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EU gives Ukraine €2bn of ammunition after shell plea - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba hailed the "game-changing decision" from the EU. | Europe | Members of Ukraine's Armed Forces 80th Separate Air Assault Brigade at their position near the frontline city of Bakhmut, eastern Ukraine, last week
More than a dozen European Union member states have agreed to supply Ukraine with at least one million artillery shells over the next year.
The plan, worth €2bn in total, was agreed in Brussels on Monday.
Ukraine had told the EU it needed 350,000 shells a month to hold back advancing Russian troops and launch a counter-offensive this year.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba hailed the "game-changing decision" from the EU.
"Exactly what is needed," he wrote on Twitter. "Urgent delivery and sustainable joint procurement."
The deal comes as Russia grows concerned at a Ukrainian counter-offensive near Bakhmut or in southern Ukraine, according to a report from think tank Institute for the Study of War.
Meanwhile, Russia's own new year offensive "may be nearing culmination", the ISW added.
Defence and foreign ministers from 17 EU countries and Norway signed the ammunition agreement.
The first part of the plan commits €1bn ($1.06bn; £863m) of shared funding for EU states to draw upon their existing stockpiles, with the hope of sending this to Ukraine by the end of May.
The second part of the deal would see a further €1bn used to jointly order 155mm shells for Ukraine - the most sought-after artillery rounds.
The EU is hoping this joint order will incentivise European defence firms to increase their output, with the hope that contracts can be signed by the start of September.
The deal means each country will have to share details of their ammunition stockpiles - something normally kept secret.
Current ammunition production in Europe is said to be lagging behind the levels Ukraine insists it needs to fight Russia.
There are also questions about how much EU countries can share from their own stockpiles without leaving themselves vulnerable.
"Increasing industrial capacity is essential," EU internal market commissioner Thierry Breton said during a visit to French arms industry company Nexter on Monday.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell recently warned that the bloc had to supply the artillery shells Ukraine needed, or face the prospect of Ukraine losing the war with Russia.
He said Russian forces were firing about 50,000 rounds of artillery each day and that Ukraine's supplies must be lifted to the same level.
Hungary, which has not sent ammunition to Ukraine and has often threatened to veto sanctions against Russia, abstained from Monday's vote in Brussels but foreign minister Peter Szijjarto said it would "not prevent others from doing what they want".
Norway also announced on Monday that it had delivered eight German-made Leopard II tanks to Ukraine to be used in a possible Ukrainian counter-offensive against Russia this spring.
Separately, the US is authorising another $350m in military aid for Ukraine, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. It includes ammunition for Himars missile launchers, 155mm shells, and howitzer cannon.
Largest donors of military aid to Ukraine by country. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65018434 |
Boris Johnson submits evidence before Partygate grilling - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | A committee of MPs is investigating whether the former PM misled Parliament over Covid rule-breaking parties. | UK Politics | Boris Johnson has submitted evidence to MPs investigating whether he misled Parliament over Covid rule-breaking parties in Downing Street.
The former prime minister, who denies misleading MPs, wants his defence to be published as soon as possible.
The Privileges Committee said it was reviewing the material to make redactions before publication.
Mr Johnson will be questioned by the cross-party committee in a televised session on Wednesday.
In an initial report earlier this month, it found Mr Johnson may have misled Parliament multiple times.
The committee confirmed it had received Mr Johnson's written evidence on Monday afternoon and would publish it "as soon as is practicably possible".
However, a spokesman added: "The committee will need to review what has been submitted in the interests of making appropriate redactions to protect the identity of some witnesses."
Wednesday's session, which could last up to five hours, will be crucial in determining his political future.
If Mr Johnson is found to have misled Parliament, the committee will consider whether this was reckless or intentional, and recommend how he should be punished.
MPs would have to approve any sanction, but potential punishments range from ordering him to apologise to suspension from the Commons. If he is suspended for more than 10 days, this could trigger a by-election in his constituency.
Downing Street sources say MPs will be given a free vote, meaning they will not be told to vote either for or against the sanction.
The Privileges Committee, which is chaired by Labour's Harriet Harman, is made up of seven MPs - four Conservatives, one more Labour MP and one SNP MP.
Allies of Mr Johnson have raised concerns about the independence of the inquiry.
Conor Burns, a Tory MP who served as a minister under Mr Johnson, pointed to a tweet by Ms Harman in April last year, before the committee launched its investigation, where she suggested that by accepting a fine for breaking Covid rules, the then-prime minister would be admitting he misled Parliament.
He told BBC Radio 4's Westminster Hour: "Boris Johnson contests that but it seems to me the person who is chairing this committee has predetermined it and that causes me a degree of anxiety for Parliament's reputation in handling this with integrity."
Tory peer Lord Greenhalgh, who was a deputy mayor under Mr Johnson, told Times Radio he was worried the inquiry would be "a witch-hunt".
However, the prime minister's official spokesman has defended the investigation and endorsed comments from Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt that the committee must be able to "get on with their work without fear or favour".
Boris Johnson celebrates his birthday - for which he received a fine - in a photo released by the committee
Reports of gatherings in government buildings during Covid lockdowns first emerged in late 2021.
On several occasions, Mr Johnson, who was then prime minister, told the Commons the rules had been followed.
He later admitted his original statements had since proved incorrect. However, he has insisted he believed them to be true at the time and that he had been assured this was the case.
An investigation by senior civil servant Sue Gray found widespread rule-breaking had taken place and a police inquiry led to 83 people, including Mr Johnson himself, being fined for attending events.
The Privileges Committee's initial report said it had seen evidence that "strongly suggests" Covid rule breaches would have been "obvious" to Mr Johnson. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65012967 |
'I did not send my child to university to die' - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The mother of Edinburgh student Romy Ulvestad calls for universities to have a legal duty of care. | Edinburgh, Fife & East Scotland | University of Edinburgh student Romy Ulvestad died at her parents' London home four days after her 21st birthday.
She had killed herself after staff failed to provide additional support, despite repeated warnings that she was struggling with her mental health.
Now her mother is adding her support to a campaign for the UK government to create legal duty of care for students.
The university, which apologised for failing Romy, said it had improved the support it offers since her death.
Libby Kitson, Romy's mother, has joined calls for Westminster to change the law to better protect students, and hopes the Scottish government will follow suit.
The petition to the UK government is being supported by 25 bereaved families, who have come together and set up The LEARN Network.
It reached more than 127,000 signatures before the deadline at midnight on Mothers' Day, meaning Parliament will consider the subject for debate.
Speaking to BBC Scotland, Ms Kitson said she did not know that her daughter was struggling with her mental health when she returned to London during the Covid lockdown in 2020.
"Her father and I had no idea about her mental health struggles but they had been well-flagged to people at the University of Edinburgh who could have done something about it," she said.
"I sent Romy to off to university to study classics, which would be a pivotal point for the rest of her life. What I didn't expect to do was send her off to university to die."
Romy, a classics student and part-time model, died in April 2020, more than a year after she communicated with the university about her struggles by requesting a "special circumstances" application to resit her exams without penalty.
Ms Kitson said: "We want there to be a legal duty of care within all higher education institutions, and I think some people, including our government, seem to think there is some legal requirement in place but there really isn't.
"You want to know that if your child is suffering with any kind of mental health issues, or is overwhelmed by university life, there are people there who are trained and skilled to help deal with it.
"And if they really, really are in a state of crisis you would want to be informed."
Libby Kitson hopes the Scottish government will legislate after the UK government
Campaigners from ForThe100 want a change in law to ensure higher education institutions have a legal duty of care towards their students, as schools already do.
The Department of Education has said creating a legally enforced duty of care "would be a disproportionate response".
Ms Kitson said the campaign was not looking to provide a means for families to sue universities, but to prevent similar deaths.
She said she did not want any other parent to have to go through the same situation.
"We would hope that the Scottish Parliament would look at England and Wales and think 'they've led by example, we should follow suit'," she said.
"A Scottish student's life is no less important."
A University of Edinburgh spokeswoman said it had been "shocked and deeply saddened by what happened" to Romy and "deeply sorry" for the gaps in support given to her.
"Supporting our students' mental health and ensuring their wellbeing is our absolute priority," she said. "Our support policies and practices are under regular review as we continue to focus and improve upon our mental health support provision and provide the best possible environment for our students."
Students at the university now have access to a "named-contact relationship" with staff trained in wellbeing and mental health, alongside other support services.
The spokeswoman added: "We continue to engage with students through both the Students' Association and the Sports Union to identify how best we can shape and develop our services to support students most effectively.
"We work closely with the three other universities in Edinburgh and NHS mental health colleagues to improve pathways into specialist mental health services for students."
The Department for Education previously responded to the petition by saying that higher education providers already had a "general duty of care not to cause harm to their students through their own actions".
A spokesperson said: "We acknowledge the profound and lasting impact a young person's suicide has upon their family and friends, and know among the petitioners there are those who have personal experience of these devastating, tragic events.
"[However] we... feel further legislation to create a statutory duty of care, where such a duty already exists, would be a disproportionate response."
In a response to the petition, the Scottish government said: ''We are determined to support the mental health of all students. Over the last three years we have invested £11.5m to introduce additional counsellors in colleges and universities''.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-65007151 |
Ukraine says Russian missiles destroyed in Crimea - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | If confirmed, the strike suggests Ukraine's capacity to deploy drones has increased. | Europe | Footage shared on social media showed an explosion lighting up the night sky
An explosion in the north of annexed Crimea has destroyed Russian missiles being transported by rail, Ukraine's defence ministry has said.
The Russian-installed head of the city of Dzhankoi said the area had been attacked by drones.
Ukraine announced the explosions but, as is normal, did not explicitly say it was behind the attack.
If confirmed, it would be a rare foray by Ukraine's military into Crimea, which has been annexed since 2014.
Russia has suffered attacks in Crimea before, but in most cases, responsibility has either been unacknowledged by Ukraine or blamed on some kind of partisan sabotage.
This strike, if confirmed, suggests that the capacity of the Ukrainian air force to deploy drones has increased.
Until now, Crimea has largely seemed out of the range of Ukrainian missiles. But this attack indicates that a drone at least can reach deeper behind Russian lines than previously thought.
The "mysterious" explosions destroyed Russian Kalibr-NK cruise missiles, intended for use by Russia's Black Sea Fleet, Ukrainian defence intelligence said. Kailbr missiles have been widely used in attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure in recent months.
One unconfirmed report from a resident cited on Ukrainian TV spoke of "booms" that went on for 30 minutes, leaving part of Dzhankoi with no electricity. The blasts "continue the process of Russia's demilitarisation and prepares the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea for de-occupation", the defence ministry said.
Dzhankoi has been used by Russian forces as a rail hub between Crimea and other areas of occupied Ukraine. Russian TV reports said that Tuesday's strike had not caused any damage to rail infrastructure.
Russia's investigative authority said a residential building and a shop were damaged, according to initial findings. All the targets were civilian, it claimed.
Ihor Ivin, the Russian-installed administrator, said a 33-year-old man was taken to hospital for treatment for a shrapnel injury from a downed drone. He made no mention of any military targets being damaged.
Several buildings caught fire and the power grid was damaged, Mr Ivin was quoted as saying by local media. Another Russian-appointed official said a drone had been hit over a technical school, between an instruction area and a student residence.
Russia's top official in occupied Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, said air defences near Dzhankoi had been activated and the situation was under control. He urged residents not to pay attention to "fakes disseminated by Ukrainian propaganda".
Last August, an ammunition depot was targeted near Dzhankoi. Weeks later, Russia blamed Ukraine for carrying out a drone attack on the Black Sea Fleet in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol in which a warship was damaged.
This latest attack suggests Kyiv is determined to continue harrying the supply chains of Russian forces, targeting in particular its stock of missiles, as well as the routes along which they may be transported into southern occupied Ukraine via Crimea.
Speaking on Ukrainian TV, military spokeswoman Natalia Humeniuk reminded viewers that Dzhankoi was a hub station for the occupying force and that, from the start of the Russians' full-scale invasion, it had been made clear that defeating their logistics would play a big part in the future status of Crimea.
Kyiv has a political incentive to keep Crimea in the news, too: a reminder that its current objective is not just to force Russian forces out of those areas captured since February last year, but also from the Black Sea peninsula annexed illegally in 2014.
In a separate development, authorities in southern Russia accused Ukrainian forces of using a drone to target a pumping station on an oil pipeline north of the Ukrainian border. The governor of Bryansk region said there were no casualties. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65021987 |
Miss Wales says she is grateful after life-changing M4 crash - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Darcey Corria was left with a broken neck and pelvis in a collision on the M4 in January. | Wales | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Darcey Corria was left with serious injuries after a car crash
A beauty queen who was thrown through her car window after initially escaping unharmed from a crash said the experience had changed her life.
Miss Wales Darcey Corria, 21, from Barry in Vale of Glamorgan, was left with a broken neck and pelvis in a collision on the M4 in January.
Two months on, she is still in pain but said her rehabilitation had given her "a completely different take on life".
She said it had opened her eyes to "different realities".
Due to be competing at the Miss World competition this year, she said she would be there as "the best version of herself" after struggling with her mental and physical recovery.
The 21-year-old remembers driving home from Swansea in bad weather when she lost control of her car near Bridgend. She skidded to a halt but was unharmed.
As she tried to escape, with her car still across the motorway, her vehicle was hit.
Current Miss Wales Darcey Corria says the crash has made her realise life is short
"As I was climbing over, I remember looking back to see how close the cars were and as I've looked back to see, the car hit me and I went through the passenger window," she said.
The window broke her neck and jaw and the impact of hitting the floor broke her pelvis and lower back.
"It's more scary to think back now," she said.
"The scariest time was when I was on the side of the road and there was a lady who was helping me.
"I just remember being really cold, I was losing a lot of blood, it was getting dark and I just felt like I was on my own."
Darcey spent 20 days in hospital and is still receiving treatment. There is a chance she might have to have an operation on her neck.
"Looking back at the first week home and I was still on my medication, I felt really strong, I was going on social media and it hadn't hit me yet. It was like I was dreaming," she said.
But coming off medication and leaving hospital was when it hit her.
"The week after that I was just being really angry. I have really gone through so many emotions.
"But to be here now and feel positive and wake up and not cry and feel happy and to know I will make a full recovery is really reassuring."
Darcey says she has even more motivation to win Miss World and use her voice
Darcey has posted updates on her social media accounts to show that "life isn't always sequins and tiaras" and said a visit by Miss World to her hospital bed was "an honour".
The neck brace she has been wearing, even while sleeping, has caused some to stare when she is out and about which she admitted made her feel "self-conscious".
She said she also noticed a lack of disabled toilets when she was first out of hospital and needed to use them.
"That just wakes me up to what people who are disabled live with every day," she said.
"So in a way I am grateful that it has opened my eyes up to the different realities of life which I haven't experienced.
"It has been life-changing. It's woken me up to how thin the line between life and death is and just how short life is.
"Love, respect and appreciate the relationships you've got because you never know when they might be taken from you."
Darcey will compete at the Miss World competition later this year, something she qualified for after winning the Miss Wales title last May.
"I will be a different person than I ever thought I would be standing on the stage at Miss World. I would love to win but I am just really grateful I can still go.
"I will just enjoy every single second." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-64981797 |
UN climate report: Scientists release 'survival guide' to avert climate disaster - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Technology is providing solutions but the climate forecast is worsening, scientists say in major report. | Science & Environment | Scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change met in Switzerland where glaciers are melting
UN chief Antonio Guterres says a major new report on climate change is a "survival guide for humanity".
Clean energy and technology can be exploited to avoid the growing climate disaster, the report says.
But at a meeting in Switzerland to agree their findings, climate scientists warned a key global temperature goal will likely be missed.
Their report lays out how rapid cuts to fossil fuels can avert the worst effects of climate change.
In response to the findings, UN secretary general Antonio Guterres says that all countries should bring forward their net zero plans by a decade. These targets are supposed to rapidly cut the greenhouse gas emissions that warm our planet's atmosphere.
"There is a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all," the report states.
Governments had previously agreed to act to avoid global temperature rise going above 1.5C. But the world has already warmed by 1.1C and now experts say that it is likely to breach 1.5C in the 2030s.
The UK government responded that the report makes it clear that countries must "work towards far more ambitious climate commitments" ahead of the UN climate summit COP28 in November.
"The UK is a world leader in working towards net zero, but we need to go further and faster," a spokesperson said.
Small islands in the Pacific are some of the countries expected to be worst hit by climate change.
Responding to the report, the chair of the Alliance of Small Island States Fatumanava-o-Upolu III Dr. Pa'olelei Luteru said: "While our people are being displaced from their homes and climate commitments go unmet, the fossil fuel industry is enjoying billions in profits. There can be no excuses for this continued lack of action."
The report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - the scientific body that advises the UN on rising temperatures - is agreed on by all governments involved.
Their new study aims to boil down to one slim volume several landmark findings on the causes, impacts and solutions to climate change that have been released since 2018.
It outlines the significant impacts that climate change is having on the world already, and explains that these will get much worse.
By 2100 extreme coastal flooding that used to happen once-a-century is expected to occur at least annually in half of the world's tidal gauge locations - places where sea level recordings are made.
Concentrations of the warming gas CO2 in the atmosphere are at their highest in 2 million years. The world is now warmer than at any time in the past 125,000 years - and will likely get warmer still over the next decade.
"Even in the near term, global warming is more likely than not to reach 1.5C even under the very low greenhouse gas scenario," the report states.
"If we aim for 1.5C and achieve 1.6C, that is still much much better than saying, it's too late, and we are doomed and I'm not even trying," Dr Friederike Otto, from Imperial College, a member of the core writing team for this report, told BBC News.
"And I think what this report shows very, very clearly is there is so much to win by trying."
The synthesis shows that projected emissions of CO2 from existing fossil fuel infrastructure, such as oil wells and gas pipelines, would bust the remaining carbon budget - the amount of CO2 that can still be emitted - for staying under this key temperature threshold.
And while not explicitly mentioning new projects like Willow oil in the US or the Cumbria coal mine in the UK, the scientists involved have few doubts about their impact.
"There's not a cut-off day (for fossil fuels), but it's clear that the fossil fuel infrastructure we already have will blow through that carbon budget," Dr Oliver Geden, from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs and a member of the report's core writing team, told BBC News.
World-leading scientists wrote the UN report which must also be agreed on by governments
"The remaining carbon budget in opening new fossil fuel infrastructure is certainly not compatible with the 1.5C target."
The document argues strongly that going past 1.5C will not be the end of the world as this may only be a "temporary overshoot".
The authors say that they are optimistic that dramatic changes can be achieved rapidly, pointing to the massive falls in the price of energy made from solar and wind.
They also argue that changes driven by consumers in terms of diet, food waste and switching to low carbon transport can achieve significant cuts in emissions from many sectors.
But the report also acknowledges that in addition to getting to net zero emissions as soon as possible, large scale use of carbon dioxide removal technology will be needed.
Some observers have their doubts. "We know what needs to happen, but the carbon removal part and carbon capture and storage ideas are a massive distraction," said Lili Fuhr, from the Centre for International Environmental Law, who attended the approval session.
Responding to the report's call for more urgent action, the UN secretary general is calling for countries to bring forward their plans for net zero by a decade.
"Leaders of developed countries must commit to reaching net zero as close as possible to 2040, the limit they should all aim to respect," he said in a statement. He also calls on the likes of India and China who have announced net zero plans for beyond 2050 to try and bring them forward by a decade as well. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-65000182 |
Bryn Hargreaves: Body of missing former Wigan Warriors star found - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Former Wigan Warriors rugby star Bryn Hargreaves had been missing in the US for more than a year. | Manchester | Bryn Hargreaves moved to the United States when he quit rugby league
The body of former Wigan Warriors rugby star Bryn Hargreaves has been found more than a year after he went missing in America, his family have confirmed.
The 37-year-old moved to the US about 10 years ago after quitting the sport. He was reported missing in January last year.
The family had turned to a private investigator in a bid to find him after a police search "turned up nothing".
His brother said "with incredible sadness we have finally found Bryn".
His former clubs including St Helens and Bradford Bulls have also expressed sadness at the news and paid tribute to him.
The ex-prop forward last spoke to his family on 3 January 2022, nine days before they contacted police after his apartment was found to be empty.
Despite a police search and family members going to America to join in the efforts, no trace was found of him.
Posting on Facebook, his brother Gareth Hargreaves said the family do not yet know the cause of his death or "what actually happened on 3/1/22".
His mother Maria Andrews said she was "in bits" and "heartbroken".
Hargreaves played for Wigan, St Helens and Bradford Bulls before leaving the game and moving to the US
Wigan Warriors, where Hargreaves made 33 appearances over a two-year stint, said the club was "deeply saddened".
St Helens RFC chairman Eamonn McManus said: "Bryn was extremely well liked and respected by his team mates and all involved with the club during his four seasons with us from 2007 to 2010.
"He was very much part of the great Saints team of that era and was a World Club Challenge winner in 2007 and a Challenge Cup winner in 2008.
"He will be remembered with genuine warmth and with affection by us all."
Hargreaves joined Bradford Bulls in 2010, before quitting the sport, saying he had become disillusioned by off-field problems at the club.
He moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with his now ex-wife, before he relocated to rural West Virginia.
Bradford Bulls posted on Twitter: "We are extremely saddened to learn the body of former player Bryn Hargreaves has been found.
"Our thoughts and condolences are with Bryn's family and friends at this difficult time."
The Foreign Office said it was providing support to the family and was in contact with local authorities in the US.
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-manchester-65014006 |
Bruce Willis's wife speaks of her grief at his dementia on his 68th birthday - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Emma Heming Willis discusses the impact her husband's dementia is having on the family. | Entertainment & Arts | Emma Heming Willis and Bruce Willis have two daughters together
Emma Heming Willis, the wife of actor Bruce Willis, has spoken about the "grief and sadness" she feels over her husband's dementia, as they celebrated his 68th birthday.
"I have started the morning by crying, as you can see by my swollen eyes," she said in an Instagram video.
"It's important that you see all sides of this," she said, as she continues to raise awareness about his condition.
Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in February.
This came after he developed aphasia, which causes difficulties with speech, last year.
His family said last year that he was giving up acting as the condition was affecting his cognitive abilities.
The actor's dementia diagnosis affects language as well as behaviour and the ability to plan. There is no cure or intervention that can slow down the progress, so his symptoms will continue to worsen.
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In her post, Heming Willis addressed the loss she feels as she cares for her husband.
"I always get this message where people always tell me, 'Oh you're so strong. I don't know how you do it'," she said.
"I'm not given a choice. I wish I was but I'm also raising two kids in this.
"Sometimes in our lives, we have to put our big girl panties on and get to it, and that's what I'm doing. But I do have times of sadness every day, grief every day and I'm really feeling it today on his birthday."
She is going public with her experiences, she said, as the "silver lining or flip side" is that she and the family are appreciative of the "warmth and love" of fans.
"As much as I do it for myself, I do it for you because I know how much you love my husband."
Emma Heming Willis [L], Bruce Willis and Demi Moore [second R] are pictured with his eldest three daughters in 2015
In another post featuring footage of Willis playing with their children, she called her husband "pure love".
Willis's former wife, actress Demi Moore was also part of his birthday celebrations. She and Willis have three daughters together.
She posted footage of him singing with his family as they wished him happy birthday and give him a birthday pie.
This Instagram post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original post on Instagram The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip instagram post 2 by demimoore This article contains content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Meta’s Instagram 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.
He was seen smiling and joining in the celebrations, and stumbling slightly after blowing out his candles.
Moore said: "So glad we could celebrate you today. Love you and love our family. Thank you to everyone for the love and warm wishes - we all feel them."
Willis became a household name in the 1980s and 90s after starring in blockbuster films such as Die Hard, The Sixth Sense, Armageddon and Pulp Fiction, along with the hit TV series Moonlighting.
He has also been nominated for five Golden Globes - winning one for Moonlighting - and three Emmys, where he won two. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-65012888 |
Saudi Arabia invited Iran's President Raisi to visit, Tehran says - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The visit - not yet confirmed by Riyadh - would build on a thaw in tensions, brokered by China. | Middle East | President Raisi (pictured) is an ultra-conservative close to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Iran says Saudi Arabia has invited Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi for an official visit - just over a week since the countries agreed to restore diplomatic relations.
The invitation is said to have come in a letter from King Salman, but has not yet been confirmed by the Saudis.
The Middle East's recent history has been dominated by hostility between the two nations.
China brokered the thaw, which could reshape the region's geopolitics.
A senior Iranian official, Mohammad Jamshidi, tweeted about the invitation to visit the Saudi capital, Riyadh, saying Mr Raisi had welcomed it and "stressed Iran's readiness to expand co-operation".
Separately, Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told reporters that the two countries had agreed to hold a meeting at foreign minister level, and that three possible locations had been proposed.
He did not name the locations, nor say when the meeting might take place.
The BBC's Middle East Editor, Sebastian Usher, says the recent improvement in bilateral relations, which came unexpectedly following days of talks brokered by China, appears to be building serious momentum.
Both have announced they will reopen embassies within two months and re-establish trade and security relations.
This development was cautiously welcomed by many, including the US and the United Nations, after previous attempts at reconciliation were unsuccessful.
Saudi Arabia cut ties in January 2016 after demonstrators stormed its embassy in Tehran.
That was after Riyadh had executed the prominent Shia Muslim cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, who was convicted of terror-related offences.
Since then, tensions between the Sunni- and Shia-led neighbours have often been high, with each regarding the other as a threatening power seeking regional dominance.
They have been on opposing sides of several regional conflicts, including the civil wars in Syria and Yemen.
Mr Amir-Abdollahian also said that Iran hoped steps would be made to improve ties with Bahrain, a close Saudi ally that followed Riyadh in severing diplomatic ties with Tehran in 2016.
"We hope that some obstacles between Iran and Bahrain will be removed and we will take basic steps to reopen the embassies," he said.
Bahrain has not responded to the comments, but earlier welcomed the Iran-Saudi agreement to restore diplomatic ties.
Iran has also expressed a willingness to resume or improve relations with other regional Arab rivals, including Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-65010185 |
XXXTentacion: Three men found guilty of murdering rapper in 2018 - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The rapper, 20, real name Jahseh Onfroy, was shot and killed during a Florida robbery in 2018. | US & Canada | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Three men accused of killing 20-year-old rapper XXXTentacion during a 2018 ambush robbery have been found guilty.
A Florida jury convicted Michael Boatwright, 27, Dedrick Williams, 26, and Trayvon Newsome, 24 on Monday after deliberating for more than a week.
All three were charged with first-degree murder in connection to the death of the controversial rapper.
Another man, Robert Allen, pleaded guilty last year to second-degree murder.
The three face a possible sentence of life behind bars.
Rapper XXXTentacion, real name Jahseh Onfroy, was shot and killed in broad daylight in Florida in June 2018.
He was visiting a motorcycle shop and was leaving when he was approached by two armed masked men who "demanded property" from him, police said at the time.
At least one of the men shot XXXTentacion during a 45-second struggle. The suspects then grabbed a Louis Vuitton bag full of $50,000 (£42,000) in cash that the rapper had just withdrawn from the bank before fleeing the scene in an SUV.
During the trial, the lawyer for Boatwright argued that his client's DNA was not found on XXXTentacion's body. He said the DNA of the two other men did not match either.
"Whoever (XXXTentacion) struggled with is not in this courtroom," lawyer Joseph Kimok said during closing arguments.
The fourth suspect, Allen, testified against the other three after he pleaded guilty last year. Lawyers for the other suspects have argued that Allen lied about their client's involvement in the robbery and death.
They also claimed that investigators botched the case and failed to consider other suspects.
Lead prosecutor Pascale Achille, however, said that the lack of DNA evidence was irrelevant, as cell phone data shows the three accused were together near the motorcycle shop at the time of the rapper's death.
Ms Achille said that Bluetooth data shows the accused were in the SUV used by the shooters at that same time.
Prosecutors presented surveillance video from the motorcycle shop as evidence, as well as cell phone videos that the accused allegedly took hours after the killing showing them flashing handfuls of $100 bills.
XXXTentacion's music explored themes of depression, loneliness, abandonment and suicide. The platinum-selling rising rap artist faced some controversies in his brief career.
His personal life was plagued by allegations of domestic violence. He was facing 15 felony charges at the time of his death, including aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, domestic battery by strangulation and witness tampering.
His song Look at Me took off on SoundCloud and later exploded to No 34 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Many of his tracks climbed up the charts in the UK and the US shortly after his death, and his memorial was attended by thousands of fans. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-64825205 |
Aleksandar Mitrovic: FA says standard ban 'clearly insufficient' as Fulham striker charged - BBC Sport | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | null | Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic is charged with violent and improper conduct after his red card at Manchester United, but the Football Association says the standard punishment is “clearly insufficient”. | null | Aleksandar Mitrovic: FA says standard ban 'clearly insufficient' as Fulham striker charged Last updated on .From the section Fulham
Aleksandar Mitrovic had put Fulham in front with his 12th goal of the season before being sent off at Manchester United Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic is facing a lengthy ban after the Football Association said its standard punishment for his sending off at Manchester United was "clearly insufficient". The Serbian has been charged with violent and improper conduct after a straight red card for pushing referee Chris Kavanagh during Sunday's 3-1 FA Cup quarter-final defeat. Manager Marco Silva has also been charged with abusive behaviour towards match officials. Fulham boss Silva will also face an improper conduct charge for allegedly throwing a water bottle in the direction of the assistant referee. And the club has landed an additional charge of failing to control its players in the Old Trafford encounter. Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton has called for Mitrovic, 28, to be given a 10-match ban, but manager Silva appealed for "fairness" for his frontman from the FA. A player is typically suspended for three matches after being shown a straight red card for violent conduct, but that ban can be extended, depending on the circumstances. Paolo di Canio was banned for 11 games in 1998 for shoving referee Paul Alcock when playing in a Premier League game for Sheffield Wednesday against Arsenal. "The standard punishment which would otherwise apply to Aleksandar Mitrovic for the sending-off offence of violent conduct that he committed towards the match referee is clearly insufficient," the FA said in a statement. "In addition, Aleksandar Mitrovic's behaviour and/or language was allegedly improper and/or abusive and/or insulting and/or threatening following his dismissal." Fulham's 12-goal leading scorer had put his side in front against United early in the second half. But he was dismissed in the 72nd minute after the hosts were awarded a penalty following a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) check that resulted in Brazil winger Willian also being sent off for a deliberate handball on the line. Kavanagh also sent boss Silva to the stands for his actions on the touchline as the referee walked past him to view the pitchside monitor. An FA statement read: "It's alleged that Marco Silva used abusive and/or insulting words and/or gestures and/or behaviour towards the match referee; that he used abusive and/or insulting words towards the fourth official prior to his dismissal; and that he also used abusive and/or insulting words and/or gestures and/or behaviour towards the fourth official after being sent off. "It's further alleged that in throwing a water bottle in the direction of the assistant referee that his behaviour was improper." 'More than 10-game ban needed', say refs Former referees' chief Keith Hackett echoed Sutton's demand for a 10-game ban, while head of the Referees' Association Paul Field said Mitrovic should serve longer for pushing a referee - and even face carrying out community work. "I hope it's more than 10 games," said Field, who hoped the FA would consider a punishment similar to the nine-month ban Manchester United's Eric Cantona received in 1995 for an attack on a fan at Crystal Palace. He told BBC Radio 5 live: "Why couldn't he go down to some of the pitches down in London? "Turn up - there's no car parking space, there's no changing room, there's a cold cup of tea, it's pouring down with rain, the pitches are in poor condition, every player is looking to pull one over on you. And, with all of that, you get abused by the parents. So why not do that for six months? "At an amateur level, a player is looking at about a year's ban - why doesn't that carry through to the professional game? "Think about what Eric Cantona did nearly 30 years ago and he got nine months. I think they should put a really decent time on this." Sutton expressed fears that children and players at grassroots level may repeat Mitrovic's behaviour - a point Field agreed with. Grassroots referee Simon King also told BBC Radio 5 live there is "100%" a link between the behaviour fans see on the pitch and how players at grassroots level behave. "I was stunned," he added. "The stalking and intimidation, having to be forcibly dragged away. "My first thought was, what would have happened had he not been dragged away by his own team-mates? And I think some of the Manchester United players helped get him away from the referee. "When he initially put his hands on him you cannot do that. It's quite frightening that happens at the top level." King said he would "100%" support a lengthy ban for Mitrovic and added: "A statement needs to be made to everybody. If that was to happen at any level of football, the ban should be set. People should be aware beforehand."
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Prosecuting Donald Trump would be politically motivated, say Republicans - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Members of the ex-president's party claim prosecutors investigating him are part of the "radical left". | US & Canada | Prosecuting Donald Trump would be a politically motivated move by his opponents, senior Republicans say.
On Saturday, the former US president said his arrest could happen next week, based on media reports.
But Democrats have said no-one is above the law and accused Mr Trump of recklessly stoking political divisions.
The case focuses on alleged hush money paid on Mr Trump's behalf by his lawyer to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
The 76-year-old is also the subject of several other separate inquiries, although he has not yet been charged in any and denies wrongdoing.
Mr Trump has pledged to continue his campaign to become the Republican nominee in the 2024 presidential election, even if he is indicted.
It is not yet known if he is going to be criminally charged or even, beyond the most basic details, what any indictment might contain.
Former US vice-president Mike Pence and the most senior Republican in the US Congress, Kevin McCarthy, have both spoken out against any criminal prosecution.
Speaking to US network ABC News, Mr Pence said Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg, who is a Democrat, was carrying out a "politically charged prosecution" against Mr Trump.
"I'm taken aback at the idea of indicting a former president of the United States, at a time when there's a crime wave in New York City," Mr Pence said.
"The fact that the Manhattan DA [district attorney] thinks that indicting President Trump is his top priority, I think is, just tells you everything you need to know about the radical left in this country," he told the broadcaster.
In his statement on Saturday Mr Trump called for mass protests from supporters and accused Mr Bragg's office of "illegal leaks" to journalists.
Asked about the call for protests, Mr Pence said that US citizens have a "constitutional right to peaceably assemble" - but also said any action must take place "peacefully and in a lawful manner".
Speaker of the US House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy called the investigation "an outrageous abuse of power by a radical DA".
In a tweet, he also promised to investigate whether federal money was being used to interfere in elections "with politically motivated prosecutions".
Democrats accused Mr Trump of stirring up political divisions with his claims.
Speaking to ABC News, Democratic Senator Elizbeth Warren said "no-one is above the law" even if they happen to have been president and any investigation must be "allowed to go forward appropriately".
"There's no reason to protest this. This is the law operating as it should without fear or favour for anyone," she said.
Mr McCarthy's predecessor as House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, echoed Ms Warren's sentiments - adding that Mr Trump's remarks were "reckless" and designed to "keep himself in the news and to foment unrest among his supporters".
"He cannot hide from his violations of the law, disrespect for our elections and incitements to violence. Rightfully, our legal system will decide how to hold him accountable," she wrote on Twitter.
The Stormy Daniels case centres on how Mr Trump reimbursed his lawyer Michael Cohen after he paid Ms Daniels $130,000 before the 2016 US election.
The record for the payment reimbursing Mr Cohen says it was for "legal fees". Prosecutors could conclude this amounts to Mr Trump falsifying business records, which is a misdemeanour offence in New York. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-65007991 |
John Lewis considers plan to change staff-owned structure - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The chain's famous staff-ownership structure could be watered down to raise new funds. | Business | John Lewis is considering a potential change to its employee-owned business structure, upending more than 70 years of tradition.
The group, which also owns Waitrose, is currently fully owned by its staff, who receive a share in the profits.
But in the face of tougher trading, the firm is said to be exploring the idea of selling a minority stake.
The Sunday Times, which first reported the move, said the firm hoped to raise up to £2bn.
It said the firm's chairwoman Dame Sharon White was considering a potential plan to dilute the famous partnership structure in order to invest in better technology, data analysis and Waitrose's supply chain.
The BBC has been told the idea is at the "very, very early stages" of discussion and may not eventually happen. However, if it did it would not amount to removing the mutual ownership structure altogether and that staff would retain majority control.
It could still prove controversial among staff, however, who jointly own the whole of the business, benefiting from any profits.
The profit-sharing model has occasionally resulted in big windfalls. In 2008 staff received a sum equivalent to about 10 weeks' pay as a bonus.
However in the past three years the firm has had to steer through the choppy waters of the pandemic and a cost of living crisis. It made a loss of £234m in 2022-3 and paid no bonus to staff, for only the second time since 1953. It has also closed stores and cut staff numbers.
John Lewis has worked with outside companies in the past: Ocado launched grocery deliveries for Waitrose and more recently it set up a joint venture to build residential properties with investment firm Abrdn. If the move were to go ahead, it would be the first sale of a stake in the core business.
At times the mutualised structure has been held up as model for how businesses could be run differently, taking a broader range of stakeholders into account and focusing less on shareholder profit.
When Sir Nick Clegg was deputy prime minister he heralded the group as a model for the whole economy.
John Lewis has not commented on the reports, but said: "We've always said we would seek partnerships to help fund our transformation and exciting growth plans.
"We've done this with Ocado in the past and now with Abrdn. Our partners, who own the business, will be the first to hear about any developments." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65006218 |
Taliban officials must sack sons given government jobs - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Afghanistan's Islamist leader says officials should replace appointed sons or nephews and hire other workers. | Asia | The leader of the Taliban has ordered Afghan officials to sack relatives they have hired to government positions.
Hibatullah Akhundzada's decree says officials should replace appointed sons or other family members - and refrain from hiring relatives in future.
The Taliban dismissed some senior staff when they took power in 2021, while others fled.
There have been allegations that inexperienced staff have been hired based on their personal connections.
The Afghan Islamic Press, based in Peshawar, Pakistan, reported that the decree followed allegations that several senior Taliban officials had appointed their sons to roles within the government.
A photo of the decree was posted on the Office of Administrative Affairs' Twitter page on Saturday.
Afghanistan has faced a deepening economic and humanitarian crisis since the Taliban swept into Kabul and regained control of the country. Foreign military forces had been in the country for two decades, fighting a war that killed tens of thousands and displaced millions more.
Since then, sanctions have been placed on members of the Taliban government, the central bank's overseas assets have been frozen, and most foreign funding has been suspended - cutting off an economic lifeline.
Afghanistan is estimated to be sitting on natural resources - including natural gas, copper and rare earths - worth more than $1tn (£831.5bn), but those reserves remain untapped due to decades of turmoil in the country.
The Taliban government's treatment of women has outraged the international community and increased its isolation while its economy collapses.
Education of women and girls has been particularly contentious. Currently girls and women are barred from secondary schools and universities in most of Afghanistan. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-65005792 |
Victim's father marks 30 years since Warrington IRA bombing - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Colin Parry says spending the last three decades campaigning for peace has kept his family together. | Liverpool | Colin Parry and his wife Wendy have spent the last three decades campaigning for peace
A father whose 12-year-old son was killed by an IRA bomb 30 years ago has said campaigning for peace is "the glue which has kept the family together".
Tim Parry and three-year-old Johnathan Ball died and 54 others were hurt when two bombs hidden inside litter bins exploded on 20 March 1993.
The Provisional IRA acknowledged its involvement the following day.
Colin Parry said he and his wife Wendy had "focused so much on turning something bad into something good".
They established the Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Peace Foundation which opened in March 2000, on the seventh anniversary of the boys' deaths.
Mr Parry said: "I don't need to be a time traveller, I can go back that day, the moment when we heard there'd been a bomb and the moment we were told how badly injured Tim was and everything that flowed from that for the next five days.
"For a while we thought he might live but of course that wasn't to be."
Johnathan Ball, three, and Tim Parry, 12, died after the IRA bombing
"The appetite for normal life changed because life wasn't normal any more so we had to channel our energies into something new, and that new is something that's still there 30 years on and it will go on," Mr Parry told BBC Breakfast.
"We've focused so much on turning something bad into something good, and I think we've done it reasonably well, we're still here and we have a purpose in life."
Tim was killed alongside Johnathan when the IRA detonated bombs near a busy shopping centre in Warrington, Cheshire, on the day before Mother's Day in 1993.
Mr Parry said people still "remember the sense of utter shock".
"A town without any military significance shouldn't have been targeted," he said.
"Why Warrington? And why a shopping street? Why the day before Mother's Day? All these strange questions which lead me to the view that it was a cynical, deliberate choice by the IRA to hit a soft target and they must have known that there would be children likely to be injured or possibly killed through those two bombs."
The River of Life memorial was placed at the site of the attack on Bridge Street in 1996
He added: "They've never been caught, we'll never know who they are, not that it matters any more.
"It matters more to me the positive things that have come along that we carry on doing for as long as we can."
Mr Parry said his son was "the joker in the pack" who was "different to our other children".
He said: "He was the one that did the things he shouldn't have done and got away with it because he was the middle one.
"He was an entertainer and he wanted to do so many things.
"I often wonder what he would have become. I could have seen him in the Royal Navy, maybe he would even have played for Everton, they need him badly enough."
Former Prime Minister John Major attended an event in Warrington to mark the bombing's 30th anniversary
A commemorative event held in Warrington town centre to mark the anniversary was attended by former Prime Minister Sir John Major, and included a one-minute silence.
Sir John told BBC North West Tonight he could still remember the moment he was informed of the bombing.
"It was a truly dreadful event and one which nearly encouraged the end of the peace process," he said.
He added that the "tremendous work" of the foundation was "beyond praise".
"To think Colin and Wendy Parry did that after losing their son in that dreadful way in a murder, I think it's absolutely remarkable what's been achieved," he said.
An emotional commemoration to mark one of Warrington's darkest days.
The town fell silent just after 12:25 GMT to remember what happened on that day 30 years ago and all those affected by it.
Peace and reconciliation were the main messages from those who spoke. They included former Prime Minister Sir John Major and the friends and family of Johnathan Ball and Tim Parry.
Arthur, the nephew that Tim never got to meet, read a poem named World Peace.
The final words read: "Our fight should be for peace instead, so it's love not war that we should spread."
A message that resonated with everyone gathered in the town.
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The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-64995094 |
Ullapool: The Highland community facing a 100-mile trip to see a dentist - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | A shortage of NHS dentists means people in Ullapool are also likely to have to pay for dental care. | Highlands & Islands | People in Ullapool are facing a 100-mile round trip for dental care after the village's only dentist retired.
NHS Highland has been unable to recruit a replacement and has suggested patients register with private practices in Gairloch or Inverness.
Those unable to afford private dental care have been unable to find NHS dentists taking on new patients.
Earlier this week the British Dental Association (BDA) warned of a crisis facing dentistry in Scotland.
NHS Highland blamed a national shortage of dentists for the situation in Ullapool.
Sue Pomeroy, from Little Loch Broom, is among local people "desperately" trying to find an NHS dentist.
Sue Pomeroy says her children need to be able to access NHS dentists
"I've phoned everywhere, practices as far as Easter Ross, but no-one is taking on NHS patients.
"One dentist told me I could be added to their waiting list but it's a year-and-a-half long. My friend has contacted 20 different dentists.
"I've got children who need regular check-ups, and I need follow-up treatment after dental surgery."
Her former dentist served the town, which has a population of 1,500, and its outlying areas.
Some have signed up for private care but Ms Pomeroy said this may not be affordable for people with families, or accessible for older people.
Inverness and Gairloch are both more than an hour's drive away from Ullapool.
Jonathan Miller, 66 has lived just outside Ullapool for the last 30 years. He told BBC Scotland that the cost of private dental care as well as fuel costs could put him off attending the dentist.
He said: "It's a round trip of around 110 miles, which is a couple of hours there and back, you can't just nip out to the dentist.
"If it's going to cost me upwards of £78 to go to Inverness just for a check-up, I'm not going to bother."
He has concerns that the lack of preventative care may lead to bigger dental issues in the future, which will end up costing him even more money.
Mr Miller said he felt people were being "forced to go private", adding: "It starts with teeth, but where does it end?"
He said it was the latest in a line of cuts that was making it "increasingly difficult and expensive to live in rural areas."
Jonathan Miller is concerned about the costs of private dental care
A spokesperson for NHS Highland said patients affected by the Ullapool surgery's closure had been given the option to access private dental care.
Children have been offered access to NHS dentistry.
Earlier this week the professional body for dentists warned that NHS dental staffing problems could get worse.
Speaking to the BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland, BDA Scotland director Charlotte Waite warned that 80% of dentists planned to reduce their NHS commitment this year, with 30% saying they would leave the profession or seek early retirement.
She said dentists were struggling with patient backlogs and soaring running costs, meaning the fees they were paid to offer NHS services were no longer covering the cost of carrying out the services. This means many dentists are operating at a loss.
The BDA has asked the Scottish government to bring payment reform forward.
Ms Waite said: "If they don't sort out and reform the funding of this system there is a real risk that they will lose even more dentists from the NHS service."
A Scottish government spokesperson said NHS Highland had now received expressions of interest for opening new dental practices, and the government would work with the health board to provide funding support if the applications were successful.
The government is also continuing to work "apace" on payment reform.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-64976569 |
Terry Hall: Coventry scooter ride-out pays tribute to singer - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Hundreds of people ride through Coventry on what would have been the singer's 64th birthday. | Coventry & Warwickshire | Some scooters were decorated in honour of The Specials singer
Hundreds of people have taken part in a scooter ride-out in Terry Hall's home city of Coventry to mark what would have been his 64th birthday.
Hall, singer with The Specials, died in December of pancreatic cancer.
Scooters were a symbol of the Two Tone scene of which Hall was an icon, at its peak in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
"The whole mods and rude boys, it all just amalgamated into one scene. They all rode scooters; they all looked sharp," said organiser Richard Willie.
Hannah Tobin, from the city, said the sheer number of scooters who turned out from all over the West Midlands had been "absolutely amazing".
"It was quite moving and brilliant seeing them all in convoy to remember him," she said.
People from scooter clubs wanted to pay their respects to Terry Hall
Suki Singh, who helped to organise the event, said many people had been in touch, asking to take part,
"We've had other clubs - CV Collective, All or Nothing, groups from Solihull, Kettering and Northampton - that all wanted to get involved and as soon as people found out about it - it just got sort of bigger and bigger," he said.
"Some things pass you by at the time but suddenly, years later, we realise how big Two Tone was, and a massive part was played, obviously, by The Specials.
The city's 2-Tone Village has music and stalls to raise funds for Tonic, a charity supported by Hall, that aims to help people's mental health and recovery through music.
People were moved by the number of scooter riders taking part
Parking in the village was affected
The top end of Marlborough Road became a scooter park for the day, affecting parking in some roads, the village said.
The Specials spearheaded the Two Tone and ska scenes, their music reflecting an era of upheaval, unemployment and racial tension.
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They split in 1981 but hits such as Ghost Town and Too Much Too Young ensured their legacy.
Hall went on to found Fun Boy Three, The Colourfield and Vegas, and also performed as a solo artist.
Terry Hall died in December aged 63 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer
The Specials reformed in 2008, featuring Hall, but without co-founder Jerry Dammers.
Mr Willie, who runs the Lounge Lizards Scooter Club, said Hall had "touched all of our souls".
"We all loved Terry Hall," said Mr Willie.
"When he died, we just wanted to do something to honour his legacy and all the music he made, which was a massive part of our lives."
Richard Willie organised the event, with The 2 Tone Café owners Angela and Alf Knight set to cater for the riders
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-coventry-warwickshire-65006801 |
Transport for Wales rail passengers face disruption into April - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Transport for Wales says it is struggling to get parts needed to bring trains back into operation. | Wales | Transport for Wales are asking passengers to check their website to make sure certain trains are running as normal
Rail disruption across Wales will continue into April after trains were withdrawn following several fires.
More than 100 services were cancelled in part or in full at the start of March after three "mechanical failures" on Class 175 trains.
Transport for Wales (TfW) said it was struggling to get the parts it needed to bring trains back into operation.
Services between Chester and Liverpool remain cancelled, with replacement buses in place for several other lines.
"All necessary checks and repairs must be completed on our Class 175 trains before they are allowed back into service," a TfW spokesperson said.
"For some of the trains, additional engine repair work has been found to be required."
TfW said it could mean train cancellations between Fishguard Harbour and Clarbeston Road, and Birmingham New Street and Wolverhampton.
On Monday, bus replacement services were in place between Llandudno and Blaenau Ffestiniog, Milford Haven and Swansea, Wrexham and Bidston on Merseyside, and Newport and Cross Keys.
Passengers are being asked to check the TfW website before travelling.
Rail passengers travelling between Wrexham and Bidston, Merseyside, had to use bus replacement services
The operator said it was trying to find parts internationally and would gradually bring more trains back into service over the next few weeks.
"We're expecting some disruption to continue into April," the spokesperson said.
"We're very sorry for the disruption to customers' journeys while we work to carry out this essential work."
Jan Chaudhry van der Velde, chief operations officer at Transport for Wales, said: "A large proportion of the trains will need a modification to the engine. That process has now started at Chester depot, which is where these 175s are maintained.
"We've got about 25 of these Class 175 trains. We've got about five in service as we speak now.
"The position will gradually get better. It's all dependent on a regular flow of the spare parts that we need to do these repairs."
Student Harry Mawdsley says the bus replacement service means getting up a lot earlier
Harry Mawdsley, a student, called the disruption "really not good".
He normally travels by train to Wrexham for lectures.
"I have to get up a lot earlier to get a bus that can often be late," he explained.
Meena Powell was also stuck using a replacement bus service from Wrexham.
Meena Powell says she will probably start using her car is train disruption out of Wrexham continues into April
"It just takes longer," she said. "They do what they can on the roads with the traffic but it's a pain.
"When you rely on the train it's really hard."
If the disruption continues into April Ms Powell said she would probably go back to using her own car.
"That's a lot of single person car journeys to be making.... environment wise," she said. "Not everyone has the option unfortunately of hopping in the car and it's not something I want to do."
TfW said it was also dealing with a broken down train causing delays on its Crewe to Shrewsbury service on Monday. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-65012434 |
Jeffrey Epstein banks to face sex-trafficking case - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | A US court says the banks must face claims they enabled the deceased financier's sex trafficking. | Business | Financier Epstein was awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges in 2019 when he was found dead in his cell
Two banks connected with the late Jeffrey Epstein will face lawsuits over claims they enabled his sex trafficking, a US court has ruled.
Two women who say the financier sexually abused them brought the case against JP Morgan Chase and Deutsche Bank.
Judge Jed Rakoff also gave the go-ahead to a case against JP Morgan from the US Virgin Islands.
The banks deny being aware of Epstein's abuses.
In a four-page order Judge Rakoff wrote that the women and Virgin Islands government could try to make the case the banks had "knowingly benefitted from participating in a sex trafficking venture".
He also allowed the women to pursue claims the banks were negligent and obstructed enforcement of a federal anti-trafficking law.
He dismissed some of the other claims.
The decision means the banks could be financially liable for their relationships with the American financier if the claims are proven in court.
Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking, was a client of JP Morgan from 2000 to 2013, and of Deutsche Bank from 2013 to 2018.
JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank, which had both sought to have the lawsuits dismissed, declined to comment on the recent ruling to Reuters.
The move comes after JP Morgan filed a lawsuit against Jess Staley, who handled Epstein's business as a senior executive at the bank, accusing him of failing to disclose potentially damaging information about his client.
Mr Staley went on to serve as chief executive of Barclays after leaving JP Morgan. He stepped down in 2021 after an investigation into his ties to Epstein.
At the time he said he would contest the findings.
Epstein, who was convicted in 2008 for soliciting prostitution from a minor, moved in social circles that included Prince Andrew and former presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, as well as many key figures of the business world.
Prosecutors in 2019 accused him of running a "vast network" of underage girls for sex. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65017982 |
RMT members at Network Rail vote to accept pay deal - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Rail workers have voted on a revised pay offer, ending walkouts for some RMT strikers. | Business | Thousands of signal workers and maintenance staff in the RMT union have voted overwhelmingly to accept an offer from Network Rail to end its dispute.
It means they will not take part in any more strikes in the long-running dispute over pay, jobs and working conditions.
RMT members who work for 14 train operating companies are still due to walk out on 30 March and 1 April.
But the Network Rail result will be seen as a significant breakthrough.
RMT general secretary Mike Lynch said the offer had not been as high as he would have liked, but members had voted decisively to accept the deal.
"We're not pretending this is an overwhelming victory," he said. "We're not celebrating the outcome, but we do accept our members' verdict that they have said 'this is enough'."
The turnout for the vote was nearly 90%, said the RMT, with 76% of members voting in favour of the pay offer.
The deal comes after Network Rail amended its previously rejected offer of a 5% pay rise for 2022 and a 4% increase this year.
The government did not put any more money on the table, but the tweaked proposals backdated this year's pay increase by three months, meaning workers end up with a bigger lump sum upfront.
The RMT - the country's biggest rail union - said the offer amounted to an uplift on salaries of between 14.4% for the lowest paid grades to 9.2% for the highest paid.
Transport secretary Mark Harper welcomed the "resounding" vote in favour of accepting the offer.
"I'm very pleased, on behalf of the travelling public, that at least on the Network Rail side of the rail business we've now solved the industrial disputes," he said.
He said Network Rail would proceed with the modernisation and maintenance reforms, that the RMT opposes.
Mr Harper said he hoped the deal would be followed by a vote amongst staff in dispute with the train operating companies, represented by the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), who he said had made a "fair and reasonable" offer.
Mr Lynch said he would be meeting with RDG representatives on Tuesday, but that next week's strikes would still go ahead unless they received a "cleaner deal".
That should include more money and a dilution of some of the companies' demands, Mr Lynch said. The question of driver-only operated trains and the removal of ticket offices still had not been resolved, he added.
With a deal agreed at Network Rail, the disruption for passengers from future action will be on a slightly smaller scale, since maintenance and signalling staff will not be involved. It also means train operating companies that aren't directly involved in the dispute will be unaffected.
During last Saturday's strike, workers at 14 train operators walked out, with between 40% and 50% of trains running.
Workers in various industries have held strikes, mainly over pay, which has not increased in line with rising prices. Inflation - the rate at which prices rise - is at its highest in nearly four decades. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65015207 |
Rupert Murdoch set to marry for fifth time at 92 - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The billionaire tycoon announces his engagement to former police chaplain, Ann Lesley Smith. | Entertainment & Arts | Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch has announced his engagement to his partner Ann Lesley Smith, a former police chaplain.
Mr Murdoch, 92, and Ms Smith, 66, met in September at an event at his vineyard in California.
The businessman told the New York Post, one of his own publications: "I dreaded falling in love - but I knew this would be my last. It better be. I'm happy."
He split with fourth wife Jerry Hall last year.
Mr Murdoch added that he proposed to Ms Smith on St Patrick's Day, noting that he was "one fourth Irish" and had been "very nervous".
Ms Smith's late husband was Chester Smith, a country singer and radio and TV executive.
"For us both it's a gift from God. We met last September," she told the New York Post.
"I'm a widow of 14 years. Like Rupert, my husband was a businessman... so I speak Rupert's language. We share the same beliefs."
Mr Murdoch, who has six children from his first three marriages, added: "We're both looking forward to spending the second half of our lives together."
The wedding will take place in late summer and the couple will spend their time between California, Montana, New York and the UK.
Mr Murdoch was previously married to Australian flight attendant Patricia Booker, Scottish-born journalist Anna Mann, and Chinese-born entrepreneur Wendi Deng.
Mr Murdoch attended the Super Bowl recently with daughter Elisabeth Murdoch (left) and Ann Lesley Smith (right) | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/65012754 |
Newborn puppies saved from being dumped in carrier bag - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | A man is arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty after the six puppies were found in a bag. | Tees | The six puppies will be found new homes once they are fully recovered
Six newborn cocker spaniel puppies were saved from being dumped in a carrier bag, police said.
Two Durham police officers spotted a man swinging a carrier bag on the edge of a bank near Bishop Auckland.
When they put on their blue lights, he threw the bag on to the front seat and pretended to check a tyre, they said. The puppies were found in the bag.
A man in his 50s was arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty and other offences.
The five-day-old puppies, which have been reunited with their parents, are now being looked after by vets after being found in the car on the A689 on Saturday morning.
Two PCs heard squealing coming from a carrier bag inside the parked up vehicle near Bishop Auckland
PC Liam Vernon from Durham Police said: "The puppies were riddled with fleas and if we'd have passed just seconds before, we would have been none the wiser.
"Both myself and PC Luke Howie are huge dog lovers, so it has been one of those jobs which has really stuck with us.
"We've hardly stopped thinking about it but are just glad to have saved them - it really was right place, right time."
The officers heard squealing coming from the sealed bag and found the puppies, some which had not opened their eyes, inside.
A man in his 50s was arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty, money laundering and trafficking in a controlled drug.
He has been released on bail while investigations continue.
Follow BBC North East & Cumbria on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to northeastandcumbria@bbc.co.uk.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-65014920 |
Georgia Harrison: I was living in fear of more sex footage - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Reality TV star Stephen Bear was jailed for sharing explicit footage online without Ms Harrison's consent. | UK | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Reality TV star Georgia Harrison says she was "living in fear" that more footage from an explicit video shared without her consent would be released.
Her ex-partner, Stephen Bear, was jailed for 21 months after being found guilty of voyeurism and sharing private sexual videos online.
The 28-year-old said seeing the footage on subscription site OnlyFans was "the final straw" for her.
Ms Harrison said she feared Bear would sell even more footage.
He had used CCTV cameras in his garden to capture them having sex and then sent it to a friend and sold the video online - none of which she consented to.
A six-minute clip was posted online but the original video was 20 minutes long.
Ms Harrison told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme she was aware some people "were viewing the whole thing" which was "a lot harder" for her to cope with.
"I was living in fear that he was going to sell more," she added.
Ms Harrison - who has waived her right to anonymity - started criminal proceedings against Bear, who she met on a reality show, in December 2020.
She said the process of going to court was tough but "empowering".
"I just felt it was the only option. I'd been pushed so far, and before I actually saw the video had gone viral on the internet, I'd had multiple men telling me they had it shown to them," she said.
Bear was given a restraining order to not contact Ms Harrison, who has appeared on Love Island and The Only Way Is Essex, for five years.
He was also ordered to sign the sex offenders' register and will be subject to notification requirements for 10 years.
Stephen Bear was jailed after he was found guilty of voyeurism and disclosing private, sexual photographs and films
The incident "took away an innocent sort of spark" Ms Harrison had and made it difficult for her to trust others, she said.
While her case has "shocked the British public", she said incidents like this are actually "such a common thing" and she receives messages from at least five women going through a similar situation every day.
"Ever since this happened to me I became someone that victims reach out to, and I get at least five women a day - usually victims but sometimes mothers of victims or family members who want advice," she said.
"You just wouldn't believe how big this is and how many people are affected by it."
About one in 14 adults in England and Wales have experienced a threat to share intimate images, according to the Ministry of Justice.
Ms Harrison said she has been "enjoying making a difference" through her work as a campaigner on this issue and would be interested in getting involved in politics.
Asked whether she would like to become the next prime minister, she joked: "We won't push it."
Sharing explicit footage without consent - also known as non-consensual pornography or image-based sexual abuse - was made illegal in 2015.
An amendment to the law was created in 2021, which also made threatening to release private sexual images and films an offence.
However it can be difficult to convict suspected perpetrators, due to the law requiring intent behind the release of pictures and videos - either to cause distress or embarrassment.
Ms Harrison is calling on the government to remove the requirement to prove intent from the law.
An amendment to this effect was proposed as part of the Online Safety Bill in November. It is currently not known when this bill would become law.
"I think if you are sharing explicit images or videos without consent - it's very obvious that it will cause distress.
"If they were to change it and take that out I think a lot more victims would have a chance of getting some justice, like I did," she said. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64998904 |
Private firms profiting from UK asylum hotels - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The government pays millions each day to house asylum seekers in almost 400 hotels across the UK. | UK | The government uses hotels to accommodate thousands of refugees
Private firms are making increased profits as the government pays millions of pounds a day to put up asylum seekers in the UK, the BBC has learned.
BBC News has been told 395 hotels are being used to house asylum seekers, as arrivals to the UK rose last year.
Documents show one booking agency used by the Home Office trebled its pre-tax profits from £2.1m to £6.3m in the 12 months up to February 2022.
The Home Office says the asylum system is under "incredible strain".
The government has never publicly confirmed the number of hotels involved, but a government source told BBC News it is now using 395 to accommodate more than 51,000 asylum seekers, at a cost of more than £6m a day.
Of those hotels, 363 are in England, 20 in Northern Ireland, 10 in Scotland and two in Wales.
It means Northern Ireland and England have far more hotels housing asylum seekers per head of population than Scotland and Wales.
The use of hotels has increased exponentially as the number of people claiming asylum in the UK has increased, reaching a near 20-year high of 74,751 last year, according to Home Office data.
Asylum applications to the UK peaked at 84,132 in 2002, but then fell sharply to a low of 17,916 in 2010.
Small boat arrivals, accounting for about 45% of asylum applications in 2022, were also at record levels and the backlog of asylum cases now amounts to about 166,000 people.
Because of a lack of other suitable accommodation, asylum seekers are housed in hotels, which are often taken over by the government with only a few days' notice.
The BBC has been told existing bookings at some hotels, including business conferences and weddings, have been cancelled at short notice.
Hotel owners are approached to hand over their properties to outsourced companies, which run the business on behalf of the Home Office.
Three large firms have contracts to run the hotels.
One, Serco, provides some 109 hotels in England, according to a High Court judgement from December 2022, mostly in the Midlands, East and North West.
Serco, which also provides other services on behalf of the government, references "growth" in its immigration work in its 2022 annual report.
Court documents have revealed Mears Group is running 80 hotels in north-east England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. According to its annual report, the company increased its annual revenue by 22% in 2021.
The report said the increase was "largely driven" by its work finding hotel accommodation for asylum seekers.
Home Office spending records show a smaller firm, Calder Conferences, received £20.6m in payments from the Home Office in 2021 to book hotels. That figure increased to £97m in 2022.
Home Office sources suggested this work related principally to finding bridging hotels for Afghan refugees who arrived following the Taliban takeover in 2021.
Leeds-based Calder's annual accounts for the year ending February 2022 show turnover increased from £5.98m to £23.66m. The firm's pre-tax profits trebled, from £2.1m to £6.3m.
Calder's director, Debbie Hoban, saw her annual remuneration increase from £230,000 to £2.2m.
The firm has not responded to the BBC's request for comment.
The choice of hotels appears indiscriminate. BBC analysis found contracts with ones at airports, golf courses, country houses, the seaside, and some used for city business workers.
Some towns, Swindon for example, have more than one hotel housing asylum seekers, others have none.
UK government sources complain that Scotland's government has actively blocked hotels being booked for asylum seekers in the country. But the Scottish government said in a statement that because the asylum system is not devolved, the backlog was "of the UK government's own making".
Communities have spoken of their anger about the lack of consultation before asylum seekers moved in. There have been some protests, with far-right elements involved.
At the Wiltshire Leisure Village, a retirement complex near Royal Wootton Bassett, asylum seekers have been housed at a nearby hotel and fences erected, meaning residents of the leisure village do not have access to the golf course.
Fredricka Reynolds, a florist, lost her regular work for a hotel in Kegworth, Leicestershire, when asylum seekers moved in last month.
She said: "They rang me on the Thursday, before the asylum seekers came on the Monday and cancelled all my weddings for the foreseeable [future]."
The hotel is a major part of life for the village of about 4,000 people. Its swimming pool and gym, used by local people, have been closed.
"I understand they need housing, but then also why Kegworth? Why the main business in Kegworth that brings many people to the village, a lot of money into the village? It's all gone now," said Ms Reynolds.
Security guards often stop journalists approaching the asylum seekers, but two men living in the Wiltshire hotel spoke of their boredom.
Simpay Khalifa complained: "We stay the whole day at the room doing nothing"
Simpay Khalifa, a 25-year-old Sundanese man who arrived by small boat from France in November, said the hotel was "far from civilisation".
"There is nothing to do actually. We have to take a bus to get to Swindon. We need something to do like, for example, study some English courses," he said.
"Some people volunteer and do some charity work, but there is nothing to do here. Nothing. We stay the whole day at the room doing nothing."
The BBC used Freedom of Information requests to ask all UK councils how many hotels were being used for asylum seekers and how many individuals were living in them.
Of the 398 councils approached, 320 responded. The majority said there were no hotels or asylum seekers in their area, or referred the BBC to the Home Office.
One authority refused the request on the grounds it could lead to asylum seekers being exposed to "harassment, threats and physical or mental harm".
However, another council not only provided the number of hotels and individuals, but the address of a hotel.
A Home Office spokesperson said the government was "committed to making every effort to reduce hotel use and limit the burden on the taxpayer". | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64991234 |
Putin to Xi: We will discuss your plan to end the war in Ukraine - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | China's leader, whose Ukraine plan has been criticised in the West, gets a warm welcome in Moscow. | Asia | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Vladimir Putin has said he will discuss Xi Jinping's 12-point plan to "settle the acute crisis in Ukraine", during a highly anticipated visit to Moscow by the Chinese president.
"We're always open for a negotiation process," Mr Putin said, as the leaders called each other "dear friend".
China released a plan to end the war last month - it includes "ceasing hostilities" and resuming peace talks.
But on Friday the US warned the peace plan could be a "stalling tactic".
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: "The world should not be fooled by any tactical move by Russia, supported by China or any other country, to freeze the war on its own terms."
He added: "Calling for a ceasefire that does not include the removal of Russian forces from Ukrainian territory would effectively be supporting the ratification of Russian conquest."
China's plan did not specifically say that Russia must withdraw from Ukraine - which Ukraine has insisted as a precondition for any talks.
Instead, it talked of "respecting the sovereignty of all countries", adding that "all parties must stay rational and exercise restraint" and "gradually de-escalate the situation".
The plan also condemned the usage of "unilateral sanctions" - seen as a veiled criticism of Ukraine's allies in the West.
On Monday, a military band gave Mr Xi a warm welcome to Moscow. Mr Putin hailed China for "observing the principles of justice" and pushing for "undivided security for every country".
In return, Mr Xi told Mr Putin: "Under your strong leadership, Russia has made great strides in its prosperous development. I am confident that the Russian people will continue to give you their firm support."
Before Mr Xi's arrival, Mr Putin wrote in China's People's Daily newspaper that the two nations would not be weakened by "aggressive" US policy.
Publicly, Ukrainian leaders have been emphasising the common ground they have with China - respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity.
But privately, they have been lobbying for a meeting - or telephone call - between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Mr Xi.
The fear in Kyiv is that China's support for Russia - currently based around technology and trade - might become military, potentially including artillery shells.
"If China does move to openly supply weapons to Russia, it will in effect be taking part in the conflict on the side of the aggressor," said Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council.
It was in Beijing's interests to stabilise the relationship with Russia, with which it shares a 4,300km (2,700 mile) border, said Yu Jie, a research fellow on China at Chatham House.
Russia is a source of oil for Beijing's huge economy, and is seen as a partner in standing up to the US.
Ms Yu added that Mr Xi had just scored a diplomatic victory in mediating between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which have now resumed diplomatic ties.
This could be a chance for him to explore the opportunity to mediate between Russia and Ukraine.
On Monday evening, Mr Xi was treated to a seven-course meal including nelma fish from the Pechora River in northern Russia, a traditional Russian seafood soup and pancakes with quail - alongside Russian wine.
Presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov indicated there would be a "detailed explanation" of Moscow's actions in Ukraine over dinner. Russian and Chinese delegations will hold talks on Tuesday - the main day of the visit.
The meeting comes days after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for the Russian president over war crime allegations.
This means Mr Putin could technically be arrested in 123 countries - though neither China nor Russia are on that list.
Making a trip to Moscow so soon after the ICC's announcement suggests China feels "no responsibility to hold the Kremlin accountable" for atrocities in Ukraine, Mr Blinken said.
Western leaders have been attempting since last February to isolate Russia, following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
But they have been unable to establish a global consensus, with China, India and several African nations reluctant to condemn Mr Putin. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-65018657 |
France pension reform: Macron's government survives no-confidence vote - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | More than 100 people are arrested after protests across Paris following Monday's vote. | Europe | Rubbish and bins were set alight across Paris during protests following Monday's vote
The French government has narrowly survived a vote of no-confidence, which was triggered when it forced through an increase in the pension age to 64.
It sparked new anti-government protests in Paris, where 101 people were arrested after stand-offs with police.
The vote, tabled by centrist MPs, had 278 votes in favour, falling short of the 287 votes needed.
Had it been successful, President Emmanuel Macron would have had to name a new government or call new elections.
A second no-confidence motion, tabled by Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally party, also did not pass.
Now both votes have failed, the controversial bill to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 will become law.
The votes were held after Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne used a special constitutional power, called Article 49:3, to push the bill through without a vote last week.
It sparked angry protests at the weekend, with some demonstrators clashing with police and blocking streets with debris fires in central Paris, as well as cities around the country.
Monday's failed votes saw fresh protests in the capital, with a tense standoff between protesters and anti-riot police.
The first motion, which had the backing of several left-wing parties including the Green Party and the Socialist Party, was the only one likely to succeed.
When that vote failed, members of the left-wing contingent that voted for it held placards reading "continue" and "we'll meet in the streets", and shouted that the prime minister should resign.
Opposition MPs held up signs protesting against the government's pension age increase after the no-confidence vote
"Nothing is solved, we'll continue to do all we can so this reform is pulled back," hard-left La France Insoumise parliamentary group chief Mathilde Panot said.
One university student called Shola who turned out to protest in Paris told AFP news agency: "People think this subject does not concern us but in fact it does. If our grandparents will now have to work longer, we know that things will get worse."
Fellow student Marie said they were protesting "because we have been abandoned, because we have been ignored, because it is a government that doesn't care about us, it mocks us".
Before the votes, members of the opposition booed and jeered Ms Borne when she took to the podium for a debate, which grew increasingly tense.
The prime minister said that the government had "never gone so far" to find a compromise to pass the law.
Boris Vallaud from the Socialist Party, who backed the centrist the no-confidence vote, called on the government to "withdraw" the pension reform or "submit it to the vote of the French people".
Mr Macron has argued that France's ageing population makes the current pension scheme unaffordable. But that is not a sentiment shared by all in parliament.
The author of the first no-confidence votes, Charles de Courson, said removing the government was "the only way of stopping the social and political crisis in this country".
However the leader of France's conservative Republican party, Éric Ciotti, said last week they would not support the no-confidence motions.
Mr Ciotti said the decision to invoke the clause was "a result of many years of political failures" that demonstrated "a profound crisis in our constitution", but he did not believe the vote of no-confidence was the solution. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65014336 |
Bin collections: Plans to change recycling risks chaos, say councils - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Councils say government plans for consistent waste and recycling policies across England could be unworkable. | UK Politics | The UK government wants to introduce consistent recycling collection policies across England
The UK government's plans to introduce consistent waste collection policies across England could prove chaotic and unworkable, councils have warned.
The details of major government reforms to waste collection in England are expected to be confirmed soon.
The changes could see councils ordered to arrange the separate collection of six types of recyclable waste.
The government said standardisation will increase recycling rates and simplify waste management.
But council leaders told the BBC the changes could backfire, with one saying it would be "madness" to force local authorities with different needs to collect waste in the same way.
Peter Fleming, the Conservative leader of Sevenoaks District Council in Kent, said the reforms would mean more bin lorries on the roads and do nothing to encourage household waste reduction through behavioural change.
"The idea that standardisation - a national bin service - is the way forward makes absolutely no sense," he told the BBC.
Waste management is largely a devolved matter in the UK, with the administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland setting their own policies.
At the moment, councils in England have discretion over how and when waste is collected from households and businesses.
But last year, the government passed a new law that required a consistent set of recyclable waste materials to be collected separately from all households and businesses.
Local authorities will be required to collect the recyclable waste streams separately unless it is not technically or economically practicable, or there is no significant environmental benefit in doing so.
The Environment Act, which became law in 2021, also requires that food waste collection must take place at least once a week.
The government also wants councils to collect garden waste for free, but give them the right to charge for this beyond the basic service.
Progress on recycling across the UK has been slower in recent years, with the rate in England hovering around the 45% mark since 2015.
The UK government has committed to meet a 65% municipal recycling rate by 2035.
In 2021, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) ran a public consultation on the best way to use its waste collection powers under the Environment Act.
The BBC has been told councils expect the government to release its long-awaited response to the consultation this week. A Defra source did not deny this but would only say the response would be published "in due course".
The consultation says the government expects councils to start implementing these new waste policies this year.
The proposals in the consultation would cost more than £465m per year for the first seven years of implementation, according to research by the District Councils' Network, a lobby group.
The government has said it would "fully fund" all new waste collection burdens on local authorities.
Given the pressure on council budgets, "it is essential that the full implementation and running costs of any changes are reimbursed", a spokesperson for the District Councils' Network said.
The spokesperson said they were concerned about the reforms and "their potential to reduce local freedom to deliver services that work in the best way for our communities".
Those concerns were echoed by Sarah Nelmes, the leader of Three Rivers District Council in Hertfordshire.
Council leader Sarah Nelmes fears the standardisation of waste management could be counterproductive
Three Rivers says its residents currently recycle 63.5% of their waste and the council is consistently near the top of the league table for recycling in England.
"Our residents do the recycling, we just make it easy for them," Ms Nelmes said. "If we change the rules, some people just won't bother. If I had to have another three boxes, would I recycle?"
She said if the changes go ahead as planned, there may be "hidden costs" for councils and "bottlenecks" as they scramble to buy new bin lorries and expand depots.
"I'm concerned it will be chaos because everybody will be trying to do the same thing at the same time," she said.
"If every council in the country is having to buy different bins, that's not going to work great."
Following the outcome of this consultation, Environment Secretary Therese Coffey will specify the types of materials to be collected within each recyclable waste stream, in new regulations.
Charlotte Paine, who leads South Holland District Council's operational services, said collecting recyclable materials separately was appealing, in principle.
"But trying to say that has to be done in a particular way just will not work given the complexities of different areas," she said.
"Much depends on where your waste goes, your local recycling facility, and how well they can deal with that. That's where this consistency is going to fall down."
Mr Fleming questioned the environmental benefits of forcing councils to buy more plastic bins and expanding waste collection operations.
He said: "In a place like mine, where the majority of people don't live in the towns, why should we be running 26-tonne diesel vehicles all over the countryside to pick up Mrs Miggins's jam jar, or a bit of peeling from her potatoes?
"This does feel like some kind of zealot in Defra pushing this through. And I'm not sure they'll achieve the environmental outcomes they're looking for."
A Defra spokesperson said the reforms to waste management would "make recycling easier and ensure that there is a comprehensive, consistent service across England".
"This will help increase recycled material in the products we buy and boost a growing UK recycling industry," the spokesperson said. "We have held a public consultation on the proposed changes and will announce further details shortly." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-64995473 |
Credit Suisse: US markets subdued after bank taken over by Swiss rival UBS - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The troubled Swiss bank was bought by its rival UBS in a government-backed deal after urgent weekend talks. | Business | Some stability has returned to the banking sector.
UBS shares are down 5% today having been 14% lower this morning. Shares in other European banks have also recovered after early steep falls. Deutsche Bank was down 10% but is now 3% lower.
Regulators in Europe, the UK and the US will be breathing a sigh of relief that the deal for UBS to buy Credit Suisse at a knockdown rate, with offers of cheap credit and a ready supply of dollars has seemingly calmed frayed nerves.
This was an enormously complex deal to do over a weekend and it is perhaps no surprise that many feel it leaves some awkward loose ends. The fact that shareholders in Credit Suisse got $3bn from the deal while some lenders to the troubled bank got nothing at all is not what the way it's supposed to work.
Traders are mystified and alarmed that this deal ignored the practice of prioritising bond holders over shareholders and similar bonds in other banks have tumbled in value today.
The next test for the improvement in sentiment over the last three hours will be the opening of US financial markets.
The regulators have moved quickly and offered more help than banks have currently taken up - which means they either fear things could be worse than they look, or that they want to stay a step ahead of events at every turn they can.
Everyone hopes it's the latter. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/business-65011579 |
Climate change: Couple set for Pole-to-Pole electric car challenge - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The husband and wife will journey 17,000 miles from the Arctic to Antarctica, aided by renewables. | NE Scotland, Orkney & Shetland | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Julie and Chris Ramsey have been planning the adventure for years
A husband and wife from Aberdeen aim to drive from the Arctic to Antarctica in an electric car.
Chris and Julie Ramsey will set off to travel 17,000 miles (27,000km) from the Magnetic North to South Pole this week.
Their vehicle will be powered for much of the trip by solar and wind energy.
The couple will navigate into Canada, then head south through the United States and into warmer temperatures in South America over the space of 10 challenging months.
They will travel through Mexico, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Argentina.
They accept the journey could put a lot to the test, including their relationship.
And coming from Aberdeen, they will take supplies of the humble buttery - the famous long-lasting local delicacy made of lard, butter and sugar, which is also known as a rowie or Aberdeen roll - to help keep their strength up.
"One of the most common questions we get asked is how we're going to charge the car in the polar regions where there's no electricity source," Mrs Ramsey said.
"There will be a wind turbine and full double solar on this device which will be towed along, harnessing the renewable energy sources - the wind and the sun - to power the car.
The couple's car will be powered by solar and wind energy
"That has been really challenging, innovative, pioneering - it's never been done before."
She explained: "It's to dispel common myths that people have when they question electric vehicles - things like range and how far can they go.
"We are putting the car through the harshest of environments - minus temperatures and extreme heat - so we're really pushing the car to its limits and seeing what capability it has."
Large tyres have been fitted to the vehicle in a bid to cope with harsh terrain.
There are also some mod-cons, such as a coffee machine in the boot. And there is a drone launcher, so the couple can film their journey.
Penguins in Antarctica are one of the sights awaiting the couple
Mr Ramsey said: "Pole to Pole is the world's first drive from a magnetic North Pole location - up in the Arctic - all the way through the Americas and then all the way into the South Pole in Antarctica.
"No car in history has ever attempted this - and certainly no electric vehicle.
"People might think it's 10 months because of the limitations of the car, but it's not. We're travelling in 10 months because we're going from season to season.
"So summer season in the Arctic, we'll benefit from the sun for solar, and in Antarctica the expedition season is December. And that's 24/7 daylight as well, which helps us with the solar."
The husband and wife are looking forward to the challenge
The couple are no stranger to defying the odds.
In 2017, they were the first team to complete the Mongol Rally in an electric car - a 10,000-mile (16,000km) journey from London to Mongolia.
"Having done the Mongol Rally, it has given me confidence that we can do this," Mrs Ramsey said.
"We have put the right measures in place and are working with the right people. With our passion and belief and the car being capable I have every confidence that we can do it.
"Yes there will be challenges, it's not going to be an easy ride, but what's an adventure without a challenge?"
She added that the couple would not be forgetting their rowie supplies.
"We'll take a bit of Scotland over with us," she said.
• None Why East Antarctica is a 'sleeping giant' of sea level rise - BBC Future
• None Pole to Pole EV – The ultimate electric vehicle expedition. British adventurer and Guinness World Record holder Chris Ramsey The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-64964294 |
Iraq war 20 years on: How invasion plunged country into decades of chaos - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The BBC's Jeremy Bowen explains why Iraqis are still living with the consequences 20 years on. | Middle East | The fence is lined with photos of people killed by the Islamic State group
The invasion of March 2003 was a catastrophe for Iraq and its people.
More proof of that, measured in broken lives, was at a suspected site of a mass grave in the desert outside Sinjar, not far from the border with Syria.
Survivors of one of Iraq's damaged communities, the Yazidis, looked on as the earth in a marble quarry was excavated. On a wire fence around the site were photos of dozens of people, mostly men, who had been killed by jihadists from the Islamic State group. They were from Zile-li, a village near the quarry, where 1,800 men were taken and killed on 3 August 2014.
The Yazidis revere both the Quran and the Bible; their religion is influenced by both Christianity and Islam. Islamic State considered them to be infidels and carried out a genocidal assault. It happened after the Americans and British had ended their occupation, but a direct line links the massacre to the invasion, and the disastrous years that followed.
Among those watching the excavation was Naif Jasso, the Sheikh of Kocho, a Yazidi community that suffered an even worse attack than Zile-li. He said that in Kocho, 517 people out of a population of 1,250 were killed by jihadists from IS, also known as ISIS or Daesh.
In Zile-li, men were separated from their families at gunpoint and shot dead at the quarry. Sofian Saleh, who was 16 at the time, was among the crowd at the excavation. He is one of only two men from Zile-li who survived. As he waited for death with his father, brother and 20 to 30 other men, he saw another group shot dead. Their bodies tumbled down a cliff into the quarry. Then it was their turn.
"They tied our hands from behind before the shooting. They took us and threw us on the ground," he said.
Sofian's father and brother were killed, but he survived because bodies fell on him, covering him up.
Sofian Saleh is one of only two men who survived
Islamic State was using its favourite tactic. First, they killed the men, then took the women as slaves. Children were removed from their mothers to be indoctrinated as IS recruits. A mother sitting near the suspected grave wept as she remembered the baby ripped from her and given to a jihadist family.
Next to the wire fence around the site, Suad Daoud Chatto, a woman in her 20s, stood with a poster. On it were the faces of nine men from her extended family who were killed, and two missing female relatives. She said jihadists captured her in 2014 when she was 16, along with many other women and girls, and held her in Syria. She remained until 2019, when she was rescued as the Caliphate collapsed.
Suad Daoud Chatto holds a poster showing nine of her relatives who were killed
"They were like barbarians, they kept us in handcuffs for a long time. Our hands were still tied even during the meals," she said.
"They married me off many times… they were marrying the slaves. They did not spare anyone. We were all raped. They were killing people before our eyes. They killed all the Yazidi men - they killed eight of my uncles. They destroyed many families."
In the end, only a few bags of human bones were found at the site. Dozens of others are still to excavated.
By the time IS rampaged through Iraq in the summer of 2014, the US and the UK had ended their occupation. Jihadist ideology existed long before the invasion, and had inspired the 9/11 attacks.
But far from destroying the ideology of Osama Bin Laden and the jihadist extremists, the years of chaos and brutality set off in 2003 turbo-charged murderous jihadist violence. Al-Qaeda, broken for a while by an alliance between the Americans and Sunni tribes, regenerated into the even more barbarous IS.
Iraq is more stable so far this year than it has been for a long while. Baghdad, Mosul and other cities are much safer. But Iraqis feel the results of the invasion every day. Its consequences have shaped and blighted millions of lives and changed their country profoundly.
It is a grim irony that the invasion has dropped out of political and public debate in the US, which conceived and led it, and in the UK, its closest ally in the coalition. The Americans and British bear a heavy responsibility for what happened after the invasion, and its consequences also affect them.
Iraq's tyrant, Saddam Hussein, was well worth overthrowing - he had imprisoned and killed thousands of Iraqis, even using chemical weapons against rebellious Kurds. The problem was how it was done, the way the US and UK ignored international law, and the violence that gripped Iraq after the Bush administration failed to make a plan to fill the power vacuum created by regime change.
The past 20 years since the invasion, coming on top of Saddam's dictatorship, add up to almost half a century of torture for the Iraqi people.
Even for those who were there, it is hard to recreate the febrile atmosphere of "fear, power and hubris", as one historian put it recently, that gripped the US in the 18 months between al-Qaeda's 9/11 attacks in 2001 and the invasion of Iraq.
I was in New York a few days after the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center were destroyed, as F-15 jets patrolled above Manhattan. It was a visible demonstration of American force, as the biggest military power on the planet worked out how to respond.
The shock of the attacks swiftly produced George W Bush's declaration of "war on terror" against al-Qaeda and its jihadist fellow travellers. UK Prime Minister Tony Blair chartered Concorde to cross the Atlantic to offer support. He believed Britain's best guarantee of influence in the world was to stay close to the White House.
US President George W Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair at the White House in November 2001
They moved fast against al-Qaeda's network in Afghanistan. Before the end of the year, a US-led coalition removed the Taliban regime from power when it refused to give up al-Qaeda's leader, Osama Bin Laden. Kabul was not enough for America.
President Bush and his advisors saw a global threat to the US. They thought states that opposed them could make deadly alliances with al-Qaeda and its imitators. The biggest target in their sights was Iraq. Saddam Hussein had been a thorn in America's side ever since he sent his army into Kuwait in 1990. Without any evidence, the Americans tried to manufacture a link between Saddam and al-Qaeda when none existed. In reality the Iraqi leader, a secular dictator, saw religious extremists as a threat.
The president's father, George HW Bush, decided not to remove Saddam from power in Baghdad after the Iraqi occupiers were driven out of Kuwait by an international coalition assembled by the US in 1991. The first President Bush and his advisors saw trouble ahead if they continued to Baghdad. A long, belligerent occupation of Iraq looked like a morass and they had no UN authorisation to topple the regime.
I was in Baghdad when the ceasefire was declared. Regime officials I knew could not believe that Saddam's dictatorship had survived.
Twelve years later, by 2003, America's rage and arrogance of power blinded the second President Bush to the realities that had constrained his father. When the US and UK could not persuade the UN Security Council to pass a resolution explicitly authorising invasion and regime change, Messrs Bush and Blair claimed earlier resolutions gave them the authority they needed.
Among many who did not buy their argument was the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. In a BBC interview 18 months after the invasion, he said it was "not in conformity" with the UN Charter - in other words, illegal. France and other Nato allies refused to join the invasion. Tony Blair ignored huge protests in the UK. His decision to go to war dogged the rest of his political career.
No president or prime minister faces a bigger decision than going to war. George Bush and Tony Blair embarked on a war of choice that killed hundreds of thousands of people. The justifications for the invasion were soon shown to be untrue. The weapons of mass destruction that Tony Blair insisted, eloquently, made Saddam a clear and present danger, turned out not to exist. It was a failure not just of intelligence but of leadership.
US Marines from the 1st Marine Division get set to deploy close to Baghdad in April 2003
The Americans called the huge air raids that started their offensive "shock and awe". Neo-conservatives around George W Bush deluded themselves that democracy, and regional stability, could be imposed through the barrel of a gun. Overwhelming US force would not just safeguard America, it would stabilise the Middle East too, and democracy would spread through Syria, Iran and beyond, like a good virus.
US troops topple a statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad
Saddam was removed within weeks. Iraqis were in no mood to be grateful. In Saddam's last decade as leader, the vast majority of them had been impoverished by sanctions authorised by the UN, but driven hardest by the US and UK. The Americans, the British and their allies were unable to bring peace to the streets. Nightmarish years started with wholesale looting, revenge attacks and crime.
Iraqi Sunni Muslim insurgents in front of a burning US convoy on the outskirts of Fallujah in 2004
An insurgency against the occupation turned into a sectarian civil war. Iraqis turned against each other as the Americans imposed a system of government that split power along ethnic and sectarian lines - between the country's three main groups, Shia Muslims, Kurds and Sunni Muslims. Armed militias fought each other, the occupiers, and killed each other's civilians.
Jihadist groups moved in to exploit the chaos and kill foreigners. Before the Americans managed to kill him, a brutal Sunni extremist from Jordan, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, targeted attacks to turn the insurgency against the occupation into a sectarian civil war. Shia death squads retaliated with their own reign of terror.
No-one knows exactly how many Iraqis have died as a result of the 2003 invasion. Estimates are all in the hundreds of thousands. The tide of violent sectarianism continues to rumble around the Middle East.
The geopolitical legacy of the invasion is still shaping events. Unwittingly, the Americans turned the balance of power in Iraq in Iran's favour by overthrowing Saddam Hussein, who was considered a Sunni bulwark against the Islamic Republic. Removing him empowered Shia politicians who were close to Tehran. Militias armed and trained by Iran are among the most powerful forces in Iraq and have representatives in government.
The US and UK's fear of causing another disaster hamstrung their response to the Arab uprisings of 2011, and especially the war against his own people launched by President Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
Disorder in Iraq, where the population is growing fast, fuels the trade in people-smuggling to Europe. According to the British Home Office, Iraqis are the fourth largest national group crossing the English Channel in small boats. The UK Refugee Council says the vast majority whose cases have been processed are granted asylum as refugees.
American and British leaders do not dwell on the invasion these days, but others have not forgotten. One reason why much of the global south stayed neutral after Russia invaded Ukraine, ignoring appeals to uphold international law, was the memory of how the US, the UK and Western allies who joined the coalition ignored it as they steamrollered opposition to their invasion of Iraq.
It is a sign of how bad the past 20 years have been that Saddam nostalgia is well established in Iraq, not just among his own Sunni community. People complain that at least you knew where you were with the old dictator. He was an equal opportunities killer of anyone he saw as an enemy, including his own son-in-law.
In a queue for diesel in a camp near Mosul, a 48-year-old Sunni named Mohammed, raged against the Shia-led government in Baghdad and against the years of sectarian killing that followed the invasion.
"We wish that Saddam's rule could come back, even for one day. Saddam was a dictator, and it was one man's rule - correct. But he was not killing the people based on whether they were Shia, Sunni, Kurdish, or Yazidi."
Iraq has signs of hope. Parts of towns and villages are still in ruins, but they feel safer, even though Iraqis still face threats that would be considered a national crisis in the West. Well-trained anti-terrorist units are containing IS jihadist cells, who still manage to carry out bombings and ambushes. Even so, shopkeepers are hoping for a bumper Ramadan, their busiest time of the year.
Longer term, the biggest legacy of the invasion for Iraq might be the political system that the Americans instigated, which divides power along ethnic and sectarian lines. As developed by Iraqi politicians, it has offered prodigious chances for corruption.
Estimates of the amount stolen since 2003 range from $150bn (£124bn) to $320bn (£264bn). Most Iraqis, of all sects, who have not benefited from the bonanza of theft, face constant power cuts, bad water, and inadequate medical care, in hospitals that were once considered to be as good as ones in Europe. Walk down most streets and you will see children working or begging, instead of going to school. Iraq used to have one of the best educational systems in the Middle East.
Iraq's latest prime minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, has promised a new start. His biggest challenge is keeping his promise to tackle corruption, the cancer that is eating the country from within. He even did a broadcast surrounded by piles of confiscated banknotes that were being returned to Iraq's treasury.
But the people that matter most are the innocent victims. Not just the dead, but millions of Iraqis, and others in the Middle East whose lives were made much worse because of the invasion and its consequences.
At the mass grave near Sinjar, Yazidi activists appealed for international protection. Survivors said that the IS jihadists who carried out the genocidal massacres in 2014 had Iraqi accents, some from Tel Afar, a nearby town.
Farhad Barakat, a 25-year-old Yazidi activist who survived because he managed to escape to Mount Sinjar, said they were still scared of their neighbours. The killers, he said, were from their "surrounding clans or tribes, Arab clans. So how it that possible? The ones who killed us, raped the Yazidi women, they were Iraqis."
The BBC's security correspondent Gordon Corera seeks to find new answers to why the Iraq war happened, what it meant, and its legacy today.
Listen at 13:45 BST each weekday or stream or download all 10 episodes on BBC Sounds | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-64976144 |
Indian High Commission: Diplomat summoned after London protest - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Two security guards were injured after a crowd gathered to protest outside the building in London. | UK | Windows were broken as crowds gathered at the Indian High Commission in London on Sunday
A senior British diplomat in Delhi has been summoned after a protest at the Indian High Commission in London.
Crowds gathered outside the building in Aldwych, Westminster, on Sunday and windows were broken.
The Indian foreign ministry issued a statement saying the senior diplomat had been asked to explain "the complete absence of British security".
After the protest a man was arrested on suspicion of violent disorder and a police investigation was launched.
The Metropolitan Police said two security guards were injured.
Videos on social media showed a crowd waving yellow "Khalistan" banners and a man detach the Indian flag from the first-floor balcony of the building.
Khalistan is the proposed name of a Sikh state separatist groups wants to create in the Punjab region, which spans both India and Pakistan.
The London protest took place as police in India searched for Amritpal Singh, a supporter of the Khalistan movement and self-styled preacher who has been on the run since Saturday. His supporters are accused of storming a police station last month.
He is considered a fugitive by the Indian authorities, and a massive search operation which has seen internet access suspended for millions is continuing.
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The Indian foreign ministry said it expected the UK government to take "immediate steps" and to put security measures in place to prevent a similar incident happening again.
Officers were called to the Indian High Commission at about 13:50 GMT on Sunday.
Upon arrival "the majority of those present had dispersed prior to the arrival of police", said the Met.
The force's spokesperson said "windows were broken" and two members of security staff sustained minor injuries which did not require hospital treatment.
The man who was arrested has been bailed until mid-June. The Met said inquiries were continuing.
Responding to the incident, London's mayor Sadiq Khan said he condemned "the violent disorder and vandalism that took place".
"There is no place in our city for this kind of behaviour", he tweeted.
The British High Commissioner to India Alex Ellis described the incident as "disgraceful" and "totally unacceptable".
Foreign Office minister Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon said he was "appalled" and the government would take the security of the Indian High Commission "seriously".
"This is a completely unacceptable action against the integrity of the Mission and its staff", he said. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65010388 |
Strike averted as nurses and midwives accept pay offer - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Members of nursing and midwifery unions vote to accept the Scottish government's 6.5% pay deal. | Scotland | Members of the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Midwives have voted to accept a new pay offer from the Scottish government.
The unions had recommended its members back the deal which would see a 6.5% increase from April.
On top of a 7.5% pay rise imposed for 2022/23, it means many staff will see their pay increase by 13-14% over two years.
The votes to accept the offer ends the immediate threat of strike action.
It comes after members of GMB Scotland, the union representing NHS and ambulance staff, accepted the offer last week.
All three unions had mandates to strike after rejecting the 2022/23 pay offer but they were suspended in January ahead of intensive negotiations over the 2023/24 pay deal.
The new deal also includes the commitment to modernising the Agenda for Change pay system, and to support workforce recruitment, sustainability and retention.
The Scottish government has previously said the offer would make Scotland's NHS staff by far the best paid in the UK.
The RCN confirmed just over 50% of eligible members took part in the consultative ballot with 53.4% voting to accept the offer.
Among RCM members, 44% took part in the ballot, with 69% voting to accept the deal
Announcing the result of the ballot, RCN director Colin Poolman praised the union's members for bringing the Scottish government back to the table. He added: "Members have narrowly voted to accept this offer but the Scottish government must be under no illusion, much more is required for nursing staff to feel valued and to ensure Scotland has the nursing workforce it needs."
A new pay offer was made to staff including ambulance workers
Julie Lamberth, chair of the union's Scotland board said it took "the real threat" of nursing strikes to secure the offer.
She added: "While members voted by a narrow margin to accept the offer, the chronic staff shortages and low morale that led to the strike mandate are still very real."
Jaki Lambert, RCM director for Scotland, added: "While pay is crucial this was also about midwives feeling seen and valued. Improving retention through better working conditions, professional midwifery issues and the wellbeing of staff are also a key component of this.
"Most importantly, it was also about our members standing tall and being prepared to take action to ensure better care for women, babies, and their families."
The Scottish government said it had committed an extra £568m to the 2023/24 offer to 160,000 NHS Scotland workers on Agenda for Change contracts - who includes nurses, paramedics, midwives and porters.
Staff up to Band 8a would see an uplift of at least 6.5%.
In addition, all staff would receive a one-off payment between £387 and £939 depending on banding.
Nurses protest during a strike by NHS medical workers outside University College London Hospital in London
Meanwhile, in England a 5% pay rise from April has been offered to NHS staff including nurses and ambulance workers.
In addition, staff have been offered a one-off payment of at least £1,655 to top up the past year's pay award.
Unions are recommending members back the deal, after nearly two weeks of talks with ministers, raising hopes the bitter dispute may be coming to an end.
The offer covers all NHS staff except doctors, who are on a different contract.
It comes after a winter of industrial action, with nurses, ambulance staff and physios all striking.
The unions put further action on hold, after the two sides agreed to discussions last month. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-65019788 |
Ruth Perry: Ofsted urged to pause inspections after teacher death - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Head teacher Ruth Perry took her own life while waiting for the publication of an Ofsted report. | Berkshire | Ruth Perry was the head at Caversham Primary School in Caversham, Reading
Education unions have called for Ofsted inspections to be paused in the wake of the death of a head teacher.
Ruth Perry, head at Caversham Primary School in Reading, took her own life while waiting for the publication of a report that downgraded her school from outstanding to inadequate.
The National Education Union, school leaders' union NAHT and the Association of School and College Leaders have called for inspections to be halted.
Ofsted has been asked for a comment.
Ms Perry's family said the 53-year-old had described the inspection in November as the worst day of her life.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said: "It is clear that school leaders up and down the country are placed under intolerable pressure by the current approach.
"It cannot be right that we treat dedicated professions in this way. Something has to change. Whilst it should never take a tragedy like this to prompt action, this has to be a watershed moment.
"The anger and hurt being expressed currently by school staff is palpable. It is essential that all policy makers, including Ofsted, listen and respond.
"Given the strength of feeling and the need for a period of calm reflection, Ofsted should pause inspections this week."
Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: "Given recent events and widespread concerns about leaders' wellbeing, it's the height of insensitivity for Ofsted to be going into schools or colleges this week.
"Ofsted should pause all its inspections and reflect upon the unmanageable and counterproductive stress they cause for school leaders, and the impact on leaders."
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, called for "an immediate review" and urged the inspectorate to consider replacing the current system of "graded judgements which reduce everything that a school or college does to a single blunt descriptor".
He said: "These judgements do not do justice to schools and colleges, and negative outcomes are devastating to leaders, staff and communities."
Ms Perry's sister, Julia Waters, has called for schools to "boycott Ofsted".
In a Facebook post she said: "In Ruth's memory and to protect others, I call on headteachers (with the support of teaching unions) to boycott Ofsted until a thorough, independent review has been conducted and changes implemented; refuse Ofsted inspectors entry to their school (or, at least, refuse to comply with inspectors' requests)."
She previously said her sister told her in feedback to the senior leadership team inspectors said a boy doing a dance move akin to flossing was evidence of the sexualisation of children at the school.
There were also said to be claims of child-on-child abuse, which turned out to be a playground fight.
In the report, seen by the BBC but not published on the Ofsted website, leaders were described as having a "weak understanding of safeguarding requirements and procedures".
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The report stated there was not "appropriate supervision during breaktimes", which meant pupils were "potentially at risk of harm".
But it also described a "welcoming and vibrant school", where relationships between staff and pupils were "warm and supportive", and bullying was rare.
Flora Cooper, executive head of John Rankin Schools in Newbury, Berkshire, had earlier tweeted Ms Waters' plea and said she had refused access to inspectors who were due to visit on Tuesday.
She tweeted: "I've just had the call. I've refused entry. This is an interesting phone call. Doing this for everyone for our school staff everywhere!"
In a statement West Berkshire Council later said that following discussions the inspection would go ahead as planned.
"We understand that the inspection process can be a busy and stressful time for teachers, governors and school staff. As a council, we work closely with all of our schools to support them through the inspection process and address any individual concerns," it added.
The Department for Education said inspections were a "legal requirement".
A spokesman said: "Inspections are hugely important as they hold schools to account for their educational standards and parents greatly rely on the ratings to give them confidence in choosing the right school for their child.
"We offer our deep condolences to the family and friends of Ruth Perry following her tragic death and are continuing to provide support to Caversham Primary School at this difficult time."
The school inspectors who work for Ofsted have the legal right to enter schools and ask for any documents they wish.
In theory, under the law, anyone who obstructs them could be fined up to £2,500. But the reality is it would never come to that.
These are unusual circumstances - a head teacher, grieving for a colleague, who wants to take a stand.
Head teachers describe Ofsted inspections as a process many find almost unbearably stressful, which takes a toll on their mental and physical health.
Ofsted has a legal duty to check on the standard of education and welfare of children in school. The shocking death of a head teacher in her prime has ignited strong feelings and debate about how they do that.
A petition calling for education secretary Gillian Keegan and Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman to review the inspection and to make changes to the inspection system has so far gathered more than 40,000 signatures.
In the report seen by the BBC, but yet to be published on the Ofsted website, the watchdog rated the school as inadequate, the lowest rating.
Matthew Purves, Ofsted regional director for the south east, said: "We were deeply saddened by Ruth Perry's tragic death.
"Our thoughts remain with Mrs Perry's family, friends and everyone in the Caversham Primary School community."
Follow BBC South on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to south.newsonline@bbc.co.uk.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-65019341 |
The man extradited to the UK for a 41-year-old pub brawl - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | A man who fled the UK after a fight in 1980 is acquitted after extradition proceedings 41 years later. | UK | Rory McGrath with his wife and sons in the US
Decades after moving to the US, retired construction worker Rory McGrath was extradited to the UK to face trial for a 41-year-old crime. Eventually he was found not guilty.
Rory McGrath had just stepped through his front door carrying the morning newspaper when a dozen or so officers from the US Marshals Service arrived at his New York home with their guns drawn.
They ordered his wife and twin 18-year-old sons out of bed at gunpoint. It was May 2021 and New York was starting to emerge from Covid restrictions, but for McGrath and his family it was just the start of a "nightmare that has never ended".
The officers were acting at the request of prosecutors in England. McGrath, a retired construction worker, faced extradition and trial in the UK over his involvement in a drunken street fight four decades earlier.
The story began in March 1980 when McGrath, an Irish-British national born in Leeds, was out drinking with friends. The 21-year-old, by his own admission, became involved in a drunken fight between two groups of young men. In his telling, he fled to a nearby pub when police arrived. "I'm not getting involved with the police," he remembers thinking.
But British prosecutors alleged he was part of a group that assaulted an officer, who suffered a broken nose, cuts and bruising while attempting to restrain a suspect.
Five men were charged, including McGrath. Instead of facing justice, he fled to Ireland.
He says he absconded because he believed he was being "set up". The case against him was based in part on the evidence of an off-duty officer, who has since died, who said he recognised McGrath running from the scene.
"I believe I was forced to abscond because [of] the simple reason they fabricated identification," he says.
McGrath says that as an Irish national living in England in the 1970s and 80s, he faced "constant harassment".
"All my life, since I can remember, [I was] constantly harassed by the English police, so I knew it wasn't going to be a good outcome."
His life in England was set against the backdrop of the IRA bombings of the 1970s. A series of high-profile convictions linked to some of the attacks - including the Guildford Four, Birmingham Six and the Maguire Seven - were later found to be miscarriages of justice, involving false confessions and police misconduct.
"Tensions were high, always," says McGrath.
In 1986, after several years living in Dublin working as a carpenter, he went to the US on holiday.
"I was hearing a lot about it, so I went for a couple of weeks and I ended up staying for 12 years."
He met his wife Alice in New York in 1990. They married in 1992, and 10 years later he returned to Ireland to successfully apply for US citizenship.
As a dual Irish-British citizen, he assumed that US authorities would have contacted the UK Home Office.
"I know that they knew where I was as early as 2002, for the simple reason all the paperwork from the citizenship went back to England." he says.
The Home Office has declined to answer questions about the case.
McGrath says he did not view himself as a fugitive. He travelled to the UK on several occasions, using his own name and passport, including for his brother's wedding in 1996.
While accepting he had absconded in 1980, McGrath says he had come to believe the matter was closed. He was never contacted by authorities and experienced no difficulties while travelling in the UK.
The first he knew of any extradition request was the US Marshals' raid in 2021. But events had been set in motion six years earlier.
In 2015, a local neighbourhood police officer in West Yorkshire "became aware and revisited" an outstanding warrant for McGrath. The officer referred the case to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which began extradition proceedings in 2016.
McGrath's lawyer, Daniel Martin, says it is difficult to understand what motivated "this sudden need" to get McGrath back to face trial.
"The victim was a police officer and obviously a request was made by his police force," he says. "It seems this has been sat on some cabinet somewhere gathering dust until one day someone picked it up and decided it was imperative [McGrath] be extradited."
Under US law, people facing extradition are typically held in prison, except when there are "special circumstances" permitting their release. After McGrath's arrest in May 2021, a judge granted bail, and said he presented no real flight risk or danger to the public.
The judge also acknowledged that McGrath was at greater risk from Covid-19 due to respiratory complications, some of which related to time spent volunteering at the site of the World Trade Center after the 9/11 terror attacks. He was among the first to comb through the scene of destruction and it left a lasting impact.
"You'd walk into an office, there would be a coffee cup half-drunk, a doughnut with a bite taken out of it," he says. "It was eerie."
2001: McGrath volunteered at the 9/11 wreckage site in New York
After 15 months of house arrest - largely confined to his home on a quiet residential street in Pearl River, New York - McGrath was flown to the UK in July 2022. He spent seven months in HMP Leeds awaiting trial.
In February this year, a jury rejected the prosecution case and found McGrath not guilty. He had always maintained his innocence.
According to local media, after McGrath was acquitted, the judge told jurors that he did not know why the case had been brought after so many years: "We have worse things to deal with, if I can put it that way," he said.
Martin, a partner at law firm JMW Solicitors, says he has "never seen such a flagrant waste of taxpayer resources as in this case".
When McGrath was arrested in the US, courts in England and Wales were experiencing unprecedented delays and a backlog of cases that had grown during the pandemic.
Martin questions why prosecutors chose to "spend so much money and time and effort bringing back Mr McGrath for an allegation, which by any standards was low on the Richter scale of assaults".
He claims the prosecution case was flawed. It relied in part on the assault victim identifying McGrath after a description had been circulated and he was in custody - a process which is no longer permitted. Several other witnesses had died or could not be found by police.
CPS guidance states that extraditions should only be used where it is "clearly appropriate and proportionate".
It maintains that assaults on police officers are a serious matter regardless of when they happened, and that it was right to put all the evidence before a jury: "Two judges, including the trial judge, ruled that there was no abuse of process by the prosecution in this case."
West Yorkshire Police said its pursuit of McGrath was "appropriate" and a consequence of him "deliberately avoiding the criminal justice process by failing to attend court at the time he was charged".
McGrath is now back with his family in the US. He says the case has had a "devastating" impact on his wife and sons.
"There are multiple victims here," he says. "It's been very stressful for everybody."
He is slowly adjusting to life back home and attempting to put the "pure hell" of the past two years behind him.
"It's like Ground Zero - I don't care to think about it, but it's always going to be there." | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64678781 |
UK banking system 'safe' after Credit Suisse rescue - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Despite the swift action by regulators, stock markets in the UK and Asia fell. | Business | The UK's central bank has said banks are "safe" after regulators agreed a rescue deal for Credit Suisse aimed at preventing fears over banks spreading.
The bank was bought by rival UBS in a Swiss government-backed deal on Sunday after regulators worked frantically round the clock to secure a deal.
It comes amid fears over the global financial system after two smaller US banks failed in recent weeks.
Despite the action by regulators on Sunday, shares in European banks fell.
Deutsche Bank and UBS were trading 1.8% and 3.7% lower respectively, having regained some ground.
British banks, which last week saw their steepest falls in more than a year, also remained in the red.
However, experts are not forecasting a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis when the failure of a number of big banks sparked a global recession.
The Swiss National Bank said the rescue deal for Credit Suisse was the best way to restore the confidence of financial markets and to manage risks to the economy.
The last-minute deal valued Credit Suisse at just over $3.15bn (£2.6bn), a fraction of its $8bn price tag on Friday.
But the sale has achieved what regulators set out to do - secure a result before the financial markets opened on Monday.
Mark Yallop, the former UK chief executive of UBS, said the his former employer's purchase of Credit Suisse "should" do the job of reassuring investors.
"This is a takeover of a challenged institution with particular idiosyncratic problems that relate to it specifically [and are] not reflective of broader issues in the banking markets," he told the BBC's Today programme.
"I think this transaction will definitely stabilise [the bank] and should bring a good degree of confidence back to the banking market more generally."
Mr Yallop suggested the sale of Credit Suisse should be viewed as a separate event to failure of two smaller banks in the US, which he said had been hit by the impact of rising interest rates.
In a bid to keep cash available through the global financial system, six central banks, including the Bank of England, also announced they would boost the flow of US dollars through the global financial system.
The Bank of England, along with the Bank of Japan, Bank of Canada, the European Central Bank, US Federal Reserve and Swiss National Bank, said the move served as an "important backstop to ease strains in global funding markets" and take the pressure off banks.
The chairmen of both banks spoke at a news conference in Bern on Sunday
In a statement following UBS's takeover of Credit Suisse, Switzerland's central bank said the deal protected the Swiss economy "in this exceptional situation".
The 167-year-old bank is loss-making and has faced a string of problems in recent years, including money laundering charges.
It was given an emergency $54bn lifeline from the Swiss National Bank on Wednesday in a bid to reassure markets, but Credit Suisse shares tumbled 24%, meaning a rescue deal was needed.
Speaking in the Swiss capital Bern after Sunday night's announcement, UBS chairman Colm Kelleher said the takeover had been "attractive" for UBS shareholders, but described it as "an emergency rescue".
Mr Kelleher said UBS would be winding down the investment banking part of Credit Suisse.
The UBS chairman said it was "too early" to say what would happen about jobs. Credit Suisse has around 74,000 staff, around 5,000 of them in the UK.
"We need to do this in a rational way thoughtfully, when we've sat down and analysed what we need to do," he said.
Other global financial institutions praised the deal.
The Bank of England said it welcomed the "comprehensive set of actions" set out by the Swiss authorities.
"We have been engaging closely with international counterparts throughout the preparations for today's announcements and will continue to support their implementation."
It added the UK banking system was "well capitalised and funded, and remains safe and sound".
Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, said she welcomed the "swift action" of the Swiss authorities.
"The euro area banking sector is resilient, with strong capital and liquidity positions," Ms Lagarde added.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell both said the US banking system remained "resilient".
Credit Suisse has become the latest and most important casualty of a crisis of confidence that has already seen the failure of two mid-sized US banks and an emergency industry whip-round for another. But this is different. Switzerland's second biggest lender was considered one of the top 30 most important banks in the world - which is why this takeover was rushed through by the Swiss authorities.
Although the reasons for each failure differ slightly, the main factor has been a sharp rise in global interest rates which has hit the value of even safe investments that banks keep some of their money in. That has spooked investors and seen the share prices of all banks fall with those considered weakest hit hardest.
The financial authorities in the EU, US and UK are saying they support this deal, stressing that banks are strong and people's savings and deposits are safe.
The acid test as to whether this Swiss rescue has calmed nerves in the financial world will be when financial markets open on Monday - which is why it was so important to get this done on Sunday night. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65007871 |
Australian former SAS soldier Oliver Schulz held over alleged war crime in Afghanistan - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Oliver Schulz, 41, faces charges over the 2012 murder of an Afghan man, Australian police say. | Australia | Oliver Schulz has been charged in connection with the death of an Afghan man in 2012
A former Australian SAS soldier has been charged with murder, following an investigation into alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.
Oliver Schulz, 41, is the first Australian serviceman or veteran to be charged with a war crime under Australian law.
The offence carries a maximum sentence of life in jail.
He was arrested on Monday in New South Wales (NSW) and has been remanded in custody.
He will appear in a Sydney court at a later date.
The Australia Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) says Mr Schulz is the person referred to as Soldier C in a 2020 ABC Four Corners documentary exposing alleged war crimes.
Footage showed Soldier C shooting an Afghan man in a wheat field in Uruzgan Province in southern Afghanistan in 2012.
The investigation was carried out by the Office of the Special Investigator (OSI), the body set up to investigate alleged war crimes following a four-year inquiry led by an Army Reserve major general and NSW Supreme Court judge Paul Brereton.
The Brereton Report - released in 2020 - found there was "credible evidence" that Australian elite soldiers unlawfully killed 39 people during the Afghan war.
It said 19 current or ex-special forces soldiers should be investigated by police over killings of "prisoners, farmers or civilians" from 2009 to 2013.
This is believed to be the first arrest linked to that inquiry.
At the time, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) blamed crimes on an unchecked "warrior culture" among some soldiers.
Mr Schulz's case should set an "important precedent" for the West and its allies on how to handle suspected wrongdoing in the military, said Tim McCormack, a law professor at the University of Tasmania and special adviser on war crimes to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
"We've never had a situation in the past where a member of the ADF, either current or former, has been charged with a war crime and slated for trial in a civilian court," he told the ABC. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-65010345 |
Investor fears appear to ease as UK and US share prices rise - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Investors appear largely reassured after Credit Suisse rescue, but First Republic shares plunge. | Business | Fears in financial markets appeared to ease, a day after regulators agreed a rescue deal for troubled lending giant Credit Suisse.
The bank was bought by rival UBS on Sunday after regulators worked around the clock to secure the takeover.
Along with the collapse of two smaller US banks, its struggles had sparked fears over the global financial system.
Hope that the deal would help contain the crisis helped lift shares in Europe and the US.
London's FTSE 100 closed up roughly 0.9%, recovering ground after early losses. Major indexes in Europe also ended higher, with UBS climbing roughly 1.5% by the end of the day.
In the US, the three major exchanges also gained, despite worries about another regional bank, First Republic.
Shares in the San Francisco-based firm sank more than 40%, as the injection of funds by 11 of America's biggest banks last week failed to restore confidence in the bank's future.
There were reports of another effort to stabilise the bank - which has seen shares plunge as customers transfer their money - as authorities sought to keep the crisis contained.
Shares of some other banks in the US and Europe also remained under pressure.
In the UK, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak aimed to reassure investors saying UK banks were "safe and well capitalised" after the emergency rescue of Credit Suisse.
It came after central banks around the globe made similar comments.
Six central banks, including the US Federal Reserve, also announced they would boost the flow of dollars in the global financial system to make sure banks had easy access to cash.
Despite the panic, experts do not expect a repeat of 2008 when banks stopped lending to each other. The situation was so dire then it sparked a global recession.
Banks have been struggling with the recent rise in interest rates which has left some sitting on substantial losses.
It led to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank - two medium sized lenders - in the US last week and sparked concerns other banks could get into trouble.
Credit Suisse - which had been loss-making for some time but which was otherwise well capitalised - has been hit by this crisis of confidence.
The 167-year-old institution is one of around 30 banks worldwide deemed too big to fail because they are of such importance to the banking system.
Switzerland's second largest lender, which has struggled with a string of scandals over the last few years, was sold to UBS at just over $3.15bn (£2.6bn), a fraction of its $8bn price tag on Friday.
Mark Yallop, the former UK chief executive of UBS, said the deal "should" do the job of reassuring investors.
"This is a takeover of a challenged institution with particular idiosyncratic problems that relate to it specifically [and are] not reflective of broader issues in the banking markets," he told the BBC's Today programme.
The chairmen of both banks spoke at a news conference in Bern on Sunday
UBS chairman Colm Kelleher said it would wind down Credit Suisse's investment banking operations but that it was "too early" to say what would happen about jobs.
Credit Suisse has around 74,000 staff, around 5,000 of them in the UK.
"We need to do this in a rational way thoughtfully, when we've sat down and analysed what we need to do," he said.
Ordinary people have little reason to fear for their funds.
In the highly unlikely scenario that a bank or building society actually collapses, then deposit protection is in place.
In the UK, that means £85,000 per person, per institution is protected (or £170,000 in a joint account).
So, if you have £85,000 in one bank, and another £85,000 in a separately licensed bank, then it is all safe if both went bust, under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
There is also a higher temporary limit of £1m for six months, if you get a sudden influx of funds, such as an inheritance.
Protection is similar in the EU, and the US government has safeguarded deposits of up to $250,000 for a long time. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65012275 |
Credit Suisse: Bank rescue damages Switzerland's reputation for stability - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Beset by scandals and crisis, many people are questioning how a totemic bank ended up beyond repair. | Business | So farewell to Credit Suisse. Founded in 1856, the bank has been a pillar of the Swiss financial sector ever since. Although buffeted by the financial crisis of 2008, Credit Suisse did manage to weather that storm without a government bailout, unlike its rival-turned-rescuer UBS.
More recently, the marketing face of Credit Suisse has been Switzerland's tennis god Roger Federer. He smiles down from posters at Swiss airports, a symbol of strength, excellence, staying power and reliability.
But behind the glossy promotion were some big problems. Divisive management, costly exposure to finance company Greensill Capital, which collapsed in 2021, a seedy money laundering case, and waning customer confidence in the last few months, which saw billions being withdrawn from the bank.
All it took to turn those doubts into a stampede was an apparently off the cuff remark from the Saudi National Bank, which owns almost 10% of Credit Suisse, suggesting it would not be increasing its investment.
Credit Suisse's shares went into free fall, and even a statement of confidence from the Swiss National Bank, and an offer of $50bn (£41bn) in financial support, couldn't stabilise the situation.
How could this have happened?
After the financial crisis 15 years ago Switzerland introduced strict so-called "too big to fail" laws for its biggest banks. Never again, went the thinking, should the Swiss taxpayer have to bail out a Swiss bank, as happened with UBS.
But Credit Suisse is a "too big to fail" bank. In theory, it had the capital to prevent this week's catastrophe.
Also in theory Swiss financial regulators and the Swiss National Bank keep an eye on those systemically important banks and can intervene before disaster strikes.
It was odd, last week, to see the rest of the world reacting with real concern as Credit Suisse shares tumbled, and to hear, at first, nothing from Switzerland.
Roger Federer went from winning prize money sponsored by Credit Suisse, to being its marketing figurehead
Even the Swiss media seemed not to notice the headlines over at the Financial Times, and seemed more interested in the continued debate over how much support neutral Switzerland should be offering to Ukraine.
By the time people did notice, such damage had been done that Credit Suisse was beyond saving. The fallout had begun to threaten not just Switzerland's entire financial sector, but Europe's.
As the government met in emergency session to try to find a solution, you could almost smell the panic in Bern.
Announcing the bank takeover, Swiss President Alain Berset said "an uncontrolled collapse of Credit Suisse would lead to incalculable consequences for the country and the international financial system".
It's hard to avoid the conclusion, some Swiss are now saying, that the very people who should have acted to prevent Credit Suisse's meltdown were asleep at the wheel.
That lack of attention is going to be very costly. UBS's takeover, for the paltry sum of $3bn (£2.5bn), besides being an utter humiliation for Credit Suisse, is likely to leave its shareholders a good bit poorer.
There will also be job losses, perhaps in the thousands. There are Credit Suisse and UBS branches in just about every Swiss town. Once the takeover is complete, there will be little point in UBS keeping them all open.
But perhaps the most costly damage of all could be to Switzerland's reputation as a safe place to invest.
Despite the scandals over the years related to the secret bank accounts of dictators (including Ferdinand Marcos from the Philippines, Congolese dictator Mobutu Sese Seko and many more), or the money laundering for drug lords and tax evaders, Swiss banks hung on to that reputation symbolised by Roger Federer: strong, and reliable.
But now? A system that allows a 167-year-old bank to go belly up, in the space of a few days, at the cost of many jobs and massive losses in share value?
That could cause huge reputational damage. The Swiss banking sector, Switzerland's financial regulators, and its government, all say the takeover is the best solution.
In the end, at the very last minute, it was the only solution. In the coming days, there will be some tough questions to answer. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65009996 |
Putin arrest warrant: Biden welcomes ICC's war crimes charges - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The International Criminal Court accuses the Russian leader of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children. | Europe | Vladimir Putin could now be arrested if he sets foot in one of the ICC's more than 120 member states
US President Joe Biden has welcomed the International Criminal Court's issuing of an arrest warrant against his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
The ICC accused President Putin of committing war crimes in Ukraine - something President Biden said the Russian leader had "clearly" done.
The claims focus on the unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia since Moscow's invasion in 2022.
Moscow has denied the allegations and denounced the warrants as "outrageous".
It is highly unlikely that much will come of the move, as the ICC has no powers to arrest suspects without the co-operation of a country's government.
Russia is not an ICC member country, meaning the court, located in The Hague, has no authority there.
However, it could affect Mr Putin in other ways, such as being unable to travel internationally. He could now be arrested if he sets foot in any of the court's 123 member states.
Mr Putin is only the third president to be issued with an ICC arrest warrant.
President Biden said that, while the court also held no sway in the US, the issuing of the warrant "makes a very strong point".
His administration had earlier "formally determined" that Russia had committed war crimes during the conflict in Ukraine, with Vice-President Kamala Harris saying in February that those involved would "be held to account".
The United Nations also released a report earlier this week that found Moscow's forced removal of Ukrainian children to areas under its control amounted to a war crime.
In a statement on Friday, the ICC said it had reasonable grounds to believe Mr Putin committed the criminal acts directly, as well as working with others. It also accused him of failing to use his presidential powers to stop children being deported.
Russia's commissioner for children's rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, is also wanted by the ICC for the same crimes.
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan has said the warrants were "based upon forensic evidence, scrutiny and what's been said by those two individuals".
The court had initially considered keeping the arrest warrants a secret, but decided to make them public to try and stop further crimes being committed.
"Children can't be treated as the spoils of war, they can't be deported," Mr Khan told the BBC.
"This type of crime doesn't need one to be a lawyer, one needs to be a human being to know how egregious it is."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. WATCH: Can Vladimir Putin actually be arrested?
Mr Khan also pointed out that nobody thought that Slobodan Milosevic, the Serbian leader who went on trial for war crimes in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo in the 1990s, would end up in The Hague to face justice.
"Those that feel that you can commit a crime in the daytime, and sleep well at night, should perhaps look at history," Mr Khan said.
Sir Geoffrey Nice KC, who led the prosecution in the trial of former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, said the warrant would change how foreign leaders view Mr Putin.
"He will remain an alleged criminal until and unless he submits himself for trial, or is handed over for trial and acquitted. That seems extremely unlikely, so he will remain an alleged criminal until the end of his life," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said any of the court's decisions were "null and void" and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev compared the warrant to toilet paper.
Russian opposition activists have welcomed the announcement. Ivan Zhdanov, a close ally of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, has tweeted that it was "a symbolic step" but an important one.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed his thanks to Mr Khan and the ICC for their decision to press charges against "state evil". | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64998165 |
Henry Dimbleby: Conservatives' obesity strategy makes no sense, ex-adviser says - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Henry Dimbleby says the reluctance of government to intervene will cause "huge problems" for the NHS. | UK Politics | The government's own former adviser has criticised the Conservative Party's approach to tackling obesity, saying it "makes no sense".
Henry Dimbleby announced his resignation as the government's food tsar in the Sunday Times.
The co-founder of food chain Leon said ministers had "pulled back" on promises to restrict junk food advertising.
The government said it would continue to work with industry to help people make healthier choices.
Mr Dimbleby said he was stepping back from his role because he wanted to be free to speak out against government policy.
"I think the ideology of the Conservative Party and the way that they are dealing with the problem of diet-related disease makes no sense," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"In 10 years' time, whatever government is in power they are going to be dealing with huge problems to the NHS, which is going to suck money from the rest of government spending and cause misery from diet-related disease."
He blamed a "feedback loop between companies and their commercial incentives and our appetite", adding that "the government needs to intervene".
But instead, Mr Dimbleby said "this modern Conservative ideology just thinks it can leave everything in the system without any intervention at all", with the government reluctant to be seen as taking a "nanny state" approach.
He argued that voters, including those in so-called Red Wall areas - former Labour seats which the Tories are keen to keep hold of - wanted the government to act because "they're fed up of their children being marketed junk food".
Mr Dimbleby was a non-executive board member at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for five years.
As part of his role he conducted an independent review of the food system. The report's recommendations included measures such as taxing the salt and sugar in processed foods, with some of the revenues used to provide fresh fruit and vegetables to low-income families.
However, Mr Dimbleby was critical of the government's response to the review, saying many of his policy recommendations had not been taken forward.
Last year, the government delayed a planned ban on "buy one get one free" offers on unhealthy foods in England until October 2023 to assess the impact on household finances in light of the cost-of-living crisis.
A ban on TV advertising of junk food before 21:00 has also been pushed back to October 2025 to give the industry more time to prepare for the restrictions.
An estimated 26% of adults in England are obese, while a further 38% are overweight, according to the latest NHS figures.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "We take tackling obesity seriously and we will continue to work closely with industry to make it easier for people to make healthier choices.
"We recently announced £20m to trial new obesity treatments and technologies to help save the NHS billions, and remain committed to introducing restrictions banning adverts on TV for foods and drinks high in fat, salt, or sugar (HFSS) before 9pm, as well as paid-for adverts online." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65012960 |
BBC advises staff to delete TikTok from work phones - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The corporation is taking the decision over privacy and security concerns about the popular app. | UK | The BBC has advised staff to delete TikTok from corporate phones because of privacy and security fears.
The BBC seems to be the first UK media organisation to issue the guidance - and only the second in the world after Denmark's public service broadcaster.
The BBC said it would continue to use the platform for editorial and marketing purposes for now. TikTok has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
The app has been banned on government phones in the UK and elsewhere.
Countries imposing bans include the US, Canada, New Zealand and Belgium, while the same applies to anyone working at the European Commission.
However, it is still permitted on personal devices.
The big fear is that data harvested by the platform from corporate phones could be shared with the Chinese government by TikTok's parent company ByteDance, because its headquarters are in Beijing.
TikTok says the bans are based on "fundamental misconceptions".
ByteDance employees were found to have tracked the locations of a handful of Western journalists in 2022. The company says they were fired.
Alicia Kearns, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee, was asked for her view on the BBC's decision, and tweeted: "If protecting sources isn't a priority, that's a major problem."
Dominic Ponsford, editor-in-chief of journalism industry trade publication the Press Gazette, said it would be interesting to see what other media organisations decide to do.
He told the BBC: "I suspect everyone's chief technical officer will be looking at this very closely.
"Until now, news organisations have been very keen to use TikTok, because it's been one of the fastest-growing social media platforms for news publishers over the last year, and it's been a good source of audience and traffic.
"So most of the talk in the news media has been around encouraging TikTok rather than banning it."
The short-video platform is known for its viral dance crazes, sketches and filters and is hugely popular among young people, with more than 3.5 billion downloads worldwide.
Channel 4 News presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy tweeted in reaction to the decision: "BBC News making big play for views on TikTok but now the BBC is telling staff not to have it on their phones".
A BBC spokesperson said it took the safety and security of its systems, data and people "incredibly seriously".
In an email to staff on Sunday, it said: "The decision is based on concerns raised by government authorities worldwide regarding data privacy and security.
"If the device is a BBC corporate device, and you do not need TikTok for business reasons, TikTok should be deleted from the BBC corporate mobile device."
Staff with the app on a personal phone that they also use for work have been asked to contact the corporation's Information Security team for further discussions, while it reviews concerns around TikTok.
BBC News has its own TikTok channel with 1.2 million followers, and has recently recruited journalists to work specifically on creating content for it. A separate BBC account, which shares BBC programme clips, has more than four million followers.
When asked, by BBC News, why the BBC was continuing to indirectly encourage use of the app by audiences while removing it from many corporate phones, the corporation said that it was giving guidance to staff with access to sensitive data, and was not issuing a public warning about the general use of TikTok.
TikTok said it was disappointed with the BBC's decision.
A spokesperson said: "The BBC has a strong presence on our platform, with multiple accounts from news through to music reaching our engaged community both in the UK and around the world.
"We believe these bans have been based on fundamental misconceptions and driven by wider geopolitics.
"We remain in close dialogue with the BBC and are committed to working with them to address any concerns they have."
Other social media platforms have also faced criticism over privacy and data, but they are mainly US-owned - whereas ByteDance has faced claims of being influenced by Beijing.
While there has been no solid proof of this, there have been a number of incidents which have raised suspicions despite TikTok's repeated denial that it has ever shared data with the Chinese government. It asserts that all Western users' data is stored outside the country.
For example, a US TikTokker shared a video criticising the Chinese government's treatment of the Uighur Muslims, and it was taken down. TikTok said this was a mistake.
This has added to the nervousness of governments and security specialists - despite the firm's consistent denials.
All Western social networks, which TikTok says gather similar data on their users, are officially blocked in China.
China has accused the US of spreading disinformation and suppressing TikTok. Both former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden believe the platform should be sold to a US company. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65008599 |
Royals share photos to mark first Mother's Day without late Queen - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | New photos are released including of King Charles, the Princess of Wales and Camilla, the Queen Consort. | UK | The picture of Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles was posted alongside a message
King Charles has remembered the late Queen on his first Mother's Day since her death.
A photo showing the King as a baby on the Queen's lap was released by the Royal Family on social media on Sunday.
They also shared a photo of Camilla, the Queen Consort, with her mother.
Both images were accompanied with a message wishing a special Mother's Day "to all mothers everywhere, and to those who may be missing their mums today".
"We are thinking of you," the message read.
This was the first Mother's Day since the death of the late Queen, who died on 8 September 2022 aged 96.
The Prince and Princess of Wales also posted pictures of Catherine with her three children on Sunday.
Catherine also shared memories to mark the day
In one photograph, she is pictured sitting in a tree with Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4.
Another picture shows Catherine holding Prince Louis in her arms.
The photos were accompanied with a message reading: "Happy Mother's Day from our family to yours".
Camilla's mother, Rosalind Shand, died in 1994 from the bone disease osteoporosis aged 72. Following her mother's death, Camilla tried to help raise awareness of the condition with several visits to bone units in hospitals across the UK.
A ceremony taking place at Westminster Abbey in London on 6 May 2023 will see King Charles III crowned alongside Camilla. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65007719 |
The Weeknd settles copyright case over Call Out My Name - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The star had been sued over alleged similarities between his song and a 2017 track called Vibeking. | Entertainment & Arts | The Weeknd is one of the biggest recording artists of the last decade
Two musicians who sued The Weeknd claiming he'd stolen one of their songs say they have reached a settlement with the star to end the lawsuit.
Suniel Fox and Henry Strange said the singer copied an "atmospheric and melancholic" track called Vibeking to create his 2018 song Call Out My Name.
The two songs contained similar "lead guitar and vocal hooks" said their lawyer when the case was filed in 2021.
The Weeknd denied the claims. Terms of the settlement have not been disclosed.
"The parties are still in the process of formalising, executing, and consummating" the deal, said Fox and Strange's lawyers in a filing at Los Angeles federal court on Friday.
Call Out My Name was the only single released from The Weeknd's 2018 EP My Dear Melancholy, reaching the top 10 in both the US and UK.
Although it is in a different key to Vibeking, Fox and Strange - who perform as the electro-house duo Epikker - pointed out several similarities between the two songs.
"Both works are in a 6/8 meter that is less common in popular music," they said in their initial court filing.
"Both works are played at a similar tempo. And both works use features of electronica, ambience, pop, hip-hop, rock, and R&B to achieve a particularly atmospheric and melancholic sound."
This YouTube post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original video on YouTube The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. YouTube content may contain adverts. Skip youtube video by TheWeekndVEVO This article contains content provided by Google YouTube. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Google’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. YouTube content may contain adverts.
Unusually for a copyright case, the musicians claimed to have evidence that The Weeknd had heard their song before writing Call Out My Name.
They said they had sent their track to The Weeknd's DJ and playback engineer Eric White in 2015, and cited an alleged email in which he recorded the star's response to the song as: "It's fire".
Almost a year later, White contacted Strange again. "I sent [The Weeknd] that track u made a while ago. He listened and liked it. But nothing ever happened," his email was purported to say.
Shortly afterwards, White allegedly sent another update, saying: "Just gonna tell [The Weeknd] that our production team wrote the track. Cool? Or u have another idea? Just don't wanna say 'hey, [Strange] wrote this' when he doesn't know u."
Strange responded to say that The Weeknd had met him "on [the] Drake tour" and "knows him".
Despite that, the musicians claimed, they were never asked for permission to use or license their song.
They had asked the court for a share in the song's past and future royalties, as well as coverage for their legal fees.
The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, had denied the allegations but, as the case never came to trial, did not have the opportunity to respond to the case in detail.
Notifying the court of the settlement, Fox and Strange's lawyers asked for all future hearings to be cancelled and for the case to be dismissed.
The lawsuit had also named The Weeknd's co-writers, Adam Feeney and Nicolas Jaar, his producer Frank Dukes, record label Universal Music and streaming services including Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-65012702 |
Iraq War: The helmet that saved a Black Watch soldier's life - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | null | Black Watch veteran Kevin Stacey served three tours of Iraq, despite being seriously injured by a bomb. | null | It has been 20 years since the beginning of the invasion of Iraq.
The third generation of his family to serve with the Black Watch, Kevin Stacey was among thousands of British troops deployed to Iraq in 2003.
He ended up serving three tours of the country, despite being seriously injured by an IED in the city of Basra in 2004.
Since leaving the Army, Kevin has pursued his passion for cycling in the Scottish Highlands, helping him come to terms with his experiences. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-65008347 |
Car gets wedged outside historic Bath hotel - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The car became stuck by the basement windows of the Francis Hotel in the early hours of Sunday. | Somerset | The car crashed into the Francis Hotel in the early hours of the morning
Diners at one of Bath's historic hotels were met with an unusual sight on Mother's Day when a car became wedged against its basement windows.
Avon Fire and Rescue Service said they were called to the Francis Hotel in Queen Square at about 04:45 GMT on Sunday.
A rescue crew freed one of the occupants from the vehicle, while another was able to get out by himself.
The car remains stuck but the hotel is open as normal.
Emily, 47, was visiting family from London for Mother's Day lunch when she saw the accident.
She told BBC West: "We thought it might have been a small fire but we looked over the railings and there was a whole car fitted in there and people making jokes about parking - you can't really see how it got down there.
"There was quite a large section of the railings that were broken and some stonework had also been damaged, so you could see it must have been quite high impact.
"There was a fire engine and a few crew, but there didn't seem to be anything happening - I don't know if the fire crew were just guarding the site.
"The hotel was open - it was a bit strange because you could see through the window and there were people having their lunch and their afternoon tea above where the car was."
A member of staff at the hotel said the basement was used for storage and guest rooms had been unaffected.
A fire crew helped one male exit the car, while another got out by himself
A spokesman for Avon Fire and Rescue said: "We were called at 04:45 due to a car having left the road and colliding with a hotel and ended up in a precarious position over a basement area.
"An ambulance was in attendance and requested we help them rescue a young adult male from within that area."
Firefighters used specialist equipment to free the male, the spokesman said, before handing him into the care of paramedics.
"We worked closely with the Francis Hotel to make sure their business was not affected," the spokesman added.
Follow BBC West on Facebook,TwitterandInstagram. Send your story ideas to: bristol@bbc.co.uk
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-65008705 |
SNP not in a mess, it's growing pains - Sturgeon - BBC News | 2023-03-20T00:00:00 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The first minister disagreed with comments made by SNP's new chief executive over the membership row. | Scotland politics | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Nicola Sturgeon tells the Loose Women panel that "renewal and refresh" was right
Nicola Sturgeon has said the SNP is not "in a mess" and is going through "growing pains" as she faced questions about a membership row.
The comment was made by interim chief executive Mike Russell as he replaced Ms Sturgeon's husband, Peter Murrell.
The party has lost 32,000 members since December 2021, but initially denied the decline to a newspaper.
Mr Murrell took responsibility for misleading the media and resigned on Saturday.
The BBC was told he had been set to face a vote of no confidence by the National Executive Committee (NEC) had he not stepped down.
The first minister was asked about Mr Russell's remarks during an appearance on ITV's Loose Women.
Ms Sturgeon said: "Mike was referring to some of the issues around the leadership race.
"The SNP is not in a mess, it's going through some growing pains right now - they are necessary but they're difficult. But I'm stepping down from a party that hasn't lost an election since 2010 in Scotland."
The power couple - Nicola Sturgeon is the outgoing FM of Scotland and Peter Murrell was chief executive of the SNP
The first minister told Loose Women that the party had "mishandled" the situation.
On the denial of membership numbers to the media, she said: "We were asked a specific question, not about what's the size of your membership, but have you lost 30,000 members because of X and Y?
"We answered in that sense, we should have framed it in a bigger way. So these things are all opportunities to learn and reflect."
12 February - The Sunday Mail reports that the SNP has lost 30,000 members over the gender reform bill and a stalled independence referendum.
14 February - The SNP describe the Sunday Mail's report as "wholly inaccurate", with party media chief Murray Foote describing it as "drivel".
15 February - Nicola Sturgeon resigns as first minister and SNP leader, triggering a leadership contest.
24 February - The candidates to replace Ms Sturgeon are confirmed as Ash Regan, Humza Yousaf and Kate Forbes.
15 March - Ash Regan and Kate Forbescall for clarity on membership numbers in an open letter to SNP chief executive Peter Murrell.
16 March - The SNP publishes its membership numbers, revealing it has about 72,000 members - 32,000 fewer than the 104,000 it had two years ago.
17 March - SNP media chief Murray Foote resigns over the party's response to the Sunday Mail's story on party numbers.
18 March - SNP chief executive Peter Murrell resigns, taking responsibility for misleading the media about membership numbers.
27 March - New SNP leader due to be announced.
Earlier Mr Russell told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland the three leadership candidates could have confidence in the contest.
All three have pledged to reform the SNP's operations.
Ms Sturgeon said it was important for the party not to "throw the baby out with the bath water" and lose things that have made them successful in the past.
She added: "Perspective is important in these things. We don't know this for sure because other parties in Scotland don't tell us what their membership figures are but on the most recent assessments, even with that decline, the SNP has more members in Scotland than all of the other parties combined.
"We are the only mass membership party in the country."
Ms Sturgeon last appeared on Loose Women in April 2022 when she discussed her anxieties about going through menopause and coping with it while in a public role.
On Monday she spoke to the panel about having a miscarriage at the end of 2010 - and how she had not yet processed the experience.
Last week the Scottish government announced a memorial book for those who experience pregnancy or baby loss prior to 24 weeks.
Nicola Sturgeon said looking at this picture, taken at a 2010 commemoration of the Ibrox disaster, people could see she was in "a lot of pain"
"These are the things that often get dismissed in politics as soft soap but I think they're really important because they go to the heart of the values you have as a country," Ms Sturgeon said.
"You can find a photograph of me at an event actually while I was still having a miscarriage at a public commemoration... Looking at that photograph now, it's clear that I'm in a lot of pain - and so how do you deal with it?
"I think back then if there had been some way of recognising it that would have brought a lot of comfort at a really difficult time."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. 'Hopefully more time to slob about the house after leaving office' - Nicola Sturgeon
Looking towards her final days as first minister this week, Ms Sturgeon said she hopes to continue championing issues that are important to her.
She said she would not follow in the footsteps of Matt Hancock who took part in ITV's I'm A Celebrity reality show, adding: "I can say categorically, definitely no Strictly, definitely no jungle.
Asked "What about Bake Off?", she said: "I can't cook or bake."
On the subject of her legacy, Ms Sturgeon said it is for others to decide - but she is most proud of policies like the Scottish Child Payment, the baby box scheme and the rise in young people from working class backgrounds attending university.
She said: "These are the things I'm proudest of because I think in years to come, the impact of these kind of measures will be seen." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-65013722 |
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