title
stringlengths 19
154
| published_date
stringlengths 10
10
| description
stringlengths 0
245
| content
stringlengths 0
74.6k
| link
stringlengths 32
89
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
Couple 'horrified' at £110 Ryanair check-in fee - BBC News | 2023-08-15 | The airline has defended its decision to charge an elderly couple who had mistakenly downloaded the wrong tickets. | Ruth Jaffe, 79, said she found Ryanair's website "very confusing"
An elderly couple have said they were "horrified" after being charged £110 by Ryanair to print their tickets at the airport.
Ruth and Peter Jaffe told the BBC they had to pay airport check-in fees after mistakenly downloading their return tickets instead of their outgoing ones.
It sparked a flurry of social media complaints about the airline's fees.
Ryanair said the fees were in line with its policy, as the couple had failed to check-in online for the correct flight.
But consumer rights expert Martyn James said the couple's experience had "touched a nerve" as many other people have also been hit by unexpected charges.
The Jaffes, from Ealing, were flying from Stansted Airport to Bergerac, France, on Friday.
Mrs Jaffe, 79, told the BBC's Radio 4 Today Programme she found Ryanair's website "very confusing" but despite this, she thought she had successfully managed to print their tickets the day before the flight.
It was only when she got to the airport that she realised she had accidentally printed the wrong tickets.
"I was then told that I had to go to the Ryanair desk to get a boarding card, and there they charged me £55 per person," she said. "[I was] horrified."
She added it wasn't easy for her husband to walk from one bit of the airport to the other. "I was quite flustered and upset."
Mr Jaffe, who's 80, said that they had no choice but to pay, as they had people expecting them in France.
On Sunday, their daughter posted on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter, saying her mother had made "an honest mistake".
"£110 for 2 pieces of paper which took 1 minute. Shame on you," she told the budget airline.
She added that her parents had also had to pay an extra fee to sit next to each other, as her father has a disability.
Her post has gone viral, having been viewed more than 13 million times, with many social media users complaining of the high cost of printing boarding passes at the airport, and other "surprise" fees.
"I can feel the rage," said one X user.
Another urged Ryanair "to do the right thing", with a third saying: "There should be laws that protect the elderly."
One user also pointed out that it would have been cheaper to go to the nearest stationery shop, purchase a printer and print the tickets themselves.
Asked about the huge reaction on social media, Mrs Jaffe said: "People hate Ryanair, I think."
She went on: "If you're elderly and haven't been brought up using computers from day one, it can be very difficult."
Mr Jaffe added: "It's also the money-making aspect, like the fact we had to pay extra to sit together."
The couple have complained to Ryanair but said they don't expect to get anything back.
"I think they'll say it's in the small print and it was our fault. Which it was, but it was a genuine mistake," Mrs Jaffe said.
Mr James told the BBC that the couple's experience highlighted "a real issue" about what happens if, like the Jaffes, you make a genuine mistake.
"It's deeply unfair to penalise people who made an innocent mistake," he said, adding that airlines should commit not to charge people in such cases.
He said that people do have options if this happens to them. They can complain to the airline, as the Jaffes have done, or take it to an alternative dispute resolution scheme or the small complaints court.
"But none of this guarantees compensation and a lot of people don't have the time or energy," he said. "If more people complained about a lack of transparency, more airlines start to reconsider these fees."
Mr James said online check-ins benefit airlines, as it means they need fewer staff checking people in at the airport.
He added that these additional fees are nothing new.
"For years, airlines have been stripping out things that used to be free, and charging for them," he said.
"[This story] resonates with people because they're angry they've been hit with these prices too - whether it's luggage charges, paying to sit next to your family, or something else."
Ryanair said in a statement: "In accordance with Ryanair's T&C's, which these passengers agreed to at the time of booking, they failed to check-in online before arriving at Stansted airport (11 Aug) despite receiving an email reminder (10 Aug) to check-in online. These passengers were correctly charged the airport check-in fee (£55 per pax).
"All passengers travelling with Ryanair agree to check-in online before arriving at their departure airport and all passengers are sent an email/SMS, reminding them to do so 24hrs before departure.
"We regret that these passengers ignored their email reminder and failed to check-in online."
There are often fees that customers aren't aware of: | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66500479 |
Andrew Malkinson welcomes jail living costs reform - BBC News | 2023-08-15 | A man wrongly convicted of rape welcomes the scrapping of a rule which deducted living costs from compensation paid to wrongly imprisoned people. | A controversial rule which deducted living costs from compensation paid to wrongly imprisoned people has been scrapped.
The government announced the change on Sunday after the case of Andrew Malkinson, who spent 17 years in jail for a rape he did not commit, prompted calls for it to be overhauled. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66420732 |
Hawaii wildfires: Crews may find 10 to 20 wildfire victims a day - governor - BBC News | 2023-08-15 | Cadaver dogs comb ruined homes with the number of people missing now standing at around 1,300. | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: ''Thank God that he gave us tears" - Maui resident
Recovery crews combing through charred homes and vehicles in Hawaii are likely to find 10 to 20 more victims per day, the governor has warned.
The death toll from the fire now stands at 99, making it the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century.
Governor Josh Green told CBS News it could take up to 10 days to learn the full death toll.
The number of missing now stands at around 1,300, he said.
He later told a press conference that 25% of the area affected by the fire had been searched for bodies.
Nearly the entire town of Lahaina was destroyed in the fire.
"There is nothing to see except full devastation," Mr Green told CBS, the BBC's US news partner, on Sunday.
All residents of Lahaina - home to 12,000 people - probably escaped or perished in the fire, he added. He said crews would probably discover more victims and that it would take time to identify them.
"It's hard to recognise anybody," Mr Green said.
Officials said 20 dogs trained to search for cadavers had been deployed to the island by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema).
"We've got an area that we have to contain that is at least five square miles, and it is full of our loved ones," said Maui Police Chief Jeff Pelletier at a weekend news conference.
On Monday, Fema Administrator Deanne Criswell declined to give an exact estimate of how long the search and recovery mission would take, calling the situation "extremely hazardous".
"The dogs can only work so long because of how hot the temperatures are," said Ms Criswell, participating in the White House daily press briefing remotely from Hawaii.
At one point, there were more than 2,000 people who had been reported missing since the fire broke out on the island of Maui last week.
That number went down to 1,300 as people were able to reconnect with one another after access to cell phone service improved.
Chief Pelletier has encouraged people with missing family members to submit DNA samples to help with search efforts.
He also urged patience for those looking to enter the town, as there are still remains that need to be recovered and identified.
"When we find our family and friends, the remains we're finding is through a fire that melted metal," he said. "We have to do rapid DNA to identify them. Every one of these ... are John and Jane Does."
Speaking to reporters on Monday afternoon, Mr Green said just under 2,000 housing units, including 402 hotel rooms, had been made available for people who had lost their homes.
The deadly fire in Lahaina is still burning and is about 85% contained, according to Maui County officials. How the fire started remains unconfirmed, though it was fuelled by winds from nearby Hurricane Dora and drought conditions.
A class-action lawsuit was filed on Saturday against Hawaii's largest electricity provider, Hawaii Electric, which alleges the company's downed power lines contributed to the wildfires.
The lawsuit accuses the company of failing to shut off the downed lines despite advanced warning from the National Weather Service cautioning that Hawaii was under high alert for wildfires.
Temporarily shutting off power to reduce fire risk is a tactic used in western US states, where wildfires are common. In California, power lines have been blamed for half of the state's most destructive wildfires.
What questions do you have about the wildfires in Hawaii? You can send your questions to yourquestions@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-66470121 |
Dissidents will create fear with PSNI list - Byrne - BBC News | 2023-08-15 | Thousands of police officers expressed fears for their security after the major data breach. | If dissident republicans have this information, then the obvious question is: What does this mean for staff, officers and civilian personnel?
The chief constable says they would likely use it to generate fear among officers and staff and also use it, if they can, to target staff.
Simon Byrne says measures will be taken to address the risks.
The big difficulty the PSNI faces is the sheer enormity of this.
Mr Byrne talks about a sort of triage system where the PSNI will assess the safety of individuals.
We’ve got 10,000 employees, all of whom feel varying degrees of anxiety.
How do you evaluate that risk to so many people, in real time and as quickly as possible? | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-northern-ireland-66502146 |
IBSA World Games: England lose 4-3 to Ukraine in partially-sighted football final - BBC Sport | 2023-08-23 | England suffer extra-time heartbreak as Ukraine are crowned partially-sighted football world champions after a 4-3 win. | Last updated on .From the section Disability Sport
England were defeated 4-3 in the final seconds of extra time as Ukraine were crowned partially sighted football world champions in Walsall.
Adam Lione netted a superb hat-trick to put England 3-2 up after Illia Lubashev and Vadym Shvets scored for Ukraine.
Robert Tremba equalised before Shvets netted his second with 22 seconds left to seal the victory.
Ukraine's win at the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) World Games is their third overall title.
Partially-sighted football is played by four visually-impaired players (B2/B3), plus one fully or partially-sighted goalkeeper per team.
It is one of 10 sports for blind and partially-sighted athletes that feature at the IBSA World Games, which is held across Birmingham and the West Midlands region from 14-27 August.
It is the first time the world's largest sporting event for blind and partially-sighted athletes has been held in the United Kingdom. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/disability-sport/66584684 |
Biggleswade murder trial hears man hid partner's body in suitcase - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Matthew Waddell denies murdering mother-of-three Sarah Albone, found dead at home in Biggleswade. | An inquest heard Sarah Albone died from obstruction to her airways caused by head injuries
A man murdered his partner and hid her body in a suitcase inside a wheelie bin, a court has heard.
Sarah Albone, 38, was discovered dead in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, on 25 February after her family reported her missing.
Matthew Waddell, 35, who lived with her at the Winston Crescent address, denies murdering the mother-of-three.
Opening his trial, the prosecution say Mr Waddell killed her in a "frenzied and horrific attack".
Prosecutor Martin Mulgrew said Mr Waddell told Ms Albone's family she was receiving hospital treatment in London and could not be contacted.
He sent text messages from her mobile phone, used her bank card and sold her belongings, the jury at Luton Crown Court heard.
Mr Waddell is accused of killing his partner between 20 November 2022 and 26 February 2023.
Mr Mulgrew told jurors: "Her body was stuffed in a suitcase. The suitcase was in a wheelie bin and the bin was taped shut.
"She had been dead for several months."
Mr Mulgrew said that a post-mortem examination found a "frenzied and horrific attack had been carried out, resulting in catastrophic injuries".
Scenes of Crime Officers found the purple suitcase wrapped in industrial cling film under the remains of a carpet in the bin. Ms Albone was found in her pyjamas, the court heard.
Her cause of death was airway obstruction caused by catastrophic injuries to her head. She also had broken ribs and injuries to her body.
The court was told it was believed Ms Albone, who had multiple sclerosis, was attacked in her bedroom towards the end of November, possibly while getting out of bed.
The attack included stamping, kicking, punching and possible use of a weapon, the jury heard.
Matthew Waddell denies murdering Sarah Albone after her body was found at their home in Biggleswade
In a letter found in the house, Mr Waddell was alleged to have written about the attack and added: "I felt nothing."
The letter was "a complete and detailed confession to murder", Mr Mulgrew said.
Prosecutors said the defendant then planned, in "a sophisticated manner", to lay false information about Ms Albone's whereabouts.
The couple first met in November 2020 and Ms Albone became dependent on him because of her medical conditions, the court heard.
Mr Mulgrew said Ms Albone had ended their relationship once because the defendant was controlling and she had also reported him for assault after a further break-up in September 2021.
He was ordered not to visit her but repeatedly breached the order, the court heard.
"He had developed an obsession and could not accept she would not be part of his life," said the prosecutor.
Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk or get in touch via WhatsApp on 0800 169 1830
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-66596117 |
Pakistan cable car: Relief as all passengers brought to safety - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | They spent hours dangling above a ravine in high winds before being rescued by helicopter and zip line. | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: The moment two children were brought to safety along a zip line
All eight people who were stuck in a cable car dangling hundreds of metres above a ravine in Pakistan's north-west for many hours have now been rescued.
In a slow and dangerous operation, a military helicopter rescued one child, while teams on the ground recovered the rest of the group after dark.
They were helped to safety along a zip line, with a huge crowd on top of the hillside celebrating their rescue.
The group were on their way to school when one of the car's cables snapped.
It was left hanging precariously across 274m (900ft) above the ground and in high winds.
Pakistan's caretaker prime minister, Anwaar ul Haq Kakar, said he was relieved, and thanked all of those who were involved in the rescue.
Pakistan's army said the rescue mission had been "extremely difficult and dangerous".
The incident happened at about 07:00 local time (02:00 GMT) on Tuesday near the city of Battagram in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Six children, aged between 10 and 16 years old, were trapped, along with two adults.
One of the children, a teenage boy, has a heart condition and was unconscious for several hours, an adult on board named Gulfaraz told local media.
A child also fainted due to "heat and fear", a rescue worker told Reuters news agency, although it was unclear if that was the same child.
Known by locals as "Dolly", the cable car links the village of Jangri to Batangi, where the school is located.
The car is a popular and cheap mode of transport to get across the Allai valley - cutting a two-hour road journey through mountainous terrain to just four minutes.
When the cable suddenly snapped, Dolly was making its fifth trip of the day.
Residents used loudspeakers to alert officials to the crisis, but it took at least four hours for the first rescue helicopter to arrive at the remote location, local media outlet Dawn reported.
Anxious crowds, including relatives of those trapped, quickly gathered along the ravine, watching on as military helicopters battled against the strong winds to lower commandos to the stranded car.
Several early attempts to reach them failed, however some food and water was successfully delivered.
In addition to gusty winds, there were concerns that the helicopter's rotor blades could further destabilise the cable car, and as night set in the operation was suspended.
But rescuers continued their efforts with the help of zip line experts and local people on the ground.
Allai is a mountainous area, located at an altitude of 2000m above sea level. Settlements are spread far and wide and there is little infrastructure like roads and basic facilities.
In most of the area, makeshift chairlifts and cable cars are used regularly for transportation from one mountain to another.
The one involved in this incident is believed to be privately operated by residents, local media reported.
Police said they checked the lift every month, however BBC News has been unable to independently verify this.
Anwaar ul Haq Kakar says he has ordered all privately-operated lifts to be inspected for safety.
Additional reporting from Zubair Khan, in Abbottabad, and Kelly Ng in Singapore. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-66578894 |
Ukraine war: Three elderly people killed in Russian shelling, say officials - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Meanwhile a strike on the Danube river port of Izmail destroyed 13,000 tons of grain, a minister says. | The head of Ukraine's Donetsk region Pavlo Kyrylenko posted photos of the damage on Telegram
Three people have been killed in Russian artillery fire near the eastern Ukrainian city of Lyman, Ukrainian authorities say.
The three who reportedly died - two women and a man aged 63 to 88 - were sitting on a bench in the village of Torske when shelling hit.
The area is close to the front line and regularly comes under attack.
Meanwhile a drone attack on the Danube river port of Izmail destroyed 13,000 tons of grain.
Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said the grain had been destined for export to Egypt and Romania and the drone strike had reduced the port's export capacity by 15%.
"Russia is systematically hitting grain silos and warehouses to stop agricultural exports," he said.
Over the past month Russian strikes on its sea and river ports had destroyed 270,000 tons of grain, he said.
Elsewhere, there have been reports of explosions in the port city of Sevastopol in Russian-occupied Crimea.
The peninsula's Russian-appointed proxy governor said the fleet was conducting firing exercises.
Meanwhile, four civilians were injured by mortar fire and a residential building was damaged by two drones in Seredyna-Buda, in the Sumy region of north-eastern Ukraine, the regional military administration said on Facebook. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66589595 |
Alpine guide finds body missing on Austrian glacier since 2001 - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | The body was found on one of Austria's fastest melting glaciers in the province of Tyrol. | The man's body was found on the Schlatenkees glacier, one of the fastest-melting glaciers in Austria
The body of a man who is believed to have died more than 20 years ago has been found on a rapidly melting glacier in the Austrian province of Tyrol.
Police say a mountain guide discovered the body last week 2,900m (9,500ft) up the Schlatenkees glacier in East Tyrol.
A rucksack was found close by containing a bank card and a driving licence. Police used a helicopter to help retrieve the body.
Police think the man was from Austria and was 37 years old when he died.
DNA tests are being carried out to establish his identity.
Police spokesman Christian Viehweider told BBC News it would take several weeks before the results of those tests would be known.
The man, who had ski touring equipment with him, is believed to have had an accident in 2001.
The Schlatenkees is thought to be one of the country's fastest-melting glaciers. In its report for 2021/2022, the Austrian Alpine Club said it was the glacier with the biggest recorded loss of 89.5m.
Last April the Austrian Alpine Club said the melting of glaciers in Austria was at a record high. It said that it had never recorded such a large shrinkage of glaciers since its history of measuring began in 1891.
There have been several similar discoveries in rapidly shrinking Alpine glaciers this summer as the melting ice reveals long-held secrets.
In June a climber found human remains and bones on the same glacier in Tyrol, in the Venediger group of mountains. The remains are believed to have been in the Schlatenkees for decades. DNA testing is under way.
"It is rather unusual to have two such discoveries on a glacier within such a short time," Mr Viehweider said.
He said that around 45 people, missing in the Austrian Alps since 1964, are still unaccounted for.
In Switzerland, the body of a German climber - missing since 1986 - was found on a glacier close to the Matterhorn mountain last month. It was discovered by mountaineers crossing the Theodul glacier above Zermatt.
They noticed a hiking boot and crampons emerging from the ice.
DNA analysis showed the body to be that of a German climber, who disappeared 37 years ago. A huge search and rescue operation at the time failed to find any trace of him.
Police did not name the climber but said he was aged 38 when he went missing during a hike.
Switzerland and Austria have been experiencing very hot conditions this summer and there are fears for the future of the Alpine glaciers which are key to Europe's environment.
The winter snow stored by the glaciers fills European rivers such as the Rhine and the Danube, providing water for crops, or for cooling nuclear power stations.
This was the Schlatenkees glacier in 2001, the year the man whose body has been found went missing | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66590918 |
Magaluf: Men suspected of gang-raping British teen were not all friends - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | The woman was allegedly forced to have sex and was filmed by the suspected aggressors. | Magaluf is a popular holiday destination in the Spanish island of Majorca
Eight men suspected of gang-raping an 18-year-old British woman in Majorca were not all known to each other, Spanish police have said.
Five French and one Swiss tourist were arrested on suspicion of sexual assault and violation of the right to privacy earlier this month.
Two more men, both residents in France, were arrested in that country this week and are awaiting extradition.
The alleged attack is said to have taken place in the resort of Magaluf.
"Of the eight [suspects], some knew each other, they weren't all strangers," said a spokesman for the civil guard. "But it was not one group of friends."
The alleged victim is thought to have met a group of young tourists in the early hours of 14 August.
She is believed to have followed them to their hotel, where she was forced to have sexual intercourse and was filmed by the alleged aggressors.
The woman later escaped and was helped by hotel staff after being found in the street.
She was taken to Son Espases hospital in Palma de Mallorca, where she was treated before registering her rape complaint.
Police arrested the first six suspects within hours of the alleged attack and they are in preventive custody.
The pair arrested this week flew from Spain to Baden-Baden in Germany, then travelled to France.
A Spanish judge issued a European detention order and one of them was held in Scherwiller and the other at the airport of Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg, both in the north-eastern Alsace region, the civil guard reported.
With the two arrests in France, the Spanish civil guard said it has closed its investigation into this case.
The force said that "the swift and efficient action of this team" in tandem with local police "has permitted the arrest of all those responsible for this brutal attack".
• None Six arrested over alleged gang rape of British teen | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66588059 |
Sara Sharif murder inquiry: Surrey Police had contact with family of girl found dead - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | A senior Surrey Police officer says contact with the girl's family was "some years ago". | Authorities said Sara Sharif had suffered "multiple and extensive injuries", likely caused over a sustained period of time
Police have had "historic" contact with the family of a 10-year-old girl who was found dead at her home, a senior officer has said.
Det Supt Mark Chapman of Surrey Police said the interaction with Sara Sharif's family "goes back some years".
It follows Surrey County Council's disclosure that the family, from Woking, were known to the authorities.
Three family members went to Pakistan before Sara's body was found on 10 August and are wanted by the police.
Det Supt Chapman told the BBC: "Surrey Police's contact with the family has been on a limited basis. It's been on a historic basis. And that goes back some time."
He said police interaction with the Sharif family "goes back some years" but declined to expand on his comment.
The police officer also said the force had not referred the case to the police watchdog, adding: "Surrey Police have reviewed the position and it doesn't fulfil the criteria to alert the Independent Office for Police Conduct."
The three people who travelled to Pakistan, and are now thought to be in Islamabad, are Sara's father, Urfan Sharif, 41, his partner, Beinash Batool, 29, and his brother, Faisal Malik, 28.
Police in Pakistan confirmed to the BBC that they had questioned - but not arrested - two of Mr Sharif's brothers as well as his father. The brothers - Imran Sharif and Zareef Sharif - are both based there.The police also revealed that they are under pressure from the Federal Investigation Agency in Pakistan to find the trio who left England.
Urfan Sharif and his partner Beinash Batool are sought by police
Det Supt Chapman said Surrey officers wanted to build a picture of how Sara - a Year 5 pupil at St Mary's C of E primary school in Byfleet - had lived.
He said: "We're looking to hear from anybody who lived in the area who regularly saw Sara going about her daily routine.
"Any parents who may know of Sara from school or other regular activities. Any parties that might have gone on out of school, or anyone who had any form of contact with her really, no matter how insignificant it might seem."
After it was revealed Sara was known to the authorities, campaigner on children's social care, Chris Wild, who advised the government's most recent review into children's social care, told the BBC's World at One programme this meant Sara would have been "on their radar".
He also said there may have been a child protection order in place, or a safeguarding concern made.
The council has said a multi-agency review is under way.
Police have said Mr Sharif, 41, made a 999 call from Pakistan shortly after landing in Islamabad with his partner, his brother and five children, aged between one and 13.
That led officers to the house in Woking where they found Sara's body. She had sustained "multiple and extensive injuries" likely to have been caused over a sustained period of time.
Police have also been searching the family's previous address in West Byfleet.
There is no formal extradition treaty between the UK and Pakistan.
This article has been updated to clarify the nature of the family's previous contact with the police.
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-surrey-66584753 |
Two Ukrainian drones downed over Moscow region, says Russia - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Authorities say two other drones were intercepted over Bryansk, near the Ukrainian border. | A number of buildings in Moscow have been hit in drone attacks in recent weeks
Russia's defence ministry says it has thwarted a Ukrainian drone attack after it downed two drones over the Moscow region.
Two other drones were intercepted over the Bryansk region, north-east of the Ukrainian border, it added.
Flights were temporarily stopped to and from Moscow's airports early on Tuesday, the ministry said.
Airspace above Moscow has been closed several times in recent days as reports of drone strikes become more regular.
The defence ministry also said a Russian warplane had destroyed a Ukrainian reconnaissance boat in the Black Sea that had sailed near Russian gas production facilities.
Early on Tuesday, Moscow's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Russian air defences had shot down two drones to the west of the capital in the Krasnogorsk and Chastsy districts.
No injuries were reported in the attacks and Ukraine has not commented.
Although Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for specific drone strikes, President Volodymyr Zelensky has previously said that attacks on Russian territory are an "inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process".
On Saturday, a flagship Russian long-range bomber was destroyed in a Ukrainian drone strike, according to reports.
Images posted on social media and analysed by BBC Verify show a Tupolev Tu-22 on fire at Soltsy-2 airbase, south of St Petersburg.
Moscow said that a drone was hit by small-arms fire but managed to "damage" a plane.
The Russian Tu-22 bomber that was destroyed can travel at twice the speed of sound and has been used extensively by Russia to attack cities in Ukraine.
Moscow's defence ministry said in a statement that an attack by a "copter-type UAV" took place at around 10:00 Moscow time (08:00 BST) on Saturday.
It stated the location as "a military airfield in the Novgorod region", where Soltsy-2 is situated.
"The UAV was detected by the airfield's observation outpost and was hit with small-arms fire," the ministry said.
"One airplane was damaged; there were no casualties as a result of the terrorist act."
The statement also said a fire which broke out in the airfield parking lot was quickly extinguished.
However, images posted on the social media platform Telegram showed a large fire engulfing a jet with the distinctive nose cone of the Tu-22. BBC Verify analysed the images and believes them to be credible.
Over recent months dozens of fixed-wing unmanned aircraft have attacked Russia's capital.
Moscow has blamed Kyiv for the attacks. Ukraine rarely takes responsibility for incidents or strikes that take place within Russian territory. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66576996 |
South Yorkshire Police 'deeply sorry' for data loss affecting up to 69 cases - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | South Yorkshire Police says it lost data such as bodycam footage from the last three years. | South Yorkshire Police has apologised for losing data such as bodycam footage which could affect dozens of cases.
The force said it had referred itself to the Information Commissioner's Office following a "significant" and "unexplained reduction" in data.
This includes bodycam footage recorded by officers between July 2020 and May 2023. The force estimates around 69 cases could be affected.
Assistant Chief Constable Rick Alton said he was "deeply sorry".
He confirmed digital forensic experts were attempting to recover the data.
In a statement, he said: "We will provide an update concerning this when further work has been undertaken.
"Whilst we remain hopeful, there are no guarantees, so it's important the victims and the wider public are informed."
South Yorkshire Police confirmed that an internal investigation was under way, and said the data was deleted, rather than moved elsewhere.
It said there was "no suggestion" systems were hacked.
"We're now focused on how and why this has happened," a spokesperson said.
Bodycam footage is often used as evidence in both criminal and civil proceedings and the loss could have an impact on future court cases.
South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Dr Alan Billings called the data loss "concerning and disappointing".
He said: "There may be implications for victims and witnesses and the wider criminal justice system as some of this footage may be evidence in upcoming court cases.
"The force is working through the implications and direct contact is being made with those affected."
Dr Billings said he would ask South Yorkshire Police to outline what measures would be put in place to prevent this from happening again.
A police spokesperson said it was "important to note" that the 69 cases had been highlighted "because we know" bodycam footage was available.
"This does not mean it was relevant, or would have been submitted as evidence," they said.
"We are working with victims in those cases which might be affected and appropriate support is being offered."
Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-66591197 |
Wilko: Jobs to go as attempts to find a buyer fail - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | However, the company's administrator said parts of the business could still be bought. | The administrators of Wilko have said jobs are set to go and stores will close after it failed to find a buyer for the whole business.
However, PwC said parts of the group could still be bought.
Wilko announced earlier this month that it was going into administration, putting 12,500 jobs and its 400 stores at risk.
PwC was tasked with trying to look for a buyer for all or part of the business.
In a statement, PwC said: "While discussions continue with those interested in buying parts of the business, it's clear that the nature of this interest is not focused on the whole group.
"Sadly, it is therefore likely that there will be redundancies and store closures in the future and it has today been necessary to update employee representatives."
PwC said it understood the news would further add to uncertainty felt by workers and said it would be supporting staff.
It said that in the immediate term, all stores remain open and continue to trade, and that staff would continue to be paid.
It added there were "currently no plans to close any stores next week".
Earlier, the union representing workers at Wilko said the majority of stores were to close "within weeks" after a purchase fell through.
The GMB said that some stores might be bought, but "significant job losses" were now expected.
Its national secretary, Andy Prendergast, said the union would seek to ensure its members "receive every penny" they are entitled to.
"We will fight to ensure Wilko bosses are held accountable for the simple reason our members deserve so much better," he added.
The company, which was founded in Leicester in 1930, is well known for its affordable everyday items.
After the collapse of Woolworths in 2008, Wilko - which is still family run - stepped up to fill the gaps left on High Streets.
But it has been struggling with sharp losses and a cash shortage.
Sarah Montano, professor of retail marketing at the University of Birmingham's Business School, said the collapse of Wilko was not particularly surprising.
She told the BBC 5Live's Wake up to Money: "From the consumer point of view, I think it comes back to this reason: why would you go to Wilko?
"They haven't kept up with their competitors," she added. "In retail you could start out as unique and as innovative as you could possibly be, but, over time, gradually your competitors are going to do similar things to what you do."
Many of Wilko's stores are in High Street locations in traditional town centres, which became an expensive liability as customers shifted to bigger retail parks and out-of-town locations.
The company has also faced strong competition from rival chains as the high cost of living has pushed shoppers to seek out bargains.
There has been speculation that some of those rivals, such as B&M, Poundland, The Range and Home Bargains, could be those interested in the firm. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66599804 |
Watch: Moment child rescued from Pakistan cable car - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | See the moment a passenger was rescued from a dangling cable car in Pakistan. | See the moment one child was rescued from a dangling cable car in Pakistan.
Dramatic footage shows the moment a child - reportedly the first - was rescued by helicopter.
All occupants of the dangling cable car were eventually rescued.
This video has no sound. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/66584881 |
Owen Farrell red card: England captain to miss first two World Cup pool games as ban reinstated - BBC Sport | 2023-08-23 | Owen Farrell will miss England's first two pool games at the World Cup as World Rugby successfully appeals against the decision to overturn his red card. | Last updated on .From the section Rugby Union
Owen Farrell will miss England's first two World Cup pool games after World Rugby successfully appealed against the decision to overturn his red card.
The England captain's four-game ban means he will miss the group matches against Argentina and Japan, with two warm-up fixtures also included.
Farrell's red card had been overturned by an independent judicial committee, which was then overruled on Tuesday.
The appeal committee said the tackle was "always illegal".
Farrell became the first England player to receive a red card from rugby's new 'bunker' review system when he made a high tackle on Taine Basham during England's 19-17 win over Wales on 12 August.
The appeal committee found that, in their original hearing, the disciplinary committee should have considered Farrell's attempt to wrap his opponent in the tackle.
Therefore the appeal committee determined that no mitigation could be made for the tackle, and the decision to overturn the red card was an error - which led them to ban Farrell.
The ban will include last weekend's 29-10 defeat by Ireland in Dublin, which the appeal committee said Farrell "voluntarily stood down" from playing in after World Rugby announced its intention to appeal beforehand.
• None England working on tackle technique every day, says Care
The 31-year-old will also miss England's final warm-up game against Fiji this weekend at Twickenham as well as the first two pool matches. He will be available to play again on 23 September against Chile.
England's opening World Cup game against Argentina is on 9 September in Marseille.
When launching its appeal against the overturning of the ban, World Rugby said "player welfare is the number one priority".
In January, the RFU approved a reduction in tackle height for the community game in England in order to improve player safety, while tightening laws around high tackles in the professional game aimed to further help the issue.
England number eight Billy Vunipola is also due to face the disciplinary panel for a red card in the defeat by Ireland following a high tackle which resulted in direct head contact on Ireland prop Andrew Porter.
A ban of more than one game for Vunipola would result in England also being without their only specialist number eight for the start of the competition.
• None A messy hen-do in an isolated Welsh cottage gets derailed by the apocalypse...
• None One of Britain's most callous and brutal killings | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/66581854 |
Boots infant formula adverts broke rules - watchdog - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Advertising watchdog found Boots promoted infant milk formula in adverts, which is prohibited. | Online adverts for the retailer Boots promoting four brands of infant formula on Google broke advertising rules, the watchdog has said.
In the UK, it is against the law to advertise infant formula for babies up to six months old because it might discourage breastfeeding.
Boots apologised and said the adverts, which were automated, had been removed.
It comes as supermarket Iceland calls for changes to laws on formula milk advertising.
Advertising follow-on formula, for babies over six months, is allowed.
But for infant formula, retailers cannot communicate special offers via any platform.
Iceland says it is calling on the government to "immediately" update existing legislation so that retailers are allowed to tell the public when they reduce the price of formula.
The supermarket said it still endorsed breastfeeding, yet rising costs were "placing unbearable pressure on parents who choose to or have no alternative" to using formula milk.
It is also asking for customers to be allowed to buy formula with loyalty points, gift cards or food bank vouchers, which is currently prohibited.
Iceland and other retailers have included formula products in offers and cut-price promotions but under the law are not allowed to communicate this to customers.
Iceland's executive chairman, Richard Walker, said that the supermarket had gone against these regulations and got in touch with customers about offers.
The government said: "The legislation ensures parents and carers have access to the highest quality and safe infant formula, as well as not discouraging breastfeeding by protecting them from inappropriate marketing of breast milk substitutes."
It added that it has measures in place to support families with the cost of feeding babies and young children, including a scheme to help parents of children under four from lower-income families buy foods including baby formula.
The BBC has asked the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for comment.
Breastfeeding support groups feel that supermarkets and other retailers are just interested in their profits rather than babies and mothers.
A spokesperson for the Baby Feeding Law Group said that these legal marketing restrictions are intended to protect parent and carers from "undue commercial influence".
"There is a wealth of evidence that marketing undermines breastfeeding and safe and appropriate formula feeding. The regulations are not designed to limit access to infant formula, it is the manufacturers and retailers who set prices, and who do so in a manner which ensures high profit margins," the group added.
The ASA said the Boots adverts, which appeared on the sidebar on search engine websites like Google, clearly displayed "images of the infant formula products to mean that the ads were promoting infant formula".
It ordered Boots to remove the adverts.
The adverts in question, paid for by Boots, were promoting four different branded formulas: Aptamil, Hipp, Cow & Gate and Kendamil.
Following the ASA ruling, Boots apologised and said it had removed all its infant formula advertising, saying that the adverts were automated, generated by an algorithm linked to the Boots website that promoted products on offer.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusively breastfeeding babies for the first six months and giving breast milk alongside solid food until the age of two or beyond.
It says breast milk has many benefits for infants including protection against gastrointestinal infections. It is also an important source of energy and nutrients.
The WHO has urged governments around the world to ban the advertising of infant formula as it feels it discourages breastfeeding. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66582141 |
Bank fined £5.4m after energy traders used WhatsApp - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Morgan Stanley is punished by the energy regulator in the first fine under transparency rules. | Morgan Stanley has been fined £5.41m ($6.9m) after energy traders discussed business over WhatsApp on private phones.
Regulator Ofgem said the bank breached rules requiring firms to record messages linked to energy trading.
It is the first fine of its kind to be issued under transparency rules aimed at protecting consumers against market manipulation and insider trading.
The watchdog said that Morgan Stanley's failures were "unacceptable".
It also said that the fine could have been as much as £7.7m but the bank agreed to settle the case and received a 30% discount.
Ofgem said that the investment bank had policies in place to prohibit staff to use WhatsApp for trading communications. But it "did not take sufficient reasonable steps to ensure compliance with its own policies and the requirements of the regulations".
Cathryn Scott, regulatory director of enforcement and emerging issues at Ofgem, said Morgan Stanley's failure to record or retain communications between January 2018 and March 2020 risked a "significant compromise of the integrity and transparency of wholesale energy markets".
Under legal requirements, Ofgem expects firms to record and retain electronic communications relating to trading wholesale energy products to ensure transparency and discourage market manipulation and insider trading.
Insider trading is the buying and selling of a listed company's shares or other securities, such as bonds or share options, based on information that is not available to the public.
In many countries, including the US and UK, insider trading is illegal as it is seen as giving an unfair advantage to those with access to the information.
Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said because wholesale energy prices underpin energy bills for households and businesses, "anything which impacts on these prices is of concern".
"But action on this particular case should remind us about wider concerns about the role of energy market trading," he added.
"Every act of trading energy on the markets usually results in profit for the traders and ultimately adds to our bills."
The regulator said on Wednesday it discovered the breach following requests for information from Morgan Stanley, which it said had admitted the failings.
Ofgem said the bank had strengthened its "internal systems and controls" and trained staff to avoid future breaches. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66590824 |
Pakistan cable car: Drone shows people trapped above ravine - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Footage exclusively obtained by the BBC shows people huddling together in the stranded cable car. | Suspended precariously in mid-air, drone footage, exclusively obtained by the BBC, shows the passengers of a stranded cable car in Pakistan.
All of the people inside the cable car, six children and two adults, were saved during a 12 hour rescue operation which included a military helicopter and zip wire experts.
The owner of the cable car company in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province was later arrested by police on multiple charges including negligence and endangering valuable lives. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-66597447 |
Russia: Video shows plane crash in Russian village - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Online footage appears to show a plane falling from the sky in the Tver region. | Video shared on social media appears to show the moment that a plane crashes in a Russian village.
According to Russian authorities, the leader of the Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin was on the passenger list of a plane that crashed in the area.
BBC Verify has been able to confirm the location as being in the Tver region. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66597449 |
First womb-transplant baby born - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | A 36-year-old woman in Sweden has given birth to a baby boy using a transplanted womb in a medical first, doctors say. | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The baby will "give hope" to those wanting children, say the transplant team
A woman in Sweden has given birth to a baby boy using a transplanted womb, in a medical first, doctors report.
The 36-year-old mother, who was born without a uterus, received a donated womb from a friend in her 60s.
The British medical journal The Lancet says the baby was born prematurely in September weighing 1.8kg (3.9lb). The father said his son was "amazing".
Cancer treatment and birth defects are the main reasons women can be left without a functioning womb.
If they want a child of their own, their only option is surrogacy.
The identity of the couple in Sweden has not been released, but it is known the mother still had functioning ovaries.
The couple went through IVF to produce 11 embryos, which were frozen. Doctors at the University of Gothenburg then performed the womb transplant.
The donor was a 61-year-old family friend who had gone through the menopause seven years earlier.
Drugs to suppress the immune system were needed to prevent the womb being rejected.
A year after the transplant, doctors decided they were ready to implant one of the frozen embryos and a pregnancy ensued.
The baby was born prematurely, almost 32 weeks into the pregnancy, after the mother developed pre-eclampsia and the baby's heart rate became abnormal.
Both baby and mum are now said to be doing well.
In an anonymous interview with the AP news agency, the father said: "It was a pretty tough journey over the years, but we now have the most amazing baby.
"He's no different from any other child, but he will have a good story to tell.''
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Surgeon Richard Smith on the prospects for British womb transplants
Two other medical teams have attempted womb transplants before.
In one case, the organ became diseased and had to be removed after three months. Another case resulted in miscarriages.
Prof Mats Brannstrom, who led the transplant team, described the birth in Sweden as a joyous moment.
"That was a fantastic happiness for me and the whole team, but it was an unreal sensation also because we really could not believe we had reached this moment.
"Our success is based on more than 10 years of intensive animal research and surgical training by our team and opens up the possibility of treating many young females worldwide that suffer from uterine infertility."
Liza Johannesson, a gynaecological surgeon in the team, said: "It gives hope to those women and men that thought they would never have a child, that thought they were out of hope."
However, there are still doubts about the safety and effectiveness of the invasive procedure.
Dr Brannstrom and his team are working with another eight couples with a similar need. The results of those pregnancy attempts will give a better picture of whether this technique can be used more widely.
Dr Allan Pacey, the chairman of the British Fertility Society, told the BBC News website: "I think it is brilliant and revolutionary and opens the door to many infertile women.
"The scale of it feels a bit like IVF. It feels like a step change. The question is can it be done repeatedly, reliably and safely."
The couple, fresh from celebrating the birth of their child, will soon have to decide if they want a second.
The drugs used to prevent the womb being rejected would be damaging in the long term - so the couple will either try again or have the womb removed.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-29485996 |
Ukraine war: Three killed in Belgorod hours after drones hit Moscow - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Russian officials blame Ukraine for the incidents, but it is unclear who is responsible. | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch the moment a drone hits an unfinished building in Russia's capital
A drone attack on Russia's Belgorod region has killed three people, hours after another drone hit central Moscow, Russian officials say.
Belgorod's Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov blamed Kyiv for the attack on the region, near Ukraine's border.
"Ukrainian forces launched an explosive device through a drone while people were on the street," he claimed.
Kyiv has not claimed responsibility for either incident, but it rarely comments on attacks inside Russia.
Hours after the first drone attack which killed three in Belgorod a second drone was destroyed over the region, the Russian Defence Ministry said.
As well as the drone strikes on Belgorod, drones were also reported in Moscow, where a building that was under construction was hit, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.
Air defences also shot down two drones earlier in the Mozhaisk and Khimki districts of the Moscow region, the defence ministry added. No casualties were reported.
Following the incident in Russia's capital, all flights to and from Moscow's airports were suspended early on Wednesday, thought they later returned to normal.
The flight suspension measures have been taken repeatedly in recent days amid a spate of drone attacks on the capital.
It was the sixth consecutive night of aerial attacks on the Moscow region, the AFP news agency reported.
The drone that hit the building under construction at the Moscow city complex was suppressed by electronic warfare systems, the defence ministry said. It lost control and collided with the building, officials added.
Several windows were smashed in two five-storey buildings opposite the site and emergency services were inspecting the area, Mr Sobyanin said.
In response to reports of the downed drones, the US State Department said the US did not encourage drone attacks in Russia.
US officials added it was up to Ukraine to decide how to defend itself, and that Russia could end the war at any time by withdrawing its forces from its neighbour.
Allegations of drone strikes inside Russia have become increasingly common in recent months.
On Tuesday, Russia's defence ministry said it had downed two drones over the Moscow region, and two more were intercepted over the Bryansk region near the Ukrainian border.
Officials also said a Russian warplane had destroyed a Ukrainian reconnaissance boat in the Black Sea that sailed near Russian gas production facilities on Tuesday.
Ukraine did not claim responsibility for any drone incursions on Tuesday - but President Volodymyr Zelensky has previously said that attacks on Russian territory are an "inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process". | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66589596 |
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin presumed dead after Russia plane crash - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | The Russian private military company boss was on the passenger list of the jet which came down near Moscow. | Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was on the passenger list of a jet which crashed in Russia killing all 10 people on board, Russia's civil aviation authority says.
Social media linked to the Wagner mercenary group say his private plane was shot down by Russian air defences.
Prigozhin died "as a result of actions of traitors to Russia", the Grey Zone Telegram channel posted.
Prigozhin led an aborted mutiny against Russia's armed forces in June.
However, some experts in Russia and abroad suggest the revolt was staged, and Prigozhin abandoned his "justice march" on Moscow after direct orders from President Vladimir Putin.
Wednesday's crash in the Tver region, north-west of the capital Moscow, comes on the same day that senior Russian general Sergei Surovikin was reportedly sacked as air force chief.
Gen Surovikin was known to have good relations with Prigozhin and had not been seen in public since the mutiny.
Prigozhin's aircraft - an Embraer-135 (EBM-135BJ) - was flying from Moscow to St Petersburg on Wednesday with seven passengers and three crew, Russia's Rosaviatsia aviation authority said.
Senior Wagner commander Dmitry Utkin - who founded the group in 2014 - was also on the passenger list, it said.
The plane is reported to have come down near the village of Kuzhenkino, about half-way between Moscow and St Petersburg.
One report said the body of Prigozhin, 62, had been found and identified - this has not been officially confirmed.
All 10 bodies have been recovered, Russia's state-run news agency Interfax said.
Grey Zone said local residents had heard two bangs before the crash and had seen two vapour trails.
Tass news agency said the plane had caught fire on hitting the ground.
The aircraft had been in the air for less than half-an-hour, it added.
An investigation has been launched into the crash and emergency services are searching the scene.
At the same time, Grey Zone reported that a second business jet owned by Prigozhin had landed safely in the Moscow region.
The mercenary group has about 25,000 fighters.
The group has been active in Ukraine, Syria and west Africa, and has gained a reputation for brutality.
Prigozhin headed the mutiny on 23-24 June, moving his troops from Ukraine, seizing the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, and threatening to march on Moscow.
The move came after months of tension with Russian military commanders over the invasion of Ukraine launched by President Putin in 2014.
The stand-off seemed to have been settled by a deal which allowed Wagner troops to move to Belarus or join the Russian army.
Prigozhin himself agreed to relocate to Belarus - but has apparently been able to move freely, making public appearances in Russia and releasing a video of him purportedly in Africa.
Unverified pictures appear to show the plane on fire
But several Russia watchers have described him as a "dead man walking" since the mutiny.
President Putin's initial reaction to his challenge to Russia's defence establishment was vitriolic, calling it a betrayal and a stab in the back in a video message on 24 June.
The deal did not mean he was safe.
"Revenge", commented CIA director William Burns, "is a dish Putin prefers served cold" - or words to that effect.
None of this, of course, is proof that Prigozhin and his entourage were deliberately targeted.
But given the circumstances any claims that his demise, if confirmed, was an accident will see a lot of eyebrows raised.
US President Joe Biden said he was "not surprised" by news of Prigozhin's possible death. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66599733 |
Billy Vunipola to miss England Rugby World Cup opener after red card - BBC Sport | 2023-08-23 | Number eight Billy Vunipola will miss England's opening game of the World Cup against Argentina following his red card against Ireland. | Last updated on .From the section Rugby Union
Number eight Billy Vunipola will miss England's opening game of the World Cup with Argentina following his red card against Ireland.
He was shown a yellow card for a high challenge on Ireland's Andrew Porter on Saturday which was upgraded to a red.
Vunipola has been banned for three games but it can be reduced to two if he completes the World Rugby coaching programme on tackling.
England's final warm-up game is against Fiji this Saturday.
The World Cup in France starts on 8 September and England meet Argentina the following day.
England coach Steve Borthwick will also be without captain Owen Farrell for England's first two pool games after World Rugby successfully appealed against the decision to overturn his red card in the win over Wales on 12 August.
Officially named the coaching intervention programme, 'tackle school' is allowed to be taken once in each player's career and is intended to modify the specific techniques and technical issues that lead to illegal hits.
At a video hearing held on Tuesday, Vunipola admitted that his shoulder-led tackle that struck Porter on the head was a red card offence, triggering an automatic six-game suspension.
However, the hearing saw mitigation in his clean previous record, his immediate remorse and apology and the lack of aggravating factors, thereby reducing the ban.
Vunipola is the only specialist number eight selected in England's 33-player World Cup squad. Coach Steve Borthwick will have to use the Fiji game to look at alternatives, with Ben Earl expected to replace the Saracens forward given Tom Curry is still struggling with an ankle injury.
The decision against Vunipola means England have had a player sent off for a high tackle by rugby's new 'bunker' review system in their past two warm-up games.
Farrell became the first, having initially been shown a yellow card following a high tackle on Taine Basham.
The 'bunker' system was introduced during the Summer Nations Series to support referees in making correct decisions.
Scrum-half Danny Care says England have been working on their tackle technique every day as they look to improve their discipline.
"Billy has been through a lot in his career and has been really mature and really helpful towards the rest of the squad," said attack coach Richard Wigglesworth.
"There's no worrying about himself. He's worrying about everyone else." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/66585194 |
Rolling Stones tease new album with local newspaper advert - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | The band appear to announce their latest album with an ad for a fictional glass repair company. | Sir Mick Jagger paid an emotional tribute to the band's late drummer on their US tour last year
The Rolling Stones appear to have revealed the title of their new album with an advert for a fictional glass repair business in a local newspaper.
The ad, which appeared in the Hackney Gazette, referenced several of the band's best-known songs.
"Our friendly team promises you satisfaction," it read. "When you say gimme shelter we'll fix your shattered windows."
The band have yet to confirm the existence of their 31st studio album.
However, the advert contained several clues: A miniature version of the Stones' famous lips logo appeared as the dot above the letter i, and the glass repair business was established in 1962, the same year the band was formed.
The company's name, Hackney Diamonds, is believed to be the title of their new album - and uses the same font as the band's 1978 album Some Girls.
The phrase is local slang for broken glass - specifically the shards left on the ground after car and shop windows are smashed during a robbery.
The newspaper advert also features a phone number that customers can call to get a quote.
If they do, they hear a recorded message that says: "Welcome to Hackney Diamonds, specialists in glass repair: Don't get angry, get it fixed. Opening early September, Mare Street, E8. Register for a call at www.hackneydiamonds.com. Come on then."
The website offers fans the chance to join a mailing list, which is run by the Stones' record label, Universal Music.
The advert was first spotted by Simon Harper, founder of Clash Magazine, who posted it to X / Twitter, days after the paper went to press.
Editor Simon Murfitt told the BBC he only learned of the publicity stunt when readers wrote in asking for souvenir copies.
"Often you can't see the ads" when putting the paper together, he said. "On our page planner, it would just have said 'Universal Music'. So we had no idea what it was until it was published.
"It's normally more local businesses," he added.
The advert appeared on page three of the Hackney Gazette
A new Stones album would be their first since 2016's Blue and Lonesome, which was a collection of blues cover songs, and their first record of original material since A Bigger Bang in 2005.
It would also be the band's first release since the death of drummer Charlie Watts in August 2021 aged 80, after suffering throat cancer.
The star is known to have recorded new drum tracks with the band before his death.
"Let me put it this way," Guitarist Keith Richards recently told the Los Angeles Times, "you haven't heard the last of Charlie Watts."
He added that sessions for the album had taken longer than planned because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"If everything hadn't gotten closed down, we might've finished the damn thing," he said.
Singer Mick Jagger added: "We have a lot of tracks done, so when the tour's finished we'll assess where we are with that and continue."
Separately, it has been reported that bassist Bill Wyman was invited back to the band after three decades to record a tribute song for Watts.
In June, an unnamed source told The Sun newspaper: "Bill hasn't seen the band together for years, but always loved Charlie. This record's really a tribute to Charlie, so he couldn't say no."
It has also been rumoured that Paul McCartney and Elton John will appear on the album, which is being produced by Grammy winner Andrew Watt.
Rolling Stones podcast Hang Fire said an announcement about the album was due in September, with the release coming in October.
Murfitt says he's hoping for an exclusive interview with Jagger and Richards in the Hackney Gazette.
"I think we're owed it, aren't we? I'm looking forward to them calling us up." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-66592170 |
Women's World Cup: Three events that show the gap between men and women's football - BBC Sport | 2023-08-23 | Controversial incidents detracted from women’s achievements on the pitch during the Women’s World Cup. | The Women's World Cup was one of record attendances, huge global audiences and teams breaking new ground. But it was also one marred by incidents which detracted from momentous achievements on the pitch.
When Spain's football team stepped on to the podium on Sunday to collect their trophy after winning the Women's World Cup, adoring crowds cheered their historic achievement. Hours later, a viral video clip of Spanish federation chief Luis Rubiales kissing player Jenni Hermoso on the lips became a global talking point - sparking anger from pundits and players alike.
The incident was not lost on one of the sport's most high profile activists on equality, the US player Megan Rapinoe, who observed that women footballers are "playing two games at the same time".
"One, we're playing all against each other. And then the other one, we're all playing together to win equality and progress and what we deserve," she added.
The tournament had already started against a backdrop of discussion and disputes across nations over equal pay, bonuses and other financial support.
From Rubiales infamous kiss to Nike's decision not to make replica goalkeeper shirts, here's what three controversial World Cup moments show us about the issues women footballers still face.
• None Women's World Cup: Football's new idols in the fight for women's rights
Infantino's speech and the battle for recognition
Infantino is no stranger to raising eyebrows. Back in November 2022, the most powerful man in world football delivered a monologue on the eve of the controversial Qatar men's World Cup.
"Today I feel Qatari, I feel Arab, I feel African, I feel gay, I feel disabled, I feel a migrant worker," Fifa's president said in a news conference before the men's World Cup in Qatar, after which he was being criticised for comments "as crass as they were clumsy".
But in another World Cup news conference just nine months later and addressing "all the women", he told them they "have the power to change".
"Pick the right battles. Pick the right fights. You have the power to change. You have the power to convince us men what we have to do and what we don't have to do. You do it. Just do it. With men, with Fifa, you will find open doors. Just push the doors," he said.
It was another speech for which Infantino was criticised, with The Guardian columnist Marina Hyde calling his words "patronising women beyond belief", BBC presenter Gabby Logan said the comments were "ridiculous and reductive", while commentator Jacqui Oatley called it "nonsense".
Players didn't like it either. Norway forward Ada Hegerberg said in a sarcastic post on social media that she was "working on a little presentation to convince men".
By this point, Infantino had already drawn attention to the fact that he has four daughters. In videos of support to the Lionesses posted on social media, it was noted that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, David Beckham, even the Prince of Wales, all highlighted their daughters - but not their sons, in the case of the latter two.
Sunak and Prince William's absences from Sunday's final were also notable. Climate impact explanations were raised, but many questioned if the British Prime Minister and president of the Football Association would have missed a World Cup final if it had featured Gareth Southgate's men?
Spain's tournament build-up was marked by unrest in the camp and player revolts but, despite a deserved maiden World Cup win, further negative attention came the nation's way because of the actions of the man at the top of their federation.
Having earlier grabbed his crotch in celebration while standing near Spain's Queen Letizia and her 16-year-old daughter, Rubiales would once again display "unacceptable" behaviour as he took his place on the podium.
Greeting Spain's players as they received their World Cup winners' medals, he grabbed Jenni Hermoso by the head before forcibly planting a kiss on her lips, surrounded by cameras, the eyes of millions watching on.
As Hermoso moved away, he continued to kiss her team-mates on the cheek and neck as he embraced each and every one of them. Later in the dressing room, he told them they must visit Ibiza, as that would be where he would marry Hermoso.
"I did not enjoy that", the Spanish forward told the press, though later defended Rubiales albeit through quotes released by the Spanish FA itself - while the country's politicians said it was a "form of sexual violence" that cannot be "normalised". On Tuesday, Spain's acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called it an "unacceptable gesture", while another politician called on him to resign.
Rubiales later admitted he was "completely wrong", after the global backlash, but an emergency Spanish FA meeting on Friday may result in further action.
Rapinoe, speaking to American magazine The Atlantic, said Rubiales' actions "signals such a deep level of misogyny and sexism in that federation", adding: "It made me think about how much we are required to endure.
"What kind of upside-down world are we in? On the biggest stage, where you should be celebrating, Jenni [Hermoso] has to be physically assaulted by this guy."
The shirt saga and support for players
And then you have the story that has run and run with no sign of a solution any time soon.
Football fans, particularly those young, impressionable supporters, have worn the names of their heroes on their backs for years. But if your hero is Mary Earps, bad luck.
The England goalkeeper may be fast becoming a household name with individual awards - the world's top goalkeeper at the Fifa Best awards, the Golden Glove winner in Australia and New Zealand - racking up, but her match shirt is nowhere to be seen.
In July, Earps said she was "hurt" that fans could not buy a replica of her goalkeeper jersey, manufacturers Nike reportedly not having women's goalkeeper kits on public sale as part of their commercial strategy. A quick online search finds an England men's goalkeeper shirt readily available to buy.
It could be seen as a missed commercial opportunity for the brand, given replicas of Earps' Manchester United kit, produced by Adidas, sold out last season.
On Sunday, Nike said they were "working towards solutions for future tournaments". At the time of writing, a petition calling on Nike to re-think their decision has amassed more than 130,000 signatures.
Earps responded to Nike's statement on Instagram, writing: "Is this your version of an apology/taking accountability/a powerful statement of intent?".
In the end, fans took matters in to their own hands, getting the fabric pens out and fashioning their own versions.
The only two people who managed to get hold of Earps goalkeeper jerseys were her own parents - proudly wearing the old match shirts in loyal support.
For all the above, this was a tournament that brought an immense amount of hope and confidence that respect for women's football is actually headed in the right direction.
But as Dr Ali Bowes - a lecturer in the sociology of women's sport at Nottingham Trent University - recently told BBC News, "sport is a microcosm of society".
"If you can tackle gender inequality in sport, you're going to go some way to tackling gender inequality problems in the wider world." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66579953 |
French airport to be renamed after Queen Elizabeth II in tribute - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Le Touquet says it has blessing from King to rename its airport after his late mother. | An airport in France will be renamed in honour of Queen Elizabeth II after receiving permission from the King, officials in the town have said.
Le Touquet, in northern France, received the blessing from the King on Monday, its town hall said.
The town hall said the tribute to the "Great Queen" would also recognise the "most British of French resorts".
A date for the inauguration has not been set.
It comes after the original proposal was made to the British Crown six days after the death of the Queen on 8 September last year.
Le Touquet explained it was also a nod to the late Queen's uncle, Edward VIII, who visited the resort to enjoy horse riding and sand yachting, sometimes accompanied by his niece when she was not yet Queen.
"That King Charles III accepted the proposal of the mayor of Le Touquet further reinforces the strategy of the latter who wants to affirm Le Touquet as 'the most British of French resorts'," Le Touquet's town hall added.
The airport was designed in the 1930s to welcome Britons to the coastal town about an hour's drive from Calais. President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte also have a holiday home there.
The town hopes its airport's new name will strengthen the link between the town and the UK, and welcome tourist planes from across the Channel.
Next month, Le Touquet will host the England rugby team when it plays in Rugby World Cup being hosted in France.
Buckingham Palace and the Cabinet Office have been contacted for comment on the renaming. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66577824 |
Bus drivers happier if passengers say hello - survey - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | A pilot in west London urges passengers to greet bus drivers, resulting in a small positive impact. | Bus drivers reported feeling more appreciated if greeted by passengers
Passengers who greet bus drivers as they embark or disembark have a small positive impact on drivers' wellbeing, a survey has suggested.
A pilot in Hammersmith saw stickers put on some buses to encourage people to say hello or thank you to the driver.
In non-stickered buses, just two in 10 people greeted the driver, which rose to three in 10 in stickered buses.
A survey of 77 drivers indicated a greeting from a passenger was meaningful to them, researchers said.
The survey, carried out by the University of Sussex, Transport for London (TfL) and research company Neighbourly Lab, also found more than 80% of passengers at one bus stop believed that saying hello had a positive impact but less than a quarter actually did it.
Some bus drivers - who on average have salaries of £26,000 (entry grade) which can rise to more than £31,000, according to Go Ahead London which operates a quarter of the capital's buses - said passenger interaction made them feel "respected", "seen" and "appreciated".
Dr Gillian Sandstrom, director of the Sussex Centre for Research on Kindness, said the results suggest "micro-interactions like these are more well-received, and more meaningful than most of us realise".
Tom Cunnington, head of bus business development at TfL, said: "Recognition and acknowledgement of each other is something we should encourage more, and I hope we can expand on this across London."
Follow BBC London on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hellobbclondon@bbc.co.uk
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-66591708 |
Republican debate sees clashes on abortion, spending and Trump - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | As eight top Republicans debate on stage in Milwaukee, Trump releases a cannily timed interview. | Eight candidates have made their case to be the Republican presidential candidate for 2024.
It was not a calm and civil debate, there were fiery clashes across multiple topics.
Over the coming days, we're likely to see the candidates tout their own performances in the debate, and continue to spar on the key issues including the economy, crime, immigration and the border.
We're also likely to hear more from the party's front-runner - Donald Trump - who was not in attendance.
Instead, he appeared in an interview with Tucker Carlson on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Trump's shadow loomed over the debate, but perhaps not as large as many thought it would.
You can read more analysis on the winners and losers of the debate here.
Thanks for joining us. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-us-canada-66594115 |
Taymouth Castle: Row over £300m redevelopment shatters peace - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Protesters fear it will be a resort for millionaires, but backers say most residents support the plans. | Access to parts of the estate are limited due to construction work on the project
The Perthshire village of Kenmore is a tranquil tourist destination at the northern end of Loch Tay which is home to a few hundred people.
But the peace has been shattered by a row over the £300m redevelopment of nearby Taymouth Castle by American real estate firm Discovery Land Company (DLC).
A protest group has been campaigning against the proposals for the 450-acre Perthshire estate - but the local community council say local residents are largely in favour of the plans.
DLC's website says those proposals include the restoration of the castle and golf course, building 167 new homes, and landscaping park and woodlands.
The castle dates from 1842. Planning permission to renovate it and build hundreds of homes on the estate was granted between 2005 and 2011, with various developers coming and going in the meantime.
Taymouth Castle and the surrounding estate are undergoing a £300m redevelopment
DLC bought the castle in 2018 and since then has been buying nearby land and businesses.
These include the Kenmore Hotel and the village shop, which are both currently being renovated, as well as cottages earmarked for estate staff.
But DLC's other international developments, which they call "worlds", are causing concern for the protest group, Protect Loch Tay.
These "worlds" are exclusive affairs in places like Dubai, the Hamptons in New York, and Barbuda in the West Indies.
DLC describes them as "private residential club communities," but is emphatic Taymouth will not be a gated community.
DLC bought the castle in 2018 and have been buying nearby land and businesses since then
However, Protect Loch Tay fears that the developer is creating a private resort for millionaires that won't benefit the wider community.
They are also concerned over access rights and the local environment.
Rob Jamieson, from the protest group, said: "Gates don't have to be physical. It can be gated purely by pricing everybody out of the place."
The group say individual planning applications submitted by DLC are being "drip-fed to the community" and this is "neither fair nor ethical".
But Kenmore and District Community Council say locals are largely in favour of both the development and DLC's purchase of a number of businesses and properties in the village.
Colin Morton said there was widespread local support for the development
Protect Loch Tay's petition calling for a halt to further and future development has attracted almost 150,000 signatures - but Colin Morton from the local community council is sceptical.
He said: "On the electoral roll for our little community here there are only 200 adults. So where are all these people coming from?
"The petition people tell us they have supporters from all around the world.
"I'm not sure why they feel that they're qualified to tell us how to manage our community."
Protect Loch Tay said the majority of signatures were from people in Scotland, and that they had been contacted by Kenmore residents opposed to the development.
Protect Loch Tay said the majority of people signing their petition were from Scotland
The group's organisers do not want to be pictured after receiving online abuse.
Mr Jamieson said: "We'd like it (the redevelopment) to be stopped where it is just now until it gets looked at properly, and there's a full plan and everybody can see what their intentions are.
"We all move forward knowing what's going on and people can object then to things once they see them."
The row escalated earlier this month, with the community council telling the protest group to "step back and leave it alone".
The community council said the group was misinformed and unrepresentative of the wishes of local people, and accused it of "misinformation and scaremongering".
Keith Mitchell from the Kenmore Bakery is one of those backing the project
Keith Mitchell, who runs the Kenmore Bakery and backs the development said: "If someone is prepared to spend so much of their money, it's up to them to do what they want, within the bounds of local regulations and national regulations.
"They should be allowed to get on and do the job for the benefit of their business and our community."
He said he had no issue with the purchases of local properties, citing a tradition of estate staff being based in the village.
"Everything in this area centred round the castle. The gardens where the Kenmore Club is now, that used to employ a vast amount of men.
"The Mains of Taymouth used to be the dairy and the gasworks, it was all geared round the castle," he said.
Mr Jamieson said that buying up properties and making them available for staff could be a good thing in itself.
"That would be fair enough. I think what they're actually trying to do is, they're creating a dormitory of Kenmore for their staff," he added.
The scale of the £300m development can be seen from the air
Hundreds of people recently attended a public meeting called in nearby Aberfeldy by local politicians over the development.
Issues raised included the potential impact on wildlife, difficulties understanding the extensive planning applications, how exclusive the estate will be, and fishing access on Loch Tay.
Those backing the project said not enough was being done to highlight its economic and employment benefits.
Protect Loch Tay have submitted 15 requests to DLC, including a report on the social and economic impact of the development and a commitment to "fully honour all access throughout the entire Taymouth Estate".
Colin Morton, from the community council, said there was considerable oversight for the development from organisations like Forestry Scotland; the Scottish Environment Protection Agency on water quality and environment issues; Perth and Kinross Council on planning; and the Scottish government on "the bigger picture".
"That's democracy at work," he added.
DLC have also purchased a number of properties in the village
DLC declined to comment or put anyone forward for interview despite repeated requests from BBC Scotland.
The company said it had published a question and answer section about the development on its website.
But, David O'Donoghue the castle's new general manager, has replied to a letter from local SNP politicians John Swinney and Pete Wishart, who are seeking clarity on the company's plans.
Mr O'Donoghue said the firm "hopes to earn the privilege to be considered by you as good neighbours".
He said the company would fully comply with all legislative requirements, "particularly with regard to public access".
"We are 100% committed to not just working in harmony with the environment, infrastructure, businesses and way of life, but wherever possible to enhance them - and do so in a way that respects the land, people and traditions," he added. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-66536183 |
Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin latest: Pentagon dismisses missile theory - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | The Pentagon dismisses reports that a surface-to-air missile brought down the Wagner boss's aircraft. | It's more than a day after a private jet crashed near Moscow - killing ten people, who reportedly included Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Information is still emerging - but here are the key things we do know.
US officials are among those who think it's "likely" the Wagner leader was on board the crashed plane. But there's still been no explicit confirmation of this, as you'll see from our earlier post analysing the words of Russian President Vladimir Putin. We know that Prigozhin was on the passenger list that was released by Russian air officials soon after the incident.
Various theories have emerged as to what brought the plane down. It has been reported that a surface-to-air missile may have struck the plane, but the Pentagon has said it has no indication that one was used. A US official has told the BBC’s US partner network CBS that an explosion on board was a more probable cause - and that it was possible a bomb went off.
Fingers have been pointed at members of the Russian leadership, thought there is no proof that any of them were involved. Breaking his silence on the incident, Putin called it a “tragedy” and reiterated that an investigation was under way. Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country had nothing to do with the crash.
4. The circumstances of the crash
We know that the aircraft - an Embraer-135 (EBM-135BJ) - was flying from Moscow to St Petersburg on Wednesday. It had seven passengers and three crew, according to Russia's aviation authority. The plane come down near the village of Kuzhenkino, about halfway between Moscow and St Petersburg. All 10 people on board were killed. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-66599774 |
Youth mental illness drives rise in benefit claims, study suggests - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | There has been a sharp rise in people in their 20s and 30s claiming disability benefits, a think tank says. | An increase in younger people claiming disability benefits is being driven by a "staggering" rise in mental health issues, a think tank says.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said there had been a striking increase in claim rates for working-age adults over the past decade.
The rise is particularly stark for adults in their 20s and 30s.
The figures have implications for public finances, as spending on disability benefits grows.
In a new report, the IFS found that while physical disabilities are continuing to increase with age, for younger age groups disabilities due to mental health conditions are rising.
Meanwhile, the proportion of 30-year-olds claiming disability benefits has risen from around 2% in 2002 to around 4% in 2022, with most of the increase happening in the past decade.
In contrast, the proportion of those 60 and over claiming disability benefits are almost the same as they were in 2002.
The main disability benefit for working-age adults is personal independence payment. Eligibility is unrelated to whether someone is able to work so many younger claimants may still be in employment.
Heidi Karjalainen, one of the authors of the report, said growing awareness and less stigma around mental health, meaning people are more likely to report suffering from poor mental health, was "part of the story" but "that doesn't mean it's not a problem".
She told the BBC mental health conditions had "a real life impact", including an increase in benefit claims and pressure on the NHS, as well as affecting people's ability to work and continue education.
The number of people not working in the UK due to long-term sickness has risen to record levels since the pandemic, with an increase in mental health issues in younger people partly blamed for the rise.
The government says getting people back to work is a key priority, with the issue contributing to worker shortages and the UK economy doing less well than other developed countries.
The IFS also found a large increase in the proportion of school-age children receiving disability benefits, mainly disability living allowance, from 2-3% in 2002 to 5-7% in 2022.
It said this was largely accounted for by increases in claims for learning disabilities, behavioural disorders and ADHD.
Ms Karjalainen said there was concern this could translate into lower education attainment and job prospects, with implications for efforts to get people into work and tackle inequality.
The IFS report found those with low levels of education were more likely to have a poor mental health or a disability and this was much more likely to result in them being unemployed.
At the age 30, the rate of disability is 8% for degree holders and 24% for those with no qualifications, the IFS said.
Nil Guzelgun, policy and campaigns manager for mental health charity Mind, said the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis had both contributed to a rise young people struggling to cope.
She said the charity was "deeply concerned" by the IFS findings.
Mind is calling for the government to overhaul the benefits system and do more to help people with mental health problems into work.
A government spokesman said: "We're investing an extra £2bn to help more people with disabilities and health conditions into work and grow the economy - with the latest figures showing inactivity has fallen by over 300,000 since the pandemic peak."
For those who cannot yet return to work, he said the government was also spending an extra £2.3bn a year by March 2024 to improve mental health services.
If you've been affected by any of the issues raised here and would like to get in touch with us, you can email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any submission. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-66592814 |
Murray Foote appointed as new SNP chief executive - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | The party's former head of communications previously quit his role amid a row over membership numbers. | Murray Foote stood down from his previous role with the party amid a row over membership numbers
The SNP has appointed its former head of communications Murray Foote as its new chief executive.
Mr Foote resigned from his previous role in March amid a row over the party's membership numbers.
He had described a newspaper report that they had dropped by 30,000 as "drivel", but it was later confirmed the figure was correct.
He replaces Peter Murrell who stood down after taking responsibility for misleading the media.
Mr Foote said: "I am delighted to take up this important role and look forward to helping build the campaign for independence, both by strengthening the SNP's headquarter functions and supporting the party's formidable organisation across Scotland."
He was previously editor-in-chief at the Daily Record and Sunday Mail newspapers from February 2014 to March 2018 before joining the SNP as the party's communications chief.
First Minister Humza Yousaf said Mr Foote would bring a "wealth of experience and talent to the role."
On X, formerly Twitter, he said: "I'm delighted to have him on board as we look to strengthen the SNP HQ, empower our incredible activists across Scotland and build a winning campaign for independence."
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by Humza Yousaf This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Both Mr Foote and Peter Murrell - who is the husband of Nicola Sturgeon - stepped down during the dispute over SNP membership numbers, with the party initially denying claims it had lost 30,000 members.
The SNP later admitted that its membership had fallen to 72,186 from the 104,000 it had two years previously.
Mr Foote said he had issued agreed party responses to the media which "created a serious impediment" to his role.
He maintained that he had issued the responses in "good faith as a courtesy to colleagues at party HQ".
After his resignation, Mr Foote spoke out against the police investigation into the SNP's funding and finances, calling the process a "wild goose chase" and a "grotesque spectacle".
Peter Murrell - the SNP's former chief executive - also quit his post in the row over the party issuing misleading membership figures to the media
Mr Murrell and Nicola Sturgeon have since been arrested and questioned as part of the police inquiry, along with the former SNP treasurer Colin Beattie.
All were released without charge pending further investigation.
Mr Foote will take up his role from Monday of next week.
A Scottish Conservative spokesman said the SNP were "merely reshuffling the same people into different posts".
He added: "Nicola Sturgeon and her husband may be in the background but their top team are still running the show in the party under Humza Yousaf."
Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: "Presented with the chance of a fresh start for the SNP after years of secrecy, Humza Yousaf has instead appointed Murray Foote as the successor to the beleaguered Peter Murrell.
"This is just the latest continuity candidate to be brought back by Humza Yousaf who is desperately trying to get the band back together ahead of what could be their farewell tour."
This is one of the biggest jobs in Scottish politics. But it comes with immediate challenges.
The police investigation into the SNP's finances is rumbling on, and there's likely to be a general election next year where dozens of seats will have to be fiercely defended.
Mr Foote's return has also given political opponents an opportunity to accuse the party of resorting to recycling figures from its past.
But it's easy to see why a party would want Murray Foote on board. He's an experienced operator, not just in the political world but also in journalism.
As a former national newspaper editor he's no stranger to managing big teams, taking high-pressure decisions, and predicting where the news agenda is likely to go.
His predecessor in the role, Peter Murrell, was hugely influential and stayed in the job for just shy of 25 years.
Murray Foote probably isn't aiming for quite the same tenure, but he'll hope he can steady the SNP ship in challenging times. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-66596560 |
Andrew Tate BBC interview: Influencer challenged on misogyny and rape allegations - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | This is the influencer's first TV interview with a major broadcaster while under house arrest. | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Andrew Tate has denied fuelling a culture of misogyny and defended his reputation in a combative interview with the BBC.
When the BBC put a range of allegations to him - including specific accusations of rape, human trafficking and exploiting women, for which he is being investigated by Romanian prosecutors - he dismissed them.
When pushed on whether his controversial views on women harmed young people, the influencer claimed he was a "force for good" and that he was "acting under the instruction of God to do good things".
This was Mr Tate's first television interview with a major broadcaster since being released into house arrest from police custody in Romania in April.
Mr Tate, who has repeatedly expressed his mistrust of traditional media, has a huge following online but his views have until now gone unchallenged in a direct interview like this.
He agreed to our interview with no set conditions.
He dismissed the testimonies of individual women involved in the current investigation who have accused him of rape and exploitation.
And he described another woman, interviewed anonymously by the BBC earlier this year, as "imaginary", saying she had been invented by the BBC.
The woman in question, given the pseudonym Sophie to protect her identity, told BBC Radio 4's File on Four that she followed Mr Tate to Romania believing he was in love with her. There, she was pressured into webcam work and into having Mr Tate's name tattooed on her body, she said.
When questioned about Sophie's testimony, Mr Tate told the BBC: "I'm doing you the favour as legacy media, giving you relevance, by speaking to you. And I'm telling you now, this Sophie, which the BBC has invented, who has no face. Nobody knows who she is. I know."
Sophie is now helping Romanian prosecutors with the investigation.
I also put to him the concerns of schoolteachers, senior police figures and rights campaigners about the influence of his views.
These concerns include comments by the chief executive of Rape Crisis in England and Wales, who said she was "deeply concerned by the dangerous ideology of misogynistic rape culture that Mr Tate spreads".
Sitting across from me in a small armchair, Mr Tate said those accusations were "absolute garbage".
Later in the interview, he said it was "completely disingenuous" to "pretend" that he was damaging young people.
Andrew Tate denied fuelling a culture of misogyny and defended his reputation.
When asked about organisations that blamed him for increased incidents of girls being attacked, and female teachers being harassed, he said: "I have never, ever encouraged a student to attack a teacher, male or female, ever.
"I preach hard work, discipline. I'm an athlete, I preach anti-drugs, I preach religion, I preach no alcohol, I preach no knife crime. Every single problem with modern society I'm against."
Mr Tate suggested that some of his comments had been taken out of context or intended as "jokes" - including a video discussion in which he said that a woman's intimate parts belonged to her male partner.
"I don't know if you understand what sarcasm is. I don't know if you understand what context is. I don't know if you understand what's satirical content," he told me when challenged over the comment.
His description does not match the tone in an online video seen by the BBC.
He also denied admitting to emotional manipulation of women, despite comments made on a previous version of his online coaching course, Hustlers University.
An introduction on that site began: "My name is Andrew Tate… and I'm the most competent person on the entire planet to teach you about male-female interactions."
It goes on to say that Mr Tate's job was to "meet a girl, go on a few dates, sleep with her, get her to fall in love with me to where she'd do anything I say, and then get her on a webcam so we could become rich together".
The page has since been taken down.
When asked about it in our interview, Mr Tate replied, "I've never said that."
I suggested that making controversial statements had brought him a lot of money by attracting followers who then signed up for a paid course on how to become a successful man.
Mr Tate replied: "I genuinely am a force for good in the world. You may not understand that yet, but you will eventually. And I genuinely believe I am acting under the instruction of God to do good things, and I want to make the world a better place."
During our conversation, which lasted nearly forty minutes, Mr Tate pointed several times to what he called the "little pieces of paper" I had brought with me, telling me I was "saying silly things" and should "do some research".
In a sign of his mistrust of traditional media, our visit and interview were filmed by his team for their own use - and after we left he claimed that the BBC had promised only to ask "sanitised questions".
While the BBC did provide topics of discussion before the interview as a matter of courtesy, as per our editorial guidelines, we did not agree the questions we would ask in advance and were clear that our interview would be a wide-ranging, dynamic discussion with challenging questions.
Before we had even left the building, Mr Tate posted a message on social media promising to publish his own version of the interview, which he did shortly after.
The BBC has followed his case closely since the end of last year, when the Tate brothers were taken into custody, and has spoken to witnesses, former employees, neighbours and associates, and those involved in the investigation, to piece together an accurate picture of the Tate brothers' time in Romania.
The brothers are now in their sixth - and last - month under judicial control in this investigation, and any indictment is expected within the next few weeks.
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-europe-65780107 |
Greek fires rage after migrant tragedy near border - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | The bodies of 18 males were found in a forest in northern Greece where fires have burned for days. | Some of the worst fires are close to the outskirts of north-west Athens
Fires that have claimed 20 lives in Greece are still burning out of control in foothills near Athens and the Evros region near the border with Turkey.
Eighteen of those killed are thought to be refugees and migrants who crossed the border recently, hiding in forests north of the city of Alexandroupolis.
Greece has expressed its deepest sorrow for the deaths in the Dadia forest close to the Turkish border.
For five days, fires have burned near the city and west along the coast.
Firefighters are also trying to stop a fire spreading from the slopes of Mount Parnitha, to the north-west of Athens.
Their efforts are being hindered by strong winds whipping up the flames and searing heat of up to 40C (104F).
The victims were found on Tuesday by the fire service near a shack outside the village of Avantas, to the north of Alexandroupolis.
"Unfortunately, their stay in the Dadia forest proved fatal," said government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis, pointing out that the alarm had been raised in the area where they were found and evacuation messages had been sent on the mobile 112 emergency service.
A satellite image shows the scale of the fires burning near Alexandroupolis this week
Migrants and refugees trying to reach the European Union face many perils - being beaten, robbed, arrested, forced back across a border, or drowning in the Mediterranean. Now the risks also include a ring of fire in northern Greece.
Fire service spokesman Yiannis Artopios said there had been no reports of missing residents and it is widely assumed those who died had recently crossed Greece's long, snaking border with Turkey along the River Evros.
For many who are desperate to reach EU soil, the river is their gateway and the vast forest on the other side provides cover.
All the dead were male, and two were minors according to local coroner Pavlos Pavlidis, who said the bodies were found within a 500m (1,640ft) radius, some near a sheep pen.
Their bodies have been taken to Alexandroupolis for post-mortem examinations. But identifying them will be difficult and authorities will need relatives to come forward.
One Syrian man told the BBC he fears his 27-year-old cousin died in the blaze as he has been unable to reach him for four days. The cousin was among a group of Syrians, Afghans and Iraqis hoping to follow a well-worn path through the forest.
The Syrian said they would not have called Greek authorities for help, despite the evacuation order, for fear of being sent back across the border to Turkey.
Greek police say throughout August as many as 900 people a day have tried to get across the border and hundreds of traffickers have been arrested. People smuggling is a big business involving criminal networks.
Overnight at the Ipsala border crossing between Turkey and Greece a group of young men tried to climb on to a lorry waiting to enter Greece.
One managed to conceal himself by lying flat on the top. The others melted away into the darkness when they were spotted.
Many residents in the villages around Alexandroupolis are furious, as they believe the fires are caused by migrants who cross the border and hide in the forest before heading inland.
There is no evidence, though, that this fire in the Dadia forest was caused by migrants. Earlier this week the mayor of Alexandroupolis blamed the fires on a lightning strike during a storm.
A video filmed in the Alexandroupolis area has provoked uproar in Greece after it showed a man "arresting" refugees and migrants and locking them in a trailer attached to his car. The man walks around the trailer, accusing the migrants and refugees of trying to burn Greeks. He then opens the door showing several frightened young men.
Police said the man had been arrested, along with two people suspected of helping him. They added that the video had involved the illegal detention of "13 illegal immigrants of Syrian and Pakistani origin".
In a separate development, Supreme Court Prosecutor Georgia Adeilini has called for a dual inquiry into the causes of the fires in the Evros region and into alleged incidents of racist violence against migrants that have followed the 18 deaths in the Dadia forest.
The bodies were found in Avantas, a village badly damaged by fire this week
On the other side of the border, in the Canakkale province of western Turkey, wildfires have continued for a second day, prompting authorities to evacuate 1,200 residents from 11 villages.
Marine traffic was suspended on Wednesday in the Dardanelles Strait between the Aegean and the Black Sea to allow helicopters and other aircraft to pick up water to fight the flames.
Fires are still burning in the Dadia forest in north-eastern Greece but the biggest front in the Evros region is now to the west of Alexandroupolis.
The situation on the outskirts of Athens is proving increasingly difficult for firefighters and three nursing homes have been evacuated from the town of Menidi.
Homes have already burned Hasia and Fyli, in the foothills of Mount Parnitha.
Greek officials have called for the evacuation of thousands of people from the big district of Ano Liosia in the north-west of the capital, although many have refused to leave. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66590914 |
British Museum treasures safe, MP insists after thefts - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Greece accused of "opportunism" over claims thefts from the museum suggest it is not protecting artefacts. | The British Museum is one of the most popular visitor attractions in the UK
Greek claims that the British Museum is not safe after a series of thefts are "blatant opportunism", the chair of its cross-party group has said.
MP Tim Loughton said it was "incredibly rare" for items to go missing and the institution was taking it "seriously".
Archaeologist Despoina Koutsoumba said the museum could no longer claim Greek heritage was being protected.
Greece has long campaigned for the return of the Parthenon sculptures also known as the Elgin Marbles.
The institution said a staff member had been sacked after treasures were reported "missing, damaged or stolen".
Legal action is being taken by the museum against the unnamed member of staff.
The Economic Crime Command of the Metropolitan Police is investigating but no arrests have been made. The museum has also started an independent review of security.
Items including gold, jewellery and semi-precious gemstones are among those missing, though the museum has not specified which items in particular.
It is now believed that more than 1,500 objects were stolen, damaged and destroyed, in a crisis that is threatening the institution's reputation.
According to the PA news agency, the missing items are believed to have been taken over a "significant" period of time.
Mr Loughton, who chairs the British Museum All-Party Parliamentary Group, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that news of items going missing from the collection in London was "damaging", but so too were claims the museum was not safe.
"What is particularly damaging is [the] blatant opportunism of the Greeks and others saying, 'Oh no, the British Museum is not safe'," he said.
The Tory MP, who has been in touch with the museum, said it had undertaken a "tremendous amount of work cataloguing" items in its collection and had the most online documentation in the world.
"People want to know the extent of the objects which have disappeared, what investigations took place at the time when various reports came in and what is being done now because otherwise [it's] getting out of hand," he added.
His comments follow renewed calls by officials in Greece for the return of the Parthenon sculptures - among the most high-profile contested items in the museum's collection.
Parthenon Sculptures, which are originally from the temple of Athena in Greece, were brought to Britain by Lord Elgin
The sculptures, also known as the Elgin Marbles, once adorned the Parthenon atop the Acropolis in Athens and have been on display in the museum since the 19th Century.
Greece has long claimed they were illegally acquired during a period of foreign occupation.
Ms Koutsoumba, director of the Association of Greek Archaeologists, told BBC Radio 4's World Tonight programme that it was "obvious" the sculptures would be well protected in Greece, not in the museum.
"We are very much worried how many Greek items were [among] these stolen items and we want to tell the British Museum that they cannot anymore say that Greek cultural heritage is more protected in the British Museum," she said.
"They have to return the Parthenon marbles back because they are not safe in London."
She added that the potential security issues the thefts have exposed were a "problem for all museums in the world".
"All museums in the world have to learn what happened in the British Museum so that if we have problems in our security protocols [we can] change it," she said.
The BBC has also seen correspondence showing that an art dealer alerted the museum to the alleged stolen items in 2021.
Ittai Gradel alleged in February 2021 he had seen items online belonging to the museum, according to the correspondence.
Deputy director Jonathan Williams responded in July 2021 to Mr Gradel, saying "there was no suggestion of any wrongdoing".
The museum's independent review is being led by former museum trustee Sir Nigel Boardman and Lucy D'Orsi, Chief Constable of British Transport Police. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66592354 |
Officer charged with perjury over Police Scotland sexism case - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Keith Warhurst spoke at a tribunal that found evidence of a sexist culture in Police Scotland's firearms unit. | A police inspector who gave evidence in an employment tribunal that found a female officer was victimised has been charged with perjury.
Keith Warhurst spoke at the case brought by Rhona Malone, which found evidence of a "boys' club" culture in Police Scotland's firearms unit.
His evidence was criticised by the tribunal, which concluded in 2021.
It came about after Mr Warhurst said two female firearms officers should not be deployed together in an email.
A settlement was reached in which Ms Malone was to be paid nearly £1m by Police Scotland.
BBC News understands Mr Warhurst has been suspended from the force.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "On Thursday, 17 August, 2023, a 48-year-old man was charged in connection with a perjury offence. A report has been submitted to the Procurator Fiscal."
The tribunal heard in 2021 that Ms Malone, who was based in Edinburgh, was a committed police constable who had an exemplary record.
It accepted evidence that the culture in parts of armed policing was "horrific" and an "absolute boys' club."
The tribunal said Rhona Malone was to be paid nearly £1m by the force
One female officer said she was told women should not be firearms officers because they menstruate and this would affect their temperament.
When Ms Malone raised concerns about her experiences she was offered a small payout on the condition she signed a non disclosure agreement (NDA) to stop her speaking out.
She refused and ended up taking her case to a tribunal.
Ms Malone's solicitor said the findings were a watershed moment for Police Scotland.
Former Chief Constable Iain Livingstone said an independent force would review the judgement over "legitimate concern" about what it had found.
He said: "Misogyny, sexism and discrimination of any kind are deplorable. They should have no place in society and no place in policing." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-66580752 |
Stonehaven crash: Network Rail to face fatal derailment charges - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Three people died when a train hit a landslide after heavy rain near Stonehaven in 2020. | The derailment happened near Stonehaven in August 2020
Network Rail is to face court action after an Aberdeenshire train crash which claimed three lives.
Driver Brett McCullough, 45, conductor Donald Dinnie, 58, and passenger Christopher Stuchbury, 62, died when the train derailed at Carmont on 12 August 2020.
Network Rail is due to face criminal action at the High Court in Aberdeen on 7 September.
The court roll, which is published by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, states the case will call under a section 76 indictment.
This procedure suggests that a guilty plea may be offered.
Network Rail said: "The Carmont derailment and the tragic loss of Christopher Stuchbury, Donald Dinnie and Brett McCullough was a terrible day for our railway and our thoughts remain with their families and all those affected by the accident.
"While we cannot comment on the ongoing legal process, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch report into Carmont made clear that there were fundamental lessons to be learnt by Network Rail and we have supported the investigation process.
"Since August 2020, we have been working hard to make our railway safer for our passengers and colleagues."
Six other people were injured when the 06:38 Aberdeen to Glasgow service hit washed-out debris at Carmont, south of Stonehaven.
The train was returning to Aberdeen due to the railway being blocked further down the line.
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) made 20 safety recommendations in the wake of the crash.
They included better management of civil engineering projects, improved response to extreme rainfall, and better understanding of the additional risk associated with older trains.
A drainage system was installed in 2011 and 2012 by now-collapsed contractor Carillion - but it was not in accordance with the design.
And Neil Davidson of Digby Brown Solicitors, which represents some of those impacted, said: "For nearly three years bereaved families and injured survivors have waited patiently for answers so the update of these criminal proceedings is generally positive.
"However, it is what actually transpires from the hearings that is important such as the nature of the charge, the outcome of the prosecution and any other information that sheds light on the mindsight of those in charge at Network Rail.
"It is fair to say that each person and family affected by this tragedy will be looking for different things from this hearing and we will continue to support our clients in their pursuit for justice and recognition." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-65017289 |
FTX founder Bankman-Fried living on bread and water, lawyer says - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | A vegan diet requested by Sam Bankman-Fried is not being provided in prison, a judge is told. | Sam Bankman-Fried was led into court wearing leg restraints and a beige prison uniform
Sam Bankman-Fried is struggling to prepare for his fraud trial due to a lack of adequate food in prison, the lawyer for the founder of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX says.
The claim came as Mr Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to seven criminal charges contained in a new indictment.
His bail was revoked two weeks ago.
At the time the judge said: "There is probable cause to believe that the defendant has attempted to tamper with witnesses at least twice."
The former billionaire's lawyer, Mark Cohen, said a lack of adequate food at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center was hampering his client's ability to prepare for his trial, which is scheduled to start in October.
Mr Bankman-Fried was "subsisting on bread and water", his lawyer said.
Mr Cohen also said Mr Bankman-Fried had not been provided with the attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) drug Adderall and that his supply of the medication Emsam to treat depression was running low.
Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn said she would ask the US Justice Department's Bureau of Prisons, which runs the jail, to address the issues with Mr Bankman-Fried's medication.
She was "reasonably confident" the facility offered vegetarian food, but was not sure whether vegan food was available, Judge Netburn added.
The Bureau of Prisons said inmates had access to "appropriate" healthcare, medicine and hot meals.
During the court hearing in New York on Tuesday he pleaded not guilty to seven criminal charges contained in a new indictment.
Mr Bankman-Fried, who was formerly nicknamed "The King of Crypto", was led into court wearing leg restraints and a beige prison uniform.
It was his first court appearance since his bail was revoked on 11 August.
Mr Bankman-Fried was jailed after sharing the personal writings of his former romantic partner and colleague, Caroline Ellison, with a journalist.
Ms Ellison, who is the former chief executive of Mr Bankman-Fried's trading firm Alameda, has pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against him.
The new indictment charged Mr Bankman-Fried with seven counts of fraud and conspiracy over the collapse of FTX in November 2022.
However, it no longer charges him with conspiring to violate US campaign finance laws.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Mr Bankman-Fried has acknowledged that FTX had inadequate risk management but has denied stealing the funds.
FTX was once the world's second largest cryptocurrency exchange and valued at $32bn (£25bn).
It filed for bankruptcy protection on 11 November, which sent shockwaves through the cryptocurrency market. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66589797 |
World Athletics Championships 2023: Britain's Josh Kerr stuns Jakob Ingebrigtsen to take 1500m gold - BBC Sport | 2023-08-23 | Britain's Josh Kerr stuns Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen to win 1500m gold at the World Championships in Budapest. | Last updated on .From the section Athletics
Britain's Josh Kerr stunned Norway's Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen to take 1500m gold at the World Championships in Budapest.
Kerr, Olympic bronze medallist in Tokyo, timed his surge for gold to perfection inside the final 200m.
The 25-year-old clocked a season's best three minutes 29.38 seconds to make his first podium at a World Championships.
It comes one year after Ingebrigtsen suffered defeat by Briton Jake Wightman in similar circumstances in Eugene.
Kerr let out an almighty roar as he crossed the line, celebrating with the crowd and embracing his parents in the stands with a crown on his head and a gold medal proudly hanging from his neck.
"It's been a long time coming," the Scot said.
"It's quite an overwhelming experience but I'm so proud of myself and of my team and my family that got me here.
"I didn't feel like I ran the best race. I just threw my whole 16 years of this sport in that last 200m and didn't give up until the end."
Ingebrigtsen, meanwhile, appeared crestfallen as history repeated itself.
The 22-year-old led from the front for much of the race before once again being denied by a gutsy finish from a British athlete, Kerr breaking his rival in the final 50m.
Ingebrigtsen held on for silver in 3:29.65 ahead of compatriot Narve Gilje Nordas (3:29.68), while Britain's Neil Gourley finished ninth in 3:31.10.
Kerr earned GB a fourth medal of the championships, and second gold, following in the footsteps of Katarina Johnson-Thompson's heptathlon triumph.
Kerr emulates Wightman to stand on top of the world
Evidently full of confidence coming in to the championships, Kerr had stated his belief that Ingebrigtsen - unbeaten this season and boasting the fastest time of 2023 - was "very beatable".
And, as 2022 champion Wightman watched on, the Scot emulated his Edinburgh Athletics Club team-mate in spectacular fashion.
Ingebrigtsen had been determined to upgrade last year's silver and took control on the second lap - but once again was powerless to respond as Kerr moved level and then refused to fade away.
The reigning world 5,000m champion came into the championships unbeaten, running the fourth-fastest 1500m of all time in July, and was a heavy favourite for gold.
Kerr had run his two fastest times since Tokyo earlier this season, but Ingebrigtsen was in unrelenting form as he built towards correcting his 2022 loss.
While his talent is undeniable, Norway's versatile star will rightly be concerned about the manner in which world gold was once again ripped from his grasp, with another Briton adding his name to the list of contenders at Paris 2024.
Kerr demonstrated his ability to produce elite level performances on the global stage when he won his Olympic bronze in 2021, becoming the first British man to win a medal over 1500m at a Games since 1988.
Battling illness when he finished fifth at last year's Worlds, he backed up that breakthrough medal here with a superbly managed run.
Men's 400m hurdles world record holder Karsten Warholm reclaimed his title with a dominant victory after his 2022 hopes were hindered by injury.
Warholm, who finished seventh last season after struggling with a hamstring injury in the run up to the meeting, had shown signs of a return to his devastating best in 2023 by producing two of the five fastest performances of all time.
The Norwegian clocked 46.89 seconds to clinch his fourth global title ahead of Kyron McMaster of the British Virgin Islands (47.34) and American Rai Benjamin (47.56).
In the women's 400m final, Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic took gold in 48.76 ahead of Poland's Natalia Kaczmarek and Barbadian Sada Williams.
Britain's Molly Caudery also shone in a thrilling women's pole vault final which saw Australian Nina Kennedy and American Katie Moon share gold.
Kennedy and Moon agreed to share the title after both athletes cleared 4.90m but neither could make 4.95m after three attempts.
A delighted Caudery, 23, produced a personal best with a clearance over 4.75m to finish fifth on her first appearance at a global championships.
Team-mate Anna Purchase qualified for the hammer throw final in 11th with a 71.31m best attempt but Charlotte Payne (69.57m) did not.
GB's Cindy Sember was unable to reach the women's 100m hurdles final with a sixth-placed semi-final finish in 12.97 secs, while Megan Keith and Amy Eloise-Markovc failed to qualify from the women's 5,000m heats, which were pushed back from the morning session because of extreme heat with temperatures well above 30C.
Markovc finished 11th in 15:13.66 in her heat - during which Sifan Hassan and 1500m gold medallist Faith Kipyegon engaged in an unnecessary sprint finish - while Keith was 14th in 15:21.94 in her race.
Aimee Pratt missed out on the women's 3,000m steeplechase medal race, finishing seventh in her heat in 9:26.37 | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/66595349 |
Nadine Dorries should lose Tory whip - Lib Dem leader Davey - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey visits Mid Bedfordshire as voters wait for their MP to formally resign. | Nadine Dorries has not spoken in the House of Commons for more than a year
The leader of the Liberal Democrats has joined calls for Rishi Sunak to "sack" Nadine Dorries, calling the Mid Bedfordshire MP a "dosser".
Sir Ed Davey made the comments on a visit to Ampthill, where he met constituents angry about her absence.
Ms Dorries said she would stand down "with immediate effect" in June in protest at not receiving a peerage.
She insisted she was "working daily with constituents" and was being targeted by political attacks.
"Myself and my team of four case workers are working daily with constituents," she told the News Agents podcast.
"I understand that political opponents... are choosing the summer and the news hungry outlets in the summer recess to be noticed. However, we are just getting on with the work."
"Nadine is letting down the people of Mid Bedfordshire," Sir Ed said. "She's totally absent."
Ms Dorries - whose claim that Mr Sunak removed her peerage nomination has been denied by Downing Street - has said she was delaying her exit while she investigated why she was refused a seat in the House of Lords.
Sir Ed Davey, on a visit to Ampthill in Bedfordshire, described Ms Dorries as a "dosser"
Although the PM does not have the power to make someone stand down as an MP, Sir Ed said Mr Sunak should remove the Conservative whip from Ms Dorries.
"Rishi Sunak should sack Nadine Dorries today. He should have done it weeks ago," he said.
"Nadine is letting down the people of Mid Bedfordshire. She's totally absent. She said she'd resign and she doesn't. People are pretty angry locally."
Mr Sunak previously said the former culture secretary's voters "aren't being properly represented", but has not moved to expel her, prompting Sir Ed to call him "weak".
Nadine Dorries, pictured in May, has held the Mid Bedfordshire seat since 2005
Ms Dorries, who hosts a weekly chat show on Talk TV, has written a book titled The Plot: The Political Assassination Of Boris Johnson, to be published in September.
She has not spoken in the House of Commons since June 2022.
Ms Dorries secured a 24,000 majority at the 2019 general election in the seat, which the Conservative Party has held since 1931.
She will not be able to formally resign and trigger a by-election until MPs return from their summer recess.
Sir Ed indicated the Lib Dems were ready to work cross-party with any other MPs who want to force Ms Dorries to step down once Parliament returns.
Fellow Tory MPs have also voiced their anger at their colleague's failure to follow through on her vow to quit.
The prime minister and Ms Dorries have been contacted for comment.
Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook and Instagram. If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk or get in touch via WhatsApp on 0800 169 1830 | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-66596718 |
Rishi Sunak inadvertently failed to declare childcare interest, rules MPs watchdog - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Rishi Sunak apologises for "inadvertent errors" when providing information about financial interests. | Prime Minister Rishi Sunak failed to declare his wife's financial interest in a childminding agency correctly, the MPs watchdog has ruled.
Daniel Greenberg, parliamentary commissioner for standards, said this arose out of "confusion" about the rules and was "inadvertent".
In a letter to Mr Greenberg, Mr Sunak said he accepted the ruling and apologised.
The inquiry is now closed and the PM will not face further action.
Labour have said Mr Sunak's case is "further evidence" the process around declaring interests needs to be overhauled.
A complaint was submitted to Mr Greenberg following Mr Sunak's appearance before MPs on the Commons Liaison Committee in March.
During the session, the prime minister was questioned about his policy to provide payments to encourage people who became childminders. The cash would be doubled for those who signed up through six private childcare firms listed on the UK government's website, with the money being used to cover the firms' fees.
Mr Sunak's wife Akshata Murty was a shareholder in one of those private firms, Koru Kids but when asked if he had any declarations to make Mr Sunak said "no, all my disclosures are declared in the normal way".
Following an investigation, Mr Greenberg said he had concluded that Ms Murty's shareholding was a relevant interest that should have been declared to MPs.
The commissioner said that, even if Mr Sunak had not been aware of the shareholding at the time of his appearance before the committee, he was aware of it when he later wrote a letter to the Committee chairman Sir Bernard Jenkin to clarify things and should, at that stage, have declared it.
Mr Sunak had recorded the shareholding under arrangements for ministers to declare their interests. That record is not publicly declared but held by civil servants.
Some of these interests are made public on the list of ministers' interests. The independent adviser on ministers' interests advises on which interests need to be included in this publicly-available list.
Mr Sunak said three different independent advisers had told him his wife's shareholdings did not need to be added.
Mr Greenberg said he accepted Mr Sunak believed that, by registering the interest, he had complied with his obligations, and so did not declare it in his letter to Sir Bernard Jenkin.
He added that Mr Sunak "had confused the concept of registration with the concept of declaration" and so the "the failure to declare arose out of this confusion and was accordingly inadvertent on the part of Mr Sunak".
Mr Greenberg said he was concluding his inquiry using what is called the "rectification procedure" - a process used to correct minor failures to declare interests.
It means the commissioner stops short of submitting a full report to MPs on the Commons Committee on Standards and Privileges for them to consider any possible further action.
Replying to Mr Greenberg, Mr Sunak said that during the Liaison Committee hearing he had "no idea" of the connection between Koru Kids and his government's childcare policy.
"It was was only after the hearing that I became aware of the link, as set out in my subsequent letter to Sir Bernard, the Chair of the Liaison Committee.
"I now understand that my letter to Sir Bernard was not sufficiently expansive regarding declaration (as distinct from registration)... On reflection, I accept your opinion that I should have used the letter to declare the interest explicitly... I apologise for these inadvertent errors and confirm acceptance of your proposal for rectification."
Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner said: "This is just further evidence that the system needs a full overhaul."
Labour have promised to set up an Ethics and Integrity Commission with greater powers to launch investigations and determine where parliamentary rules have been broken, if they are elected.
Sign up for our morning newsletter and get BBC News in your inbox. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-66596319 |
Was Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin a dead man walking? - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | 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 |
UK-India trade talks enter 'final, trickier' stage - government sources - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | A deal could be struck within months - but sources say difficult areas of negotiation remain. | UK Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch is in India for a G20 meeting this week
UK trade talks with India are reaching their "final but trickier" stages, according to government sources.
Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch is visiting India for a meeting of G20 trade ministers this week.
There has been speculation about whether a trade deal may be struck before Rishi Sunak visits India in September.
But the BBC has been told there is currently no expectation in government a full deal will be agreed by then.
Government sources said they hoped a deal could now be "months" away, but they stressed there were still some "big nuts to crack".
A trade deal with India has long been seen in government as one of the biggest prizes of all deals the UK could strike with other nations following Brexit.
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised in April last year to get an agreement "done" by Diwali in the autumn of 2022 - but that deadline was missed.
The UK has been particularly keen to strike an agreement that could bring down tariffs on UK exports including cars and whisky, which currently face triple-figure tariffs, or import taxes, in India.
Those tariffs mean UK products can have a much higher price tag in India, making them less competitive.
Trade talks have faced some hurdles in the last year, in particular due to British ministers' refusal so far to grant more visas to Indian workers.
Nick Thomas-Symonds, Labour's shadow international trade secretary, said: "The Conservatives' record on trade negotiations has been to deliver bad deals or no deals at all.
"They committed to delivering agreements with India and with the United States by the end of 2022, yet failed to meet their own deadline. So them trumpeting the latest round of trade talks falls far short the concrete action needed to get any deal across the line."
Rishi Sunak last met India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a G7 summit in May
The UK has been keen to get India to allow more UK City firms and service industries to set up business in the country.
William Bain, head of trade policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said this would be the "big win" for British businesses - particularly UK travel, business or financial services.
"Up to 80% of the UK economy is services-based," he said.
But he added: "That's one of the last areas that India would want to make agreement at this point, because that's where it has leverage.
"Having much more visa access to the UK will be part of the key things to get a deal over the line.
"If there is a future stage later in the year where the two prime ministers meet face to face for a further push - it's really going to be that issue of services access in return for better access for Indian nationals in the UK.
"It is a bigger export market and it's one which is rapidly increasing its prosperity. Also India hasn't done many trade agreements, so the UK is relatively front of the queue here."
Ms Badenoch is travelling to India to meet fellow trade ministers in the G20 group of wealthy nations, rather than to hold formal negotiations on a UK-India deal.
However, talks between officials from both sides will be ongoing in India during the visit, and she is set to have a one-on-one meeting with her Indian counterpart after the G20 meeting is over.
She will also be talking to the so-called B20, the business equivalent of the G20, chaired by Indian conglomerate Tata, which recently announced more than £4bn of investment in a gigafactory in Somerset.
The UK is hoping to proactively encourage other Indian investors to invest in the UK.
There have been some media reports, particularly in India, suggesting that a deal is "close" and could be reached to coincide with Rishi Sunak's visit for the G20 leaders' summit in September.
But officials have indicated that it is unlikely a full deal will be agreed by then.
Government sources stressed that, while the last round of talks "closed some chapters", negotiations get "harder, not easier".
UK officials are preparing for there to be a need for further talks following the trade secretary's visit this week.
Mr Sunak is expected to receive a warm welcome when he visits in September. His appointment as the first British Indian prime minister was one of the top stories across Indian media.
Indian broadcaster NDTV ran a headline at the time saying: "Indian son rises over the empire. Rishi Sunak first Indian origin UK PM. History comes full circle in Britain."
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has described him as the "living bridge" of UK Indians, while the Times of India suggested the appointment of a Hindu PM had brought India Diwali cheer.
A department for business and trade spokesperson said: "The UK and India are committed to working towards the best deal possible for both sides.
"We've made good progress in closing chapters, and are now laser-focused on goods, services and investment.
"While we cannot comment on ongoing negotiations, we are clear that we will only sign when we have a deal that is fair, balanced, and ultimately in the best interests of the British people and the economy." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-66586871 |
Stradey hotel: Asylum seekers' Llanelli arrival not imminent - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Contractor tells 300 meeting attendees in Llanelli that only families will move into Stradey Park. | Demonstrators have blocked entrances of the hotel to try to hinder efforts to prepare for the arrival of asylum seekers
A move to house asylum at a village hotel is not imminent and won't happen until the site is "signed off as safe", officials have said.
Plans for up to 241 people to live at Stradey Park Hotel in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, have led to protests, damage and arrests, police have said.
About 300 people took part in an online meeting with Home Office officials and contractors Clearsprings on Tuesday.
Locals were told only families will be placed at the hotel.
Speaking on behalf of Clearsprings, Steve Lakey said the company recognised the challenges for the community and wanted to work "resolve those issues where possible".
"Our intention for this hotel is very much entirely for family use, so there won't be any singles accommodated there, and [there] will be up to 241 people but phased over a period of time," he said.
"Nobody will be accommodated on site until it has been signed off as safe by all those statutory partners and our own teams as well."
About 300 people attended an online Q&A with a panel about plans for Stradey Park Hotel
Tim Rymer, of the Home Office, added: "I recognise the use of this hotel, any hotel, is very far from ideal. But right now it remains an operational necessity.
"I can certainly say to you now that we're not about to start moving people in, we will do that further work first, and then work through any plans with partners before we actually bring people onto the site."
A previous legal bid by Carmarthenshire council to halt the plans failed, and the authority said it was "the saddest and most divisive and difficult case we have had to deal with".
Jake Morgan, the council's deputy chief executive, said that the council still believes the hotel is "the wrong site and wrong model of care" to house the asylum seekers and "we don't believe that Clearsprings' model works".
Mr Morgan added: "We regret the loss of an iconic hotel in the county and the 100 jobs that it supported in a community that, frankly, couldn't afford to bear such a loss."
Protestors have been camping outside the hotel, leading to the owners securing a temporary injunction to restrict their activities.
Some against the move have cited lack of community consultation and information as their reason for opposing the plans.
Stradey Park Hotel in Llanelli is set to house up to 241 asylum seekers
Canon Aled Edwards, who chaired the meeting on Tuesday, told BBC Radio Wales: "There were very legitimate questions. We received many questions and they were filtered through to the panel.
"What we have to remember here is that Wales does actually have a longstanding tradition of setting up such accommodation for those who are seeking asylum.
"I think we do have a good legacy in Wales in terms of being able to handle these situations relatively well, but they are always going to be challenging."
Appealing for calm at the site moving forward, Supt Ross Evans from Dyfed-Powys Police said the past few weeks had been "extremely challenging".
He also confirmed 17 people had been arrested at the site, most happening in the past seven days, and said more were likely to follow.
In an update on Wednesday, the force said an investigation was ongoing into disorderly behaviour last week which "resulted in extensive damage to the hotel".
Supt Evans added that it was the police's intention to "work with any protest groups in advance of any events so that we can facilitate peaceful demonstration".
All questions heard at Tuesday's meeting were submitted to panel members beforehand, with no opportunity for any additional comments or questions during the session.
Following the session, Rob Lloyd, spokesman for the Furnace Action Group of protestors, said he did not feel any of his concerns were alleviated and he did not feel that the community had any trust in the Home Office or Clearsprings. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-66585127 |
Pakistan cable car: Videos of extraordinary rescues caught on camera - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Army helicopters and zip line experts were deployed in a dangerous operation that took over 12 hours. | It took over 12 hours to free all eight people stuck in a cable car dangling hundreds of metres above a ravine in Pakistan.
The army was deployed with dramatic scenes of soldiers scaling ropes but tactics were forced to change because of bad weather and dwindling daylight.
Watch the extraordinary videos of the successful rescue mission. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-66590441 |
Firms urged to stop 'text pests' hassling customers for dates - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Watchdog says it is struck by how many people get unwanted propositions from staff who have their data. | Nearly a third of young people have had unwanted propositions from "text pest" staff at firms that have their personal details, the UK's data watchdog says.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said it was "struck" by how many people had received unsolicited romantic or sexual propositions.
Its study showed that around 30% of 18-34 years olds, and a quarter of 35-44 year olds, had "fallen prey".
The ICO said that such behaviour, "quite simply, it is against the law."
Across all ages, the ICO found that 17% of the public had received unwanted contact from employees after using their businesses. London had the highest rate, with 33% of respondents in the city reporting it happening to them.
Emily Keaney, the deputy commissioner of the ICO, said that her office was prompted to commission the study by a BBC Radio 5 Live report in May by two members of staff who were victims and told the station she was "struck" by what was found.
"The number of people that this is happened to is really concerning," she told 5 Live, adding that she had launched a call for evidence from other victims to fully gauge the extent of the problem.
"There might be this misperception that this is romantic. But it is not romantic - it's not okay, it can be very intimidating and actually it's against the law," she added.
Ms Keaney said that both the company and the individual employee could be held liable for such behaviour.
"The organisations have a responsibility that when anybody shares their data that they use it in the way that we would expect - just for the purposes that it has been shared," she said.
"If they are not doing that, that is potentially a breach of data protection law.
"But also, it is potentially an offence for that individual to be accessing info and using it for personal purposes. They could end up in court and being fined for that."
Ms Keaney said that her office had launched a campaign to remind businesses of their responsibilities and "to hear about the kinds of safeguards they have in place".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. BBC Radio 5 Live looks into rising rates of GDPR harassment known as text pests.
Emma Green, the managing partner of Cyber Data Law solicitors, said that her advice was to "say to the perpetrator 'don't contact me again'. Delete the number. Complain to the company, complain to the ICO. And if anybody feels unsafe - contact the police."
The IOC research found that 66% of the public believed the practice was morally wrong. This broke down into 74% of female respondents and 58% of males.
The survey was based on interviews with 2,289 UK adults. A breakdown by gender was not provided for those who received the inappropriate messages.
"People have the right to order a pizza, or give their email for a receipt, or have shopping delivered, without then being asked for sex or a date a while later," said Ms Keaney said in an earlier statement.
The ICO urged companies to ensure they understood their responsibilities.
"If you are running a customer-facing business, you have a responsibility to protect the data of your customers, including from your employees misusing it," Ms Keaney added.
"We are writing to major businesses, including in food and parcel delivery, to remind them that there are no excuses, and there can be no looking the other way."
The ICO is the UK's independent regulator for data protection and information rights law.
If you've been affected by any of the issues raised here and would like to get in touch with us, you can email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any submission. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66588085 |
Woman receives sister's womb in first UK transplant - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | The 34-year-old hopes to now become a mum as older sister donates her womb in pioneering transplant. | A 34-year-old woman received her sister's womb in the first transplant of its kind in the UK
Surgeons in Oxford have carried out the first womb transplant in the UK.
The recipient was a 34-year-old woman, and the donor her 40-year-old sister, both of whom wish to remain anonymous.
Doctors say both recovered well from surgery and the younger sister - with her husband - has several embryos in storage, waiting to be transferred.
A team of more than 30 carried out the procedures, lasting around 17 hours, in adjoining operating theatres at the Churchill hospital in February.
The surgical team shortly after completing the surgery
Her sister already had two children and had completed her family. Both sisters live in England.
Prof Richard Smith, gynaecological surgeon, who led the organ retrieval team, has spent 25 years researching womb transplantation. He told the BBC it was a "massive success".
He said: "The whole thing was emotional. I think we were all a bit tearful afterwards."
Transplant surgeon Isabel Quiroga, who led the team implanting the womb, said the recipient was delighted: "She was absolutely over the moon, very happy, and is hoping that she can go on to have not one but two babies. Her womb is functioning perfectly and we are monitoring her progress very closely."
The woman had her first period two weeks after the surgery. Like other transplant patients, she needs to take immunosuppressive drugs to prevent tissue rejection. These carry some long-term health risks, so the uterus will be removed after a maximum of two pregnancies.
She was born with a rare condition, Type 1 Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) where the uterus is absent or underdeveloped, but has functioning ovaries. Prior to surgery she had fertility treatment with her husband, and they have eight embryos in storage.
Both underwent counselling before surgery, and their case was reviewed and approved by the Human Tissue Authority. The NHS costs, estimated at £25,000, were paid for by the charity Womb Transplant UK. More than 30 staff involved on the day gave their time for free.
Prof Smith, who is Chairman of Womb Transplant UK, said the team had been authorised to carry out a total of 15 transplants - five with live donors and 10 with deceased, brain-dead donors - but would need another £300,000 to pay for all the procedures.
He said: "The shocking truth is that there are currently more than 15,000 women of child-bearing age in this country who have Absolute Uterine Factor Infertility. They were either born without a womb or have had a hysterectomy due to cancer or other abnormalities of the womb."
In 2014 a woman in Sweden became the first to have a baby as a result of a womb transplant. She had received a donated womb from a friend in her 60s.
Since then 100 womb transplants have taken place worldwide and around 50 babies have been born, mostly in the US and Sweden, but also in Turkey, India, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, Germany and France.
Surgeons in the UK were given permission to begin performing womb transplants in 2015. Writing in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, the team cited "institutional delays" and Covid as reasons why the UK had taken so long to perform its first operation.
Womb Transplant UK said more than 500 women had contacted the charity wishing to take part in the programme, and around a dozen had embryos in storage or were undergoing fertility treatment - a prerequisite for getting on the waiting list.
One of them is 31-year-old Lydia Brain, who needed a hysterectomy after having womb cancer. She was diagnosed when she was 24 after experiencing heavy periods, and bleeding between periods, which led to anaemia. She and her partner have paid £15,000 for fertility treatment and now have several embryos in storage.
Lydia Brain hopes to be able to have a transplant
Lydia said she was delighted by the news of the first successful womb transplant in the UK, describing it as "miraculous".
She told the BBC: "Infertility was a huge part of the impact of my cancer. It affects you every day as you can't avoid pregnant people, babies, and your friends getting into that phase of their life."
She said it "would mean everything" if she could get on the waiting list and have a womb transplant, because she wants to "carry my own child and have that experience, being able to breastfeed and to have a newborn baby, at least once."
Lydia said she would consider surrogacy and adoption, but said both routes were problematic. "The laws and the process are very difficult," she explained, adding that with adoption "you often don't get a newborn baby".
Lydia now works for the charity Eve Appeal, which funds research and raises awareness into the five gynaecological cancers - womb, ovarian, cervical, vulval and vaginal.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-66514270 |
NHS whistleblowers warn of 'unsafe' A&E staff shortages - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Safety concerns about A&Es in Elgin and Aberdeen are being ignored claim senior doctors. | Aberdeen Royal Infirmary's emergency department has faced sustained problems with finding inpatient beds for people who no longer need to be in A&E
A group of senior doctors has accused NHS Grampian of ignoring their safety concerns about emergency departments.
They told BBC Scotland News they were speaking out because they feel they cannot deliver a safe level of care.
The medics said staff shortages meant Grampian's two A&Es have no senior registrars on shift to make key decisions about patients for the majority of weekend night shifts.
NHS Grampian said it was working hard to expand the workforce.
A spokesperson thanked staff and said it recognised the "tremendous pressure" on A&E departments but said there were was a national shortage of doctors at the appropriate level of training.
A number of senior doctors spoke anonymously to BBC News about conditions in Elgin and Aberdeen emergency departments.
Documents seen by the BBC News show medics have been raising concerns since 2021, both with NHS Grampian and the Scottish government, and in July this year submitted a formal whistleblowing complaint about the situation.
One doctor said: "The staff are in an impossible situation.
"We are witnessing ongoing harm with unacceptable delays to the assessment and treatment of patients.
"There have been avoidable deaths and at other times there are too long delays getting to patients who may be suffering from a serious condition like stroke or sepsis."
In March last year, one senior clinician wrote to NHS Grampian bosses to warn of the "incredibly stressful and difficult" conditions in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary's emergency department.
The letter warns of the dangers of ambulances "stacking" outside the hospital and a high number of patients with chest pains or headaches waiting for long periods of time to be seen.
The document also has the medic declaring they have "no wish to go through what happened in 2014 again" - a reference to a staffing crisis that year in NHS Grampian.
The doctor points out they had just worked six weekends in a row to try and fill in schedule gaps before pointing out the current situation carries "significant clinical risk" and that "something significant has to change soon".
Then in January this year, a joint letter signed by a number of staff in NHS Grampian emergency departments warned these A&Es were failing and "unlikely to be able to perform their statutory duty in a major incident".
Dr Gray's Hospital in Elgin is one of two adult A&E departments in the NHS Grampian area
The letter said "exit block" - finding hospital beds for patients who no longer need to be in A&E - was the biggest patient safety concern.
It also included an estimate that between 30 December last year and 3 January this year, a total of 260 A&E patients were delayed in excess of eight hours in Grampian's emergency departments.
Using Royal College of Emergency Medicine estimates on the impact of delays on patients' life chances, they estimate these long waits equate to at least three excess deaths in that five-day period.
Five weeks after the joint letter was submitted a major incident was declared at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary on 22 February as a result of the pressures being felt by the service.
NHS figures for the month of June show that 49% of patients who attended A&E at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary were seen, admitted or discharged within the target of four hours.
At Dr Gray's hospital in Elgin, 77% were seen within four hours at its emergency department.
Dr Lailah Peel, a junior doctor and deputy chair of BMA Scotland, said many other emergency medics will have "similar experiences" to those in NHS Grampian.
She told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme: "In A&E it is really important you have senior decision makers around, as a junior doctor I regularly go to them to get advice and sign offs.
"It is a really important part of how an A&E runs and it is really important there is a sufficient number of them - if that burden of decision making falls on one individual it is really dangerous."
Rosemary Agnew, the Independent National Whistleblowing Officer for the NHS in Scotland, told BBC News that health boards should not "wait for whistleblowing" to address issues raised by clinicians.
She added it was: "important that people do raise it because what that raises is the national awareness of a wider issue, and if I see trends of a wider issue I will raise them with the Scottish government".
A spokesman for NHS Grampian said: "We want to acknowledge the very great pressure all teams have worked under, and are continuing to work under.
"Providing health and social care services is more complex and challenging now than it has ever been.
"Some of these challenges will be specific to certain services or areas of Grampian, others are being experienced right across the NHS.
"At all levels, we are committed to meeting these challenges and resolving them. This is neither an easy nor a quick task, but it is one we will strive to complete."
The Scottish government said it has been "engaging with staff at NHS Grampian on these issues and will support with the board to ensure the steps they are taking to enhance staffing levels deliver the improvements required".
What do you do when you feel that you have nowhere else to go?
In this case, a group of doctors say all of their efforts to raise concerns with senior management fell on deaf ears.
Having exhausted all other options, they have now turned whistleblowers in the hope that it will force the health board to address the serious patient safety issues they say they are facing.
NHS Scotland's whistleblowing procedures were strengthened following an independent review into claims of a bullying culture at NHS Highland. But a recent survey by the BMA suggested nearly a quarter of doctors would still not feel comfortable raising a concern about patient safety or malpractice.
The official definition of whistleblowing relates to someone speaking up "in the public interest" about issues that could create "a risk of harm or wrong doing".
The medics in Grampian say staffing levels are so dangerous in A&E that they pose a clear and significant risk to the people the NHS should be caring for.
The whole system is under so much pressure, and the whole country faces such difficulties finding enough skilled staff, that doctors can only hope this is a positive route to improvement. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-66580741 |
What is Pakistan's homemade cable car system? - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | For many who need to travel between mountains in Pakistan, makeshift chair-lifts are the only option. | There are many different designs of the makeshift cable cars (file image from 2007)
Eight people, including children, were left stranded in a cable car dangling above a ravine in Pakistan's north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday.
Footage of the chair lift, dangling precariously at 274m (900ft) above ground, is the stuff of nightmares for many.
But makeshift cable cars are widely used in eastern Mansehra and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and stretch all the way up to Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan in the north.
With little infrastructure in the area and long-distances between facilities like schools - the cable cars, often thrown together with scrap metal - are born from necessity.
They are built by local communities - mostly illegally, because it is cheaper and there is no alternative infrastructure.
Sometimes they are made of the upper body of a pick-up truck. For example, a Suzuki may be converted into a large cabin used to transport people and cattle. They are then attached to the cable - which can also be scrap iron - using ropes.
Though dangerous, people often use them to cross rivers and to shorten the distance needed to travel between valleys in the mountains.
In Allai - the mountainous area where the group were trapped on Tuesday - there is no road infrastructure or basic facilities.
As a result, a local resident obtained permission from the city administration to build the cable car, police confirmed to BBC News.
Known to locals as "Dolly", it links the village of Jangri to Batangi, where the local school is located.
What would usually be a two-hour walk was reduced to just four minutes in the cable car.
Police said they checked the lift every month, however BBC News has been unable to independently verify this.
Strong winds made the rescue particularly difficult, as army soldiers dangled from helicopters, trying to reach those trapped in the cable car
The affordability of the Allai cable car also makes it an attractive mode of transport.
It costs far less than road travel, and while the fare varies depending on the distance being travelled, it begins from as little as 20 PKR (£0.053; $0.067).
One local, Mohabbat Shah, said residents were willing to take the risk with the cable cars. Since there had been no problems with these particular cars before, they were a good option for people trying to move around the region.
"We pay only 10 rupees per person on a one way trip. If we book a cab, this will cost up to 2000 rupees (£18.91; $24.09)", he told the BBC.
While this particular cable car had not yet encountered any challenges, others across Pakistan have.
In 2017, an illegal car crashed in Murree, Punjab, killing 11 passengers as it plummeted into a ravine.
And last December, local media reported that 12 children had to be rescued after a rope snapped in Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Those children were on their way to school, and were stranded 61m over a river until they could be rescued.
Following Tuesday's incident, Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar ordered "safety inspections of all such private chairlifts to ensure that they are safe to operate and use."
But without significant investments into new infrastructure, the lifts will continue to be the main mode of transport for most people in the mountainous region. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-66580112 |
Parcel delivery giant UPS avoids first strike in 25 years - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | The union representing its workers said a new five-year contract has been approved. | UPS has avoided its first US strike in more than 25 years as the union representing its workers said a new five-year contract has been approved.
The two sides have been negotiating for months over demands including higher pay and better working conditions.
In July, UPS said it had agreed a deal with the Teamsters Union to raise the average annual salary of full-time drivers to about $170,000 (£133,440).
This included healthcare and other benefits and is up from about $145,000.
The deal also gives workers one more day of paid holiday, ends forced overtime and adds air conditioning to new models of the company's trucks from next year.
"This is the template for how workers should be paid and protected nationwide, and non-union companies like Amazon better pay attention," the general president of Teamsters Sean M O'Brien said.
UPS warned earlier this month that its profits will be lower because of the deal.
The Atlanta-based firm is the world's largest package delivery company, with more than 20 million deliveries a day in more than 220 countries around the world.
In 2020, UPS estimated that the goods it handled were worth about 6% of the US economy, including time-sensitive shipments for healthcare firms and others.
Workers at Amazon and other delivery firms have pointed to the agreement as they pushed for their own pay raises.
Unions representing "essential" transportation workers such as pilots, port workers and delivery drivers have been enjoying stronger bargaining power in recent months due to the country's tight jobs market.
The latest data showed that layoffs in the US dropped to an 11-month low in July as the labour market has largely weathered aggressive interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve since March 2022.
Economists are watching the pay increases closely, as some worry higher wages could start to feed into an inflation problem that started with pandemic-related supply issues.
US inflation hit a peak of 9.1% last year, far above the central bank's 2% target. But it has eased significantly as the shock to food and energy prices from the war in Ukraine has faded.
This year, wage growth has started to outpace inflation which means that it could start to push up prices as consumers spend more money. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66589799 |
Grant Shapps visits Kyiv as UK backs Ukraine nuclear power - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | The government says a loan guarantee will help improve Ukraine's energy security. | Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Grant Shapps visited a power plant as part of his trip to Ukraine
UK support will help power Ukraine's nuclear plants, Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps has said after visiting the country.
The government has announced it will provide a £192m loan guarantee to enable a UK-based company to supply Ukraine with uranium enrichment services, a vital part of nuclear fuel.
Nuclear power generates more than half of Ukraine's electricity.
But its largest plant, at Zaporizhzhia, is currently held by Russia.
While he was in Ukraine on Tuesday, Mr Shapps visited a power station, which has been badly damaged by Russian bombing.
He also met senior Ukrainian ministers and energy industry figures in Kyiv to discuss the UK's support for the country's recovery.
The government has said it will provide the loan guarantee through UK Export Finance - the UK's export credit agency - to enable UK-headquartered company Urenco to supply Ukraine's national nuclear company, Energoatom.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said this would bring the total of the UK's non-military assistance to Ukraine to nearly £5bn.
It said the support would strengthen Ukraine's energy security as it defends itself against the Russian invasion, as well as maintain its independence from Russian nuclear fuel.
Ukraine has four nuclear power plants - including Europe's largest at Zaporizhzhia - but before the Russian invasion in February 2022 it had been receiving most of its nuclear services and fuel from Russia.
It has been reducing its dependence and in June last year signed a deal with US company Westinghouse to supply fuel to all its nuclear power stations.
Mr Shapps said: "Our support for Ukraine is unwavering in the face of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's barbaric invasion - the UK continues to stand with Ukraine as they repel Russian attacks and rebuild their country."
He added: "Putin has used energy as a weapon of war: the action today to support nuclear fuel deliveries will help Ukraine end their reliance on Russian supplies and bolster their energy security."
The UK announcement comes after a meeting of G7 energy ministers in Japan earlier this year, where the UK, US, Canada, Japan and France agreed a new nuclear fuel alliance in an attempt to strengthen the sector in each country and push Russia out of the market.
Other European countries have also offered financial support to Ukraine's energy sector through the Ukraine Energy Support Fund, which aims to repair damage caused by Russia to infrastructure and keep it running.
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Grant Shapps also visited a kindergarten while in Ukraine
Last year, Mr Shapps took in a Ukrainian family as part of the government's Homes for Ukraine scheme.
While in Ukraine, Mr Shapps visited a kindergarten, which was damaged by Russian shelling and was previously attended by Nikita, the young son of the family who lived with him.
The children performed a song before Mr Shapps played them a recorded message from Nikita. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-66586785 |
UK’s £18tn slavery debt is an underestimation, UN judge says - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | A report led by the judge, Patrick Robinson, says the UK should pay £18.8tn for its role in slavery. | Patrick Robinson has been a member of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) since 2015
A UN judge says the UK is likely to owe more than £18tn in reparations for its historic role in transatlantic slavery.
A report co-authored by the judge, Patrick Robinson, says the UK should pay $24tn (£18.8tn) for its slavery involvement in 14 countries.
But Mr Robinson said the sum was an "underestimation" of the damage caused by the slave trade.
He said he was amazed some countries responsible for slavery think they can "bury their heads in the sand".
"Once a state has committed a wrongful act, it's obliged to pay reparations," said Mr Robinson, who presided over the trial of Slobodan Milosevic, the former Yugoslav president.
Mr Robinson spoke to the BBC ahead of his keynote speech at an event to mark Unesco's Day for Remembering the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Abolition at London's City Hall on Wednesday.
He's been a member of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) since 2015 and has been researching reparations as part of his honorary presidency of the American Society of International Law.
He brought together a group of economists, lawyers and historians to produce the Brattle Group Report on Reparations for Transatlantic Chattel Slavery.
The report, which was released in June, is seen as one of the most comprehensive attempts yet to put figures on the harms caused by slavery, and calculate the reparations due by each country.
In total, the reparations to be paid by 31 former slaveholding states - including Spain, the United States and France - amount to $107.8tn (£87.1tn), the report calculates.
The valuation is based on an assessment of five harms caused by slavery and the wealth accumulated by countries involved in the trade. The report sets out decades-long payment plans but says it is up to governments to negotiate what sums are paid and how.
In his speech at the London mayor's office, Mr Robinson said reparations were "necessary for the completion of emancipation".
He said the "high figures" in the Brattle Report "constitute a clear, unvarnished statement of the grossness" of slavery.
In his own speech, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the transatlantic slave trade "remains the most degrading and prolonged act of human exploitation ever committed".
"There should be no doubt or denial of the scale of Britain's involvement in this depraved experiment," Mr Khan said.
The Brattle Report has generated interest within the reparations movement, but the governments implicated are highly unlikely to accept its recommendations.
Caribbean countries have sought slavery reparations from these governments for years with limited success.
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak dismissed calls for the UK government to apologise and pay reparations for its role in slavery.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
British authorities and the monarchy were participants in the trade, which saw millions of Africans enslaved and forced to work, especially on plantations in the Caribbean, between the 16th and 19th centuries.
Britain also had a key role in ending the trade through Parliament's passage of a law to abolish slavery in 1833.
The British government has never formally apologised for slavery or offered to pay reparations.
When asked if he thought Mr Sunak would take the Brattle Report seriously, Mr Robinson said: "I certainly hope he will."
Mr Robinson said he hoped Mr Sunak would change his opinion on reparations and urged him to read the Brattle Report.
But he added: "For me, it goes beyond what the government and the political parties want.
"Of course they should set the tone. But I would like to see the people of the United Kingdom involved in this exercise as a whole."
When asked if the £18.8tn figure could be too little, Mr Robinson said: "You need to bear in mind that these high figures, as high as they appear to be, reflect an underestimation of the reality of the damage caused by transatlantic chattel slavery. That's a comment that cannot be ignored."
He said the sums in the report "accurately reflect the enormity of the damage cause by slavery".
He said: "It amazes me that countries could think, in this day and age, when the consequences of that practice are clear for everyone to see, that they can bury their heads in the sand, and it doesn't concern them. It's as though they are in a kind of la la land."
As to how reparations could be achieved, Mr Robinson said that was up the governments to decide.
"I believe a diplomatic solution recommends itself," he said. "I don't rule out a court approach as well."
The legal status of reparations demands by states is highly contested.
Representatives of Caribbean states have previously stated their intention to bring the issue to the ICJ, but no action has been taken.
Reparations are broadly recognised as compensation given for something that was deemed wrong or unfair, and can take the many forms.
In recent years, Caribbean leaders, activists and the descendants of slave owners have been putting Western government under increasing pressure to engage with the reparations movement.
Some of the descendants of slave owners - such as former BBC journalist Laura Trevelyan, and the family of 19th Century Prime Minister William Gladstone - have attempted to make amends.
In response to the BBC's request for comment, the UK government pointed to comments made by Foreign Minister David Rutley in Parliament earlier this year.
He said: "We acknowledge the role of British authorities in enabling the slave trade for many years before being the first global force to drive the end of the slave trade in the British empire."
He said the government believes "the most effective way for the UK to respond to the cruelty of the past is to ensure that current and future generations do not forget what happened, that we address racism, and that we continue to work together to tackle today's challenges".
Sign up for our morning newsletter and get BBC News in your inbox. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-66596790 |
British Museum boss Hartwig Fischer defends 2021 theft investigation - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Hartwig Fischer says claims made by a former art dealer do not tell the whole story. | Dr Hartwig Fischer has been director of the British Museum since 2016
The head of the British Museum has defended its investigation into allegedly stolen items, after an art dealer said he alerted bosses in 2021.
The British Museum told Ittai Gradel that "all objects were accounted for", according to emails seen by the BBC.
Museum director Hartwig Fischer now claims the art dealer had more items in his possession, unknown to the museum.
Dr Gradel claimed that was an "outright lie", adding the museum did not contact him despite making himself available.
The museum has sacked a member of staff after treasures were reported "missing, stolen or damaged".
Emails seen by BBC News between Dr Gradel and the museum appear to show the London institution was alerted to the thefts in 2021 but it appears that they did not take sufficient action.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Mr Fischer said that when allegations were brought to the British Museum in 2021, "we took them incredibly seriously, and immediately set up an investigation".
"Concerns were only raised about a small number of items, and our investigation concluded that those items were all accounted for," he continued.
"We now have reason to believe that the individual who raised concerns had many more items in his possession, and it's frustrating that that was not revealed to us as it would have aided our investigations," he said.
Mr Fischer said a "full audit" was launched in 2022, which "revealed a bigger problem", after which they alerted the police and a disciplinary process was launched. This "resulted in a member of staff being dismissed," Mr Fischer said.
He added that his priority was to the "incredible British Museum collection".
In response, Dr Gradel said: "The claim that I withheld information from the British Museum is an outright lie.
"I was explicit in my communication with the British Museum that I was entirely at their disposal for any further information or assistance they would require. They never contacted me."
The British Museum has been contacted for comment.
According to the PA news agency, the missing items are believed to have been taken over a "significant" period of time. Some of them reportedly ended up on eBay, being sold for considerably less than their actual estimated value.
eBay said it "does not tolerate the sale of stolen property".
None of the treasures, which dated from the 15th Century BC to the 19th Century AD, had recently been on display and had been kept primarily for academic and research purposes, the museum said. The majority of them were kept in a storeroom.
Dr Gradel's emails suggest he became suspicious when he "stumbled" upon a photo of a Roman cameo fragment that he said had been up for sale and had been listed on the British Museum website but had since been removed.
Dr Gradel also alleges in one of his emails that a third-party seller returned a gem to the museum as soon as Dr Gradel told him his suspicions, but claims the museum didn't follow this up sufficiently.
In one of several emails he sent to follow up any progress, this time to a board trustee, Dr Gradel accuses Mr Fischer and deputy director Jonathan Williams of "sweeping it all under the carpet."
In one response emailed in October 2022 to a trustee who was following up on Dr Gradel's concerns, Fischer said there was "no evidence" of any wrongdoing, adding that the "three items" Dr Gradel had mentioned were "in the collection".
It's now believed that more than 1,500 objects were stolen, damaged and destroyed, in a crisis that is threatening the reputation of the British Museum.
Despoina Koutsoumba, director of the Association of Greek Archaeologists, said the museum could no longer claim Greek heritage was protected - Greece has long campaigned for the return of the Parthenon sculptures, also known as the Elgin Marbles, which are held at the museum.
MP Tim Loughton, chair of the British Museum All-Party Parliamentary Group, called the remarks "blatant opportunism". | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66596432 |
Owner of Pakistan cable car arrested by police on negligence charges - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Eight people were left stranded over a ravine when a cable car malfunctioned in north-western Pakistan. | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Police in Pakistan have arrested the owner of a cable car that left eight people stranded and dangling over a ravine when it malfunctioned.
The incident in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa sparked a massive rescue operation lasting more than 12 hours.
The arrest comes after a child who was trapped in the chair-lift said he feared "it was over" during the ordeal.
"When the chairlift was halfway there, its rope broke. It was dangling and I was terrified," Attaullah Shah said.
A military chopper rescued one trapped child, while zip line experts recovered the rest of the group after dark.
The group had been on their way to school when two of the car's cables snapped.
It was left hanging precariously 274m (900ft) above the ground and in high winds.
"It was like doomsday for the area," said Fahim Udin Shah, the uncle of one of the rescued children.
"Everyone rushed out of their homes [to observe the operation]. A kid from almost every household was here," he added.
Pakistan's army said the rescue mission had been "extremely difficult and dangerous".
The incident happened at about 07:00 local time (02:00 GMT) on Tuesday near the city of Battagram in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Six children, aged between 10 and 16 years old, were trapped, along with two adults.
One of the children, a teenage boy, has a heart condition and was unconscious for several hours, an adult on board named Gulfaraz told local media.
A child also fainted due to "heat and fear", a rescue worker told Reuters news agency, although it was unclear if that was the same child.
The cable car links the village of Jangri to Batangi, where the school is located.
The cable car is a popular and cheap mode of transport to get across the Allai valley - cutting a two-hour road journey through mountainous terrain to just four minutes.
When the cable suddenly snapped, the car was making its fifth trip of the day.
Residents used loudspeakers to alert officials to the crisis, but it took at least four hours for the first rescue helicopter to arrive at the remote location, local media outlet Dawn reported.
Anxious crowds, including relatives of those trapped, quickly gathered along the ravine, watching on as military helicopters battled against the strong winds to lower commandos to the stranded car.
Several early attempts to reach them failed, however some food and water was successfully delivered.
In addition to gusty winds, there were concerns that the helicopter's rotor blades could further destabilise the cable car, and as night set in the operation was suspended.
But rescuers continued their efforts with the help of zip line experts and local people on the ground.
Allai is a mountainous area 2000m above sea level with a sparse population and little infrastructure.
Makeshift chairlifts and cable cars are regularly used as transport between mountains.
The one involved in this incident is believed to be privately operated, local media reported. It is not yet known how the cables on the stranded car broke.
Pakistan's acting prime minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar has ordered all privately operated chair-lifts to be inspected. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-66591028 |
Ros Atkins on... Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | The BBC's analysis editor Ros Atkins takes a look at Yevgeny Prigozhin throughout the years. | Russia's aviation authority says that the leader of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was on a plane that crashed in western Russia.
BBC Analysis editor Ros Atkins takes a look at how Prigozhin went from incarceration in the 1980s to the leader of a recent coup. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66601033 |
'My goodness!' - BBC reporter's live reaction to historic moon landing - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Watch Samira Hussein's response as India's Chandrayaan-3 space mission reaches the lunar surface. | India has completed its historic mission to land near the Moon's south pole. The BBC's South Asia correspondent was at the space centre in Bangalore.
She filmed the final moments of the tense wait for the landing and her reaction when the outcome was clear. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-66590446 |
Wagner boss Prigozhin's years of living dangerously - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | For decades Russia's Vladimir Putin relied on Yevgeny Prigozhin's services, until he staged a mutiny. | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Yevgeny Prigozhin and the war in Ukraine
From the moment Yevgeny Prigozhin's mutiny in Russia collapsed two months ago there was always a sense that a man who had lived so close to the edge for so long had overplayed his hand.
Assuming he was on board his own private jet when it went down en route from Moscow to St Petersburg, this was a shocking and violent end to a very turbulent life.
For so many years Vladimir Putin was able to call on Prigozhin's services.
But the botched revolt involving thousands of Wagner mercenaries went beyond the pale. President Putin condemned the rebellion as "treason" and it was soon very clear that Prigozhin's prolific role in Russia was over.
This was a man whose first years of adulthood were spent in a St Petersburg jail, but he thrived in the 1990s with catering businesses that brought him wealth and patronage from Mr Putin himself.
It was Prigozhin's mercenary ventures in Africa, Syria and Ukraine that made him a military figure but the dynamic changed when Russia unleashed war in Ukraine and the president's one-time chef found power as well as wealth.
Unconfirmed reports suggest his Embraer Legacy plane was hit by two bursts of fire from military air defences.
If it was brought down deliberately, few will be surprised because Prigozhin had no shortage of enemies. Dmitry Utkin, who was Prigozhin's first Wagner commander, was also on the passenger list.
Prigozhin, 62, appeared to have escaped punishment for his short-lived mutiny against the Kremlin.
Under a deal to end the revolt many of his rebel mercenaries were allowed to go to a camp in Belarus while the Wagner boss himself was able to travel within Russia, showing up in St Petersburg in casual clothes during a Russian summit of African leaders in late July.
His witty but venomous video rants against the failings of the Russian defence establishment came to an end and state-run TV broadcast footage of raids on his luxurious home outside St Petersburg.
A caption posted on a video this week suggested Prigozhin was in an African country
But Prigozhin was never going to slink off quietly to a bolthole in Belarus and it was only this week that his first video address since the botched mutiny surfaced.
The desert background indicated it had been shot in Africa and, clad in combat gear, Prigozhin declared that the temperature was 50C and his Wagner group was recruiting to make Russia "even greater on all continents, and Africa even more free".
Prigozhin appeared to be reverting to the mercenary roots he put down several years ago when he set up the Wagner private military company, which helped prop up Russian allies in the Central African Republic and Syria, and challenged French influence in Mali.
Although he denied it for years, Prigozhin also founded a so-called troll-factory of pro-Kremlin bloggers in a non-descript office in St Petersburg. His Internet Research Agency was blamed by the US for using information warfare to meddle in the 2016 presidential election.
Prigozhin admitted this year to coming up with the whole idea: "It was created to protect the Russian information space from the West's boorish and aggressive anti-Russian propaganda."
He had spent almost a decade in the final years of the Soviet era in jail for robbery and fraud. But as the new Russia shrugged off its Soviet past, Prigozhin went into catering, first as a hotdog-seller and then moving on to more sophisticated dining, opening some of St Petersburg's more chic restaurants.
Mr Putin, then the city's deputy mayor, took notice. "Vladimir Putin saw how I built a business out of a kiosk," he said years later.
After he became president, Mr Putin entertained global leaders such as France's Jacques Chirac in Prigozhin's restaurants. The up-and-coming caterer earned the sobriquet "Putin's chef".
If Prigozhin's mercenary business was later to give him military clout and money, his catering business would supply him with a constant stream of wealth right up to this year.
President Putin revealed shortly after the botched Wagner revolt that Prigozhin's private army had been fully funded with $1bn from the state over 12 months, while a further $1bn went to Prigozhin's Concord catering firm for feeding the military.
But that was just over one year, and reports suggest he had received more than $18bn in government contracts since 2014.
Kremlin propagandist Dmitry Kiselyov said big money had made Prigozhin go "off the rails" but it was his men's battlefield exploits that had gained him a sense of impunity.
"He thought he could challenge the defence ministry, the state itself and the president personally."
That all came to a head as Russia's military campaign in Ukraine faltered last year and Prigozhin's Wagner fighters spearheaded a bloody campaign to seize the eastern city of Bakhmut.
Last September Prigozhin toured prisons around Russia offering inmates the chance to commute their sentences in exchange for service with Wagner.
Thousands died in the fight for Bakhmut, many of them inexperienced, badly armed former prisoners.
As the battle reached a climax, Prigozhin appeared in social media videos demanding ammunition, standing among bodies of dead mercenaries.
He reserved his loathing for President Putin's loyal defence minister Sergei Shoigu and the armed forces chief Valery Gerasimov.
"Shoigu! Gerasimov! Where is the... ammunition?... They came here as volunteers and die for you to fatten yourselves in your mahogany offices."
Prigozhin steered clear of directly criticising the president, always blaming his commanders instead.
But when the military chiefs announced plans to bring the Wagner forces and other "voluntary detachments" under the main command structure, Prigozhin appeared to snap.
As he prepared to launch his "march for justice", he called into question the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and accused the defence minister of responsibility for the deaths of thousands of Russian soldiers.
The Kremlin denounced as "hysteria" suggestions that Prigozhin's revolt had dented Vladimir Putin's hold on power.
At the very least it was the beginning of the end of Prigozhin's extraordinary and long-lived Russian influence over the Putin leadership. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66590919 |
Parking: Cardiff driver's £100 fine after tyres touch yellow box - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Amal Bafaqih, 85, says her car was not blocking traffic or other parking bays. | Amal Bafaqih's unsuccessful appeals means her debt has been increased to £170
A disabled driver fined £100 for parking marginally over markings has vowed to fight the matter in court and claimed she is ready to go to prison.
Amal Bafaqih said she felt "angry, ill, sick, disappointed" after seeing a ticket stuck to her car in Cardiff Bay Retail Park on 5 April.
Letters sent to the 85-year-old blue badge holder included a picture showing how she had parked in the disabled bay.
Enforcement firm UK Parking Control has been asked to comment.
The picture of Ms Bafaqih's vehicle appears to show the front and back wheel of her vehicle slightly outside of the bay and on an adjacent yellow box.
The retired psychiatric nurse said the car was not blocking traffic or other parking bays and has refused to pay the fine.
After unsuccessful appeals, her debt has been increased to £170, but she has pledged to see the business in court.
Ms Bafaqih, from Canton, Cardiff, said she had been shopping for about 20 minutes and spotted the fine on her return.
She said she had not realised she was not parked within the bay and tried, without success, to challenge the enforcement officer who ticketed her.
The 85-year-old said she was prepared to fight the matter in court
Two days later she received a letter from UK Parking Control informing her she had been fined £100.
After refusing to pay and unsuccessfully appealing, Ms Bafaqih received several letters from debt recovery agencies and UK Parking Control - which was disciplined in 2015 for tampering with photos.
Ms Bafaqih said: "It's really ridiculous. For one inch of the road - why?
"I haven't blocked the second car beside me. The yellow box between me and the other car is clear - there's nothing."
Ms Bafaqih, who struggles to walk following a spine operation in June and is waiting for a new knee, dubbed the situation "nonsense".
She also has diabetes, Crohn's disease and arthritis and said her medical records were sent to the firm when she appealed, adding: "They don't care a hoot."
Ms Bafaqih pledged to keep fighting: "I'll go to prison and I'm not paying." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-66598824 |
Mar-a-Lago IT manager implicates Trump in classified files case - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | The Mar-a-Lago employee points the finger at Mr Trump "in efforts to delete security camera footage". | The former president is accused of mishandling the storage of sensitive files at his Florida estate Mar-a-Lago
Former US President Donald Trump has been implicated by one of his employees in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case, according to a court filing.
Yuscil Taveras, an IT director identified as Trump Employee 4 in legal documents, changed his testimony after switching lawyers, say prosecutors.
He now accuses Mr Trump and two aides of "efforts to delete security camera footage", says the filing.
The 77-year-old ex-president faces 40 charges in the case.
Mr Trump, his close personal aide Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago maintenance worker Carlos De Oliveira have all pleaded not guilty.
The former president is accused of mishandling the storage of sensitive files at his Florida estate and trying to cover up the alleged crime by deleting security footage.
The court document filed on Tuesday says Mr Taveras changed lawyers after special counsel Jack Smith, who is overseeing the case, notified him he was being investigated for perjury.
His former lawyer also represents Mr Trump's co-defendant Mr Nauta.
During grand jury testimony in March this year, Mr Taveras "repeatedly denied or claimed not to recall any contacts or conversations about the security footage at Mar-a-Lago".
Prosecutors said they obtained evidence that Mr De Oliveira had asked Mr Taveras to delete the CCTV footage after investigators demanded the video as they tracked the movement of boxes containing the documents inside the resort.
The chief judge overseeing the federal grand jury, James Boasberg, offered a public defender to Mr Taveras after prosecutors pointed out a conflict of interest for his lawyer Stanley Woodward, who was being partly funded by Mr Trump's Save America political action committee.
"Advising Trump Employee 4 to correct his sworn testimony would result in testimony incriminating Mr Woodward's other client, Nauta; but permitting Trump Employee 4's false testimony to stand uncorrected would leave Trump Employee 4 exposed to criminal charges for perjury," the filing said.
On 5 July, Mr Taveras informed Judge Boasberg that he no longer wished to be represented by Mr Woodward and would instead accept the offer of legal aid.
"Immediately after receiving new counsel, Trump Employee 4 retracted his prior false testimony and provided information that implicated Nauta, [Carlos] De Oliveira, and Trump in efforts to delete security camera footage, as set forth in the superseding indictment," the court filing says.
Mr Taveras is not charged in the case, which is scheduled for trial next May.
Mr Trump is fighting criminal charges in three other cases.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: How Trump's indictment in Miami court unfolded - in 60 seconds | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66589807 |
Wagner making Africa more free, says Prigozhin - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | The mercenary boss appears in his first video address since the mutiny - allegedly in Africa. | A caption posted with the video on Telegram suggests Yevgeny Prigozhin is in an African country
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has appeared in his first video address since his failed mutiny in Russia, which suggests he is in Africa.
The BBC has not been able to verify where the video was filmed.
The video posted on Telegram channels linked to the Wagner mercenary group shows him in combat gear, saying the group is making Africa "more free".
Wagner is believed to have thousands of fighters on the continent, where it has lucrative business interests.
Mr Prigozhin's soldiers are embedded in countries including Mali and the Central African Republic (CAR) - where rights groups and the UN accuse them of committing war crimes.
The UK last month imposed sanctions on the two heads of Wagner's operations in CAR, accusing them of torture and killing civilians.
Wagner fighters have also been accused by the US of enriching themselves with illicit gold deals on the continent.
In the video, Mr Prigozhin says Wagner is exploring for minerals as well as fighting Islamist militants and other criminals.
"We are working. The temperature is +50 - everything as we like. Wagner PMC conducts reconnaissance and search actions, makes Russia even greater on all continents, and Africa even more free," Mr Prigozhin can be heard saying.
"Justice and happiness - for the African people, we're making life a nightmare for ISIS (Islamic State) and Al-Qaeda and other bandits."
He says Wagner is recruiting and the group will "continue fulfilling the tasks that were set - we made promises we would succeed".
Mr Prigozhin was photographed in St Petersburg during last month's Africa-Russia summit, shaking hands with Ambassador Freddy Mapouka, a presidential advisor in the CAR.
Mr Prigozhin has been keeping a low public profile since heading his short-lived mutiny in June, which lasted only 24 hours.
About 5,000 Wagner troops seized control of the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and moved towards Moscow, with the stated aim of removing the military leadership.
However, Mr Prigozhin stopped the advance after negotiations with the Kremlin, which were mediated by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.
Under a deal to end the mutiny, charges against Mr Prigozhin were dropped and he was offered a move to Belarus.
There had been very public infighting between Wagner and Russia's ministry of defence over the conduct of the war. Mr Prigozhin repeatedly accused the ministry of failing to supply his group with ammunition.
Mr Prigozhin says he founded the Wagner group in 2014. A wealthy businessman with a criminal record, Mr Prigozhin is known as "Putin's chef" because he provided catering for the Kremlin.
In 2014, Wagner started backing pro-Russian separatist forces in eastern Ukraine, and is thought to have helped Russia annex Crimea.
Before the war in Ukraine, Wagner had an estimated 5,000 fighters - mostly veterans of Russia's elite regiments and special forces.
However, Mr Prigozhin said last June that its numbers had grown since the start of the Ukraine war to 25,000 fighters. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66576990 |
Blackpool Pleasure Beach's Big Dipper rollercoaster turns 100 - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | One of the oldest wooden rollercoasters in the world, the Big Dipper can carry 672 riders an hour. | The Big Dipper first opened on 23 August 1923
Blackpool Pleasure Beach is celebrating the centenary of its Big Dipper ride.
One of the oldest wooden rollercoasters in the world, it opened on 23 August 1923.
Andy Hygate, head of operations at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, described the Grade II listed structure as "very special".
"Amusement parks change and adapt but you hold on to those things that are magical," he said, adding: "It's the history that's attached to it."
He said a "wooden rollercoaster is very different ride to a steel coaster".
"You'll get a different ride depending on what the weather is like."
Managing director Amanda Thompson said riding the rollercoaster was a sensory experience.
"You hear the chain pulling you up, you hear everything cranking and the wood slightly talking to you."
Paul Heany, of the Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain, said the Big Dipper was "full of character".
"It's got a life of its own," he said.
The Big Dipper is the second oldest rollercoaster still in use in Great Britain.
"When [The Big Dipper] was first built there was nothing like it," he said.
"Margate's Scenic Railway was the first, but that was more sedate."
The rollercoaster has been repainted many times over the last century
It was designed and constructed by William H Strickler and John A Miller
Blackpool first established itself as an entertainment destination after Londoner William George Bean set up Hotchkiss Bicycle Railroad on the sand dunes at South Shore in 1896.
Inspired by his time in New York's Coney Island, Mr Bean started to build his tourism empire and by 1923, Blackpool Pleasure Beach was an established amusement park.
Hollywood star Marlene Dietrich took a ride on the Big Dipper in 1934
The ride has been ridden by thousands of thrill-seekers over the years
After the Big Dipper was expanded in 1934, Hollywood star Marlene Dietrich went for a ride.
The German-born actress and singer lost a pearl and gold earring in the process and later wrote to the amusement park to ask staff to search for the items.
The earring was thought lost forever until 70 years later when it was found by workmen dredging a lake as part of construction work for a new ride.
"We have compared it to pictures taken at the time of her visit and it certainly looks like one of hers," a Pleasure Beach representative said.
In 2003, 32 thrill-seekers with an average age of 75 rode on the Big Dipper to break the world record for the oldest rollercoaster riders.
Taking to the ride to mark National Grandparents Day, the riders, most of whom lived in Blackpool, had a combined age of 2,408.
Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-66586462 |
Louis Theroux: Anxious TV bosses should stop playing it safe - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | The star says broadcasters like the BBC are avoiding difficult subjects for fear of causing offence. | Louis Theroux delivered the keynote speech at the Edinburgh TV Festival
Louis Theroux has said it's harder to get programmes made about risky subjects because broadcasters like the BBC are now "playing it safe".
The presenter said his documentaries had often been about "morally fraught" people whose stories "made me nervous".
But he said broadcasters like the BBC now had "a temptation to lay low" and avoid difficult subjects for fear of causing offence.
There is an "atmosphere of anxiety" in the TV industry, he suggested.
Theroux was giving the annual keynote MacTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival.
"I want to take the risk of going out speaking to people I profoundly disagree with and making documentaries about them," he said.
He recalled making his name by "investigating worlds viewed as stigmatised or controversial", including the porn industry, the far right, Nazis, gangs and sexual predators.
"Often the stories made me nervous. They felt risky," he said.
"But it was also true that those shows that had real moral complexity to them were the ones that worked best.
"The less morally fraught episodes - the ones that were safer - haven't aged so well."
Louis Theroux with two inmates on his 2011 documentary Miami Mega Jail
There has been a welcome shift in mindset so broadcasters today are "more thoughtful about representation" and aware of "the need not to wantonly give offence", he said. "I am fully signed up to that agenda.
"But I wonder if there is something else going on as well. That the very laudable aims of not giving offence have created an atmosphere of anxiety that sometimes leads to less confident, less morally complex film-making."
He added: "As a result, programmes about extremists and sex workers and paedophiles might be harder to get commissioned."
From his time working for the BBC, he said he could see "all-too-well the no-win situation it often finds itself in".
The corporation, he said, was "trying to anticipate the latest volleys of criticisms, stampeded by this or that interest group, avoiding offence".
"Often the criticisms come from its own former employees, writing for privately owned newspapers whose proprietors would be all too happy to see their competition eliminated.
"And so there is a temptation to lay low, to play it safe, to avoid the difficult subjects.
"But in avoiding those pinch points, the unresolved areas of culture where our anxieties and our painful dilemmas lie, we aren't just failing to do our jobs, we are missing our greatest opportunities. For feeling. For figuring things out in a benign and thoughtful way. For expanding our thinking. For creating a union of connected souls.
"And what after all is the alternative? Playing it safe? Following a formula? That may be a route to success for some. It never worked for me."
He called for television that is "confrontational, surprising and upsetting", and urged producers: "Take risks. Sail close to the wind."
In response, the BBC's chief content officer Charlotte Moore defended the corporation, saying it does take risks and cover controversial topics.
"We can't shy away from difficult subjects because we think it might offend someone," she said.
"It's [about] how we deal with those subjects responsibly and with integrity, and long may the BBC continue to do so."
Speaking during a follow-up session at the festival, Theroux said the BBC also faced other challenges.
"I think it's possible that the licence fee is on a kind of managed decline and I think there are vested interests lobbying and actively campaigning for a 'Brexit' from the licence fee," he said.
There is still a role for public service broadcasters in the streaming age, though, he said.
"These streamers, as much as I love them, they're not doing news. They're not doing local news. They're not doing carefully calibrated civic content [like] local news coverage, documentary making, [and are not] Britain focused.
"Netflix is amazing, but it's a transnational corporation with a global outlook. It's not telling me much about what's happening in London."
However, he admitted he took his interview podcast from the BBC to Spotify because "I chased the money bags". | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-66596026 |
Pakistan cable car: Children brought to safety along zip line - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | The last two occupants of a cable car dangling over a ravine in northern Pakistan are rescued after nightfall. | Rescuers have released footage of two children being rescued from a cable car that had been dangling over a ravine in northern Pakistan.
They were brought to safety along a zip line.
Six children and two adults were trapped for many hours hundreds of metres in the air.
All eight were successfully rescued. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-66588839 |
Watch India’s successful landing on the Moon - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | See a simulation of the moment Chandrayaan-3 lands near the Moon's south pole for the first time. | India's Chandrayaan-3 becomes the first space mission to land near the south pole of the Moon.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined the launch event via video conference from South Africa where he is attending a summit of Brics nations.
India's space agency broadcast a live simulation of the touchdown. Watch how it all unfolded. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-66590445 |
Moy: Woman missing in County Tyrone is found safe - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Police and the coastguard were involved in a search for Claire Rock. | A woman who went missing in County Tyrone has been found safe, police have said.
The police, Sligo Coastguard helicopter and Lough Neagh Rescue were involved in the search for Claire Rock.
Lough Neagh Rescue said it had been tasked to the search operation along with the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
On Wednesday evening police, said Ms Rock had been found and was safe and thanked the public for their help. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-66590566 |
Child dies after falling ill at Camp Bestival Shropshire - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Police say they are investigating after being called to Weston Park in Shropshire on Saturday. | Organisers said they would continue to support the family after Saturday's tragedy
A child has died after falling ill at Camp Bestival in Shropshire.
The child was taken to hospital in a critical condition on Saturday but died a short while later, Staffordshire Police said.
Emergency services were called to the festival site at Weston Park at 00:37 BST.
An investigation has been launched to determine the circumstances of the death, the force said.
Festival organisers expressed their "deepest sympathies" to the child's family.
A spokesperson for Camp Bestival said: "A child became poorly on Friday night and, after receiving immediate medical care onsite, was taken to hospital in an ambulance, where they tragically passed away.
"Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the family at this terrible time, and we will continue to support them in any way we can."
West Midlands Ambulance Service said it was not called to the site and a private ambulance company was used.
It was the second year the festival took place in Shropshire. The sister site in Dorset has been running for 15 years.
Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: newsonline.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-66586410 |
Rudy Giuliani and other Trump co-defendants surrender in Georgia election case - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Donald Trump's former lawyer faces 13 charges linked to efforts to overturn Mr Trump's 2020 election defeat. | Rudy Giuliani, who served as Donald Trump's personal lawyer, in a police booking mugshot released by Fulton County Sheriff's Office
Rudy Giuliani, who was Donald Trump's personal lawyer, has surrendered at a jail in Atlanta, Georgia on charges of helping Mr Trump try to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state.
Mr Giuliani, who was released on a $150,000 (£118,000) bond, faces 13 charges including racketeering.
The former New York mayor is one of 19 people, including Mr Trump, indicted in the election interference case.
Mr Trump has said he will attend jail to be booked on Thursday afternoon.
While yet to enter a plea, he denies wrongdoing and has said the charges are politically motivated.
Leaving the Fulton County jail, Mr Giuliani told reporters he was "honoured" to be involved in the case.
"This case is a fight for our way of life," he said. "This indictment is a travesty."
Mr Giuliani and Mr Trump face the most charges among all those accused.
Before Mr Giuliani, seven of Mr Trump's other co-defendants had arrived in Atlanta to be processed, including lawyer John Eastman, Georgia bail bondsman Scott Hall, and Sidney Powell - another lawyer who allegedly took a central role in efforts to undermine the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.
Former Georgia Republican Party Chairman David Shafer, Cathy Latham, Ray Smith III and Kenneth Chesebro have also been booked at the jail.
Prosecutors in Fulton County have set a deadline of noon local time on Friday for each of the defendants to surrender. They will then appear in court to hear the charges against them at a later date.
Those who were booked on Wednesday had mugshots taken and posted to the Fulton County website within hours. Mr Trump is also expected to get his mugshot taken.
(L-R, top): Former Trump Lawyers Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani, and Jenna Ellis had mugshots taken at Fulton County Jail. (L-R, bottom): Fellow co-defendants Kenneth Chesebro, Cathy Latham and Ray Smith
Like Mr Giuliani, the former president faces 13 charges including racketeering and election meddling. Mr Trump is yet to enter a plea, but he denies wrongdoing and has said the charges are politically motivated.
In a post on Wednesday to his social media site, Truth Social, Mr Trump said he would "proudly be arrested" on Thursday afternoon.
"Nobody has ever fought for election integrity like President Donald J. Trump," he wrote.
Mr Trump has already been granted a $200,000 bond and issued with other release conditions, such as being barred from using social media to directly or indirectly threaten alleged co-conspirators or potential witnesses.
The former president, who Forbes estimates to have a personal wealth of $2.5bn, has drawn criticism for not paying the legal fees of his co-defendants.
One of them, ex-Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that "this has became a bigger principle than just one man. So why isn't MAGA, Inc funding everyone's defence?"
Another former Trump lawyer, Michael Cohen, now a fierce critic of his former boss, told CNN on Tuesday that Mr Trump was not paying Mr Giuliani's fees. The BBC has contacted Mr Giuliani's lawyer for comment.
Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, another co-defendant, filed court papers asking a judge for an immediate ruling on a bid to move his case from Fulton County to a federal court, or - alternatively - to issue an order shielding him from arrest in Georgia.
The filing came after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis denied a request to delay Mr Meadows' arrest. An email from Ms Willis included in the filing said Mr Meadows "is no different than any other criminal defendant in this jurisdiction".
A similar request was made by former justice department official Jeffrey Clark. Lawyers for both men have argued that their alleged actions should be handled by the federal court system, as they were federal officials at their time of their alleged involvement in the case.
The Georgia case is the latest in a series of criminal indictments filed against Mr Trump.
He faces 78 charges across three other criminal cases, including an investigation into his alleged mishandling of classified documents.
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-66585927 |
Three reasons why Trump's case in Georgia is different - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | When he turned himself in at Fulton County Jail, the process wasn't the same as his last three arrests. | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Donald Trump turned himself in as expected on Thursday in Georgia to be charged with an election plot. That process - and the coming arraignment - may follow a script unlike his previous three arrests this year.
During bookings in New York, Florida and Washington DC - where the former president has pleaded not guilty - he got special treatment.
Here's why this time will be different.
The former president has until now been spared a booking photo and having to interact with other criminal defendants.
But Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat has said the department's "normal practices" will be followed when processing Mr Trump. These practices typically include a medical screening, fingerprinting and a warrants check.
A number of his alleged co-conspirators have already been booked into the Fulton County Jail, which is notorious for hazardous conditions that some inmates endure for months.
Mr Trump was also subjected to his first mugshot on Thursday, as the county's normal steps include photographing all its defendants.
"The Fulton County Jail, amongst jails, is a very disturbingly dysfunctional place," said Rachel Kaufman, an attorney in Atlanta.
Mr Trump and his 18 co-defendants "are going to witness some level of that dysfunction" when processed, she said.
Still, the former president wasn't kept in a holding cell overnight like many other defendants - he was in and out in about 20 minutes.
"He's not going to feel the full force of what an average person experiences in the Fulton County Jail when they've been charged with several felonies," said Ms Kaufman.
"And what they experience is their life being put at risk."
Mr Trump's arraignment in Georgia - where he is expected to plead not guilty - could be the first time the public actually sees him in court.
To date, video cameras have not been allowed during Mr Trump's arraignments in New York, Washington DC and Miami.
That's because New York state and federal courtrooms do not usually allow video and microphone recordings.
But the state of Georgia does.
It's up to the judge to decide whether cameras are allowed, said Ms Kaufman, adding that the judge assigned to Mr Trump's arraignment, Scott McAfee, has often allowed them in the past.
"He's a full transparency judge," she said. "My guess is that whatever happens in front of him is going to be televised."
That could mean cameras in the courtroom for Mr Trump's potential trial, too.
It would not be the first time that one of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' high-profile cases took place on screen.
In 2014 and 2015, an eight-month long trial involving a controversial Atlanta Public School cheating scandal was broadcast on television and radio, capturing the attention of locals.
Mr Trump waves ahead of his arraignment at the Manhattan Criminal Court
Mr Trump floated the idea of pardoning himself before leaving the White House in 2021, and some have suggested he might attempt to do so in the criminal cases against him if elected president in 2024.
But experts say that would be much harder for the top Republican candidate to pull off in the state of Georgia.
For one, presidents can only issue pardons for federal crimes, and Mr Trump is facing state charges in Georgia.
Mr Trump would not be able to appeal to Georgia's governor for a pardon either, because unlike many other states, the governor there is not allowed to issue them.
Instead, Georgia's State Board of Pardons and Paroles is responsible for issuing pardons, which it only does five years after a convicted person has completed his or her sentence.
Mr Trump is facing up to 20 years in prison in Georgia if convicted of the most severe charge of racketeering. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66588924 |
Sara Sharif death: Girl seen with injuries at school - neighbour - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | A woman says she learned about Sara Sharif's injuries from her daughter, who was in the same class. | A neighbour has told the BBC Sara Sharif was being home schooled at the time of her death
A 10-year-old girl was seen in school with cuts and bruises to her face months before she was found dead at her home, a neighbour has said.
The woman learned about the injuries to Sara Sharif from her own daughter, who was one of the girl's classmates.
Sara's father, his brother and his partner flew to Pakistan before Sara was found in Woking, Surrey, on 10 August.
The former neighbour, who asked only to be identified as Jessica, told the BBC Sara had been a happy and confident child who always skipped to school.
But after Sara was found dead, Jessica's daughter told her mother that in April Sara had gone to St Mary's primary school in Byfleet with clearly visible injuries.
"Just before the Easter holidays she was in school and had cuts and bruises on her face and her neck," Jessica said.
"My daughter had asked what had happened and she said she'd fallen off a bike and then kind of walked away.
"The next day the teacher announced she had left school and she was being home-schooled."
She said it was about that time that the Sharif family moved to Woking, about a 20-minute drive away.
Jessica said she never saw Sara at the school again and neighbours in Woking also said they did not see the child go to school.
Tributes have been left at the family home in Woking
Earlier, another neighbour said Sara had been removed from school and was being educated at home.
The woman, who did not want to be named, told the BBC that Sara's father's partner, Beinash Batool, had told her the girl was being home schooled after being bullied for wearing a hijab.
"I suggested to Beinash that Sara needed to be with children her own age," said the neighbour. "She replied that she was making friends at the mosque and in her swimming lessons.
"Another time I remarked to Beinash that it must be difficult to home school Sara, especially as she had the baby to look after. She said it was very easy as she used BBC Bitesize."
The neighbour said Sara seemed a "reserved and quiet" child.
"She often carried the baby in her arms, and sometimes I saw her playing with him. I never saw her smile or laugh."
Sara's father Urfan Sharif and his partner Beinash Batool are sought by police
Surrey Police officers are working with the authorities in Pakistan to locate Ms Batool, Sara's father Urfan Sharif and his brother Faisal Malik.
Surrey County Council and police have confirmed the authorities had contact with the family, with the police describing their interaction as "limited" and "historic".
A post-mortem examination failed to establish the exact cause of Sara's death, with more tests being carried out.
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-surrey-66593116 |
Wagner head Prigozhin rejected offer to join Russia's army - Putin - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | The leader of June's aborted mutiny did not want his mercenaries to become a regular unit, President Putin says. | Wagner fighters managed to take control over Rostov-on-Don - a Russian city - during their short-lived mutiny
Wagner mercenary group head Yevgeniy Prigozhin has rejected an offer to his fighters to serve as a unit in Russia's army, President Vladimir Putin says.
He told Kommersant newspaper that many group commanders had backed the plan to be led by a senior Wagner figure during recent talks in Moscow.
He said Prigozhin's reply was "the guys do not agree with this decision".
The talks were held just days after Wagner's aborted mutiny on 23-24 June that challenged Mr Putin's authority.
Under the deal that ended the short-lived rebellion, the mercenaries were told they could join the regular Russian army or head to Belarus, a close ally of Russia.
Wagner has fought some of the bloodiest battles since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
However, the US military now assesses that the group is no longer "participating in any significant capacity in support of combat operations in Ukraine".
The comments were made on Thursday by Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder, who also said that "the majority" of Wagner fighters were believed to still be in areas of Russian-occupied Ukraine.
In a separate development, Belarus' defence ministry said on Friday that Wagner fighters were now acting as military instructors for the country's territorial defence forces.
The ministry said the fighters were training Belarusian forces "in a number of military disciplines" near the town of Osipovichy, about 85km (53 miles) south-east of the capital Minsk.
In Thursday's interview with Kommersant business daily, President Putin said that 35 Wagner commanders, including Prigozhin, had been present at the Kremlin meeting on 29 June.
Mr Putin said he had offered them several "employment options", including continued service under the command of a senior Wagner commander known by his nom de guerre Sedoi - Grey Hair.
"Many [Wagner fighters] were nodding when I was saying this," Mr Putin said.
"And Prigozhin, who was sitting in front and didn't see all this, said after listening: 'No, the guys do not agree with this decision,'" the president added.
He also said that "Wagner does not exist" when asked whether the group would be preserved as a fighting unit. "There is no law on private military organisations. It just doesn't exist."
This "difficult issue" of how to legalise Wagner fighters should be discussed in parliament, Mr Putin suggested.
The Kremlin appears to want to differentiate between the Wagner chief and regular Wagner fighters, driving a wedge between them, says the BBC's Russia editor Steve Rosenberg in Moscow.
He adds that this would explain the attempts in Russia's state media to discredit Prigozhin.
The current whereabouts of Prigozhin, a former Putin loyalist, are unknown.
Also on Thursday, US President Joe Biden said Prigozhin should be careful of poisoning following the mutiny.
"God only knows what he's likely to do. We're not even sure where he is and what relationship he has [with Mr Putin]. If I were he, I'd be careful what I ate. I'd keep my eye on my menu," Mr Biden said.
Speaking after a summit with Nordic leaders in Helsinki, he also said there was no possibility of Mr Putin winning the war in Ukraine.
"He's already lost that war," the president said.
Mr Biden suggested that the Russian president would eventually "decide it's not in the interest of Russia, economically, politically or otherwise to continue this war. But I can't predict exactly how that happens."
He also expressed the "hope and expectation" that Ukraine would make enough progress in its current counter-offensive for there to be a negotiated peace settlement.
But more than a month into the long-planned Ukrainian counter-offensive, some Ukrainians and their allies are expressing concerns over the slow progress of Kyiv's troops.
Others believe that Russia's defences will eventually shatter, allowing Ukraine to seize strategically significant territory and to advance towards Crimea, Ukraine's southern peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: The day Wagner chief went rogue... in 96 seconds
Ukraine has long asked Western allies to provide more military assistance to help it fight back against the Russian invasion.
Although it did not get a solid timeframe for Nato membership at this week's summit in Lithuania, it did receive from G7 members a long-term security framework to help guard against Russian aggression.
On Thursday, Ukrainian army commander Oleksandr Tarnavskyi told US broadcaster CNN that the military had received the first consignment of cluster munitions promised by the US in a controversial move.
He stressed that they would make a difference to Ukraine's fortunes on the front line. "We just got them, we haven't used them yet, but they can radically change [the battlefield]," Mr Tarnavskyi said.
Sign up for our morning newsletter and get BBC News in your inbox. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66194549 |
Ukraine war: Putin blames West for Ukraine war after night of drone attacks - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Putin was addressing the Brics summit via video-link in South Africa - he hasn't travelled due to risk of arrest. | While speaking to the Brics summit, Vladimir Putin once again set out his view of the events leading up to Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 - and ultimately its full-scale invasion of Ukraine eight years later.
The Russian president says that the overthrow of Kyiv's pro-Russian government in 2014 was instigated by the West. He describes those events, known as the Maidan Revolution, as a "coup d'etat", but here's a reminder of what actually happened.
More than 100 people died in the Maidan protests of 2013-14 Image caption: More than 100 people died in the Maidan protests of 2013-14
They began with quite small protests against the government after it refused a deal on closer ties with the EU. But the demonstrations grew into the hundreds of thousands because of popular outrage at police brutality.
From discontent over a single policy, it became a genuine popular movement - a broad protest against a regime seen as authoritarian and corrupt.
Pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, who fled to Russia after the revolution, continued to enjoy popular support in eastern parts of the country, at least while he was in office.
But for much of the country he was a figure of hate - probably more disliked for his lavish lifestyle and corrupt politics than for his pro-Russian stance. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-66587687 |
Brain advance gives voice hope to paralysed - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Two teams of US scientists have converted brain signals into words at a faster rate than before. | Pat Bennett, who has a type of MND, trains the brain interface to recognise the words and phrases she is trying to say
Scientists have developed a device that can translate paralysed people's brain signals into words at faster speeds than before, it has been reported in two papers in the journal Nature.
Pat Bennett, 68, who has motor-neurone disease (MND), tested the technology and said it could help her stay connected to the world.
Implants in her brain decode the words she wants to say.
The US researchers now want to improve their technology further.
Their ultimate aim is for people who can no longer talk, because of strokes, brain diseases or paralysis, to be able to communicate their thoughts in real time.
Ms Bennett used to ride horses and jog every day before being diagnosed, in 2012, with a disease that attacks areas of the brain that control movement, causing eventual paralysis.
Her speech was the first thing affected.
For the Stanford University research, a surgeon implanted four sensors the size of pills into Ms Bennett's brain, in areas key to producing speech.
When she tells her lips, tongue and jaw to make sounds to form words, an algorithm decodes information coming out of her brain.
"This system is trained to know what words should come before other ones, and which phonemes make what words," said Dr Frank Willett, co-study author.
"If some were wrongly interpreted, it can still take a good guess."
Ann is severely paralysed after a stroke - her brain signals were converted into speech through a digital avatar
After four months of training the software to interpret Ms Bennett's speech, her brain activity was being translated into words on a screen at 62 words per minute, about three times the speed of previous technology.
Normal conversations are about 160 words per minute, the researchers say, but they are yet to produce a device people can use in everyday life.
One in 10 words was wrong in a vocabulary of 50 words and there were errors in a quarter of Ms Bennett's 125,000-word vocabulary.
"But it's a big advance toward restoring rapid communication to people with paralysis who can't speak," Dr Willett said.
And Ms Bennett said it meant "they can perhaps continue to work, maintain friends and family relationships".
In another study, from the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), Ann, who has severe paralysis following a stroke, was able to speak through a digital avatar, complete with her own facial expressions.
Scientists decoded signals from more than 250 paper-thin electrodes implanted on the surface of Ann's brain and used an algorithm to recreate her voice, based on a recording of her speaking at her wedding.
The system reached nearly 80 words per minute and made fewer mistakes than previous methods, with a larger vocabulary.
"It's what gives a user the potential, in time, to communicate almost as fast as we do and to have much more naturalistic and normal conversations," researcher Sean Metzger, who helped develop the technology, said.
Study author Dr Edward Chang was "thrilled" to see the success of the brain interface in real time.
Improvements in artificial intelligence (AI) had been "really key", he said, and there were now plans to look at turning the technology into a medical device.
Current technology allows some people with MND to bank their voice before it's lost, and then use their eyes to select the words or letters they want to say on a screen, but it can be time-consuming.
The charity MND Association says it's "excited" about the potential of the new research, although they caution it's at a very early stage. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-66582773 |
Mason Greenwood: Rachel Riley accuses Man Utd of 'gaslighting' - BBC Sport | 2023-08-23 | Rachel Riley accuses Manchester United of "gaslighting" and "green lighting" abuse for their handling of the decision to part company with Mason Greenwood. | Last updated on .From the section Man Utd
Mason Greenwood's last appearance for Manchester United was against West Ham in January 2022 Rachel Riley has accused Manchester United of "gaslighting" and "green lighting" abuse for their handling of the decision to part company with Mason Greenwood. Greenwood's exit was confirmed on Monday after a six-month internal investigation into his conduct. It came after charges against the player, including attempted rape and assault, were dropped in February. In explaining the lengthy process behind their decision, a Manchester United statement claimed Greenwood "did not commit the offences in respect of which he was originally charged", adding: "Based on the evidence available to us, we have concluded that the material posted online did not provide a full picture." An open letter from chief executive Richard Arnold also said: "While we were unable to access certain evidence for reasons we respect, the evidence we did collate led us to conclude that Mason did not commit the acts he was charged with". And Greenwood issued a statement saying he accepted he had "made mistakes" and took his "share of responsibility", but added: "I did not do the things I was accused of." Arnold said that Greenwood's potential reintegration was "one of the outcomes we considered and planned for" but that "several outcomes have been contemplated and planned for" and his view "evolved". However, United fan Riley claimed the club's statements were "gaslighting" - a term used to describe a form of manipulation where a person is given false information that leads them to question the truth. She also accused the club of "green lighting" abuse on social media, saying: "This overreaching statement will put wind in the sails of abusers and send a message to victims it's more trouble than it's worth to report alleged abuse. It's so disappointing to see my club contribute to the culture that upholds this." "The question before them [United] was not whether Mason Greenwood may be found guilty in a criminal, or even civil court, it was whether he's fit to wear the United badge, to be a role model to kids who look up to footballers as heroes, and have his name proudly displayed on shirts sold in the club shop," Riley wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. Riley had previously said she would stop supporting United if forward Greenwood stayed at the club. She also told podcast The News Agents: "I think it's gaslighting for people to have two statements saying, Mason Greenwood himself saying he's been cleared of all charges - which is not the case, the claims were dropped because the key witness dropped out - and they [United] claim new evidence. "I've never been more ashamed of the club. I think it's just a disgrace. And they had another opportunity to make it right, make a good statement and they have just greenlighted the abuse that's been going on on social media." Writing on X on Tuesday, the Countdown co-presenter said: "I've been a red since before I was born, I've passed it on to my baby girls and some of the all-time best times of my life have been working with and cheering on Man United, so I write with such a heavy heart - as a club we've handled this appallingly." England international Greenwood was arrested in January 2022 following allegations surrounding material published online. He was later charged in October 2022 with attempted rape, controlling and coercive behaviour and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. After the charges were dropped in February 2023, the Crown Prosecution Service said key witnesses had withdrawn and new material had come to light, meaning there was "no longer a realistic prospect of conviction". United then started their own investigation. On Monday the club issued three statements: from the club, Greenwood and an open letter from Arnold to fans. They came after a number of delays amid fierce debate about Greenwood's potential reintegration at Old Trafford. The club said they wanted to consult with their women's team, some of whom were part of England's World Cup squad playing in Australia, before announcing a decision about Greenwood's future. Arnold said the club had "limited powers of investigation" and "were reliant on third-party cooperation" as they "sought to collate as much evidence as possible to establish facts and context". He said the extra evidence included the alleged victim requesting the police to drop their investigation in April 2022, and the club receiving alternative explanations for the material that was posted online. Former United player Gary Neville said United's handling of the Greenwood investigation had been "pretty horrible", lacked strong leadership and should have been dealt with independently. Riley told The News Agents podcast that Arnold should consider his position. "I've seen first hand how little is known, even amongst professionals who are supposed to be dealing with this - I include the police, I include social services," she said. "If they don't know the intricacies, I don't know how a CEO at Manchester United who has multimillion pounds at stake is in any position to make a judgement on what has happened, especially having not consulted abuse charities." In her social media post, Riley said the situation needed "trained, qualified, experienced experts" and it "goes far beyond the scope of what United were tasked with". "It is absolutely right a thorough investigation should take place. Yet experts could have used their knowledge to help United navigate the process so we could trust the outcome. And an external party with no vested interests would have been far more credible," she added.
• None Our coverage of Manchester United is bigger and better than ever before - here's everything you need to know to make sure you never miss a moment
• None Everything United - go straight to all the best content | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66586059 |
Chandrayaan-3 live: India's Vikram lander makes historic Moon landing - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | The Vikram lander touches down to become the first spacecraft to land near the Moon's south pole. | When the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) was founded in 1969, its primary goal was fairly simple - to design and launch satellites for forecasting storms, mitigating floods and bolstering telecommunications in the country.
Now the space agency has made history after its Chandrayaan-3 became the first space mission to land near the south pole of the Moon
It’s a huge moment, especially for a country which operates on a fraction of what others spend on space exploration.
But behind the milestone mission, dubbed at the most ambitious yet for India, lies years of effort.
In the beginning, India space missions were carried out with the help of other countries and it wasn’t until the 1990s that Isro began to design and launch satellites on its own.
Since then the country has achieved significant milestones to emerge as a leader in space missions.
In 2009, India sent a robotic orbiter called Chandrayaan-1 to the moon, which helped discover that water ice can exist on the lunar surface.
In 2014, India successfully put a satellite into orbit around Mars, becoming the fourth nation to do so.
And in 2017, India created history by successfully launching 104 satellites on a single mission, overtaking the previous record of 37 satellites launched by Russia in 2014.
The journey has been hardly easy - and yet here we are. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-asia-india-66576580 |
Watch: The moment India launched its historic Moon mission Chandrayaan-3 - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | The Chandrayaan-3 craft with an orbiter, lander and a rover lifted off on Friday from Sriharikota space centre. | With the Chadrayaan-3 mission, India aims to be the first to land near the Moon’s little-explored south pole.
The lander is due to reach the Moon on 23-24 August, space officials said.
If successful, India will be only the fourth country to achieve a soft landing on the Moon, following the US, the former Soviet Union and China. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-66197984 |
Royal Victoria Hospital: ED staff 'disappointed' by patient safety report - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Royal Victoria Hospital emergency department staff say the report's criticism did not go far enough. | Emergency Department staff at Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) have described a recent report into patient safety as "wholly unsatisfactory".
Staff said they were "deeply disappointed" in the lack of "explicit focus on patient safety" in the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) report.
It was published in July after the RQIA carried out an unannounced inspection.
It said the department was operating beyond its core purpose and capacity.
In a letter to the RQIA seen by BBC News NI, staff said that despite taking part in a feedback session, where RQIA staff agreed that the emergency department was "unsafe", the final report did not sufficiently focus on patient safety.
The RQIA has defended the report, which also found that department staff were experiencing burnout.
In response to the criticism, it said the report does "articulate the patient safety impact of patient crowding, and reflects concerns of staff, who were clearly doing their best to provide safe care within the service".
The inspection happened in November 2022, when there were media reports of patients waiting for days in overcrowded areas and on trolleys.
Lengthy ambulance waits, negative reports by staff and patients being cared for in corridors and cupboards triggered headlines for months.
BBC News NI, after being given exclusive access to the emergency department, captured conditions that showed hospital trolleys packed tightly against each other, with patients waiting for days to be admitted onto a ward.
In its statement to BBC News NI, the RQIA said that during its inspection it found each of the five standards were breached, namely fire safety, workforce, environment, infection prevention and control, and medicines management.
It added there was an escalation due to service pressures regionally.
The regulators said this was a "a very significant and serious outcome".
They also said services operating below the minimum quality standards are "less able to prevent risks translating into actual events or incidents, and resulting in harm".
The RQIA stressed this is clearly recorded and reflected in the report.
But health staff have told BBC News NI the report did not go far enough and have questioned why it took eight months between inspection and publication.
The letter said they hoped the feedback could bring about improvement in RQIA inspections and highlight ongoing safety concerns.
It added that waiting times and the lack of safe patient flow at every stage of the patient journey are not adequately addressed in the report.
In response to allegations of a delay, the RQIA said it is committed to publishing reports in a "timely way" and it is important that inspection reports are subject to a robust peer review and accuracy checking process.
It added there was a significant volume of material to be reviewed, then time provided to the Belfast Trust to draw up its response to the Quality Improvement Plan.
It also said the report provides evidence of specific safety issues, including increases in reported incidents of patient falls, pressure sores and medication incidents; challenges in managing patients presenting with mental health crisis; and impact on patient's privacy and dignity.
The RQIA said it will follow up with the Belfast Trust to seek evidence of progress on the actions the trust has committed to take to address the issues identified in the inspection report.
What can unlock the conundrum that is Northern Ireland's emergency department crisis?
Too often we hear that the lack of budget and government is to blame. And while the system by its very nature will never be perfect, it could be a lot better.
Emergency departments were in crisis long before Stormont fell and were in crisis when the power-sharing government collapsed previously too.
Like most health services, there needs to be change within emergency care if the NHS is to survive.
Doctors and nurses told me there's little thinking outside the box and those in charge often look as if they are being left to manage the optics instead.
There is a feeling health trusts should be more fearful of the regulator - and that the regulator should instil greater fear.
If the key to making emergency departments safer and less crowded requires shifting some resources away from hospitals and into the community instead - why can't this happen? | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-66547424 |
Lapsus$: Court finds teenagers carried out hacking spree - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | The 18 year old leaked clips of the unreleased Grand Theft Auto 6 game while on police bail. | 18-year-old Arion Kurtaj was a key member of the notorious Lapsus cyber crime gang
A court has found an 18-year-old from Oxford was a part of an international cyber-crime gang responsible for a hacking spree against major tech firms.
Arion Kurtaj was a key member of the Lapsus$ group which hacked the likes of Uber, Nvidia and Rockstar Games.
A court heard Kurtaj leaked clips of the unreleased Grand Theft Auto 6 game while on bail in a Travelodge hotel.
The audacious attacks by Lapsus$ in 2021 and 2022 shocked the cyber security world.
Kurtaj is autistic and psychiatrists deemed him not fit to stand trial so he did not appear in court to give evidence.
The jury were asked to determine whether or not he did the acts alleged - not if he did it with criminal intent.
Another 17-year-old who is also autistic was convicted for his involvement in the activities of the Lapsus$ gang but cannot be named because of his age.
The group from the UK, and allegedly Brazil, was described in court as "digital bandits".
The gang - thought to mostly be teenagers - used con-man like tricks as well as computer hacking to gain access to multinational corporations such as Microsoft, the technology giant and digital banking group Revolut.
During their spree the hackers regularly celebrated their crimes publicly and taunted victims on the social network app Telegram in English and Portuguese.
The trial was held in Southwark Crown Court in London for seven weeks.
Jurors heard that the unnamed teenager started hacking with Kurtaj in July 2021 having met online.
Kurtaj aided by Lapsus$ associates, hacked the servers and data files of telecoms company BT and EE, the mobile operator, before demanding a $4m (£3.1m) ransom on 1 August 2021.
The hackers sent out threatening text messages to 26,000 EE customers
No ransom was paid but the court heard that the 17-year-old and Kurtaj used stolen SIM details from five victims to steal a total of nearly £100,000 from their cryptocurrency accounts which were secured by their compromised mobile phone SIM identities.
Both defendants were initially arrested on 22nd January 2022, then released under investigation.
That did not deter the duo who continued hacking with Lapsus$ and successfully breached Nvidia, a Silicon Valley tech giant that makes chips for artificial intelligence chatbots, in February 2022.
They stole and leaked sensitive and valuable data and demanded a ransom payment to stop them releasing more.
The jury were shown Telegram group chats of the gang instructing someone they'd hired to call the Nvidia staff help desk pretending to be an employee in an attempt to get log in details for the firm.
In other hacks the gang spammed employee phones late at night with access approval requests until staff said yes.
Kurtaj and the youth were both re-arrested on March 31st 2022.
Shortly before his arrest, Kurtaj was "doxxed" by rival hackers who posted his and his families contact details online along with pictures and videos of the keen fisherman from social media.
Kurtaj was moved into a Travelodge hotel in Bicester for his safety and given strict bail conditions including a ban from going on the internet.
Prosecutors say he was "caught red handed" when City of London Police searched his hotel room.
In a "flagrant disregard for his bail conditions", jurors were told that police found an Amazon Fire Stick in his hotel TV allowing him to connect to cloud computing services with a newly purchased smart phone, keyboard and mouse.
The court heard he had helped attack Revolut, Uber and Rockstar Games.
His final hack against the game-maker was described as his "most audacious" as Kurtaj posted a message on the company Slack messaging service to all employees, stating: "I am not a Rockstar employee, I am an attacker."
He declared that he had downloaded all data for Grand Theft Auto 6, Rockstar's hugely popular video game series, adding that "if Rockstar does not contact me on Telegram within 24 hours I will start releasing the source code".
Meanwhile, 90 video clips of unfinished gameplay for the highly-anticipated new game were also published on a fan forum under the username TeaPotUberHacker.
Kurtaj was re-arrested and detained until his trial.
Prosecution lead barrister Kevin Barry said that Kurtaj and his co-conspirators repeatedly showed a "juvenile desire to stick two fingers up to those they are attacking".
Once inside a company's computer network, the hackers often left offensive messages on Slack and Microsoft Teams as they attempted to blackmail staff.
The gang's actions were often erratic with motives apparently swinging from notoriety, financial gain or amusement.
Their hacking spree prompted a major review by US cyber authorities earlier this month which warned that cyber defences needed to be improved to counter the rising threat of teenage hackers.
The report said Lapsus$ "made clear just how easy it was for its members (juveniles, in some instances) to infiltrate well-defended organisations".
It is thought that members of the gang are still at large.
In October, Brazilian police arrested an individual this is alleged to have hacked various Brazilian and Portuguese companies and public bodies with Lapsus$.
It is not clear how much money Lapsus$ has made from its cyber crimes. No companies publicly admitted paying the hackers and the 17-year-old refused to give police access to his cryptocurrency hardware wallet.
Both teenagers will be sentenced at a later date by Her Honour Judge Lees.
Kurtaj is remanded in custody and the 17-year-old defendant continues to have bail. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-66549159 |
Ulez expansion: Ministers looked at using powers to block scheme - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | The charge for the most polluting vehicles will be expanded to all London boroughs next week. | The government considered using legal powers to block the expansion of London's Ultra Low Emission (Ulez) scheme, the BBC has been told.
Ministers dropped the plan after receiving legal advice it would probably fail if challenged in court, the Daily Telegraph reports.
The Ulez scheme will be expanded to all London boroughs on Tuesday.
The Department of Transport said it was for the mayor to justify its expansion as people deal with the cost of living.
The Telegraph said cabinet ministers had been considering using part of the 1999 Greater London Authority Act that allowed them to overrule Sadiq Khan's policy if it was "inconsistent with national policies".
But formal legal advice concluded that the move would fail if challenged, the broadsheet added.
A spokesperson for the mayor of London said: "The Secretary of State could only use this power after changing national policy to prevent all cities charging drivers based on their emissions.
"Ministers have directed numerous UK cities to introduce clean air zones, and the government is under clear legal obligations to tackle air pollution.
"The mayor has received no suggestion from government that they have any intention to renege on these commitments."
Motorists driving vehicles within the charging zone which do not comply with Transport for London's (TfL) emission standards will have to pay a £12.50 daily charge.
Petrol cars generally meet the standards if they were first registered after 2005, while diesel cars generally have to be newer than September 2015.
The controversial expansion of the scheme, first introduced in 2019 to clean up the capital's air, was ruled lawful in the High Court last month after five Conservative-led councils challenged the Labour mayor's plan.
The issue was later blamed by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer for the party's defeat in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election.
A spokesperson for the Department of Transport said it was for the mayor to "justify the Ulez expansion, and at a time when the government is doing everything it can to support people with the cost of living, the mayor is responsible for explaining whether it is fair to charge those with non-compliant vehicles £12.50 every time they drive in London".
The AA motoring association says it is "essential" drivers who do not comply with Ulez are not fined "until the system beds in".
TFL says it can use its "discretion" to issue warning letters instead of penalty charge notices.
On the day Birmingham's emissions-based charging scheme was introduced in June 2021, the city council announced the £8 daily fee for non-compliant vehicles would not need to be paid for the first two weeks as part of a "soft launch". | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66589236 |
Brexit: Asda is first NI supermarket to use 'Not for EU' label - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | The labelling is a requirement of the Windsor Framework, the revised Brexit deal for Northern Ireland. | The labelling is not officially required until the start of October and is due to be rolled out across the rest of the UK in October next year
Asda has become the first supermarket to start "Not for EU" labelling on some of its food in Northern Ireland.
The labelling is a requirement of the Windsor Framework, the revised Brexit deal for Northern Ireland.
It is not officially required until the start of October and is due to be rolled out across the rest of the UK in October 2024.
It is part of a broader package of changes to the 2019 Brexit deal for NI - known as the NI Protocol.
The protocol kept Northern Ireland inside the EU single market for goods, which allowed a free flow of goods across the Irish border.
However, it made trading from Great Britain to Northern Ireland more difficult and expensive.
Checks and controls on GB food products entering NI have been some of the biggest practical difficulties.
Under the Windsor Framework, UK public health and safety standards will apply for all retail food and drink in the UK internal market.
That means GB traders who are sending food for sale in Northern Ireland should face no routine checks and minimal paperwork.
From October, pre-packed items such as meat will have to be labelled in a certain way
The flipside of this is the introduction of the "Not for EU" labels on GB food products, to give a level of assurance to the EU that products will not wrongly enter its single market.
From October, prepacked meat and fresh milk being sent from GB to NI will have to be individually labelled in that way, with labelling of other goods being rolled out by July 2025.
Businesses will also have to be registered as trusted traders to benefit from the reduced controls.
Asda has so far introduced the labelling on some of its own brand meat products.
There has been concern in the retail industry that businesses have not had enough time to prepare for the labelling changes, meaning not all operators will be compliant in October.
However, the government has indicated that it will initially take a light touch approach to enforcement.
For example, in its most recent published advice it said that during the first few months of the new scheme "procedures will be in place" to ensure that businesses using an existing trusted trader scheme will benefit from the new arrangements.
Neil Johnson of the NI Retail Consortium, which represents major supermarkets, said the change in labelling does not affect the quality of the food.
"This is simply about keeping everybody happy," he added.
"Because we are next door to the EU, we have to respect their right to their internal market and this labelling is just an administrative procedure to assist that.
"It has nothing to do with the food. Hopefully supermarkets will be able to continue to supply the same value and range of goods as they do today."
• None What does new NI Brexit deal mean for business? | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-66588975 |
Nicky Campbell claims 'Savile scale' teacher abuse - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | The BBC Radio 5Live presenter describes a former Edinburgh Academy teacher as a "prolific paedophile". | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Nicky Campbell says a former teacher abused children on a Savile scale
Broadcaster Nicky Campbell has claimed a teacher at two Edinburgh schools abused children on a "Savile scale".
He compared Iain Wares to the disgraced BBC TV and radio presenter Jimmy Savile after giving evidence to the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry.
The BBC Radio 5Live presenter told the inquiry he was sexually and physically abused by other teachers while he was a pupil at Edinburgh Academy.
He said he witnessed the sexual abuse of a pupil aged about 10 by Mr Wares.
The 83-year-old retired teacher lives in South Africa where he is fighting extradition to Scotland.
He is facing charges relating to his time teaching at Edinburgh Academy and Fettes Academy in the 1960s and 70s, which he denies.
After giving evidence of his own abuse to the inquiry, Mr Campbell became emotional as he told journalists outside the hearing: "It's as if someone at last has told the grown ups about what happened to us when we were little".
He said Mr Wares had abused children on an "industrial scale" at Edinburgh Academy before being moved to Fettes after parents raised concerns.
"We're talking about, for sure, one of the most prolific paedophiles in British history," he said. "And due to the ineptitude of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, he's living in a retirement complex in South Africa with an expensive lawyer delaying and delaying and delaying.
"But this could have been sorted out years ago and should have been sorted out years ago. This is Savile scale."
A spokesman for the COPFS said it had been a complex investigation which had been difficult for all involved.
"In order to protect any future proceedings and to preserve the rights of the complainers, the Crown will not comment further at this stage," he added.
Iain Wares (centre) is facing abuse charges at Wynberg Magistrate's Court in Cape Town
Mr Campbell is one of a number of former pupils of the independent, fee-paying schools who have been giving evidence to the long-running inquiry.
He has previously said the sexual and violent abuse he experienced while a day pupil at the school had a "profound effect on my life".
Warning: Some readers might find some of the following details upsetting
During two hours of testimony on Tuesday morning, he told the inquiry about an occasion when he says a teacher touched his genitals.
The Long Lost Family presenter recalled that the history teacher, Hamish Dawson, would call forward students who were wearing shorts.
Mr Campbell said that on three occasions he was tickled by the teacher on his leg in front of other pupils.
On the fourth he said the teacher's finger went into Mr Campbell's underwear and touched his genitals.
NIcky Campbell said Hamish Dawson sexually abused him at Edinburgh Academy
Mr Campbell also described a time when he was assaulted in a corridor by a teacher when he was aged about 14 or 15. He said he was held down by his hair.
He said he was then kicked and his shirt was ripped. Mr Campbell described this as the worst day of his life.
The 62-year-old, who was adopted by a "very loving family" as a baby, told the inquiry he was sent to the fee-paying school because his parents "wanted the best for me".
He said his form teacher would carry out relentless beatings on pupils using a wooden bat known as a clacken without reason.
Mr Campbell said the teacher would smirk as he told pupils he would see them after the class had finished.
He said the situation was terrifying.
Mr Campbell told the inquiry that on one occasion the same teacher was responsible for "a moment of brutality that never leaves you".
He said that the man held him down and banged him on the head with his knuckles.
Mr Campbell went on to tell the inquiry he still has nightmares about a beating he said he experienced at the hands of another teacher.
He said he was punched and kicked like a rag doll and that the assault left him crying and screaming.
Afterwards, he said, his mother contacted Edinburgh Academy and received a "mealy mouthed" apology from the teacher.
Mr Campbell told the inquiry he "wept like a little boy" when he heard a programme had been made about sexual abuse at his former school.
He described his subsequent involvement with the project as a life changing moment when he realised abuse was "happening on an industrial scale".
The Edinburgh Academy is the subject of the latest abuse inquiry hearings
In an emotional closing address, Mr Campbell wiped away tears as other former pupils sobbed in the public gallery.
He said Edinburgh Academy must apologise for sending Iain Wares to teach at Fettes.
But the broadcaster described the current rector of the school as "a good man trying to do good things in a dreadful situation".
A spokesperson for Edinburgh Academy said it unreservedly apologised to those "wronged by specific individuals whose roles were to educate, protect and nurture them".
It said it was committed to supporting former pupils and helping investigating allegations of historical abuse.
The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry was set up in October 2015 to look at the abuse of children in care in Scotland.
Lady Smith, who chairs the inquiry, has heard evidence of abuse at schools including Fort Augustus Abbey in the Highlands, and Loretto School in East Lothian.
She has found that children in homes run by Quarriers, Aberlour Child Care Trust and Barnardo's suffered physical, emotional and sexual abuse
The inquiry has also found that Sisters of Nazareth children's homes and orphanages run by the Daughters of Charity were places of fear. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-66580604 |
Lucy Letby: Parents accuse ex-hospital boss of 'total fob off' - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Former medical director Ian Harvey has been accused of a "shameful" failure to address their concerns. | Lucy Letby was handed a whole life order and will never be released from jail
Parents of babies attacked by nurse Lucy Letby received a "total fob off" from a hospital boss when they pleaded for answers, their lawyer has said.
One family said said they received "no proper explanation or clarification" about the collapses of their twins - one of whom was killed.
Former Countess of Chester Hospital medical director Ian Harvey has been accused of a "shameful" failures.
Mr Harvey has apologised for not communicating more fully at the time.
He added: "Having read the heart-rending victim impact statements, I know how desperate the parents are for answers and I will help them as best I can at the public inquiry."
Letby, 33, was ordered to spend the rest of her life in jail on Monday.
Her murder of seven babies and attempts to kill a further six between June 2015 and June 2016 made her the UK's most prolific child serial killer in modern British history.
Ian Harvey was medical director at the hospital where Letby carried out her attacks
Richard Scorer, from law firm Slater and Gordon, which is representing two of the families affected, criticised Mr Harvey for not responding more fully to the troubled parents' queries.
He was medical director at the time Letby carried out her killings but retired in August 2018, a month after she was first arrested.
Mr Scorer said: "Our clients received a series of anodyne letters from Harvey containing no proper explanation or clarification.
"The letters invited them to contact Harvey for more explanation and they tried to contact him repeatedly, but despite many attempts to get through to him they never received a return call.
"Our clients have described his response as a 'total fob off'.
"It seems that Harvey had little interest in passing any meaningful information to the parents, responding properly to any of their concerns, or complying with any duty of candour to them."
Lawyer Richard Scorer said his clients were ignored
He added: "In our view this failure to address parental concerns was shameful and another matter which needs to be investigated by a statutory inquiry with the power to compel witnesses and the production of documents."
In a statement issued to the BBC, Mr Harvey said: "I'm sorry they felt fobbed off. I wanted to give detailed and accurate answers, but this was difficult while the reviews and investigations were taking place.
"Once the police were involved, we were advised by them not to say or do anything that might jeopardise their investigation.
"I was told all communication had to go through the police and not come from the hospital. I apologise for not communicating that clearly enough at the time."
According to reports, Mr Harvey was referred to the General Medical Council (GMC) in 2018 following allegations he "misled the public in media statements", encouraged "an atmosphere of secrecy and fear" and failed to act "appropriately or in a timely manner" when consultants raised concerns.
Anthony Omo, director of fitness to practise and general counsel at the GMC, said: "In 2018 we received a complaint about Ian Harvey which we promoted for a full investigation.
"During our investigation, we liaised with the police, obtained an independent expert report and a witness statement, and thoroughly examined all relevant information.
"At the conclusion of our investigation, our senior decision makers considered all of the evidence and decided that the case did not reach the threshold for referral to the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service for a hearing."
Mr Scorer said his clients were now "very keen" to see a statutory inquiry set up to "compel people like Harvey to come and give evidence and compel the production of documents".
He said: "Some of this has been looked at in the criminal trial, but the criminal trial focuses on the particular offences that were committed, we now have to move on to looking at the surrounding circumstances and the way in which management dealt with this.
"That's why we need the inquiry, but it has to be an effective inquiry. It has to have teeth, it has to be able to compel people to come and give evidence on oath.
"It has to be able to force the hospital to disclose all the relevant documents all those things are needed to make the inquiry effective."
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-66587740 |
Russian general who ran Ukraine war fired - report - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Sergei Surovikin was head of aerospace forces but has not been since a failed mutiny in June. | Gen Surovikin won repeated promotions in the military until he lost his role in charge of the Ukraine war in January
One of Russia's leading military figures, Gen Sergei Surovikin, has reportedly lost his job as air force chief after weeks of speculation about his disappearance from public view.
Ria Novosti agency said he had been relieved of his post, citing a source.
For several months Gen Surovikin was in charge of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine but he has not been seen since the Wagner mutiny in June.
Observers believe his removal dates back to the botched rebellion.
One Russian report quoted a defence ministry source as saying he had been dismissed because of a transfer to a new job and he was now on a short vacation.
His role as head of aerospace forces has been taken on by air force chief of staff, Gen Viktor Afzalov, Ria Novosti adds.
During the hours that Wagner mercenaries marched towards Moscow on 24 June, Gen Surovikin appeared in a video appealing to them to return to base.
But his awkward performance was later compared to a hostage-style video. The general was known to have good relations with Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who reserved his loathing for other figures in the defence hierarchy.
In the weeks after the June revolt, there were unconfirmed reports by Russian military bloggers that Gen Surovikin had been detained for questioning. But officials denied he was being held in a pre-trial detention centre and one retired general said that he was merely "resting" and unavailable.
Gen Surovikin, a 56-year-old veteran of the Soviet campaign in Afghanistan in the 1980s, was given the nickname General Armageddon for his brutal tactics in Syria.
As commander of Russian forces and later the air force he left much of the second city, Aleppo, in ruins and bombarded civilians in rebel-held Idlib province. He was the first army officer to head Russia's aerospace forces and had no experience in aviation.
His big promotion came in October 2022, when he was made commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, months into the flagging, full-scale invasion.
His three months in charge were not a success. On the day he was appointed, the bridge over the Kerch Strait was attacked, and weeks later he ordered a retreat from the city of Kherson. Within three months he was replaced by Russian chief of staff Valery Gerasimov, becoming one of his deputies.
Russia's military leaders have had little to boast about since President Vladimir Putin sent in the troops in February 2022 and many of the top brass have been moved to different posts.
Before Gen Surovikin was put in charge of the operation, the war effort was run by Col-Gen Gennady Zhidko. He died in Moscow last week after what officials said was a "lengthy illness". | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66590916 |
GCSE English and maths resits to rise by thousands - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Tens of thousands more 16-year-olds will need to retake their papers in England. | Tens of thousands more 16-year-olds than last year will need to resit their English and maths GCSE exams.
More than 167,000 students in England received grade 3 or lower on their maths paper, about 21,000 more than in 2022, while 38,000 more, 172,000, failed English language - the highest number in a decade.
Head teachers' unions have said this will put more pressure on colleges.
It comes as the overall number of GCSE passes have fallen for a second year.
One parent, who wishes to remain anonymous, has told BBC News her son performed really well in English, music, art, media and photography, achieving As and Bs, but is devastated as he failed his maths exam despite working incredibly hard and receiving extra tutoring.
Her son, who is autistic and has dyslexia, is a talented musician and film-maker and had planned to take A-levels in film studies and photography and a BTec in music production - but one of these will clash with his maths-resit classes, so he is now having to take different subjects.
"All he can see is the fail - it's torture," she said. "And now he has to spend hours working on a subject he doesn't like and is rubbish at."
In England, students need maths and English GCSEs at grade 4 or above to qualify for further study - although, they can study for resits alongside their new subject choices.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wants all pupils in England to study some form of maths until the age of 18 but an education committee earlier this year heard the plan would be challenging to implement.
The Association of Colleges has estimated the extra GCSE resits could mean "additional costs of around £500,000 per week across colleges in England, around £16 million per year".
Senior policy manager Eddie Playfair said grading changes around the Covid pandemic had had a "yo-yo effect" on the numbers of resits, making planning a huge challenge. And colleges needed additional resources to pay for extra teachers and classes.
Schools Minister Nick Gibb told BBC One's Breakfast programme the compulsory-resit policy was "terribly important" but did not say whether more money would be available.
Julie McCulloch, of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the extra resits would "put more pressure on sixth forms and colleges" and mean "many students are forced into a series of demoralising retakes where the majority will again fall below the benchmark".
The development of new English and maths qualifications was "badly needed", she added.
Last year, only 20% of those retaking their maths GCSEs passed.
The NAHT school leaders' union also said the current policy needed "urgent change".
There were more students taking GCSEs this year, but the proportion marked as fails has also risen since 2022.
Overall, GCSE passes in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have fallen - with 68.2% of all entries marked at grades 4/C and above.
The drop has been steepest in England, where grades were due to be brought back in line with 2019 in this year's results.
In Wales and Northern Ireland, grades were always meant to be a bit higher this year.
More than 225,000 Level 2 BTec results were given out on Thursday, and more than 120,000 students received Cambridge National results.
Last year was the first time students sat exams since the start of the pandemic. Ofqual called it a "transition year", with grades set to reflect a midway point between 2019 and 2021. About 73.2% of GCSEs in England, Wales and Northern Ireland were marked at grades 4/C and above.
Now, in the second stage of the plan, grades are more similar to those in 2019, when 67.3% of GCSEs were marked as passes.
Nick Gibb has previously said bringing them back down would ensure results carried "weight and credibility" with employers, universities and colleges, so they know what the different grades mean.
He also said the difference in grades between advantaged and disadvantaged pupils was a "major concern" for the government.
Your device may not support this visualisation
In England, the gap between the regions with the lowest and highest proportion of GCSE passes grew, and state schools had a steeper fall in passes than private schools.
Labour's shadow schools minister Stephen Morgan said the results showed that "the government's levelling up agenda has failed".
Most of this year's GCSE students were in Year 8 when the pandemic hit. They also faced disruption from teacher strikes this year, although unions said they tried to minimise the impact on exam year groups.
Ofqual says there was "protection built into the grading process" so that students should have achieved the grades they would have done if the pandemic had not happened - even if they did not perform as well in their exams.
Some Covid measures also remained in place for this year's exams. GCSE papers in the same subject were spaced apart more than they were before the pandemic, allowing for rest and revision.
Students had formulae and equation sheets in some subjects, and were not tested on unfamiliar vocabulary in modern foreign language exams.
But, unlike in the rest of the UK, GCSE students in England were not given advance information about the topics on which they would be tested.
Students in England have to do some form of study or training until they are 18 - such as A-levels,T-levels, BTecs or apprenticeships.
Last week, the overall percentage of top A-level grades fell close to pre-pandemic levels.
A total of 3,448 people received T-level results - although 5,210 students started them in 2021.
The Department for Education said it was working to "improve retention".
Are you affected by the issues raised in this story? You can get in touch by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any submission. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-66476072 |
UK faces ‘heightened recession risks’ as interest rates bite - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | The UK economy is set to shrink between July and September and risks a downturn, a survey warns. | UK manufacturing in August saw its biggest drop since covid restrictions
The UK economy is on course to shrink between July and September and could tip into recession, a closely-watched survey suggests.
The S&P Global/CIPS UK Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) found that rising interest rates and weaker household spending led to a sharp drop in demand for goods and services in August.
The index looks at key economic measures such as orders and employment.
It showed that activity shrank in August after six months of growth.
The index's reading of 47.9 this month - anything below 50 marks a contraction - is the lowest level in two and half years.
On the upside, economists said that the PMI figures, which measure the health of an economy, showed that the Bank of England's efforts to tame inflation were beginning to work.
Following the release of the PMI report, the pound fell against the dollar and City analysts lowered their expectations of where the interest rate would peak to 5.5% from 6%.
Interest rates currently stand at 5.25% following a succession of increases since late 2021 when it was close to zero.
However, Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said the figures also suggested "the fight against inflation is carrying a heavy cost in terms of heightened recession risks".
"A renewed contraction of the economy already looks inevitable, as an increasingly severe manufacturing downturn is accompanied by a further faltering of the service sector's spring revival," he said.
According to official figures, UK inflation was 6.8% in July which, although slower than the previous month, is still more than three times higher than the Bank of England's 2% target.
The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee has voted 14 times in a row to raise interest rates. The theory is that by making it more expensive to borrow money, consumer demand will cool and price rises will slow.
However, repeated interest rate rises tend to drag on economic growth as it becomes more expensive for consumers and businesses to borrow and spend. Companies may also cut back on investment and jobs.
Paul Dales, economist at Capital Economics, said the survey would encourage the Bank "that higher rates are working" but added that economic activity would soon contract and a "mild recession is on the way".
According to the PMIs, UK activity fell in both the manufacturing and services sectors in August.
Rhys Herbert, a senior economist at Lloyds Bank, added that "the sharper-than-expected drop in retail sales in July" was also a warning of "further possible weakness as we enter autumn".
"Some businesses continue to also experience challenges with recruitment, resulting in upward pressure on wages," Mr Herbert added.
Pay has been rising at a record rate but the Bank of England has warned that wage increases will make it harder to get inflation down. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66594622 |
British Museum bosses first alerted to thefts in 2021 - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Dealer and buyer Ittai Gradel reported stolen items to the museum two-and-a-half years ago, emails show. | The British Museum is one of the most popular visitor attractions in the UK
An art dealer alerted the British Museum to alleged stolen items from the institution in 2021 but was told "all objects were accounted for".
Ittai Gradel alleged in February 2021 he had seen items online belonging to the museum, according to correspondence seen by BBC News between Mr Gradel and the museum.
Deputy director Jonathan Williams responded in July 2021 to Dr Gradel, saying "there was no suggestion of any wrongdoing".
The British Museum has been contacted for comment.
Mr Williams added during the correspondence that there had been a "thorough investigation" and that the "collection was protected."
The London institution announced last week that it had sacked a member of staff after treasures were reported "missing, stolen or damaged".
Police are now investigating. A statement issued by the Metropolitan police said: "We have been working alongside the British Museum.
"There is currently an ongoing investigation - there is no arrest and enquiries continue. We will not be providing any further information at this time."
The BBC understands that while there are unanswered questions for the museum, due to police involvement, they don't intend to comment further at present.
The museum has launched its own investigation into the thefts.
Fischer recently announced that he would stepping down as museum director next year
According to the PA news agency, the missing items are believed to have been taken over a "significant" period of time. Some of them reportedly ended up on eBay, being sold for considerably less than their actual estimated value.
An eBay spokesperson said: "Our dedicated law enforcement liaison team is in close contact with the Metropolitan Police and is supporting the investigation into this case.
"eBay does not tolerate the sale of stolen property. If we identify that a listing on our site is stolen, we immediately remove it and work with law enforcement to support investigations and keep our site safe."
None of the treasures, which dated from the 15th Century BC to the 19th Century AD, had recently been on display and had been kept primarily for academic and research purposes, the museum said. The majority of them were kept in a storeroom.
Dr Gradel's emails suggest he became suspicious when he "stumbled" upon a photo of a Roman cameo fragment that he said had been up for sale and had been listed on the British Museum website but had since been removed.
Dr Gradel also alleges in one of his emails that a third-party seller returned a gem to the museum as soon as Dr Gradel told him his suspicions, but claims the museum didn't follow this up sufficiently.
In one of several emails he sent to follow up any progress, this time to a board trustee, Dr Gradel accuses the director - Hartwig Fischer - and Mr Williams of "sweeping it all under the carpet."
In one response emailed in October 2022 to a trustee who was following up on Dr Gradel's concerns, Fischer said there was "no evidence" of any wrongdoing, adding that the "three items" Dr Gradel had mentioned were "in the collection".
Chair of the museum former chancellor George Osborne was alerted to Dr Gradel's emails by one of the museum's trustees in October 2022.
According to the emails, Mr Fischer told that trustee that "there is no evidence to substantiate the allegations".
Mr Osborne told Dr Gradel in January this year that "I have taken your comments very seriously".
It's now believed that more than 1,500 objects were stolen, damaged and destroyed, in a crisis that is threatening the reputation of the British Museum.
Labour MP Ben Bradshaw, a former culture secretary, told BBC News the latest allegations were "extremely serious".
"These are priceless objects that belong to the nation, and they should be safe," he said.
"This has potential reputational damage for Britain because this is already being reported across the globe. The British Museum is a probably the world's most famous museum."
He added: "The Culture department will be wanting to assure itself from the board of trustees and George Osborne, that it has the governance in place to protect these items now and in the future, to prevent anything like this ever happening again."
Last month, it was announced Fischer will step down from his role as director of the British Museum in 2024.
Mr Osborne told the BBC: "Hartwig has been a much respected director. I have been very clear - as has Hartwig - that his decision was not connected to our announcement last week." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-66582935 |
How Russia reacted after Prigozhin plane crash - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | After his failed rebellion, most Russians were probably surprised this hadn't happened sooner. | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
People here were shocked this summer after drones attacked the centre of Moscow on several occasions, causing explosions and damage to buildings.
Then, the Russian rouble took an unexpected tumble - briefly tipping the dollar rate to over 100 roubles.
Add to that, a failed mission to the Moon: Russia's 'Luna-25' lander was lost in space, destroyed as it collided with the lunar surface last week.
But today, as the news broke that Yevgeny Prigozhin's plane had fallen out of the sky, crashing in a fireball in Russia's Tver Region, most people were far from shocked. In fact, most Russians were probably surprised it hadn't happened sooner.
Speculation had been swirling for weeks in Russia about exactly what fate awaited Yevgeny Prigozhin. Exactly two months ago, the Wagner boss launched his brief mutiny.
His mercenaries seized a major Russian city and even marched on Moscow. After the rebellion was called off, many thought Prigozhin's days were numbered. After all, the mutiny was a significant humiliation for the Kremlin, and President Putin isn't the kind of man to forgive and forget.
About an hour after the crash, the Russian Federal Aviation Agency Rosaviatsiya released a statement confirming that Yevgeny Prigozhin's name was on the passenger manifest.
That is unusually quick for Rosaviatsiya: the agency is usually much slower to respond to such incidents. That raised eyebrows here.
Russian state TV is keeping reporting of the incident to a minimum, quoting government officials with no comment. In its main evening news bulletin, Kremlin-controlled Channel One dedicated just 30 seconds to the story.
It is a well-known fact in Russia that state TV channels often wait until they receive official instructions regarding the tone of reporting.
As for the Wagner group itself, Telegram channels linked to the mercenaries have claimed that Prigozhin "was killed….by traitors of Russia". At the Wagner HQ in the city of St Petersburg, a makeshift shrine has appeared. Images on Russian media show people bringing flowers and candles to the Wagner Centre.
Attention is now turning to what happened on board the flight. According to Russian media, investigators are looking into a number of possible causes, including "external actions".
Commenting on the incident, political analyst Tatiana Stanovaya said that the cause of the plane crash is not important - more significant is the message it sends to any other potential mutineers: "Everyone will see this as an act of retaliation and retribution…From Putin's perspective, as well as many among the security and military officials, Prigozhin's death should serve as a lesson."
Sign up for our morning newsletter and get BBC News in your inbox. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66601412 |
NatWest: Former boss set for £2.4m pay package after Farage scandal - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Chief executive Dame Alison Rose quit the bank over the closure of Nigel Farage's account. | The former boss of NatWest is set to receive a £2.4m pay package this year, despite having quit in disgrace over her handling of the closure of Nigel Farage's bank account.
Dame Alison Rose stepped down from the bank last month after admitting to being the source of an inaccurate news story about Mr Farage's finances.
She is currently working out her 12-month notice period at the group.
But NatWest said her pay will remain under review as it investigates the scandal.
A spokesman said: "Like other employees where an investigation outcome is pending, Alison is currently receiving her fixed pay.
"This in line with her contractual notice period and remains under continual review, as the independent investigation continues. As previously confirmed, no decision on her remuneration will be taken until the relevant investigations are complete."
The scandal emerged after Mr Farage, a prominent Brexiteer, claimed in early July that his Coutts account had been shut because of his political views.
A BBC report, citing a source familiar with the matter, then disputed this, stating that the account was closed because he no longer met the wealth threshold for Coutts.
Mr Farage subsequently obtained a document outlining his suitability as a Coutts customer. The 40-page document flagged concerns that he was "xenophobic and racist", and also questioned the reputational risk of having Mr Farage as a client.
It said that to have Mr Farage as a customer was not consistent with Coutts' "position as an inclusive organisation" given his "publicly stated views".
On 26 July, Dame Alison quit, hours after admitting she had made a mistake in speaking to the BBC about Mr Farage.
She had come under mounting pressure from Downing Street, the chancellor and other senior cabinet ministers to step down.
The BBC has since apologised for its inaccurate report.
In a message on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, Mr Farage said: "Any employee of NatWest that had done what she'd done would have been out the door, fired and would not even have received their month's money."
In a note to investors on Wednesday, NatWest said it would pay Dame Alison a £1.15m salary for the year and £1.15m in NatWest shares, which she will receive over the course of five years.
She is also in line for £115,566 in pension payments, bringing the total pay deal to around £2.4m.
NatWest said that Dame Alison's pay linked to previous share awards can yet be adjusted. The bank could decide to "claw back" those awards at a later date.
NatWest also confirmed pay arrangements for its interim chief executive, Paul Thwaite. He will receive £1m not including bonuses, shares or pension. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66590997 |
First UK womb transplant 'by end of 2018' - BBC News | 2023-08-23 | Around 750 women in the UK have approached the team to enquire about transplantation. | The surgeon planning to do the first womb transplant in the UK says he hopes to carry out the first operations "before the end of 2018".
Mr Richard Smith, clinical lead at the charity Womb Transplant UK, also said that they plan to use living donors.
In 2015, approval was given for 10 womb transplants in the UK, but these were from deceased donors, whose hearts are still beating.
Now the team plans to use both live and cadaveric donors.
Mr Smith, a consultant gynaecologist at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital in London, said this was because the procedure to retrieve a womb from a living donor was now simpler and safer, with the surgery time cut from 12 to four hours.
Around 750 women in the UK have approached the team to enquire about transplantation.
Womb Transplant UK says it has enough funds to pay for three transplants but will need hundreds of thousands of pounds more to complete a total of 15 transplants - five of these with living, related donors.
Around 6,000 women in the UK were born without a womb, while others lose their uterus to cancer.
At present, their only chance of having a genetically-related child is through surrogacy.
A global review of womb transplants has found that the procedure is a "major advance" but requires strictly controlled clinical trials.
Writing in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, a team of doctors in Japan said while womb transplants offer "great hope" for women born without a uterus, the practice is still experimental.
Womb transplants have been carried out in 10 countries: Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Sweden, US, China, Czech Republic, Brazil, Germany, Serbia and India.
The paper is the first global review of womb transplantation.
It says surgical risk is the major concern due to the difficulty of obtaining the uterine veins which run along the pelvic floor.
In a trial in Sweden involving nine patients, the average time to remove the uterus from a living donor was 11.5 hours, with 4.5 hours for the recipient surgery.
A team in China reduced the time of living donor organ retrieval to six hours using robot-assisted surgery, and the ovarian vein as an alternative to the uterine veins.
How would the procedure work in the UK?
Mr Smith told the BBC that after a preliminary selection process, the team was in contact with around 50 women who were potential recipients.
Some of these women had close relatives who were willing to donate their wombs.
He said: "The new method of live donor retrieval changes the equation to make it much safer.
"It is still major surgery but the risk of clot formation, DVT and damage to pelvic organs is greatly reduced, making it an acceptable approach."
The surgery will take place in NHS transplant centres, but the costs will be paid for by the charity, and team members will give their services free.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-44360786 |
Rail warning after two teenagers electrocuted - BBC News | 2023-08-01 | Police say the boys suffered "horrific" injuries after separate incidents in Lanarkshire and Edinburgh. | Two teenagers suffered "horrific" electrocution injuries after separate incidents on Scotland's railways over the weekend.
On Saturday a 14-year-old boy climbed on top of a stationary freight train in North Lanarkshire and touched the overhead line.
And on Sunday a 17-year-old boy was found seriously injured on a footpath close to a line in Edinburgh.
Det Chief Insp Marc Francey said: "In just over 24 hours this weekend two young people have sustained horrific injuries after taking unnecessary risks on the railway."
The first incident happened at about 21:00 on Saturday between Carfin and Holytown.
Officers said the teenager's injuries were believed to be life-changing and he remains in hospital in a serious condition.
The following day, at about 22:40, a teenager was discovered by a member of the public in Murrayfield.
It is believed he sustained his injuries, which were also described as life-changing, after gaining access to the tracks.
He is in a critical but stable condition in hospital.
BTP said officers were supporting the families of both victims.
Det Chief Insp Francey added: "It should be abundantly clear from these two tragic incidents that the railway is not a playground.
"Modern trains can almost silently reach speeds of 125mph, and the overheard lines are powered by extremely high currents of electricity 24 hours day, which can kill instantly or result in catastrophic, life-changing injuries."
He urged parents and carers to speak to children about the dangers as soon as possible and encourage them to stay off the tracks.
The officer added that BTP and Network Rail's You vs Train campaign highlighted the devastating consequences of trespassing on the railway.
In May a 16-year-old boy was electrocuted by overhead lines after he fell from the roof of Edinburgh Waverley railway station.
The teenager was seriously injured following the incident, which happened near the entrance on Waverley Bridge.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-66372227 |
Man bought private jet with borrowed council money - BBC News | 2023-08-01 | Leaked documents show businessman went on a spending spree and left a council effectively bankrupt. | Liam Kavanagh gained millions of pounds of investment in his solar farms
A businessman cheated a council out of tens of millions of pounds and went on a spending spree with the cash, an investigation has discovered.
Leaked documents reveal how Liam Kavanagh used Thurrock Council's money to buy luxury goods, including a yacht and a private jet.
The council has been made effectively bankrupt after investing £655m in Mr Kavanagh's solar farm business.
Mr Kavanagh's lawyers say all the payments were permissible.
They say they were approved by his company's finance team and auditor.
Thurrock is one of a number of councils that have got into financial difficulties since the coalition government gave local authorities more freedom to raise funds and invest in 2011.
Woking, Slough and Croydon have all been forced to stop all non-essential spending after losing public money on risky investments.
The Audit Commission - a spending watchdog that stopped councils taking too many risks - was abolished in 2015.
Conservative-led Thurrock Council started investing cash with Mr Kavanagh's business Rockfire the following year.
The idea was that the council would get regular interest payments from the profits and its cash would be safe because it was secured against the value of the solar farms.
But the interest payments stopped after Mr Kavanagh wound up his companies and the estimated value of the solar farms is less than the council thought.
Administrators are now selling the solar farms and Thurrock is facing a £200m shortfall on its investment.
The council has been forced to cut services and put up council tax.
Vickki Jarmyn has run a dance group for people with learning difficulties in the area for the past 14 years. But her £7,000 grant has been cut and the group is under threat.
"It's just an ongoing battle," she said. "How can you just take something from people that thrive in that situation, that are safe and comfortable? How can you just do that?"
The investigation - by BBC Panorama and The Bureau of Investigative Journalism - has revealed how the value of Liam Kavanagh's solar farms was inflated to persuade the council to invest more cash.
Rockfire had one of its solar farm portfolios revalued in 2018. The company gave valuers a power price of £61.45 per megawatt hour (MWh), but the average power price for the portfolio at the time was £46.92/MWh.
In 2020, Mr Kavanagh was told by staff that the average power price was predicted to be £41.70/MWh. But he insisted the valuers should be given an inflated price of £62/MWh, which they seemed to accept.
Gavin Cunningham, a former investigator with the Serious Fraud Office, told Panorama that supplying inaccurate energy prices was potentially fraudulent.
Mr Cunningham said: "The effect of that will be that you end up with a far greater valuation of the overall portfolio of solar farms than is actually the case. And anyone relying on that information is going to be misled by it."
Mr Kavanagh owned multiple solar farms, including this one in Wiltshire
By 2018, Thurrock had already invested more than half a billion pounds in Mr Kavanagh's business.
The inflated valuations convinced the council to invest a further £130m - but the money never reached the solar farms.
Leaked documents from Rockfire reveal how Mr Kavanagh spent council money on himself instead.
A ledger of payments shows £12m went to a company that bought Liam Kavanagh's private jet.
There are also payments totalling £2m for his Bugatti Chiron car and £16m for his yacht Heureka.
A further £40m disappears into a bank account labelled "other".
An email Mr Kavanagh sent in 2020 suggests he always planned to spend council cash on himself. It says: "These funds… will be used to create a new family investment office and to create wealth for years to come. This has always been my plan."
Mr Kavanagh is no longer living in the UK.
The Millionaire who Cheated a Council is on BBC iPlayer now and will be on BBC One at 20:00 BST (22:40 BST in Wales)
His lawyers said the transactions were all legal and that he was entitled to spend the council money on whatever he wanted.
They said there were no restrictions on how the investments were to be used, the solar assets were not overvalued and the power prices submitted were honest predictions.
Mr Kavanagh said Thurrock had approached him about the investments and they had produced significant income for the council over a number of years.
He said: "I have never misled Thurrock Council during the course of those investments. It was always my understanding that Thurrock Council conducted its own independent due diligence into investments."
Last month, a report by Essex County Council criticised Thurrock for its risky investment decisions and failure to make proper checks. The report also highlighted the role played by the council's then chief financial officer, Sean Clark, in its disastrous investment strategy.
As well as the Rockfire investments, Mr Clark also invested council cash in other companies that went bust. Mr Clark did not respond to Panorama.
The new council leader, Andrew Jeffries, apologised for the "the shocking and unacceptable failures" of the past.
He said the council was taking all appropriate action to recover the council's financial position and to protect vulnerable residents and essential services.
The Government says it has offered Thurrock financial help. It has also established the Office for Local Government to improve accountability, help detect emerging risks of failure and support local authorities. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66340991 |
Paris robbery: Smartly dressed gang stage €10m jewellery raid - BBC News | 2023-08-01 | Two men in suits and a woman wearing a dress target a store in a street full of luxury jewellery shops. | The robbers grabbed luxury items from the store's display cases
Two men in suits and a woman in a dress have robbed a prestige jeweller's in the fashionable heart of Paris making off with goods worth millions of euros, reports say.
The trio, carrying a handgun equipped with a silencer, targeted the Piaget store at lunchtime in the chic Rue de la Paix, a stone's throw from the Opera in the city's second district.
Staff were forced to the ground, a police source told Le Parisien website.
The robbers then fled on foot.
Prosecutors believe luxury jewels worth €10m-€15m (£8.5m-£13m) were taken as the trio plundered the shop displays. No-one was reported hurt.
France's special BRB police unit targeting armed robbery and burglaries has taken over the inquiry, one of several high-profile investigations into organised gangs and hostage-taking in Paris.
Only three months ago, another smart-fronted jewellery store was targeted 100m (330ft) down the street. The Bulgari shop on Place Vendôme was attacked on a Saturday afternoon, again in broad daylight, by three armed robbers who sped away on two motorbikes.
Both Rue de la Paix and Place Vendôme are renowned for their luxury jewellers' shops. But unlike the Bulgari raid, the gang that robbed the Piaget store were smartly dressed.
French reports speak of two men in grey suits and a woman wearing a green dress and black trousers.
Sandrine Marcot of France's jewellery and watches union told French TV the number of raids was worrying: "Even though it's true the level has dramatically fallen over the years, since the end of Covid in the past couple of years, the number of robberies and burglaries has been growing."
Less than two weeks ago, Italy and Paris St-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and his partner were tied up in their Paris flat as their attackers made off with jewellery, watches and other luxury goods.
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-europe-66372354 |
Bridgend rapist Steffan Jones filmed drinking game sex attack - BBC News | 2023-08-01 | His victim was nude, drunk and vomiting into a wash basin when she was raped, a court hears. | Jones was described as "a sexual predator" by a judge
A rapist tricked a woman into playing a drinking game - and then filmed his sex attack while she was naked, a court has heard.
Steffan Jones, 25, from Bridgend, made the woman strip off her clothes leaving her "blind drunk" from a "forfeit".
Cardiff Crown Court heard she was nude, drunk and vomiting into a wash basin when he carried out the attack.
Jones was found guilty of rape and two counts of assault by penetration and jailed for 12 years.
Jury members during the trial heard how the defendant recorded the attack on his phone to watch back later, and even showed his flatmate.
His victim was later forced to watch the video in court after he accused her of lying - and she described how she was left feeling "completely worthless".
Prosecutor Heath Edwards read a statement from the victim saying watching Jones's video had "ripped off the healed scars" and the attack had left her "completely lost" with "no enthusiasm for life".
"I know what he did to me will always impact my life including sex," she said.
In a separate incident, Jones raped another woman, and her victim impact statement said she had been left feeling like a "shell of the person" she had been before.
He was found guilty of three charges following a trial.
Judge David Wynn Morgan said his video had been "particularly shocking".
He added: "Your victim was blind drunk as a result of you callously tricking her in a drinking game.
"That, I'm afraid, is the person you really are - a sexual predator, a liar, and a narcissist. Not the paragon described in the multitude of character references that have been gathered on your behalf."
Judge Morgan said Jones's actions had a "substantial and adverse" impact on both of his victims, with his not guilty pleas forcing them to relive their experiences during the trial.
He will serve 12 years in prison, plus a further three on licence following his release.
Following sentencing, South Wales Police Det Sgt Andrew Coakley said: "Jones is a vile rapist who is now where he deserves to be.
"I applaud the two victims for having an extreme amount of courage to bring their complaint forward and ensure the conviction of their attacker."
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-66376354 |
Bibby Stockholm: No timeframe for migrant barge arrivals - BBC News | 2023-08-01 | The transport minister says final safety checks are still being carried out on the Bibby Stockholm. | Transport minister Richard Holden has said he can not put a timeframe on when asylum seekers will be housed on a barge in Dorset.
The Home Office had been planning to move the first 50 migrants onto the Bibby Stockholm, moored at Portland Port, on Tuesday.
But the arrival date has now been pushed back, potentially to next week.
Home Office sources say the delay is because working practices for port staff haven't been signed off.
The local fire service says it has been providing fire safety advice to the Home Office and the vessel operators.
Asked earlier on Sky News when the barge would be available, Mr Holden said: "I can't put a timeframe on it."
He added: "The checks are going to take as long as they're going to take. It's important we get these things right."
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said that "all accommodation has to go through a series of checks and inspections" when asked about the delay.
He also defended the policy arguing that it was "not fair" for taxpayers to pay "six million quid a day to house illegal migrants in hotels".
The government wants to use barges to house male migrants in an attempt to reduce the bill for hotel rooms.
Senior ministers hope to confirm the use of further barges in the coming months.
They have struggled to find ports prepared to host them so far, with a site next to London City airport and another on the River Mersey in Wirral among those being rejected.
The government believes a successful scheme in Dorset will help encourage other areas to sign up.
But any safety issues would make increasing the use of barges less likely.
The initial plan is for 50 men to live on Bibby Stockholm. But that could increase to more than 500 in the coming months.
The Home Office decided men living on the barge could share rooms, which significantly increased the capacity.
But there has been opposition to the plan - with local councillors and residents staging protests and Conservative MP for South Dorset Richard Drax calling on the government to remove the barge. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-66371897 |
Capitol riots timeline: What happened on 6 January 2021? - BBC News | 2023-08-01 | Here's a reminder of what happened on the historic day a mob stormed the Capitol. | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Officer Harry Dunn is still traumatised by the attack on the Capitol
Former US President Donald Trump has been charged with plotting to overturn his 2020 election defeat.
He is accused of four counts including conspiracy to defraud the US, tampering with a witness and conspiracy against the rights of citizens.
The indictment caps an inquiry into events which led up to the 6 January 2021 riot at the US Capitol - when supporters of Mr Trump stormed Congress in a bid to thwart the certification of Joe Biden's election victory.
Mr Trump, who is again running for president, denies wrongdoing.
Here are the key moments from 6 January 2021.
President Donald Trump tweets allegations of vote fraud ahead of his rally in Washington DC.
Members of the Proud Boy movement, a right-wing militia, are seen heading towards the Capitol. Speaking to Newsnight's US correspondent David Grossman, one member of the group says: "We're taking our country back."
One of the group has a radio. "It was clear he was communicating - getting messages, sending messages to somebody," our correspondent said.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. What the Proud Boys were doing before Trump's speech that day
President Trump begins his speech to supporters in Washington. Some 15 minutes into it, he starts urging them to converge on the Capitol.
"I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard," he said.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. "We will never give up, we will never concede", Trump tells supporters
As the president speaks, a crowd outside the Capitol is swelling. They begin marching towards the police barrier and get past officers. The police, outnumbered, try to contain them.
Trump supporters wield flags and weapons. One man stands on a makeshift gallows, complete with a noose. The crowd chants: "Fight for Trump."
Some have argued in court that they went to the riot because Donald Trump told them to
Minutes later, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi commences the certification process.
Mr Trump ends his speech with the words: "We fight. We fight like hell and if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore. So let's walk down Pennsylvania Avenue."
"They're throwing metal poles at us," he says. "Multiple law-enforcement injuries," he adds in a panicked voice.
Protesters surge past Capitol police protecting the west steps, the side facing the White House.
Minutes later, an officer declares there is a riot at the Capitol. "We're going to give riot warnings," he says. "We're going to try to get compliance but this is now effectively a riot."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch dramatic new footage of police under attack at the Capitol riot
Meanwhile Vice President Mike Pence is continuing to preside over the session.
Secret Service quickly and suddenly evacuate Mr Pence from the Senate floor.
The protesters break through the windows. They push inside, hopping through the broken glass. They then kick open the doors to let others in. Some wear hoods and helmets, some hold cameras or Confederate flags.
An immediate recess of the Senate is called.
A minute later, Officer Eugene Goodman runs to respond to the initial breach. He warns Senator Mitt Romney that the mob is approaching. Mr Romney turns and runs through a capitol hallway to safety.
The mob, a floor below them, has already begun to search for the Senate chamber.
Officer Goodman makes his way down to the first floor where he encounters the mob.
The officer was seen confronting a rioter during the attack
He lures the armed rioters away from the upper chamber. Many of these individuals have been calling for Mr Pence to be hanged.
By that point, the rioters are "within 100ft" (30m) of Mr Pence and a foot away from one of the doors to the chamber. Many senators are still inside.
At the same time, Ms Pelosi is rushed from the house floor. She is evacuated entirely from the Capitol complex to a secure off-site location.
Her staff barricade themselves into a conference room, hiding under a table.
Staff members of the House leader speak softly, frantically, to each other. Just outside, rioters are spreading out across the building, searching for Ms Pelosi herself.
The rioters chant: "Where are you Nancy?" In an audio clip, we hear one staff member whisper: "They're pounding on doors trying to find her."
One man breaks open the outer door to the office where the staff are hiding, but not the inner door. Another tries as well, but eventually moves on.
At the same time, Mr Pence is evacuated to a secure location.
Rioters start to spread through the buildings. Others break in from outside through various doors around the building.
They open the east side door of the rotunda to let more people in, flooding through the doors and overwhelming the officers.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. See how close the mob got to Mike Pence, Mitt Romney and other lawmakers
The House floor debate is suspended to update members. House members are told to reach for tear gas masks and be prepared to use them.
The House is called back into session in the hope of continuing the count.
But minutes later the House is abruptly recessed. Members are told to get down under their chairs if necessary.
"Folks have entered the rotunda and are coming this way," lawmakers are told.
Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell sends a text to his wife: "I love you and the babies. Please hug them for me".
The mob outside the chamber grows larger and they get within feet of the house door.
President Trump called Senator Mike Lee, according to the Utah Republican who has provided the trial lawyers with a copy of a log from his mobile phone.
According to his office, he received a call from the White House switchboard number - and the call lasted four minutes. Mr Lee has said that apparently the call was meant for Alabama senator Tommy Tuberville, and that he handed his phone to his colleague.
Mr Tuberville told reporters that he informed Mr Trump that Mr Pence had been evacuated from the Senate floor. "I said: Mr President, they've taken the vice-president out. They want me to get off the phone, I gotta go."
House impeachment managers say it is further evidence that the president knew how much danger his vice-president was in.
Ashli Babbit is seen turning the corner towards the House lobby doors as members are leaving.
House Rules Committee Chairman James McGovern is spotted by the mob as he leaves the House floor.
In a hallway outside the House chamber, a group attempts to force its way through a set of locked doors. The glass window panes on the doors are shattered. A rioter uses a baton to smash through as the crowd around him chants "break it down, break it down".
Footage shows the hands of an officer on the other side, holding a gun and pointing it toward the mob. We hear a shot and see Babbitt fall to the ground.
People still inside the gallery of the chamber are trapped. They tell each other to take off their congressional pins.
In the meantime, a number of rioters reach the inside of the Senate gallery.
"Is this the Senate?" one demands to know. "Where are they?" another asks, apparently referring to the evacuated senators.
Video footage shows some rioters rifling through papers and materials left behind by lawmakers. "There's got to be something we can use against these scumbags," one says.
Trump tweets asking for people to "remain peaceful".
Meanwhile the mob are still at the Capitol.
Footage shows a sprawling mob, a sea of people on the Capitol grounds. A Confederate flag waves in the foreground.
Trump releases a video in which he tells the mob to go home.
Fifteen minutes after police confirm Ashli Babbitt has died, Trump tweets again.
He refers to those at the Capitol as "great patriots". | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-56004916 |
Watch: Snake invades Sri Lanka cricket match - BBC News | 2023-08-01 | The reptile slithered onto a Lanka Premier League game in Colombo, Sri Lanka, bringing play to a halt. | A large snake slithered onto a Lanka Premier League game in Colombo, Sri Lanka, bringing play to a halt.
The reptile, believed to be a non-venomous rat snake, was ushered off the grounds before the game between Galle Titans and Dambulla Aura resumed. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-66373467 |
Supermoon: NI Weather watchers look to the skies - BBC News | 2023-08-01 | There are two supermoons in August, with the full Sturgeon Moon rising on Tuesday evening. | A full Moon when the Moon is closest to the Earth appears larger and brighter than usual
While most years have 12 full Moons, 2023 will have 13 of these lunar events.
There are two supermoons in August - the full Sturgeon Moon which rises on the evening of 1 August and the full Blue Moon on 30 August.
The final supermoon in 2023 will rise on 29 September - the Harvest Moon.
The names are mostly English interpretations of Native American names; some are also Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, medieval English, or neo-pagan.
The names can have a spiritual meaning, such as the Sturgeon Moon, which is said to embody the final days of summer and signals the beginning of harvest season.
Some people believe the different phases of the Moon impact the behaviours of both people and animals - with some pet owners saying their dogs behave differently when there is a full Moon.
Of course, we need cloud-free skies to be able to see these celestial events - especially when the nights are still quite short.
Technically, the Sturgeon Moon rises on 1 August, but it will still look full for the following couple of nights.
Weather conditions will not be good for viewing on Tuesday night but should be better on Wednesday night into Thursday.
On Monday, Joe McNeill got lucky with this photograph taken during cloud gaps when the Sturgeon Moon was almost full cloud over Newry, County Down
Of course, we can always look ahead to the once-in-a-blue supermoon at the end of August, this year's extra full Blue Moon. This only occurs now and then (hence the name) and can have a blueish colour.
The final supermoon of 2023 will occur on 29 September. This will be the Harvest Moon which only occurs once every four years.
The other three years it comes in October and is then called Hunter's Moon as, traditionally, people in the Northern Hemisphere spent October preparing for the coming winter by hunting, slaughtering, and preserving meats, giving it its Anglo-Saxon name.
Weather watchers may recall the Buck Moon in July - it is named after the new antlers that emerge from a buck's forehead around that time of the year, as male deer or bucks shed their antlers and grow new ones every year.
Gerard McCreesh captured the Buck Moon in Warrenpoint and Stephen Henderson spotted the Wolf Moon above Belfast's Titanic Museum
Before that there was the Strawberry Moon in June which is thought to mark the beginning of a fruitful season, helping different cultures to celebrate the ripening of berries and the bountiful harvesting season ahead.
It is thought that January's full moon came to be known as the Wolf Moon because wolves were more likely to be heard howling at this time, maybe because they were hungry.
As the Moon orbits the Earth in an elliptical shape rather than in a circle, its distance to us varies over time.
A supermoon is a phenomenon that occurs when a full Moon takes place at the same time as the perigee - when the Moon is closest to the Earth.
A full Moon during perigee will appear 14% larger and 30% brighter than a full Moon during apogee - this is when the Moon is furthest away from Earth, an event known as a micromoon.
A supermoon is also about 7% larger and 15% brighter than the average full moon.
"The full Moon occurs at a very specific moment in time - down to the second - when the Moon is directly opposite the Sun in the sky," explains Dr Darren Baskill, an astronomer and astrophotographer based at the University of Sussex.
"But to our eyes, the Moon will look full, or almost full, for two or three days either side of the exact moment that the full Moon occurs." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-66362580 |
David Hunter: Husband visits wife's Cyprus grave day after release - BBC News | 2023-08-01 | David Hunter had been unable to visit his wife's grave after being held in prison over her death. | David Hunter visited his wife Janice's grave the day after being released from prison
A retired miner who killed his seriously ill wife has visited her grave the day after being freed from prison in Cyprus.
David Hunter was convicted of the manslaughter of his wife Janice, 74, in an assisted suicide at their home and jailed for two years.
The 76-year-old was freed after spending 19 months awaiting his trial.
After her death in December 2021, Mrs Hunter was buried near their home in Tremithousa, near Paphos.
Hunter, originally from Ashington in Northumberland, had been unable to visit the grave as he was admitted to hospital after trying to take his own life immediately after killing his wife of 52 years.
Janice and David Hunter had been together for more than 50 years
He was then held in prison before being cleared of premeditated murder but found guilty of manslaughter by a three-judge panel.
He was allowed to walk free within 15 minutes of being sentenced at Paphos District Court on Monday due to time already served and good behaviour.
Hunter could not initially find the grave and was guided to it by Michael Polak of Justice Abroad, which represented him during his trial.
Carrying a bouquet of pink, purple and yellow flowers, he knelt by the grave for about half an hour.
Hunter could not initially find the grave and was guided to it by Michael Polak of Justice Abroad
The couple's daughter, Lesley Cawthorne, previously said she believed that her father would stay in Cyprus to be near Mrs Hunter's grave and "say his goodbyes properly".
Hunter told his trial, which lasted more than a year, that his wife "cried and begged" him to end her life as she suffered from blood cancer.
He said he would "never in a million years" have taken Mrs Hunter's life unless she had asked him to.
Hunter had not been able to visit his wife's grave since she died
He showed the court how he held his hands over his wife's mouth and nose and said he eventually decided to grant her wish after she became "hysterical".
Judges heard he then tried to kill himself by taking an overdose but paramedics arrived in time to save him.
Follow BBC North East & Cumbria on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to northeastandcumbria@bbc.co.uk. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-66372796 |
MrBeast sues fast food company over 'revolting' burger - BBC News | 2023-08-01 | MrBeast is the most popular YouTuber in the world, with more than 172 million subscribers. | Top YouTuber Jimmy "MrBeast" Donaldson is suing the company behind his fast food chain, and says fans called the food "revolting".
Donaldson, the biggest YouTuber in the world with 172 million subscribers, opened MrBeast Burger in 2020.
He claims Virtual Dining Concepts - the company behind the burger - is hurting his brand and reputation by serving a subpar product.
He is asking a judge to give him the right to terminate the arrangement.
Donaldson is known for his philanthropy, as well as videos featuring huge prizes and cash giveaways.
The legal action, filed in New York on Monday, accuses Virtual Dining Concepts of not ensuring the quality of the burgers, claiming they were at times "inedible".
"As a result, MrBeast Burger has been regarded as a misleading, poor reflection of the MrBeast brand," the lawsuit claims, going on to say it "has caused material, irreparable harm to the MrBeast brand and MrBeast's reputation".
It also claims Donaldson "has not received a dime" from the partnership.
The BBC has approached Virtual Dining Concepts for comment.
Donaldson has previously apologised to fans on Twitter who were disappointed by their food, and said he "can't get out of" his deal with the company.
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by MrBeast This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
MrBeast Burger delivers from more than 1,000 so-called "ghost kitchens" worldwide.
Also known as dark kitchens or virtual restaurants, these are food delivery services which operate out of the kitchens of other businesses.
For example, in early 2022 fans in London could have a MrBeast Burger delivered to them from Shoreditch, in the east of the city, where it was made in the kitchen of a different burger joint - Dirty Bones.
It drew national media attention in September 2022, when Donaldson filled a shopping centre in the US with thousands of fans for the opening of his first bricks-and-mortar burger restaurant.
Fans queued for hours for a burger, and a chance to meet him at the location, in New Jersey.
Donaldson has the second-largest YouTube channel in the world, and is the most-subscribed individual creator on the platform.
The only channel bigger than his belongs to Indian record label T-Series, which features thousands of Hindi-language music videos.
In 2021, he launched a separate philanthropy-themed YouTube channel, which itself has more than 10 million subscribers, and he has a licensed charity that functions as a food bank to feed communities across the US. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-66372675 |
Ukraine war: Kyiv warns Russia as Moscow skyscraper hit in second drone attack - BBC News | 2023-08-01 | The building in Russia's capital was struck in a drone attack for the second time in two days | Damage could be seen on the skyscraper's facade
A skyscraper in Russia's capital Moscow has been attacked by a drone for the second time in two days, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has said.
Several drones were shot down overnight on Monday, he said, but "one flew into the same tower at the Moskva City complex" that was targeted on Sunday.
Kyiv did not comment on responsibility but warned Russia that the conflict could soon move to its territory.
It did not address separate Russian claims that three Ukrainian sea drones were destroyed while trying to attack Russian naval ships in the Black Sea, though did dismiss as "fictitious" further claims that Russian civilian ships had also been targeted.
No one was injured in the skyscraper attack. Moscow mayor said the IQ-Quarter Tower 1 building's "glazing was destroyed over 150 sq m".
The building houses teams from Russia's ministry of economic development, the digital ministry, and the ministry of industry and trade. Staff at the former have been told to work from home, Reuters news agency reports.
Two more Ukrainian drones were shot down by anti-aircraft systems elsewhere in the Moscow region, Russia's defence ministry said, claiming to have thwarted a Ukrainian "terrorist attack".
Moscow has repeatedly accused Ukraine of carrying out drone strikes on its territory in recent months, including one on the Kremlin - President Vladimir Putin's official residence in the capital - back in May.
Although Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for specific incidents, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said attacks on Russian territory are an "inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process".
Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday, Ukrainian presidential official Mykhailo Podolyak said the conflict would soon move to the territory of the "authors of the war" and bring "more unidentified drones, more collapse, more civil conflicts, more war".
Also on Tuesday, Russia's defence ministry said in a statement that, during the night, Ukraine had made an "unsuccessful attempt to attack the Sergei Kotov and Vasiliy Bykov patrol ships of the Black Sea fleet with three unmanned sea boats".
It said the two ships had been controlling shipping 340 km (211 miles) southwest of the Crimean peninsula and would continue to do so.
Later, in a briefing, the ministry also said three Ukrainian semi-submersible unmanned boats had been destroyed while trying to carry out a "terrorist attack" on Russian civilian transport ships heading towards the Bosphorus Strait.
In response, Mr Podolyak told Reuters: "Undoubtedly, such statements by Russian officials are fictitious and do not contain even a shred of truth.
"Ukraine has not attacked, is not attacking and will not attack civilian vessels, nor any other civilian objects."
He did not respond to the claim that Ukraine had used sea drones to target the Russian navy.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Russia's emergencies services were working at the scene on Tuesday | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66368016 |