciting a riot after chaos erupted at his event. | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
A YouTuber's announcement of a video games console giveaway sparked chaos and a major police response in the heart of New York City on Friday.
A crowd of roughly 2,000 converged at Union Square Park in anticipation of free PlayStation 5 devices from celebrity Twitch streamer Kai Cenat.
Police said the influencer was among a number of people detained and he could be charged with inciting a riot.
People were seen hurling fireworks, bottles and toppling barricades.
The scene outside Union Square station in New York
Subway trains passed the Union Square stop during the incident, the BBC's US partner CBS reported, as police urged people to avoid the area.
People first gathered at around 13:00 local time (17:00 GMT) after Mr Cenat posted on social media - where he has more than 10 million followers and subscribers - that he would be handing out 300 PlayStations.
By 15:00, hundreds had piled on to streets surrounding one of New York City's busiest train stops.
They climbed cars and the train station entrance's roof and threw bottles at responding police officers.
New York Police Department declared a "level four" mobilisation, meaning roughly 1,000 officers were deployed to the scene.
During a livestream inside a vehicle near Union Square as the disorder was unfolding, Mr Cenat said: "They're throwing tear gas out there.
"We're not going to do nothing until it's safe. Everybody for themselves, because it's a war out there man."
Mr Cenat was taken into police custody at around 17:00. The crowd was finally dispersed about an hour later.
According to a CBS affiliate, Mr Cenat did not have a permit for the event, which was reportedly a collaboration with Bronx YouTube star Fanum.
NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said: "We have encountered things like this before, but never to this level of dangerousness, where young people would not listen to our commands."
He added: "You had people walking around with shovels, axes, and other tools from the construction trade.
"In addition, individuals were also lighting fireworks. They were throwing them towards police, and they were throwing them at each other."
Mr Cenat made headlines in March after he broke the record for attracting the most Twitch subscribers by reaching 300,000.
Twitch is a livestreaming platform, where people typically play video games while chatting to viewers.
In the build-up to breaking the record, Mr Cenat launched a round-the-clock drive to boost his subscribers - chatting, gaming and interviewing guests, as well as sleeping, all on camera - for 30 days. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66368733 |
Plan for biggest Nessie search in more than 50 years - BBC News | 2023-08-05 | Volunteers have been sought for the effort which is to feature drones fitted with infrared cameras. | What has been described as the biggest search for the Loch Ness Monster since the early 1970s is due to be held later this month.
Drones fitted with infrared cameras are to be flown over the loch, and a hydrophone is to be used to detect unusual underwater sounds.
Organisers said volunteers would also look for possible signs of a creature from safe vantage points on land.
The search is to be held on 26 and 27 August.
The Loch Ness Centre in Drumnadrochit and a volunteer research team called Loch Ness Exploration are organising the effort.
They said it would be the biggest search for the monster since the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau studied the loch in 1972.
The bureau was set up in the 1960s to uncover the existence of a large beast in the waters.
People can pay for trips on the loch during this month's search.
Alan McKenna, of Loch Ness Exploration, said: "It's our hope to inspire a new generation of Loch Ness enthusiasts and by joining this large scale surface watch, you'll have a real opportunity to personally contribute towards this fascinating mystery that has captivated so many people from around the world."
Paul Nixon, general manager of the Loch Ness Centre, said the search would involve technology not previously used before.
A spokeswoman added: "Volunteers' safety is of course a priority during the quest.
"All viewing points are on land, and volunteers will be briefed by organisers each morning on suitable viewing points to ensure their safety."
A member of the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau during a search for the creature
In 2019, scientists said the creatures behind repeated sightings of the fabled Loch Ness Monster may be giant eels.
Researchers from New Zealand tried to catalogue all living species in the loch by extracting DNA from water samples.
Following analysis, the scientists ruled out the presence of large animals said to be behind reports of a monster.
No evidence of a prehistoric marine reptile called a plesiosaur or a large fish such as a sturgeon were found.
In April 1933, hotel manageress Aldie Mackay told of seeing a whale-like creature and the loch's water "cascading and churning".
The Inverness Courier newspaper reported the sighting and the editor at the time, Evan Barron, suggested the beast be described as a "monster" - kick-starting the modern myth of Nessie.
In an interview years later, Mrs Mackay said she had seen something "black, wet, with the water rolling off it" moving in a circle. She described it as a "beast" to her husband.
The legend dates back to the Middle Ages when Irish monk St Columba is said to have encountered a creature in the Ness, a river that flows from Loch Ness. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-66393902 |
TikTok influencer Mahek Bukhari guilty of murdering men in crash - BBC News | 2023-08-05 | Mahek Bukhari and her mother were behind a crash in which the two victims were rammed off the road. | Mahek Bukhari (left) and her mother Ansreen wanted to silence Saqib Hussain who had threatened to reveal an affair he was having with the older woman, the trial heard
A social media influencer and her mother have been found guilty of murdering two men who died when their car was rammed off the road.
Saqib Hussain and Hashim Ijazuddin, both 21, died when the car "split in two" near Leicester in February 2022.
It happened after Mr Hussain threatened to reveal an affair he and Ansreen Bukhari had been having, jurors heard.
Mrs Bukhari, 46, and her influencer daughter Mahek Bukhari were convicted after 28 hours of deliberations.
The TikTok influencer, 24, and her mother, both from Tunstall in Stoke-on-Trent, broke down in tears as the jury's verdicts were read out.
During the trial, the jury at Leicester Crown Court - which heard that Mr Hussain had threatened to use sexually explicit material to expose the long-running affair - listened to a panicked 999 call he made in the moments before the crash.
The jurors also found fellow defendants Rekhan Karwan and Raees Jamal guilty of the men's murder. Natasha Akhtar, 23, from Birmingham, Ameer Jamal, 28, and Sanaf Gulamustafa, 23, both from Leicester, were cleared of murder but convicted of manslaughter.
Co-accused Mohammed Patel, 21, from Leicester, was found not guilty of murder or manslaughter.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Police video shows the moments leading up to the crash
Mahek Bukhari - who has nearly 129,000 followers on TikTok where she posted about fashion and beauty - "set a trap" for Mr Hussain on the night he died, the three-month retrial heard.
Prosecutors said Mr Hussain, from Banbury in Oxfordshire, had been "lured" into meeting with the Bukharis on the pretence he would be given back £3,000 he said he had spent on taking his lover out during their relationship.
Instead, Mr Hussain and Mr Ijazuddin, who had driven his friend to the meeting in a Tesco car park in Hamilton in Leicester as a "favour", were ambushed and then chased by two cars.
The court was told Mr Ijazuddin's car split in two and caught fire after hitting a tree at the Six Hills junction on the A46, in the early hours of 11 February 2022.
Karwan, 29, from Leicester, and Jamal, 23, from Loughborough, were driving the vehicles used to pursue the victims.
Hashim Ijazuddin (left) and Saqib Hussain, both from Banbury, died at the scene
In a 999 call made by front-seat passenger Mr Hussain moments before his death, he said their car was being "rammed off the road" by balaclava-wearing assailants in two pursuing cars.
In the call, a distressed Mr Hussain said: "There's guys following me, they have balaclavas on… they're trying to ram me off the road.
"They're trying to kill me, I'm going to die… please sir, I just need help. They're hitting the back of the car, really fast… please I'm begging you. I'm going to die."
A scream was heard on the line before the call abruptly ended.
Ansreen Bukhari (left) and her daughter Mahek stood trial alongside six other people
Before remanding the convicted defendants into custody, Judge Timothy Spencer KC said: "You know the sentence will be very serious." Sentencing is due to take place on 1 September.
Following the verdicts, Mr Hussain's family said he was a "much-loved young man" who was "kind, compassionate, caring and sensible".
His loved ones said they had been "shattered by this senseless act" and were still struggling to come to terms with the enormity of their loss.
In a statement, they said: "Saqib's death has brought so much sadness, not just to his family, but to the many people that knew him.
"We have hope and confidence that Saqib has found eternal rest with Our Lord, and that we will get to be with him again when we pass.
"We also pray that no family will have to go through our experience."
Clockwise from top left: Rekan Karwan and Raees Jamal, who were found guilty of murder, Ameer Jamal, Sanaf Gulamustafa and Natasha Akhtar, who were convicted of manslaughter
Mr Ijazuddin's relatives said he was the "superstar" of their family and their world had come "crashing down" after his death.
In a statement, they said: "Everyone who knew Hashim, loved him. His death is not just a massive loss to our family but also to our whole community.
"Hashim was a cheeky young man who was always smiling, a handsome man who was beautiful both on the inside and out.
"He would do anything for anyone, was very caring and had a very kind heart.
"Hashim would always put others first and wouldn't hesitate to help others if they needed it.
"On that tragic day, he was simply helping his friend and this resulted in his death.
"It has been extremely painful not only losing Hashim at such a young age but also in the circumstances in which we lost him."
Saqib's father Sajad Hussain (centre) and Hashim Ijazuddin's uncle Anser Hussain (right) paid tribute to the young men after the verdicts
After the verdicts, Det Insp Mark Parish of Leicestershire Police said: "This was a callous and cold-blooded attack which ultimately cost two men their lives.
"After setting Mr Hussain and Mr Ijazuddin up, chasing them at high speed and then ultimately ramming their car off the road, none of the defendants made any attempt to help the victims or to call for help.
"Instead, they drove on and then even drove back past the collision site."
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The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-66165180 |
Voyager 2: Nasa fully back in contact with lost space probe - BBC News | 2023-08-05 | Voyager 2 has restored its communication with Earth months earlier than expected. | The space agency had expected a regular reset of the probe in October to fix the error
Nasa is back in full contact with its lost Voyager 2 probe months earlier than expected, the space agency said.
In July a wrong command was made to the spacecraft, sent to explore space in 1977, changing its position and severing contact.
A signal was picked up on Tuesday but thanks to an "interstellar shout" - a powerful instruction - its antenna is now back facing Earth.
Nasa had originally pinned hopes on the spacecraft resetting itself in October.
It took 37 hours for mission controllers to figure out if the interstellar command had worked as Voyager 2 is billions of miles away from Earth.
Staff used the "highest-power transmitter" to send a message to the spacecraft and timed it to be sent during "the best conditions" so the antenna lined up with the command, Voyager project manager Suzanne Dodd told AFP.
After communications were lost, the probe had been unable to receive commands or send back data to Nasa's Deep Space Network - an array of giant radio antennas across the world.
But the space agency confirmed on 4 August that data had been received from the spacecraft and it was operating normally.
Nasa expects the spacecraft laden with science instruments to remain on its planned trajectory through the universe.
On Monday, the space agency said its huge dish in Australia's capital, Canberra, was trying to detect any stray signals from Voyager 2. This was when the first faint "heartbeat" signal was heard.
The antenna had been bombarding Voyager 2's area with the correct command, in the hope of somehow making contact, Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which manages the Voyager missions, said.
The probe is programmed to reset its position multiple times each year to keep its antenna pointing at Earth. The next reset is due on 15 October, which Nasa had rested its hopes on if all other attempts had failed.
Voyager 2 and its twin Voyager 1 are the only spacecraft ever to operate outside the heliosphere, the protective bubble of particles and magnetic fields generated by the Sun. They reached interstellar space in 2018 and 2012 respectively.
The probes were designed to take advantage of a rare alignment of outer planets, which occurs about every 176 years, to explore Jupiter and Saturn.
Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft ever to fly by Neptune and Uranus, while Voyager 1 is now nearly 15 billion miles away from Earth, making it humanity's most distant spacecraft.
Once both spacecraft run out of power - expected sometime after 2025 - they will continue roaming through space. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-66408851 |
Harry Kane: Bayern Munich await decision from Tottenham on England striker - BBC Sport | 2023-08-05 | Bayern Munich are still waiting to hear from Tottenham Hotspur about whether they are prepared to sell England captain Harry Kane | Last updated on .From the section Tottenham
Bayern Munich are still waiting to hear from Tottenham Hotspur about whether they are prepared to sell England captain Harry Kane.
The German champions have reportedly made at least one offer for Kane, who Bild says has already agreed personal terms with the 30-year-old striker.
Bayern are playing down reports they set a deadline of Friday for a Spurs decision, but are growing frustrated with the situation.
Kane is Spurs' all-time top scorer but has only one year left on his contract.
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There has been no suggestion Kane would be willing to extend his contract, so if Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy opts to keep the England striker it would effectively be ending the club's last chance to cash in on their talisman.
Bayern officials met Levy earlier this week but no agreement was reached.
Tottenham open their Premier League campaign at Brentford on 13 August. Bayern begin their season with a German Super Cup meeting with RB Leipzig a day earlier.
The transfer window does not close until 1 September, but it is felt all sides would prefer a resolution before the new season begins.
• 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/66411616 |
Kai Cenat: Police charge Twitch streamer after PS5 giveaway mayhem - BBC News | 2023-08-05 | Police say US influencer Kai Cenat could be charged with inciting a riot after chaos in Manhattan. | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
US YouTuber Kai Cenat has been charged by police after a video games console giveaway event he organised sparked mayhem in New York.
Thousands of people rampaged through Union Square in anticipation of free PlayStation 5 devices, hurling bottles, stones and tins of paint.
Mr Cenat has been charged with at least two counts of inciting a riot and unlawful assembly, police confirmed to the BBC's partner CBS News.
Mr Cenat has been given a notice to appear in court, CBS reported.
People first gathered at about 13:00 local time (17:00 GMT) after Mr Cenat posted on social media - where he has more than 10 million followers and subscribers - that he would be handing out 300 PlayStations.
By 15:00, hundreds had piled on to streets surrounding one of New York's busiest train stops.
They climbed cars and the train station entrance's roof and threw bottles at responding police officers.
New York Police Department declared a "level four" mobilisation, meaning roughly 1,000 officers were deployed to the scene.
During a livestream inside a vehicle near Union Square as the disorder was unfolding, Mr Cenat said: "They're throwing tear gas out there.
"We're not going to do nothing until it's safe. Everybody for themselves, because it's a war out there man."
Mr Cenat was taken into police custody at around 17:00. The crowd was finally dispersed about an hour later.
According to a CBS affiliate, Mr Cenat did not have a permit for the event, which was reportedly a collaboration with Bronx YouTube star Fanum.
NYPD chief of department Jeffrey Maddrey said: "We have encountered things like this before, but never to this level of dangerousness, where young people would not listen to our commands."
He added: "You had people walking around with shovels, axes and other tools from the construction trade.
"In addition, individuals were also lighting fireworks. They were throwing them towards police and they were throwing them at each other."
Mr Cenat made headlines in March after he broke the record for attracting the most Twitch subscribers by reaching 300,000.
Twitch is a livestreaming platform, where people typically play video games while chatting to viewers.
In the build-up to breaking the record, Mr Cenat launched a round-the-clock drive to boost his subscribers - chatting, gaming and interviewing guests, as well as sleeping, all on camera - for 30 days. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66416366 |
Imran Khan: Pakistan military is 'petrified' of elections - BBC News | 2023-08-05 | In an interview with BBC HARDtalk, the former PM says only a free and fair vote can save Pakistan. | Former PM Imran Khan says the army is afraid of elections because he would win
Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan has told BBC HARDtalk the military is petrified of an election, which is expected to take place later this year.
He said Pakistan was under "undeclared martial law" and alleged "fascists" were leading it into the "dark ages".
Mr Khan was elected in 2018, ruled for just under four years, and was then ousted in a parliamentary no-confidence vote last year.
He said only free and fair elections would restore stability.
HARDtalk presenter Stephen Sackur asked the former Prime Minister if his current criticism of the military "meddling" in politics had arisen only since his relationship with the military cooled.
Mr Khan denied this, insisting his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is "the only party that was not created by military dictators". He alleges that this is why there has been a campaign to dismantle it.
Many critics argue that Mr Khan had the backing of the army during his rise to power, an allegation both sides reject. The military has heavily influenced Pakistan for most of its existence and is a crucial behind-the-scenes player in the country's politics.
In the last few months, the PTI has seen significant defections, and arrests of key members. But Mr Khan insists it is intact.
"How come, despite the establishment openly going against us, trying to dismantle us, how come after we are out of government, we won 30 out of 37 by-elections?"
He said the establishment had hoped that his removal from power would weaken his party. "Normally, it happens when you're out of power for quite a while. But instead, what happened was the party's popularity kept growing," Mr Khan said.
"They have tried everything. They have put 10,000 people in jail, including women and peaceful protesters."
Mr Khan's supporters have viewed him as a political outsider since the former Pakistan cricket captain founded his party 27 years ago.
He says he faces almost 200 charges including sedition, terrorism and abetting murder which he said has seen him shuttling between his tightly guarded home and the courts.
Mr Khan's arrest in May sparked nationwide protests that led to at least eight deaths
His arrest from inside a court in May sparked nationwide protests, some involving violence.
When questioned by HARDTalk as to whether he had created an atmosphere of hostility to the military resulting in violence, the former international cricket star-turned-politician said he and his party had never advocated the use of violence and had a record of peaceful protest.
He said they had no involvement in the instances of attacks on military buildings, and said those cases need to be investigated separately.
Mr Khan has insisted that it was the military's actions which provoked the unrest when they sent soldiers instead of police officers to arrest him.
"What did you think the supporters would do when they saw the army, the commander, was picking me up from there? Was there not going to be a protest?"
Speaking to the BBC from Lahore, Mr Khan said: "The fact is that the country is on the brink of a major disaster. We are heading [into] what I feel like are the dark ages.
"The only solution to Pakistan is free and fair elections. That's the only way we will get out of this mess."
He expressed concern at proposed new legislation which he said would give widespread undemocratic power to the intelligence agencies.
Since being ousted Mr Khan has become a vocal critic of the new government.
"Unfortunately, the country has been taken over by fascists, and they are petrified of elections. The reason why I'm suffering is because they know that [in the] elections, we would win hands down. And because of that, they're dismantling a democracy," he said.
You can find out more in the full HARDtalk interview on BBC News TV, World Service radio and on podcast via BBC Sounds. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-66391332 |
Barbie: Welsh dancer's role as Ken alongside Ryan Gosling - BBC News | 2023-08-05 | Liam Riddick imagined filming Hollywood dance routines as a boy. Being a Ken made it come true. | Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie star as Ken and Barbie in the blockbuster film
When Liam Riddick was six, he dreamed of dancing in movie sequences like those from the Hollywood classic Singing in the Rain.
Nearly 30 years on, the dancer got his dream when he was picked to be one of the Kens in this summer's biggest film sensation, Barbie.
The big-screen reinvention of the plastic doll's life by director Greta Gerwig, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as her would-be boyfriend Ken, is currently the most popular film worldwide and has already broken a number of movie industry records.
Liam, 34, originally from Brynna, Rhondda Cynon Taf, got a phone call from the film's "incredible" choreographer Jennifer White who he already knew, saying she "needed some bodies" and asking if he was free.
Liam Riddick as one of the Kens in Barbie
He had been a professional contemporary dancer for over a decade after studying at Coleg Gwent and London Contemporary Dance School before touring the world.
He also performed in the West End and on screen with ensembles such as the Richard Alston Dance Company and Ballet Boyz.
"I didn't really have the time," he said. "I was doing something else. But I kind of worked it out, and I made it happen. I'm so glad I did because it was so much fun."
Liam and about 40 other dancers were cast to perform in a vast dance sequence while Gosling sings I'm Just Ken - the irony being, of course, that they are all Kens, including Simu Liu's character who is Gosling's rival for Barbie's affections.
The rehearsals and filming process were both done at the Warner Brother studios (known by many for the Harry Potter studio tour on the same site) north of London, where Liam now lives, and took about three weeks last year.
"The one great thing about Barbie is it's not CGI. Everything is built. All the sets, the dream houses, everything is made. That's why the film is so fantastic," he said.
Liam on the Barbie set at Warner Brothers' studios
"My sister used to have dolls and I think my cousin had the dreamhouse so you know the whole set-up of opening it up and seeing the slide. It's exactly as it is in the film. They've done such an incredible job with it.
"I knew what to expect in the world of [Barbie], but when you're on set and you see the dreamhouse or you see the actual real life-size one, like you're the doll almost, it's mind-blowing. Very, very cool."
The rehearsals process was demanding because everything in the scene had to be very specific.
"We would do rehearsals and then footage would be sent off to the director, to Greta. She would have a look and then come back and say right, we need to change this, we need to think about this direction. So that was a bit of toing and froing," he said.
"You'd spend so much time rehearsing a really set structure or piece of choreography, and then come back and go, oh no, I've only just got that and now we have to change it."
The work was hard, but there was a lot of enjoyment along the way, Liam remembers.
"The rehearsal process was really good fun. I think the whole project was fun because of the Kens that were on it - the other dancers.
"It was just a laugh, you know. You go into work and you're just so excited because everyone's really great and being part of the whole thing was just magical."
Gosling did not attend rehearsals with the dancers but Liu did rehearse his part with them.
"It was nice to share the studio with him," Liam said.
All the Kens: The leads and the dancers pictured with director Greta Gerwig and choreographer Jennifer White
Once the dancers went onto the set for filming, anticipation was running high. "It was a bit of a shock. Everyone's very excited because on set was amazing.
"In the film it's a big open white space so there's no actual set but they have these stairs that go up either side. So very vast, and it was all done with lighting," Liam explained.
"But then Ryan Gosling walks in the room and you just go - 'that's Ryan Gosling!'
"Once you get over the initial 'oh my god', everyone's human. Everyone's the scene, and it that scene we're all Kens dancing about being Ken, so you're on the same level in that sense. So that was nice."
Although Liam knew the film was going to be big because of the roster of stars both starring in and producing it, he was unprepared for the exact extent of the phenomenon Barbie has become since its release.
Liam's favourite type of dancing remains contemporary in front of a live audience
"I didn't expect the amount of hype that it was getting. It's the biggest film in the world right now and it's just bonkers.
"Covid hit cinemas as well as dance and arts and all that. But to have a film that's completely sold out still and it's been maybe a week, maybe two now since it got released, it's just incredible.
"It's really lovely to be a part of that hype. Even if it is just a small smidge of that, my name is still in that credit."
Liam was expecting the film to a "fun, silly kind of film - being Barbie you just expect it, but it's a really great film.
"It's very funny, it's got a lot of heart and it's not just for children. I think it's split 50:50, if not more projected towards adults."
And taking part fulfilled a long-held ambition for him.
"I was a big fan when I was younger of the big Hollywood films like Singing in the Rain and they do the dream sequence, the big vast open space.
"When we were on set and we were doing a take and they'd shout 'action', I'd have that small moment of pure joy just living my little six-year-old boy's fantasy of being in Singing in the Rain and doing these dream sequences," he said.
"I feel like the whole project and being a part of it was my little gift to my six-year-old self to say, look at you now, look what you've done."
Liam is not the only Welshman who made an appearance in the film, with Gavin and Stacey actor Rob Brydon playing Sugar Daddy Ken.
It also features stars of Wales-filmed Sex Education, Ncuti Gatwa and Emma Mackey, who play one of the Kens and Barbies respectively, and Connor Swindells, who plays a Mattel employee.
There are several Barbies in the film, including Issa Rae, Hari Nef, Scottish actress Sharon Rooney, Alexandra Shipp, popstar Dua Lipa, whose song Dance The Night features on the soundtrack, and Kate McKinnon as Weird Barbie.
Will Ferrell, Helen Mirren, Rhea Pearlman and Michael Cera also have roles, while Kingsley Ben-Adir, who recently looked to Butetown in Cardiff for inspiration for his part in Marvel's Secret Invasion, plays another Ken. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-66362622 |
Strictly Come Dancing 2023: Entertainer Les Dennis completes line-up - BBC News | 2023-08-05 | The showbiz star and actor is "thrilled" to join the show as he approaches his 70th birthday. | Actor and entertainer Les Dennis is the 15th and final celebrity contestant to be announced for this year's Strictly Come Dancing.
He said he was "thrilled" to join the show, as his 70th birthday approaches.
He will join Annabel Croft, Nigel Harman, Bobby Brazier, Jody Cundy, Zara McDermott, Ellie Leach, Nikita Kanda, Adam Thomas and Eddie Kadi on the show.
Angela Rippon, Layton Williams, Angela Scanlon, Amanda Abbington and Krishnan Guru-Murthy will also appear.
Dennis, whose career spans more than 50 years, was host of ITV's Family Fortunes for 16 years.
He has also had roles in ITV's Coronation Street, Extras and Death in Paradise; and has appeared on stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the English National Opera, and in such plays and musicals as Hairspray, Legally Blonde The Musical and 42nd Street.
"In my career I've always gone for challenges outside my comfort zone and this is the ultimate one!" he said. "Can't wait."
This year's series will arrive on screens in the autumn and will be judged by Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke, Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse.
Here are the other contestants who have been announced for this year's Strictly Come Dancing so far:
Former tennis player and broadcaster Annabel Croft said she was looking forward to "swapping tennis balls for glitter balls" and was "looking forward to finding some joyfulness in the process".
Croft became the youngest British player to compete at Wimbledon for 95 years when she was just 15 years old.
She continues to play a role in the coverage of the tournament and other tennis events, as a presenter, commentator and pundit for the BBC, Sky, Amazon Prime, ITV and Discovery.
Croft has also presented entertainment shows such as Treasure Hunt and Inceptor.
Ex-EastEnders star Nigel Harman, known for playing Dennis Rickman on the soap, said he was "amazed, excited, and terrified" to be joining the line-up.
"As an armchair fan of the show, I have watched in awe as people have twirled and gyrated across the screen," he said. "And now it's my turn... gulp!"
Screen and stage actor and director Harman won awards, including most popular newcomer at the National Television Awards, for his role as the roguish Rickman. He has also appeared on TV in Downton Abbey and in the film Blood Diamond, as well as on London's West End in Guys and Dolls and Shrek the Musical - for which he won an Olivier award.
Harman recently joined the cast of the BBC hospital drama Casualty, as clinical lead Max Cristie.
Current EastEnders actor and model Bobby Brazier, son of the late Big Brother star Jade Goody, plays Freddie Slater in the BBC soap.
He said he was "excited" to join the Strictly line-up. "I can't wait to start training like a professional dancer and adding a few moves to my locker," he added.
Away from Walford, Brazier has modelled for the major fashion house Dolce & Gabbana at Milan Fashion Week.
Jody Cundy has represented Great Britain at seven Paralympics, winning eight gold medals in swimming and cycling events.
"[Strictly is] so far away from what I'm used to, but I'm looking forward to the challenge and pushing myself way out of my comfort zone, especially as I'm always last onto the dance floor," he said. "Can't wait to get stuck in, bring on the glitter and sequins!"
Cundy has also competed in multiple World Championships, winning 23 world titles, the most recent of which added at the recent World Cycling Championships in Glasgow.
In 2021, he became the first man in Paralympics GB history to win medals at seven different games, and was last year made a CBE for services to cycling.
Ellie Leach is best known for her 12 years playing Faye Windass on ITV soap Coronation Street.
She has been nominated for multiple British Soap Awards and Inside Soap Awards for her role in hard-hitting storylines, which have included being pregnant at 13 and later reconnecting with the child she gave up.
"It still doesn't feel real that I'm going to be doing Strictly!" she said.
"It's always been a dream of mine so I guess dreams really do come true!" added the actress, who left the soap earlier this year.
Nikita Kanda hosts the BBC Asian Network radio station's breakfast show, and also reports regularly on TV on the BBC's The One Show.
"I don't think it will properly sink in until I step on to the dancefloor," she said. "I can't wait to get glammed up and get out there. Throw the glitter on me!"
In her day job, the presenter - recently nominated for presenter of the year at the Asian Media Awards - has interviewed stars including Killing Eve's Sandra Oh, Bridgerton's Simone Ashley and Charithra Chandran and Marvel actress Awkwafina.
Her TV work has seen her look into the rise of cashless businesses and government support for female sport.
Thomas is best known for playing Adam Barton in ITV soap Emmerdale, winning the TV Choice award for best soap newcomer in 2010.
"I can't dance to save my life but I'm buzzing to learn and have a good laugh with my pro. Get me on that dance floor... I can't wait!" he said.
After appearing the 2016 edition of ITV's I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here, Thomas went on to co-host the spin-off-I'm a Celebrity: Extra Camp, and recently reprised his role as Donte Charles in BBC One drama Waterloo Road.
In 2020, the soap star teamed up with his brothers and fellow Mancs on the Mic podcasters Ryan and Scott, for six-part ITV travel series Absolutely India: Mancs in Mumbai, where they traced their family heritage alongside their father.
Rip-Off Britain presenter Rippon, 78, will be the series' oldest contestant, after Johnny Ball took part in 2012 aged 74.
Rippon said: "Why didn't they ask me 10 years ago? Having been a fan of Strictly since day one, and as a former presenter of Come Dancing, this will be quite an adventure for me."
She was the first female journalist to permanently present the BBC national television news, and was also one of the presenters of the BBC's original Come Dancing series.
She hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 1977, presented ITV breakfast show TV-am and famously appeared in a dancing sketch with comedy duo Morecambe and Wise.
Guru-Murthy is the lead anchor for Channel 4 News. He joined the programme in 1998 and is its second-longest-serving presenter after Jon Snow.
"I'm surprised, delighted and slightly confused to find myself taking part in Strictly on the basis of 'you only live once!" he said.
The broadcaster has also fronted Channel 4's Paralympics coverage and was one of the original presenters of the BBC News channel, then called BBC News 24, in 1997.
Last year, Guru-Murthy was briefly suspended after he was heard using an expletive to describe a Conservative minister, something for which he apologised "unreservedly".
Abbington is known for starring in TV series including Sherlock and Mr Selfridge, as well as stage plays such as The Son.
The actress said: "I'm thrilled to have been asked to do Strictly. I'm actually really shy and self-conscious so this will be a great opportunity for me to overcome those things! Plus I get to learn to dance, which I am incredibly excited about."
However, some fans have claimed they will boycott the show after Abbington stirred controversy earlier this year with comments about drag performances, questioning whether young children should watch or partake in sexually-charged drag shows.
In a recent Instagram video, Abbington explained she "loved drag" and was not transphobic, adding: "Personally speaking, I don't think 12-year-olds should be performing in drag shows in overtly sexual ways because they're 12 and they need a childhood."
Williams has performed in London's West End in Billy Elliot, Thriller Live and Everyone's Talking About Jamie. He has also appeared in TV series Bad Education and I Hate Suzie.
The actor said: "So excited to learn new skills from the best. Bring on the sequins… ALL the sequins!"
Williams most recently provided the voiceover for the BBC Three gay dating show I Kissed A Boy.
The actor said he would be happy as long as he is paired with a male professional dancer so he can be lifted up during the performances.
Angela Scanlon presents Your Home Made Perfect on BBC Two
Irish TV star Angela Scanlon hosts the BBC Two series Your Home Made Perfect as well as a Saturday night chat show on RTÉ.
"I'm terrified, I'm excited and I have so many questions. Will they make me tan? How itchy are sequins?! Do they do flesh coloured sports bras? Well - there's only one way to find out, right?!" she said.
Scanlon has appeared on TV shows including The One Show and Robot Wars, and presented a Sunday morning programme on BBC Radio 2.
She previously worked as a print journalist, writing for magazines including Grazia, Tatler and the Sunday Times Style supplement.
Kadi is a stand-up comic who became the first black British comedian to headline London's 02 Arena.
He announced his participation on BBC Radio 1Xtra's Official UK Afrobeats Chart Show on Sunday, which he presents.
"I'm so unbelievably proud and honoured that Strictly and the BBC have asked me to join the 2023 team," Kadi said.
"I promise you, I'm going to give it everything I've got. This is going to be a vibe."
Zara McDermott worked as a government policy advisor before joining ITV reality show Love Island in 2018, and since leaving the villa has presented a series of documentaries.
"I grew up watching Strictly every year with my nan and she was the biggest fan," she said. "We would dance around the house and I have such fond memories of that time in my life.
"I even remember the first ever series, and being mesmerised by all the beautiful dresses! I can't wait to throw myself into this experience and start training. It's going to be incredible."
Since leaving Love Island, McDermott has presented BBC documentaries including Revenge Porn, Uncovering Rape Culture, Disordered Eating, and Gaia: A Death on Dancing Ledge.
Sign up for our morning newsletter and get BBC News in your inbox. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-66408141 |
Was Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin a dead man walking? - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | Ever since he led a mutinous march on Moscow in late June, some speculated Yevgeny Prigozhin's days were numbered. | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Ever since he led a mutinous march on Moscow in late June Yevgeny Prigozhin was described by Russia watchers as "a dead man walking".
Commenting recently on the mercenary boss's life expectancy the CIA Director William Burns even said: "If I were Prigozhin I wouldn't fire my food taster".
If it is ever proven that the mid-air destruction of a plane carrying Yevgeny Prigozhin was an act of deliberate, cold-blooded revenge by the Kremlin, this will go down in Russian history as the ultimate "special military operation".
Prigozhin, a former convict, chef and hot dog salesman-turned mercenary boss, had a lot of admirers amongst the ranks of his Wagner mercenary army and beyond. Many will have witnessed his warm reception by the public in Rostov-on-Don when he turned up there exactly two months ago in the throes of his aborted one-day rebellion.
But he also had a lot of enemies in Moscow, most notably in the upper ranks of the Russian military whose leaders he frequently and publicly criticised.
What has probably turned out to have been his fatal mistake was crossing President Putin when he launched that march on Moscow on 23 June. Although he did not mention Putin by name at the time, Prigozhin infuriated the Kremlin by very publicly criticising the official reasons given for Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He told Russians they had been deceived and that their sons were dying in the Ukraine war due to poor leadership. This was heresy and Putin's video message on that day was sizzling with vitriol. He called Prigozhin's march on Moscow a betrayal and a stab in the back.
Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian spy who became a British citizen, was fatally poisoned with radioactive polonium-210 in 2006
Vladimir Putin does not forgive traitors nor those who challenge him.
The former Russian intelligence officer-turned defector, Alexander Litvinenko, died a slow and agonising death in a London hospital in 2006 after he was poisoned with radioactive Polonium-210.
A subsequent investigation concluded that this assassins brought the lethal substance with them from Russia and that it could only have been sourced from a Russian government laboratory. Moscow denied any involvement but refused to surrender the two suspects for trial.
Then there was Sergei Skripal, a former Russian KGB officer and again a defector to Britain.
In 2018 he and his daughter Yulia narrowly escaped death when GRU Russian military intelligence officers allegedly put Novichok nerve agent on the door handle of his house in Salisbury.
A discarded perfume bottle containing the lethal agent was later found by a local Wiltshire resident, Dawn Sturgess, who died after applying it to her wrists.
Sergei Skripal survived being poisoned with Novichok nerve agent in 2018
Inside Russia there is a long list of people, including both critics and businessmen, who have met with sudden death, in some cases "falling out of upper floor windows". President Putin's most vocal opponent, Alexei Navalny, is now languishing in a penal colony on what are said to be politically-motivated fraud charges. He too survived assassination by Novichok nerve agent poisoning after nearly dying onboard a flight across Siberia in 2020.
But Prigozhin was a very different case, which makes his demise all the more controversial for Russians. Here was a man who was extremely useful to the Kremlin and seen by some Russians as a national hero.
His Wagner group of mercenaries, founded in 2014, was formed from a hard core of former Russian Speznaz (Special Forces) operatives and other soldiers. It has been highly active in eastern Ukraine where it drove the Ukrainian army out of Bakhmut, acquiring a fearsome reputation not shared by the often decrepit and poorly-led regular Russian army. Wagner bolstered its ranks when Prigozhin personally toured Russian penal colonies to recruit thousands of convicts, including rapists and murderers. These were effectively used as cannon fodder in eastern Ukraine where commanders ordered them to advance into withering fire in repeated attempts to overwhelm the enemy lines.
Wagner have also been operating in Syria for years but it is in Africa where they have achieved strategic success for the Kremlin. There they have developed a brutally effective business model that is proving popular with undemocratic regimes. By providing a range of "security services", from VIP protection to influencing elections, silencing critics, they have received in return mineral rights and access to gold and other precious metals in several African states. Money flows back to Moscow and everyone gets rich - except the actual populations of those countries.
Wagner troops have been accused of numerous human rights abuses including the massacre of civilians in Mali and Central African Republic. Yet they have succeeded in supplanting French and other western forces across a huge swathe of the African continent. Only this week Prigozhin popped up on a Telegram channel in a video presumed to have been filmed at a base in Mali, promising an expansion of Wagner's activities in Africa and "freedom" for its people.
Despite all this, there are certainly some back in Moscow, notably in military intelligence, who viewed him as a liability, a loose cannon and a potential future threat to Putin's rule and the system around him. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66601452 |
Liverpool flood deaths: Two die after driving car into floodwater - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | Passers-by fought to free the man and woman during a flash flood but they were later pronounced dead. | Officers were called to Queens Drive on Saturday night
A man and woman have died after becoming trapped in their car in a flooded road in Liverpool.
It happened in Queens Drive in the Mossley Hill area shortly before 21:00 BST on Saturday night, police said.
Passers-by fought to help the pair, named locally as married couple Philip and Elaine Marco, who were stuck inside a black Mercedes in deep floodwater.
Emergency workers took them to hospital, but they were pronounced dead.
Amateur footage filmed in the area appears to show water gushing on to the road - which dips under a bridge.
Met Office data shows heavy rain at more than 32mm (1.25 inches) an hour was falling close to where it happened.
Merseyside Police said the pair's next of kin have been informed and formal identification has been made.
Det Ch Insp Mike Dalton said: "Our thoughts go out to the family of the man and woman who sadly lost their lives in this tragic incident, despite the best efforts of passing members of the public, our officers and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Services.
"We are at the early stages of an ongoing investigation to establish the circumstances.
"Road closures remain in the area and motorists are advised to avoid the road."
People living in the area told the Liverpool Echo Queens Drive has been problematic for some time
A Liverpool City Council spokesman said highways staff had assisted the police, adding: "Our thoughts are with those involved and their families."
The authority reiterated a plea for motorists to continue to avoid the area while the investigation takes place.
People living in the area told the BBC the road has been problematic for decades with cars and buses getting stuck in deep water there.
Fifty-four-year-old Mike Sims said he regularly got stuck in flood water when he cycled to school more than 40 years ago.
"Often when it rained it would be up to my waist and I had to get off my bike and walk," he said.
"My mother was stranded in her car in waist high water whilst dropping us of at school. Her mini van was flooded and pushed by passers-by."
He said buses also used to get trapped when it rained.
Liverpool's deputy lord mayor Richard Kemp said he had raised concerns about flooding in the area for about 20 years.
In a letter to the council, he said short-term measures had been carried out, such as flushing out the drains, but "this has never been enough".
"The major problem is that the core of the drainage system is more than 150 years old and is clearly inadequate," he said.
He called for action including a better drainage system, better lighting and an electric warning system for drivers.
Rebecca Wilson, who was in a taxi in Queens Drive around the time, told the Liverpool Echo she thought the flooding might have been caused by a burst pipe.
She described her experience as "terrifying", saying the water was "gushing down like waterfall" and that it looked like a burst dam.
Police are appealing for anyone who was in Queens Drive and saw what happened, or stopped to try and help, to come forward.
A file has been passed to the coroner.
Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-66635952 |
Aston Villa team bus hit by brick after win at Burnley - BBC Sport | 2023-08-27 | Aston Villa's team bus is attacked following the game at Burnley, causing significant damage but no injuries. | Last updated on .From the section Aston Villa
The windscreen of Aston Villa's team bus was hit by a brick as the side were travelling back to the Midlands following their victory at Burnley.
The incident took place at junction 10 of the M65 after Sunday's Premier League match, which Villa won 3-1.
Police said the brick was thrown from a footbridge as the bus travelled along the motorway at around 17:15 BST.
In a statement Burnley said the club are "relieved to hear nobody was hurt in the incident".
"We strongly condemn this behaviour and will support Lancashire Police in their efforts to find whoever was responsible," the statement added.
Supt Melita Worswick, of Lancashire Police, said: "This incident occurred when a great deal of traffic was leaving the area following the football match between Burnley and Aston Villa.
"It is nothing but good fortune that the brick didn't cause more damage, or result in somebody being seriously injured or even killed."
The incident happened around two miles away from Burnley's Turf Moor ground.
The match was Burnley's second home game of the season. After their opening match against Premier League champions Manchester City, Burnley issued a statement condemning the "unacceptable behaviour" of some supporters for incidents including items being thrown and fans getting on to the pitch.
City defender Rico Lewis was struck by a lighter thrown from the crowd while a fan was restrained when they tried to get on to the playing area. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66635771 |
Nessie hunters hear sounds but fail to record them - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | The mystery of the Loch Ness Monster lives on despite a weekend of amateur sleuthing. | The mystery of the fabled Loch Ness monster endures despite a weekend of mass-participation Nessie hunting.
About 200 volunteers kept a lookout for mysterious events from the shoreline, but spotted nothing unusual.
Observers on a boat using acoustic equipment reported four unidentified "gloops" but then realised their recording device wasn't plugged in.
Organisers said visitors from around the world joined the hunt despite appalling weather.
Alan McKenna, from volunteer research group Loch Ness Exploration, was on a boat using a hydrophone system to capture the underwater sounds of the Highlands loch.
He said when they were testing the system on Friday, they heard four distinctive "gloops".
"We all got a bit excited, ran to go make sure the recorder was on and it wasn't plugged in," he sheepishly admitted.
The first written records of monster date from the 7th Century when a chronicler told how many years before, the Irish monk St Columba had banished a water beast from the River Ness.
The modern legend began in 1933 when hotel manageress Aldie Mackay claimed to have seen a whale-like creature in the loch.
Fact or fiction, the legend of the monster is an important driver of tourism
The following year the famous "surgeon's photo" captured what looked like a prehistoric beast in the water, though 60 years later it was exposed as hoax involving modelling clay and a clockwork submarine.
The old hotel building at Drumnadrochit where Aldie Mackay reported her famous sighting is now home to newly-revamped Loch Ness Centre which jointly organised this weekend's hunt with Loch Ness Exploration.
As well as bedraggled volunteers on the shore, hundreds more monster hunters took part from more comfortable surroundings, by watching webcams trained on the loch.
"We've had people from Spain, France, Germany and we had a Finnish couple. We've had news teams from Japan, Australia, America and it has been really good," said Mr McKenna.
"We've all kind of banded together. It's been fantastic."
Loch Ness Centre manager Paul Nixon was adamant the event - billed as the biggest Nessie hunt in 50 years - was more than a publicity stunt, and said it showed that fascination with Nessie was as strong as ever.
"I believe there is something big lurking in the depths of Loch Ness," he said.
"Now I don't know whether it's a monster - I don't know what it is but I reckon there's something down there." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-66633215 |
France to ban female students from wearing abayas in state schools - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | The education minister says female Muslim students will not be allowed to wear the loose-fitting robe. | Pupils will be banned from wearing abayas, loose-fitting full-length robes worn by some Muslim women, in France's state-run schools, the education minister has said.
The rule will be applied as soon as the new school year starts on 4 September.
France has a strict ban on religious signs in state schools and government buildings, arguing that they violate secular laws.
Wearing a headscarf has been banned since 2004 in state-run schools.
"When you walk into a classroom, you shouldn't be able to identify the pupils' religion just by looking at them," Education Minister Gabriel Attal told France's TF1 TV, adding: "I have decided that the abaya could no longer be worn in schools."
The move comes after months of debate over the wearing of abayas in French schools.
The garment is being increasingly worn in schools, leading to a political divide over them, with right-wing parties pushing for a ban while those on the left have voiced concerns for the rights of Muslim women and girls.
"Secularism means the freedom to emancipate oneself through school," Mr Attal told TF1, arguing the abaya is "a religious gesture, aimed at testing the resistance of the republic toward the secular sanctuary that school must constitute."
He said that he would give clear rules at the national level before schools open after the summer break.
In 2010, France banned the wearing of full face veils in public which provoked anger in France's five million-strong Muslim community.
France has enforced a strict ban on religious signs at schools since the 19th Century, including Christian symbols such as large crosses, in an effort to curb any Catholic influence from public education.
It has been updating the law over the years to reflect its changing population, which now includes the Muslim headscarf and Jewish kippa, but abayas have not been banned outright.
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The debate on Islamic symbols has intensified since a Chechen refugee beheaded teacher Samuel Paty, who had shown students caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed, near his school in a Paris suburb in 2020.
The announcement is the first major policy decision by Mr Attal, who was appointed France's education minister by President Emmanuel Macron this summer at the age of 34.
The CFCM, a national body representing many Muslim associations, has said items of clothing alone were not "a religious sign". | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66634890 |
Afghanistan: Taliban ban women from visiting popular national park - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | Afghanistan's vice and virtue minister says female visitors to Band-e-Amir were not wearing hijabs properly. | Band-e-Amir, seen here in May this year, was Afghanistan's first national park
The Taliban government have banned women from visiting the Band-e-Amir national park in Bamiyan province.
Afghanistan's acting minister of virtue and vice, Mohammad Khaled Hanafi, said women had not been observing hijab inside the park.
He called on religious clerics and security agencies to forbid women from entering until a solution was found.
Band-e-Amir is a significant tourist attraction, becoming Afghanistan's first national park in 2009.
It is a popular destination for families and the ban on women attending will prevent many from being able to enjoy the park.
Unesco describes the park as a "naturally created group of lakes with special geological formations and structure, as well as natural and unique beauty".
However, Mr Hanafi said going to the park to sightsee "was not obligatory", Afghan agency Tolo News reported.
Religious clerics in Bamiyan said the women who were visiting the park and not following the rules were visitors to the area.
"There are complaints about lack of hijab or bad hijab, these are not Bamiyan residents. They come here from other places," Sayed Nasrullah Waezi, head of the Bamiyan Shia Ulema Council told Tolo news.
Afghan former MP Mariam Solaimankhil shared a poem she had written on X, formerly known as Twitter, about the ban and wrote "we'll return, I'm sure of it".
Fereshta Abbasi, of Human Rights Watch, noted women had been banned from visiting the park on Women's Equality Day and wrote it was a "total disrespect to the women of Afghanistan".
Band-e-Amir, seen here last year, was popular with female visitors, who have been banned from most education and work
Meanwhile Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, asked why stopping women from visiting Band-e-Amir "is necessary to comply with Sharia and Afghan culture?".
The Taliban have a history of implementing bans on women doing certain activities on what it insists is a temporary basis, including preventing them from attending schools in December 2022.
The ban on visiting the Band-E-Amir national park is the latest in a long list of activities that women have been prevented from doing since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021.
Most recently, the Taliban ordered hair and beauty salons in Afghanistan to shut and in mid-July stopped women from sitting the national university entrance exams. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-66633178 |
Three US marines killed in Australia helicopter crash - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | Five more have been taken to hospital in a serious condition, US officials say. | There have been several fatal crashes involving Ospreys in recent years
Three US marines have been killed and 20 injured after a military helicopter crashed during exercises in Australia.
The MV-22B Osprey came down on its way to the remote Tiwi islands north of Darwin. Five of the marines are said to be in a serious condition.
They were taking part in Predators Run, involving 2,500 troops from the US, Australia, the Philippines, East Timor and Indonesia.
Only US personnel were on board the aircraft.
The incident took place on Melville Island north of the Northern Territory capital Darwin on Sunday.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the incident as tragic and said every assistance would be given to the injured.
"Five marines have been returned to Darwin for treatment with the remaining being triaged at the scene," said local police commissioner Michael Murphy.
"Additional police and defence personnel have been deployed to Melville Island to support operations, triage injured people and return them to Darwin and also maintain the crash scene while investigations continue."
The incident is the second fatal helicopter crash during joint exercises in northern Australia in less than a month.
On 29 July four Australian soldiers were presumed dead after their 45 MRH-90 Taipan crashed off the coast of Queensland while participating in Exercise Talisman Sabre, the largest bilateral military training exercise between Australia and the US.
The Osprey is a hybrid combining features of helicopters and turbo-prop planes which can travel much faster than a conventional helicopter.
But it has a troubled history, with a fatal crash in Norway last year killing four marines. Three others died in 2017 when their aircraft clipped the back of a transport ship off northern Australia. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-66632201 |
The Hundred 2023: Oval Invincibles beat Manchester Originals in thrilling men's final - BBC Sport | 2023-08-27 | Oval Invincibles stage a remarkable fightback to beat Manchester Originals and win the men's Hundred at Lord's. | Last updated on .From the section The Hundred
Oval Invincibles staged a remarkable fightback to beat Manchester Originals and win the men's Hundred at Lord's.
Outstanding fast bowling from the Originals reduced the Invincibles to 34-5 and risked turning the showpiece into an anti-climax.
But Tom Curran and Jimmy Neesham launched a stirring counter-attack and shared an unbroken partnership of 127, the highest for any wicket in the short history of the men's Hundred.
Curran blasted five sixes in his 67 not out from 34 balls, while Neesham added an unbeaten 57 from 33 to lift the Invincibles to 161-5.
Originals had comfortably chased 197 to beat Southern Brave in the eliminator on Saturday, but this time the dismissal of opener Phil Salt for 25 heralded the fall of four wickets for 17 runs.
The loss of captain Jos Buttler, bowled for 11 swiping at spinner Danny Briggs, was a hammer blow, while Nathan Sowter held a magnificent catch tiptoeing around the boundary to dismiss Laurie Evans.
Max Holden kept faint hopes alive with 37, leaving the Originals needing an unlikely 32 from the final 10 balls.
Tom Curran continued his fine day by conceding only nine from the first five, then brother Sam closed out the game to leave Originals on 147-6 and the Invincibles victors by 14 runs.
This marks a second successive final defeat for the Originals, while Invincibles take the men's title for the first time, joining Southern Brave women as the champions of 2023.
• None 'Hundred's best year shows it may have something'
• None Who did the BBC Sport readers' pick in their team of the men's Hundred?
Invincibles had been the dominant team on the way to topping the group table, but injuries and international call-ups meant they were missing five players that had got them to the final - Jordan Cox, Sunil Narine, Heinrich Klaasen, Adam Zampa and Spencer Johnson.
Briggs was playing his first game of the tournament, Ireland batter Paul Stirling was signed just for the final and New Zealand's Neesham had played only once before.
And the patched-up team came close to being overwhelmed by the Originals onslaught - the five wickets fell in the space of 36 balls.
The rescue act came through all-rounders Tom Curran and Neesham. For Curran, it is a continuation of some good form with the bat after his summer as a bowler has been limited by a back injury. For Neesham, it is a taste of glory at Lord's four years on from batting in the super over as New Zealand were agonisingly beaten in the World Cup final by England.
Curran muscled the ball over the leg-side rope and hit one outrageous cut for six off the left-arm pace of Josh Little. Neesham's only six went in the same direction as his maximum off Jofra Archer in the 2019 super over.
Neesham gave one half-chance on 16, but his miscue evaded the hands of spinner Tom Hartley as he tried to run back and take the catch off his own bowling.
Their century partnership came up in only 49 balls and Curran hit the final ball of the innings, bowled by Zaman Khan, for a mighty straight maximum to surpass the previous best men's stand of 124 between Dawid Malan and Darcy Short for Trent Rockets against Southern Brave in 2021.
Beaten by Trent Rockets in the final 12 months ago, Originals looked to have the momentum this time around thanks to the breathtaking way they pulled off the highest chase in Hundred history against the Brave on Saturday.
Indeed, the way they tore into the Invincibles top order had them on course for a rampant victory.
Richard Gleeson took the inside edge of Jason Roy and persuaded Stirling to hit a full toss to mid-on. Little had Sam Curran edge behind for a golden duck, the Irishman bowling 15 of the 25 balls in the powerplay for figures of 1-7 - four of those runs came from a misfield.
Captain Sam Billings tickled down the leg side off Paul Walter and Will Jacks holed out from the spin of Hartley. Invincibles were in tatters, only for Tom Curran and Neesham to change the complexion of the game. Originals barely recovered.
Salt and Buttler, the tournament's leading run-scorer, have formed a formidable opening partnership and Salt raced to 25 from 16 balls. However, when he miscued Tom Curran to the running Sam Curran at mid-off, the Invincibles squeezed.
Buttler, starved of the strike, played a frustrated hack at Briggs to depart for 11 from 15 balls, Wayne Madsen was bowled by Sowter before the same man pulled off his superb catch off Evans. Aware of the presence of the boundary, he took the catch, threw the ball up, hopped off the field and back on, then completed the catch all while avoiding the rope.
Holden battled hard, but when he was lbw on review to Sam Curran, Invincibles had the title in the bag.
'Every game a different person has stood up' - what they said
Match Hero, Oval Invincibles' Tom Curran on BBC Two: "Everyone keeps saying that I've improved my batting but I don't see it that way. It's a compliment and it's nice to hear. But I have worked very hard on it, yes I came in to Surrey primarily as a bowler but it's pleasing to show what I can do.
"Jimmy was unbelievable. It was a crucial partnership for us and we really fed off each other out there. He's a class player and I think the left and right-hand combo helped us out.
"It has been a rollercoaster but I'm so pleased."
Oval Invincibles all-rounder Sam Curran on BBC Two: "I think at 34-5 it all comes down to Tom [Curran] and Jimmy [Neesham] and the way they played in a pressure situation. Every game, a different person has stood up, and that's the key to winning trophies.
"I am pleased for Tom, because he's had a hard season with injury and has been batting brilliantly. I am so happy. I think we are born to play and win trophies.
"The Hundred is going to get bigger and better. To get that trophy is brilliant. The group has been pretty similar and the celebrations tonight are going to be pretty special."
Oval Invincibles batter Will Jacks on BBC Two: "Buzzing! We worked hard for that. It was a crazy start to this game so to get to this position is still quite hard to believe.
"We've won close games before in this competition and that helped us." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/66635127 |
Putin and Wagner boss Prigozhin: How a long friendship turned ugly - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | It all began in St Petersburg when state security services mingled with the criminal underworld. | "I had known Prigozhin for a very long time, since the 1990s," Vladimir Putin recalled this week
Theirs was a relationship borne out of the murky world where Russia's state security services mingled with the criminal underworld.
While Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner military company grew into one of the most influential structures in Russia, Vladimir Putin became increasingly dependent on its battlefield successes in Ukraine.
But it was in the seedy scene of early 1990s St Petersburg that their paths first met, during the politically fraught years after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Both men originate from Russia's second city and cultural capital.
Home to the Hermitage art museum and Imperial Winter Palace, it is also considered the crime capital of Russia and a base for powerful gangs.
The exact circumstances of their first encounter are unknown, but Prigozhin was fresh out of jail and Mr Putin had recently returned from a mission in East Germany as an officer with the Soviet security service, the KGB, and was looking for a way into politics.
Convicted for the first time at 17, Prigozhin was no stranger to crime. After a suspended sentence for theft in the late 1970s, he was given a lengthy jail term for robbery in 1981.
He and two others had grabbed a woman by the neck in the street and tried to strangle her, before running off with her winter boots and earrings.
When he left prison in 1990, Russia was a very different place. Instead of the old Soviet chief, Leonid Brezhnev, reformist leader Mikhail Gorbachev was in power, the Berlin Wall had fallen and perestroika (restructuring) was well under way.
Prigozhin started out as a St Petersburg hot-dog salesman, but by the mid-1990s he had opened a restaurant. The Old Custom House is most likely the place the two men first met.
The menu of foie gras and oysters attracted local crime bosses as well as the city's powerful mayor, Anatoly Sobchak. Vladimir Putin, then aged 40, went there too as Sobchak's deputy.
Prigozhin's single restaurant became a chain and his clientele included politicians from far beyond St Petersburg.
By the turn of the century, when Mr Putin became president, the two men had become close associates and Prigozhin's nickname, Putin's chef, dates back to this time.
A photo shows Prigozhin serving dinner to him and President George W Bush.
Vladimir Putin liked to entertain leaders like President George W Bush in St Petersburg
For a man such as Russia's new leader, it was imperative to have a personal chef to ensure his food was safe to consume.
Ever the suspicious KGB mind, he had also served as the head of its successor, the FSB.
It was also convenient to have a man whose innermost secrets he would have known and whom he could influence.
With Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin, Russia's security services slowly began to take back control. Prigozhin took on a variety of Kremlin tasks, particularly those beyond the security services' reach.
Their association was now at arm's length, so the man in the Kremlin could plausibly deny involvement.
Prigozhin set up a media empire focused on spreading disinformation within Russia and abroad. The stories it invented were often so fantastical that no state propaganda apparatus would dare to spread them.
As social media began to gain influence, he set up a "troll factory" whose main effect was to leave Russians with the feeling there was no such thing as truth and no point looking for it.
It took another decade before he admitted to being the brains behind the "Internet Research Agency".
After the Ukrainian Maidan Revolution in 2013-14 and Russia's annexation of Crimea, the first reports of the Wagner private military company surfaced. Wagner supported pro-Russian separatists in Crimea and in the east of Ukraine.
Mercenary organisations are banned by Russian law, even though Prigozhin and his mercenaries had become increasingly important for stamping President Putin's authority.
So until as late as spring 2022, the Kremlin maintained that it had no connection to him.
Wagner also played a prominent role in Syria - and this is when its ruthless commander, Dmitry Utkin, first came into view as Prigozhin's close associate. The mercenary group has for years been active in a number of African countries, from Libya and Mali to Central African Republic.
But officially, Prigozhin had no special relationship with the president.
Mr Putin or his press secretary Dmitry Peskov would say merely that they were aware of the existence of a Russian "private businessman" who was involved in those activities. But it was clear such operations couldn't be conducted without Kremlin consent.
President Putin only admitted in June that Wagner had received enormous state funding for years and that its mercenaries had fought valiantly in battle. And yet because private military companies were illegal, he said that as a group, they did not exist.
Prigozhin became most vocal in a series of video statements from Bakhmut where he criticised the defence establishment
It was not until the summer of 2022 that reports emerged of Wagner fighting in Ukraine.
Within weeks, Prigozhin was touring Russian prisons, recruiting inmates for the war effort.
The Kremlin spokesman spoke of him as a man "whose heart aches for what's happening" and one who was "making a big contribution".
Prigozhin opened a Wagner Centre in St Petersburg in November and his criticisms of the Russian army and the defence ministry became more vocal.
As Russian forces were forced into a series of retreats in Ukraine, his criticism reached a peak.
He complained that the army command was refusing to recognise the mercenaries' contribution to the war effort.
Later, he openly accused Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and the Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, of "starving" Wagner of ammunition while the group was losing thousands of men in the fight for Bakhmut in the east of Ukraine.
Prigozhin was filmed talking to Russian military figures in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don as his mutiny unfolded
At one point, Prigozhin even aimed his criticism at the president, referring to him with the Russian word for grandad.
"How can we win a war when dedushka is a moron?"
He did not name Putin, but Russians were left in no doubt he was directly implicating him.
The Kremlin steered clear of commenting on the escalating feud, but it was a row that would shake Russia's leadership to its core and ultimately bring down Prigozhin.
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He refused a defence ministry demand to bring all mercenary groups under its control. As the situation reached boiling point, he dared to question the very goals of the war.
On 23 June, he announced a "march for justice" on the road to Moscow.
Sources have told the BBC that his mutiny was a sign of Prigozhin's desperation and an attempt to attract President Putin's attention to his conflict with the Russian military.
"He was worried about losing his autonomy," one source who knew Prigozhin explained.
Wagner mercenaries shot down two military helicopters and a plane and killed up to 15 Russian soldiers.
Without naming him personally, President Putin described Prigozhin as a traitor who "drove a knife in the back of the country".
This botched revolt was to be the final rupture between them.
One of the last images of Prigozhin showed him purportedly in Africa
Days after the rebellion had ended in failure, Vladimir Putin met his former ally at the Kremlin for three hours, along with more than 30 Wagner commanders.
Vladimir Putin had no more need of him, but there were still questions over the fate of his men.
Prigozhin clearly believed his future lay in Africa and his final online video was purportedly filmed in an African field where he claimed: "Here we are, putting God's fear into Isis, al-Qaeda and other bandits."
But his story appears to have come to an end soon afterwards, following a trajectory similar to other examples in Russian history. A man handed the task of executing the Kremlin's cruellest policies was himself brutally punished and ultimately destroyed.
Or in Vladimir Putin's own assessment: "He was a man with a difficult fate and he made serious mistakes in life." | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66602811 |
The old Scottish pub that found a new life in California - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | St Mungo Vintners shut in Glasgow in 1974 and its interior gathered dust in a warehouse for decades. | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The new Californian home for St Mungo Vintners
An old Scottish pub has been given a new life in California, at the hi-tech headquarters of a US health firm.
The Art Nouveau interior of St Mungo Vintners - with its dark wood, stained glass and brass fittings - was saved by an antiques dealer when the pub closed its doors in Glasgow in 1974.
It was shipped to the US where it gathered dust in a warehouse for years.
The bar and its fittings have now been bought by medical app firm GoodRx and used to build a "speakeasy" for staff.
California antiques dealer Mitchell Litt said St Mungo Vintners was "beautiful" when he first saw it on Glasgow's Queen Street in the 1970s.
Designed by architects MacWhannell & Rogerson, it was built in 1904 in the style of the Glasgow School - inspired by architect Charles Rennie Macintosh.
St Mungo Vintners closed its doors in Glasgow in 1974
Mitchell said: "I had no idea at that time who Charles Rennie Mackintosh or that school of architecture was, or anything else of that nature.
"What mostly attracted us was the leaded glass windows, there were quite a few throughout the pub.
"It was just basically the art nouveau interior and the way the whole thing looked."
Mitchell had set up an antiques firm with his wife in 1973, importing items from Europe to sell in the United States.
On their second or third trip to Glasgow they visited St Mungo Vintners and decided to buy the pub.
"I forget the price we paid," he said.
"I could envision it in a place in Southern California where I was from."
From the industrial streets of 1970s Glasgow, Mitchell shipped the entire pub interior in a 40ft container to the sunshine of Long Beach, California.
But with his new company mainly focused on buying and selling furniture, it ended up tucked away at the very back of Mitchell's warehouse.
Doug Hirsch is co-founder of US health firm GoodRx
It remained there for almost 50 years, until Mitchell's son sent a friend, Doug Hirsch, an old newspaper clipping about the pub.
Doug was the co-founder and chief mission officer of GoodRx.
He wanted to create an old-time "speakeasy" bar at his company's gleaming new headquarters in Santa Monica - where his staff could gather and relax.
Located in a former Santa Monica pen factory, the open-plan offices are seamlessly modern, with plenty of natural light.
But nestled in the building's computer server room is a door that leads to another era, that might feel strangely familiar for anyone that ever drank at St Mungo Vintners.
Fixtures and fittings from St Mungo Vintners in their polished new setting
The long curving bar, stained glass windows and mirrored gantry are now polished and shining in their new setting - a Californian homage to an old British pub.
"I've always been in love with English and Scottish pubs," said Doug Hirsch.
"When I was in college I studied abroad in England and of course, I spent time in Scotland."
Doug said the pub installation took almost two years from start to finish, but the Covid pandemic delayed GoodRx employees being able to enjoy it.
He said his "speakeasy" was now a key part of attracting people to work for the company and bringing employees back into the office.
Some parts of the pub have been adapted for modern use, including part of the bar that was cut and lowered for wheelchair accessibility.
Doug wanted some fun new touches for his speakeasy
"It was a big project, said Doug. "Everything else around it was a pretty significant budget, not to mention the building of this room itself.
"There's some also modern fun touches, which you might not notice, like these lights above.
"Those are actually old LA streetlights, but we refashioned them by hand to make them look more period appropriate."
Mitchell Litt admits he had initially been "somewhat reluctant" to sell St Mungo Vintners.
"I always had a fond place when I thought of that pub and how beautiful it was, so I wasn't in any hurry to move it," he said.
But Doug believes his headquarters has become the perfect home for an old Glasgow bar.
He said: "Gathering people together in a social environment to get to know each other - especially again in a world of remote learning and people staring at computers - this is sorely needed for us all." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-66550877 |
England 22-30 Fiji: Pacific island nation beat England for first time - BBC Sport | 2023-08-27 | England slump to a fifth defeat in six matches as their World Cup preparations end with a first ever defeat by Fiji at Twickenham. | Last updated on .From the section Rugby Union
England lost to Fiji for the first time ever and slumped to a fifth defeat in six games as their Rugby World Cup preparations ended with another blow.
The Pacific Islanders scored three second-half tries at Twickenham as England's fragile defence struggled to contend with their power.
England salvaged hope late on when Joe Marchant's try and George Ford's conversion brought them within a point.
But Selestino Ravutaumada set up Simione Kuruvoli to seal victory.
The day began with a sense of optimism for England as Courtney Lawes led out the hosts to mark his 100th cap.
By the time the full-time whistle sounded, the gloom around English rugby had deepened even further with their first defeat by a side from outside the Six Nations and the Rugby Championship, two weeks before the start of their World Cup campaign against Argentina.
• None 'England do not have a prayer of winning World Cup playing how they are now' - Matt Dawson column
• None Borthwick has 'no doubt' England will move forward
Disappointing preparations come to an end
England's warm-up campaign has been underpinned by discipline issues, key injuries and poor form.
As many fans stayed away, the entire top section of Twickenham was closed apart from a small section of seating occupied by England's players not involved in the matchday squad, including banned duo Owen Farrell and Billy Vunipola.
Captain Farrell and Vunipola, the only specialist number eight in the squad, are serving bans for high tackles which will see them both miss the World Cup opener with Argentina.
Jack van Poortvliet (ankle) and Anthony Watson (calf) have also withdrawn from England's 33-man squad with injuries.
Coach Steve Borthwick has named Alex Mitchell as Van Poortvliet's replacement and has until Monday to confirm his final squad, which is likely to include Jonny May after his try-scoring return to the international fold, while one of England's standout performers in the 2019 World Cup, Tom Curry, has not played all summer.
England's defence is a big concern and they have conceded 12 tries in their four summer warm-up matches. The attack is not a point of strength either with only five tries in those four matches, of which they have lost three.
May ended their wait for a back to score since Freddie Steward's consolation try in the Six Nations humiliation by France in March, but utility backs Marcus Smith and Marchant also got on the scoresheet in the second half against Fiji.
Preparation for the World Cup has not been smooth but the dress rehearsals are over and the real thing begins for Borthwick's team on 9 September in Marseille.
For the opening 20 minutes England played on the front foot as Manu Tuilagi's direct running proved to be a threat in midfield.
They were rewarded when May, who appeared to be conducting a final audition for a place in the World Cup squad after Watson's injury, handed off Ravutaumada to score in the corner and end England's wait of more than six hours for a try from the backline.
But as the rain began to fall England's dominance waned, though the conditions should in theory have favoured the hosts and hampered the visitors' free-flowing off-load game.
Waisea Nayacalevu had a try chalked off in the first half for a forward pass in the build-up, but three minutes after the break he went over legally after Ravutaumada did to May what May had done to him in the opening exchanges.
Vinaya Habosi scored Fiji's second try as he nonchalantly picked up the ball from the base of a ruck and raced clear to send the small pocket of travelling fans into delirium.
Smith's introduction at full-back off the bench was an attempt offer England a spark in attack, and for the second time in as many games at Twickenham the hosts rallied after going behind, as they did in the narrow win over Wales two weeks earlier.
Ford chipped over the onrushing Fijian defence for Smith to gather the loose ball and score under the posts, but Caleb Muntz's boot kept England at arm's length.
Marchant's finish late on handed Borthwick's side hope but the elusive Ravutaumada skipped back inside and freed his arms to offload for Kuruvoli to dive over and extinguish any hopes of an England comeback. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/66629208 |
Oleksandr Usyk stops Daniel Dubois in round nine of heavyweight world title fight in Poland - BBC Sport | 2023-08-27 | Briton Daniel Dubois felt "cheated out of victory" after losing his world-title challenge to Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk on a dramatic night in front of 40,000 boisterous fans in Poland. | Last updated on .From the section Boxing
Briton Daniel Dubois said he felt "cheated out of victory" after his heavyweight world-title challenge ended in defeat by Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk on a dramatic night in front of 40,000 boisterous fans in Poland.
Dubois, a huge underdog, floored the champion in a controversial fifth round. With Usyk wincing in pain on the canvas, the referee ruled the shot - which appeared to land on the belt line - a low blow.
Usyk, 36, regained control and dropped Dubois, 25, with a flurry of shots in the eighth round at Tarczynski Arena, Wroclaw, before the referee halted the contest following another knockdown in the ninth.
"I didn't think that was a low blow, I thought it landed," Dubois said after the fight.
His promoter Frank Warren agreed, calling it a "complete home decision" as he criticised referee Luis Pabon and said he planned to appeal.
"I like Usyk, but he was not fit to go on and they gave him a couple of minutes to recover," added Warren.
In fact, Usyk took three minutes and 45 seconds before declaring he was fit to resume - fighters are allowed five minutes when caught with a low blow, although Dubois was not deducted a point by the referee.
Usyk, a former undisputed cruiserweight champion, responded well towards the end of the fifth round and reasserted his dominance in rounds seven and eight as he made a successful second defence of his WBA 'Super', IBF and WBO belts.
He also retained his undefeated record, winning a 21st professional bout, to keep hopes of a blockbuster fight with Tyson Fury alive.
"I feel good. I am grateful for my team, my family, my children. I love you. I'm grateful for my country and the Ukrainian army. Thank you so much."
Briton Fury - the WBC world champion - and Usyk have previously failed to agree terms on a historic bout for all four heavyweight belts.
The gulf in boxing fundamentals was clear to see as early as round one with Usyk winning the battle of the jabs.
But Dubois, whose only career loss came against Briton Joe Joyce in 2020, responded by landing an uppercut in the second.
However, Usyk, light on his feet and working at a high intensity, was clearly superior, dancing around the ring, picking Dubois apart in the early rounds.
Lightning lit up the night sky above the open-air stadium in the fifth, seconds later Dubois landed that thunderous right to the body. The crowd gasped, their hero rolling on the floor.
Replays showed the shot was borderline, on the belt. Usyk remained on the floor. He took his time to recover, and had no interest in touching gloves as the contest continued. The dramatic round ended with both men landing punches after the bell.
Usyk then sensed blood as Dubois tired, landing with a flurry of shots in the eighth to floor Dubois.
The challenger bravely got up as the count reached nine, but a straight right in the ninth brought an end to the contest.
Many gave Dubois a puncher's chance heading into the fight, and that may have just been the punch in the fifth round.
"We will order an appeal after what's happened here," Warren said.
"It's all about a legitimate punch that stopped him and he should have won. Everyone wants to see the unification [with Fury, who is in Warren's stable of fighters]. If Daniel had got the result then it would have been easy to do. We will see now."
Usyk was fighting in front of a 'home' crowd for the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine; a third of those attending had travelled from Ukraine or were refugees now living in Poland or neighbouring countries.
Seven Ukrainian boxers featured on the undercard for the event dedicated to and celebrating a country torn apart through war.
As the rain fell, with the ringside press scrambling for cover, a video message from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was played on the big screen to a rapturous reception.
Dubois had cut a serious figure throughout fight week, but the challenger made his ring walk grinning and singing along to Bob Marley's 'So Much Things To Say'.
The roaring, ear-splitting noise for Usyk's entrance was something else. He strode to the ring with purpose, not even allowing himself a slight moment to soak in the electric atmosphere.
On an emotionally-charged night, not even the heavy rain could dampen the jubilant Ukrainian fans.
There were wins for British middleweight Hamzah Sheeraz, who beat Dmytro Mytrofanov, and debutant Aadam Hamed - son of boxing legend Prince Naseem Hamed - on the undercard.
But Dubois' hopes of tearing up the script and etching his name into the history books ended in failure, although he will leave Poland with his stock high, while plenty of fans feel he should be a world champion. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/66630748 |
World Athletics Championships 2023: Great Britain win 4x100m relay bronze as USA take gold - BBC Sport | 2023-08-27 | Watch highlights as Great Britain's women win 4x100m relay bronze behind winners the United States at the World Athletics Championships. | Watch highlights as Great Britain's women win 4x100m relay bronze behind winners the United States at the World Athletics Championships.
Follow the World Athletics Championships across BBC Sport and BBC iPlayer.
Available to UK users only | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/athletics/66631005 |
Ukraine war: Fighter ace and two other pilots killed in mid-air crash - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | Andrii Pilshchykov won fame taking part in dogfights over Kyiv during the early phase of Russia's invasion. | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
One of Ukraine's most celebrated fighter pilots and two other airmen have been killed in a mid-air crash.
Andrii Pilshchykov won fame taking part in dogfights over Kyiv during the early phase of Russia's invasion.
The Ukrainian military called the airmen's deaths "painful and irreparable" losses, and paid tribute to Pilshchykov as a pilot with "mega knowledge and mega talent".
The crash involved two L-39 training planes flying over northern Ukraine.
An investigation is under way into whether flight preparation rules were not correctly followed, resulting in Friday's crash in Zhytomyr Oblast. The region is west of the capital, Kyiv, and hundreds of miles from the frontline.
President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the deaths in his nightly video address, saying that his country would "never forget anyone who defended the free skies of Ukraine".
Last autumn, as Russia launched hundreds of cruise missiles and drones at Ukraine, Pilshchykov - who flew under the call-sign "Juice" - spoke to the BBC about the pressure he felt as a MiG-29 fighter pilot tasked with trying to intercept the deadly weapons before they struck.
"Intercepting the cruise missiles, your mission is to save the lives on the ground, to save the city. If you are not able, it's a terrible feeling that somebody will die. Somebody will die in minutes and you didn't prevent that," he said.
He also spoke of his lifelong "dream" to join the Ukrainian air force which he saw as his "mission".
Melaniya Podolyak, a friend of Pilshchykov, also confirmed his death, posting an image of his air force badge on social media.
The crash and deaths are a major upset for Ukraine as it prepares to receive up to 61 F-16 fighter jets from its allies, in a bid to step up its counteroffensive.
On Thursday, the Pentagon confirmed that English-language training for Ukrainians on operating F-16s would begin in Texas in September, with flight training expected to begin in October in Arizona. Meanwhile, other Western allies are preparing to start training Ukrainians later this month.
The training to fly F-16s is expected to take around five months.
The American decision earlier this year to supply F-16 jets represented an about-turn. This is because the US and its Nato allies - who had earlier ruled out the move - had feared this would lead to further escalation with nuclear-armed Russia.
A spokesman for Ukraine's Air Force, Yurii Ihnat, paid tribute to Pilshchykov in a statement posted on his Facebook page.
"A year ago in the USA, Andrii met with American government officials, brought up the urgent needs of the Air Force, was in constant contact with Californian pilots, and was the main driver of an advocacy group promoting many decisions on the F-16s [supply]," Ihnat said.
"During the war, he gave dozens of interviews to Western media because he knew English well, and the most important was the topic of conversation: what can and should be talked about for Ukraine!
"You can't even imagine how he wanted to fly on an F-16... but now that American planes are actually on the horizon, he will not fly them.
"Andrii Pilshchykov was not just a pilot, he was a young officer with great knowledge and great talent.
"He was an excellent communicator, the driver of reforms in Air Force aircraft, a participant in many projects. I often supported his crazy ideas, which gave incredible results!" | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66631182 |
Luis Rubiales: Spanish FA activates 'sexual violence protocol' after Jenni Hermoso kiss - BBC Sport | 2023-08-27 | An internal investigation is launched at Spain's football federation after its sexual violence protocol is activated. | Last updated on .From the section Football
An internal investigation has been launched by Spain's football federation after its sexual violence protocol was activated.
Federation president Luis Rubiales has been suspended by Fifa after kissing forward Jenni Hermoso on the lips after Spain's Women's World Cup win.
Hermoso, 33, has said the kiss after last Sunday's game was not consensual.
Maria Dolores Martinez Madrona, the protocol's protection delegate, said the matter is now being investigated.
"Our protocol is currently activated and in the midst of investigating the events, thus we demand the utmost respect for the right to privacy and dignity of all individuals involved," she said in a letter published by the federation (RFEF).
"As the protection delegate for sexual violence, my duty is to adhere to the protocol and safeguard the privacy of those affected by this incident and of the Sexual Violence Advisory Committee."
The protocol is activated once a complaint is submitted and means the protection delegate, a position currently held by female referee Madrona, will investigate and send her findings to the Sexual Violence Advisory Committee.
The RFEF has also called regional federations to an "extraordinary and urgent" meeting on Monday "to evaluate the situation in which the federation finds itself".
When it announced it had suspended Rubiales on Saturday, Fifa ordered him, the RFEF and its officials or employees to not attempt to contact Hermoso, who the REFF had threatened with legal action earlier that day.
Despite widespread criticism and pressure to resign, 46-year-old Rubiales vowed to "fight until the end" while addressing an extraordinary general assembly called by the RFEF on Friday.
Victor Francos, Spain's secretary of sport and head of the state-run National Sports Council, then said the government had started legal proceedings seeking to suspend Rubiales, "so that he has to give explanations before the Sport Court (TAD)".
Spanish sports minister Miquel Iceta told newspaper El Pais: "We are going to ask the TAD to meet on Monday. If the TAD accepts the government's complaint, we will immediately proceed with the suspension of the functions of president."
How did the situation get to this point?
20 August - During the ceremony following the World Cup final, Spanish forward Jenni Hermoso is first embraced and then kissed on the lips by Luis Rubiales.
Hermoso later reacts to the kiss during a live stream and says she "did not enjoy" it.
21 August - Rubiales issues an apology saying he is "sorry for those who were offended" after being fiercely criticised by other footballers, the media and even by the Spanish prime minister, some of whom called on him to step down.
25 August - A defiant Rubiales insists at a RFEF emergency meeting that he will not resign, and calls the kiss "consensual".
25 August - The Spanish government says it is beginning legal proceedings seeking to suspend Rubiales, with the Spanish secretary of sport saying he "wants this to be Spanish football's MeToo moment".
25 August - Later that day, Hermoso releases a statement on Instagram rebuffing Rubiales' claims, saying that "at no time... was his kiss ever consensual".
25 August - 81 Spanish players - including all 23 players who went to the Women's World Cup - announce they will not play for Spain's women's team until Rubiales is removed from his position.
26 August - The Spanish football federation says it will take legal action over "each falsehood that is spread".
26 August - Fifa announces it is provisionally suspending Rubiales pending the outcome of its disciplinary proceedings.
26 August - World Cup-winning head coach Jorge Vilda criticises Rubiales while his entire coaching staff resigns in protest against the federation president.
27 August - Federation's delegate for sexual violence protocol confirms an internal investigation into events is under way. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66633123 |
Met Police investigating suspected data breach - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | Scotland Yard says it was been made aware of "unauthorised access" to data held by an outside company. | The Metropolitan Police is investigating a possible data breach after "unauthorised access" was gained to the systems of one of its suppliers.
The force said the company held names, ranks, photos, vetting levels, and pay numbers for officers and staff, and that it was working to understand what data, if any, had been accessed.
It said it had also taken additional "security measures".
The force's staff association said the breach will cause "concern and anger".
A spokesperson for the Met was unable to say when the breach occurred or how many personnel might have been affected, but added that the company in question did not hold personal information such as addresses, phone numbers, or financial details.
The incident has been reported to the National Crime Agency (NCA) and the information commissioner.
Rick Prior, vice chair of the Metropolitan Police Federation, which represents more than 30,000 officers in the force, said that any compromised information could, in the wrong hands, "do incalculable damage".
"Metropolitan Police officers are - as we speak - out on the streets of London undertaking some of the most difficult and dangerous roles imaginable to catch criminals and keep the public safe," he said.
"To have their personal details potentially leaked out into the public domain in this manner - for all to possibly see - will cause colleagues incredible concern and anger.
"We will be working with the force to mitigate the dangers and risks that this disclosure could have on our colleagues.
"And [we] will be holding the Metropolitan Police to account for what has happened."
Former Met Ch Supt Dal Babu told BBC News the breach could be more of a concern for ethnic minority officers.
"If you're from a minority background and your name has been obtained by a criminal network, they're more likely to be able to find you because those names are unusual and it's easier to find on the internet where you are, what you're doing," said Mr Babu, who was one of the UK's most senior ethnic minority police officers.
"Whereas if you've got a name, for example John Smith, then you could be one of the thousands of John Smiths," he added.
He went on to say that some officers would be concerned by the data breach, and gave the theoretical example of an ethnic minority officer with an unusual name - who could be in counter terrorism or working undercover - and could potentially be more easily identified.
A spokesperson for the NCA said the agency was "aware of the cyber incident" and "working with law enforcement partners to understand the impact".
The breach comes just weeks after the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) admitted it had mistakenly published personal information about all its 10,000 staff.
The force said the surname and first initial of all police and civilian personnel, their rank or grade, where they were based, and their unit was released in response to a Freedom of Information (FoI) request.
Norfolk and Suffolk Police later announced it had mistakenly released information about more than 1,200 people, including victims and witnesses of crime, also following an FoI request.
Last week, South Yorkshire Police referred itself to the information commissioner after "a significant and unexplained reduction" in data such as bodycam footage stored on its systems, a loss which it said could affect some 69 cases. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-66631386 |
Leeds Festival: Sam Fender crowned king of the north with career-defining set - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | The Geordie rock star confirmed his headliner status with a career-defining set. | Sam Fender was crowned king of the north with a career-defining headline set at Leeds Festival on Saturday.
The Geordie rocker's set came a night after his performance at the Reading leg of the event.
But the sheer volume of fans from the North East on site - many visible via a sea of Newcastle United tops - made it extra special for the humbled singer.
"This is the biggest milestone for us", beamed the 29-year-old, whose set pulled from his two number one albums.
Coming on stage to an old Frank Sinatra number, the "Geordie Springsteen" howls out the opener, The Kitchen, backed by his trusted band's big guitars, keys and booming brass section.
"Leeds, come on!" he cries.
Next up, his ode to pre-coital promises, Will We Talk?, brings a first big chorus from the crowd, encouraged by Fender, and phones are held aloft.
"It's good to be back up North," he declares, while dressed in a white Angel of the North T-shirt. "This is party night tonight. I see there's a few Geordies in tonight, always nice to see."
Plugging in his black-and-white striped Fender electric guitar for the occasion, he continues: "I came to Leeds when I was 18, me and [bandmate] Dean and I got black-out drunk watching Kasabian.
"And I got lost and I couldn't find my mates and started doing the [sings] black and white army chant, and that's how I found my mates! So if you get lost tonight do that."
The next song, Dead Boys, which tackles the topic of suicide, is dedicated to "the lads" in his hometown in North Shields "who aren't with us anymore".
The band then throw in a slowie, or "cruiser" as Fender puts it, called Mantra, encouraging fans to get close to their partners. Those whose relationships have made it through the weekend, that is, he adds jokingly.
Despite some impressive fretwork from the star, the revved up audience's attention drifts somewhat. "Right, that's all the chill for the rest of the set," he reassures them.
"I wanna see you move for this one," says Fender, before ripping into Borders, which sees bucket hat-wearing saxophonist Johnny "Blue Hat" Davis take his first solo of the night.
The introduction of the track Spice sees Fender declare that the time has come "for the famous Leeds mosh pit".
"If anyone goes down pick them up, if you're squeezed down the front let us know," he says, setting out the rules.
This move is reminiscent of how Friday's headliner Billie Eilish looked out for her fans the previous night.
The big chorus of "Spice up your life" is more a reference to the perils of cheap street drugs rather than the 1990s girl group.
Pausing briefly to pay homage to the efforts of the fired-up crowd, Fender declares: "This is why they [TV producers] should film up here instead of at Reading!"
It's all too much for one fan, after a long hot day of music, and the singer has to stop the gig to help them out of the packed crowd.
Chloe, Alfie, Will and David from Gateshead came to see Sam Fender
Fender, who once admitted to being in a bad way himself on the BBC Breakfast sofa due to booze, is a most relatable modern rock star. He had to take a break himself from touring last year to look after his own mental health.
He calls for a round of applause for the security staff - "legends" - for helping out before the gig gets back under way with a thrashy song "about going to Aldi in Howdon the middle of the pandemic". Surely a festival first?
With "the punk ones out the way" he promises to provide a few more singalongs, explaining that "any idiot" could write the simple chorus to the next song, Get You Down.
Another fan is helped from the crowd, with Fender again acting as de facto head steward on the mic.
He introduces Spit of You as "a song about my dad". "I can talk to anyone / I can't talk to you," he belts out, as family photographs are beamed on the big screens.
During the "one of the most monumental days of my life" as the star describes it, he takes a moment to recall Leeds festivals of yore as a punter. "I remember watching bands [on this stage] and thinking I wish I could do that as a job, how do I do that?"
Enter "Deano", his aforementioned bandmate who he credits with having explained that the answer was to record a song - the next song in fact, Alright.
"We always have felt like the underdogs and perhaps that's a good thing," says Fender. "But thanks for letting us be a headliner for once."
His grin while performing another oldie, That Sound, is as wide as the river Tyne before a third stoppage threatens to really derail the momentum of the gig.
All is not lost though as the best is yet to come. "I hope you're having as good a time as I am?" Fender asks. He needn't have bothered.
A ticker tape explosion at the end of The Dying Light brings his set to a close. But then returning for more, on his own initially to test the vocal capabilities of the crowd, a big finish ensues.
First a fitting singalong for his song Saturday, then comes the big one. Fender's modern anthem for doomed youth, Seventeen Going Under.
"Does anyone remember being 17?" he asks, drawing loud cheers. "Is anyone 17 here right now? God bless you, this one is for you."
The rendition ends with the singer leading the crowd in a big round of a Capella "wo-oh-oh-oh-oaaahs", which he could probably milk further in future but we're already into injury time following several stoppages.
It caps a remarkable summer for Fender and co who performed at their beloved St James' Park earlier this summer. There's now only really one bigger festival stage for them to perform on.
Before the final offering of Hypersonic Missiles, a song about finding love in a hopeless, dystopian place, the singer thanks his merry band of men, which includes his "brother" Joe.
"It might be my name on the tin but I'm just the [bloke] at the front."
Festival-goer Alfie from Gateshead told us that Fender was an artist who was "true to himself" and with a lot of loyalty for his "hometown", noting how he had brought a Brit Award trophy back to a pub in North Shields to use as a pump head handle.
Musically he says his songs "range in emotion" and "people can relate to them".
Esme from nearby Hexham, Northumberland was also excited to see Fender perform, saying: "It's nice to see someone from near us do well, it's an inspiration."
Fender's namesake, young Sam from Lincoln, whose whole family were resplendent in their dad's old Newcastle United shirts, added it was great that they "finally have got a great team and Sam Fender representing them".
The rest of the country was well represented across the site earlier on Saturday.
Isle of Wight band Wet Leg played earlier in the day
Representing Oxford today were co-headliners Foals. Frontman Yannis Philippakis told the crowd they were "loving every minute of it" out there, mixing danceable grooves with endless hard riffs.
"We want to see end-of-times mosh pits out there," he demanded near the end.
They dedicated one of their last tunes, Black Bull, to the main man Fender - renaming it black and white bull for the occasion - as well as any other budding musicians out there. "One of you in that mosh pit might be up here [in five years]" he declared.
Belfast's Bicep brought an early evening electro rave, before Mercury Prize-nominated rapper Loyle Carner, from South London, called on the audience to "forget about toxic masculinity" and leave all their personal nonsense "in yesterday", just as he had done to emotive effect at Glastonbury.
Isle of Wight band Wet Leg rocked out so hard that frontwoman Rhian Teasdale's bonnet fell out at one point. She soldiered on sans bonnet in the searing sun as they belted out a crowd-pleasing version of their innuendo-filled indie anthem Chaise Longue.
Local Leeds post-punk act Yard Act got the day going with some angular dance moves from frontman James Smith, joined by dancers who had appeared at first to be merely mannequins. Proving the old adage that you can't judge a doll by its cover.
Leeds Festival culminates on Sunday with performances from the likes of the Killers, Central Cee and the 1975. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-66361118 |
Romania explosion: Huge blasts at fuel station kill two and injure dozens - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | The injured include 39 firefighters sent to a stricken liquefied petroleum gas station near Bucharest. | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
At least two people died and 56 were injured after two blasts at a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) station in Romania.
The injured included 39 firefighters who went to the scene following the first explosion near the capital Bucharest on Saturday evening.
Shortly after, a second blast sent a mushroom cloud billowing into the sky, rocking the forecourt in Crevedia.
Several people are in critical condition with severe burns, authorities said.
The two people who died were a couple, Raed Arafat, the head of Romania's emergency department, told reporters on Sunday.
They sent four people who were injured, including two firefighters, to hospitals abroad and said others would follow.
Two police officers and two gendarmes are among the injured.
Authorities do not yet know what caused the blast. Mr Arafat said the station was no longer in use and "did not have a permit to function", according to quotes reported by the Agence France-Presse news agency.
People within a 700-metre (almost half a mile) radius were initially evacuated from the area, with Mr Arafat warning there was a risk of another explosion.
But by mid-morning, the fires had been contained.
Romania's President Klaus Iohannis described the explosions as a "tragedy" and said he was "profoundly saddened" by what had happened.
"An investigation must quickly be launched to see if rules were broken. I ask the authorities to take urgent measures for the injured so that these tragedies won't happen again," he wrote on Facebook. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66631183 |
Spain head coach Jorge Vilda criticises 'inappropriate' Luis Rubiales kiss - BBC Sport | 2023-08-27 | Spain's Women's World Cup-winning head coach Jorge Vilda has called the moment Luis Rubiales kissed squad member Jennifer Hermoso "inappropriate and unacceptable". | Last updated on .From the section Women's Football
Spain's Women's World Cup-winning head coach Jorge Vilda has criticised suspended football federation president Luis Rubiales, calling the moment he kissed squad member Jennifer Hermoso "inappropriate and unacceptable".
Rubiales was suspended by Fifa on Saturday after Hermoso said the kiss prior to the team lifting the trophy was not consensual.
Vilda's entire coaching staff have resigned in protests against Rubiales, but Vilda himself has not stepped down despite his latest comments.
The coach was spotted applauding at the Spanish federation's extraordinary general assembly on Friday, when Rubiales gave an emphatic speech in which he repeatedly insisted he would not resign and claimed to be the victim of "social assassination".
The two had been allies after Rubiales stood by Vilda in September 2022 when 15 national-team players pulled out of the squad, saying that the manager's management was affecting their emotional state and health.
Of those 15, only three opted to return to the Spain squad which went on to beat England in the final in Sydney.
Vilda released a statement on Saturday night, saying: "I regret deeply that the victory of Spanish women's football has been harmed by the inappropriate behaviour that our until now top leader, Luis Rubiales, has carried out and that he himself has recognised.
"There is no doubt that it is unacceptable and does not reflect at all the principles and values that I defend in my life, in sport in general and in football in particular.
"I condemn without doubt any macho attitude, [which should be] far from an advanced and developed society.
"A clearly undesirable climate has been generated, far from what should have been a great celebration of Spanish sport and women's sport.
"I reiterate my unwavering commitment to promoting a sport that is a model of equality and respect in our society."
Fifa has provisionally suspended 46-year-old Rubiales, a former La Liga player for Levante, from any football-related activities for an initial 90 days.
Spain's government has also started legal proceedings as they aim to suspend him.
Vilda is now the only coach from the women's national team who remains in place, with assistant managers Montse Tome, Javier Lerga and Eugenio Gonzalo Martin, physio Blanca Romero Moraleda and goalkeeping coach Carlos Sanchez all having quit their posts earlier on Saturday.
Some 81 Spain players, including all 23 World Cup winners, said they would not play for the team again while Rubiales was in charge.
Rubiales had claimed the kiss with Pachuca forward Hermoso, 33, was consensual, something she strongly denied in a statement.
The RFEF then launched a remarkable statement on Friday night threatening legal action against Hermoso for her "lies".
That statement was later altered following Rubiales' suspension but still carries the threat of legal action against "each falsehood that is spread".
Like Vilda, the men's national team boss, Luis de la Fuente, also applauded Rubiales' speech on Friday before issuing a statement criticising him. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66631172 |
Labour rules out wealth tax if party wins next election - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves says extra money for public services must come from economic growth. | Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has ruled out any version of a wealth tax on the richest in society should Labour win the next general election.
She told the Sunday Telegraph extra money for public services would have to come from economic growth.
Ms Reeves confirmed Labour would not target expensive houses, increase capital gains tax or put up the top rate of income tax.
"I don't see the way to prosperity as being through taxation," she said.
The shadow chancellor told the newspaper Labour would instead do "whatever it takes" to attract business investment into the UK.
The interview comes as Labour steps up efforts to demonstrate it can be trusted with the economy - and further distance itself from the policies of former leader Jeremy Corbyn - ahead of an election that is expected next year.
Ms Reeves also told the Sunday Telegraph her preparations for government include "spending an awful lot of time with businesses".
Labour says it has it has attracted a surge of interest from businesses at its key party conference, which takes place in October. The party said the number of attendees at its business forum has gone up by 50% in a year.
The party's leadership has been insisting for some time that it will not make unfunded spending commitments.
But the left has said Labour should instead raise taxes, rather than lower its sights - and left-wing campaign group Momentum described the latest move as "shameful".
The group said in a post on X, formerly Twitter: "Wealth taxes are hugely popular. This is a Labour Leadership in hock to corporate interests."
Labour's strategists are content to provoke the ire of the left, partly as a way to emphasise how far the party has changed since the Corbyn era.
But they are also trying to insulate Labour from anticipated Conservative attacks at the next election.
By explicitly ruling out tax options, they believe this will blunt Tory warnings of a Labour tax bombshell to come.
The Conservatives, though, have accused Labour of taking people for fools, arguing that even the party's existing policies would push taxes up.
Meanwhile, Labour Party chair Anneliese Dodds defended Labour's decision to rule out a wealth tax, telling BBC Radio 4's Broadcasting House programme the party wanted to be "very careful with tax policy".
Ms Dodds said Labour wanted to avoid what she said was "economic chaos" under the Conservatives, "particularly following the mini-budget" under Liz Truss. She said Labour wanted to "rebuild" investors' confidence in the UK economy.
Labour would make "different choices from the Conservatives", Ms Dodds said, as she highlighted the party's plans to raise funds by replacing the so-called "non-dom" taxpayer status and ending the charitable status of private schools. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-66634187 |
Dorset Police open murder probe in Bournemouth after remains are found - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | The partial remains were found by a member of the public near the Manor Steps Zig Zag in Bournemouth. | Dorset Police is treating the death as suspicious
A murder probe has been launched after human remains were discovered off a cliff-side path in Bournemouth.
The partial remains were found by a member of the public near Manor Steps Zig Zag, off Boscombe Overcliff Drive in Dorset, at 13:10 BST on Saturday.
Dorset Police is treating the death as suspicious.
The force said it was trying to establish the identity of the victim and the circumstances surrounding their death.
The partial remains were found near Manor Steps Zig Zag, off Boscombe Overcliff Drive in Dorset on Saturday
Det Insp Neil Third said: "We are treating this as a murder investigation and our inquiries are ongoing to establish the identity of the deceased and the circumstances surrounding their death.
"I am appealing to anyone with any information regarding this matter, or who has seen any suspicious activity around the area of the Manor Steps Zig Zag in Boscombe in recent days, to please inform police.
"A cordon remains in place at the scene while further detailed inquiries are conducted and I would like to thank members of the public for their patience and understanding while this is in place.
"There will continue to be an increased police presence in the vicinity and officers can be approached by members of the public with any information or concerns."
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The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-66634060 |
Aberdare: The park murder that may have had Hitler links - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | Locals heard whispers that the motive for the killing led back to World War Two. | Revered police detective RH Fabian caused "ripples of excitement" in the town when he arrived from London to try cracking the case
It was a frenzied murder which left locals too scared to leave their homes.
The victim was brutally stabbed 44 times, robbed, and his body dumped in the flowerbeds at Aberdare park one evening in April 1948.
Scotland Yard would send in their top man to investigate, but even he would fail to find the killer.
Meanwhile, the shocked south Wales valleys community abounded with rumours that the slaying might have been connected to Hitler and his Nazis.
The dead man's name was Jerzy Strzadala, although many who grew to know the well-liked Polish immigrant would simply refer to him as George.
He arrived from his homeland after WWII ended and began working at a colliery in Hirwaun, Rhondda Cynon Taf.
Said to have been friendly and polite to all, the 33-year-old was discovered in rhododendron shrubbery the following morning by three young boys on their way to school.
The coroner was alerted and police barricades quickly set up around the grisly scene.
As a result, those living in the area started bolting their doors in fear.
Others vowed to stay well away from the popular park altogether.
News of the murder eventually attracted the attention of Scotland Yard, whose famed chief inspector Robert Honey Fabian set up a base at one of the town's hotels to investigate.
Jerzy Strzadala was found by a group of school boys having been brutally murdered
Fabian, or RH as he was known, was something of a celebrity due to his cracking of some recent high profile crimes in London - one of which was a murder case so controversial it would eventually lead to the death penalty being abolished.
However, despite the excitement caused by his arrival, progress in finding the murderer proved painfully slow.
Even the use of ground breaking new technology - a top of the range metal detector - failed to uncover the discarded murder weapon.
The park's lake was also dredged in the hope a clue would lie buried in the silt beneath its surface, but with no luck.
Meanwhile, hundreds of door-to-door inquiries proved equally fruitless, despite some purporting to have seen a "short and thick set man aged in his late 20s" in the park around the time Strzadala had been set upon.
Indeed, Fabian's investigation would be dogged by all manner of frustrating dead-ends.
How local paper The Aberdare Leader reported the crime
The area's large contingent of eastern European mine workers - some of whom had been staying at the same hostel as Strzadala - spoke little English, making police interviews difficult.
Meanwhile, clothing found near the pit where the victim had worked - a waistcoat and trousers - would prove briefly tantalising.
But instead of having been dumped by the killer, as hoped, the garments were deemed in too good a state to have been involved in such a vicious attack.
Similarly the ace detective's spirits were buoyed when some blood-stained banknotes were stumbled upon.
Yet again though, nothing came of it.
Some doubted the blood had been Strzadala's at all, instead suggesting that the cash had simply passed through the unwashed hands of staff at the local butcher shop.
Nevertheless, there is no record of what happened after the money was sent off for forensic testing.
What some did believe, however, was that the conflict in Europe had some part to play in Strzadala's death.
Whispers at the time suggested that the other man seen in Aberdare Park on that fateful night had also been Polish.
Some with relatives who had been alive in the area during the 40s remember talk of how the two had somehow recognised each other from the war.
The inference was that Strzadala possibly colluded with the Nazis during the fighting and had been recognised and approached by his countryman.
The main entrance to Aberdare park photographed in the 1980s
That said, there are those who believe it was the other man who had been confronted by Strzadala for having sided with Hitler's fascists.
Posting on the A Bit of Old Aberdare Facebook page one person said: "There was a theory it was espionage-related, or an old grudge carried over from Poland."
Another said they had spoken to their elderly father about the murder and he remembered the door to door inquiries and the rumours of how either Strzadala or his killer had worked as "a guard in a POW camp".
So was it a revenge killing?
Unfortunately we may never know the truth, the murder having gone unsolved to this day - despite South Wales Police announcing in 2009 that the cold case was one of several being kept open for review.
But for RH Fabian it would prove among the few times in a long and glittering career in which he failed to get his man.
He would retire from the force the following year knowing Jerzy Strzadala's killer was still out there somewhere.
And while that man's identity remains unknown, the motive behind the crime seems to offer up an even darker mystery. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-66581131 |
Nadine Dorries resigns: Conservative MP attacks PM as she quits Commons - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | More than two months after saying she would go, she tells Rishi Sunak "history will not judge you kindly". | Nadine Dorries has not spoken in the House of Commons for more than a year
Nadine Dorries has resigned from the Commons, more than two months after pledging to go "with immediate effect".
She launched a blistering attack on Rishi Sunak in her resignation statement, telling the prime minister "history will not judge you kindly".
The Mid Bedfordshire MP first announced her intention to quit on 9 June.
She accused Mr Sunak of abandoning "the fundamental principles of Conservatism" and said the country was now run by a "zombie Parliament".
Ms Dorries, whose salary as an MP is £86,584, had come under increasing pressure to act on her promise to resign as she had not spoken in the Commons since June 2022.
The former nurse said she had submitted her resignation letter to the prime minister and published the eviscerating text on Mail Online.
The Treasury confirmed it had been notified of her intention to formally step down.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is expected to appoint Ms Dorries to the historical position of Steward and Bailiff of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern on Tuesday - the arcane mechanism by which MPs can leave the Commons before an election.
This will enable the Conservative Party to call a by-election in Mid Bedfordshire.
Despite saying in June that she would quit with immediate effect, Ms Dorries subsequently said she wanted to find out why she was refused a seat in the House of Lords.
It was widely thought she would be made a peer by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson in his resignation honours list.
In a lengthy statement Ms Dorries accused Mr Sunak of "demeaning his office by opening the gates to whip up a public frenzy" against her.
This, she said, resulted in "the police having to visit my home and contact me on a number of occasions due to threats to my person".
Born in Liverpool, the mother of three says her childhood was warm and loving but she told the Guardian she also remembers having to "hide from the rent man as we couldn't pay him. Some days there would be no food."
After school she trained as a nurse and her profession frequently informed the political issues she took up - from Group B Strep testing for pregnant women to pushing for the time limit on abortions to be reduced.
She came late to politics and had considered joining Labour, but her views were swung by the Right to Buy scheme which had allowed her mother to buy her council house.
She was elected MP for Mid Bedfordshire in 2005, although her decision to go on ITV's I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here in 2012 led to her suspension from the parliamentary Conservative party.
She would later serve as a health minister before being appointed to the cabinet in 2021 when Boris Johnson made her culture secretary.
Having written a series of novels, her latest book The Plot: The Political Assassination of Boris Johnson is due out in September.
In a criticism of Mr Sunak's leadership, she said: "Since you took office a year ago, the country is run by a zombie Parliament where nothing meaningful has happened.
"You have no mandate from the people and the government is adrift. You have squandered the goodwill of the nation, for what?"
She continued: "It is a fact that there is no affection for [Labour leader] Keir Starmer out on the doorstep. He does not have the winning X factor qualities of a Thatcher, Blair or a Boris Johnson, and sadly, prime minister, neither do you."
She added: "Your actions have left some 200 or more of my MP colleagues to face an electoral tsunami and the loss of their livelihoods, because in your impatience to become prime minister you put your personal ambition above the stability of the country and our economy.
"Bewildered, we look in vain for the grand political vision for the people of this great country to hold on to, that would make all this disruption and subsequent inertia worthwhile, and we find absolutely nothing."
She accused the prime minister of failing to work with UK companies to boost opportunities.
"You flashed your gleaming smile in your Prada shoes and Savile Row suit from behind a camera, but you just weren't listening," she said.
A banner appeared on railings near Flitwick railway station, in Ms Dorries' constituency
Flitwick and Shefford town councils in her Mid Bedfordshire constituency had both urged Ms Dorries to stand down immediately, saying she had "abandoned the local area".
Shefford's mayor, Ken Pollard, told the BBC her constituency office had closed a few years ago and was now a dance studio.
"It got to the point where it was difficult to contact Nadine on any level," he said.
In her statement, Ms Dorries disputes this, saying: "My team of caseworkers and I have continued to work for my constituents faithfully and diligently to this day."
But Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the people of Mid Bedfordshire "deserve better than this circus act that has followed the Conservatives these past few months."
Sir Ed, along with Labour's Anneliese Dodds, ruled out any election pact. He said the people of Mid Bedfordshire "deserve a choice".
Ms Dodds told BBC Breakfast: "Labour won't be cooking up any deals."
"I think it is a real relief for the people of Mid Bedfordshire," she added when asked for her reaction to Ms Dorries' resignation. "They desperately need an MP who will be focused on them full-time."
Rishi Sunak's political opponents haven't waited for Nadine Dorries's formal resignation to begin campaigning in her Mid-Bedfordshire seat.
Had the former culture secretary actually resigned in June, the by-election would have been and gone before Parliament rose for its summer recess.
But because she delayed her departure, Mr Sunak now faces a difficult contest in the autumn - possibly around the time of his party's conference, placing him under renewed pressure.
Nadine Dorries has a majority of nearly 25,000, but Conservative majorities almost as large have been overturned in the past year.
As a close ally of the former PM Boris Johnson, Ms Dorries's criticism of Rishi Sunak is unsurprising - but it is also unrelenting.
If the opposition parties haven't yet written their by-election literature, they now have plenty of material. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-66630308 |
ECT patient information leaflets under review in Northern Ireland - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | Electroconvulsive therapy sends electricity through the brain to treat conditions like depression. | ECT involves passing electric currents through the brain to treat conditions such as depression
A number of health trusts in Northern Ireland are reviewing electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) leaflets that are made available to patients.
It comes as a new study has indicated some patients are being misled about the risks associated with ECT.
The treatment involves passing electric currents through a patient's brain to cause seizures or fits.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists says ECT offers "life-saving treatment" and should be considered in severe cases.
But new research has raised questions about the accuracy of patient information leaflets being offered in some hospitals across the UK, including Northern Ireland.
BBC News NI previously reported concerns about the oversight of ECT in Northern Ireland after it emerged that only half of its clinics had the recommended accreditation.
All ECT clinics in Northern Ireland have since become accredited.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists says most people treated with ECT see an improvement in their symptoms.
But critics of ECT point to a long-expressed body of evidence from patients unhappy with side effects such as severe memory loss and headaches.
The use of electricity to treat mental illness started out as an experiment in the 1930s when psychiatrists noticed some heavily distressed patients would suddenly improve after an epileptic fit.
By the 1960s, passing a strong electric current through the brain was being widely used to treat conditions such as severe depression.
Its use became increasingly controversial, particularly after new anti-depressant drugs introduced in the 1970s gave doctors new ways to treat long-term mental illness.
The use of electricity to treat mental illness started as an experiment in the 1930s
No-one is certain how ECT works.
Some medics believe it causes the release of certain brain chemicals, which seem to stimulate the growth of some areas in the brain that tend to shrink with depression.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) currently recommends the use of ECT if the patient's depression is life-threatening and other treatments have been unsuccessful.
NICE also recommends that patients are fully informed of the risks.
New peer-reviewed research published in the scientific journal of Psychology and Psychotherapy has raised concerns around ECT and informed consent.
It found patients and families across the UK are "systematically being misled about the risks of ECT".
In 2021 a research team led by Dr John Read, a professor of clinical psychology at the University of East London, undertook an audit of patient leaflets in ECT clinics in England.
It raised concerns about the principle of informed consent and concluded that a high number of leaflets did not outline "the limited nature of ECT's benefits" and minimised the risk of memory loss and mortality.
The Royal College of Psychiatrist's (RCPsych) leaflet, which was available in many clinics in England, rated very low in the audit.
Following this study, the Royal College of Psychiatrists reviewed its leaflet and it was updated in 2022.
A new study published this year by the research team examined leaflets for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
It concluded that the information available in these three nations was no more accurate than those in England and "did not comply with the ethical principle of informed consent".
Some health trusts in Northern Ireland were still using the outdated RCPsych leaflet.
Further criticism of information available to patients in Northern Ireland included a failure to mention that memory loss is more common in women and older people, the two groups to which ECT is most commonly administered.
Others made no reference to the fact that medical experts don't know how ECT works.
Lisa Morrison, who was treated with ECT in Northern Ireland, raised concerns about the impact the treatment had on her memory.
She has since undertaken a post-graduate diploma on the co-production of healthcare and is part of the research team that audited ECT leaflets in Northern Ireland.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Lisa Morrison has had a number of courses of ECT over the years
"This is not about whether people have had a positive or negative experience of ECT, it's about people's right to be given accurate information," she said.
"It really is an issue of informed consent and a complete picture around a serious treatment and unfortunately the study has found this isn't always happening."
She added: "People who are going to be at their most distressed during a time when ECT is being considered need to be given all information in an accessible way."
In response to the study, the Northern Trust - one of Northern Ireland's five health trusts - confirmed it had been using the outdated RCPsych leaflet.
"The trust will now undertake a review of its current position, with a view to co-producing a new leaflet as part of our commitment to involving our patients and ensuring that they are kept well informed about their care and treatment options," a spokesperson told BBC News NI.
Meanwhile the Southern and Western Trusts said they would be reviewing the findings of the study regarding their current ECT patient information leaflets.
ECT involves passing electric currents through a patient's brain to cause seizures or fits.
The Belfast and South Eastern Trust both confirmed they used the updated 2022 RCPsych leaflet and that their psychiatrists also have individual conversations with patients before ECT treatment.
Both trusts confirmed they would take time to review the findings of the latest study.
The authors of the latest study also concluded that RCPsych's updated 2022 leaflet was only of "marginal" improvement.
A spokesperson for the Royal College of Psychiatrists said: "Our ECT resource, like our other patient and carer information resources, meets health information standards, meaning it is based on reliable, up-to-date evidence and developed with experts in the field of ECT and those with personal experience of the treatment." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-66587095 |
High-altitude heist shocks Switzerland - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | Thieves climbed to an altitude of 2,350m and traversed gorges - all to rob a collection box. | A man traverses the ferrata on the Gemmi pass
Thieves in Switzerland have conquered one of the country's most challenging protected climbing routes.
They ascended to an altitude of 2,350m and traversed gorges on narrow steel cables - all to rob a collection box.
The box belongs to a local climbing club, which maintains Switzerland's longest protected climbing route on the Gemmi pass above Leukerbad village.
What has caused the biggest shock is that the donation box is accessible only to the most experienced climbers.
The route, known as a via ferrata, is classed as level 5, the most difficult, and involves serious climbing as well as ascending ladders bolted into the vertical rock face, and traversing gorges on narrow steel cables.
"What kind of people are these?" wrote the climbing club on its Facebook page.
"The climbing club looks after the via ferrata for no salary, we don't ask for anything, and now someone has stolen the money donated to maintain it."
Those who discovered the theft believe it was carefully planned well in advance.
The donation box was found smashed open and empty. The thieves were not only good climbers, equipped with all the necessary mountaineering kit, they took the tools with them to break open the donation box "with brute force" the climbing club said.
Astonishingly, it appears they then continued their ascent, with the money, to the top of the Dauberhorn, at 2941 metres.
Trying to find out exactly who committed the crime may be difficult though - the last few days have been perfect climbing weather, and there were many mountaineers enjoying the via ferrata.
The climbing club is not sure exactly how much money was stolen; but club member and mountain guide Richard Werlen told the BBC it was likely to be at least 400-500 Swiss francs (£359-449; €420-520; $450-560).
Switzerland is still a country where cash is used on a regular basis, and the Swiss are proud of their voluntary work maintaining hiking paths and climbing routes. A donation for such effort is expected, and gladly given, by large parts of the population.
But now organisations like the climbing club may wonder if they need to change the way they seek donations.
The pervasiveness of cash in Switzerland has already led to a spate of robberies of far better protected ATM machines.
Millions of francs have been stolen in the last three years alone, causing the Swiss Federal Police to warn that the regularly filled and often poorly monitored machines are becoming a magnet for thieves from across Europe.
For the moment, the climbing club is hoping that whoever stole the money will suffer from "a guilty conscience", and quietly return it.
And Richard Werlen has some consolation to report. This morning, a local benefactor sent in 500 francs to replace the stolen donations. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66628465 |
Jacksonville shooting: Racist gunman kills three black people in Florida store - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | Two men and a woman were killed by a gunman who then shot himself, in a "hate-filled" attack, officials say. | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
A gunman killed three black people in a racially motivated attack then killed himself in Jacksonville, Florida, the city's sheriff said.
The man, described as white and in his early 20s, entered a Dollar General store and opened fire, triggering a standoff with police.
Sheriff T K Waters said two men and a woman were killed by the gunman, who wore body armour and left manifestos.
Mayor Donna Deegan said it was a "hate-filled crime" driven by racist hatred.
The sheriff said the shooter - who has not yet been officially named - carried a lightweight semi-automatic rifle and a handgun.
He is believed to have acted alone and allegedly wanted to kill himself. He lived in Jacksonville's Clay County with his parents and left several messages about his intentions, Sheriff Waters said, including one to his parents and another to the media. The sheriff added that at least one of the guns had a swastika drawn on it.
The standoff took place at this Dollar General store
The FBI has opened a civil rights investigation into the shooting, which it is treating as a hate crime.
The attack happened less than a mile from the historically black Edwards Waters University.
The shooter first went to the university campus, where he was asked to identify himself by a security officer, the university said in a statement. When he refused, he was asked to leave.
"The individual returned to their car and left campus without incident," the statement added.
Sheriff Waters said the gunman was then seen putting on a bullet-resistant vest and a mask before leaving the campus.
The university went into lockdown after the shooting.
Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan told local TV channel WJXT: "One shooting is too much but these mass shootings are really hard to take."
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called the gunman a "scumbag" and described the shooting as "horrific".
"He [the gunman] was targeting people based on their race, that is totally unacceptable," said Mr DeSantis, who is competing to be the Republican party's presidential candidate.
"This guy killed himself rather than face the music and accept responsibility for his actions and so he took the coward's way out."
The White House said President Joe Biden had been briefed on the shooting.
In a statement provided to the BBC's US partner, CBS News, Dollar General said it was "heartbroken by the senseless act of violence that occurred at our Kings Road store", adding that "supporting our Jacksonville employees and the DG family impacted by this tragedy is a top priority as we work closely with law enforcement".
There have been over 28,000 gun deaths in the US so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive website.
The Jacksonville attack comes on the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington and Martin Luther King Jr's famous "I have a dream" speech. Tens of thousands of people gathered in the capital on Saturday to mark the historic milestone in the civil rights movement.
• None The numbers behind the rise in US mass shootings | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66630263 |
Luis Rubiales kissing Jenni Hermoso unleashes social tsunami in Spain - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | The Spanish FA's president kissing player Jenni Hermoso on the lips has sparked a national conversation. | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
A kiss on the lips, a growing backlash and mass resignations among coaching staff: BBC Sport's Spanish football expert Guillem Balague reflects on a tumultuous week for the sport and for Spain's society as a whole.
This is the Spanish MeToo moment.
It's an opportunity to focus everybody's attention on the treatment of women in football - and on the frustration at what many see as systemic blindness at the top of an elite organisation, the Spanish football federation.
Jenni Hermoso is being backed not just by female players, but male players too - although perhaps not as much as hoped.
It's caused a storm in football, which has turned into a social tsunami. It feels like wherever you are, everyone is talking about it, and in Spain it's the number one story every day.
It's a story about a man - Luis Rubiales - who appears completely out of touch with reality, a man long followed by acolytes and surrounded by supporters with an apparently identical world view.
But now, this influential group has become a minority.
Their defiance on this issue has left many people incredulous - and in Spain, they are looking exposed.
The coaching staff of the women's national side has resigned, but notably not the manager Jorge Vilda, who was - alongside other senior figures in Spanish football - spotted clapping when Rubiales was talking yesterday.
This has not gone unnoticed by the Spanish public.
Remember that the players were not just asking for Rubiales to go, but for other members of the federation to go too. These women who have conquered the world see this moment as an opportunity to move aside anyone they think is standing in the way of their mission to achieve unflinching respect and equality.
For many people, this is about how discrimination against women functions. It not just done by one person; it is done by a system.
And in Spain, this episode shows how the battle lines have been drawn.
It's a battle being taken up at the very highest level.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has no fear proclaiming himself a feminist. In the Spanish sporting groups I circulate in, people feel they must intervene - that action must be taken.
And beyond that, the feeling is Spain must take advantage of this moment, which has intensified so quickly and is capturing headlines around the world.
One week ago, we were celebrating a historic World Cup victory. That has quickly soured, some say. It's been a whirlwind of success and recrimination, of holding to account - and of sheer defiance.
But there is one thing people on every side agree on: this is one of the most important weeks for Spain in living memory.
For many people, it's an opportunity to move into a better place. For others it's a chance to set the record straight - as they see it.
It's difficult to exaggerate how influential Rubiales was. His defiance suggests he may have felt safety in that influence.
But the voices against him have multiplied, starting with Jenni Hermoso and her fellow players and then snowballing into their coaching staff, the men's game and the newspapers. Now, this is being talked about around almost every single dinner table in Spain.
He may not feel so safe any more. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66626866 |
Trump campaign raises $7.1m following historic Georgia mugshot - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | Merchandise bearing the ex-president's scowling face at his arrest on Thursday is flying off the shelves. | Donald Trump has seen a marketing opportunity in the release of his mugshot
Donald Trump's election campaign says it has raised $7.1m (£5.6m) since his police mugshot was taken at a prison in Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday.
Much of the money comes from merchandise such as mugs, T-shirts and drink coolers bearing the former president's scowling face.
Mr Trump was released on bail, charged with plotting to overturn the state's 2020 election results.
He faces three other indictments as he campaigns for the 2024 US election.
They include two related to his false claims that the election was stolen and the attack by his followers on the Capitol in Washington.
Mr Trump denies all the charges and argues the cases against him are politically motivated because he is leading the race for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Party incumbent President Joe Biden.
The attention seems to have galvanised his supporters, and he has raised almost $20m in three weeks, since his indictments in the Georgia and Capitol riots cases.
On Friday, immediately after his arrest in Georgia, he raised $4.18m, said to be his highest figure in a 24-hour period in the campaign so far.
As well as selling merchandise from its online store, the campaign has been messaging supporters asking for help.
And on Thursday, Mr Trump himself posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, for the first time since January 2021, sharing the mugshot with the caption "Election interference. Never surrender!" and the address of his website.
This came after the former president was photographed at Fulton County jail, where he surrendered to law enforcement and paid $200,000 to be released as he awaits trial. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66632882 |
Claire Knights: Body found in search for missing dog walker - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | The family of Claire Knights, who went missing from Upstreet, has been informed, police say. | The family of Claire Knights, missing from Upstreet, have been told about the discovery
Police searching for a missing woman have found a body near a Kent beach.
Formal identification is yet to take place but the family of 54-year-old Claire Knights, who was missing from Upstreet, has been informed.
The discovery was made by a member of the public near Minnis Bay, just after 19:00 BST on Friday, Kent Police said.
Detectives are treating the death as suspicious and a man in his 20s from Margate was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of murder.
The body was found in an area popular with dog walkers near Minnis Bay
There will be an increased police presence in the area while investigations take place, the force added.
Ms Knights' spaniel, called Zebulon, was found on Minnis Bay on Wednesday - the day she was last seen.
Police found Ms Knights' spaniel Zebulon on Minnis Bay on the day she was last seen
Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-66627075 |
Emmerson Mnangagwa: 'The Crocodile' wins second term as Zimbabwe president - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | Mnangagwa came to power in Zimbabwe after a 2017 coup which ousted long-time ruler Robert Mugabe. | Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been elected to a second term with 52.6% of the vote, the electoral commission says.
But the opposition also claimed to have won, saying there was widespread vote-rigging, and observers said the vote fell short of democratic standards.
Mr Mnangagwa is only Zimbabwe's third president. A 2017 coup against veteran ruler Robert Mugabe put him in charge.
Zimbabweans still face high inflation, poverty and a climate of fear.
When he first became president, Mr Mnangagwa - known as "The Crocodile" for his ruthlessness - promised a new start for his country's people.
But Zimbabwe had one of the highest inflation rates in the world last month - prices in July had rocketed by 101.3% since the previous year. Unemployment also remains rife, with only 25% of Zimbabweans holding formal jobs.
Mr Mnangagwa's vow to guarantee human rights also appears hollow, with little changing in this regard since Mr Mugabe's departure.
His supporters still bring out a cuddly crocodile toy during Zanu-PF rallies
Critics say the 80-year-old silenced dissent and clamped down on the opposition in the run-up to the vote, which he had been widely-expected to win.
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) said Mr Mnangagwa's main challenger, Citizens' Coalition for Change (CCC) candidate Nelson Chamisa, secured 44% of the vote.
Mr Mnangagwa received more than 2.3m votes, while Mr Chamisa took 1.9m, according to the ZEC. Voter turnout in the country of almost 16m was 69%, the electoral body said.
But Mr Chamisa said that the opposition had the "real results" and that there had been many irregularities.
"We have won this election. We are the leaders. We are even surprised why Mnangagwa has been declared a leader," he told journalists in Harare.
A spokesperson for the CCC posted on X - formerly known as Twitter - that the party rejected "any result hastily assembled without proper verification".
Observer missions from the EU, Commonwealth and 16-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) said they had a number of concerns with the vote, including the banning of opposition rallies, issues with the electoral register, biased state media coverage and voter intimidation.
"The elections were fraught with irregularities and aggrieved the people of Zimbabwe," political analyst Rejoice Ngwenya told AFP.
The run-up to the election was largely free of violence, but CCC members were convicted on what they describe as fabricated charges aimed at weakening the party. The party says the police have banned several of its meetings since July, and nearly 100 gatherings since it was formed in January last year.
Earlier this month, 40 CCC members, including a parliamentary candidate, were arrested while campaigning in the capital Harare.
The recent killing of a CCC backer, allegedly by supporters of Mr Mnangagwa's Zanu-PF party, further raised concerns about rights.
Critics continue to be arrested and taken to court for insulting the president - an offence punishable by one year in jail or a fine or both. A man in Harare was charged in April after allegedly being overheard by a police officer saying that Mr Mnangagwa would lose the next election.
"The Crocodile", as he is known, has a fearsome reputation that was cemented after independence during the civil war that broke out in the 1980s between Mr Mugabe's Zanu party and the Zapu party of Joshua Nkomo.
As national security minister, Mr Mnangagwa was in charge of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), which worked hand in glove with the army to suppress Zapu.
Thousands of civilians - mainly ethnic Ndebeles, seen as Zapu supporters - were killed in a campaign known as Gukurahundi, before the two parties merged to form Zanu-PF.
Mr Mnangagwa has denied any role in the massacres. As president he has tried to broach reconciliation. Some have felt his comments glib given the deep wounds in Matabeleland, but an initiative to allow exhumations and reburials has been agreed.
Voting in the presidential and parliamentary elections was meant to take place on Wednesday, but was extended into Thursday in some areas due to the late distribution of ballot papers.
Mr Mnangagwa's election means Zanu-PF has ruled Zimbabwe for 43 years, since the country gained independence from British rule in 1980.
The party was also declared the winner in the parliamentary race, securing 136 of 210 seats, with the CCC taking 73. A further 60 seats are reserved for women and are appointed through proportional representation. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-66631185 |
Bob Barker, who hosted The Price Is Right for 35 years, dies aged 99 - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | Barker was the face of The Price Is Right, the longest-running game show in the US, for 35 years. | Bob Barker, who hosted the US game show The Price Is Right for 35 years, has died at the age of 99.
The Price is Right is the longest-running game show on US television and is watched every weekday by audiences in other countries.
Barker was its smiling face from the first series in 1972 until 2007. He won 19 Emmy awards during a radio and TV career that spanned six decades.
He died of natural causes at his home near Los Angeles, his agent said.
"The World's Greatest MC [Master of Ceremonies] who ever lived, Bob Barker, has left us," publicist Roger Neal said in a statement on Saturday.
Barker was born in December 1923 in Washington State and joined the US Navy during World War Two, before starting a career in radio, and later TV.
In CBS's The Price Is Right, excited contestants were famously invited to "come on down" before Barker tested their knowledge of the price of consumer items in return for prizes.
In 2007, aged 83, he was succeeded as host by comedian Drew Carey.
When Barker's death was first reported, Carey tweeted: "There hasn't been a day on set that I didn't think of Bob Barker and thank him. I will carry his memory in my heart forever."
Hollywood actor Adam Sandler also paid tribute to his Happy Gilmore co-star, saying Barker was "The man. The myth. The best" and that he would be "missed by everyone".
Fellow actor James Woods also praised Barker, highlighting his "greatest contribution" as an advocate for animal rights.
Woods said as well as being a world famous game show host, Barker's "love for our furry friends inspired compassionate movements all over the world".
Animal rights group Peta said Barker would be remembered for his "lifelong work for animals" and that he was committed to pushing for the end of animal exploitation in "every way".
Barker was a vegetarian for more than 40 years, and repeatedly spoke out about animal cruelty and donated money to animal rights work. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-66630261 |
Wilko: New bid emerges for stricken retail chain - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | A private equity firm makes a £90m bid for the business and pledges to retain all jobs for two years. | A fresh rescue bid for Wilko has emerged as efforts to save the retail chain continue.
Private equity firm M2 Capital has confirmed it has made a £90m bid for the business, and has pledged to retain all employees' jobs for two years.
The bid by M2, first reported by the Guardian, is one of several offers being considered by administrators.
Wilko fell into administration earlier this month, putting 12,500 jobs and 400 stores at risk.
The administrators for Wilko, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), set a deadline of Friday last week for bids for the chain, and are understood to be reviewing offers over the weekend.
M2 managing director Robert Mantse told the BBC that if the firm's rescue bid was accepted, M2 would "guarantee all employees' jobs for two years".
In response, the national secretary of the GMB union, Andy Prendergast, said that while "the devil is always in the detail... any bid that guarantees jobs has to be prioritised".
Last week, it also emerged that the owner of HMV, Canadian businessman Doug Putman, is also interested in salvaging some of the Wilko business.
It is understood his bid would seek to keep the majority of the chain's stores open.
A spokesperson for PwC said talks were "continuing with a number of parties".
"As administrators we're intent on achieving the best outcome for everyone involved while preserving as many jobs as possible and adhering to our statutory duty to act in the best interests of the creditors as a whole."It would be inappropriate to comment on individual bidders or interested parties at this stage in the process."
Wilko has been struggling with sharp losses and a cash shortage.
It has also been criticised for falling behind rivals such as B&M, Poundland, The Range and Home Bargains, as the high cost of living has pushed shoppers to seek out bargains.
Wilko had already borrowed £40m from restructuring specialist Hilco, cut jobs, rejigged its leadership team and sold off a distribution centre as it faced a cash squeeze.
Shoppers had also noticed gaps on shelves after Wilko struggled to pay suppliers and at least one credit insurer withdrew trade cover, prompting some companies to pause deliveries.
However, Lisa Wilkinson, the retailer's chairwoman until January this year and the granddaughter of the firm's founder, has said "everybody has thrown everything" at trying to save the business.
In an interview with the Sunday Times, she said: "The team members, the suppliers, the landlords... everybody has thrown their soul and heart at it."
The company has been criticised for paying dividends in recent years, but Ms Wilkinson said the firm would have collapsed even if it had not made these payments.
"Hindsight is a great bedfellow and I like to think we did all the things we should do when we paid dividends," she told the paper.
"The board checked that we'd got profits or reserved profits, there was sufficient cash, we went through the right governance, the auditors checked it off."
An "everything must go" sale began at Wilko stores soon after it entered administration
She added that if they had not paid any dividends "it might have made us survive a couple of months longer. What we have taken out really wouldn't have made a difference".
But the GMB union's Andy Prendergast said: "12,500 workers are facing redundancy - through no fault of their own."
He criticised Ms Wilkinson for her comments, saying she did not "address her workers and face their concerns". He added that her remarks were "in poor taste when workers don't know how they're going to make ends meet in a few weeks' time".
The business was founded in 1930 when JK Wilkinson opened his first store in Leicester. It expanded across the Midlands initially and by the 1990s became one of Britain's fastest-growing retailers.
In 2012, Wilkinson began rebranding its stores as Wilko, after its own-brand products marketed under the Wilko name.
Are you a Wilko staff member? You can share your story 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/business-66632468 |
World Athletics Championships 2023: Medal table and GB medallists as team equal best haul - BBC Sport | 2023-08-27 | Great Britain won 10 medals in Budapest to equal their best medal haul at a World Championships. | Great Britain won 10 medals in Budapest to equal their best-ever haul at a World Athletics Championships.
Keely Hodgkinson and the 4x400m relay teams won medals on the final day to help Britain finish seventh in the final medal table.
Britain recorded a haul of two golds, three silver and five bronze medals after nine days of competition.
Britain won 10 medals in Stuttgart in 1993 when Linford Christie, Colin Jackson and Sally Gunnell took golds.
• None after edging out American Anna Hall by 20 points in the heptathlon.
• None won by the United States in world record time.
• None Matthew Hudson-Smith went on to
• None to claim Britain's first medal in the event since Darren Campbell in 2003.
• None to earn his first global medal.
• None of Asha Philip, Imani-Lara Lansiquot, Bianca Williams and Daryll Neita also won bronze.
• None Quiz: Can you name every GB world champion?
• None How does Penn Badgley define himself?: The Gossip Girl and You star reveals it all to Dua Lipa
• None Should ultra-processed food be treated like cigarettes?: Dr Chris van Tulleken investigates what non-natural foods are doing to our bodies | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/66460702 |
Pembrokeshire: Photographer captures beauty of national park - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | A photographer shares the beaches, wildlife and dark starry skies of his home county Pembrokeshire. | Newport, pictured here, is a small town and ancient port on Pembrokeshire's north coast
With its otters, puffins, castles, miles of golden sands and dark starry skies there can be few counties more photogenic than Pembrokeshire.
Photographer Drew Buckley has spent his career capturing the varied landscapes and wildlife along Britain's only coastal national park and can't imagine living anywhere else.
"It's one of those places that I think is deeply set in a lot of people's hearts," said Drew, who lives in Pembroke.
"There's just so much to see around here... lots and lots of variety."
During the Covid lockdown when the area was closed to visitors, Drew realised many people who usually holiday in Pembrokeshire were missing it - so he decided to do something about it.
He gave his followers on Twitter, now X, "their daily fill of Pembrokeshire" by posting a photo every day.
His photos took in all parts of the 186-mile stretch that makes up Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, ranging from the bustling seaside resort of Tenby to lesser-known bays and coves.
Soon people started suggesting he should turn it into a book - the result is Pembrokeshire: Discovering the Coast Path.
More than 38,000 Atlantic puffins visit Skomer to breed each year
For years, Drew has been capturing puffin breeding season on Skomer, an island off the coast of Pembrokeshire.
Each March more than 38,000 Atlantic puffins begin to arrive on the 720-acre island to breed and leave towards the end of July.
Common dolphins off the west coast near Grassholm Island
He also loves capturing the country's seals.
"There are coves up on the north coast and this time of year there'll be seal pups there," he said.
"Along the coast we tend to get quite a lot of kestrels and peregrines hunting a lot of the seabirds and the small birds.
"Lately it's been quite good at Bosherston with the otters. Last winter they were really, really good to photograph - there was a little family down there with three cubs and they were pretty much like clockwork so you could see them every day."
Church Door Cove is small amphitheatre-shaped beach with a colossal door shaped archway that has been cut into the cliffs by the forces of the ocean
The national park boasts eight nationally recognised Dark Sky Discovery Sites and several of Drew's night time images capture the milky way.
"Night sky shots are all about the conditions and how clear it is," he said.
"On the south coast all you're looking over is the sea towards Cornwall so there's no land there, there are no towns or or cities that are going to destroy the the seeing with light pollution."
Some shots still take multiple attempts and the images in his book have been built up over a 10-year period.
The park is home to 286 scheduled ancient monuments, ranging from castles to burial chambers, hillforts and mills.
"Pembroke Castle is one of the highlights on the route," said Drew.
Broad Haven South is a large expanse of sandy beach which stretches along a craggy coastline
"It's such a fantastic big building... some days you just stop and look at it and you think 'well, that's pretty special'.
"We're blessed to have so many castles in Pembrokeshire."
Solva is a harbour village in the heart of Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire is also home to Britain's smallest city - St Davids.
"The cathedral is unbelievable with the stained glass windows," said Drew.
So where are his favourite places to photograph?
Ceibwr Bay is a tiny inlet of rocks and sand surrounded by tall cliffs
"Tenby is a bit manic this time of year but you can be sometimes the only person on the beach for sunrise or near to the twilight," he said.
"There's Whitesands on a windswept day or if you get the right conditions at Freshwater West it is just a magic place."
Despite the thousands of hours he must have spent photographing the coastline, it is clear he is still inspired by what he sees.
"It's very privileged job," said Drew.
"Living here, growing up here, I say the waves are in your soul."
Tenby, seen here at twilight, is a bustling seaside town and a popular spot for visiting families
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park is one of Wales' three national parks, the others being Eryri (also known as Snowdonia) and Bannau Brycheiniog (also known as the Brecon Beacons).
The national park covers almost all the Pembrokeshire coast, every offshore island, the Daugleddau estuary and large areas of the Preseli Hills and the Gwaun Valley.
Nowhere in the national park is more than 10 miles from the sea.
It is ecologically one of the richest and most diverse parts of Wales and is recognised as of international importance for a wide range of high quality habitats and rare species.
Pembrokeshire Coast Path was officially opened on 16 May 1970.
Landscape and wildlife photographer Drew Buckley has made a career photographing his local area
A church-shaped rock off Broad Haven beach is lit by the moon | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-66509861 |
World Athletics Championships 2023: Keely Hodgkinson wins 800m silver as Mary Moraa triumphs - BBC Sport | 2023-08-27 | Keely Hodgkinson is forced to settle for silver as Kenya's Mary Moraa triumphs in a thrilling 800m final at the World Championships. | Last updated on .From the section Athletics
Great Britain's Keely Hodgkinson had to settle for silver as Mary Moraa triumphed in a thrilling 800m final at the World Championships in Budapest.
Targeting a first global title, the 21-year-old Hodgkinson clocked one minute 56.34 seconds to match her 2022 medal.
Kenyan Moraa won with a personal best 1:56.03 as defending champion Athing Mu took bronze in a captivating battle.
GB added bronze in both the men's and women's 4x400m relays to equal their best medal haul at a championships.
The men's quartet of Alex Haydock-Wilson, Charlie Dobson, Lewis Davey and Rio Mitcham finished in 2:58.71, behind the USA (2:57.31) and France (2:58.45).
Laviai Nielsen, Amber Anning, Ama Pipi and Nicole Yeargin ran 3:21.04 to make the final podium of the championships, as Femke Bol completed a stunning personal story by leading the Netherlands to gold in 3:20.72.
Bol, who suffered a dramatic fall in the closing stages of the mixed 4x400m relay on the opening day, overhauled Jamaica (3:20.88) to deliver a sensational finale.
Those third-place finishes took GB to 10 medals - securing the team's best performance for 30 years.
There was so very nearly a final day gold medal for the British team to celebrate.
Olympic silver medallist Hodgkinson, who missed out on last year's 800m world title to Athing Mu by an agonising 0.08secs in Eugene, found space on the inside as she attempted to catch the fast-finishing Moraa in the closing stages.
But as Moraa skipped in delight after upgrading her 2022 bronze to gold, Hodgkinson initially looked disheartened before proudly celebrating her third global medal.
Mu took bronze as the expected medal race between the three main contenders unfolded, while Jemma Reekie finished fifth (1:57.72) in her first world final.
It was yet another outstanding performance by Hodgkinson, who will again target gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics following another significant year of progress at the start of her career.
"To be consistently at the top with the best of the world is all I want with my career," Hodgkinson said.
"Another podium. Another medal. So that's definitely a positive."
She added: "I did think I was going to come through on the inside and then the line just came quicker than I thought it would.
"I gave it my all like I always do. I don't really think I put a foot wrong."
Silver again for Hodgkinson in latest 'big three' chapter
One of the most anticipated showdowns of the championships, the women's 800m final pitted Hodgkinson against two athletes who, between them, had denied the European champion three further major golds in a sensational start to her professional career.
American phenomenon Mu, also 21, repeated her Tokyo Olympics triumph over Hodgkinson by the narrowest of margins in Eugene last year, before 23-year-old Moraa inflicted Commonwealth Games heartbreak.
But those experiences have only made Hodgkinson more determined in her pursuit of glory.
Responding to the setbacks, Hodgkinson won her first major outdoor gold at the European Championships last August and improved her British record to 1:55.77 this season - still the fastest time in the world this year.
Only Moraa, at the Lausanne Diamond League, had denied the Leigh athlete victory in 12 races over 800m this year - the Kenyan's unpredictable racing style once again frustrating in an otherwise flawless build-up.
And it was Moraa, renowned for her devastating closing speed, who powered on to victory in Budapest as Hodgkinson moved past the fading Mu but could not overhaul the Kenyan.
"I was really looking forward to today. I was really up for it. I really did believe I was going to win," Hodgkinson said.
"You've got to believe, that's half the battle. Who knows what the order will be next year.
"One of these days I will get the top spot. Today, it's just not meant to be.
"I think [going into an] Olympic year, everyone brings even more of their A-game than they usually do. There's no stone left unturned this year. We'll just aim for gold again and see what happens."
Great Britain matched their 2022 bronze in the women's 4x400m - Yeargin clinching a podium place as Bol successfully chased down Jamaica.
It was 400m champion Bol who was firmly in the spotlight, adding her second gold medal and bringing the crowd to their feet.
Bronze represented significant progress for the British men's quartet, who did not participate last year.
In the absence of 400m silver medallist Matthew Hudson-Smith, who has been managing a foot injury this year, Mitcham held on to keep the Jamaican quartet at bay.
There was a fourth-placed finish for Morgan Lake in the women's high jump final with a clearance at 1.97m as Ukraine's Yaroslava Mahuchikh won her first global outdoor title following world silvers in 2019 and 2022.
Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen bounced back from his shock loss to Britain's Josh Kerr in the 1500m final to defend his title in the men's 5,000m, winning in 13:11.30.
Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra won India's first ever World Championship gold as he took the javelin title with a best throw of 88.17m.
Meanwhile, Bahrain's Winfred Yavi took victory in the women's 3,000m steeplechase as the last of 49 golds were decided on Sunday. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/66631319 |
Nadine Dorries resigns: Labour and Lib Dems gear up for by-election battle - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | The Mid Bedfordshire seat is up for grabs after Nadine Dorries quit with a scathing resignation letter. | Nadine Dorries has not spoken in the House of Commons for more than a year
Labour and the Liberal Democrats are vying to snap up Nadine Dorries' seat in a by-election this autumn, triggered after she quit on Saturday.
The two parties ruled out any election pact as they look to contest the vacated Mid Bedfordshire seat.
In her blistering resignation letter, Ms Dorries accused Rishi Sunak of running a "zombie Parliament".
Government minister Johnny Mercer dismissed her scathing criticism, but said she was "entitled to that view".
"I think people are tired of raking over the coals of the Boris Johnson government," said Mr Mercer, who is the government's veteran affairs minister.
He told reporters on Sunday that he looked forward to the by-election campaign, but the Conservative Party would have to "work hard to get" constituents' votes, adding: "We've got work to do but we've got a good candidate."
Ms Dorries - who was a Johnson loyalist - announced she would stand down on Saturday evening, 11 weeks after originally pledging to quit "with immediate effect" on 9 June.
Labour's Anneliese Dodds said Ms Dorries' resignation was "a real relief for the people of Mid Bedfordshire" and that Labour was in "pole position" for the seat, despite not winning there before.
"I think it really is all to play for for Labour with this by-election," she told BBC Breakfast. "They desperately need an MP who will be focused on them full-time."
She added that "Labour won't be cooking up any deals".
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said he was "increasingly confident we have a really good chance" of overturning Ms Dorries' huge 25,000 majority in the constituency, following the party's victory in Somerton and Frome last month.
He said the Lib Dems had already been campaigning there, adding: "It's clear that the people of Mid Bedfordshire feel the Conservative Party is out of trust and they see the Liberal Democrats as the main challenger."
Ms Dorries, whose salary as an MP is £86,584, had come under increasing pressure to act on her promise to resign, as she had not spoken in the Commons since June 2022.
She submitted her resignation letter to the prime minister and published the eviscerating text on Mail Online.
Senior Tory Caroline Nokes was left unimpressed by her remarks, telling BBC Radio 4's Broadcasting House: "I am not planning on wasting a second more of my life thinking about Nadine Dorries.
"Nadine has turned her resignation into a psychodrama and sadly this seems more about gathering column inches for Nadine rather than a Conservative Party she claimed to be a loyal member of a few weeks ago."
Sir Keir Starmer, Labour candidate Alistair Strathern, deputy Labour Party leader Angela Rayner and shadow Northern Ireland secretary Peter Kyle visited the Mid Bedfordshire constituency in July
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is expected to appoint Ms Dorries to the historical position of Steward and Bailiff of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern on Tuesday - the arcane mechanism by which MPs can leave the Commons before an election.
This will enable the Conservative Party to call a by-election in Mid Bedfordshire.
Blake Stephenson, the chair of the Mid Bedfordshire Conservatives, told the BBC constituents had been "looking for clarity" over Ms Dorries.
"I'm certain that [the Conservative candidate] can win this campaign," he said. "But the circumstances in which we go into this by-election do make that more tricky."
Despite saying in June that she would quit with immediate effect, Ms Dorries subsequently said she wanted to find out why she was refused a seat in the House of Lords.
It was widely thought she would be made a peer by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson in his resignation honours list.
In a lengthy statement Ms Dorries accused Mr Sunak of "demeaning his office by opening the gates to whip up a public frenzy" against her.
This, she said, resulted in "the police having to visit my home and contact me on a number of occasions due to threats to my person".
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey says he's confident they can win the by-election
In a criticism of Mr Sunak's leadership, she said: "Since you took office a year ago, the country is run by a zombie Parliament where nothing meaningful has happened.
"You have no mandate from the people and the government is adrift. You have squandered the goodwill of the nation, for what?"
She continued: "It is a fact that there is no affection for [Labour leader] Keir Starmer out on the doorstep. He does not have the winning X factor qualities of a Thatcher, Blair or a Boris Johnson, and sadly, prime minister, neither do you."
Born in Liverpool, the mother of three says her childhood was warm and loving but she told the Guardian she also remembers having to "hide from the rent man as we couldn't pay him. Some days there would be no food."
After school she trained as a nurse and her profession frequently informed the political issues she took up - from Group B Strep testing for pregnant women to pushing for the time limit on abortions to be reduced.
She came late to politics and had considered joining Labour, but her views were swung by the Right to Buy scheme which had allowed her mother to buy her council house.
Ms Dorries was elected MP for Mid Bedfordshire in 2005, although her decision to go on ITV's I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here in 2012 led to her suspension from the parliamentary Conservative party.
She would later serve as a health minister before being appointed to the cabinet in 2021 when Boris Johnson made her culture secretary.
Having written a series of novels, her latest book The Plot: The Political Assassination of Boris Johnson is due out in September. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-66632226 |
Auctioneer exposed by BBC admits illegally selling rare ancient coins - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | Richard Beale has pleaded guilty over the sales of the $4m Eid Mar and parts of the "Gaza Hoard". | BBC News Arabic visited Roma Numismatics to capture images of an Alexander decadrachm coin that was put up for sale
A British auctioneer who was at the centre of a BBC investigation has pleaded guilty at a New York court to a series of charges in connection with unlawful sales of rare ancient coins.
Richard Beale, director of London-based auction house Roma Numismatics, admitted two counts of conspiracy and three counts of criminal possession of stolen property, court documents show.
He was accused of falsifying the provenance of one of the most expensive ancient coins ever auctioned - the gold Eid Mar, which fetched $4.19m (£3.29m) in 2020 - and an ancient silver Sicily Naxos Coin, which sold at the same time for $292,000.
He has also admitted to falsifying the provenance of a number of silver Alexander the Great decadrachms from the "Gaza Hoard", which were sold by Roma Numismatics and whose suspicious origin was brought to light by a BBC News Arabic documentary in 2020.
The investigation documented how, three years earlier, fishermen in the Palestinian territory had discovered dozens of the coins, which date back to the 4th Century BC. Soon after the coins were found, they disappeared.
"They are in the hands of people who don't know what these [coins] are, why they are here and what they represent for our country. It's very painful," Fadel Alatol, a local archaeologist who had identified the coins found by the fishermen before they were presumably sold on, told the BBC in 2019.
In Alexander the Great's time, Blakhiya (Anthedon) in Gaza was the main trading port in the south-east Mediterranean
Before the Gaza discovery, only 20 Alexander decadrachms were known to be in existence. A few months later, the same type of coins started to appear for sale at auction houses around the world.
In September 2017, one Alexander decadrachm sold for £100,000 ($127,300) at Roma Numismatics.
But in total 19 of these, formerly very rare, Alexander decadrachms were sold - 11 of them by Roma Numismatics - with the provenance of the coins listed as either "from a private Canadian collection" or "ex-private European collection".
In 2019, the BBC approached Beale at his office in London and challenged him directly about the provenances for the decadrachms listed on Roma Numismatics' auction site.
The Roma Numismatics catalogue advertising an Alexander decadrachm that sold for £100,000 in 2017
The BBC informed Beale that it suspected the coins had come from the "Gaza Hoard", which meant that it was illegal to sell them.
Auction houses are expected to carry out due diligence to establish a coin's provenance. However, they are also permitted to rely only on what they are told by a trusted consignor - the technical term for a sender.
In a statement provided to the BBC by Beale at the time, he said: "We were satisfied that the consignor(s) were known to us, and had an established record of professionalism and trust. Furthermore, we were provided with information that the items had entered the UK from an origin country that raised no concern."
Following the meeting with BBC producers, Roma Numismatics went on to sell more Alexander decadrachms.
Appearing before the New York Supreme Criminal Court on 14 August, Beale admitted that he had known the provenances of the decadrachms were false when they were sold and meant to disguise the fact that they came from the Gaza Hoard, court documents show.
He also admitted that he decided to continue selling the coins despite the producers of the BBC documentary challenging directly about the false provenances on Roma Numismatics' auction site.
According to the court documents, Beale also admitted that in 2015 he entered into an agreement with an Italian coin dealer to sell the Eid Mar coin, which was minted in 42BC to commemorate the assassination of Julius Caesar on the Ides of March.
The two men travelled to Munich and paid €450,000 ($490,000; £385,000) in cash for the coin, despite it having no provenance paperwork or any other form of documentation.
In August 2020, Beale shipped the coin to the US to be authenticated and listed its country of origin as "Turkey", because any ancient items from Italy or Greece were more likely to be seized by US Customs for checks.
The gold Eid Mar, which was sold unlawfully for $4.19m at auction, was repatriated earlier this year
The following month, the coin was listed for sale by Roma Numismatics and described as coming "from the collection of the Baron Dominique de Chambrier, original attestation of provenance included".
In October 2020, Beale received an email and letter from the baron asking him to withdraw the false provenance. But he proceeded with the sale of the coin and an American buyer paid $4.19m.
Judge Althea Drysdale called Beale's actions "woefully wrong and illegal", as well as "harmful to both the buyers and the nations whose cultural property [was] illegally acquired".
The maximum sentence for these criminal offences is 25 years in prison, but this could be reduced under a plea and sentence agreement with prosecutors.
Beale is next due to appear before the New York Supreme Criminal Court in March.
Both the Eid Mar and Sicily Naxos coins were seized by US authorities and repatriated earlier this year to their countries of origin - Greece and Italy.
Correction 5 September 2023: This story has been updated to say that the Eid Mar coin was one of the most expensive ancient coins ever auctioned, and not the most expensive coin ever auctioned. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-66594076 |
The Ukrainian jet pilots hunting cruise missiles - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | Russia has launched hundreds of missiles and drone attacks on Ukraine in the past few weeks. | Russia has launched hundreds of cruise missiles and drones at Ukraine in the past few weeks, killing dozens of civilians and causing power blackouts across the country.
The BBC has spoken to one of the MiG-29 fighter pilots tasked with trying to intercept the deadly weapons before they hit Ukraine's cities.
Known by his callsign “Juice”, he has been asked by authorities to remain anonymous. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-63465297 |
P&O Britannia cruise ship crashes during Mallorca storms - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | A small number of people are being cared for onboard after sustaining minor injuries, P&O says. | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
A cruise ship broke free from moorings and collided with a freight vessel during a storm in Mallorca, Spain.
Passengers on Britannia, a P&O Cruises ship based in Southampton, described how after it broke loose the ship "floated away like a paper boat". A walkway also fell into the sea.
A small number of people are being cared for onboard after sustaining minor injuries, P&O said.
It said the ship will stay in Palma to allow for a technical assessment.
The captain earlier told passengers there was "no structural compromise".
People aboard the ship recorded videos and images of the incident, showing an emergency response and debris floating in the sea.
The "unexpected drama" happened at the same time as an emergency drill, a passenger said
Passenger Gavin McCoy said the "unexpected drama" happened while "the local fire service and crew were carrying out an emergency drill".
He said that at about 11:00 BST "a sudden rain and wind storm ripped us away from our dockside moorings, breaking tethering lines, water hoses, and causing the walkway to fall into the sea".
He said he was "sitting by the window in the coffee shop, and the first thing we saw were the blue dockside reception marquee tents blowing through the air," Mr McCoy added.
"We've drifted well away from the berth and collided into a nearby freight/cargo ship."
Another passenger, Dale Hopkin said it was "madness" on board as sunbeds "were starting to flip".
Mr Hopkin, from Blackpool, said the rain was so heavy he could not see out of the ship's windows.
He added that after the vessel broke free from its moorings "it floated away like a paper boat. The staff couldn't do anything more".
His wife, Tracey Hopkin, described it all as "a bit of drama" and said the ship came close to the breakwater rocks in the harbour.
She said she heard "a really loud noise, a grating sound" and "couldn't believe what I was seeing".
She praised the actions of the staff and said there were regular updates from the ship's captain.
Another holidaymaker, Tilley Eve, said for around two hours "things were really bad", adding: "I felt like I was in the Wizard of Oz."
She said some families had put life jackets on their children.
The storm is likely to be one of the severe thunderstorms, affecting the Balearic Islands.
Mr McCoy could see debris in the water from one of their lifeboats which was hit
Torrential outbreaks of rain and gusts of up to 120km (75 miles) per hour have hit the islands. The conditions led to the cancellation of over 20 flights, Spain's airport operator said.
Weather warnings for parts of the archipelago have been extended until Monday.
The captain informed passengers that "there's no structural compromise, but deck five has sustained a small amount of damage" on the PA system.
P&O Cruises spokesperson said they were "aware of an incident involving Britannia on Sunday morning" and were "working to assess the situation".
Mr McCoy said that everyone was safe and there was "no problem on the ship apart from a few scrapes and bumps to one or more lifeboats that project from the ship".
"The many people on coach excursions will be able to get back on again," he added.
Passengers will have access to onboard entertainment and activities while technical teams make an assessment of the ship, P&O said.
The cruise started in Southampton and is due back on 1 September.
This is the second time an emergency has happened on a Southampton ship due to bad weather in recent weeks, with the Queen Mary 2 breaking free from its bow mooring line and drifting off the quay on 4 August.
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The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-66633547 |
In pictures: Redheads celebrate fiery locks at Dutch festival - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | Hundreds of ginger-haired people from across the world took part in the three-day Dutch gathering. | Hundreds of redheads from around the world have gathered in the southern Dutch town of Tilburg for an annual festival celebrating their amber locks.
Natural redheads from countries including the UK, Israel, Germany, Italy and New Zealand made the trip for the three-day event, which organisers Redhead Days say is all about "connection, pride and recognition".
Internet personality Peet Montzingo, who describes himself on Instagram as a "ginger with a soul", was seen surfing through the crowd at the event
The festival was founded in 2005 by Bart Rouwenhorst who, rather surprisingly, is blond.
The amateur painter found himself drawn to the aesthetic qualities of redheads, so advertised for 15 ginger models to paint - only to be deluged with 150 responses.
They were all photographed - but when many of those who did not get selected voiced their disappointment, Mr Rouwenhorst decided to make an annual event of it.
In 2013, Redhead Days festival-goers made it into the Guinness Book of World Records when 1,672 people got together in the largest recorded gathering of people with natural red hair.
Festival-goers were able to compare their hair against a wall of colour, from "pumpkin" to "Vincent" to "guinea pig" | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66632465 |
Fukushima: Japan asks China to stop citizens making abusive calls - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | Businesses are fielding calls from Chinese numbers criticising the discharge of treated waste water. | A box with a photo of Japan PM Kishida is seen during a protest in Hong Kong against the release of treated water from Fukushima
Japan has complained to China after local businesses and institutions were inundated with abusive phone calls over the Fukushima nuclear plant discharge.
The calls come from numbers with Chinese dialling codes. One restaurant chain in Fukushima reported more than 1,000 calls since last Thursday.
Tokyo has also warned citizens visiting China to take precautions and avoid speaking Japanese loudly.
Beijing has led criticism of last week's release of treated wastewater.
Tokyo has made daily reports, saying the seawater around the nuclear plant is showing no detectable levels of radioactivity.
Japanese authorities say the calls from Chinese numbers began after the release of water and they were made to government departments, schools and even an aquarium.
The callers speak in Chinese, Japanese and English - and sometimes use abusive language. They speak about their opposition to Japan's decision to release the treated nuclear water.
China has described the discharge as an "extremely selfish and irresponsible act".
On Thursday it said it would ban Japanese seafood imports.
Meanwhile, Tokyo is hoping regular radiation testing in the waters near the plant will allay concerns from neighbouring countries and fishing groups.
Weekly test results will be published for the next three months.
More than a million tonnes of water stored at the nuclear plant will be discharged over the next 30 years.
There have been oppositions in China and South Korea to Japan's release of the contaminated water
It has been accumulating since 2011 when the plant was badly damaged by a tsunami.
Japan says the water is safe, and the UN's nuclear watchdog has approved the plan, but critics say the release should be halted.
The water is being filtered to remove most radioactive elements then diluted to reduce levels of tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen which is difficult to separate from water.
The Environment Ministry said samples from 11 locations near the plant showed tritium levels below 7-8 becquerels per litre, the lower limit of detection.
The water "would have no adverse impact on human health and the environment", it added.
There has also been opposition to the release of water in South Korea, and on Thursday protesters in the capital Seoul attempted to storm the Japanese embassy.
On Sunday, South Korea said it had sent nuclear experts to Fukushima to monitor the discharge process. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-66632237 |
Evidence found of German mass execution by French Resistance after D-Day - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | Casings and coins at a site in central France suggest prisoners were shot by the French Resistance after D-Day. | The site where the Germans were killed, near the town of Meymac
Archaeologists have found evidence of a mass execution of German prisoners who were forced to dig their own graves and then shot by the French Resistance a few days after D-Day, during World War Two.
French and German teams discovered bullets and cartridges, as well as coins, at a remote site in central France identified by the last surviving witness.
After France surrendered to Hitler's Germany in 1940, the underground Resistance movement gathered force over years of occupation and by June 1944 was poised to help the Allied invasion in Normandy.
The eight-day excavation in wooded hills near the town of Meymac failed to unearth human remains.
"The bodies are definitely there somewhere. We are not going to stop now," said Xavier Kompa, head of the French Veterans' Affairs Office in the Corrèze department.
Kompa was speaking at the police checkpoint at the start of the track leading to the site. The site itself remains off-limits to press and public.
The dig has been suspended, but will be resumed after more analysis of the ground and of the finds.
The search follows the recent revelations of 98-year-old former Resistance fighter Edmond Réveil, who broke nearly 80 years of silence to speak about the killings for the first time.
In an interview with the BBC, Réveil recalled the reaction of the German prisoners when they were told they were to be shot.
"They knew what was coming…. They got out their wallets and looked at (photographs of) their families. There was no crying out. They were soldiers," he said.
"They were shot in the chest from a distance of four or five metres."
The prisoners - 46 German soldiers and one French woman collaborator - had been ordered to dig their own graves in the form of a long trench.
Following Réveil's account, French and German officials focused their search on a section of woods near the hamlet of Encaux. Ground-penetrating radar perceived what appeared to be a trench that fitted the description.
However when a 45- by 10-metre area was excavated, it proved fruitless. The teams then switched their attention to an adjacent zone, which had not been analysed with the radar.
In this area - not yet cleared of trees - they discovered the artefacts that apparently confirmed they were in the right place.
Twenty bullets as well as bullet-casings are of French, German, American and Swiss manufacture - which would reflect the variety of weaponry used by the Resistance.
All date from before 1944, as do five coins.
Archaeologists found 20 bullets as well as bullet-casings of French, German, American and Swiss manufacture
Two of the pre-1944 coins found at the excavation site near Meymac
The Corrèze prefecture said that more studies would now be carried out, and "when new elements allow us to pinpoint the remains, a new effort will be made to exhume them".
"It is extremely hard to find the exact spot, because the terrain has changed so much," said Kompa.
"Back in 1944, this was heathland. The pine trees were planted by the Americans after the war. And the configuration of the paths has changed too."
Réveil's story triggered massive media interest when it was reported in May.
"We had no idea the world would focus so much attention," said Kompa. "That's another reason why we are going to keep looking."
Authorities plan to return to the dig site when they have more information
As an 18-year-old member of the Francs Tireurs et Partisans (FTP) Resistance group, Réveil had taken part in an anti-German uprising in the Corrèze capital of Tulle just after the Normandy landings of 6 June 1944.
The Normandy landings - often referred to as D-Day - saw the Allied forces of the US, UK and Canada begin an attack that lasted for 11 months. It eventually led to the defeat of Nazi Germany and the liberation of occupied Europe.
Days after D-Day, French fighters captured between 50 and 60 German soldiers. But the fighters were then forced to flee into the mountains by the arrival of German reinforcements.
In retaliation for the uprising, on 9 June the SS Das Reich division hanged 99 hostages on the streets of Tulle.
The next day they massacred 643 people in the village of Oradour-sur-Glane, which has remained an empty monument ever since.
The ruins of the village of Oradour-sur-Glane have been preserved just as they were after the massacre
Réveil was part of the Resistance escort moving north-east with their captives, taking mountain paths to avoid German patrols.
After three days walking, on 12 June, the commander radioed to headquarters for orders. This was when he was told to have the prisoners shot. Some Czechoslovakian and Polish nationals were spared.
Réveil says that he did not personally take part in the killing.
After the execution, a cloak of silence descended. There was a tacit oath taken by the 30 or so Resistance fighters never to mention it again.
Réveil decided to speak out only because he was the last person alive to have been a witness.
"It needs to be told. It's been a secret long enough," he said to the BBC.
In 1967 - in circumstances that have never been fully explained - there was actually a first excavation at the scene. This unearthed 11 bodies. But the dig seems to have been abruptly stopped, and all official records expunged.
The likely reason is that former members of the Resistance - who were still numerous and influential in French politics - did not wish the episode to be resuscitated for fear of sullying their heroic image.
According to Meymac's mayor Philippe Brugère, such considerations are now long gone.
"The guardians of the memory of the Resistance were fearful it would harm their name. But today no-one wants to cast judgment. People understand that in war all acts become possible.
"You can be on the side of the righteous, and still carry out what is morally wrong." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66608891 |
Nadine Dorries' resignation letter in full - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | The Tory MP published the eviscerating letter she wrote to Rishi Sunak. | Nadine Dorries resigned as Conservative MP from her Mid Bedfordshire seat with a blistering attack on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Here is her resignation letter in full:
It has been the greatest honour and privilege of my life to have served the good people of Mid Bedfordshire as their MP for 18 years and I count myself blessed to have worked in Westminster for almost a quarter of a century. Despite what some in the media and you yourself have implied, my team of caseworkers and I have continued to work for my constituents faithfully and diligently to this day.
When I arrived in Mid Bedfordshire in 2005, I inherited a Conservative majority of 8,000. Over five elections this has increased to almost 25,000, making it one of the safest seats in the country. A legacy I am proud of.
During my time as a Member of Parliament, I have served as a back bencher, a bill Committee Chair, a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State before becoming Minister of State in the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) during the Covid crisis, after which I was appointed as Secretary of State at the department of Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS). The offer to continue in my Cabinet role was extended to me by your predecessor, Liz Truss, and I am grateful for your personal phone call on the morning you appointed your cabinet in October, even if I declined to take the call.
As politicians, one of the greatest things we can do is to empower people to have opportunities to achieve their aspirations and to help them to change their lives for the better. In DHSC I championed meaningful improvements to maternity and neonatal safety. I launched the women's health strategy and pushed forward a national evidence-based trial for Group B Strep testing in pregnant women with the aim to reduce infant deaths. When I resigned as Secretary of State for DCMS I was able to thank the professional, dedicated and hard-working civil servants for making our department the highest performing in Whitehall. We worked tirelessly to strengthen the Online Safety Bill to protect young people, froze the BBC licence fee, included the sale of Channel 4 into the Media Bill to protect its long-term future and led the world in imposing cultural sanctions when Putin invaded Ukraine.
I worked with and encouraged the tech sector, to search out untaught talents such as creative and critical thinking in deprived communities offering those who faced a life on low unskilled pay or benefits, access to higher paid employment and social mobility. What many of the CEOs I spoke to in the tech sector and business leaders really wanted was meaningful regulatory reform from you as chancellor to enable companies not only to establish in the UK, but to list on the London Stock Exchange rather than New York. You flashed your gleaming smile in your Prada shoes and Savile Row suit from behind a camera, but you just weren't listening. All they received in return were platitudes and a speech illustrating how wonderful life was in California. London is now losing its appeal as more UK-based companies seek better listing opportunities in the US. That, Prime Minister, is entirely down to you.
Long before my resignation announcement, in July 2022, I had advised the cabinet secretary, Simon Case, of my intention to step down. Senior figures in the party, close allies of yours, have continued to this day to implore me to wait until the next general election rather than inflict yet another damaging by-election on the party at a time when we are consistently twenty points behind in the polls.
Having witnessed first-hand, as Boris Johnson and then Liz Truss were taken down, I decided that the British people had a right to know what was happening in their name. Why is it that we have had five Conservative prime ministers since 2010, with not one of the previous four having left office as the result of losing a general election? That is a democratic deficit which the mother of parliaments should be deeply ashamed of and which, as you and I know, is the result of the machinations of a small group of individuals embedded deep at the centre of the party and Downing Street.
To start with, my investigations focused on the political assassination of Boris Johnson, but as I spoke to more and more people - and I have spoken to a lot of people, from ex-prime ministers, cabinet ministers both ex and current through all levels of government and Westminster and even journalists - a dark story emerged which grew ever more disturbing with each person I spoke to.
It became clear to me as I worked that remaining as a back bencher was incompatible with publishing a book which exposes how the democratic process at the heart of our party has been corrupted. As I uncovered this alarming situation I knew, such were the forces ranged against me, that I was grateful to retain my parliamentary privilege until today. And, as you also know Prime Minister, those forces are today the most powerful figures in the land. The onslaught against me even included the bizarre spectacle of the Cabinet Secretary claiming (without evidence) to a select committee that he had reported me to the Whips and Speakers office (not only have neither office been able to confirm this was true, but they have no power to act, as he well knows). It is surely as clear a breach of Civil Service impartiality as you could wish to see.
But worst of all has been the spectacle of a prime minister demeaning his office by opening the gates to whip up a public frenzy against one of his own MPs. You failed to mention in your public comments that there could be no writ moved for a by-election over summer. And that the earliest any by-election could take place is at the end of September. The clearly orchestrated and almost daily personal attacks demonstrates the pitifully low level your Government has descended to.
Nadine Dorries last spoke in the House of Commons in June 2022
It is a modus operandi established by your allies which has targeted Boris Johnson, transferred to Liz Truss and now moved on to me. But I have not been a prime minister. I do not have security or protection. Attacks from people, led by you, declared open season on myself and the past weeks have resulted in the police having to visit my home and contact me on a number of occasions due to threats to my person.
Since you took office a year ago, the country is run by a zombie Parliament where nothing meaningful has happened. What exactly has been done or have you achieved? You hold the office of prime minister unelected, without a single vote, not even from your own MPs. You have no mandate from the people and the government is adrift. You have squandered the goodwill of the nation, for what?
And what a difference it is now since 2019, when Boris Johnson won an eighty-seat majority and a greater percentage of the vote share than Tony Blair in the Labour landslide victory of 1997. We were a mere five points behind on the day he was removed from office. Since you became prime minister, his manifesto has been completely abandoned. We cannot simply disregard the democratic choice of the electorate, remove both the prime minister and the manifesto commitments they voted for and then expect to return to the people in the hope that they will continue to unquestioningly support us. They have agency, they will use it.
Levelling up has been discarded and with it, those deprived communities it sought to serve. Social care, ready to be launched, abandoned along with the hope of all of those who care for the elderly and the vulnerable. The Online Safety Bill has been watered down. BBC funding reform, the clock run down. The Mental Health Act, timed out. Defence spending, reduced. Our commitment to net zero, animal welfare and the green issues so relevant to the planet and voters under 40, squandered. As Lord Goldsmith wrote in his own resignation letter, because you simply do not care about the environment or the natural world. What exactly is it you do stand for?
You have increased Corporation tax to 25%, taking us to the level of the highest tax take since World War Two at 75% of GDP, and you have completely failed in reducing illegal immigration or delivering on the benefits of Brexit. The bonfire of EU legislation, swerved. The Windsor framework agreement, a dead duck, brought into existence by shady promises of future preferment with grubby rewards and potential gongs to MPs. Stormont is still not sitting.
Disregarding your own chancellor, last week you took credit for reducing inflation, citing your "plan". There has been no budget, no new fiscal measures, no debate, there is no plan. Such statements take the British public for fools. The decline in the price of commodities such as oil and gas, the eased pressure on the supply of wheat and the increase in interest rates by the Bank of England are what has taken the heat out of the economy and reduced inflation. For you to personally claim credit for this was disingenuous at the very least.
It is a fact that there is no affection for Keir Starmer out on the doorstep. He does not have the winning X factor qualities of a Thatcher, a Blair, or a Boris Johnson, and sadly, prime minister, neither do you. Your actions have left some 200 or more of my MP colleagues to face an electoral tsunami and the loss of their livelihoods, because in your impatience to become prime minister you put your personal ambition above the stability of the country and our economy. Bewildered, we look in vain for the grand political vision for the people of this great country to hold on to, that would make all this disruption and subsequent inertia worthwhile, and we find absolutely nothing.
I shall take some comfort from explaining to people exactly how you and your allies achieved this undemocratic upheaval in my book. I am a proud working-class Conservative which is why the Levelling Up agenda was so important to me. I know personally how effective a strong and helping hand can be to lift someone out of poverty and how vision, hope and opportunity can change lives. You have abandoned the fundamental principles of Conservatism. History will not judge you kindly.
I shall today inform the chancellor of my intention to take the Chiltern Hundreds, enabling the writ to be moved on 4 September for the by-election you are so desperately seeking to take place. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-66631019 |
Dan Biggar: Wales fly-half to retire from international rugby after Rugby World Cup - BBC Sport | 2023-08-27 | Wales centurion Dan Biggar will hang up his international boots after the Rugby World Cup in France. | Last updated on .From the section Rugby Union
Wales fly-half Dan Biggar has announced he will retire from international duty after the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
The 33-year-old is expected to continue to play for his French club Toulon, whom he joined in November 2022.
Biggar has played 109 Tests for Wales since making his debut as a 19-year-old against Canada in 2008, and is preparing for a third World Cup.
He has also been on two British and Irish Lions tours, making three Test appearances in South Africa in 2021.
Biggar announced his decision on international retirement in his newspaper column.
He has won three Six Nations titles and a Grand Slam with Wales.
He was made captain by Wayne Pivac for the 2022 championship and the summer Test series in South Africa, where the Wales men's team enjoyed their first victory against the Springboks on South African soil.
Wales begin their World Cup campaign against Fiji in Bordeaux on 10 September.
Lock Alun Wyn Jones, flanker Justin Tipuric and scrum-half Rhys Webb retired from international rugby before the World Cup.
Full-back Liam Williams and fly-half Gareth Anscombe will miss the 2024 Six Nations because the tournament clashes with the Japan domestic season.
• None The latest news, views and interviews ahead of the Rugby World Cup
• None One golden chance to chase their dream of going pro | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/66628866 |
Putin and Wagner boss Prigozhin: How a long friendship turned ugly - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | It all began in St Petersburg when state security services mingled with the criminal underworld. | "I had known Prigozhin for a very long time, since the 1990s," Vladimir Putin recalled this week
Theirs was a relationship borne out of the murky world where Russia's state security services mingled with the criminal underworld.
While Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner military company grew into one of the most influential structures in Russia, Vladimir Putin became increasingly dependent on its battlefield successes in Ukraine.
But it was in the seedy scene of early 1990s St Petersburg that their paths first met, during the politically fraught years after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Both men originate from Russia's second city and cultural capital.
Home to the Hermitage art museum and Imperial Winter Palace, it is also considered the crime capital of Russia and a base for powerful gangs.
The exact circumstances of their first encounter are unknown, but Prigozhin was fresh out of jail and Mr Putin had recently returned from a mission in East Germany as an officer with the Soviet security service, the KGB, and was looking for a way into politics.
Convicted for the first time at 17, Prigozhin was no stranger to crime. After a suspended sentence for theft in the late 1970s, he was given a lengthy jail term for robbery in 1981.
He and two others had grabbed a woman by the neck in the street and tried to strangle her, before running off with her winter boots and earrings.
When he left prison in 1990, Russia was a very different place. Instead of the old Soviet chief, Leonid Brezhnev, reformist leader Mikhail Gorbachev was in power, the Berlin Wall had fallen and perestroika (restructuring) was well under way.
Prigozhin started out as a St Petersburg hot-dog salesman, but by the mid-1990s he had opened a restaurant. The Old Custom House is most likely the place the two men first met.
The menu of foie gras and oysters attracted local crime bosses as well as the city's powerful mayor, Anatoly Sobchak. Vladimir Putin, then aged 40, went there too as Sobchak's deputy.
Prigozhin's single restaurant became a chain and his clientele included politicians from far beyond St Petersburg.
By the turn of the century, when Mr Putin became president, the two men had become close associates and Prigozhin's nickname, Putin's chef, dates back to this time.
A photo shows Prigozhin serving dinner to him and President George W Bush.
Vladimir Putin liked to entertain leaders like President George W Bush in St Petersburg
For a man such as Russia's new leader, it was imperative to have a personal chef to ensure his food was safe to consume.
Ever the suspicious KGB mind, he had also served as the head of its successor, the FSB.
It was also convenient to have a man whose innermost secrets he would have known and whom he could influence.
With Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin, Russia's security services slowly began to take back control. Prigozhin took on a variety of Kremlin tasks, particularly those beyond the security services' reach.
Their association was now at arm's length, so the man in the Kremlin could plausibly deny involvement.
Prigozhin set up a media empire focused on spreading disinformation within Russia and abroad. The stories it invented were often so fantastical that no state propaganda apparatus would dare to spread them.
As social media began to gain influence, he set up a "troll factory" whose main effect was to leave Russians with the feeling there was no such thing as truth and no point looking for it.
It took another decade before he admitted to being the brains behind the "Internet Research Agency".
After the Ukrainian Maidan Revolution in 2013-14 and Russia's annexation of Crimea, the first reports of the Wagner private military company surfaced. Wagner supported pro-Russian separatists in Crimea and in the east of Ukraine.
Mercenary organisations are banned by Russian law, even though Prigozhin and his mercenaries had become increasingly important for stamping President Putin's authority.
So until as late as spring 2022, the Kremlin maintained that it had no connection to him.
Wagner also played a prominent role in Syria - and this is when its ruthless commander, Dmitry Utkin, first came into view as Prigozhin's close associate. The mercenary group has for years been active in a number of African countries, from Libya and Mali to Central African Republic.
But officially, Prigozhin had no special relationship with the president.
Mr Putin or his press secretary Dmitry Peskov would say merely that they were aware of the existence of a Russian "private businessman" who was involved in those activities. But it was clear such operations couldn't be conducted without Kremlin consent.
President Putin only admitted in June that Wagner had received enormous state funding for years and that its mercenaries had fought valiantly in battle. And yet because private military companies were illegal, he said that as a group, they did not exist.
Prigozhin became most vocal in a series of video statements from Bakhmut where he criticised the defence establishment
It was not until the summer of 2022 that reports emerged of Wagner fighting in Ukraine.
Within weeks, Prigozhin was touring Russian prisons, recruiting inmates for the war effort.
The Kremlin spokesman spoke of him as a man "whose heart aches for what's happening" and one who was "making a big contribution".
Prigozhin opened a Wagner Centre in St Petersburg in November and his criticisms of the Russian army and the defence ministry became more vocal.
As Russian forces were forced into a series of retreats in Ukraine, his criticism reached a peak.
He complained that the army command was refusing to recognise the mercenaries' contribution to the war effort.
Later, he openly accused Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and the Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, of "starving" Wagner of ammunition while the group was losing thousands of men in the fight for Bakhmut in the east of Ukraine.
Prigozhin was filmed talking to Russian military figures in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don as his mutiny unfolded
At one point, Prigozhin even aimed his criticism at the president, referring to him with the Russian word for grandad.
"How can we win a war when dedushka is a moron?"
He did not name Putin, but Russians were left in no doubt he was directly implicating him.
The Kremlin steered clear of commenting on the escalating feud, but it was a row that would shake Russia's leadership to its core and ultimately bring down Prigozhin.
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He refused a defence ministry demand to bring all mercenary groups under its control. As the situation reached boiling point, he dared to question the very goals of the war.
On 23 June, he announced a "march for justice" on the road to Moscow.
Sources have told the BBC that his mutiny was a sign of Prigozhin's desperation and an attempt to attract President Putin's attention to his conflict with the Russian military.
"He was worried about losing his autonomy," one source who knew Prigozhin explained.
Wagner mercenaries shot down two military helicopters and a plane and killed up to 15 Russian soldiers.
Without naming him personally, President Putin described Prigozhin as a traitor who "drove a knife in the back of the country".
This botched revolt was to be the final rupture between them.
One of the last images of Prigozhin showed him purportedly in Africa
Days after the rebellion had ended in failure, Vladimir Putin met his former ally at the Kremlin for three hours, along with more than 30 Wagner commanders.
Vladimir Putin had no more need of him, but there were still questions over the fate of his men.
Prigozhin clearly believed his future lay in Africa and his final online video was purportedly filmed in an African field where he claimed: "Here we are, putting God's fear into Isis, al-Qaeda and other bandits."
But his story appears to have come to an end soon afterwards, following a trajectory similar to other examples in Russian history. A man handed the task of executing the Kremlin's cruellest policies was himself brutally punished and ultimately destroyed.
Or in Vladimir Putin's own assessment: "He was a man with a difficult fate and he made serious mistakes in life." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66602811 |
Wagner boss Prigozhin confirmed dead in plane crash - Moscow - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | Genetic analysis of the bodies was carried out following Wednesday's crash, Russian officials say. | Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has been confirmed dead after genetic analysis of bodies found in Wednesday's plane crash, Russian officials say.
The Investigative Committee (SK) said the identities of all 10 victims had been established and corresponded to those on the flight's passenger list.
Prigozhin's private jet came down north-west of Moscow on 23 August, killing all those on board.
The Kremlin has denied speculation it was to blame for the crash.
The SK said it was continuing a criminal investigation.
"Molecular-genetic testing has been completed," it said in a statement.
"According to its results, the identities of all 10 deceased have been established, and they correspond to the list published in the flight manifest."
The victims include several senior figures in Wagner, a Russian mercenary group set up by Prigozhin and involved in military operations in Ukraine, Syria and parts of Africa.
Among them was Dmitry Utkin, who managed Wagner's military operations.
The others on the Embraer Legacy plane - flying from Moscow to St Petersburg - included Wagner members Valery Chekalov, Sergei Propustin, Yevgeny Makaryan, Alexander Totmin and Nikolay Matuseyev.
The plane was flown by pilot Alexei Levshin and co-pilot Rustam Karimov, and there was one flight attendant, Kristina Raspopova.
The crash came two months after Prigozhin led a Wagner mutiny against the Russian armed forces, seizing the southern city of Rostov and threatening to march on Moscow.
The standoff was defused after a deal was reached which led to Prigozhin and Wagner fighters relocating to Belarus.
However, Russian President Vladimir Putin described the mutiny as a "stab in the back" and there has been speculation that Russian security forces were somehow involved in the crash.
US officials quoted by CBS have said that the most likely cause of the crash was an explosion on board the plane, and the Pentagon said Prigozhin was probably killed.
On Friday Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said rumours of foul play were an "absolute lie".
Mr Putin has sent his condolences to the families of the victims.
He described Prigozhin as a "talented person" who "made serious mistakes in life". | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66632924 |
Jacksonville gunman who shot three dead left racist messages - police - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | A man who shot dead three black people had a "disgusting ideology of hate", Jacksonville police say. | A man who shot dead three people in a racially motivated attack in Florida wrote of his hatred of black people, police say.
Twenty-one year old Ryan Christopher Palmeter fired eleven rounds at one woman sitting in her car in Jacksonville, before entering a shop and shooting another two people.
Sheriff T K Waters said he then turned the gun on himself.
Mayor Donna Deegan said the attack was driven by racist hatred.
At a news conference on Sunday, Sheriff Waters confirmed the gunman had no previous criminal history and had lived with his parents in Clay County.
The three victims were identified as Anolt Laguerre Jr, 19, Jerrald De'Shaun Gallion, 29 and 52 year-old Angela Carr.
Mr Laguerre worked at the Dollar General store where the attack happened, the company said.
The gunman had written messages detailing his hatred of black people, police said.
"Finely put: this shooting was racially motivated and he hated black people." Sheriff Waters said.
"He knew what he was doing. He was 100% lucid," he added. "He knew what he was doing and again, it's disappointing that anyone would go to these lengths to hurt someone else."
Mr Waters said the gunman had been detained for 72 hours in 2017 under the Baker Act, mental health legislation that allows the involuntary detainment of an individual for treatment.
But the sheriff said his weapons had been acquired legally, telling reporters the problem was not with the availability of guns, but with the killer being "a bad guy".
He urged people not to "look for sense in a senseless act of violence".
Jacksonville police played CCTV video at the news conference showing the moment the attacker walked up to the car where he killed the first woman. It then cut to video of him entering the shop.
Mr Waters also confirmed that the gunman let some people out of the shop without injuring them.
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"Why? I don't know. Some of them were white, but I do believe there was a couple that were not," he said.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland said on Sunday the Justice Department was "investigating this attack as a hate crime and an act of racially motivated violent extremism".
"No person in this country should have to live in fear of hate-fuelled violence and no family should have to grieve the loss of a loved one to bigotry and hate," he said.
The attack happened less than a mile from the historically black Edwards Waters University.
The gunman first went to the university campus, where he was asked to identify himself by a security officer, the university said in a statement. When he refused, he was asked to leave.
"The individual returned to their car and left campus without incident," the statement added.
Sheriff Waters said the gunman was then seen putting on a bullet-resistant vest and a mask before leaving the campus.
The university went into lockdown after the shooting. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66633186 |
Carnival of Wales hopes for Cardiff's Butetown event - BBC News | 2023-08-27 | Organisers of a city event hope it can attract revellers from bigger carnivals such as Notting Hill. | Many had spent weeks preparing for the carnival, which added lots of colour to the streets
It is hoped an event can reinvigorate a community and become a carnival of Wales.
Over the Bank Holiday weekend, thousands of people are expected in Cardiff for the Butetown Carnival.
Organisers believe people are increasingly shunning huge events such as the Notting Hill Carnival - also taking place this weekend - for smaller gatherings.
They also think the event in Butetown can help change the area's image.
Colourful costumes and performers flooded on to the streets on Sunday as the parade took over the area.
"Over the years the Butetown community has been viewed in various lights - by producing carnival we're reintroducing ourselves into Welsh public life," said organiser Keith Murrell.
"As a result of being excluded, we create something inclusive."
Commonly known as Tiger Bay in the past, one of Wales' most multi-cultural areas developed in the early 1900s, with people from more than 50 countries making the area their home.
Many of these worked in the docks area, which later became Cardiff Bay.
Thousands of people were at the carnival enjoying the atmosphere
More recently, it has become one of the poorest areas in the city.
However, Mr Murrell believes a vibrant annual event could give it a new lease of life, outlining his hopes to make it the "carnival of Wales".
"There are so many people in Notting Hill they can afford to lose a few and not notice, so there is no impact on that," he said.
"Here, they can come and have a bit of carnival, more of a bitesize carnival, and they can manage it and enjoy it and still talk to people.
"It's not a criticism at all, but I think Notting Hill Carnival has kind of outgrown what it was originally - the scale has taken over."
This year the Butetown carnival will mark the 75th anniversary of the Empire Windrush arriving in the UK carrying passengers from the Caribbean.
The event has been running since the 1960s and has been advertised all over the world, including in Ghana, Nigeria and Jamaica.
Now it consists of two separate but nearby events in Butetown and Cardiff Bay.
Colourful costumes were seen on the streets of Cardiff Bay
It began as a hybrid of Cardiff Mardi Gras, then in the 1970s Caribbean themed floats were introduced before youth workers began their own carnival in Canal Park in Butetown attracting 25,000 people.
Organiser Hilary Brown said carnivals flourished when the Windrush generation arrived in the UK.
"Who brought carnival to the UK? It was the Windrush generation," she said.
"What's the legacy they leave? They leave behind an opportunity and a fun environment to understand that carnival is just one of many many amazing things brought to the UK by the Windrush generation."
Carnival-making workshops and dance rehearsals have been taking place across Cardiff, with a parade from Loudon Square, Bute Street down to Cardiff Bay taking place on Sunday.
Lewis Dedas, 29 and Harold Barbar, 30, have travelled from Ghana to support the reggae artist, Capone, who now lives in Wales and makes his music here.
Harold said: "We've received a very warm welcome in Wales.
"This has created an opportunity for other people to exhibit their talent, it will make Wales a better place.
He believes everyone in Ghana will now hear about the carnival, and Hilary added: "I think it's putting Wales on the map, and rightly so." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-66628786 |
Your pictures of Scotland: 4-11 August - BBC News | 2023-08-11 | A selection of your pictures of Scotland sent in between 4 and 11 August. | A selection of your pictures of Scotland sent in between 4 and 11 August.
Send your photos to scotlandpictures@bbc.co.uk. Please ensure you adhere to the BBC's rules regarding photographs that can be found here.
Please also ensure you take your pictures safely and responsibly.
Conditions of use: If you submit an image, you do so in accordance with the BBC's terms and conditions.
Strike a pose: Kyle Brown took this beautiful picture of his nine-year-old niece, Amelia Rose Brown, practising her gymnastics at the top of Turnhouse Hill in the Pentland Hills during a holiday to Edinburgh.
Peter Ormsby took this picture at the UCI BMX Freestyle at Glasgow Green.
Devin Scobie took this photograph of derelict Newark Castle by St Monans, East Neuk of Fife.
Alastair Nunn said a visit to Bunnet Stane in Fife is well worth the walk.
Ray Mckay took this picture on a walk along Loch Glass, looking at the Pink House, a local landmark.
Gerald Geoghegan's wife waits for him during a summer shower, in the picture-perfect village of New Abbey, Dumfries.
Steve Adam took this photo of the leading pack of cyclists coming over the Clackmannanshire Bridge during the Elite Men's Road Race.
Neil Craig snapped the dolphin-watchers under threatening clouds at Chanonry Point on the Black Isle.
Robert Booth took this picture of a fitness centre in Perth.
Dave Stewart came across this tiny lizard sunning itself in Mabie Forest, Dumfries & Galloway.
Graham Paton took this picture of the UCI Elite Men's Road Race, as it passed down the Royal Mile in Edinburgh.
Mike Hay took this incredible picture of this grasshopper, poised on some thistledown, on Drummond Hill at Loch Tay.
Emma West took this fantastic picture of gannets flying over Stac an Armin at St Kilda.
Rob Mitchell took this photo at the Dumfries Agricultural Show.
Martin Leiper took this beautiful picture of the sunset at Cairngorms glamping in Strathdon, Aberdeenshire with masses of rosebay willowherb in the forefront of the image.
Wilma Boyle enjoyed meeting this Highland cow during her walk at Balgavies Loch.
Neil Robertson took this picture of a swallow's nest under the entrance gateway to Falkland Palace.
A walk in the woods in East Lothian nets Greg Dimeck a lovely basket of porcini mushrooms.
Colin Hattersley took this picture of the Les Foutoukours clowns, who are performing at the Edinburgh Festival.
Chris Bell took this picture at Glencoe Village of a beautiful sunset overlooking Loch Leven.
Kirsteen Young said she thought at first this White Plume moth was a feather floating in her garden in Brig O'Turk.
Liz Hamilton had a fantastic time at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
Wendy Hamlet took this photo of Balfour Castle on Shapinsay, Orkney.
John Donnelly took this picture of Glenbrittle sheep at the Eas Mor waterfall.
Christina Cucurullo captured these two resident swallows while visiting Caerlaverock Castle in Dumfries & Galloway.
Andrew McLaren took this photograph of the coral beach on Skye.
Neil Macdougall took this picture of Mathieu Van Der Poel, whose clothes were ripped while participating in the UCI World Championships Elite Men's Road Race in Glasgow.
Hazel Thomson took this beautiful picture at Kingairloch
Lorna Donaldson took this picture of the evening sky over the Wallace Monument.
Megan Kirkaldy said she had a beautiful day getting lost near the Falls of Acharn at Kenmore.
Terry Aldous took this beautiful picture at Loch Shiel at Glenfinnan.
Iain Stewart took this dramatic picture of his daughters looking over Torrisdale beach.
Maw and Paw and the Weans: Sylvia Beaumont took this picture of scarecrows through the gate at the allotments at North Berwick Law.
Suzanne Emptage said the colours in the Isle of Harris 'have to be seen to be believed'.
Brian Colston paused for reflection when he passed this colourful display of mirrors and pictures in a shop window in Falkirk.
Brian Mann thought this a very elegant heron, standing on the harbour wall at Pennan.
Graham Cristie's photo of the fishing boats in Crail Harbour.
Gordy Macdonald took this photo during the Edinburgh Fringe: 'Perhaps the only way to avoid the crowds on the Royal Mile is to be way above them.'
Tina Torrens took this picture at sunset from Scalpay Bridge on the Isle of Harris, looking west towards Tarbert.
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PSNI data breaches: Officer says he will leave Northern Ireland - BBC News | 2023-08-11 | A police officer says his wife is no longer comfortable in Northern Ireland after the data breaches. | Police officers in Northern Ireland often keep their occupation secret due to fear of attack
A police officer has said he is moving his family out of Northern Ireland after two data breaches revealed the identities of officers and staff.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) accidentally shared details of 10,000 employees this week. It also confirmed an earlier breach from July.
The officer, who is a Catholic, said deciding to go had been "devastating".
Meanwhile, a civilian PSNI worker said it brought back the trauma police staff had experienced during the Troubles.
Both interviewees spoke to the BBC about the effect the data breaches are having on their personal lives, but neither is named for security reasons.
The PSNI officer said he had to calculate the family upset that would be caused by uprooting his children from their home against the safety risks of staying in Northern Ireland.
"My wife feels she is no longer comfortable in Northern Ireland," he told BBC News NI's Evening Extra programme.
"It's just not a place, going forward, that I have confidence or trust in any more - it's been absolutely disastrous."
In the biggest data breach, information appeared online for three hours on Tuesday, leading to the PSNI updating security advice to its officers and staff.
The surname and first initial of every employee, their rank or grade, where they are based and the unit they work in, including sensitive areas such as surveillance and intelligence, were included.
Information about the second data breach, involving the theft of a spreadsheet with the names of 200 officers and staff, emerged on Wednesday.
The PSNI said documents, along with a police-issue laptop and radio, were believed to have been stolen from a private vehicle in Newtownabbey, County Antrim, on 6 July.
The police have since confirmed they have wiped both of those devices remotely and are confident that information they contained would not be accessible by a third party.
Almost 2,000 officers are considering taking legal action in the wake of the breaches, according to the Police Federation, a union which represents rank-and-file officers.
More than 1,200 staff have raised concerns about the security breaches with the PSNI.
During the 30 years of violence in Northern Ireland known as the Troubles, more than 300 police officers from all backgrounds were murdered.
The civilian PSNI worker spoke to the BBC anonymously
They face an ongoing threat from dissident republican paramilitaries - the latest attempt to murder a PSNI officer took place in February when Det Ch Insp John Caldwell was shot several times.
Catholic officers have often been targeted by dissidents, who want to discourage people from Catholic backgrounds from joining the police.
PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne cut his holiday short to deal with the crisis and he has apologised for the data breaches.
The civilian PSNI employee, who is a member of the Nipsa union, said she had been "going through a gauntlet of emotions" since being made aware of the data breaches.
The woman also worked for the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) for many years before it was replaced by the PSNI in 2001.
"I've spent a very long career with a threat over my head - police staff are under the same threat as police officers," she said.
"I've been involved in a few security incidents that could have had severe consequences and I think that, for me personally, the anxiousness and the nervousness of what this data breach is or could do has brought it all back."
She added it had brought back recollections of the Troubles in the 1980s including "security threats, bombings... colleagues who've been murdered" and anxiety associated with those experiences.
The woman said the breach was "highly traumatic" for younger staff who had not experienced working during the Troubles.
"It's probably something that our newer colleagues into the organisation have never dealt with and therefore I think maybe that tension for them is maybe a bit higher than those of us who have worked here longer," she said.
Supt Gerry Murray, chair of the Catholic Police Guild, has met the chief constable over the breaches
The Catholic Police Guild, which represents some Catholic PSNI members, said the PSNI must take account of the "particular sensitivities" of Catholic members.
Its chairman, Supt Gerry Murray, met the chief constable on Friday.
Mr Byrne, who also met representatives from the PSNI's other staff associations, said afterwards he had reassured the guild that he was committed to supporting everyone affected.
Earlier Supt Murray said he had received a call from a young Catholic officer concerned about the data breaches who asked him if he should take his gun to Mass on Sunday.
Asked on BBC NI's Newsline programme if he thought the officer should bring his gun to Mass, Supt Murray responded: "I think, if he feels insecure with regard to going to his place of worship and he feels it necessary - yes."
"It's about the protection of the officer. It's about his wellbeing."
Dissident republicans have claimed they have obtained the data mistakenly shared, but the PSNI said it had not been able to verify this.
An ex-officer whose husband is still in the force told the BBC the breach was a "monumental cock up" which has "floored" her family.
The woman left the police due to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from incidents experienced in the course of her job.
She said she could not sleep after news broke about the data breaches, and that her medication had been increased.
Chief Constable Simon Byrne said he had spoken to officers and staff and realised some were anxious, frustrated and angry
"I served for many, many years in some volatile areas and took my personal safety very seriously. Even to this day I still check under my car," she said.
"We were always looking over our shoulder but now even more so. I didn't sleep on Tuesday night. I really wasn't very good at all.
"I had to go back to my doctor - they prescribed me more diazepam.
"It's just the impact - all of a sudden I feel like I'm back in the job again and that really isn't good for me."
Another serving officer told the BBC's Today programme he felt let down by the PSNI, exposed and vulnerable.
The officer, who is originally from England, said that with access to his surname, "it wouldn't take much to track myself or my wife and children down".
"If it gets into the hands of [dissident republicans], then that's where the most damage will be caused," he said.
The officer said he also suffered with PTSD and since news of the data breaches his symptoms, including sleepless nights, paranoia and anxiety, had worsened.
Nipsa representative Tracey Godfrey said members were seeking reassurance from her.
"I am able to give that because processes have been put in place but it's the long-term effect that we are having to look at," she said.
You can hear the interview with the officer in full on Evening Extra on BBC Sounds. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-66467164 |
What caused the Hawaii wildfires? - BBC News | 2023-08-11 | What sparked the fires is still a mystery, but a mix of wind and dry weather helped the flames spread. | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Four factors that made Maui wildfires so deadly
Hawaii is no stranger to wildfires, but those of the past few days are being called some of the worst in the archipelago's history.
Their toll has been devastating, although what sparked the deadly fires is still under investigation.
Hurricane winds and dry weather, however, helped fuel the flames.
Drought or abnormally dry conditions across large parts of Hawaii - including the entire island of Maui - also played a role.
Wildfires generally need three ingredients: fuel in the form of biomass like vegetation or trees, a spark, and weather such as winds that drive the flames.
About 14% of the state is suffering from severe or moderate drought, according to the US Drought Monitor, while 80% of Hawaii is classed as abnormally dry.
Dry weather sucks moisture out of vegetation, meaning it can catch alight more easily and then spread.
Scientists have calculated that 90% of Hawaii is getting less rainfall than it did a century ago, with the period since 2008 particularly dry.
Maui itself was also under a red flag alert - meaning warm temperatures, very low humidities and stronger winds were expected to combine to produce an increased risk of fire danger - before the fires broke out.
Strong winds from Hurricane Dora, which passed Hawaii's coast on Tuesday, helped fan the flames even further.
Forecasters are expecting a stronger-than-usual Atlantic hurricane season due to record high sea surface temperatures this year, which are adding energy to the atmosphere.
Last month, the National Weather Service noted that brush fires had been reported in Maui and briefly closed a highway. Forecasters warned at the time that "the risk of fires during this year's dry season is elevated".
Scientists also note that some parts of the Hawaiian islands are covered with non-native grasses that are more flammable than native plants.
This, coupled with dry conditions, can cause a spark to ignite a fire that can spread quickly.
In a news conference on Thursday, Hawaii Governor Josh Green said that the wildfires were the "largest natural disaster" in the state's history.
"We have never experienced a wildfire that affected a city like this before," Mr Green said, adding that the challenges of climate change were putting unprecedented strain on Hawaii.
"We're seeing this for the first time in many different parts of the world," he said.
The last major fire in Hawaii occurred in 2018, when winds from Hurricane Lane whipped up the flames around Lahaina - the same town ravaged by the fires this week.
Five years ago, the fire destroyed 2,000 acres of land, 31 vehicles and 21 structures - most of which were homes - according to local media.
Wildfires were once uncommon in Hawaii, ignited largely through volcanic eruptions or lightning strikes. But in recent decades, human activity has made them more common and extreme.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Are wildfires in the US getting worse?
Climate change is increasing the risk of wildfire globally as it drives up temperatures and makes heatwaves longer and more intense.
Drier vegetation and hotter temperatures mean that once a fire is ignited, it can spread more easily.
The UN expects extreme wildfires to increase in number and spread to areas previously unaffected as a result of climate change and changes in how humans use land. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66470118 |
Warm weather in June boosts UK economy - BBC News | 2023-08-11 | Higher temperatures helped better-than-expected quarterly growth but fears of a slowdown remain. | Warm weather in June helped lift UK economic growth by more than expected, according to official figures.
Higher temperatures boosted pubs, restaurants and the construction industry, lifting the economy by 0.5%.
The stronger data meant that the economy expanded by 0.2% between April and June.
However, strikes by NHS workers weighed on output in June and fears of a recession remain over the UK's longer-term growth.
Darren Morgan, director of economic statistics at the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which published the data, said there were three factors that affected the UK in June - the number of working days, weather and industrial action.
He said while the economy bounced back from May's extra Bank Holiday for the King's Coronation, the manufacturing industry - and cars in particular - had performed robustly.
"Services also had a strong month with publishing and car sales and legal services all doing well," he said. "Though this was partially offset by falls in health, which was hit by further strike action."
While June's growth was better than expected, the UK remains only country out of the G7 nations not to see its gross domestic product (GDP) return to pre-Covid levels, based on the latest quarterly figures.
James Smith, research director at the Resolution Foundation think tank, said that growth of 0.2% between April and June showed the UK's "relative resilience".
The UK has avoided a recession after the economy expanded by 0.1% in the first three months of this year. A recession is usually defined as when the economy shrinks for two three-month periods - or quarters - in a row.
Mr Smith said that while the UK has swerved a slowdown, it "will feel like a recession to many as families struggle with the ever-rising cost of essentials and higher mortgage repayments".
Phil Simpson, managing director of Lancaster Brewery which has venues in south Cumbria and north Lancashire, said that he has never experienced an environment like the current one during his 20 years in business.
"It's tough," he told the BBC. "We came out of Covid, that was obviously appalling, we've come into a world that's just horrendous. It's better than Covid, but only just."
While the company's sales are up by about 9% on last year, its running costs are higher because of inflation which is squeezing its profits.
He said that the hospitality industry is experiencing a "dual battering" from internal pressures such as wages, energy bills, food and drink costs and the external pressures like higher interest rates and inflation.
"People haven't got the cash they used to have...everyone's just clinging on," Mr Simpson said. "There really is no good news in our industry."
Capital Economics predicted the country will enter a "mild recession" later this year once a succession of interest rate rises by the Bank of England take effect.
Its deputy chief UK economist Ruth Gregory, said while June's growth looked encouraging: "The Bank Holiday, unusually warm weather and strikes make it hard to judge the true health of the economy."
She said underlying activity is still growing, "albeit at a snail's pace".
"We still think that with most of the drag from higher interest rates still to come, gross domestic product will fall [between July and September] and a mild recession will begin."
Strikes by health workers could continue to drag on the UK economy. Industrial action took place in July.
And on Friday, junior doctors started a four-day walkout as health bosses warned that NHS services were at tipping point, with costs to cover the previous four strikes estimated totalling about £1bn, as well thousands of postponed treatments.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made growing the economy one of his key pledges.
In response to the latest figures, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the "actions" the government were taking to fight higher prices were "starting to take effect, which means we're laying the strong foundations needed to grow the economy".
But Labour's Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said growth in the economy was "still on the floor" due to "13 years of economic mismanagement under the Conservatives".
The rising cost of living and higher interest rates have been squeezing the finances of households and businesses.
Inflation which is the rate prices rise at, is 7.9% which is almost four times the Bank of England's 2% target.
The Bank has been raising interest rates in an effort to bring inflation down, with the theory being that by making borrowing more expensive, people will spend less, leading to demand slowing and prices to rise as fast.
GDP is a measure - or an attempt to measure - all the activity of companies, governments and individuals in a country. It is one of the most important tools for looking at the health of the economy, and is watched closely by the government and businesses.
If the figure is increasing, that means the economy is growing and people are doing more work and getting a little bit richer, on average.
But if GDP is falling, then the economy is shrinking which can be bad news for businesses. If GDP falls for two quarters in a row, it is typically defined as a recession.
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• None What is GDP and how does it affect me? | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66465616 |
Sacha Baron Cohen plans Ali G comeback on tour - BBC News | 2023-08-11 | The comedian has been working on a stand-up tour featuring his infamous spoof gangster. | Sacha Baron Cohen is planning to revive Ali G, the infamous spoof wannabe gangster who became a comedy star 25 years ago, for a new stand-up tour.
Ali G became a hit thanks to his prank interviews with unsuspecting experts on his TV show in the early 2000s.
He then starred in his own film, and has made occasional appearances in recent years.
Variety reported that Baron Cohen has been working on a stand-up tour in which Ali G will feature.
BBC News has confirmed the report, but there are no further details of the tour.
In 2021, Baron Cohen brought back Ali G for a sketch at the MTV Movie & TV Awards, and for a one-off routine at a Sydney comedy club.
"I just wanted to get on stage and muck around and see what Ali G would be like with a crowd," the comedian told GQ afterwards. "It was really good fun."
In the early days, Ali G got laughs by duping an array of interviewees into going along with his persona, while also lampooning white people from the suburbs who posed as the urban youth.
But the act was criticised by some, who saw it as adopting and ridiculing black street culture.
Baron Cohen, now 51, also found success by playing similar pranks as his Kazakh reporter Borat, and played flamboyant Austrian fashionista Bruno. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-66480594 |
Light aircraft makes emergency landing on A40 near Cheltenham - BBC News | 2023-08-11 | A small aircraft landed on the central reservation of the A40 Golden Valley just before 18:00 BST. | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. WATCH: Light aircraft is moved after making an emergency landing on A40
A light aircraft has made a forced landing on a main commuter road in Gloucestershire after a suspected engine failure.
Emergency services are at the scene on the A40 Golden Valley close to the village of Churchdown, near Cheltenham.
Gloucestershire Police are in attendance and confirmed the plane came down shortly before 18:00 BST.
A spokesperson for the force said: "No-one was injured and it is understood that no other vehicles were involved."
It is understood people got out of the aircraft and made it to safety.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch said an investigation had been launched.
The plane has been moved to the lay by
Gloucestershire Airport director, Jason Ivey, said: "We are aware that a pilot has had to perform an emergency landing on the public highway due to a suspected engine failure.
"We are currently investigating to find out what happened and why.
"Our priority right now is to ensure everyone's well-being."
Mr Ivey added that the plane was flying to Staverton, where it is normally based, and the airport closed as a result of the incident.
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The plane, which landed on the central reservation, has been moved to a layby where specialist aircraft recovery service will retrieve it.
Gloucestershire Police said: "We were called shortly before 18:00 BST with a report a light aircraft had landed on the A40 Golden Valley.
"Police remain at the scene at this time."
National Highways South West said the A40 has reopened in both directions between the A417 and the M5 J11.
The road was shut for over two hours after the incident.
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Follow BBC West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: bristol@bbc.co.uk | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-66468326 |
Big freeze drove early humans out of Europe - BBC News | 2023-08-11 | Severe cold a million years ago forced our ancestors from the continent, but they adapted and returned. | Remains of a primitive human species known as Homo erectus have been found in Europe dating back to 1.4 million years ago.
A big freeze previously unknown to science drove early humans from Europe for 200,000 years, but they adapted and returned, new research shows.
Ocean sediments from 1.1 million years ago show temperatures suddenly dropped more than 5C, scientists say.
They say our early ancestors couldn't have survived as they didn't have heating or warm clothes.
Until now, the consensus had been that humans had existed in Europe continuously for 1.5 million years.
Evidence for the big freeze is found in sediments in the seabed off the coast of Lisbon, Portugal. Layers are deposited each year which are a record of sea conditions of that period. They also contain pollen grains which are a record of vegetation on the land.
Researchers at the IBS Centre for Climate Physics in Busan, in South Korea, ran computer model simulations using data from the sediments. They found that average winter temperatures plummeted in many areas in Europe well below freezing, even in the otherwise milder Mediterranean.
A drop of this magnitude may not seem too severe by today's standards, where most have access to some heating, warm clothing and food, but that was not the case back then, according to Prof Axel Timmermann, who is director of the group.
"Early humans were not yet well adapted to cope with such extreme conditions," he said. "There is no direct evidence that they could even control fire at this time. Therefore, the extremely cold and dry conditions over Europe and the corresponding lack of food, must have greatly challenged human survival."
The oldest known human remains in Europe date back to about 1.4 million years ago and were recovered from what is now Spain. They suggest that a species of early humans known as Homo erectus, which originated in Africa, had arrived in Europe via southwest Asia at that time.
Prof Chronis Tzedakis of University College London, who led the research, turned to experts in early human settlements to see if the theory that the freeze had pushed them out of Europe was borne out by the fossil and archaeological evidence.
Following a thorough review, they found that there were human remains dating back to as recently as 1.1 million years ago in Spain, then a gap until about 900,000 years ago, from which period stone tools and footprints in ancient clays have been found in Happisburgh in Norfolk, England.
Because of the missing fossil evidence, it is unclear what species of humans were in Happisburgh, but later remains in other parts of Europe suggest they may have been a more advanced species called Homo antecessor.
The footprints on Happisburgh beach are possibly those of a family in search of food
The big freeze was over by the time early humans walked in Happisburgh were but it was still cold - cooler than it is in that part of Europe today. According to Prof Nick Ashton of the British Museum, it's thought that those early humans had adapted enough to cope with the colder conditions to be able to come and stay in Europe.
"It may have triggered evolutionary changes in humans, such as increased body fat as insulation, or increased hair," he told BBC News.
"It may also have led to technological developments such as improved hunting or scavenging skills, and abilities to create more effective clothing and shelters."
It may have been these advances that enabled humans to cope with succeeding periods of extreme cold and occupy parts of Europe continuously ever since, according to Prof Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum.
"Europe was a laboratory for human adaptation," he said.
"A more resilient species came back into Europe either because they learned how to survive better, or it was a different species that had more sophisticated behaviours that enabled them to adapt."
The Happisburgh species of humans might have evolved into the Neanderthals, who were well established by 400,000 years ago.
Our own species, Homo sapiens, is believed to have evolved in Africa by about 400,000 years ago. We were established in Europe by 42,000 years ago, co-existing briefly with Neanderthals before they went extinct about 40,000 years ago. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-66331558 |
Maui fires: Survivors describe harrowing escapes from the flames - BBC News | 2023-08-11 | Survivors describe narrow escapes from fast-moving flames - and what they had to leave behind. | Tee Dang and her family suffered burns as they sat in the ocean for nearly four hours to escape the wildfire in Lahaina
Tee Dang was in a rental car with her three children and husband on Lahaina's Front Street when she saw the flames inching closer and closer towards them.
But when the vehicles around them began catching fire they decided to grab their food, water and phones and run for the waves.
They had already watched others trying to flee the rapidly moving flames do the same, including an elderly woman who was helped into the ocean.
"We have to get to the ocean," the Kansas mother told BBC News on Thursday. "There was nothing else because we were cornered in."
With their children - ages five, 13 and 20 - they at first stayed close to shore. But as evening approached, and the tide rose, the water started smashing her into the rock wall of the harbour, severely cutting her leg.
When the line of cars on Front Street - "at least 50" of them - started exploding, they were forced to move into deeper water to seek shelter from the "shooting debris".
They were in the water for nearly four hours, she said.
It was a Tuesday afternoon, but the sky behind them was pitch black from the wildfire smoke.
It was a harrowing ordeal for the family, who wondered if they were going to make it out alive. At one point, one of Mrs Dang's children fainted in the water.
They were eventually rescued by a firefighter who directed them through the burning streets.
Leading a group of about 15 survivors, she recalls the firefighter telling them: "I don't even know if we're gonna make it at this point. Just do everything I say. If I say jump, jump. If I tell you to run, run."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Oprah hands out supplies in Hawaii: ‘It’s a little overwhelming'
After reaching shelter at the Maui Prep School, the family was forced to move twice more, including once because one shelter came under threat from flames.
Seventeen more people were confirmed to be dead on Thursday afternoon, bringing the death toll to at least 53, after a series of fires broke out across the Hawaiian island of Maui earlier this week. Thousands others have been displaced.
The hardest hit is the historic town of Lahaina, home to 12,000 residents and a popular destination for tourists.
At a news conference on Thursday, Hawaii Governor Josh Green said this is "the largest natural disaster in Hawaii's state history".
"We will continue to see loss of life," Gov Green said. Officials said they do not know how people are missing at this point as they continue to survey the damage.
None of the fires are 100% contained.
Gov Green added the state is struggling to house thousands of displaced people. He has called on Hawaiians elsewhere in the state to offer rooms and shelter for those in need.
Many have lost their homes, including Bryce Baraoidan, who was forced to flee with his family.
Mr Baraoidan said they left nearly all of their possessions behind, thinking their house would be still standing when they returned, but it did not survive.
"When we found out… my mother burst into tears," he told the BBC. "Not just the whole street, but the whole neighbourhood is gone."
Bryce Baraoidan and his family had to leave most of their belongings behind
"The thing I am saddest about leaving behind was my five pet chameleons," the 26-year-old said. "I was very attached to them and I regret not taking them with us when we left."
Steve Kemper, a photographer, lost a gallery that he managed on Front Street in Lahaina, his sister, Susanne Kemper, told the BBC.
Because only one road leads in and out of the town, it took him three hours to escape and drive east to the Maui town of Haiku, where his son is living.
"It was a close call," she said. "He was absolutely exhausted when he got to my nephew's. He was shattered."
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Ms Kemper, who has spent time in Maui and other Hawaiian islands, explained that many of the buildings in the old town of Lahaina are made of wood, a legacy from when the town served as a major whaling port. This likely facilitated the spread of the fire in the town, she said.
"It just went up like a torch," she said. "They were like matchsticks on the ground."
She and others have struggled to get in touch with friends and family living in the area, as the blaze has cut power to thousands on the island.
One woman who spoke to the BBC said she could not get in contact with her parents who were staying at a hotel in Lahaina for their honeymoon. She registered their names with the Red Cross, but hadn't heard from them in 24 hours.
After escaping and moving from shelter to shelter, Mrs Dang and her family managed to get to the airport in Maui, where they planned to board a flight back to Kansas.
Some 14,000 tourists were moved off Maui on Wednesday, officials say, with a further 14,500 set to be moved on Thursday.
As for the 26-year-old Mr Baraoidan, he and his parents have been staying with family on the other side of Maui since they evacuated their home. All they managed to take were some important documents, a bag of clothes and their two dogs.
"We are all in shock," he said. But, he added: "My dad told me that everything in the house is replaceable and we are lucky to have each other."
How are you affected by the wildfires? If it is safe to do so please 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.
Sign up for our morning newsletter and get BBC News in your inbox. | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66469285 |
Resident films charred remains of downtown Lahaina - BBC News | 2023-08-11 | Mobile phone video taken near the waterfront reveals the devastation caused by a wildfire. | Mobile phone video taken near the waterfront of Lahaina reveals the devastation caused by a wildfire on the Hawaiian island of Maui. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66466187 |
Rohingya: At least 23 dead, 30 missing after boat sinks - BBC News | 2023-08-11 | As many as 30 others are missing after the boat foundered and was abandoned by crew on Sunday. | The Rohingya were fleeing the Rakhine capital, Sittwe
The bodies of 23 Rohingyas who were fleeing Myanmar's Rakhine state have been recovered after their boat sank.
Thirty others are still missing, while eight people are reported to have survived the accident.
The survivors said they were trying to reach Malaysia when their boat carrying more than 50 passengers foundered and was abandoned by its crew on Sunday.
Every year thousands of Rohingyas attempt the perilous sea journey to Malaysia or Indonesia.
They are escaping persecution in Myanmar and overcrowded refugee camps in Bangladesh. Those who died this week include 13 women and 10 men, all Rohingya Muslims, a rescue team told BBC Burmese.
The Muslim Rohingyas are an ethnic minority in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar. Many of them fled to Bangladesh in 2017 to escape a campaign of what the UN has described as a possible genocide launched by the Burmese military. Those remaining in Myanmar too have been trying to flee since the military coup in 2021.
Survivors of the boat sinking this week recall being struck by a large wave near Rakhine's capital, Sittwe.
They say the smugglers, who had been paid around $4,000 (£3,153) per person for the journey to Malaysia, then abandoned the boat. The bodies of the victims have been picked up by other boats, or washed up on the beach.
The long journey across the Andaman Sea in overcrowded fishing boats is always dangerous, but especially at this time of the year, at the peak of the monsoon storm season.
Most Rohingyas attempt to cross between the months of October and May.
They are willing to take the risk - and often sell their only assets, such as land, to fund the trip - because of the unrelentingly grim conditions in which they are forced to live, either as refugees in appallingly crowded camps over the border in Bangladesh, or subjected to discrimination and restrictions on their movement in Myanmar. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-66470497 |
Scientists at Fermilab close in on fifth force of nature - BBC News | 2023-08-11 | Physicists believe that an unknown force could be acting on sub-atomic particles known as muons. | The findings come from the US muon g-2 experiment
Scientists near Chicago say they may be getting closer to discovering the existence of a new force of nature.
They have found more evidence that sub-atomic particles, called muons, are not behaving in the way predicted by the current theory of sub-atomic physics.
Scientists believe that an unknown force could be acting on the muons.
More data will be needed to confirm these results, but if they are verified, it could mark the beginning of a revolution in physics.
All of the forces we experience every day can be reduced to just four categories: gravity, electromagnetism, the strong force and the weak force. These four fundamental forces govern how all the objects and particles in the Universe interact with each other.
The findings have been made at a US particle accelerator facility called Fermilab. They build on results announced in 2021 in which the Fermilab team first suggested the possibility of a fifth force of nature.
Since then, the research team has gathered more data and reduced the uncertainty of their measurements by a factor of two, according to Dr Brendan Casey, a senior scientist at Fermilab.
"We're really probing new territory. We're determining the (measurements) at a better precision than it has ever been seen before."
In an experiment with the catchy name 'g minus two (g-2)' the researchers accelerate the sub-atomic particles called muons around a 15m-diameter ring, where they are circulated about 1,000 times at nearly the speed of light. The researchers found that they might be behaving in a way that can't be explained by the current theory, which is called the Standard Model, because of the influence of a new force of nature.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Scientists say they have found "strong evidence" for the existence of a new force of nature
Although the evidence is strong, the Fermilab team hasn't yet got conclusive proof.
They had hoped to have it by now, but uncertainties in what the standard model says the amount of wobbling in muons should be, has increased, because of developments in theoretical physics.
In essence, the goal posts have been moved for the experimental physicists.
Based on a 2,700-hectare site near Chicago, Fermilab is America's premier particle physics lab
The researchers believe that they will have the data they need, and that the theoretical uncertainty will have narrowed in two years' time sufficiently for them to get their goal. That said, a rival team at Europe's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is hoping to get there first.
Dr Mitesh Patel from Imperial College London is among the thousands of physicists at the LHC attempting to find flaws in the Standard Model. He told BBC News that the first people to find experimental results at odds with the standard model would be one of the all time breakthroughs in physics.
"Measuring behaviour that doesn't agree with the predictions of the Standard Model is the holy grail for particle physics. It would fire the starting-gun for a revolution in our understanding because the model has withstood all experimental tests for more than 50 years."
Fermilab says that its next set of results will be "the ultimate showdown" between theory and experiment that may uncover new particles or forces.
Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider in Europe are also in the race to find inconsistencies with the Standard Model
So what is the Standard Model and why is getting an experimental result that doesn't quite fit in with its predictions such a big deal?
Everything in the world around us is made from atoms - which in turn are made from even smaller particles. These interact to create the four forces of nature: electricity and magnetism (electromagnetism), two nuclear forces and gravity.
Their behaviour is predicted by the standard model, and for fifty years it has predicted their behaviour perfectly, with no errors whatsoever.
Muons are similar to electrons which orbit atoms and are responsible for electrical currents, but they are about 200 times as massive.
In the experiment they were made to wobble, using powerful, superconducting magnets.
Galaxies are accelerating apart from each other faster than predicted by the Standard Model
The results showed that the muons wobbled faster than the standard model said it should. Prof Graziano Venanzoni, of Liverpool University, who is one of the leading researchers on the project, told BBC News that this might be caused by an unknown new force.
"We think there could be another force, something that we are not aware of now. It is something different, which we call the 'fifth force'.
"It is something different, something we don't know about yet, but it should be important, because it says something new about the Universe."
If confirmed, this would represent arguably one of the biggest scientific breakthroughs for a hundred years, since Einstein's theories of relativity. That is because a fifth force and any particles associated with it are not part of the Standard Model of particle physics.
Researchers know that there is what they describe as "physics beyond the Standard Model" out there, because the current theory can't explain lots of things that astronomers observe in space.
These include the fact that galaxies are continuing to accelerate apart after the Big Bang that created the Universe, rather than the expansion slowing down. Scientists say the acceleration is being driven by an unknown force, called dark energy.
Galaxies are also spinning faster than they should, according to our understanding of how much material is in them. Researchers believe it's because of invisible particles called dark matter, which again are not part of the Standard Model.
The results have been published in the Journal Physical Review Letters.
• None 'Strong' evidence found for a new force of nature | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-66407099 |
Special counsel to investigate President Biden's son Hunter - BBC News | 2023-08-11 | The prosecutor who brought criminal charges against Hunter Biden will get additional powers. | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Joe Biden's son Hunter will now be investigated by a special counsel with additional powers, the US attorney general has announced.
Merrick Garland has elevated the status of David Weiss, the federal prosecutor who has already filed criminal charges in the case.
A plea deal on tax and gun charges against the president's son collapsed earlier this month.
Republicans are pushing for an inquiry into Hunter Biden's business dealings.
In a surprise announcement at the Department of Justice on Friday, Mr Garland explained that he was making the move after a request by Mr Weiss earlier this week.
The new designation will provide the prosecutor with extra resources to pursue the investigation and to potentially bring further charges beyond the state of Delaware.
Mr Garland said the special counsel would produce a report when his work was done, and that the justice department would make as much of it public as was possible.
"The appointment of Mr Weiss reinforces for the American people the department's commitment to both independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters," Mr Garland said at a news conference.
Hunter Biden's lawyer, Chris Clark, responded in a statement: "We are confident when all of these manoeuvrings are at an end my client will have resolution and will be moving on with his life successfully."
Mr Clark pointed out that the investigation has already gone on for five years.
Mr Weiss was appointed by former President Donald Trump to become the US attorney in Delaware in 2018. Not long after, in 2019, he opened an investigation into allegations of criminal conduct by Hunter Biden.
Hunter Biden has since been charged with two misdemeanour tax offenses for allegedly not paying income taxes in 2017 and 2018, years in which he earned in excess of $1.5m (£1.1m), according to the US Attorney's Office in Delaware.
He faces an additional felony charge for allegedly possessing a firearm while addicted to and using illegal drugs.
Hunter Biden had previously reached a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to the tax charges and admit the gun offence to spare himself prison time.
However, US District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika squashed the deal due to "non standard terms" and the "unusual" nature of the proposed resolution for the gun charge.
Since then, Hunter Biden and prosecutors have engaged in further plea negotiations but remain at an impasse. In a court filing on Friday, Mr Weiss's team said they now expect the case to go to trial - and could potentially file new, more serious charges in Washington DC or California.
Republicans want to see the younger Mr Biden further criminally charged, along with the president. They allege that Mr Biden has profited from his son's business dealings in Ukraine and China.
House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy said that the Republican-controlled chamber will continue to investigate the president and his son regardless of the special counsel announcement.
He echoed concern expressed by other Republicans that Mr Weiss's inquiry has been insufficiently aggressive.
Other Republicans have wondered whether the attempt to move the trial out of Delaware, where it had been overseen by Trump-appointed Ms Noreika, was an attempt to find a legal venue more friendly to the Bidens.
The White House called the allegations "insane conspiracy theories" and rejected the assertion that Mr Biden has participated in his son's business affairs.
Mr Weiss has conducted a years-long investigation into the matter. So far, he has not found any evidence that Hunter Biden's business dealings have benefited from his father's presidential status.
The special counsel announcement - and the possibility of new charges leading to a jury trial - all but assures that the investigation into Hunter Biden will stretch on well into the 2024 presidential election season, if not past election day itself. It will continue to be a distraction for White House officials who had until recently hoped that the issue was approaching a resolution.
But Friday's announcement may also diffuse some of the conservative claims that there are two standards of justice in the US - one for Republicans and one for the Bidens.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Why Hunter Biden is important to Republicans | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66480353 |
Hawaii fire: Maps and before and after images reveal Maui devastation - BBC News | 2023-08-11 | Satellite images and before-and-after pictures show extent of damage to town of Lahaina on Maui. | Hawaiian officials are braced for a significant rise in the death toll from the fast-spreading wildfires, which caused devastation on the island of Maui and destroyed most of the historic town of Lahaina.
Hawaii Governor Josh Green said the fires were the "largest natural disaster in Hawaii state history" and that 80% of the beach-front town had "gone" - satellite images gave an immediate sense of the scale of the damage.
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Hundreds of people remain missing almost a week after the disaster, and search teams have only covered a tiny percentage of the area affected.
The fires are now reported to be under control, but efforts to fully extinguish them continue on some parts of the island.
Hundreds of people who fled their homes in Lahaina have been taking cover in an emergency shelter. About 2,700 homes are reported to have been destroyed.
Incredibly strong winds from Hurricane Dora, which passed south of Hawaii on Tuesday 8 August fanned the flames and prevented aircraft from flying over the town during the fire - but once they had passed, pilots were shocked by what they saw.
"It's horrifying. I've flown here 52 years and I've never seen anything come close to that," helicopter pilot Richard Olsten told the Associated Press news agency. "We had tears in our eyes."
The flames destroyed most of the buildings in front of the port, including the old courthouse.
Anger has grown among the community with many people telling the BBC they were not forewarned about the fires. It is currently unclear if early warning systems were used, or if they malfunctioned.
The town's lighthouse has survived but most of the surrounding buildings were destroyed, including the oldest hotel in Hawaii - the 122-year-old Pioneer Inn.
The centre of Lahaina dated back to the 1700s and was on the US National Register of Historic Places - it was once Hawaii's capital.
The town was home to about 12,000 people - the initial assessments say about 86% of the damaged buildings were residential.
Alice Lee, chair of the Maui County Council, told the BBC World Service's Newsday programme how the fire razed the "beautiful" Front Street, the town's main strip.
"The fire traversed almost the entire street, so all the shops and little restaurants that people visited on their trips to Maui, most of them are burnt down to the ground," Lee said, adding: "So many businesses will have to struggle to recover," she said.
Former US President Barack Obama - who was born in Hawaii - is among those who has expressed his sorrow at the impact of the blaze. He posted on the X social network (formerly known as Twitter): "It's tough to see some of the images coming out of Hawaii — a place that's so special to so many of us."
"Michelle and I are thinking of everyone who has lost a loved one, or whose life has been turned upside down."
The fires also destroyed many natural features on the island - there are fears for Lahaina's banyan tree, the oldest in Hawaii, and one of the oldest in the US.
The 60ft-tall (18m) fig tree was planted in 1873, on the place where Hawaiian King Kamehameha's first palace stood, but it was burnt after fires ravaged the area on Wednesday.
According to the town's website, if its roots remain healthy it will likely grow back. But at this stage, they say the tree "looks burned".
Most of the damage was done on Tuesday as the flames engulfed the town.
The blaze ripped through the town so quickly that some people jumped into the harbour to escape the flames and smoke.
The flames were fanned by gusts of wind of up to 65mph (100km/h) that hit the islands last week as Hurricane Dora passed about 700 miles (1,100km) south of Hawaii.
Drought or abnormally dry conditions across large parts of Hawaii - including the entire island of Maui - also played a role.
About 14% of the state is suffering from severe or moderate drought, according to the US Drought Monitor, while 80% of Hawaii is classed as abnormally dry.
Wildfires were once uncommon in Hawaii, ignited largely through volcanic eruptions or lightning strikes. But in recent decades, human activity has made them more common and extreme.
Climate change is increasing the risk of wildfire globally as it drives up temperatures and makes heatwaves longer and more intense.
"We have never experienced a wildfire that affected a city like this before," Governor Josh Green said, adding that the challenges of climate change were putting unprecedented strain on Hawaii.
How are you affected by the wildfires? If it is safe to do so please 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/world-us-canada-66465570 |
Train strikes: RMT union announces new weekend walk-outs - BBC News | 2023-08-11 | About 20,000 members will take strike action on 26 August and 2 September over pay and conditions. | More rail strikes over pay and conditions will take place on Saturday 26 August and Saturday 2 September, the RMT union has announced.
About 20,000 members working for 14 train operating companies are expected to take part.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said that its members would "continue fighting".
But the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) said the union was "once again targeting customers" on the railways.
The government called the move "disappointing" and said the RMT leadership was "cynically targeting" travellers.
The announcement means rail passengers can expect disruption on the last Bank Holiday weekend of the summer in August.
It marks the latest step in a long-running dispute which has caused months of upheaval on the railways for passengers.
Progress in the RMT's dispute with the 14 train operating companies has effectively been at a standstill since April, after it rejected the latest proposals from the RDG.
Mr Lynch said the mood among RMT members "remains solid and determined" in the national dispute, which is over pay, job security and working conditions.
The union said it had been left with "little choice but to take further action", insisting it had seen no improved offer from the RDG, which represents train operating companies.
Plans to close hundreds of ticket offices in England have also angered its members, the union has said.
But a spokesperson for the RDG, said: "With further strike action, the RMT are once again targeting customers looking to enjoy various sporting events, festivals and the end of the summer holidays, disrupting their plans and forcing more cars onto the road."
The RDG said it had made three offers to the union, including job security guarantees. The headline pay rise would be a backdated pay rise of 5% for last year, followed by 4% this year. But some workers could see pay rise by as much as 13% over the two years, the RDG claims.
The group said the RMT had blocked potential deals "without a convincing explanation".
It added that it remained "open to talks" and continues to urge the union to put the offer to members in a vote.
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "The RMT leadership's decision to call more strikes and cynically target the travelling public over the Bank Holiday weekend is disappointing."The government has facilitated fair and reasonable pay offers. However, union bosses are opting to prolong this dispute by blocking their members from having a vote on these offers - we continue to urge that members are given their say, and disruption is brought to an end", they added. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66479059 |
Amazon warns workers to come back into the office - BBC News | 2023-08-11 | This week, a reminder email was sent to employees who didn't work on-site at least three times a week. | Amazon staff in the US received a warning email from the firm for not spending enough time in the office after their attendance was tracked.
Some employees were told they were "not currently meeting our expectation of joining your colleagues in the office at least three days a week."
Amazon is not the first tech giant to depart from flexible working rules ushered in during the pandemic.
Disney has already done so and this week Zoom ordered staff to the office.
Amazon's office attendance mandate for American employees took effect in May and stipulates that they have to "badge in" to the office at least three days a week.
The email, sent this week and seen by the BBC, targeted employees who came into the office fewer than three days a week for five or more of the past eight weeks, or for three or more of the past four weeks.
It appeared to exacerbate existing tensions within the company, as some employees said they had received the email in error.
Some Amazon employees in the US staged a walkout to protest the return-to-office push in June.
They said morale at the company was at an "all-time low" due to a series of "short-sighted decisions" by leaders.
Some workers questioned whether the warnings were a sign of an even more strict attendance requirement to come.
In a response to the concerns, Amazon said the message was sent to those who fell short of the policy despite their building being ready for staff's return.
Amazon also admitted that the warnings may have been sent out by mistake in some cases.
"While we've taken several steps to ensure this email went to the correct recipients, we recognize that there may be instances where we have it wrong," the company said.
During pandemic-related lockdowns, many firms opted for remote work. It remains far more prevalent than it was before Covid, due to the flexibility and autonomy it gives workers.
Some companies are rolling back their policies over fears they might dent productivity, but the majority have adopted hybrid working in some way.
When Amazon sent out a memo to inform employees about the new attendance requirements in May, its boss Andy Jassy said the change would help strengthen communication, career development and corporate culture. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-66472280 |
Hawaii fires latest: Death toll rises to 67 as Lahaina residents return - BBC News | 2023-08-11 | The death toll has risen to 67, the county said, as residents are permitted to return. | From right to left: Lisa Schmidt, Erin Grayson and Brooke Ferguson Image caption: From right to left: Lisa Schmidt, Erin Grayson and Brooke Ferguson
I was speaking to a family of tourists from Portland, Oregon, who were visiting Maui.
Staying at the Westin Ka'anapali – a little way outside the badly-damaged town of Lahaina – grandmother Lisa Schmidt, mother Erin Grayson and daughter Brooke Ferguson were forced to flee from the fires.
Schmidt says she was most emotional when she discovered that the townspeople were not warned of the fires, that it “just took people by surprise that were in downtown Lahaina”.
“It just breaks my heart that people just lost everything. Everything. And with no warning. The warning system didn’t work, that’s just horrible.”
They drove through Lahaina on their way to the shelter, and saw its devastation first hand.
“It looked like a bomb went off there,” says Ferguson.
They saw cars that were burned up, and “houses burned to the ground”. Only random, “sporadic” buildings were still left standing, they say. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-66461158 |
Virgin Galactic: First space tourism mission after decades of promises - BBC News | 2023-08-11 | Keisha Schahaff and UK student Ana Mayers become the first mother-daughter duo to travel to the edge of space. | Anastatia (Ana) Mayers, Jon Goodwin and Keisha Schahaff, boarded the VSS Unity for a 90-minute trip into space
Virgin Galactic has taken a former Olympian, a University of Aberdeen student and her mother to the edge of space on its first flight for tourists.
Ana Mayers, 18, and her mother Keisha Schahaff, 46, both from Antigua, won their tickets in a competition.
They became the first mother-daughter duo to fly to space together.
Jon Goodwin, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, became the second person with Parkinson's disease to go to space, a trip he called "completely surreal".
Mr Goodwin bought his ticket for $250,000 (then £191,000) in 2005.
The carrier mothership VMS Eve took off from Spaceport America, in the state of New Mexico, at 08:30 local time (15:30 BST).
Fifty minutes into the flight, the Unity rocket ship separated from Eve as planned.
A short time later, the passengers were given the all-clear to unbuckle and enjoy zero gravity, at an altitude of around 85km (280,000ft).
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Ms Mayers, a second-year philosophy and physics student at the University of Aberdeen, immediately reached for the window to take in the views of Earth and the black of space.
The three then returned to their seats and strapped themselves back in ahead of the return journey.
They successfully landed back at Spaceport America just over an hour after taking off.
Speaking at a press conference after the flight, Ms Schahaff - who won the prize while flying to the UK to visit her daughter in Scotland - said she was still "up there" following the experience.
"Looking at Earth was the most amazing" part of the trip, she said.
Mr Goodwin described his experience as the most exciting day of his life.
Despite being diagnosed with Parkinson's several years ago, he was given the all-clear to fly.
"I'm hoping that I instil in other people around the world, as well as people with Parkinson's, that it doesn't stop you doing things that's out of the normal if you've got some illness," he said.
"The most impressive thing was looking at Earth from space - the pure clarity was very moving."
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In a video posted on social media, Sir Richard Branson - Virgin Galactic's founder - shed tears of joy as he celebrated the mission from Ms Schahaff and Ms Mayers' native Antigua.
Sir Richard, who completed a similar trip in July 2021, wrote: "Today we flew three incredible private passengers to space: Keisha Schahaff, Anastatia Mayers and Jon Goodwin.
"Congratulations Virgin Galactic commercial astronauts 011, 012 and 013 - welcome to the club!"
Mr Goodwin was the first on a list of 800 or so individuals who have bought tickets for a ride on the Unity rocket.
Some of them - including Mr Goodwin - have been waiting over a decade to get their chance, and most still face a long wait.
Sir Richard first announced his intention to make a space plane in 2004, with the belief he could start a commercial service by 2007.
But technical difficulties - including a fatal crash during a development flight in 2014 - have made the space project one of the most challenging ventures of his career.
Recently, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin beat Virgin Galactic in the race to become the first company to take paying passengers into space.
Both companies say their missions further science as well as catering to the very rich.
But, space tourism has been criticised for its cost and environmental impact. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-66468628 |
How much do junior doctors really get paid in England? - BBC News | 2023-08-11 | The BBC asked two junior doctors in England to show us their payslips and reveal their salaries. | Junior doctors in England are starting their fifth round of strike action with no sign of a breakthrough in their bitter pay dispute with the government.
The doctors' union, the BMA, made headlines earlier this year when it said pay had fallen so far behind inflation that its members would be better off serving coffee than treating patients. The government described that as misleading and said the average junior doctor earns between £20 and £30 an hour.
In reality, that term - junior doctor - covers someone fresh out of medical school right up to those with a decade or more of experience. And pay is complicated, with salaries varying massively as medics move up grades when they become more skilled and start to specialise.
BBC News asked two junior doctors, at different stages of their careers, to show us their wage slips and explain exactly how much they earn.
Dr Robert Gittings graduated from medical school in Liverpool after studying for a master's in infectious disease biology.
Last summer, he started his first, or FY1, year as a junior doctor in London and is currently working on the infectious diseases ward as part of his rotation - where doctors get experience in different types of medicine.
"In my hospital, we have a lot of tuberculosis patients, patients with uncontrolled HIV, and we also get pneumonias and, sometimes, we get a tropical infection coming in," he says.
Robert is paid a basic salary before tax of about £2,450 a month for a standard 40-hour week - or just over £14 an hour. Then there are additional roster hours - which are compulsory - taking his average working week to 48 hours.
Under what the government calls a "final offer", his pay will go up in October in two ways: a straight 6% pay rise and £1,250 permanently added to annual salaries - both backdated to April.
But that falls well short of the 35% increase for which the BMA has been asking to make up for years of below-inflation rises.
For Robert, the latest pay offer would be worth roughly £250 a month before tax.
He also receives extra payments each month:
"Sometimes night shifts can be really busy," he says. "There have been times when I've had to manage a patient by myself who is deteriorating, and I have to do everything for them, just with advice over text message."
Junior doctors like Robert typically spend five or six years in medical school before starting their jobs.
He says he graduated with about £50,000 of debt including tuition fees and - in June - paid back £75 in student loans from his salary.
There are other deductions including £257 - or 9.8% of his wages - for a pension, with the NHS contributing 20.6% under the latest career average scheme, more than most private sector pensions.
In June, Robert took home a total of £2,164 after tax and deductions. That works out as a total annual salary of roughly £37,000.
He says he is now looking to take a year out to work abroad - probably in Australia. "I'm not confident the pay here is going to improve as much as I'd like it to," he says. "I would really quite strongly consider staying [there]."
Dr Kiran Rahim qualified from medical school in 2011 and now treats sick children as a paediatric registrar - one of the most experienced junior doctor grades.
"I was at work yesterday and it was really, really busy," she says. "I was managing A&E - so taking in all the paediatric referrals, all the sick kids who needed to be seen.
"And then managing the acute stay ward, making sure the children were getting their treatment, accessing and booking scans for them."
Kiran has taken three years out to have children herself, and is now working part-time while she looks after her young family, meaning her training - and her time as a junior doctor - has been "elongated".
For an average three-day week, she is paid a basic salary before tax of roughly £3,315 a month - or just under £28 an hour - which is the same rate as a full-time doctor. Like Robert, she also receives London weighting.
In July, she was paid another £292 for night shifts and £132 for working one weekend in every six or seven.
She says the "vast majority" of junior doctors at her level end up working extra unpaid hours before they can go home at the end of the day.
"I can't just leave a sick patient because it's unsafe, and it's not fair on the people who are already fighting fire on the next shift," she adds.
As evidenced by her payslip, Kiran did pay more tax than usual in July after she says she worked extra shifts earlier this year to cover staff sickness - that money should be refunded later by HMRC.
She has just finished paying off her student loan, although she says - like other junior doctors - there are unavoidable costs which do not show up on her payslip.
She pays £433 a year to the GMC to be on the doctors' register. There are charges to be a member of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, and she has had to pay thousands of pounds in exam fees.
Plus there is the cost of personal indemnity insurance - just under £700 a year - to protect her in case she is sued for medical negligence.
In a typical month, Kiran says she takes home around £2,400 after tax and deductions for a 27-hour week. If she was working full-time then she would earn a total annual salary of roughly £69,000.
"Pay is important but so are all the other things that make you want to go to work," she says. "This is not the job I signed up to do 10 years ago and I have seen a decline in morale, in our working environment and in our working conditions."
The government says it has accepted the latest recommendations made by an independent pay review body and its most recent offer represents an 8.8% annual pay rise for the average junior doctor in England.
"Our award balances the need to keep inflation in check while recognising the important work they do," says Health Secretary Steve Barclay.
Are you a doctor with a view on the strike? Are you a patient affected? 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.
Sign up for our morning newsletter and get BBC News in your inbox. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-66360656 |
Below Deck Down Under: Jason Chambers addresses sexual misconduct row - BBC News | 2023-08-11 | Jason Chambers thanked production crew for "breaking the fourth wall and stepping in" during filming. | Captain Jason Chambers from Australian reality series Below Deck Down Under has addressed sexual misconduct on the show's set.
He thanked the production crew for "breaking the fourth wall and stepping in" during two incidents during filming for the new series.
Two cast members were seen making unwanted sexual advances in recent episodes of the yacht-based production.
Both cast members, Luke Jones and Laura Bileskalne, were fired on the show.
The popular series is in the spotlight after two incidents were featured in the sixth and seventh episodes, which both aired on Australian TV station Bravo on 7 August.
Capt Chambers said the "not acceptable" incidents took place a year ago, when he was not personally present, after cast members had been drinking together.
In an Instagram video, he said "I don't know what goes on" when the show's crew socialise together, but added: "If it's inadequate behaviour, you've seen that production would inform me."
Luke Jones, who has featured in 11 episodes of the series, was shown entering the cabin of fellow cast member Margot Sisson without consent.
At the time, she was asleep after drinking alcohol and Mr Jones was undressed.
Mr Jones was shown climbing into her bed, which prompted the production crew to intervene to make Mr Jones leave the room, saying that Ms Sisson had "said no".
Mr Jones then attempted to close the cabin door and proceeded to hold it shut, before eventually leaving.
Writing on Instagram after the episode aired, Ms Sisson thanked producers for stepping in during the incident and said it was "vital" for the incident to feature in the episode because "this issue is all too real and far too frequent".
Mr Jones has not commented on the incident publicly.
During the same episode Ms Bileskalne was shown entering the room of another cast member, Adam Kodra, and attempting to massage and kiss him without consent.
The episode showed Cpt Chambers dismissing both from the yacht where the series is filmed and both have left the production altogether.
In an Instagram post after the show aired, Ms Bileskalne apologised, saying: "I made [Mr Kodra] feel uncomfortable and no one should be put in that position".
UK domestic abuse charity Refuge has praised the show's producers for how the incidents were handled.
It said the episodes had "sparked vital conversations around consent", adding: "We're pleased to see that action was quickly taken to ensure a safe environment."
Bravo has not commented on the incidents. BBC News has contacted the production company.
Below Deck Down Under first aired in March 2022. It is a spin-off the American series Below Deck.
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MP Angus MacNeil expelled by SNP after chief whip row - BBC News | 2023-08-11 | The Western Isles MP was suspended from the party's Westminster group last month. | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The Western Isles MP said the SNP are 'not being serious about independence'
MP Angus MacNeil has been expelled from the SNP after he was suspended from its Westminster group last month.
The Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Western Isles) MP had been suspended after reportedly clashing with party chief whip Brendan O'Hara.
The SNP conduct committee met on Thursday after he refused to rejoin the group at the end of his suspension.
The party confirmed that Mr MacNeil was expelled after a breach of their code of conduct.
Mr MacNeil said he would stand as an independent candidate at the next general election.
Speaking to BBC Scotland News, Mr MacNeil reiterated that he had not left the SNP and that he had been expelled in an "ad hoc" manner by a committee on Thursday night.
He said the party had "lost its way quite badly" and criticised a number of policies championed by the Scottish Greens, including gender reform and Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs).
However he said the SNP's main problem was "not personalities", adding: "The real problem the SNP have got is not being serious about independence and believably serious about independence.
"Jobs at Holyrood are far more important than creating an election that might give the people the chance to get away from… anything that's associated with the difficulties in Westminster.
"It's in the SNP's gift to do something about it and it's chosen not to take that opportunity and that's what I find very frustrating."
During an event at the Edinburgh Fringe, First Minister Humza Yousaf told broadcaster Iain Dale that Mr MacNeil's expulsion was the correct move.
He said: "The party did not leave him. He left the party. He wrote a statement to say he left the party.
"Regardless of length of service as a politician, you were elected on party ticket and you can't pick and choose when you are in or out of party. We should all be held to same standard.
"Joanna Cherry demonstrates how we can have differences and remain within party."
Angus MacNeil was one of the SNP's longest-serving MPs, having first been elected in 2005, but has been a vocal critic of the party leadership in recent years, particularly over its independence strategy.
He was involved in a row with chief whip Mr O'Hara in July over missing votes in the House of Commons.
It was alleged he had threatened Mr O'Hara during a confrontation - an allegation Mr MacNeil denies - and he had the whip removed for a week.
Following the falling-out, he announced he would sit as an independent MP until at least October.
His membership of the party was suspended as he refused to immediately rejoin the SNP group.
He then released a statement attacking the SNP leadership's approach to independence, accusing it of a lack of urgency. "I will only seek the SNP whip again if it is clear that the SNP are pursuing independence," he wrote.The SNP's code of conduct requires members who resign from a party group - at any level of government - to also resign as a member of the parliament they were elected to.
A party spokesperson said: "Following his decision to resign from the SNP Westminster Parliamentary Group, and therefore no longer sit as an SNP MP, the unanimous decision of the SNP's Member Conduct Committee is that a breach of the code of conduct has occurred and Angus MacNeil MP has been expelled from the Party.
"Mr MacNeil was given the opportunity to rejoin the group, and subsequently chose not to attend the hearing."
Scottish Conservative deputy leader Meghan Gallacher said Mr MacNeil's expulsion was evidence of "civil war engulfing" the SNP and questioned the first minister's ability to manage party conflicts.
She said: "Humza Yousaf cuts a weak, inconsistent figure - a leader in name only, being buffeted by events rather than shaping them."
This saga brings to an end Angus MacNeil's 18-year SNP representation of the Western Isles at Westminster.
A colourful character and well-liked across the political divide, he's not made any secret of his frustrations about the party's independence strategy. Things have now come to a head.
Mr MacNeil will stand as an independent candidate at the next general election, after a year languishing on the green benches as an independent.
This will cause another headache in the constituency for the SNP - possibly splitting the pro-independence vote against a Labour candidate that is said to be liked and respected locally. He is Torcuil Crichton, the Daily Record's former Westminster editor.
More fundamentally for SNP leader Humza Yousaf, this expulsion further tears open divides in the party that had been almost masked under the Sturgeon leadership.
The SNP already faces a by-election following the recall of Rutherglen MP, Margaret Ferrier
Furthermore, Mr Yousaf could face internal dissent at SNP conference in October. We've already heard this week rumblings against the SNP's deal with the Greens.
Angus MacNeil is said to have been an SNP member for almost 30 years. For the first time in a generation, he will not be able to attend the conference now he's been expelled from the party. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-66470026 |
Pedro Pascal: Actor visits Margate art exhibition dedicated to him - BBC News | 2023-08-11 | The Last of Us star went with friend and actor Russell Tovey - but the Margate gallery was closed. | The 48-year-old actor visited the seaside town of Margate in an attempt to visit an exhibition dedicated to him
Hollywood star Pedro Pascal turned up at an art exhibition in Kent that was dedicated to him - but it was closed.
The display, called ADHD Hyperfixation & Why It Looks Like I Love Pedro Pascal, is currently on show at the Rhodes Art Gallery in Margate.
The actor, who starred in The Last of Us and The Mandalorian, visited on Sunday with fellow actor Russell Tovey.
The gallery said they were "mortified" he couldn't get in, and they will send a gift to apologise.
The exhibition is composed of roughly 14 pieces - a mix of paintings and sketches - by artist Heidi Gentle Burrell.
A selfie outside the art gallery was shared on Instagram of the Chilean-American actor, along with Tovey and gallery director Robert Diament.
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Jessica Rhodes Robb, who owns and operates the gallery with her partner Gavin Blake, said: "Heidi's show is absolutely phenomenal and we're so proud that it's received the publicity it deserves.
"We're mortified that they couldn't get in and our Sunday opening policy is most definitely under review.
"We'll be sending Pedro a gift from the show by way of apology."
The exhibition will run until 1 September.
Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-66463549 |
Lost homes and missing loved ones after Maui wildfires - BBC News | 2023-08-11 | Getting in contact with loved ones has been made difficult by poor mobile reception on the island. | Oprah was handing out supplies at the War Memorial Stadium on Thursday
A long line of at least 100 cars stretched towards Maui's War Memorial Stadium on Thursday, even as the shelter began reaching capacity.
Scores of evacuees have arrived here and set up camp after wildfires tore through the Hawaiian island, destroying entire neighbourhoods and leaving many residents with nowhere to stay.
Volunteers have been trying to create a comfortable atmosphere despite the heat, offering local treats like shaved ice. But conditions are still challenging.
People have to bring their own bedding to the shelter, so many are sleeping on bare cots and air mattresses. And after seeing what people were in need of, part-time Maui resident and talk show host Oprah Winfrey, brought pillows and other goods.
Tom Leonard has lived in Lahaina for 44 years. He told the BBC he has been staying at the shelter for the past two days after losing all of his possessions. He has no idea where he will go next.
Tom Leonard has lived in Maui for decades, but has lost all of his possessions
More concerning than the loss of possessions, are the loved ones that people have yet to hear back from. There is even a sense of guilt for some people here.
Hundreds are said to be missing. At least 55 people have died and that number is expected to rise.
Getting in contact with loved ones has been made even more challenging by the fact mobile service on the island has been unreliable.
People are doing what they can at the shelter, writing down the names of their loved ones along with their contact information and sticking notes on increasingly crowded whiteboards.
Maui resident Ellie Erickson created a Google spreadsheet to crowdsource efforts to find people. Although she only shared it on Wednesday morning, thousands of names have already been added to the list. Some are marked in green as "found" and other names are marked in red as "not located".
With the names of the dead not yet confirmed, people have only rumours to go on to know whether their neighbours and friends are still alive.
Chelsey Vierra's great-grandmother, Louise Abihai, lives at the Hale Mahaolu senior living facility. She told the Associated Press that she did not know if she was OK.
"She doesn't have a phone. She's 97 years old," Ms Vierra said. "She can walk. She is strong."
"If you never made contact with your family before sunset last night, you're still trying to figure out where they are," Leomana Turalde, 36, told USA Today. He has several aunties who live near Lahaina's popular Front Street which bore some of the heaviest.
One of them went missing on Wednesday morning.
At the shelter, Les Munn, 42, recalled packing his belongings as the hurricane winds began coming to shore. His building then caught fire around him. "Everything went black", he said, as the smoke began pouring in.
"I ran up, knocking on some of my neighbours doors. And some of them wouldn't come out," he said, sounding perplexed by their decision.
Eventually he ran outside, spotted a blue light from a police car through the dense black smoke, and ran and dove into the back of the vehicle. "And that's how I survived," he said from his shelter cot.
He added that he had not seen any of his neighbours in the shelter and was concerned for their safety.
"I don't know their fate," he said. "I don't know if they survived."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Four factors that made Maui wildfires so deadly | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66477818 |
Wales' first minister's rapist son jailed for licence breach - BBC News | 2023-08-11 | Jay Humphries is jailed for just over a year for using an unapproved account on a dating site. | Jay Humphries was jailed for eight years and eight months in 2018 after being convicted of rape and actual bodily harm
A convicted rapist has been jailed for 58 weeks for breaching a sex offender's order after his release from prison.
Jay Humphries, 36, admitted he had used an unapproved username on a dating site and deleted his internet history.
Humphries, the son of Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford, was sentenced to more than eight years in 2018 under his old name, Jonathan Drakeford.
Judge Timothy Petts told Caernarfon Crown Court there was "a very real risk" he would reoffend if on licence.
Humphries was released on licence in January and was staying in approved premises when the Sexual Harm Prevention Order breaches came to light in March.
He had been given permission to use the social dating site Fab Guys by the police, but only with an agreed name and password that would allow officers to monitor his activity.
Instead, he used an unapproved username - naughty 5007387.
Officers also found in March his internet browser history had been deleted.
He had been warned earlier in 2023 about deleting text messages and judge Petts told him it was a "warning you didn't heed".
Humphries' online activity included sexually explicit content but nothing illegal, the court was told.
The defendant appeared in court via a video link from HMP Berwyn.
A previous hearing heard that he had been recalled to prison in May after other breaches of his release licence, including leaving an abusive phone message for a probation officer.
In 2018, Humphries was given an eight-year and eight-month sentence after being found guilty of rape and inflicting actual bodily harm.
He also admitted to a child sexual offence after messaging a girl on Facebook who he thought was 15.
At the time of Humphries' conviction, Mr Drakeford said it had been a "distressing period" for his family, adding that "our thoughts are with all those caught up in it, especially the victim". | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-66464174 |
Maui fires: At least 36 killed in Hawaii as flames destroy whole neighbourhoods - BBC News | 2023-08-11 | Thousands of people have evacuated their homes and a state of emergency has been declared. | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
At least 36 people have died as fast-moving wildfires tear through the Hawaiian island of Maui, officials say.
The deaths in the city of Lahaina, the island's main tourist destination, came as strong winds from a distant hurricane fanned the flames.
The fire is one of several ongoing blazes that have burnt entire neighbourhoods to the ground.
Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate their homes and a state of emergency has been declared.
A huge search and rescue operation is under way, with some people still unaccounted for.
"We barely made it out in time," Kamuela Kawaakoa, who fled to an evacuation shelter on Tuesday with his partner and six-year-old son, told the Associated Press.
"It was so hard to sit there and just watch my town burn to ashes and not be able to do anything," he said. "I was helpless."
Five evacuation shelters have been opened on Maui and officials earlier said they were "overrun" with people. The island is a popular tourist destination and visitors have been urged to stay away.
"This is not a safe place to be," Hawaii Lt Governor Sylvia Luke told reporters. "We have resources that are being taxed."
Firefighters are still battling active fires, with helicopters dropping water on the blazes from above.
The western side of the island, which is the second largest of the Hawaiian archipelago, was almost cut off entirely with only one main road open.
"As the firefighting efforts continue, 36 total fatalities have been discovered today amid the active Lahaina fire," the Maui county government said in a statement late on Wednesday.
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Dozens of people have been injured since the fires began burning on Tuesday and hospitals on the island are treating patients for burns and smoke inhalation.
Lahaina has been devastated by the fire and video showed the blaze tearing through the beachfront resort city.
"We just had the worst disaster I've ever seen. All of Lahaina is burnt to a crisp. It's like an apocalypse," resident Mason Jarvi told Reuters. He showed the news agency images of the city's destroyed and blackened waterfront.
Mr Jarvi said he suffered burns after riding through the flames on his bike to save his dog.
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The fires earlier drove people to jump into the city's harbour to escape the flames and smoke. Fourteen people were rescued after jumping in, officials said.
Businesses around Lahaina have been destroyed, and one senior education official said they were preparing for the possible loss of a century-old elementary school in the city.
On Wednesday, the strong winds caused by passing Hurricane Dora eased slightly meaning pilots were able to view the full scale of the damage.
Images taken from above showed burnt cars littering the streets and smoke rising high above piles of rubble.
"It's horrifying. I've flown here 52 years and I've never seen anything come close to that," helicopter pilot Richard Olsten told the Associated Press. "We had tears in our eyes."
Climate change increases the risk of the hot, dry weather that is likely to fuel wildfires.
The world has already warmed by about 1.2C since the industrial era began and temperatures will keep rising unless governments around the world make steep cuts to emissions.
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