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Ukraine found the remains of British World War Two Hurricane aircraft in a forest outside Kyiv The rusting remains of eight British Hurricane fighter planes dating back to World War Two have been found buried in a forest in Ukraine. The aircraft were sent to the Soviet Union by Britain after Nazi Germany invaded the country in 1941. They were part of a package of allied military support for the USSR, paid for by the United States under the so-called Lend-Lease scheme. Similar legislation is being used by the US government today to send military aid to Ukraine as it seeks to expel Russian forces from its country. Aviation experts say this is the first time the remains of so many Hurricanes have been found in Ukraine. "It is very rare to find this aircraft in Ukraine," says Oleks Shtan, a former airline pilot who is leading the excavation. "It's very important for our aviation history because no Lend-Lease aircraft have been found here before." The UK sent some 3,000 Hurricanes to the Soviet Union during the war against Nazi Germany The Hawker Hurricane was the workhorse of the Battle of Britain - the air campaign of 1940 when the Royal Air Force (RAF) defeated German attempts to invade the UK. Although its role has often been overshadowed by the newer and more adaptable Spitfire plane, the Hurricane actually shot down more than half of all enemy aircraft during the battle. "The Hurricane was a strong, easy to fly machine," Mr Shtan says. "It was stable as a gun platform and suitable for inexperienced pilots. A reliable aircraft." In total, about 3,000 Hurricanes were sent to the USSR between 1941 and 1944 to support the Soviet war effort. Most were either destroyed in combat or dismantled later for parts. But some Hurricanes were deliberately broken up and buried after the war so the Soviets did not have to pay back the United States. Under the Lend-Lease legislation, the USSR was required to pay for any donated military equipment that remained intact after hostilities ended. This was the fate of the eight Hurricanes found buried in woodland south of Kyiv - now the capital of independent Ukraine, but until 1991 part of the USSR. Ukraine is now painstakingly cleaning and repairing the planes, so they can be put on display They had been stripped of their instruments, radios, machine guns and any useful scrap metal. They were then dragged by tractors from a nearby airfield, broken up and dropped without ceremony into a shallow ravine. It is thought they were then covered with earth by bulldozers. The remains were discovered recently after an unexploded bomb dating from the war was found nearby. The rest of the ravine was checked using metal detectors and the Hurricanes were found. The National Aviation Museum of Ukraine is now in the process of painstakingly excavating the site by hand. Staff there aim to identify as much of the aircraft as possible so they can be reassembled and put on display. Valerii Romanenko, head of research at the museum, says the Hurricanes played an important part in Ukraine's history. "The Hurricanes are a symbol of British assistance during the years of the Second World War, just as we are very appreciative of British assistance nowadays," he says. "The UK is one of the largest suppliers of military equipment to our country now." The Hurricanes are a symbol of British assistance... just as we are very appreciative of British assistance now "In 1941 Britain was the first who supplied fighter aircraft to the Soviet Union in mass scale. Now the UK is the first country which gives Storm Shadow cruise missiles to our armed forces." It is thought there are just 14 restored Hurricanes able to fly in the world today. After the German invasion, the USSR lost many warplanes and was in desperate need of fighter aircraft. Initially several RAF Hurricane squadrons were sent to the Arctic to help. But soon the British pilots left and the aircraft were taken over by Soviet airmen. Records show that many disliked the Hurricane, considering it under-powered, under-armed and under-protected. By the end of the war it was considered obsolete and was used mainly for air defence work. The eight Hurricanes found south of Kyiv were used to defend major transport hubs - especially railway stations and junctions.

Bryn Parry founded Help for Heroes with his wife Emma The Prince of Wales has paid tribute to a co-founder of Wiltshire-based veterans' charity Help for Heroes following his death from pancreatic cancer. Bryn Parry passed away on Wednesday at the age of 66, the charity said. Mr Parry and his wife Emma founded Help for Heroes in 2007 after learning about ex-servicemen's struggles to access rehabilitation treatment. Prince William described him as "a life-affirming and inspirational man". In a tweet, the prince said he was "deeply sad to hear that Bryn Parry has passed away". "A life-affirming, inspirational man, his work with @HelpforHeroes made a difference to so many and his legacy will be its continuing impact." Prince William visited a Help For Heroes Recovery Centre in Tidworth in 2013 Prince Harry also expressed his condolences in a statement published on his own veteran's charity, the Invictus Games Foundation. "Today is a truly sad day for the military community as we bid farewell to a man who, alongside his wife, completely transformed the UK charity sector for the benefit of those that have served," he wrote. "His vision, determination and brilliance provided a lifeline for thousands of veterans, as well as their families, when they needed it most." The minister for veterans' affairs, Johnny Mercer, also paid tribute, saying Mr and Mrs Parry had "revolutionised veterans' care in the UK". The MP for Plymouth, Moor View, added: "(Mr Parry) inspired me with his unapologetic determination to do the right thing by these men and women who serve. "He will never be forgotten." This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by The Prince and Princess of Wales This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. End of twitter post by The Prince and Princess of Wales Mr Parry, who forged a career as a cartoonist after leaving the Royal Green Jackets, initially set out to raise £10,000 for wounded veterans with his wife through a charity cycle ride. Within three years the couple, who are from the village of Downton near Salisbury, had raised £50m. The charity's chief executive James Needham said: "Without Bryn, this charity wouldn't be here. Without him, over 27,000 veterans and their families wouldn't have received life-changing support. "Bryn was instrumental in changing the focus of the nation and the way we regard both military service and wounded veterans." He added: "Bryn's founding principles and his no-nonsense approach of doing everything humanly possible to help our heroes, remain at the heart of all we do." Help for Heroes hold charity bike rides every year to raise funds for the Armed Forces community Speaking to the BBC in 2010, Mr Parry said he and his wife felt there had been a lot of pent up public support for veterans that had no outlet. "The problem was, people were concerned about the politics and the rights and wrongs of the wars," he said. "We said it's not about the rights and wrongs of war, it's about a 22-year-old boy who's had his legs blown off. "That allowed people to get behind the movement. It's just been a humanitarian desire to do something, and not stand around and feel helpless." Mr Parry's cartoon business, Bryn Parry Studios, announced earlier this year that he had been diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer and would not be taking on any new commissions. In a statement on its website, it said: "He is comfortable at home, surrounded by his family and mad dogs!" Follow BBC West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected] The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Emergency services were called to Bordon, Hampshire after reports of a man trapped in a hole A man has been rescued after falling into a well that suddenly opened up in a back garden. Emergency services were called to Bordon in Hampshire, at about 18:00 BST on Tuesday, after reports of a man trapped in a hole. The 76-year-old man fell 2m (6.5ft) and suffered minor cuts and bruises, according to Hampshire's fire service. It said water had caused part of the well to erode, creating a void underneath a garden patio. "He was fortunate not to slide down the slope where he could have dropped approximately 12 metres further into the well," the service said in a statement. Firefighters worked along with paramedics to save the man and set up a rope system that lifted him from the well. He was treated at the scene by paramedics and a cordon was put in place around the hole. The fire service praised its crews for their "quick and efficient response". Follow BBC South on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].

The research rocket was part of experiments being conducted by Sweden in zero gravity Sweden has got into hot water with Norway after one of its research rockets malfunctioned and landed in its neighbour's territory. The rocket was launched at 07:20 local time (05:20 GMT) on Monday from the Esrange Space Center, before plunging into a Norwegian mountain range. The Swedish Space Corporation (SSC), which owns and runs the centre, has apologised and is investigating. But Norwegian officials say Sweden failed to let them know formally. "The ministry did not get formal notification, and when an incident like this happens across the border it's important that those responsible immediately inform the Norwegian authorities through proper channels," said foreign ministry spokeswoman Ragnhild Simenstad. According to the SSC, the rocket reached an altitude of 250km (155 miles) and made it into zero gravity, where it carried out experiments in microgravity into potential carbon-free fuels and creating more efficient solar cells. But the rocket then landed some 40km north-west of the planned landing site, 15km into Norwegian territory in the far northern area of Malselv. It is described as a mountain range roughly 10km from the closest inhabited area, at an altitude of around 1,000m (3,280ft). Nobody was injured and no material damage has been reported. The scientific instrument onboard the rocket, known as the payload, weighs 387kg (853lbs) and has since been recovered in "good condition" and returned to Esrange by helicopter, according to the SSC. SSC spokesman Philip Ohlsson explained that while the first stage motor of the rocket had landed close to the Esrange base site in Sweden, the second stage motor and the payload had parachuted on to Norwegian territory. "This is a deviation that we take seriously," said Marko Kohberg from the Esrange Space Center. "It is still too early to speculate about the cause, and we await more information from the current investigation." According to Esrange, Norway's armed forces and Swedish authorities were contacted shortly after the incident, and it followed the routines laid out for rocket launches after Monday's flight. Local authorities in Malselv have told public broadcaster NRK they were told about the incident and asked if a helicopter could be sent to retrieve the rocket. But Norway's foreign ministry has said it received no formal notification either of the rocket's landing or the recovery of its payload. "For our part it's important to remember that a rocket and incident like this can contribute to large damage. The fuel might be contaminated and there might be poisonous material. We just want to expect the proper rules are followed," said Ms Simenstad. The rocket, known as Texus-58, is part of a European programme commissioned by the European Space Agency.

Researchers say the new genetic map of humanity is more representatives of variety Scientists have produced an updated map of all human DNA which could help to transform medical research. The original human genome, published 20 years ago, is mostly from one person, and does not represent human diversity. The latest version - dubbed the pangenome - is made up of data from 47 people from Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe. It is hoped it will lead to new drugs and treatments that work for a much wider range of people. According to Dr Eric Green, who is director for the National Human Genome Research Institute in Bethesda Maryland, the research, which has been published in the journal Nature, has the potential to transform medical research. "This represents a tremendous scientific achievement. A pangenome that better reflects the diversity of the human population will enable scientists to better understand how genetic variation influences health and disease and moves us to a future in which genomic medicine benefits everyone". The genes that make up human DNA are made up of of sequences of chemicals. The pangenome consists of 47 separate DNA maps of the people from different ancestries, which can also be combined and compared with new software tools to find important genetic differences. The aim is to develop more effective treatments for more people, but genetic scientists are aware that the research has the potential to be misused. Prof Muzlifah Haniffa, of the Sanger Institute in Newcastle, who was not part of the research team, said that the science should not be misinterpreted, "Genetic information about diversity should be used responsibly and not to provide evidence of differences in race, which is a social construct. We have to understand what it shows and, importantly, what it doesn't show. We have to make sure that taking information very superficially to establish false racial characteristics does not happen". The human genome was largely completed in 2003. It is a map of the basic chemical building blocks that make up human DNA. Researchers use it to identify genes involved in diseases so as to develop better treatments. It has led to improved cancer therapies and the development of tests to predict the onset of inherited conditions, such as Huntington's disease. It took hundreds of machines 13 years to read all the DNA that makes a human But the downside is that 70% of the genome came from a single individual: an American man with European and African ancestry. This therefore misses important genetic differences that play an important part in diseases in people from other backgrounds, according to Dr Karen Miga of the university of California in Santa Cruz. "Having one map of a single human genome cannot adequately represent all of humanity. This reboot can be the foundation for the scientific community to have more equitable healthcare in the future". Although the map of the human genome currently used by researchers has a lot of African DNA in it, counterintuitively it is the population that is one of the most lacking, according to Dr Ewan Birney, deputy Director General of the European Molecular Biology Lab near Cambridge. "The most important place in the World to get genomes from is sub-Saharan Africa. It is where we started as a species, and it has the greatest genetic diversity. So, one African American genome is not enough to represent that diversity". Dr Zamin Iqbal, a senior researcher at EMBL's European Bioinformatics Institute near Cambridge, believes that a more representative genome will lead to better treatments for more people. "Expanding the range of populations present in the human reference genome will reduce a long-standing implicit bias in studies of human genetics. Humans are diverse, and it's important that our analytical methods incorporate that. Two recent studies in the US and in the UK and Ireland found that children of European ancestry were twice as likely to be diagnosed with genetic tests than those of African ancestry. Dr Alexander Arguello, who is the programme director at at the National Human Genome Research Institute, says the aim of the new project was to change those outcomes. "The hope is that once you capture sufficient diversity you will get the same diagnostic results whatever the population". The new pangenome is made up from 47 people, half of whom have ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa, a third from the Americas, 13% from China and 2% from Europe, with representation of indigenous people. But this is just the start of an ambitious programme to better represent the diversity of the world's population. The initial aim is to increase the number to 350. After that the scientists leading the largely US programme plan to increase numbers and diversity further by working with organisations from other countries in what they hope will become phase two of the human genome project. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

The settlement is separate from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, which started in September 2017 Lawyers acting for survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire and bereaved family members have been outlining the details of a civil damages claim settlement. At the High Court, barrister Richard Hermer KC said a compensation sum of about £150m had been awarded across 900 cases in the "global settlement". The June 2017 fire at the west London tower block killed 72 people. Meanwhile, it has now been confirmed the Grenfell Inquiry report is unlikely to be published until 2024. The panel and team working on the phase two report have insisted they will "spare no effort" to finish it as soon as possible. Its final hearing was on 10 November 2022. The long-running inquiry, chaired by Sir Martin Moore-Bick, is examining the circumstances leading up to and surrounding the blaze. At the settlement hearing at the High Court, listings indicate the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea was one of a number of defendants. The London Fire Commissioner was also listed as a defendant, while cladding giant Arconic previously confirmed it was another. The firm said it had "agreed to contribute to a restorative justice project to benefit the community affected by the fire". A total of £50m, including £25m from government and £6m from Arconic, has been pledged to the settlement fund. Those who took part in the claim were represented by 14 legal firms although the settlement does not include all victims of the fire. It has been stressed that the agreement does not affect the potential for any criminal charges to be brought in the future. Mr Hermer said: "No amount of money will ever truly compensate for what the claimants have had to endure. "This is a settlement purely of the civil claims for compensation. The settlement does not right the wrong, it does not secure accountability." The judge, Senior Master Barbara Fontaine, specifically approved financial arrangements regarding the claims made by eight children, as part of the wider settlement. Lawyers said she would examine issues such as investment arrangements for these claimants. Follow BBC London on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Noel Hanna died at a camp after making his descent from the world's 10th highest mountain Mountaineer Noel Hanna, who has died during an expedition in Nepal, "lived for the mountains", his sister has said. It is understood Mr Hanna, from Dromara in County Down, died at a camp while making a descent from Annapurna, the 10th highest mountain in the world. The 56-year-old had scaled Mount Everest 10 times in his career. In 2018, Mr Hanna became the first person from the island of Ireland to successfully summit and descend K2. Mr Hanna had scaled the 8,091m (26,545ft) peak in the Annapurna mountain range on Monday and died overnight, Irish broadcaster RTÉ reports. BBC Nepali said there were local reports that his body has been airlifted to the capital, Kathmandu. Irene Hunter told BBC News NI's Evening Extra that her brother "loved a view and he just loved people" and that he was "a legend". Asked if the family was aware of the dangers which Mr Hanna faced, Ms Hunter said: "He didn't really say too much, he didn't want to worry us all." She added that her brother's body would be returning to Finnis, close to the Mourne Mountains, where he began his climbing career. There are reports that a second climber from India who had been missing after falling into a crevasse has been found alive. Annapurna in the Himalayas is the 10th highest mountain in the world Robbie Marsh, a guide in the Mourne Mountains, described Mr Hanna as an inspirational figure within the climbing community. He told BBC News NI: "I was always at him to write a book, but he was such a humble man. "He just normalised climbing 8,000 metre mountains, just like we would do Slieve Donard." Mr Marsh said he was inspired by Mr Hanna to quit his corporate management job to set up his mountaineering business. "Part of his legacy is that inspiration that he has given people," he said. Robbie Marsh was inspired to set up a mountaineering business by Noel Hanna Banjo Bannon, a climber from Newry, who was the second person from Northern Ireland to reach Mt Everest in 2003, said: "Noel had it in his head that he was going to do all 14 peaks over 8,000m. That was his goal and dream." Alison Irwin, a representative from the Nepal Ireland Society, said Mr Hanna did a lot of work in promoting connections between the two countries. "He had a huge love of Nepal, through his mountains, and was very, very interested in all things Nepal," she said. Ms Irwin described feeling delighted for Mr Hanna when she heard he had reached the peak of Annapurna this week. She added: "The first thought that came into my head when I saw the summit news was, 'well, I hope he gets down safe'. And I woke up this morning to that bad news." The society has extended condolences to Mr Hanna's family. Ms Irwin said Mr Hanna's proudest achievement was reaching the summit of Burke-Khang (6942m; 22775ft), which she said some sherpas described as "unclimbable". "He was very modest in his achievements," she added. Noel Hanna previously told the BBC he relishes the challenge of tackling the world's highest mountains Mourne Mountain Adventures, a guided hiking company based in Kilkeel, has paid tribute to Mr Hanna. In a social media post, the company said: "There is some peace in that he spent his last moments doing what he loved best, such a great man and one of N Ireland's finest mountaineers." Dan McFarland, the head coach at Ulster Rugby, tweeted: "Very sad to hear of Noel's passing. Noel was a great inspiration to this team. "All our thoughts are with Lynne and Noel's family." Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs said it is aware of the case and is providing consular assistance, but would not comment further.

GPs in England may start offering weight-loss jabs to some patients to reduce obesity-related illnesses and resultant pressure on hospitals. Wegovy was approved for NHS use after research suggested users could shed over 10% of their body weight. The drug blunts appetite, so users feel full and eat less. Rishi Sunak said it could be a "game-changer" as he announced a £40 million pilot scheme to increase access to specialist weight management services. But experts warn "skinny jabs" - widely used in the US and endorsed by many celebrities - are not a quick fix or a substitute for a healthy diet and exercise. In trials, users often put weight back on after stopping treatment. Similar injections, such as Ozempic and Mounjaro, which work in much the same way as Wegovy but are designed to treat diabetes, have not yet been approved for NHS use specifically for weight loss. NHS drugs watchdog, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), says patients can access Wegovy for a maximum of two years via specialist weight-management services. These are largely hospital based, meaning only about 35,000 have access, but the government says tens of thousands more could be eligible - although the UK has no supply of the drug yet. The new scheme will test how GPs could safely prescribe such drugs and the NHS provide support in the community or digitally, contributing to the government's wider ambition to reduce pressure on hospitals and give patients access to the care they need where it is most convenient for them. Semaglutide injections will be approved under NICE guidance Mr Sunak said: "Obesity puts huge pressure on the NHS. "Using the latest drugs to support people to lose weight will be a game-changer by helping to tackle dangerous obesity-related health conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer." Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chairwoman of the Royal College of GPs, welcomed the move but said there would need to be "sufficient resource and funding to account for the increased workload". She added that there also needs to be enough of the drug available "so as not to raise patients' expectations, as there may be a significant number of people who would benefit from it". Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Health Secretary Steve Barclay pointed to the impact obesity has on rates of cancer and diabetes. He continued: "We recognise it's often a real challenge for people to lose weight or keep the weight off, and that's why we're embracing the latest medication and making sure the NHS is at the front of the queue." Mr Barclay also said there could be "potential economic benefits" from reducing the numbers of people absent from work because of health issues linked to obesity. The government says obesity costs the NHS in England £6.5 billion a year, with more than one million hospital admissions linked to obesity in 2019-20. More than 12 million adults in England are obese, estimates suggest. And some High Street chemists are set to sell Wegovy to customers, prescribing and dispensing a weekly jab they can inject themselves using pre-filled pen devices. As with any medication, there can be side-effects and risks. The most common are nausea or an upset stomach, bloating and gas. NHS medical director Prof Sir Stephen Powis said: "Pharmaceutical treatments offer a new way of helping people with obesity gain a healthier weight and this new pilot will help determine if these medicines can be used safely and effectively in non-hospital settings as well as a range of other interventions we have in place." He said NHS England was negotiating with the manufacturer to secure long-term supplies at prices representing value for money for taxpayers.

Pupils were allowed to leave the school after being locked down for the morning A teenage boy is being questioned on suspicion of the attempted murder of a teacher who was stabbed at a school. The male teacher was taken to hospital with a single wound after being attacked at Tewkesbury Academy in Gloucestershire just after 09:00 BST. Firearms officers arrested the suspect two hours later in Stoke Orchard, about three miles (4.8km) away, and a knife was seized. The injured teacher was discharged from hospital on Monday evening. Tewkesbury Academy has said it would reopen on Tuesday. Gloucestershire police received a call from the ambulance service on Monday morning saying a teacher had been injured in a corridor at the school. Officers said a "thorough" search was conducted after initial reports suggested the boy was still on the school's property. "It was initially thought that the suspect had fled the scene and hidden himself within the school grounds," said Assistant Chief Constable Richard Ocone, of Gloucestershire Police. "This search was both complex and meticulous in nature as we sought to ensure there were no further injured parties as well as seeking the arrest of the suspect," he added. Two other schools also went into lockdown following the stabbing and further searches were conducted to make sure no-one else was hurt. "Specialist resources including the National Police Air Service and plain-clothed officers were deployed to search the wider area," said ACC Ocone. This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Police said there will be more officers in the area over the coming days One teacher kept his pupils safe by sitting in front of a classroom door and barricaded it, said one parent. Daniel said his daughter video called him and he could see her teacher "supporting the whole class". "The teacher sat right by the door. He barricaded the door, put some boxes there and kept everyone cool even though he must have been scared himself," he added. Michelle, whose 13-year-old son Alex is in Year 8, said she was very relieved to be able to collect him from school. "You get the message from school to say it has been locked down and it says urgent," she said. "Then you hear that a teacher has been stabbed and the children are all locked down. The first instinct is to get to the school as quickly as you can, which I didn't do, and I listened to the school and stayed away as long as I possibly could." Michelle said the teacher involved was "very popular" with parents and pupils alike. Emergency services were seen outside Alderman Knight school, which shares the same site Police said they were keeping an "open mind" about a possible motive and more patrols would be seen in the area. "At this time there is no evidence to suggest it is terrorism related. However, we are keeping an open mind while further enquiries are carried out," said ACC Ocone. Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said she was "deeply concerned" by the stabbing. "We are closely monitoring the situation and remain hugely grateful to the emergency services who are currently on the scene," added Ms Keegan. "My department is on hand to support the school as the situation unfolds." This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: A parent of a pupil praised one teacher who supported his class during the incident Martyn and Julia, parents of Year 7 student Katie, said the school and police had kept them informed. "The school was communicating throughout the morning. The students were allowed to turn their phones on, which we were most grateful for." Julia said: "Hearing about it this morning felt very strange - it doesn't happen here. I know it sounds a cliche and you see it happening on the news in other places." Erica, who has a child at Tewkesbury Academy, said she was happy that the incident was resolved quickly. "It is worrying that these things can happen in any school and all the more important that as parents we take responsibility for teaching our children awareness of the destructive nature of this type of incident," she said. Parents said the police and school had kept them informed Richard Stanley, leader of Tewkesbury Borough Council, said it had been a difficult day for the community. "Tewkesbury is a very safe place, it's a small community and I don't think there's a particular issue here. It's a national issue in terms of young people carrying knives." Laurence Robertson, Conservative MP for the town, said he planned to meet with the education secretary and the home secretary to discuss knife crime. "The government has taken certain steps to bring it [knife crime] back under control, but I would be the first to say that much more needs to be done," he told BBC Points West. Following the incident, The National Education Union (NEU) tweeted that its thoughts were with all staff, pupils and parents involved. "This is a shocking incident. Violence has no place in our schools and colleges," it said. ACC Ocone said: "This was clearly a very distressing incident and our thoughts are with the victim, their family and everyone impacted by what happened. "We are working with the school and other agencies to ensure appropriate support is available and local people will see more police in the area over the coming days as the investigation continues." Follow BBC West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]

Matt Hancock is among three MPs facing probes by Parliament's standards commissioner Daniel Greenberg, it has been disclosed. The ex-health secretary is being investigated for allegedly trying to influence the commissioner's enforcement of the rules. A spokesman for Mr Hancock said he was "shocked and surprised" by the investigation. He added that Mr Hancock denied trying to lobby the commissioner. The investigation was revealed by an update to the commissioner's website, which confirmed that a probe was launched on Tuesday. It also confirmed Scott Benton is under investigation for his use of his parliamentary email address, without offering further information. Mr Benton has been suspended as a Conservative MP since referring himself to the commissioner after he was filmed offering to lobby ministers for a fake company in a newspaper sting. The website said Mr Hancock is under investigation for potentially breaching a rule in the MPs' code of conduct that prevents them from lobbying the commissioner in a way "calculated or intended to influence his consideration" of whether the code has been breached, without offering details. Mr Hancock's spokesman confirmed Mr Hancock had written to Mr Greenberg "in good faith" to offer evidence for an inquiry he is currently conducting, but did not offer further information. "It's clearly a misunderstanding and Matt looks forward to fully engaging with the commissioner to clear this up," the spokesman added. Mr Hancock, who became one of the best-known politicians in the country during the Covid pandemic, remains suspended as a Tory MP for for taking time off from his parliamentary duties to appear on I'm A Celebrity last year. It led to widespread criticism, with his local Conservative Association in his West Suffolk constituency passing a motion to say he was "not fit to represent" the seat. He confirmed in December that he will not be standing as an MP at the next election, saying he wanted to find "new ways to reach people" outside Parliament. The commissioner's website also confirmed that Henry Smith, the Conservative MP for Crawley in West Sussex, is under investigation for his use of taxpayer-funded stationery, again without offering details. The BBC has contacted Mr Smith and Mr Benton for a comment.

A relatively new and dangerous street drug called monkey dust, which is already banned in the US, could soon face tougher penalties in the UK. The government is asking officials about the drug that can cause violence and paranoia - some users have jumped off buildings or tried to eat glass. The city of Stoke-on-Trent has seen a big rise in users and related crimes, including arson. Reclassifying it from Class B to A would increase jail terms for dealers. Stoke-on-Trent South MP Jack Brereton says he is pleased the government is taking action. He said: "It's a hallucinogenic drug, and many people's lives have been completely destroyed as a result of taking this drug. "There is no treatment for those who become addicted - and it is very addictive. For those who succumb to it, it's very profound." He said users could become a danger to themselves as well as others. The effects can vary considerably from user to user. Police officers have described tackling those under the influence as like trying to wrestle with the Incredible Hulk. "It's so cheaply available, it's cheaper than the price of alcohol and people are able to just pick it up readily. We need to see reclassification and put the consequences up for those who are pushing this drug." According to Mr Brereton, a hit can cost as little as £2 to buy on the street. This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Monkey dust is the street name for methylenedioxy-α-pyrrolidinohexiophenone or MDPHP, which is a synthetic cathinone. It is a white or yellowish powder that is sold by dealers as an alternative to drugs like speed, ecstasy or cocaine. Users snort it or wrap it in paper and swallow it, but it can be smoked. While it can create euphoria, it can make users feel anxious and paranoid. Some users may experience fits and heart damage. Policing Minister Chris Philp said: "These synthetic drugs ruin lives, families and neighbourhoods. Made in labs and pumped into our communities, our drug laws must keep pace with their evolution." By making monkey dust a Class A substance, criminals caught supplying it would face a life sentence. Possession would carry a penalty of up to seven years in prison. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs will give the government the findings of its review in due course. The BBC's political reporter in Staffordshire, Amara Sophia Elahi, said: "I covered the problems the substance was causing in Stoke-on-Trent for BBC News, and five years on it is still a huge issue for the city. In fact, Staffordshire Police now have a dedicated operation aimed at trying to disrupt the supply chain of the drug in Stoke-on-Trent. "In recent weeks, the force has seized more than 10 kilograms of Monkey Dust worth over £100,000 which was due to be delivered to addresses in the city. "Although Stoke-on-Trent will receive an extra £1.5 million from the government's Drugs Strategy funding over the next year to try to tackle substance misuse, for many in this city reclassification seems to be the only way to prevent Monkey Dust from wreaking further havoc yet."

Last updated on .From the section European Football Rodrygo scored twice as Real Madrid won the Copa del Rey for the first time since 2014 after beating Osasuna in the final in Seville. The Brazilian was on hand to fire the winner from close range after Toni Kroos' shot deflected into his path. Osasuna, playing in only their second Copa del Rey final, had threatened an upset when Lucas Torro levelled. Rodrygo handed Real an early lead with the fastest goal in a Spanish cup final for 17 years after 106 seconds. Osasuna, backed by nearly 25,000 fans inside the Estadio de La Cartuja, had their chances as they chased a first major trophy in their 103-year history. They were denied a stoppage-time equaliser when Dani Carvajal produced a last-ditch block to keep out Kike Barja's side-footed effort. Los Rojillos, which translates as The Little Reds, had more shots on target (5) than Real (3), but Carlo Ancelotti's side were ultimately more clinical in front of goal. Victory for Real delivers a 20th Copa del Rey title as they now turn their attention to Tuesday's Champions League semi-final first leg against Manchester City. Osasuna fans had travelled in large numbers and painted the city of Seville red in anticipation of Saturday's final, but it could not have started any worse on the field. Vinicius Jr, who returned to the Real starting XI as Ancelotti made five changes to the side that lost at Real Sociedad, proved to be a constant threat down the left. The Brazilian beat his marker and got to the byline before cutting the ball back across the face of goal for Rodrygo to convert for the opening goal. Osasuna's task nearly became even harder when Karim Benzema forced Sergio Herrera into a smart save, but Jagoba Arrasate's side began to grow into the game and they could have equalised a minute later. Bearing down on goal after shrugging off the challenge of Eder Militao, Abde Ezzalzouli beat Thibaut Courtois but could not guide his chipped effort on target. The leveller did come after the break when Torro's controlled finish from outside the area against his former club sent the red half of the stadium into delirium. Some of the enthusiasm spilled over as play was momentarily halted while stewards had to use a fire extinguisher on a loose pyrotechnic where the Osasuna fans were housed. But Madrid always carried a threat and when Vinicius Jr burst through down the left once more and dragged the ball back from the byline, Kroos' effort came off Garcia for Rodrygo to pounce and lift into the net. With the La Liga title seemingly heading to Barcelona, Ancelotti's side will enjoy their celebrations before turning their attention to the Champions League. The holders will be hoping they can welcome back Luka Modric from a hamstring issue to face City in the first leg at the Bernabeu.

Authorities on the islands of Rhodes and Corfu say fires are continuing to spread due to strong winds British tourists continue to cut short their holidays as fires burn on the Greek island of Rhodes. More flights left Greece on Tuesday to bring holidaymakers back to the UK. The Foreign Office updated its guidance, telling people travelling to areas that might be affected to make sure they had "appropriate insurance". The Liberal Democrats have urged ministers to advise against going to Rhodes unless essential, to help with travel insurance claims. Jet2 had nine flights scheduled to depart Rhodes on Tuesday, some of which had spare seats to accommodate extra passengers trying to leave the island. EasyJet said extra seats were available on Wednesday's flights. Earlier, one of the airline's pilots flying British tourists to Rhodes urged passengers at Gatwick to get off the plane before take-off. "I don't know in what capacity you are travelling, but if you are travelling for leisure, my sincere recommendation is that it's a bad idea," the pilot told passengers on board. BBC Wales correspondent Gwyn Loader, who was travelling to Rhodes to report on the wildfires, said eight passengers took the pilot up on the offer, including one young boy in tears. On Monday morning, Foreign Office Minister Andrew Mitchell said up to 10,000 Brits were on Rhodes in total - this number includes tourists in unaffected parts of the island. Jet2 - which ran repatriation flights to Manchester, Leeds-Bradford, Glasgow and Stansted overnight - said "approximately 1,000 customers" had either been flown back to the UK or moved to hotels in unaffected areas. EasyJet has cancelled outbound package holidays to Rhodes until Saturday, while Tui has cancelled its packages going to the south of the island until 11 August. According to the Tui website, packages to the north of Rhodes will recommence from 29 July. Instead of formally advising holidaymakers not to travel to the affected Greek islands, the Foreign Office said people should check with their hotel and travel operator before travelling, and explained how to sign up for emergency alerts. Updated advice said the fires were taking place "in populated areas on the mainland and a number of islands" and were "highly dangerous and unpredictable". The Foreign Office advised those visiting the affected areas to make sure they had "appropriate insurance", and directed travellers towards a number of resources they could use if they were near the wildfires. Earlier, Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said he was still planning on going holiday to Greece next week. He told Sky News he was going to Evia, one of the islands that has issued an evacuation order. He told BBC Breakfast that Greece was "safe" and a "wonderful place for those fortunate enough to go abroad to spend some time this summer". But the government's advice was criticised in the House of Lords by Labour's Baroness Angela Smith, who urged the government to "rethink" its guidance. Liberal Democrats foreign affairs spokeswoman Layla Moran called for a change in travel advice to "enable the thousands of British tourists due to fly to Rhodes to safely cancel their holidays without being left out of pocket". This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel magazine, said many travellers would not be able to claim a refund using travel insurance without a formal government travel warning. "There will be some cover, but it won't be great," Mr Boland warned. "Insurance won't, as a rule, make allowances for 'disinclination to travel'." Train operator London North Eastern Railway (LNER) is offering free travel to holidaymakers returning from Rhodes and Corfu. The company said standard travel along its east coast route would come at no cost for anyone who landed at a different airport from their home location or had to travel on a different day. Customers should present their stamped passport and airline boarding card confirming travel from the islands within the previous 24 hours to use the service between 25 July and 7 August. Coach company National Express is offering free travel too for those who arrive at a different UK airport than they flew out from. This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: "Our houses might not be there tomorrow" - resident evacuated from Rhodes fire In an update, fire brigade deputy chief Ioannis Artophios said the most serious fires were developing in Rhodes and in Corfu. Crete - the largest of the Greek Islands - has been put on high alert because of an extreme risk of fire. On Tuesday afternoon, two Greek air force pilots died after a water-bombing plane crashed on the island of Evia while fighting wildfires. They were named as 34-year-old Cdr Christos Moulas and his co-pilot, 27-year-old Pericles Stefanidis. Rescuers at the site of the plane crash after a water drop in Karystos on the island of Evia, Greece In the last week, more than 35,000 hectares (86,500 acres) of forest and other land has been scorched by fire in Greece, the World Wildlife Fund for Nature said. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told his cabinet the next three days "will be difficult" but he hoped conditions will ease from Friday. "Let me state the obvious," he said. "That in the face of what the entire planet is facing, especially the Mediterranean, which is a hotspot for climate change, there is no magic defence. "If there was, obviously we would have implemented it." Could powerful heatwaves and summer wildfires, which have devastated communities and displaced tourists in Greece, become the new normal in Europe? Are you affected by the wildfires? You can share your experiences by emailing [email protected]. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways: If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at [email protected]. Please include your name, age and location with any submission.

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. A child killer who murdered a seven-year-old girl in 1992 has been jailed for at least 29 years. David Boyd, 55, lured Nikki Allan to a derelict building in Sunderland where he beat her and stabbed her 37 times. Judge Mrs Justice Lambert said Nikki must have endured "unimaginable fear" in the moments before her death. Boyd, who was eventually snared by DNA advances in 2017, was sentenced to life after being convicted of murder earlier this month at Newcastle Crown Court. Nikki "knew and trusted" Boyd but he "took advantage of her young age and naivety" when he "tricked" her into following him on the evening of 7 October 1992, the court heard. She was last seen skipping to keep up with Boyd, who was a neighbour and her babysitter's boyfriend, as he walked towards the Old Exchange building. Nikki Allan was lured to a derelict building where she was murdered Boyd had a "sinister purpose" when he lured Nikki to wasteland outside the abandoned building and her "fate was sealed" when she screamed and Boyd decided to "kill her to silence her". He struck Nikki in the face "to shut her up" then pushed her into the "pitch black building" where she "must have been petrified". "She must have quickly known she was trapped," Mrs Justice Lambert said. Nikki was attacked and killed in another room suggesting she had tried to flee her attacker. "Her fear, as she saw you lurching towards her in the dark, is unimaginable," Boyd was told. "It must have been a truly terrifying experience for this seven-year-old girl." Nikki would have endured "unimaginable fear" as Boyd pursued her inside the Old Exchange building, the judge said Boyd hit Nikki on the head with a brick, fracturing her skull, and then repeatedly stabbed in her in the chest before dragging her down a flight of stairs and dumping her body in the basement. The judge said Nikki's murder had "shocked and bewildered" the community of Hendon, in the east end of Sunderland, for 31 years and as time passed Boyd would have "thought with some relief" that he had "got away with it". However, the science of DNA had also advanced in the decades since the murder, which allowed detectives to match samples from Nikki's clothes to her killer. Mrs Justice Lambert said under current rules she would have jailed Boyd for a minimum of 37 years but she had to comply with the sentencing regulations in 1992 which suggested a lesser sentence, albeit one "well in excess of 20 years". Boyd lured Nikki to wasteland outside the Old Exchange for a "sexual purpose", the court as told Speaking after sentencing, Nikki's mother Sharon Henderson, 57, said she was "absolutely devastated" by the sentence which she labelled a "disgrace", adding Boyd should have been jailed for life without the possibility of parole. "This is what happens to families like mine over and over again - injustice," she added. In an earlier statement read to the court, Ms Henderson recalled her daughter as a "bright and sparky child" who had a "beautiful smile and was loved". The story of Sharon Henderson and her hunt for her daughter's killer. She was 25 when Nikki was murdered and was "accused of being a bad mother" with "local people angry towards me and not towards the person responsible". She said Boyd "destroyed" her family's lives but she had "fought tirelessly and endlessly" for justice. Ms Henderson said she had suffered mentally and physically and "at times targeted those who I believed were covering for others" which led to her own arrest. She said: "I felt so frustrated over the years, as I felt I had not been listened to." Sharon Henderson (left, with Nikki's sister Stacey) told the judge Boyd had "destroyed" her family's lives Nikki's father, David Allan, said he was 28 when Nikki was murdered and "from that night my life changed". In a statement, he said he felt "anger and hatred" towards the killer and would "never be able to forgive the man responsible". Mr Allan said the "devastation" he felt was "indescribable" because Boyd had "lived his life for 30 years whilst Nikki did not get to live hers". Northumbria Police initially charged another of Nikki's neighbours, George Heron, with her murder but a judge presiding over the then 24-year-old's trial in Leeds in 1993 said the detectives' questioning had been "oppressive" and he was cleared. After the case, he said: "Finding out about the current investigation has been difficult - so many details and negative memories; bringing up mixed emotions about what happened back in 1992 and since. "I feel sadness, disgust, anger, betrayal by people I expected to tell the truth (especially the original investigating officers)." Following Boyd's conviction, the force apologised to Mr Heron and to Ms Henderson, although she rejected their words as "hollow". She has called for a public inquiry into the force's "historic failures" in her daughter's case, and has been backed by the legal charity Centre for Women's Justice. Nikki's family lived in the same block of tenement flats as Boyd which was just a few hundred yards from the murder scene Prosecutor Richard Wright KC said the 1992 investigation was "utterly misconceived" and made multiple errors, but the team who re-opened "the troubled and challenging" case started from scratch with "no assumptions". Police collected DNA samples from more than 800 men from around the country, took 1,200 statements and produced 2,500 documents. The judge commended the "Herculean" effort and said the DNA evidence gathered had been "critical" in convicting Boyd. David Boyd admitted to having sexual fantasies about young girls The court had heard Boyd was a neighbour of Nikki's in the Wear Garth flats, he knew how to navigate the Old Exchange building and had sexual fantasies about young girls. He also had 22 convictions for 45 offences including sexual crimes. In 1986, he exposed himself to a woman. He later told a psychiatrist he had been doing it since the age of 16 and "couldn't control" the urge. That same year he was convicted of breaching the peace in Sacriston, County Durham, when he grabbed a 10-year-old girl in a park and tried to kiss her. In 1997, he admitted to police he exposed himself to three teenage girls but was not charged. Two years later he groped a nine-year-old girl in a park in Stockton and confessed to a probation officer that he had "dirty thoughts" and "sexual fantasies" about young girls. Boyd, seen here at about the time of Nikki's murder, has a history of sexually motivated crimes In mitigation, Jason Pitter KC, for the defence, said Boyd had a history of mental illness, learning difficulties and an IQ level "in the bottom 2% of the population". However, the judge dismissed that as irrelevant because he used "sufficient guile" to lure Nikki away from her home and was quick to cover his tracks by conjuring a false alibi. She said there was no guarantee Boyd would be released from prison and it would be up to the parole board to decide. Follow BBC North East & Cumbria on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected]. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

We're now ending our live coverage of the sentencing of Stephen Boden and Shannon Marsden, who have been jailed for life after murdering their son Finley Boden on Christmas Day 2020. To read more about the sentencing at Derby Crown Court today, click here, and to find out more about the case, click here. We know that this case is distressing, so as a reminder, help is available on the BBC Action Line website. Today's live page was written by Laura Gozzi, Thomas Mackintosh, Jack Burgess, Sam Hancock, Adam Durbin and Aoife Walsh. The page was edited by myself, Jamie Whitehead and Owen Amos.

Jack Rigby was only two years old when his father was murdered outside Woolwich Barracks A charity has praised the young son of murdered soldier Lee Rigby after he raised more than £50,000 for the group. Jack Rigby, 12, was two years old when his father was murdered by Islamist extremists outside Woolwich Barracks. Jack, who now lives in Halifax, West Yorkshire, ran 26.2 miles in May for charity Scotty's Little Soldiers. It helps children grieving the death of a parent who served in the armed forces. Founder Nikki Scott said the charity was "really proud" of Jack. Mrs Scott set up the organisation a year after the death of her husband Corporal Lee Scott in Afghanistan in 2009. She said Jack had initially hoped to raise £10,000 - £1,000 for each year since his father's death - to coincide with the 10th anniversary of Lee Rigby's death on 22 May 2013. Mrs Scott said his efforts had helped raise awareness of the work the charity did with children and young people. "We are really proud of Jack, he's done such an amazing positive thing at a really tough time," she said. "Whenever any of our young people fundraise for us it means the world, because it means what we are doing is having a real impact that they want to give back and help others." The 12-year-old has raised more than £50,000 for the Scotty's Little Soldiers tri-service charity Mrs Scott said the money would enable the charity to help more children in a similar situation. "We are there whenever they need us, that might be respite breaks, it might be attending group events with other children or it might be one-to-one emotional support. "A whole range to make sure they never feel alone." Mrs Scott said although people might assume children who lost a parent at a young age had no memory, the impact of childhood bereavement "never goes away". Fusilier Rigby, from Middleton, Greater Manchester, died as a result of multiple cut and stab wounds after he was attacked in London. He had been returning to his barracks when he was attacked by Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale. Adebolajo was given a whole-life term and Adebowale was jailed for a minimum of 45 years. Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or send video here. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

The chancellor has said it would be a "terrible mistake" to give pay rises above the rate of inflation, even though strikes are hitting the economy. Jeremy Hunt said the impact of the junior doctors' strike on NHS patients was "regrettable". But wage increases that fuelled inflation would have a "more damaging" impact on the UK economy, he said. Junior doctors are calling for a 35% pay rise, to make up for 15 years of below-inflation wage rises. There has been no breakthrough in the latest public sector strike. The government has said that junior doctors' pay demands are "unreasonable" and that talks can only happen if the BMA union moves "significantly" away from their current position. Speaking on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) spring meetings in Washington DC, Mr Hunt said agreeing pay awards without making inflation worse was an "incredibly difficult balancing act that we have to get right". Inflation, which is the rate prices rise at, is currently near a 40-year high in the UK. Prices in February were 10.4% higher than they were in the same month a year earlier. That has prompted workers in many sectors to call for higher wages, bringing a wave of strikes. Official figures revealed industrial action held back economic growth in February. But Mr Hunt told the BBC the government's aim was to "put this high inflation period behind us". He said if the government stuck to its plans inflation could be brought below 3% by the end of the year. "The worst possible thing that we can do for junior doctors, nurses, train drivers, teachers is to manage the economy in a way that they are still worried about 10% cost of living increases, in a year's time," he added. Though the government has pledged to cut inflation, many economists have said that inflation is due to fall naturally in the coming months, as a result of energy prices falling.When asked about the junior doctors' pay demands, the chancellor pointed out that when nurses, who started out asking for a 19% rise, publicly committed to a much lower number "that became the basis of a fruitful discussion". Following an IMF forecast suggesting that the UK would be one of the worst performing major economies in the world this year, Mr Hunt hit back, saying that the IMF had "undershot on the British economy for quite a long time". The IMF now believed the British economy was "on the right track", he added, and had praised his recent Budget. Other G7 finance ministers at the Washington gathering warmly welcomed what they saw as a remarkable change in tone and engagement from the UK, from the last set of IMF meetings, which occurred in the middle of the mini-Budget crisis, under the previous chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng.

Hail storms, heavy rain and flash flooding have battered towns across Spain, days after a heatwave. Video recorded in the north of Spain shows icy water running through the streets, past chairs outside a cafe. The south east also saw heavy rain and strong winds.

A truck carrying 102,000 live salmon in the US state of Oregon crashed last week on a creek bed, inadvertently releasing thousands of the juvenile fish into the water. The young Chinook, also known as King, salmon were being taken from the Lookingglass Hatchery in the state's north, to the Imnaha River, where they are listed as threatened. But the crash caused some 77,000 fish to splash into the Lookingglass Creek, boosting the population of that waterway instead. Wildlife officials said on Tuesday that the driver lost control around a tight turn, causing the fish tanker to roll down a rocky embankment. The driver sustained minor injuries, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) said in a statement. The crash happened on a tight corner on 29 March, the statement says, with the 53-ft (16m) truck "rolling onto the passenger side, skidding on its side on the pavement, and then going over a rocky embankment causing it to roll onto its roof". While thousands of fish made it into the water, many more were left stranded on the bank Over 25,000 of the salmon smolts - fish that are around two years old - died either inside the truck's tanker or on the creek bank. The local sheriff's office responded to the crash, officials said. "Small amounts of diesel fuel were quickly contained," the release said, adding that there was no need for a hazardous material spill response. The Nez Perce Tribe and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation also responded and helped by collecting and scanning transponders on the dead fish. Salmon are anadromous, meaning they spend much of their lives in the ocean but return to freshwater rivers to spawn. Many are now raised in government-run hatcheries before being released back into their native waters to later return to those same hatcheries. ODFW officials say the loss represents about 20% of the fish it intended to release into the Imnaha River this year. They expect that around 500-900 fewer adult fish will return to spawn in 2026-2027 due to the loss. The 77,000 smolts in the Lookingglass Creek will likely lead to around 350-700 additional adults returning there. "We are thankful the ODFW employee driving the truck was not seriously injured," said ODFW fish hatchery coordinator Andrew Gibbs. "This should not impact our ability to collect future brood stock or maintain full production goals in the future."

The mausoleum features a mosaic surrounded by a raised platform, which archaeologists believe was for burials A "completely unique" Roman mausoleum has been discovered by archaeologists in south London. The remains of the structure at the Liberty of Southwark site in Borough have been described as "extremely rare" and feature preserved floors and walls. Archaeologists think the site was used as some form of burial ground or tomb for wealthier members of Roman society. Work on creating a permanent display is planned, says the team behind the find. The discovery was made at the Liberty of Southwark excavation site The dig was led by the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) on behalf of Landsec and Transport for London (TfL). MOLA believes the quality of preservation makes it the most intact Roman mausoleum ever to be discovered in Britain. Alongside the central mosaic, raised platforms were found and steps on the lowest side were still intact. Excavators were surprised to find two layers to the site, with another similarly designed mosaic found beneath the first floor. They believe that the building was modified at some point, with the floor raised. "All signs indicate this was a substantial building," says MOLA, "perhaps two storeys high." A second mosaic was found beneath the first, suggesting the floor was raised at some point While the site is believed to be a burial location, no coffins were found. However, more than 100 coins, fragments of pottery, roofing tiles and pieces of metal were discovered. There has been a sustained period of excavation at the site, where the largest Roman mosaic found in London for over 50 years was uncovered in 2022. Antonietta Lerz, senior archaeologist at MOLA, says the site is a "microcosm for the changing fortunes of Roman London" and provides "a fascinating window" into the life of its settlers. The aim is to preserve the area alongside continued urban development Archaeologists from MOLA hope to pinpoint the age of the mausoleum and have provided a three-dimensional model of the site. Landsec and TfL say they are committed to restoring and retaining the mausoleum for permanent public display. Follow BBC London on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

The new head of the probation service in England and Wales has told BBC News that more men are needed in the profession. Kim Thornden-Edwards said it would help to bring a male perspective in some cases involving violent offenders, including cases of domestic abuse. Its workforce has been "stuck" at 75% women for 30 years, she added. She also said older people with life experiences are needed, including those who have been on probation themselves. The probation service is responsible for supervising 240,000 former prisoners and offenders serving sentences in the community. However, it is facing intense scrutiny after a series of men committed murders while under probation supervision, among them Damien Bendall. He killed his partner, Terri Harris, 35, her two children, John, 13, and Lacey, 11, along with Lacey's 11-year-old friend, Connie Gent, at Terri's house at Killamarsh, Derbyshire, in September 2021. Bendall, who raped Lacey as she lay dying, is now serving a whole-life sentence. An independent review said probation staff had underestimated the risk Bendall posed, that they failed to carry out adequate background checks and did not display enough "professional curiosity". In her first interview since taking up the role of chief probation officer in February, Thornden-Edwards told BBC's File on 4 programme that senior staff needed more options when assigning officers to cases. "Sometimes it's really good to be able to allocate a case where they think the gender will be important," she said. "It might be really good for a woman to be leading on a domestic abuse case - but also, it might be good for a man to be challenging those kind of issues around masculinity and power from a male perspective." Thornden-Edwards, who has spent her career in the criminal justice system after qualifying as a probation officer in 1996, said the recruitment of men was an issue the service had always been unable to crack. She said: "It's been suggested in the past that associations of the probation service with social work has leant it to be viewed by women as more of an attractive career than men." Two reports, carried out by an external company for the Ministry of Justice, support moves to broaden the mix of gender, ethnic diversity and experience in the probation service. The findings of the unpublished research - seen by File on 4 - said the service needed to hire more "career changers" in their 30s, 40s and 50s, who could bring skills from different sectors. Thornden-Edwards said that later this year, the probation service was opening a non-graduate route for trainee officers - with GCSEs the only qualifications needed. The probation union NAPO has highlighted staff shortages and huge caseloads as the main problems facing the service. A survey of more than 900 members, conducted by NAPO and passed to the BBC, suggested that more than a third of staff are considering quitting. File on 4 is on BBC Radio 4 at 20:00 BST on Tuesday 4 April and afterwards on BBC Sounds.

George Michael won a fan poll with more than one million votes Kate Bush and George Michael are among the artists who will be inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at this year's ceremony, it has been announced. The stars will be joined on the roll of honour by country legend Willie Nelson and singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow. Artists are eligible to enter the hall 25 years after their first single, and rap innovator Missy Elliott makes the cut in her first year of eligibility. Bush had been nominated three times before - in 2018, 2021 and 2022. While she has not released new music since 2011, she has seen a resurgence in popularity thanks to the use of Running Up That Hill in hit drama Stranger Things. Kate Bush could make a rare public appearance if she accepts the honour in person The song went viral on TikTok after the Netflix show premiered last year, ultimately going on to top the charts in the UK, 38 years after it was first released. If the star travels to New York to accept her induction, it would mark her first public appearance since 2014. Most musicians who enter the Rock Hall attend and perform at the ceremony, although some have declined. Bush's Hall of Fame nomination prompted some controversy, after one of the voters admitted they were not acquainted with her songs. Bush's career in the US was never as mainstream as the UK. Speaking anonymously to Vulture about the 2023 nominees, the voter said: "I've got to admit that I'm not too familiar with her music, so I don't know if I would vote for her. I want to make sure I know the catalogue." Their comment sparked an angry response from fellow singer Courtney Love, who tweeted: "Bro! The rest of us have been LIVING KATE BUSH since 1977!" "Too much power in the hands of IDIOTS," she added. Courtney Love was incensed that Kate Bush had not been inducted to the Hall of Fame on her previous three attempts In a later column for the Guardian, Love argued that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which was established in 1983, was guilty of marginalising female artists. The musician noted that only nine of the 31 people on the nominations committee are women, and claimed that 90% of the voters are male. Of the 13 artists being inducted this year, four are women - with soul legend Chaka Khan receiving the musical excellence award, which recognises artists "whose originality and influence creating music have had a dramatic impact on music". Nominees who didn't make the cut this year included Cyndi Lauper, the White Stripes, Joy Division/New Order and A Tribe Called Quest. George Michael won a fan vote, which was counted alongside official ballots in deciding this year's inductees. The former Wham! frontman picked up 1.04 million votes, putting him just ahead of Lauper, who received 928,000 votes and Warren Zevon, on 634,000. Michael's induction comes on the 40th anniversary of Wham's debut album, Fantastic. The milestone is also being marked by a Netflix documentary and a new greatest hits collection. Missy Elliott is considered one of the most important rappers of all time, who changed the landscape of hip-hop with her eccentric beats and innovative rhymes. Her hits include Supa Dupa Fly, Get Ur Freak On and Lose Control - and she has produced and written songs for others including Aaliyah, Destiny's Child and Ciara. She was back in the UK charts last month with a guest verse on the song Fly Girl by British girl group Flo. The track itself is inspired by, and samples, Elliott's 2002 track Work It. Missy Elliott's futuristic, alien beats changed the sound of rap, pop and R&B in the 90s and 2000s Sheryl Crow started out as a backing singer for Michael Jackson, before breaking out as a solo artist with the classic album Tuesday Night Music Club, a record that grew out of late-night jam sessions and brought blues and country back into mainstream pop. Other inductees this year include LA firebrands Rage Against The Machine and R&B group The Spinners (known as the Detroit Spinners in the UK) whose hits include Could It Be I'm Falling In Love and The Rubberband Man - which became a hit again in 2018 after being featured in the Marvel film Avengers: Infinity War. Sir Elton John, who was inducted in 1994, will be joined in the Hall of Fame by his lyricist Bernie Tapuin; while DJ Kool Herc will be honoured on the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. The musician, whose real name is Clive Campbell, is considered the originator of the genre, thanks to a back-to-school party he threw in New York in 1973. There, he pioneered the technique of playing two copies of the same song at once, alternating between turntables to extend the instrumental portions of funk and soul records, which became the foundation stone of hip-hop. And Willie Nelson will be recognised in his 90th birthday year for a stellar career that spans seven decades. The country legend started out as a songwriter in the 1960s, penning hits like Patsy Cline's Crazy and Ray Price's Night Life. He later became a leading voice of the outlaw country movement, achieving commercial success with the albums Red Headed Stranger and Stardust. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony will be held at the Barclays Center in New York in November.

The chief executive of NatWest, Dame Alison Rose, is facing pressure from the government to resign. Downing Street and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt have "significant concerns" over her conduct, BBC News has been told. She has apologised for discussing the closure of Nigel Farage's account at NatWest's private banking arm Coutts with a BBC journalist, saying it was a "serious error of judgement". NatWest earlier said it still had full confidence in Dame Alison at the helm. Dame Alison's apology on Tuesday afternoon comes after the BBC apologised for its inaccurate report earlier this month which said Mr Farage's account was being closed because he no longer met the wealth threshold for Coutts, citing a source familiar with the matter. Mr Farage, the former leader of the UK Independence Party and Brexiteer, first reported in early July that his account had been closed. In her first admission that she had been involved, Dame Alison said in conversations with BBC business editor Simon Jack "she had confirmed that Mr Farage was a Coutts customer and he had been offered a NatWest bank account". She said she had believed this was public knowledge. The NatWest boss said she had not revealed any personal financial information about Mr Farage. "In response to a general question about eligibility criteria required to bank with Coutts and NatWest I said that guidance on both was publicly available on their websites. "In doing so, I recognise that I left Mr Jack with the impression that the decision to close Mr Farage's accounts was solely a commercial one," she said. She added: "I was wrong to respond to any question raised by the BBC about this case. I want to extend my sincere apologies to Mr Farage for the personal hurt this has caused him and I have written to him today." Dame Alison has also faced calls to resign from Mr Farage and several Tory MPs including former cabinet minister David Davis. Simon Clarke, Conservative MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, tweeted that the chancellor would be right to have concerns. "The whole issue has been a disgrace from start to finish," he wrote. MP Saqib Bhatti, the Conservative Party's vice-chairman for business, earlier said: "While it's not for politicians to determine what the company should do, her position would appear to now be untenable." Mr Farage has said that Coutts did not give him a reason when it decided to close his account. But Mr Farage had obtained a document outlining his suitability as a Coutts client. The document had concerns that he was "xenophobic and racist", and assessed the reputational risk of having Mr Farage as a customer. Dame Alison said that Coutts had told her the account closure had been for commercial reasons. She said when she spoke to the BBC's Simon Jack she had not seen the dossier obtained by Mr Farage. Speaking before the report of concerns being expressed by Downing Street and Jeremy Hunt, the chairman of NatWest Group, Sir Howard Davies, said that "after careful reflection" the board members had decided the chief executive retained their "full confidence". A spokesperson for the Treasury said: "We have been clear that people should be able to exercise lawful freedom of expression without the fear of having their bank accounts closed. "The Economic Secretary to the Treasury has written to some of the UK's biggest banks to reinforce that this is a fundamental right, and we will take the action necessary to protect it." The Economic Secretary, Andrew Griffith, is meeting bank leaders on Wednesday to discuss the issue of account closures.

People have used the relative lull in fighting to go outside their homes Rival factions of Sudan's military agreed to renew a three-day ceasefire, shortly before it was due to expire. The extension - for another 72 hours - follows intensive diplomatic efforts by neighbouring countries, as well as the US, UK and UN. But there are continuing reports of heavy fighting in the capital Khartoum. The previous truce allowed thousands of people to attempt to flee to safety, while dozens of countries have tried to evacuate their citizens. Almost two weeks of fighting between the army and a rival paramilitary group have left hundreds dead. The ceasefire had been expected to end at midnight local time (22:00 GMT on Thursday). Early on Thursday evening the Sudanese regular army agreed to an extension, and its rival the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) followed suit hours later. South Sudan has offered to host peace talks, and the army has agreed to send representatives to the talks. Despite the bitter past and years of conflict that led to South Sudan's separating from Sudan in 2011, the two nations now enjoy cordial relations. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington was "very actively working" to extend the truce, adding that while imperfect it had reduced violence. But White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre later said the situation could worsen at any moment. Abiy Ahmed, prime minister of neighbouring Ethiopia where the Africa Union is headquartered, tweeted that he had called up both of the rival generals to urge them to settle their differences amicably. On Friday, a Turkish military plane on an evacuation mission was shot at as it was landing at an airport outside Khartoum. No-one was injured and the RSF denied accusations by the army that it was involved. Meanwhile the RSF and eyewitnesses said the army had been pounding its positions in Khartoum. The foreign minister in the former civilian government, Maryam al-Sadiq al-Mahdi, told the BBC from her home in Khartoum that despite the ceasefire, civilians were still living in fear. "What they call a truce has nothing to do with what is happening," she told BBC Radio Four's World Tonight programme. "The bombardment by the aeroplanes is taking place almost all day and night." Fighting has also been reported in the western Darfur region and other provinces. At least 512 people have been killed in the fighting and almost 4,200 injured, although the real number of deaths could be much higher. The World Health Organization said it expected there to be "many more" deaths due to outbreaks of disease and a lack of services. Health officials say most hospitals in conflict areas are not functioning, and more than 60% of health facilities in Khartoum are inactive. David Miliband, the head of the International Rescue Committee and former British foreign secretary, said the international community was in danger of neglecting the wider crisis in Sudan in the rush to evacuate foreign nationals. "The fact that for the last 10 days pretty much all the media coverage and the vast bulk of political attention has been on getting out thousands of people and not on the need to tend to millions of people really sticks in the gullet," he told the BBC. "Of course the lives of the thousands who need to evacuate are important, but what about the 45 million who are left? "Sudan's population has 15 million people in humanitarian need and I think part of our call today as the International Rescue Committee is to say let's not fall into that trap of thinking that once thousands are evacuated the problem is solved." An army statement quoted by Reuters new agency said it had taken control of most of Sudan's regions but "the situation is a bit complicated in some parts of the capital". It has not been possible for the BBC to verify the army's claims. Foreign nations, including the UK, have been urging their citizens to leave the country as soon as possible. Speaking on Thursday evening, Ms Jean-Pierre urged Americans to depart within the next 24 hours. Evacuations are continuing, but many foreigners are still stuck in Sudan. Some have struggled to get to the airstrip used for evacuations. Local civilians are continuing to flee the capital, where there are problems with supplies of food, water and fuel. The number of Sudanese fleeing the fighting in Darfur have outnumbered Chadian residents in the village of Koufroun on the other side of the border, the UN children's charity says. Chad would not be able to sustain the influx of refugees if the situation worsened in Sudan, Unicef's Donaig Le Du told BBC Newsday. The fighting broke out on 15 April as the result of a bitter power struggle between the regular army and RSF. Army commander Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF chief Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, disagree about the country's proposed move to civilian rule, and in particular about the timeframe of the 100,000 strong RSF's inclusion into the army. Both factions fear losing power in Sudan because on both sides there are men who could end up at the International Criminal Court for war crimes committed in Darfur almost 20 years ago. This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Emotional reunions across the world as evacuees arrive home from Sudan

NHS doctor Abdulrahman Babiker was evacuated from Sudan on Friday after initially being turned away The UK government has told NHS doctors in Sudan they can now catch evacuation flights out of the country, in a U-turn on its previous policy. More than 20 NHS medics were initially told they could not board flights because they were not British nationals - although they have UK work permits. The government confirmed to the BBC that non-Britons in Sudan working for the NHS could be evacuated. The change comes just hours before the UK's final rescue flights out of Sudan. Fighting erupted in capital Khartoum two weeks ago due to a power struggle within the Sudan's military leadership. A UK government spokesperson told the BBC the evacuation criteria had been extended to non-British nationals in Sudan working "as clinicians within the NHS, and their dependents who have leave to enter the UK". The spokesperson added that the government was working with partners to "maintain the ceasefire and bring an end to fighting - the single most important thing we can do to ensure the safety of British nationals and others in Sudan". Countries have been frantically rescuing their citizens, with the latest evacuations happening during a US-brokered ceasefire, which has not held. On Friday evening, the US also reportedly started evacuating civilians on buses - with a convoy carrying some 300 people leaving Khartoum and heading towards the coastal city of Port Sudan, according to US media. It appears to be the first evacuation of non-diplomat Americans from Sudan. British nationals and the NHS doctors hoping to leave Sudan had until midday local time (11:00 BST) to reach the Wadi Saeedna airfield. They were instructed to make their own way to the airfield. The Ministry of Defence has told the BBC flights will continue to leave Sudan until all those people who registered at the airfield before the deadline have been evacuated. More than 1,650 people have been evacuated from Khartoum and more than 1,000 have been flown to the UK, it added. The Foreign Office has also announced consular support in the coastal city of Port Sudan, with an office established at the Coral Hotel. It advised British nationals to visit the team for help or call the 24-hour helpline on +441908 516 666. The Foreign Office said the last flights marked "the end of a successful evacuation operation" and it was winding up evacuations due to "declining demand for seats". It added that the UK has "set up a limited consular presence at Port Sudan to signpost British nationals to available options for departure". Stories emerged this week of National Health Service doctors being turned away from the airport in Khartoum - and the Foreign Office repeatedly told the BBC that only British passport holders and their dependents were able to get on the flights. They insisted anyone with a work permit was welcome in the UK, but must make their own way there. On Friday evening, a message was circulated by the Department of Health and Social Care to NHS doctors in Sudan, telling them to make their way to Wadi Saeedna airfield, just north of the capital, for evacuation. The text, seen by the BBC, tells any medical staff with leave to remain to bring dependents and proof of NHS employment. The change comes after the case of Sudanese doctor Dr Abdulrahman Babiker, who was initially refused a place on a British evacuation, made headlines. Dr Babiker landed back in the UK on Saturday after he was successfully evacuated on a flight to Cyprus which landed there on Friday evening. He told the BBC he was "really glad" that the UK government had changed its guidance - but said there was "just one day only" for his colleagues in Sudan to make the last flights. After he landed in Cyprus, he said he had "mixed feelings", saying: "I am happy that I am finally in a safe place, away from a war and on my way back to the UK. At the same time I feel down that my family (my dad, mum, brother and sister) are still endangered by this deadly fighting in my country. "I am thinking about them now and trying to work out what I can do to help them escape the danger zone." Speaking to the BBC from Stansted Airport after finally making it home, Dr Babiker thanked the journalists who highlighted the position of NHS doctors trapped in Sudan and the UK government for changing evacuation guidance, as well as colleagues for their support. The Manchester Royal Infirmary doctor is planning to fly to the UK later and is due back at work on Tuesday. Dr Abdulrahman Babiker is due back at work at the Manchester Royal Infirmary where he has been working for four years The British Medical Association had called on the government to "ensure all NHS doctors, and their families, including those on UK visas are evacuated". Those comments were echoed by Labour shadow foreign secretary David Lammy, who said if there was a reduced demand for evacuation flights while the ceasefire is ongoing, then the government should widen its criteria to include British residents trying to flee Sudan. He added: "It cannot be right for the government to clap for NHS doctors one day and then turn them away from evacuation flights out of a conflict zone the next." The UK's evacuations to the RAF base in Cyprus began last Tuesday. Other countries have also been evacuating their citizens, and the UN refugee agency said around 33,000 refugees fled from Khartoum to refugee camps in Sudan's White Nile state. People evacuate war-torn Sudan, as RAF aircraft transports British nationals from Wadi Saeedna airfield to Cyprus Heavy fighting between the Sudanese army and its rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed at least 512 people, and injured almost 4,200. Missiles and heavy weaponry has also damaged the country's key infrastructure, including access to clean water and the internet. Health officials say most hospitals in conflict areas are not functioning, and more than 60% of health facilities in the capital, Khartoum, are inactive. Despite the ceasefire, fighting has not come to a halt and eyewitness have reported fighting in Khartoum, the western Darfur region and other provinces. The truce - due to end at midnight local time on Thursday (23:00 BST) - was extended for a further 72 hours. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken - who mediated talks alongside neighbouring countries, the UK and UN - said that while the ceasefire was imperfect, it had reduced violence. The UK Foreign Office called the evacuation effort "the longest and largest evacuation effort of any Western country". Are you in Sudan? If you are preparing to leave on an evacuation flight share your experiences by emailing [email protected]. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways: If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at [email protected]. Please include your name, age and location with any submission.

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The parents of missing Jack O'Sullivan say it's "hell on earth" without him The parents of missing student Jack O'Sullivan say they are living in "hell on earth" without him. Catherine and Alan O'Sullivan's 23-year-old son has not been seen or heard from by his family since he went to a house party in Bristol on 2 March. Mrs O'Sullivan said: "I want the world to try and give me an answer to where Jack is. It's horrific." The family is urging anyone in the Hotwells area on that date to come forward with information. Mr O'Sullivan was last seen at 03:15 GMT in the area of Brunel Lock Road and Brunel Way in Bristol on 2 March and his family have been searching each day since then. Jack O'Sullivan was last seen on CCTV in the Cumberland Basin area of Bristol Mrs O'Sullivan said it was very out of character for Jack to go missing suddenly and that his 23rd birthday on 28 March was "horrific" without him. "Jack's birthday was hell on earth and this last few days it's getting harder because the answers are just not coming," she said. She said when she realised Jack had not come home after the house party, she knew "instantly" something had happened. "Jack had been out, he had messaged me, everything seemed fine we weren't expecting him to be that late but when we awoke at 5.25am I instantly knew there was a problem because it was so unlike Jack. "We could only go by phone messages that we were getting on my phone from a family group chat and it was giving me a location in Hotwells as to where Jack was. "So we go there and really nothing came to light, and here we are nearly 30 days after that moment with no further information or sighting." Alan and Catherine O'Sullivan have retraced their son's last known steps at different times of the day to try to work out what might have happened She said they were "at a loss" as to what could have happened to him for three and a half hours between when he left the party and his last phone signal. "There is not a lot of sense to it," she said. The family has been out many times in the night searching for him and retracing his last known steps. "It just doesn't add up. We were very shocked to see how well lit the area was in the middle of the night. "I was expecting it to be really dark and then to think well someone could trip but it's lit up like in the middle of the day," Mrs O'Sullivan said. Det Insp Jason Chidgey said Avon and Somerset Police is still trying to establish Jack's movements following the last sighting of him on CCTV. Specialist officers have carried out "a significant number of searches" in the area with support from the dive team, drones and dogs. "Public awareness is key to this case," Det Insp Chidgey said. "We're trying to establish what happened and exactly where Jack might be to try and answer some of those questions that the family have. "They're going through a very difficult time and they're suffering quite a lot." Jack O'Sullivan was last seen on 2 March leaving a house party in Bristol Police have appealed for anyone who was driving in the Cumberland Basin area, or who may have dashcam footage, to make contact. Jack O'Sullivan is described as white, about 5ft 10ins (1.7m), of slim build, with short brown hair. He was wearing a quilted green/brown Barbour jacket over a beige woollen jumper, with navy chinos and brown leather trainers with white soles. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

The chancellor has praised a Tory MP for apologising after he admitted he gave other MPs' personal phone numbers to someone on a dating app. Jeremy Hunt said William Wragg had been "courageous" in telling the Times he was sorry for the "hurt" he had caused. Mr Wragg told the newspaper he had been "scared" because the individual had "compromising things on me". It follows reports at least 12 men in political circles received unsolicited messages, raising security concerns. The men are reported to include a government minister, advisers and political journalists based at Westminster. Some had been sent naked images, and two MPs are reported to have responded by sending images of themselves. Mr Wragg has not been suspended as a Conservative MP and the party's whips office - in charge of party discipline - is not commenting, citing an ongoing police investigation. However, some MPs have privately expressed surprise that Mr Wragg has not lost the Conservative whip. At least one Tory MP has contacted the whips' office to say he should be suspended from the parliamentary party. The BBC has attempted to contact Mr Wragg, who is standing down as an MP at the general election, for comment. A Leicestershire Police spokesperson said the force was "investigating a report of malicious communications" that had been made to them last month. The Metropolitan Police said it was in contact with Leicestershire Police and Parliament's security team, adding: "We will assess any reports made to us accordingly." One former MP, who is gay, has told the BBC he was targeted by someone calling themselves "Charlie", who claimed - wrongly - that he had previously worked for Mr Wragg. "The last part of that message was 'Westminster misses you…' and that was basically something that friends usually do say anyway to make me feel better," he added. "I was starting to feel bad actually. I was embarrassed thinking I'm speaking to someone who knows who I am and I'm trying desperately not to come across as rude." The next message said: "I've just become single so I'm hanging out with the Westminster gays." The former MP explained he was in a relationship, but further flirtatious messages followed. After "Charlie" sent an explicit image, the former MP blocked him. BBC News has also seen similar messages sent from the same number to a political journalist. The BBC has also spoken to a man who works for an MP, who was messaged "out of the blue" last autumn by someone calling themselves "Abi" with a female profile picture. The staffer said they claimed to know him from work, and mentioned an event he had attended. But he grew suspicious when he asked who they were, and they replied with information that was "clearly wrong". He said he ignored them, but they continued to message him. He told the BBC he learned five or six months later that someone else had received messages from a person with the same number and similar picture. The MP's staff member said he would be "very surprised" if Mr Wragg had his number, and he cannot recall ever having met him. Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves says Mr Wragg's future is a 'question for the Conservatives' Speaking to reporters earlier, Mr Hunt said the reports of unsolicited messages were a "great cause for concern" but Mr Wragg had "given a courageous and fulsome apology". He added that the reports should be a "lesson" to both MPs and members of the public that they need to be careful about cyber-security. It is unclear who is behind the unsolicited messages. Some MPs have expressed concerns that a foreign power, such as China and Russia, could be involved. Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has written to MPs telling them it would be "unwise" to speculate, and promising to keep them "updated on developments". Mr Wragg, who is vice chair of the influential 1922 committee of backbench Tory MPs, told the Times said he had sent intimate pictures of himself to a man he met on gay dating app Grindr. "They had compromising things on me. They wouldn't leave me alone," added the 36-year-old, who has been MP for Hazel Grove in Greater Manchester since 2015. "They would ask for people. I gave them some numbers, not all of them. I told him to stop. He's manipulated me and now I've hurt other people. "I got chatting to a guy on an app and we exchanged pictures. We were meant to meet up for drinks, but then didn't. Then he started asking for numbers of people. I was worried because he had stuff on me. He gave me a WhatsApp number, which doesn't work now. "I've hurt people by being weak. I was scared. I'm mortified. I'm so sorry that my weakness has caused other people hurt." Conservative MP Sir Charles Walker said it would be "madness" for Mr Wragg, a friend of his, to quit as an MP. He told BBC Radio 4's PM programme Mr Wragg had "been subject to a sting operation by a very clever and manipulative operator". He added: "I think a lot of people may think that what Will did was misguided, and even stupid, but I also believe that there's a lot of compassion out there. "I'm not excusing what Will has done, but I do think that he is a victim in this along with all the others." Labour's shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said the incident was "incredibly concerning," and the police investigation "should be able to take its course". She declined to offer a view on whether Mr Wragg, who also chairs the Commons constitutional affairs committee, should resign, adding it was a "question for the Conservatives". Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey would not be drawn on whether Mr Wragg should be suspended, adding it was a question for the Tories. He added that he did not believe any of his party's MPs had been involved in the apparent phishing incidents. A House of Commons spokesperson said it took security "extremely seriously" and provided MPs and staff with "tailored advice" to make them aware of risks online. "We are encouraging anyone affected who has concerns to contact the Parliamentary Security Department," they added.

This content is currently not available ...but we'll be back tomorrow, and we'll have a wealth of music legends to get our ears around. Sir Elton John will be headlining the Pyramid Stage on Sunday night and has promised to create a "brand new show" for Glastonbury. His set will wrap up his touring commitments in the UK, and Sir Elton has told Radio 1's Clara Amfo it "couldn't be a more perfect ending". Elsewhere, in the coveted Sunday afternoon Legend slot Yusuf, also known as Cat Stevens, will take to the stage. Glasto festival-goers will also be treated to Lil Nas X, Blondie, Queens of the Stone Age, Rudimental, Phoenix, Alt-J, and many, many more. Today's coverage was brought to you by myself, Christy Cooney, Imogen James and Jasmine Taylor-Coleman in London, as well as our reporters in Glastonbury. Goodnight and see you tomorrow!

A 15-year-old girl has died after being pulled from the sea at Cleethorpes beach, police have confirmed. Humberside Police said the girl and a boy, also 15, were airlifted to hospital at about 19:30 BST on Saturday. The boy received treatment but was later discharged, the force said. Both children had been reported missing at about 14:00 BST, prompting a search that involved an HM Coastguard helicopter and RNLI lifeboat. Flowers have been left at the scene of Saturday's tragedy Flowers and tributes to the girl have been left at the scene. Police said the girl would not be officially named, at the request of her family. Det Insp Nathan Reuben said: "Our thoughts and sincere condolences are with the family at this incredibly difficult time. We ask that they are given the time and space to process this tragic news. The family is being supported by specially trained officers. "We are working together with all the relevant agencies, including Humberside Fire and Rescue and the coastguard, to fully understand the circumstances of the tragic accident." An HM Coastguard spokesperson said a lifeboat was launched at 16:00 and found the pair "some way" to sea. They said it had been a very difficult day for everyone involved. Earlier, police thanked the public for helping with the search. Follow BBC East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected]. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

The owner of British Airways has posted record half-year profits helped by higher fares and the continued rebound in travel post-pandemic. Airline group IAG reported operating profits of €1.3bn (£1.1bn) after being boosted by a "strong" recovery in leisure travel. In the same period last year it had posted a loss of €446m. IAG chief Luis Gallego said the group was aiming to be back at pre-pandemic levels of demand by the end of year. However, the company - which also owns Iberia, Aer Lingus and Vueling - said that while there was no sign of weakness in forward bookings at the moment, it was "mindful of wider uncertainties" that could affect fuel prices and consumer confidence in the months ahead. IAG said flight capacity was back to 94% of pre-pandemic levels in the first half of the year. Fares were up by about 9.5% on average, and revenue reached €13.6bn - an increase of nearly 45% from a year earlier. IAG said it had seen a "strong leisure traffic recovery", adding premium leisure demand "continued to perform very well". "Customer demand remains strong across the group, particularly for leisure travel, with around 80% of passenger revenue for the third quarter already booked," said Mr Gallego. "And our airlines have put in place plans to support operations during the busy summer period." However, IAG said that some of its operations "are not where we would want them to be and this is affecting our overall customer service". It said French air traffic control strikes were affecting most of its airlines, while global supply chain issues were "reducing aircraft availability". The company said British Airways was "particularly affected" because of its "London exposure and complex schedule".

US President Joe Biden is expected to give an address at Ulster University's newly opened Belfast campus on Wednesday US President Joe Biden will give a key address at Ulster University's newly opened Belfast campus next week, it has been confirmed. He is visiting NI and the Republic of Ireland to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. His speech at UU's £350m campus, understood to be his sole NI engagement, will take place on Wednesday. He is expected to leave Northern Ireland that afternoon. Mr Biden will also attend engagements in Dublin, County Louth, and County Mayo during his four-day visit. Announcing the Belfast speech, UU vice-chancellor and president Prof Paul Bartholomew said the university was "looking forward to what will be a very special day in [its] history and to hosting President Biden on his first visit to Northern Ireland since becoming president". The university's Belfast campus, which opened last autumn, "truly reflects the hope and promise" of the Good Friday Agreement "and our aspirations for a positive, prosperous, and sustainable future for everyone", he added. It is believed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will also be in Northern Ireland for Mr Biden's visit. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to be in Belfast for US President Joe Biden's visit On Saturday Louth County Council confirmed Mr Biden will visit both Dundalk and Carlingford, close to the border with Northern Ireland. Irish broadcaster RTÉ has reported his visit to the Republic of Ireland may include government receptions at Farmleigh House and Dublin Castle. It is also believed the US president will attend the Irish presidential residence, Áras an Uachtaráin, to meet Michael D Higgins. White House spokesperson John Kirby said Mr Biden was expected to address the Oireachtas (Irish parliament) on Thursday. He will become the fourth US president to do so, following John F Kennedy on 28 June 1963, Ronald Reagan on 4 June 1984 and Bill Clinton on 1 December 1995. It has also been confirmed that Mr Biden will be in County Mayo on Friday, where he will speak at an event outside St Muredach's Cathedral, Ballina. Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Leo Varadkar said he was "delighted" Mr Biden would be visiting Ireland. "When we spoke recently in the White House, President Biden was clear that in celebrating the Good Friday Agreement, we should be looking ahead, not backwards," he said. The involvement of the United States and of Mr Biden personally had been "essential to the peace process in Ireland", he added. Irish President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina. It is understood Joe Biden will visit the Irish presidential residence, Áras an Uachtaráin, next week BBC News NI understands Joe Kennedy III, the US special envoy for Northern Ireland, will accompany President Biden on his visit. It will be his first trip to Northern Ireland since taking up the post of special envoy in December. Mr Kennedy will stay in Northern Ireland for several days after President Biden travels to the Republic of Ireland, it is understood. On Thursday Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Asst Ch Constable Chris Todd said the visit would require a security operation on a scale not seen in Northern Ireland since the G8 summit in 2013.

Last updated on .From the section Premier League Dominic Calvert-Lewin converted a late penalty as Everton gained a vital point in their battle to avoid relegation with a draw at Europe-chasing Newcastle. Alexander Isak gave the hosts a 15th-minute lead when he collected Harvey Barnes' ball over the visiting defence, cut inside Jarrad Branthwaite and calmly slotted past Jordan Pickford. Dan Burn had a goal ruled out for offside and Isak had another attempt cleared off the line, before the visitors were handed a late lifeline as Paul Dummett had his arm around Ashley Young's neck and wrestled him to the ground. Referee Tony Harrington had not given a penalty, but was advised by the video assistant referee (VAR) to watch the incident on a pitchside monitor, with the spot-kick then given. Newcastle boss Eddie Howe had no complaints about the decision and said: "When you look at it back, it's the height of Paul's arm around Ashley's neck that swings it." Meanwhile, Everton boss Sean Dyche wondered why the penalty was not awarded quicker. "I don't know why they had to look at it 100 times. I've seen it back and it should've been given straight away," said Dyche, who hoped the goal would be a big confidence boost to Calvert-Lewin who had gone 23 games without scoring. "I fancied Dom to score and I'm pleased he did. Sometimes it starts you off with a penalty and it changes the noise around him. He has been working hard and we're asking a lot of him and Beto." • None Tuesday's Premier League action as it happened, plus reaction and analysis • None How did you rate Newcastle's performance? Have your say here • None What did you make of Everton's display? Send us your views here Everton stay 16th in the Premier League, but move four points clear of 18th-placed Luton Town, who play at Arsenal on Wednesday. Despite the draw, the result still set an unwanted club record for the Toffees as this was their 13th successive Premier League match without a win. The Toffees have now not won in the league since a 2-0 victory at Burnley on 16 December and this draw took them past their 12-game winless run in the Premier League when, under Mike Walker, they failed to win a dozen matches between August and October 1994. Newcastle stay eighth, a point behind seventh-placed West Ham, who drew 1-1 at home to Tottenham, with the Magpies having a game in hand on the Hammers. Depending on who wins the FA Cup, seventh may be enough to qualify for Europe which would be something for Newcastle to cling on to from a tough campaign after last year's highs that saw them finish fourth, qualify for the Champions League and reach the Carabao Cup final. Newcastle had been buoyed with a stunning fightback on Saturday to beat West Ham from 3-1 down before winning 4-3 and they will see this as a missed opportunity to continue the feel-good factor at St James' Park. The hosts nearly took the lead within the opening two minutes but Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford - loudly booed throughout by the home fans having played for Sunderland - made a fine save to parry Harvey Barnes' effort. But Pickford could not do anything about Isak's strike 13 minutes later for his 19th Newcastle goal of the season. The England goalkeeper then made two excellent saves - to block Jacob Murphy's volley and then acrobatically tip over a powerful effort from Isak. Both sides had chances in an open second half, with substitute James Garner hitting the post for Everton within six minutes of his introduction. Newcastle thought they had got a second goal when a quickly taken free-kick released Isak and he crossed for Burn to convert, only for the goal to be ruled out after a VAR review with Isak narrowly offside. A failure to kill off the game proved costly as Dummett's needless foul gave Everton and Calvert-Lewin the chance to snatch a draw, which they duly took. Since the Toffees beat Burnley just before Christmas, Sean Dyche's side have lost in the league against Tottenham, Manchester City (twice), Wolves, West Ham, Manchester United and Bournemouth and drawn with Aston Villa, Fulham, Tottenham, Crystal Palace, Brighton and now Newcastle. Everton have only had one longer top-flight winless run - 14 games from March to September in 1937 - and will be looking to avoid an unwanted piece of history when they entertain Burnley on Saturday. • None Attempt missed. Paul Dummett (Newcastle United) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Fabian Schär with a cross following a set piece situation. • None Dwight McNeil (Everton) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. • None Youssef Chermiti (Everton) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. • None Fabian Schär (Newcastle United) wins a free kick on the right wing. • None Attempt blocked. Fabian Schär (Newcastle United) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Bruno Guimarães. • None Attempt blocked. Sean Longstaff (Newcastle United) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Alexander Isak. • None Attempt missed. Dwight McNeil (Everton) left footed shot from the left side of the box is too high. Assisted by Dominic Calvert-Lewin. • None Goal! Newcastle United 1, Everton 1. Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom left corner. • None Penalty conceded by Paul Dummett (Newcastle United) after a foul in the penalty area. 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Despite the reported progress in 2023, previous few years saw an alarming rise in deforestation Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon fell by 33.6% in the first six months of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's term compared with the same period in 2022, the government says. Its suggests the rainforest shrank by 2,649 sq km this January-June, down from 3,988 sq km in those six months last year under President Bolsonaro. The released government satellite data has not been independently verified. Lula has pledged to end deforestation, or forest clearance, by 2030. But he faces a huge challenge to achieve this target, as the area of rainforest still reported to be lost under his rule is more than three times the size of New York City. The past few years have seen an alarming rise in deforestation. The Amazon rainforest is a crucial buffer in the global fight against climate change. The new satellite data was presented by Brazil's National Institute of Space Research (Inpe) on Thursday. "We have reached a steady downward trend in deforestation of the Amazon," Environment Minister Marina Silva told reporters. Inpe singled out June as the month that saw a record 41% drop in forest clearance compared with the same period last year. Lula, who took office in January, has vowed to reverse policies of his far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, who promoted mining in indigenous lands in the Amazon. Earlier this year, Lula decreed six new indigenous reserves, banning mining and restricting commercial farming there. Indigenous leaders welcomed the move - but stressed that more areas needed protection. And while deforestation was reported to have fallen, fires were up in the statistics. In June alone, satellite monitoring detected 3,075 fires in the Amazon - the highest number since 2007. Many of the blazes - releasing vast amounts of carbon emissions - have been linked to the clearing of previously deforested areas. Lula, who previously served as Brazil's president in 2003-2010, has also been pushing for the world's richest nations to pay for various initiatives aimed at saving the rainforest. In April, research by Global Forest Watch monitoring network showed that an area of tropical forest the size of Switzerland was lost last year around the world as tree clearance surged. It said that some 11 football pitches of forest were lost every minute in 2022, with Brazil dominating the destruction. It suggested that a political pledge to end deforestation made by world leaders at the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in 2021 was well off track. The Amazon is the largest rainforest in the world, and 60% of it is in Brazil. Due to the large number of trees growing there, it is often called "the lungs of the planet" on account of how the trees absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen.

Police officers stand next to missile debris in Kyiv The head of Ukraine's military intelligence has warned of a swift response to a series of Russian missile strikes on Kyiv. Gen Kyrylo Budanov said Monday's attacks failed to intimidate people in the capital who just got on with life. All the missiles were shot down, officials said, and there were no reports of casualties. However flaming debris from the intercepted missiles landed in residential areas in central Kyiv. Monday's attack followed two nights of heavy drone strikes, the latest in some 16 air attacks on the Ukrainian capital this month. The latest was unusual because it came during the day and seemed targeted at the city centre, whereas other strikes on Kyiv in May have been at night and directed at key infrastructure or air defences on the outskirts. Gen Budanov said he wanted to "upset" Russia's supporters by letting them know people in Kyiv were undeterred by the attack and had continued working after it. "All those who tried to intimidate us, dreaming that it would have some effect, you will regret it very soon," he added in a statement published by Ukraine's intelligence ministry. "Our answer will not be long." According to reports, only one person was injured and all missiles were destroyed by Ukrainian air defences. Russian authorities claimed all their targets had been hit. Air raid sirens reportedly also rang out across several other Ukrainian regions. Local military commanders in Kyiv accused Russia of changing its tactics and deliberately targeting the civilian population. It certainly appears that Moscow wants to step up its pressure on Ukraine even further ahead of any counter-offensive. Oleksandr Scherba, ambassador-at-large at Ukraine's ministry of foreign affairs, told the BBC that the last few days had been very difficult for Kyiv residents. "Almost every night, the skies look and sound like another Star Wars episode, but we don't feel much of Russian rockets hitting their targets here within the city area. And this is all thanks to the decent countries, decent people of the world who gave us this air defence," he said. Living in the capital was anything but normal at the moment, Mr Scherba said, adding that the drone attacks and sleepless nights had become "part of our routine". On Sunday, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky praised his country's air defence forces after Kyiv sustained the largest drone attack since the war began. "You are heroes," said Mr Zelensky, after military commanders said most of the drones launched by Russia were brought down. In its recent attacks, Russia - which launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022 - has been using kamikaze drones as well as a range of cruise and ballistic missiles. Analysts say Moscow is seeking to deplete and damage Ukraine's air defences ahead of its long-expected counter-offensive. Ukraine has been planning a counter-offensive for months. But it has wanted as much time as possible to train troops and to receive military equipment from Western allies. On Monday, in Russian region of Belgorod, the governor said that several frontier settlements were being shelled simultaneously by Ukrainian forces. In the meantime, Russian forces have been preparing their defences in the seized regions of south-eastern Ukraine.

Harvey Borrington died from head injuries, including a fractured skull and a bleed on the brain A woman who killed her disabled three-year-old stepson and filmed him as he lay dying has been given a 15-year prison sentence. Harvey Borrington died from head injuries including a fractured skull and a bleed on the brain. Nottingham Crown Court heard Harvey was non-verbally autistic and could not tell his mother he was being abused. His stepmother Leila Borrington was convicted of his manslaughter following a trial but acquitted of murder. The prosecution said the 23-year-old struck Harvey several times to the head at her home in Nottinghamshire in August 2021. She then filmed him lying unconscious on the floor and sent the video to Harvey's father, with a text saying: "Why does this happen to me?" She did so before she called 999 for an ambulance, and then lied to paramedics when they arrived, claiming Harvey had fallen and hit his head. Harvey's biological mother, Katie Holroyd, cried as she told the court: "To this day I can't bear to think of him lying on that floor with him dying and her filming him, delaying getting medical help for him." The video, shot on Borrington's phone, showed her taking Harvey's left arm, lifting it up and letting it drop loosely to the floor. She then continued to film as he lay not moving on the living room floor. Leila Borrington was convicted of manslaughter by a jury Borrington assaulted Harvey at her home in Main Road, Jacksdale, which she shared with Harvey's father. She inflicted the fatal injuries on 7 August 2021 and he died in hospital two days later. The court heard Harvey was killed following a history of abuse by Borrington. Jonas Hankin KC, prosecuting, said Harvey's age and disability made him vulnerable, which were aggravating features. "He was severely non-verbally autistic," Mr Hankin said. "His challenging behaviour demanded greater empathy and kindness from his carers. It cannot justify the defendant's offending in any way." Borrington told the trial she had never harmed Harvey, maintaining he had fallen off a sofa and banged his head. However, an expert witness called by the prosecution said she believed Harvey had died as a result of "direct blunt force trauma", sustained after Borrington assaulted the youngster. Sentencing Borrington, Mr Justice Nicklin told her: "Precisely what happened to Harvey only you know, but by their verdict the jury were sure that your account of Harvey having fallen, hitting his head on the floor, was not the truth or at least not the full truth. "The jury's verdict shows they were sure you had assaulted Harvey, causing the very serious head injuries that led to his death." Borrington was also convicted of inflicting grievous bodily harm for previously breaking Harvey's arm, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm for an incident in which she squeezed his cheeks. She was given a two-year prison sentence and a six-month term for these offences, to be served concurrently with her manslaughter sentence. The judge also said she would serve two-thirds of the 15-year sentence in prison before being released on licence. Harvey's mother described him as "my world" and a "treasured grandson" to her parents. "To have it confirmed that Harvey before his death had been assaulted by Leila Borrington will be a life-long trauma for me, a recurring nightmare which I will never be able to wake from," she told the court. She cried as she explained that her son's disability meant he could not tell her about the abuse being inflicted by his stepmother. "He couldn't tell me he didn't want to go [to stay with Borrington]," she said. An NSPCC spokesperson said the case "highlighted the vulnerability of young children and those with disabilities, who are entirely dependent on those who care for them and are at increased risk of abuse". Dona Parry-Jones, a senior crown prosecutor at CPS East Midlands, said Harvey had "died at the hands of someone who should have been there to care for him and nurture him". Det Insp Simon Harrison, of Nottinghamshire Police, said the case had been "disturbing and upsetting" to work on. "The death of any child is a tragedy, but there is something especially awful about cases of this nature," he said. "As a police officer I am pleased that justice has now been done, but I am aware that no custodial sentence can adequately reflect the pain and anguish felt by Harvey's family. "My thoughts, and the thoughts of my colleagues, remain with them today." Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected]. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

The two greeted each other warmly before heading inside Number 10 Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has met Benjamin Netanyahu at Downing Street as the Israeli leader faces domestic turmoil over judicial reforms. Mr Sunak greeted Mr Netanyahu outside No 10 before talks over security and the threat from Iran. Mr Netanyahu will also meet Home Secretary Suella Braverman on his one-day visit. Hundreds of protesters gathered at the gates of Downing Street to demonstrate against the Israeli PM's policies. There was a cacophony, including shouts of "shame" and "traitor", as Mr Netanyahu made the short walk from his convoy to the steps of Number 10. A planned photo opportunity for media at the start of the talks was cancelled, and there was no joint statement. The visit comes at a time of political turmoil in Israel, with the country gripped by months of some of the biggest demonstrations in its history. Mr Netanyahu has defied calls to scrap a shake-up of the legal system, amid warnings the crisis is not only causing social upheaval but could harm Israel's security. Growing numbers of military reservists are refusing to serve in protest. Thursday saw tens of thousands of Israelis take to the streets across the country, in scenes which have been repeated weekly and escalated since the start of the year. This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original tweet on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by Itamar Eichner This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Downing Street said that in his meeting with Mr Netanyahu, Mr Sunak "stressed the importance of upholding the democratic values that underpin our relationship, including in the proposed judicial reforms in Israel". It said the two men also discussed the war in Ukraine and Iran's "destabilising activity", as well as its nuclear programme. It said the leaders welcomed an agreement signed this week aimed at deepening technical, trade and security ties between the UK and Israel. Although previous visits to the UK by Mr Netanyahu have been met with demonstrations by pro-Palestinian groups, Friday's protests - led by British and Israeli Jews, with many waving Israeli flags - were an unusual sight. On the opposite side of the road, hundreds of protesters from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign held a demonstration against Mr Netanyahu's visit and the State of Israel, while a third, small rally was also held nearby by supporters of Mr Netanyahu. Opponents of the Israeli prime minster say he is using the judicial reforms, which will weaken the power of the Supreme Court among other things, to bolster himself and shield policies of his government - the most right-wing in Israel's history. Mr Netanyahu has accused critics of disrespecting voters who gave his coalition and its reform platform a commanding win in November's elections.

Rail workers are to strike next month after the RMT union rejected the latest pay deal from train operators. RMT members will strike on 13 May, the day of the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool. Train operators said they had been "blindsided" by the strike, and denied union claims they had changed their offer. It follows train drivers' union Aslef calling strikes on 12 and 31 May, and on 3 June, the day of the FA Cup Final. The offer by the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents train firms, was aimed at ending the long-running dispute. But the RMT union said accepting it would mean no further strike action could take place further down the line. There had been ongoing discussions as the union and train firms tried to reach a deal. Mick Lynch, RMT general secretary, said the (RDG), which represents the train companies, had "reneged on their original proposals and torpedoed these negotiations". But Steve Montgomery, chair of the RDG Group said the union was "negotiating in bad faith, again denying their members a say on a fair pay deal, needlessly disrupting the lives of millions of our passengers, and undermining the viability of an industry critical to Britain's economy". Workers at 14 train operators will now go on strike for 24 hours on 13 May. Previous strikes had been called off when it was clear a new offer from the train firms was on its way. The union had been considering the detail of the RDG's latest proposals. They involved one year's pay increase that was dependent on the union agreeing to go into a "dispute resolution process" and, the industry would say, accepting the general principle of changes to working practices. This would be followed by a second year's pay increase dependent on those reforms being negotiated at individual operators. But the RMT has rejected the offer because it said it would not be able to call any more strikes if it accepted the first year's 5% pay increase. The industry argues that has always been clear. The union is currently balloting its members for another mandate for strike action lasting a further six months. There were no train strikes in the diary this morning. Now there are four, some of them falling on the day of major sport and music events. Any hopes the RMT's dispute with 14 train companies was close to being solved, have now been dashed. It's very much not over - unlike the dispute with Network Rail, which saw signallers and maintenance staff accept a deal in March. The dispute with the train operators always looked harder to resolve than Network Rail, because of the changes to working conditions involved - the strings attached, from the unions' perspective. There's more misery for passengers on the way - hitting confidence in railway travel again - and workers will lose more pay. Train companies' separate dispute with the train drivers' union Aslef has never looked close to a resolution, and today it announced three more strike dates. But today's announcement from the RMT was a surprise, and makes it hard to see how their dispute goes from here. The RMT's strikes have less impact than they did when Network Rail was involved too. But right now, it looks like there's still plenty of disruption ahead. The government has a significant role - it holds the purse strings. It has shown no sign recently of being prepared to allow the train companies to put more money on the table. The last rail strike on 18 March meant only 40% to 50% of trains could run as workers across 14 train operators walked out. The ongoing dispute has affected services since June last year. How are you affected by the latest round of rail strikes? Share your experiences by emailing [email protected]. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways: If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at [email protected]. Please include your name, age and location with any submission.

One boy is in a critical condition after the incident at Blundell's School A 16-year-old boy has been charged with two counts of attempted murder after a violent assault at a boarding school left two students in hospital. Police said the accused has also been charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent at Blundell's School near Tiverton in Devon. The teenager, who cannot be named because of his age, is due to appear before magistrates in Exeter on Monday. One of the boys who was injured is in a critical condition, police said. The other boy remains in a stable but serious condition, both have their families with them and are being supported by officers. One man, a member of staff at the school, also sustained injuries and was discharged from hospital on Friday, Devon and Cornwall Police said. The school is working with police, said head teacher Bart Wielenga in a letter to parents Supt Toby Davies said: "Our thoughts remain with the injured boys and their families in what must be a harrowing time for them. "My officers are continuing to support them and the wider school community." The area has been cordoned off for investigations and was expected to remain there for the rest of the day, he added. He also reminded people that by law the suspect could not be identified. "These rules are not solely for media organisations to adhere to; they also apply to members of the public and includes information posted via social media," he said. "This may be seen as interfering with a live investigation and an active criminal trial, and therefore could see those who do not adhere found in contempt of court. "We therefore remind the public that it is vital that they do not speculate on the identity of either the victims or the suspect in this case." Blundell's School - which has fees of £41,325 a school year for a boarder - has not commented. Head teacher Bart Wielenga sent a letter to parents and guardians about the incident, which happened at one of the boarding houses on Friday. He added the school was working closely with the police and urged parents and guardians not to engage in speculation or post about the incident on social media. Follow BBC News South West on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

We're now closing our live coverage of Prime Minister's Questions - which saw Deputy PM Oliver Dowden and Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner trade criticism, claims and jibes about child poverty, mortgage costs and bringing inflation down. You can read more about some of the key issues of the moment here: • Mortgages to jump by £500 for a million households • No decision yet on public sector pay rises - Sunak Join us again next week. We're expecting PM Rishi Sunak to be back at the dispatch box. It will be the last PMQs before the summer recess, and will come a day before three by-elections - seen as an important indicator of the political mood in the country. Today's page was written by Kate Whannel, Adam Durbin, Andre Rhoden-Paul, Chas Geiger and Ece Goksedef. It was edited by Dulcie Lee and myself, Heather Sharp.

In a way the battle has already been won, as Presdient Emmanuel Macron has got the pension reforms bill through. But the protesters say they'll keep going, that there may be other means to get it overturned or they hope they'll bring the government down. However, the law is now going ahead and the government is banking on there being a certain loss of momentum as a result. It may also be banking on the fact that if the movement radicalises, which it may well do now - as more hardline elements take over and there are outbursts of violence on the streets - then many people will turn away and say it's no longer their fight. That's what happened with the yellow vests - the gilets jaune - around four years ago. But we've no way really of knowing what's going to happen in the next few weeks.

Florida's top court has paved the way for the state's six-week abortion ban to take effect, but is allowing voters to have their say on the issue. The justices have upheld the state's 15-week ban on abortion, in a ruling that means a subsequently passed six-week ban can soon begin. But the court will also let Floridians decide in November if abortion rights should be sealed in the state charter. Most Americans back legalised abortion, but most also favour restrictions. The abortion ballot initiative could energise liberal voters in a presidential swing state that has been trending conservative in recent election cycles. On Monday, Florida's Republican-appointed justices decided by 6-1 that the state's constitution - specifically its privacy protections - did not apply to abortion access. A year ago Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a six-week abortion ban, but that bill was written so as to be placed on hold until the 15-week ban had cleared legal challenges. Following Monday's ruling, the six-week ban can take effect within 30 days. Many women do not realise they are pregnant at six weeks. Planned Parenthood, which runs clinics that provide abortions, and the American Civil Liberties Union were among groups that filed the lawsuit challenging the ban. An abortion rights protest in Fort Lauderdale in 2022 In a separate ruling on Monday, the Florida Supreme Court decided 4-3 that a proposed constitutional amendment that would protect access to abortion in the state could be included on ballots this November, when the US general election is held. The ballot question will ask Floridians to vote 'yes' or 'no' to a statement that reads: "No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient's health." Viability refers to when a foetus, or unborn child, might survive outside the uterus, which is usually around 24 weeks. It adds that "this amendment does not change the Legislature's constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion". The ballot question was opposed by Governor DeSantis and Florida's Attorney General Ashley Moody, also a Republican. Ohio, Michigan and Kansas are among states that have passed ballot measures in favour of abortion rights since the US Supreme Court in 2022 overturned a longstanding nationwide right to abortion. A constitutional amendment in Florida needs to be approved by 60% of voters - a higher threshold than in other states. If it does pass, voters could effectively reverse both the 15-week and six-week bans on the procedure. US President Joe Biden, a Democrat, reportedly believes Florida's abortion debate could offer a path to victory for him in that state this November. In a memo shared with NBC News, his campaign said Florida is "winnable" for the president if he campaigns on the issue. Mr Biden's Republican challenger, former US President Donald Trump, won Florida in 2016 and 2020.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa at a summit in 2019 South Africa plans to change its law so that it has the power to decide whether or not to arrest a leader wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), a deputy minister has told the BBC. Obed Bapela's remarks come amid intense speculation over whether South Africa stands by its invitation to Russia's President Putin to visit in August. The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Mr Putin over the Ukraine war. South Africa had earlier invited him to attend a summit of Brics leaders. Russia has not said whether Mr Putin plans to attend the summit. Meanwhile Pretoria has also granted diplomatic immunity to Russian officials attending, something that its foreign affairs department described as standard procedure. Brics is intended to strengthen ties between the nations that make it up - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. "In June we'll be submitting the law in parliament," Obed Bapela, a deputy minister in the South African presidency, told the BBC World Service's Newshour programme. Through the law, South Africa "will give itself exemptions of who to arrest and who not to arrest," Mr Bapela said. Under its current laws, South Africa is obliged to arrest Mr Putin if he arrives on its shores, as it is a member of the ICC. But South Africa has refused to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine, insisting it wants to remain neutral. The ICC issued its warrant for Mr Putin in March, accusing him of being responsible for war crimes - though Moscow has rejected such allegations. South Africa's main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), has launched a court application to compel the authorities to arrest Mr Putin should he arrive in August. Mr Bapela said that South Africa was also writing to the ICC about a waiver. This refers to article 98 of the Rome Statute, the treaty which established the court in 2002. While article 27 says no-one is immune from prosecution by the ICC, article 98 appears to suggest that the ICC could not ask South Africa to arrest the Russian leader unless Russia agreed to waive Mr Putin's immunity from prosecution. The deputy minister also lashed out at the ICC for its "double standards", saying the late Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first democratically elected president, would have been disappointed by the war crimes court. "We never thought that the ICC that we have today will be what it is. They never indicted Tony Blair, they never indicted [George W] Bush for their killings of Iraq people," he said, referring to the former UK and US leaders and their invasion of Iraq in 2003. "Mandela would have said [that] the inequality, the inconsistency by the ICC, is a problem." Mr Bapela also pointed to past examples of exemptions of international justice, like the UK's decision not to extradite General Augusto Pinochet in 1998. The former Chilean dictator was arrested in London at the request of a Spanish judge seeking to put him on trial for human rights abuses during his 17-year rule, but the UK government freed him after 16 months on the advice of medical experts who said he was unfit to stand trial. He died back home in 2006.

Prof Kathleen Stock is due to speak at the Oxford Union on 30 May Universities must remain places where "contentious views can be openly discussed", University of Oxford academics have warned. It comes amid a row over the invitation of gender-critical academic Kathleen Stock to take part in a debate. There had been speculation a decision by the university's student union to split with the Oxford Union debating society was due to the invitation. But the Oxford University Student Union said the decision was unrelated. The letter, signed by 44 academics, and published in the Telegraph, stated the signatories represented left and right viewpoints. It said the group "wholeheartedly condemn" the students' union split with the 200-year-old Oxford Union debating society. Speaking to the BBC, one of the signatories Dr Michael Biggs, associate professor of sociology at University of Oxford, said he had signed the letter because he is a "strong believer in academic freedom of speech". He said it was "under threat" as there was "an emerging body of students who have learnt that anybody who has a view that is not their own is hateful and bigoted, and doesn't deserve any opportunity to speak". Responding to the letter, Prof Stock said she was "very pleased to see there are still those at Oxford University who understand the value of upholding academic freedom, and are prepared to demonstrate this important value in public". "I hope their example will inspire others to do similar," she added. In a statement, education minister Claire Coutinho said student debaters "shouldn't be punished for encouraging the free exchange of ideas". She said the new Freedom of Speech Act "will make sure that universities promote free speech" and people who have their "free speech rights unlawfully restricted on campus can seek redress". Prof Stock left her job with the University of Sussex in 2021 after protests against her from students following the publication of a book where she questioned the idea that gender identity is more socially significant than biological sex. After plans for her invite were unveiled last month, the Oxford University LGBTQ+ Society said it was "dismayed", and accused the debating union of "disregarding the welfare of its LGBTQ+ members under the guise of free speech". Responding to the letter on Wednesday, the society said it stood by its statement, and said it was an "insult" for Oxford Union to give Prof Stock a platform. Oxford Union has said attendees will have an "opportunity to respectfully engage and challenge" Prof Stock's views at the event on 30 May, as well as being able to ask questions anonymously. It said there would be "additional welfare resources available on the evening", due to the sensitive nature of the event. The Oxford Union intentionally resembles the House of Commons The letter by academics characterised Prof Stock's views as being the belief that "biological sex in humans is real and socially salient" and said they are views which until recently "would have been so commonplace as to hardly merit asserting". "There is no plausible and attractive ideal of academic freedom, or of free speech more generally, which would condemn their expression as outside the bounds of permissible discourse," it says. It added the move by the student's union is aimed at damaging the Oxford Union debating society's business model, by banning it from freshers' fairs, which it said is an important source for recruitment of members. The Oxford Union is a private members club that University of Oxford students and others pay to join. It is independent of the university and the student union. It said the move is a "a profound failure to live up to" ideals of "free inquiry and the disinterested pursuit of the truth by means of reasoned argument". In its response, the Oxford University Student Union said national press coverage "erroneously" conflated the opposition to Prof Stock and the decision to split with the Oxford Union. It said the debate prior to the decision made no mention of Prof Stock or any other speaker, and was due to "long-standing concerns" about "alleged bullying, sexual harassment, discrimination, and data privacy breaches". It added: "[The student's union] will defend the right of people to freedom of expression, and will defend the right of people to have controversial and unpopular ideas debated as part of an integral part of university life". There has been ongoing tension in UK universities over freedom of speech on the issue of transgender rights. Last month, a second attempted screening of a controversial film about gender-critical issues was cancelled due to protest at the University of Edinburgh. The Oxford Union is celebrating its bicentennial year in 2023, and has a history of welcoming some of the world's most high-profile figures. Its debating chamber has previously heard from a host of American presidents, and figures like Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking. It has also drawn controversy, having extended invites to the likes of far-right activist Tommy Robinson and French far-right former politician Marion Marechal-Le Pen. Their appearances were marked by protests. Update 5 June: This article originally described the free speech letter as having been signed by 44 academics, and this was amended with a note of correction on 27 May to say it was signed by academics and staff. On review, our original wording was correct and we have amended the article again to make clear that all of the signatories are academics.

Discount offers for households to use less electricity at peak times will return this winter as part of plans to minimise the risk of power cuts. National Grid ESO said it expected to have sufficient capacity to meet demand but added it would be "prudent" to maintain the energy-saving scheme. The network operator said the Ukraine war posed "risks and uncertainties" to gas supplies across Europe and Britain. "Tight days" on the energy grid were likely be in January, it said. "There will be cold snaps in the winter and therefore we do expect to use our normal operational tools," said a spokesman for National Grid ESO, which is the electricity system operator for England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland has a separate electricity operator.. The so-called Demand Flexibility Service was launched in last November after Russia's gas supplies to Europe were disrupted following its invasion of Ukraine. In a report looking ahead to the colder months, National Grid said it would have an average margin - which is the difference between the supply of electricity and demand for it - of 4.8 gigawatts. It said this was "slightly higher than last winter" and "broadly in line with those of recent winters". However, its "base case" scenario assumes normal energy market conditions with no disruptions to supplies. National Grid said it was taking steps to "minimise the potential impact to electricity customers" in Britain if supplies were disrupted again. Alongside maintaining its energy-saving scheme for households to get discounts on bills, it said it was holding discussions about having two coal power stations on standby. The amount available to the grid if required has fallen from five in 2022 to two, with two now closed down and one other unable to be called upon. The UK is heavily reliant on gas to produce electricity, with gas-fired power stations generating more than 40% of the country's electricity. It also imports electricity from continental Europe. The squeeze on supplies led to household energy bills soaring as gas prices rocketed. The government stepped in late last year to limit bills to £2,500 a year for a typical household. But, despite gas prices falling back, energy bills remain elevated. A typical property will pay £2,074 a year for gas and electricity from July, far above winter 2021 when bills were around £1,277. The Demand Flexibility Service offered people the chance to be paid to use less electricity during peak times when capacity on the grid was tight, but only homes with smart meters were able to take part. Only 14 million households in England, Scotland and Wales, where the scheme was on offer, have a smart electricity meter installed. National Grid said 1.6 million households and businesses who were customers of 31 energy suppliers participated in the scheme across 22 "events" last winter. People were asked to avoid high-power activities, such as cooking or using washing machines for a one-hour period. It said the amount of energy saved was enough to power almost 10 million homes, but it is not yet known how much money, on average, each household earned. Individual suppliers decided how much customers received and whether the money was taken off bills, credited to accounts, or if it could be withdrawn as cash. National Grid said consumers in the south, east and east midlands of England reduced their demand the most. The operator is consulting energy suppliers to improve the service ahead of the winter. This story has been updated to clarify that National Grid ESO only operates in Great Britain and that Northern Ireland has a separate electricity operator.

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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. A review for the government has stopped short of recommending a laughing gas ban. Nitrous oxide, sold in metal canisters, is the second most-used drug by 16 to 24-year-olds in the UK. Heavy use can lead to a vitamin deficiency that damages nerves in the spinal cord. But the independent Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) said nitrous oxide should not be banned under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. It comes after the Home Office asked the ACMD to provide advice on whether to make possession of nitrous oxide a crime. Earlier this year, ministers had been considering a ban on possession of the drug - and on all direct sale of it to consumers - as part of a move to tackle antisocial behaviour. The ACMD recommended the substance should not be controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. It said sanctions for the offences would be disproportionate with the level of harm associated with nitrous oxide, as well as creating "significant burdens" for legitimate uses of the substance. Nitrous oxide is regularly used as an anaesthetic in medicine and dentistry, and as a gas for making whipped cream in cooking. Currently, non-legitimate use of the substance is controlled under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016, which the council said "remains appropriate legislation". The Act makes production, supply and importation of nitrous oxide for inhalation illegal, but not possession. Interventions should also included tackling non-legitimate supply of the drug, like closing down websites. A Home Office spokesman said: "This government is working to crack down on drug misuse in our communities, that is why we asked the ACMD to provide updated advice on nitrous oxide. "We thank them for their report, which we will now consider." Earlier this year, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak addressed laughing gas use in a speech about anti-social behaviour, in which he spoke about instances of "nitrous oxide canisters in children's playgrounds". The government said it commissioned the report following what it described as a "concerning" rise in young people using the drug, often at festivals, house parties and outside nightclubs.

The Stradey Park Hotel in Llanelli is set to house up to 207 asylum seekers from 3 July An MP and an opponent of plans to house hundreds of asylum seekers in a hotel have both voiced concerns about people's safety amid protests. The Stradey Park Hotel in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, is set to house up to 207 asylum seekers from 3 July. MP Dame Nia Griffith appealed that nobody should be hurt and said hotel staff were under "immense stress". Robert Lloyd, of protest group Furnace Action Committee, said the situation was "getting out of control". "We are trying to object on reasonable grounds but there are elements creeping into town which lead me to fear for people's safety," he said. Mr Lloyd, who described his group's campaign as "not racist or nimby (not in my back yard) in any way", said he was concerned that "commuter campaigners" were coming into town and being "threatening". "I worry that somebody's going to be hurt or even killed in all this because it's getting a little bit out of control," he told the BBC Radio Wales Phone-In. "I can see particularly on social media some of the things that are being said; it's quite awful." Robert Lloyd said he had heard of a Christian group feeling "threatened" by right-wing groups in the area Carmarthenshire council, which has said it is "firmly against" the Home Office plan, has confirmed the hotel will accommodate up to 207 people across 77 rooms. On Tuesday, five boulders appeared at the entrance, with a hotel manager - who did not want to be identified - and the local authority saying they did not know who was responsible. The Furnace Action Committee denied involvement in placing the boulders, but said it hoped it would help the hotel "see sense". Dame Nia said: "What I would really stress to people is please don't let anybody get hurt. "Please do not make it more difficult for the staff at this time, they're under immense stress with worries about their jobs," she told Radio Wales Breakfast. "People have the absolute right to express opinions and protest but think not to cause any accidents or cause any unnecessary stress on the wrong people." No group has yet claimed responsibility for placing the boulders Carmarthenshire council leader Darren Price has previously said he was "outraged" the plan was going ahead. "Even at this stage I call on the hotel owners, Sterling Woodrow, to reconsider their position and stop this from progressing," he said. Last week, a couple from Llanelli said the plan has caused them "stress and sleepless nights" after paying £2,000 towards their October wedding at the hotel. The Home Office said: "The number of people arriving in the UK who require accommodation has reached record levels and has put our asylum system under incredible strain. "Under normal circumstances, someone seeking asylum in the UK would stay in a hostel-style accommodation, before being provided with longer term housing. "Due to a backlog in asylum applications waiting a decision, has led to hotels like Stradey Park to be used."

The WRU was told about unfavourable treatment of female rugby players in a 2021 review Concerns female rugby players in Wales may have faced "unfavourable treatment" were highlighted to the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) two years before sexism allegations were revealed by BBC Wales. Extracts of the 2021 independent review have been published as part of a Senedd report that found "systemic failures in the culture of the WRU". Allegations of sexism and racism were uncovered in January. The WRU said the report had led to a "great deal" of change. The previously unseen review of the Wales women's rugby game was written two years before allegations of sexism were highlighted by a BBC Wales Investigates programme in January. It concluded the WRU was, "facing a significant number of risks not only in respect of the women's performance programme, but as a national governing body (NGB) for rugby in Wales". The WRU previously resisted calls for the review to be published, including from former board member Amanda Blanc who had criticised the culture at the union. In the aftermath of the revelations reported by BBC Wales the WRU apologised, its chief executive Steve Phillips resigned and an independent panel was appointed to look at the culture within the organisation. Acting WRU chief executive Nigel Walker told a Senedd committee the organisation had been in "denial" about the "extent of the problem" Extracts of the 2021 review are contained within a Senedd sport committee report into the WRU. One review conclusion titled "legal risk" said: "There is the potential for individuals within the game (currently and formerly) to challenge the WRU with some worrying examples of what could be defined as unfavourable treatment and a lack of equitable provision provided through this review." Another conclusion titled "reputational risk" said: "The perceived intransigence and reluctance to fully commit to women's performance in respect of investment, profile, culture and leadership will only serve to reinforce views of the WRU as a NGB for men's rugby with little interest in the female game." In evidence to the committee, the WRU acting chief executive, Nigel Walker said there were 40 recommendations in the 2021 review, and told the committee, "it was obvious that the Welsh Rugby Union had failed women's rugby". This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. 'He joked he wanted to rape me', said former Welsh Rugby women's general manager Charlotte Wathan The Senedd report also highlighted six reports in the past five years of sexist, racist or homophobic complaints within the WRU, with three WRU staff members being subject to disciplinary action following the allegations. Responding to a question from the committee about non-disclosure agreements, the WRU said it had used four "settlement agreements" in the past five years connected to allegations of sexism, racism and homophobia. The committee said there was "long-standing toxic behaviour" within the WRU and opportunities were missed to act on "concerning behaviour". These included "formal complaints, the WRU entering into several settlement agreements in relation to allegations of sexism, racism and homophobia over several years, the review into the women's game and the resignation of Amanda Blanc". Committee chairperson Delyth Jewell MS said evidence showed the WRU "had seen a failure of governance" and "there were failures in the culture of the union that led to women feeling that they had no choice but to go to the press about what had happened to them". She said: "That was utterly unacceptable, it should never have happened that way." Ms Jewell added that women's voices should be kept "at the heart of our deliberations", so when a new review is published "we can have complete faith" that recommendations are actually acted upon. The Senedd sport committee found a "serious failure of governance" by the WRU The committee added: "It is unacceptable that it took a BBC documentary for the Welsh Rugby Union to act decisively." Speaking to the BBC's Walescast podcast earlier this month, Henry Engelhardt, a WRU independent non-executive director and a former chief executive of Admiral Insurance described the BBC investigation as "sensationalism". But soon after Mr Walker insisted the organisation, including Mr Engelhardt were "remorseful" about what went on in the union. In its report the committee made several recommendations, including that any future Welsh government funding to the WRU should be compatible with a violence against women strategy. The committee also called on the Welsh government to review how ministers and civil servants respond to concerns raised with them regarding inappropriate behaviour in organisations in Wales. The WRU said: "We have already accepted, and did so again at the committee session, that we have much work to do to ensure that we address our past failures and we again express our sincere remorse for the missed opportunities and failures described and offer our sincere apologies to anyone affected. "We commissioned the independent report into the Women's performance area in 2021 to identify concerns and help us reshape our support for our international players. "This led to a great deal of change and we are pleased to be able to report that the recommendations have been substantively delivered. We are very proud of the way in which our squad has responded to these changes and we hope that the results are clear to see."

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The impact of the 7.4 magnitude earthquake in Taiwan Rescuers in Taiwan are working to reach more than 600 stranded people, a day after the island experienced its worst earthquake in 25 years. One survivor has recounted how tremors unleashed rockslides "like bullets" around the coal mine he was working at. The 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit near the eastern county of Hualien, killing nine and injuring more than 1,000. Some stuck in tunnels and near a national park have been rescued by helicopters, but 34 are still missing. The official number of people trapped or stranded rose considerably - from about 100 to 660 - on Thursday as people started getting phone signal back in the mountainous regions. Almost all are guests and staff of a remote hotel who cannot leave because of damaged roads. Officials are now trying to work out the best way to get them out. Food supplies have been air-dropped to dozens trapped in these areas, local reports say. "The mountain started raining rocks like bullets, we had nowhere to escape to, everyone ran beside the sandbags for cover," the survivor, identified by his surname Chu, told Taiwan's Central News Agency. Three of the nine who died were hikers on a trail leading towards Taroko National Park, named after a landmark gorge, just outside Hualien. In Hualien city, the capital of the county where the earthquake struck, relief efforts are proceeding quickly, with workers using excavators and other heavy equipment to demolish several damaged buildings. On Thursday morning, the BBC also witnessed relief workers removing huge boulders - the size of cars - that had fallen close to railway lines so as to get normal train services running again. They are also using large amounts of gravel and rocks to shore up a 10-storey structure known as the Uranus building, which has been leaning downwards since the quake struck - to prevent it from falling over in case of another aftershock. Local reports said one female teacher had died in the building when she returned to rescue her cat. The red brick Uranus building is seen leaning precariously Hsu Chiu-yueh, who was working opposite the Uranus building when it collapsed, told the BBC: "It was so shaky I could barely walk. I was really scared. I felt my legs were not in control anymore. Thanks to my colleagues, they dragged me so we could get out." "There was a lot of dust coming into our building on our way out... We [later] realised that it came from the building across the street that had partially collapsed," said the 50-year-old. Another Hualien resident recounted how the quake threw her home into disarray. "I was just getting out of bed when a clothes rack and a low cabinet fell over," Ocean Tsai told BBC Chinese. "It kept getting stronger, and I started worrying about our belongings at home. Fortunately, apart from the motorcycle tipping over, the damage was minimal." The earthquake, which struck 18km (11mi) south of Hualien, was followed by more than 200 aftershocks, dozens of which were at least 6.5 magnitude or more, hindering search and rescue efforts. Taiwanese authorities expect there to be more aftershocks in the next few days. Pictures show how the road outside Hualien's Qingshui tunnel - one of many winding roads that run along Hualien's rocky coastline - had simply fallen away. Routes like Qingshui are popular among tourists because of their spectacular views from the mountains out across the Pacific Ocean. But they are also known to be treacherous, not least because of the possibility of landslides. Further north, the capital Taipei was also shaken violently with footage showing damaged buildings and people being evacuated. Local TV stations aired clips of smashed vehicles and stores in disarray. "The earthquake is close to land and it's shallow. It's felt all over Taiwan and offshore islands... It's the strongest in 25 years," Wu Chien Fu, the director of Taipei's Seismology Centre said on Wednesday. Power cuts and internet outages were reported across the island. The earthquake also triggered tsunami alerts earlier in the day on Wednesday in nearby Japanese and Philippine islands, but these alerts were later downgraded. While Taiwan has a history of quakes, both locals and foreigners who have lived in Taipei for years say this is the strongest quake they have experienced in decades. The last major quake at 7.6 magnitude hit in September 1999, killing 2,400 people and destroying 5,000 buildings. Additional reporting by Fan Wang in Singapore and BBC Chinese's Tzu-Wei Liu in Taipei

Shifting debris could become dangerous for salvage crews above and below the water's surface. US Army Colonel Estee Pinchasin looks out at the thousands of tonnes of twisted, broken steel and concrete jutting out from the dark waters of Maryland's Patapsco river, and delivers her assessment: an "unforgiving mangled mess". "That's the best way to describe this," the fatigue-clad veteran says from the deck of an Army-operated salvage vessel, the Reynolds. "It's hard to explain steel that is cantilevered, bent and smashed with so much force." The "mess" Col Pinchasin has been tasked with clearing is the tattered remnants of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge, strewn around - and embedded into - the Dali, a massive 948ft (289m) cargo ship that now sits motionless under an expanse of shredded metal, with partially crushed shipping containers hanging from its sides. The mangled mess is self-explanatory. But why unforgiving? Because, put simply, anything and everything here is a potential threat to the lives of salvage crews. The Dali's collision with the bridge in the early hours of 26 March brought the structure down in a matter of seconds, leaving six workers dead and the ship stuck. This has prompted a huge response that has included the US Army Corps of Engineers, Navy, Coast Guard, Maryland authorities and specialist private firms. The effort aims to unblock the 700ft (213m) wide and 50ft (15m) deep shipping channel, re-float and remove the Dali and clear whatever remains of the estimated 3,000 to 4,000 tonnes of debris from the wider Patapsco. "Those things are happening simultaneously," Col Pinchasin, the Army Corps of Engineers Baltimore district commander, told the BBC. "But the priority is for the channel, because we need to get those people back to work and help all the businesses that are affected." The port is one of the busiest on the East Coast of the United States and a key regional hub for goods including steel, aluminium and agricultural equipment. It is used by car-makers including General Motors and Honda. As many as 15,000 jobs depend on it, including 8,000 directly employed there. Sonar images taken by the US Navy show vast quantities of debris sitting underwater (highlighted in yellow) The mission has turned the area into a hub of activity, buzzing with small US Navy sonar vessels and police boats, workers testing spark-emitting hydraulic shears, and - so far - seven huge crane barges, including the Chesapeake, a 1,000-tonne capacity crane once used by the CIA to build a ship used to recover a Soviet submarine from the bottom of the Pacific. Piece by piece, debris will eventually be disassembled and lifted onto barges to be taken away. "With every layer of debris they remove, they have to go back in and survey the wreckage to see if it reacted the way we thought it was going to," Col Pinchasin said. "Are there any instabilities? Are they things we missed? What did we not see?" "They need to have discipline and be very self-critical." The dangerous work of making these determinations has so far fallen on teams of divers who inspect both the ship and the vast, unseen debris field beneath the surface. They are often unable to see more than a foot or two in the muddy brown waters of the Patapsco, forcing them to be guided by operators in nearby surface vessels. Their assessments, Col Pinchasin said, are essential to ensuring that larger pieces of debris can be dismantled and removed safely. "The pieces might be mangled, but there's a lot of force pent-up in how they're sitting right now," she said, gesturing at a large chunk of metal protruding from the shipping channel. "If you were to cut one of those things, and there's tension there you don't know about and it snaps, people can be in a lot of danger," she added. "We need to know what's connected, and that's why the divers have to go in. They have to feel and reach to verify… but it's like they have their eyes closed." A separate team of divers, drawn from the ranks of the Maryland State Police, stands ready to dive if and when investigators believe they have found the remains of the three men still missing from the collapse. The continued search for those men, she added, continues to weigh heavily on the minds of those involved in the salvage operation. "These are families that did not get to celebrate Easter together," she said. "This is very solemn ground." Those involved in the operation and maritime experts say that the scope of the operation has few, if any comparisons. An initial $60m (£47.4m) in emergency funds have been earmarked to cover the work. The true cost may be much higher, with one politician, Maryland Democrat David Trone, telling CBS that the cost could eventually rise to $1bn. "The scale is the biggest challenge, but also the complexity," said Captain Dan Hoban, a British Royal Engineer who was on a routine exchange with the US Army Corps of Engineers when the bridge collapsed. "It's a really messy situation. From an engineering perspective, we are trying to figure out where the cuts are going to be made and then incorporate that into a lifting plan," added Capt Hoban, who has been helping with the mission. "But it needs to be safe for all those operating out there," he added. "Everyone wants to get going quickly, but trying to do so safely and efficiently. We don't want to create a more difficult situation. That's the key." Large crane barges are also serving as launch pads for extensive dive operations around the Dali Peter Ford, a long time merchant mariner whose firm SkyRock Advisors specialises in infrastructure projects, said that the "intricacies" of the Baltimore operation made it considerably more hazardous than other complex operations, such as that which freed the Ever Given, after it got stuck in the Suez Canal in 2021. "This is beyond anything we've seen," he said. "It's all going to be hard. It's the mixture of the infrastructure above and below water and the fact that debris is literally draped over and balancing on the vessel." Once salvage crews begin cutting larger pieces of the debris, Mr Ford predicts that the constant shifting and movement of the debris and the vessel alike can become a potentially dangerous challenge. "God forbid that somebody miscalculates and this very sharp steel ends up cutting into a part of the ship where the bunker fuel is, or some sort of hazardous commodities on the vessel are breached and leaked into the ocean," he said. "This is a game of Jenga you don't want to lose." Workers plan to use specialised cutting tools and hydraulic shears to remove parts of the Key Bridge For now, the salvage operation is still in its early stages and is largely focused on assessing the scene and the bridge, removing smaller pieces and have so far opened smaller temporary shipping channels to allow limited maritime traffic to pass through the area. By the end of April, the Army Corps of Engineers plans to open a limited access channel 280ft (80m) wide and 35ft (10m) deep to allow one-way traffic for barge containers and some roll-on-roll-off vessels that carry cars and equipment. The entire, permanent channel is expected to be clear and ready for use by the end of May, the "unified command" responsible for the operation said in a statement on 4 April. That target date, however, may change because of the weather or unforeseen problems with the clearance operations. "We have to go slow to go fast. Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast," she said. "This is a long haul." This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: A view from inside the ship that hit a Baltimore bridge

Healthcare workers care for injured patrons outside the Madrid restaurant At least two people have died and another ten were injured after a waiter flambéed a dish, accidentally setting fire to an Italian restaurant on a busy Friday evening in Madrid. One of the injured is in a critical condition and five others have serious injuries. Plastic plants in the restaurant caught fire during the flambé process, and the flames rapidly spread. The food is usually covered in spirits and set alight for dramatic effect, sometimes giving it a smoky flavour. The fire broke out near the entrance of the Burro Canaglia restaurant, which made it harder for people to escape, Spanish newspaper El Pais reported. The paper also reported that one of those who died was an employee. Though the blaze was extinguished quickly, it was "extremely intense" and generated "a lot of smoke," the Mayor of Madrid, Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida said. The mayor said there had been about 30 diners and staff members in the restaurant at the time of the fire. He warned there would have been more victims had the firefighters taken longer to attend the scene, adding that it was extinguished within 10 minutes from the first warning of the blaze. Police have launched an investigation into the causes of the fire.

An egg-freezing cycle involves taking drugs to boost your production of eggs, which are later collected and frozen Record numbers of women are freezing their eggs in the hope of having a family later in life, according to a new report. More than 4,000 patients froze their eggs in 2021, compared to 2,500 in 2019, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) said. The "dramatic rise" could be linked to the pandemic, a charity said. But doctors warned there needed to be more awareness of the pros and cons. Sarah Norcross, director of the Progress Educational Trust fertility charity, said some women had considered their fertility during the lockdowns. "Restrictions on socialising may have prompted some women to think more about their fertile window, and decide to try to increase their reproductive choices," she said. Despite the number of egg collections increasing, less women decided to donate their eggs for another woman to use, according to the report. There were nearly 1,500 new egg donors in 2019 but this dropped to just over 1,400 in 2021. Helen Henry donated some of her eggs at the same times as having some frozen Helen Henry, from Thurrock in Essex, donated some of her eggs when she had hers frozen 10 years ago at the age of 34. She was in a long-term relationship with a partner at the time, who did not want children. "I remember having counselling explaining the reason why I wanted to freeze my eggs and being given the opportunity to donate as well. I took that option as I wasn't just doing it for myself. "After donating I started to feel quite guilty. I wasn't sure that I had done the right thing. What if the mother of the child isn't a good one? What if the child ends up in foster care? What if it's neglected? "Fast forward a few years, I found out that a baby girl was born in December 2011 from my donation. Finding out a child was born made those guilty feelings go away," she said. Ms Henry went on to have her own children with a new partner, and never used her frozen eggs, which have now been disposed of. "I fell pregnant naturally and quite quickly and had my first daughter at age 39 and I am currently on maternity leave again having had my son last December, aged 44," she said. "This will be an ongoing conversation with my two children that they have a genetic sister out there in the world. I pray that I will see this child one day. It is one of my last wishes." Vicky Pattison says she feels empowered by being able to make the decision to have children when it is right for her TV presenter and podcaster Vicky Pattison, who also lives in Essex, has just had some of her eggs frozen, after deciding she was not yet ready for children. Three of her eggs were turned into embryos with her partner's sperm, which she was told have a 20% chance of resulting in a baby. She has also kept three as unfertilised eggs, which have a 10% chance. She shared her feelings throughout the treatment, saying there was "not enough genuine, honest information out there". Success is strongly dependent on the age of the woman at the time of freezing her eggs, the HFEA said, with higher success rates in those aged under 35. Consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist Bassel Wattar said more work was needed to inform patients and support them through their fertility journey. "Unfortunately, there is limited public awareness on the pros and cons of this treatment and how it could be best planned to optimise chances of starting a family in the future," he said. Are you freezing your eggs? Do you want to have children later in life? You can share your experiences by emailing [email protected]. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways: If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at [email protected]. Please include your name, age and location with any submission. Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Got a story? Email [email protected] or WhatsApp us on 0800 169 1830

Petrol and diesel in Northern Ireland is cheaper than in other parts of the UK because of competition from filling stations in the Republic of Ireland, a competition watchdog has suggested. The UK's Competition and Markets has been investigating the operation of the UK's road fuel market. It found that competition isn't working as well as it should be, driving up prices. It has recommendations to help people find the cheapest prices in their area. These include a new "fuel finder" scheme that would be similar to a fuel price checker provided by the NI Consumer Council which enables consumers to compare the highest, lowest and average petrol and diesel prices in each town in Northern Ireland and is updated on a weekly basis. However, it does not indicate prices for individual filling stations. The CMA has recommended that the government uses legislation to create an open data fuel finder scheme. This would require retailers to share their prices on an open, real-time basis, meaning that drivers can easily compare prices in any area of the UK. The CMA says this would "increase incentives on retailers to compete hard on price and make it easier for consumers to identify where they are not doing so". It has also recommended a "fuel monitor function" within an appropriate public body, to monitor developments in the market, both nationally and locally. As part of its investigation the CMA looked at the extent to which average prices vary by region, and compared them to London, which it used as a baseline. On average, the cheapest region was Northern Ireland, where petrol was on average 2.8p per litre cheaper, and diesel 1.4p per litre cheaper than in London. It said: "The fact that we observe prices that are significantly lower in Northern Ireland is likely due to the fact that filling stations there are competing with filling stations across the Irish border, which are subject to a range of different competitive and fiscal dynamics."

A senior Conservative MP has been criticised for saying Afghanistan has been "transformed" under the Taliban. In a video posted from the country on Monday, former defence minister Tobias Ellwood said corruption was falling and security had "vastly improved". Fellow Tory Mark Francois called the video "bizarre", whilst former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said it was not "welcome". Downing Street said it disagreed with Mr Ellwood's assessment. But Mr Ellwood defended his comments, saying stability in the country was on a "different level" than during times of conflict. In a BBC News interview, he added that it was time for the UK to establish diplomatic ties with the Taliban rather than "shouting from afar". British diplomatic and embassy staff were withdrawn after the Taliban's August 2021 takeover of the country after Western troops pulled out. Mr Ellwood, who chairs the Commons defence select committee, tweeted his video during a trip to Helmand province with a landmine clearance charity. The Bournemouth East MP said Afghanistan was "a country transformed," with solar panels starting to appear "everywhere" whilst the country's opium trade "all but disappeared". "This war-wary nation is for the moment accepting a more authoritarian leadership in exchange for stability," he added, whilst calling for the West to "re-engage" diplomatically. Reopening the British embassy, he added, would be a way to "incrementally" encourage "progressive changes" in areas like girls' education and rights for female workers. However, in the Commons on Tuesday, Sir Iain said the video was "not a very welcome statement to have made" given the "persecutions that have taken place in Afghanistan". This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Iain Duncan Smith and Johnny Mercer on Tobias Ellwood’s comments about Afghanistan being "peaceful and stable". Mr Francois, who also sits on the defence committee, said the video "made no mention of the fact that the Taliban is still attempting to identify and kill Afghan citizens who helped our armed forces, or of the fact that young girls in Afghanistan do not even have the right to go to school". Mr Ellwood, whose brother was killed by Islamists in the 2002 Bali bombings, said he wanted to ensure terrorism does not "flourish" in Afghanistan. Speaking to BBC News, he said he understood his comments would "cause waves", but he was pleased he had "shone a light on a country that we ran away from". "The current strategy of us shouting from afar to try and effect the agenda in Afghanistan is not working," he said, adding that he was speaking an "an individual MP". "We need to engage more directly, more robustly, and that can be done if we open up the [British] embassy".

A drill rapper known as Rack5 has been jailed for seven years and nine months for firearm offences, after a dramatic chase through the streets of London. Bodycam footage and CCTV shows the moment Ellis Heather, 23, ran away from the police in Ladbroke Grove, Notting Hill, and attempted to hide in the front garden of a residential address. After detaining the suspect and searching the area, officers discovered a firearm nearby.

Khan Younis has been devastated by Israel's military campaign Israel's military said on Sunday that it was reducing its numbers of soldiers from southern Gaza, leaving just one brigade in the area. The military stressed a "significant force" would remain in Gaza. "This is another stage in the war effort", Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Lt Col Peter Lerner told the BBC. The pull-out is being interpreted as tactical, rather than a sign the war may be moving closer to its end. Also on Sunday, Israel and Hamas said they had both sent delegations to Cairo to join fresh ceasefire negotiations. It is six months to the day since Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on 7 October, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostage. Israel says that of 130 hostages still in Gaza, at least 34 are dead. More than 33,000 Gazans have been killed in Israel's offensive in Gaza since then, the Hamas-run health ministry says, the majority of them civilians. Gaza is on the brink of famine, with Oxfam reporting that 300,000 people trapped in the north have lived since January on an average of 245 calories a day. Lt Col Lerner said troops would rotate out because the military had completed its mission in Khan Younis. Khan Younis has been under Israeli bombardment for months, and the city and surrounding area are largely destroyed. Lt Col Lerner said: "The war is not over. War can only be over when they [hostages] come home and when Hamas is gone." "It is a decline in the forces but there are more operations that need to be conducted. Rafah is clearly a stronghold. We need to dismantle Hamas' capabilities wherever they are." US National Security spokesman John Kirby said it appeared to be a "rest and refit" and "not necessarily... indicative of some coming new operation for these troops". But later Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said the troops were leaving to "prepare for their follow-up missions". He said their achievements in Khan Younis were "extremely impressive", adding that Hamas had ceased to function as a military organisation throughout Gaza. Israel has long warned of a planned ground offensive in the southern city of Rafah, where more than a million displaced Palestinians are sheltering. But international pressure for a ceasefire is mounting, and the US - Israel's closest and most powerful ally - warned earlier this week that its ongoing support for the Gaza war is dependent on "specific, concrete steps" to boost aid and prevent civilian deaths. Marking six months of the war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was "one step away from victory" but insisted there would be no ceasefire without the release of Israeli hostages. "The achievements of the war are considerable: we have eliminated 19 of Hamas's 24 battalions, including senior commanders," he said. Israelis have been marking six months since the 7 October attacks by Hamas Tens of thousands of Israelis rallied against Mr Netanyahu on Saturday, demanding a deal to free the hostages held in Gaza. The rallies in Tel Aviv and other cities came hours after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) recovered the body of hostage Elad Katzir. Organisers said the protest in Tel Aviv had drawn 100,000 people, while other counts put attendance at around 45,000. More demonstrations took place on Sunday evening, with thousands protesting in Jerusalem. This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

Passengers flying into the UK faced hours of delays at airports across the country where passport e-gates were not working. Travellers told of their anger at being stuck in queues at airports including Heathrow, Manchester and Gatwick. The Home Office said on Saturday evening that all e-gates were now operating as normal. The disruption, which began on Friday night, had been due to an IT issue, a source told the BBC. All airports across the country using the technology were affected. The e-gate system speeds up passport control by allowing some passengers to scan their own passports. It uses facial recognition to verify identity and captures the traveller's image. People flying into the UK had to have their passports checked manually, with larger airports with e-gates most affected. Marc Baret had been booked on a flight from Chicago to Manchester via Heathrow, but told BBC News he had changed his plans after he was left waiting for more than two hours at the London airport. He said: "It was absolute chaos at passport control. There were people getting really frustrated and a couple of individuals tried to jump queues, the police had to get engaged and one of the passengers fainted." This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Another passenger, arriving at Gatwick, said the situation was an "utter joke". Stephen, who declined to share his second name, waited for two-and-a-half hours at Bristol airport on Saturday afternoon without any access to water. He said: "It was very hot, there was only one water bottle fill opportunity in the Arrivals hallways, and nothing in the immigration hall itself. "I didn't have a water bottle to top up so was very thirsty afterwards." Eurostar passengers were also affected, with travellers waiting in lengthy queues at Paris Gare de Nord train station because the e-gates were not working. Stephen S waited at passport control at Bristol Airport for two-and-a-half hours on Saturday afternoon One man said he had to wait in the queue at Luton Airport for more than two hours earlier. Craig Pullen also told the BBC it was "very poor" that travellers had not been given regular updates on the problem, or told how long it would take to clear passport control. Bobby Lane waited three hours at passport control at Luton Airport in the early hours of Saturday morning. He praised a Bedfordshire police officer who handed out bottles of water to struggling passengers, tweeting that he had "kept thousands in line with humour and kindness". A spokesperson for the airport said the mood among passengers had been "one of patience and understanding". Dave Tatlow was one of 300 passengers stuck in a queue at Heathrow Airport early in the morning. He said some passengers had overheated in the hot glass building. "One poor elderly gentleman in his seventies travelling alone collapsed, and had to be helped by other passengers and staff. "After that, bottles of water were distributed." This weekend was expected to be busy for travellers, with the bank holiday coinciding with the half-term break for many families. Separately, travellers leaving the UK from the Port of Dover also faced issues after the French passport system failed earlier on Saturday. That issue has now been fixed, but cars and coaches were waiting for about an hour, with about 400 lorries queuing to make the crossing. Passengers queue for ferries at the Port of Dover in Kent on Saturday Lucy Morton, from the Immigration Services Union, told the BBC that between 60-80% of incoming passengers usually use e-gates, depending on the airport. "There's no impact on national security," she added, explaining that all arrivals would have been fully checked at manned officer desks. E-gates can be used by British citizens aged over 12 and those from the EU, as well as people from countries including Australia, Canada, the US, Japan and New Zealand. But all entry points retain manned security desks for other passengers and those unable to use e-gates. On Thursday and Friday, British Airways was also hit by IT issues, affecting more than 20,000 passengers at Heathrow. Have your travel plans been affected by the delays? Share your experiences by emailing [email protected]. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways: If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at [email protected]. Please include your name, age and location with any submission.

Four out of every 10 pupils have difficulty accessing free period products in UK schools, research shared with BBC News suggests. Government schemes to reduce stigma and improve access have been running for several years - and many schools say these have benefited pupils. It says 97% of secondary schools in England have ordered the free products. But some teenagers are still feeling upset, angry and embarrassed about dealing with their period at school. Tilly, 16, realised her period had started in the first few minutes of a crucial GCSE exam last year. "I was sat there for two hours, leaking, in my own blood, without anything I could do. I was so uncomfortable I just couldn't concentrate," she said. She and other pupils had been told tampons and pads would be available in the toilets. But when she could not find any, Tilly spent the next two hours panicking and unable to concentrate on her exam paper, as she leaked on to her chair. As the other pupils filed out of the exam hall, Tilly waited behind, too upset to leave, then went home early as she could not face staying at school. "I broke down to my head of year - and he didn't give me any support," she says. "He told me to be more discreet about it." Tilly's school, in Cardiff, said it could not comment on the incident but the accessibility of products in the school had improved in the past year. Now in Year 11, Tilly runs a Love Your Period campaign with her sister Molly Period-product schemes are in place across the four UK nations. The Welsh government wants to achieve "period dignity" by 2027, improving access to products and reducing stigma. Earlier this year, it committed to ensuring free period products were available at every school and college in the country. "Guidance issued to schools states period products should be easily accessible in toilets, in a basket or free to use dispenser," an official said. The Scottish government made history in 2018 by becoming the first in the world to make period products free to school, college and university students. In England, the Period Products Scheme has been in place since 2020. And the government says its funding will continue until at least July 2024. But in Northern Ireland, Department for Education funding to provide period products in schools has been cut by 40%. In some schools and colleges, the Period Products Scheme is working well. At Harlow College, in Essex, a tote bag filled with pads and tampons hangs on the back of unisex toilet cubicle doors. Gill Atkinson, from the college's wellbeing and safeguarding team, says access to products has not only removed stigma and shame around periods, it has also helped improve attendance. The college has spent its allocated £7,000 on products this year and is hopeful funding will continue. "I don't think the college would be able to fund it themselves," Gill says. As well as providing free tampons and sanitary pads, Gill's team distributes other products, including period underwear, which she says are increasingly popular Staff at Portland College, in Mansfield, Notts, a residential college for young disabled people, say the Period Products Scheme has helped their students to feel comfortable talking about periods. Speech-and-language therapist Amy Smith-Patrick says some pupils need support to use the period products, so it would not be appropriate to leave pads in toilets for students to help themselves to. Others are non-verbal, so used to struggle to know how to ask for the products they needed. Now, students on their period can hand in a slip at reception or in class, in exchange for products - removing communication barriers and embarrassment. Period underwear has been a "real positive" for students with autism, Amy adds, as it can be more comfortable for those with sensory-processing difficulties. In some situations, it can be hard to cater for everybody's needs. Minnie, 13, from Sheffield, tells BBC News she feels "very embarrassed" she has to go to a staff office on the top floor of school if she needs products - and it would be better to have them in cubicles. But the head teacher at Minnie's school, who BBC News has decided not to identify, says if pupils have to ask for products, staff can discreetly keep track of which students might need additional support. Minnie says the security cameras covering the sink area in school bathrooms also make her feel uncomfortable. But the head teacher says these are for pupils' safety. Harlow College buys in eco-friendly period products, using funds from England's scheme Irise International chief executive Emily Wilson says while England's scheme is an "amazing" policy commitment, "we've got to get it working in schools, so that when a young person needs a product it's there, available, ideally in the toilets, in a shame-free way". Emily Wilson's charity is preparing for a parade in Westminster on Sunday PHS Group supplies schools with products in England and Wales and works independently of government. Interim findings from its 2023 Period Equality White Paper suggest students are missing school or college because period products are unavailable or too expensive. Of the 546 13-18-year-olds surveyed who had missed school because of their period: "Our initial results show progress has been made since the pandemic but the cost-of-living crisis is having an effect," head of commercial Clare Hughes says. "It's clear many learners are relying on free period products they're accessing at school - and for the next year we will work with governments and local authorities to highlight these issues." A Department for Education official said: "Since the launch of our free period-products scheme, in January 2020, 97% of secondary schools and 92% of post-16 organisations in England have ordered free period products for pupils - and we're encouraging more primary schools to sign up. "School leaders and teachers know their pupils best and our guidance provides advice and support on ways to promote the scheme to pupils that avoids embarrassment or stigma. "It also encourages schools to involve pupils in deciding which period products are ordered." Have you had difficulty accessing free period products in school? Please share your experiences by emailing [email protected]. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC News journalist. You can also make contact in the following ways: If you are reading this page but cannot see the form, to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or email [email protected]. Please include your name, age and location.

My Money explores how people across the UK manage their spending in a typical week. As prices rise, BBC News has been hearing about their ways of cutting costs and the financial choices they have to make. Janine Marsh is a radio presenter. She was laid off work during the pandemic and has been freelancing ever since. She brings in about £2,000 per month, but her income can be irregular. She lives with her husband - who is starting a business - and their two children. Their monthly mortgage payment is £996.00 per month. They also pay £130.00 for energy, £42.00 for water, £139.00 for council tax and £59.73 for a Sky subscription. Janine's job situation has meant a big change for the family. She can no longer save and has to stick to a strict budget. The kids are on school holiday, so I need to keep them entertained. I've been taking advantage of the Easter sales to buy things we need. I picked up 10 pairs of underpants in Asda for £4.80 for our youngest boy, saving £1.20. We went to Sports Direct to buy outdoors shoes for the kids for £5.99. We're eating together as a family tonight, so I bought some flowers for Mum for £6.00 at Asda. She deserves a treat because she really helped us out last week when our little boy had his tonsils and adenoids out. Over the weekend, we spent money on an Easter trail, so we're trying to keep the costs down today. Janine tried to keep her kids entertained during school holidays without breaking the bank The weather was nice, so we dashed out to the park in the morning. I use vouchers, coupons and promotions for little treats like coffee, or eating out. We needed some food from Tesco so I tied it into the day out. I spent just under £15.00 on bits for tea. I bought the kids a slice of pizza and a sausage roll for £3.55 at Greggs. My coffee was free from my O2 app so that kept me going until we got home. My £13.49 gym membership went out today. A woman came round to buy a post box shape sorter I sold on Facebook for £3.00. My husband took the kids to the cinema this morning because I needed time to shoot some videos. I opened The Thrifty Family blog and Tiktok account back in October to talk about the financial challenges we face. This brings in around £1,600 per month. We had two free tickets on our Vitality Life insurance app so I paid £5.99 for one ticket and we took our own snacks in. I had my MoT today and thankfully the car gods were with me. It cost £54.00 and everything was ok. We bought the car on finance and we pay £205.00 per month. It won't be paid off for another couple of years. I organised a trip to Grandma's for the kids today. In the past I would have probably booked a holiday somewhere, but now we've got to stick to budgets. She kept costs down by organising outdoor activities with her sons I managed to get my hair cut - the first time I've had chance to go since January. It cost £35.00 for a cut and blow dry. I colour it myself and spend a fiver every couple of months. This is turning out to be an expensive week. My spending today was £35.00 plus £3.00 tip. It was big shop day today. The Tesco delivery arrived and it cost £139.88. We pay £7.99 for a delivery saver every month which means I can track how much we spend each week and there's no temptation to load up the trolley with things we don't need. If we run out in between we go to Aldi. It rained all day in Manchester, typical in the school holidays. I took the kids for lunch to M&S because kids eat for free. It cost £19.51. I met some friends today. We all live in different parts of the country so Birmingham was the middle ground. I made sandwiches for the train to save on money and took a bottle of water with me. I had an iced coffee for £3.50. My train ticket cost £36.29. We wandered around town then headed to Dishoom for food and cocktails. We split the bill and it's was £50.50. I also had a cheeky beer in Wetherspoons for £2.69. Today was the first day this week that we didn't spend any money. The kids wanted a pyjama day so we watched films and ate Easter eggs. I think shared experiences are all that matters. You don't have to throw loads of money at things. Time is the nicest gift that you can give people, especially your kids. Janine's train journey was cheaper because she bought tickets in advance My total week's spending was £399.19 excluding my regular costs and extra income from selling things. When you break it down day by day, it seems crazy. But this wasn't a normal week for me. When the kids are off you end up spending much more money. I hope people realise that there are ways to still enjoy your life without having to fork out loads. Promotions, vouchers and apps can bring the price down. When you're doing it everyday it really adds up. As told to Yazmina Garcia. Design by Jenny Law. Would you like to share your weekly spending with BBC News? If you're living in the UK, email [email protected].

The campaign group says the bilingual tradition must be protected and respected More than 50 businesses in the Bannau Brycheiniog national park have called for its English name to be reinstated. They have formed a campaign group and said they were considering legal action. The group argued businesses have spent decades making the area a "well-known global hotspot for tourism". The park authority, which said it would stop using the Brecon Beacons name last month, said people were "welcome to use whichever name they choose". This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Brecon Beacons National Park will now be calling itself only by its Welsh name, Bannau Brycheiniog The decision was aimed at promoting local culture and heritage, as part of a wider overhaul of how the park is managed. The new campaign group - called "Our Bannau Brycheiniog/Brecon Beacons" - is made up of range of businesses in the fields of tourism, farming, green energy, hospitality and retail. Helen Howarth says losing the English language name will hurt tourism They said they were proud of operating in a bilingual nation and believed "this tradition must be protected and respected". They said they were also seeking legal advice about whether they could mount a High Court challenge, which would argue the park's rebrand conflicts with the 1993 Welsh Language Act obliging public bodies in Wales to treat Welsh and English on an equal basis. "I firmly believe that losing our identity as the Brecon Beacons National Park will be detrimental to us all and especially tourism, hospitality and trade," said Helen Howarth, who owns a self-catering accommodation business. The group has penned an open letter to park bosses calling on them "to reinstate the bilingual Bannau Brycheiniog/ Brecon Beacons National Park name and brand". They say a number of the campaign's signatories are part of a scheme to be official ambassadors for the park and were "not even notified about the renaming and rebranding project before its launch on 17 April". Nigel Kilgallon says the name change seems like "an act of sabotage" Nigel Kilgallon, who runs a B&B in Brecon and is a town councillor, said the name change highlights the disconnect between the authority that runs the national park, and the local community. "You could call it a trademark, you could call it intellectual property, you could call it a marketing tool. All these things that it could be. But it's also the home of the people that live here. Our Brecon Beacons," he said. "And so to just change it, just seems like an act of sabotage. It's either that or it's just ill-thought out by the authority. "It's what it's always known as and that bilingualism is really at the heart of what we're trying to do here." Owen Williams, the managing director of a digital marketing agency, said he found it difficult to understand the campaigners' argument. The attention the national park had received through its decision in recent weeks had been "unreal", he claimed. "It's been a very canny marketing strategy," he said. Referring to moves in other countries such as Australia to focus on the indigenous names for iconic sites he said "tourism doesn't drop because the Ayres Rock name is minimised and Uluru brought to the fore". A spokeswoman for Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority said the organisation had "decided to prioritise the Welsh name going forwards".She added: "The park is not asking other people or organisations to prioritise the Welsh name. This is an organisational decision and applies to all the work they do. "Others are welcome to use whichever name they choose for the park."

Molly-Mae Hague, pictured this year, left the Love Island villa as a finalist in 2019 Love Island star Molly-Mae Hague has said she is stepping down from her role as creative director of fast fashion brand PrettyLittleThing after less than two years to focus on being a mum. The influencer took on the reportedly big-money role in August 2021, before giving birth earlier this year. She said while "everything is going incredibly" work-wise she wanted to commit fully to raising her daughter. The 24-year-old will continue to work as a brand ambassador for the company. Speaking on her YouTube channel, Hague - who met her partner, boxer Tommy Fury on the ITV2 dating show - said she would "forever have the most insane relationship" with her "family" at PrettyLittleThing (PLT). "I am still working with them and doing collections and edits, but I have actually decided to step down as my creative director role," she said. "Over the last few weeks, I have realised that I'm only going to get this time once with my first-born child and I'm only going to get Bambi being four months old once and I feel like I've had to rearrange my life a little bit and lose some commitments that I did have." She went to say she had "loved being the creative director of PLT more than anything", stressing that there had been "no drama" and "nothing [bad] has gone on". It was simply that this "amazing chapter" of her life had "naturally come to an end". "I am a mum now and I never really gave myself a maternity leave and I got straight back into work instantly because my work is my phone and showing my life is my work," she continued. "The last thing I would want to be is in a role that I can't fulfil right this moment." Her departure comes two months after longstanding PrettyLittleThing founder Umar Kamani left the Boohoo Group brand, to pursue new opportunities. In 2021, Hague announced she was taking a new direction by accepting a senior job with the label. "I'm excited to be a creative director - I'm not an influencer any more and people can see that, it's become a lot more than that," she told Radio 1 Newsbeat. "I'm basically going to eat, sleep, breathe PrettyLittleThing - although I do that anyway". It was a big and controversial signing at the time, with some commentators suggesting it was unfair she had walked from the Love Island villa into a hugely influential fashion job. Hague argued she had worked hard and was passionate about the brand, one she had decided to work with despite having been offered more money to go elsewhere. She said she had turned down an offer of £2 million to work with a high street brand, simply because she did not wear their clothes. At the time she said she wanted to improve the inclusivity of the brand by creating clothes in sizes 4-30, as well as encouraging people to remove cosmetic fillers, if, like her, they had felt they'd made a mistake. "I think for me it was a journey of accepting that you don't need to get all these things done to your face, you're fine the way you are," she said. Hague was also criticised for her involvement with the company after PrettyLittleThing owner BooHoo was accused of paying garment workers in Leicester only £3.50 per hour following a 2020 investigation by The Sunday Times. The following year, BooHoo said: "We recognise the risks of poor labour practices, human rights abuses and modern slavery in complex global supply chains and we are committed to establishing robust due diligence programmes and collaborating with others from the industry, authorities and NGOs to tackle poor practices and protect those people who are most vulnerable." Last year, Hague had an Instagram post banned after she failed to include any mention of it being an advert. It was the third time she had been in trouble with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). She posted a picture of her wearing a PrettyLittleThing dress, along with a link to buy it, on her story. The ASA said it was not "immediately clear" that she had a commercial interest in PLT. The brand confirmed their contract expressly stated the requirement for her to include the "£ad" disclosure in posts.

Bridlington Coastguard Rescue Team says technicians carried the "very friendly" dog back up the cliff using a rescue bag The owners of a dog which fell 160ft (49m) down a cliff on the East Yorkshire coast say it's a "miracle" she's still alive. Sandra Costin was walking Button the Cockapoo in Flamborough on Thursday morning when she disappeared through a gate. After birdwatchers spotted her running about in the cove below, a coastguard team abseiled down and rescued her. "It's unbelievable, we can't really believe it," her owner said. Mrs Costin, from Oxton in Nottinghamshire, was on holiday with husband Brian and walking Button off the lead through fields near Thornwick Bay Holiday Park at the time. "I turned my eyes away from her for a second and it was done, as easy as that," Mrs Costin said. "People started to help us, a man with binoculars looked over the edge and said, 'I can see a dog'." The coastguard was contacted on 999, with the what3words app used to give rescuers the cliff's location. Button required a back operation after the fall but is now recovering at home Mrs Costin said: "We could see her walking around and that was such a miraculous thing, we thought she'd obviously be dead at the bottom of the cliff. "We still don't know how she escaped because it's so far down, it's a miracle." Praising the team who rescued the dog, Brian Costin said: "Everything was so organised, they abseiled down and they were there in about a minute. "She got out of the [rescue] bag and I really couldn't believe she was alive." Button's owners said the dog required an operation on her back on Tuesday and was recovering at home. Owners Sandra and Brian Costin, from Oxton in Nottinghamshire, praised both the coastguard and vets for their actions Mrs Costin added: "I'll never get over not having her on a lead, but when we're in fields she likes to run around and she always comes back if you shout her." Bridlington Coastguard Rescue Team said two technicians descended the cliff and were "met by a very friendly dog". "This is an important reminder that when walking dogs on cliff top paths, ensure they are kept on a lead," a coastguard spokesperson said. "Never put yourself in danger, dial 999 and ask for the coastguard." Follow BBC East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected]. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

The blaze spread to four floors within the five-storey block of flats About 80 people were evacuated from a block of flats after a fire spread through three floors in south London. A witness reported seeing adults and children running from the five-storey building in Whitehorse Road, Croydon. Ambulance crews treated one man and one woman at the scene. Some 60 firefighters spent nearly two hours putting out the blaze, which started at 17:00 BST. London Fire Brigade said the cause was not yet known. Two flats and two balconies on the first and second floors of the building were destroyed by fire. Most of a third-floor flat and balcony were also damaged. Two people were treated at the scene by paramedics Station commander Chris Young said: "Around 80 people left the building, thankfully uninjured. "Road closures are expected to be in place for a number of hours this evening and we're urging people to avoid the local area." The fire caused traffic queues in the area Witness Allan Brown, 44, who lives and works in Croydon, said: "From where I was standing, which was quite close at one point, many residents, including children, could be seen running from the building's lower floor, with some residents trying to get back into the building. "This was before the fire department arrived with the first two engines. There were residents leaving the building and trying to get back into it, but the blaze was very high. "We had to clear the area due [to] the smoke that filled the area." The LFB sent eight engines to the scene, with police and ambulance crews also responding. The brigade said it received more than 40 calls about the fire, with crews from Croydon, Woodside, Wallington and surrounding fire stations deployed to the scene. An LAS spokesperson said it sent an ambulance crew, an incident response officer and members of our Hazardous Area Response Team in response. Follow BBC London on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

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.

The governor of the Bank of England has said it is "crucial that we see the job through" to slow soaring prices in a speech to the world of finance. Andrew Bailey said reducing inflation to 2% is "so important" as people "should trust that their hard-earned money maintains its value". Currently, inflation, which is the rate prices rise at, is 8.7% - more than four times the Bank's target of 2%. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said government would work to cut inflation. "We will do what is necessary for as long as necessary to tackle inflation persistence and bring it back to the 2% target," Mr Hunt said at the start of his first Mansion House speech as chancellor. About 400 people from the financial and business industries attended the dinner at the 18th Century building, which is the official residence of the Lord Mayor of London. It comes at a time when businesses, as well as households, are being hit by higher costs due to inflation remaining stubbornly high in the UK. Mr Hunt suggested companies should show restraint on profit margins, adding "margin recovery benefits no-one if it feeds inflation". The Bank of England has steadily been increasing interest rates in a bid to combat inflation. Its base rate - which has a direct effect on borrowing costs for things like mortgages and credit cards, but also influences savings rates - is now 5%, up from close to zero 18 months ago. Some analysts have predicted interest rates will peak at 6.5%, but some have said they may rise to as high as 7%. The theory behind raising interest rates is that by making it more expensive for people to borrow money, and more worthwhile for people to save, people will spend less, which will in turn lead to price rises to slow. Mr Bailey said in his speech to executives at the same Mansion House event "it is crucial that we see the job through, meet our mandate to return inflation to its 2% target, and provide the environment of price stability in which the UK economy can thrive". He added that while the UK economy has failed to grow beyond its pre-pandemic level, there had been "unexpected resilience" in the face of external shocks, such as Covid and the war in Ukraine, with low levels of unemployment and avoiding a recession to date. But the Bank of England's boss highlighted that "tightness" in the labour market, with many businesses struggling to find enough workers, has contributed to price inflation being "more sticky than previously expected". "Both price and wage increases at current rates are not consistent with the inflation target," he added. The Bank of England has previously warned big pay rises are contributing to the UK's still-high rates of inflation, but there have also been accusations that some sectors have been profiteering by overcharging customers. Last week, the Competition and Markets Authority revealed supermarkets had sought to increase profits from selling fuel, increasing their margins by 6p per litre on average between 2019 and 2022. The chancellor said "delivering sound money is our number one focus", before he delivered his speech focusing on plans for pension fund reforms. Mr Hunt pledged the plans could provide a £1,000-a-year pensions boost to the typical earner who starts saving at 18. While UK pension pots are the largest in Europe, worth £2.5trn, defined contribution schemes currently invest 1% in unlisted equity, limiting returns for savers and funding for businesses, the Treasury has claimed. The chancellor revealed an agreement with leading pensions firms to put 5% of their investments into early-stage businesses in the fintech, life sciences, biotech and clean technology sectors by 2030. The so-called "Mansion House Compact" has been backed by Aviva, Scottish Widows, Legal & General, Aegon, Phoenix, NEST, Mercer, M&G and Smart Pension. Ahead of the event, Mansion House organisers said talks had taken place about security at the venue over concerns of protests. A source told the BBC the event was not disrupted.

On the night a dozen of Donald Trump's Republican rivals spoke at the same event in Iowa, only one challenged the former president head on - and he was roundly booed. It highlights the grip Mr Trump still has on his party. Someone backstage at the Lincoln Dinner clearly had a mischievous sense of humour. As each of the candidates hoping to become the Republican Party's presidential nominee for 2024 walked out to speak they were accompanied by a blast of music: a clip of the country song Only In America. When it was Mr Trump's turn, two lyrics, describing two alternative paths that could await someone in the US, seemed particularly poignant: One could end up going to prison One just might be president The 45th President of the United States didn't seem to mind. He doesn't try to hide from the fact that he is already facing two criminal trials and may soon be indicted in two more cases. In fact, he wears these charges as a badge of pride. Mr Trump insists he is being unfairly targeted for purely political reasons. He told the crowd of 1,200 Republican supporters at this dinner in Iowa - a key state because it will hold the first election in the race for the nomination next January - that he would not have been prosecuted if he was not running for the White House again. And he would not have been prosecuted if he was not winning. Using serious criminal charges as a mark of success takes chutzpah. But that is something Mr Trump has always had in spades. And it leaves his opponents deeply confused about how to respond. Most simply chose to ignore Thursday evening's news that Mr Trump had been charged with three more counts in the classified documents investigation. In fact, they declined to take the opportunity to challenge the clear frontrunner in the contest at all. One of the lesser known contenders, Will Hurd, did take a shot. The former Texas Congressman and CIA officer claimed Donald Trump was not running to make America great again. "Donald Trump is not running for president to represent the people that voted for him in 2016 or 2020. Donald Trump is running to stay out of prison." Loud boos and rattling cutlery nearly drowned out the rest of what he had to say, with one man shouting "go home". It was clear he had lost the room. Stacey Taiber, one of many Republican voters wearing Trump stickers, told me she did not believe any of the charges against Mr Trump. If the political establishment were "trying so hard to get him out of the way they must be terrified he will beat Joe Biden", she said. This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Why Hunter Biden is important to Republicans Her husband, Dan, said it was President Biden and his son Hunter who should be facing criminal trials. He and many others in the ballroom repeated unproven allegations about Hunter's business dealings and claims of foreign influence (which the White House has dismissed but Republicans in Congress are investigating). There was no fun to be had watching the different candidates interacting with each other at the dinner. They each had their own backstage suite which they popped out of to deliver their 10-minute speech. They actually didn't have to see each other at all. Maybe there will be more fireworks when the candidates come face to face at the first Republican debate on 23 August - although Mr Trump has suggested he might skip it because he is so far ahead in the polls. Chris Sununu, the Republican governor of New Hampshire, is no fan of the former president but recently ruled himself out of running against him in 2024. He told me that for the other candidates to compete with Mr Trump it is not about what they say - because there are not significant policy differences - it is about how they perform. "They need to be exciting, bring some passion, show some emotion, and they need a bit of humour and charisma." Who voters like and who they think can win is what matters, he added, noting that it was very hard for newcomers to the national stage to compete with the name recognition and star power of a former president. Vivek Ramaswamy, the millennial entrepreneur and political novice, was one candidate who showed at Friday's dinner that he has the potential to break out from the crowded field of candidates currently polling in single digits. Vivek Ramaswamy is one of a handful of candidates to make an impression After a barnstorming performance, he got one of the few standing ovations - along with Mr Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the candidate currently sitting in second place in most surveys. Outside the venue there was a stall selling the usual badges, T-shirts and baseball caps. Thirteen candidates appeared on stage (Chris Christie was the only official contender not to attend), but only four of them had their names on the merchandise. Mr Trump, Mr DeSantis and Mr Ramaswamy, along with Tim Scott, the senator from South Carolina who has been getting a bit of attention recently. "I've been making my living doing this for a long time," the vendor told me. "I know what sells." And Republicans have always been strong believers in market forces after all. • None Who are the Republican hopefuls not named Trump?

A selection of your pictures of Scotland sent in between 28 April and 5 May. Send your photos to [email protected]. Please ensure you adhere to the BBC's rules regarding photographs that can be found here. Please also ensure you take your pictures safely and responsibly. Conditions of use: If you submit an image, you do so in accordance with the BBC's terms and conditions. Alex Mackintosh stepped back in time to the 1700s this week with a trip to the Highland Folk Museum. Lisa Stewart was at Linlithgow Loch on May Day and thought this black swan was a "striking" sight amid the white swans. Alan MacDonald was struck by a deserted A82 running east away from Glencoe towards Rannoch Moor. Iain Stark took this photo of the daffodils in Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh while visiting Scotland. Andy Smith snapped this woolly wonder while walking locally in Bearsden. Gordon Lobban stopped for a break after a bike ride on the machair in the lee of towering sand dunes on Berneray. Iain Forrest saw this thirsty red squirrel at a farm near Keith. Colin Little discovered an osprey with its catch as it headed up river at Lossiemouth. Its head had turned 180 degrees to look skyward. Colin said he had never seen this before. He said: 'Some think it was shaking water from feathers. I like to think it was on lookout for gulls trying to remove it of its flounder.' Stuart Lilley took this picture of a blue tit with nest-building material in its beak in Inverness. Sarah Thurlbeck came across this tawny owlet braving the elements after having recently 'branched out' from its cosy nest in Milton of Campsie, East Dunbartonshire. Elaine Turner was struck by the alien landscape created by these carnivorous plants in the glasshouse at the Glasgow Botanic Gardens - a planet in Star Wars perhaps? Charlie Fabb took this beautiful shot of Eilean Donan Castle while on holiday in the Highlands. David May brought a smile with this funny picture of toys on the washing line in the Black Isle. Charlie Fabb took this atmospheric picture of Edinburgh from Calton Hill. Kim Bennett saw these incredible rain clouds over the Isle of May from St Monans harbour. On a trip to Argyll, Derek Brown took this picture and said he was very lucky to spot this old puffer sail along the Crinan Canal near Cairnbaan. Scott Pryde took this shot of the beautifully preserved Arnol Blackhouse on the Isle of Lewis with its peat fire. Cate Kennedy happened to turn and look behind her during a walk and saw this 'amazing cloud formation' in Elie in Fife. Doug McKay took this picture of Aberdeen harbour taken in the "blue hour" just after sunset. Alex Mackintosh captured this crow eating a piece of meat in Kincraig, Kingussie. Pat Christie liked the bright colours of Pittenweem harbour on a recent visit to the East Neuk of Fife. This speedy image was snapped by Tony Marsh at the Tweedlove Festival triple crown racing at Glentress, near Peebles. Jacqueline Robertson enjoyed a visit to the farrier competition at Belwade Farm Stables. This wonderful picture of a starling gathering food for its young on the Water of Leith in Edinburgh came from George Kelsey. Michael Cross took this at the top of the Nevis Range, Fort William. Bikers were setting off from the launching booth on one of the elite mountain biking routes, blanketed by thick morning fog. Brian Harris was on the other end of this stare at Beltane Fire Festival on Calton Hill, Edinburgh. Stephen Scott took this picture of Glasgow Royal Infirmary from the neighbouring Necropolis. As storm clouds gathered in the distance, Robert Westerman captured this picture of his friend, Elizabeth Semple, stepping out across the sand for her walk across the bay at Dunaverty Beach, Southend, in Kintyre. Jacki Gordon, who sent us this image, said: "When your feet are too big for your body", as seems to be the case with this Greylag gosling. Sally Pendreigh took this picture of Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh from Braid Hills. Julie Izon-Williams took this photo on May Day on the cliffs at Burrowhead, Isle of Whithorn. It shows Irish documentary film-maker, Fergal O' Riordan, about to keep his appointment with the Wicker Man. The 15ft sculpture was handmade by local artist Amanda Sunderland as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations and was burned in the same spot as the original from the film. Marek Wilkojc took this photograph of his friend, Grant Wilson, at the top of Beinn Dearg Mor, reflecting on his achievement of climbing all the 222 Corbetts - mountains in Scotland between 2,500ft and 3,000ft. Rebecca McLennan said she was exceptionally lucky to see this wild badger at Aigas field centre near Inverness. Lineta Stonkute recorded this view of Tigh-na-sleubhaich which is in a glen on the last stretch of the West Highland Way - Kinlochleven to Fort William. Emily Wilson took this striking picture of Montrose Beach. Helen Drummond got to walk through a tunnel of beautiful blossoms on Edinburgh's Meadows. Brian Colston was taken by the sunset over the Ardgour peninsula and Loch Linnhe. Kathleen Humphris caught this view of the winding river and road of Glencoe from the descent of Beinn a' Chrulaiste. Victor Tregubov loved the geometry of the Exhibition Centre's pedestrian bridge in Glasgow. Please ensure that the photograph you send is your own and if you are submitting photographs of children, we must have written permission from a parent or guardian of every child featured (a grandparent, auntie or friend will not suffice). 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Habibur Masum, 25, is wanted in connection with the fatal stabbing, police said Police have launched a manhunt after a mother pushing her baby in a pram was fatally stabbed. Habibur Masum, 25, is wanted over the attack in the Westgate area of Bradford at 15:21 BST on Saturday. The 27-year-old woman, who suffered multiple stab wounds, later died in hospital. West Yorkshire Police confirmed she was with her baby at the time of the attack and told people not to approach Mr Masum. The force said he was known to the victim but have not confirmed their relationship. Mr Masum is from Oldham but believed to have links to Burnley and Chester The force also said a knife was found at the scene but it is not clear if Mr Masum is armed. He is from the Oldham area and described as Asian and of a slim build. Mr Masum has been pictured on CCTV wearing a duffle coat with three large horizontal lines of grey, white and black, light blue or grey tracksuit bottoms with a small black emblem on the left pocket and maroon trainers. A witness also reported seeing him wearing a grey hoody with the hood up after the incident on Westgate's junction with Drewton Road. Police searching the scene, at Westgate's junction with Drewton Road. Det Ch Insp Stacey Atkinson said: "We have had significant resources following up a number of lines of inquiry to locate Habibur Masum but at this time his whereabouts are unknown. "I would urge anyone who does see him not to approach him but to call 999 immediately." He is also believed to have links to the Burnley and Chester areas. Det Ch Insp Atkinson said the death of a young woman in "such shocking circumstances" has caused "considerable concern" in the community, adding that residents could expect to see more police officers in Bradford. Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

When the BBC's director general, Tim Davie, took over in 2020, he declared his founding principle to be "impartiality". Three years later, a row over that principle and how it applies across the corporation has created a crisis that has quite clearly caught managers by surprise. Familiar, fixed points in the weekly TV schedule unexpectedly falling off air in quick succession is proof of a crisis that has become something much bigger than a row about some tweets. The Gary Lineker issue is more than an argument about the opinions of a highly paid sports presenter - it is a test of the BBC's fundamental values and the current director general's core mission. The passions provoked by Lineker's political tweets and the decision to keep him off air until he and the BBC resolve this issue has poured petrol on a fire that was already well alight - the debate about the BBC's role in British politics and perceptions of bias both to the left and the right. But first, let's look at the immediate issue. It's worth noting that complaints about Lineker's politically charged tweets are not new. In 2016 and 2018 the BBC defended comments made by the Match of the Day presenter about child migrants and Brexit by saying he was a freelance presenter, it was a private Twitter account and the stringent rules for journalists did not apply equally to sports presenters. The guidelines at the time said the risk to compromising the BBC's impartiality "is lower where an individual is expressing views publicly on an unrelated area, for example, a sports or science presenter expressing views on politics or the arts". Since then rules have been tightened. New guidelines on social media demanded an "extra responsibility" for presenters with a "high profile". Some described the new rule as the "Lineker clause". This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: BBC boss Tim Davie asked if he bowed to government pressure The question is whether that rule is being fairly applied. Twitter is awash with examples of what some people think are presenters who have gone too far over recent years. Names frequently raised include Alan Sugar, Chris Packham and Andrew Neil. In response, Mr Davie said on Saturday evening that he was in "listening mode" and suggested there might be an escape route by re-examining those guidelines. There is good reason for him to want to bring this to a conclusion. Impartiality is hugely important but so too is providing a service that people pay for through their licence fee. This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. WATCH: How the Match of the Day row played out on Saturday... in 60 seconds Match of the Day went ahead on BBC One on Saturday night - but was reduced to a 20-minute edition that did not have a presenter, pundits or any commentary - while other football coverage was dropped. Every cancelled programme is a source of further complaint from licence payers who may not care what Lineker says on Twitter but care deeply about their favourite programmes staying on air on a Saturday night. There is also the wider context of a government that has in recent years been critical of the BBC and its perceived liberal bias. Greg Dyke, a former director general, who left the BBC over a clash with the Labour Government in 2004, says the decision to pull Gary Lineker from Match of the Day looks like a corporation bowing to political pressure from a Tory government. All of which leads to another issue that asks questions of the BBC's impartiality, the BBC's chairman, Richard Sharp, a former donor to the Conservative party who is the subject of an ongoing inquiry looking in to his appointment and what he did or did not disclose about his part in the arrangement of an £800,000 loan guarantee to the former prime minister, Boris Johnson. He has denied any involvement in arranging the loan. Lineker has become a lightning rod for a much bigger debate and the BBC would like to resolve the issue as quickly as possible to stop a very public row turning into a monumental crisis. However, with the corporation saying it wants Lineker, with his 8.7 million Twitter followers, to stop the political tweets while he shows no sign of agreeing to be silenced, it's hard to see quite how this will resolve itself. For the BBC this is about impartiality but to many others it is about free speech. Indeed, there is a statue outside the BBC's headquarters in London of the author of 1984, George Orwell, a former BBC talks producer. Inscribed on the wall behind the Orwell statue are these words: "If liberty means anything at all it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear." Eighty years after Orwell left the BBC, the corporation finds itself in a deepening crisis. That thought from Orwell and the questions it raises for the BBC are at the very heart of the Lineker debate.

Israel's military said the strike on World Central Kitchen's convoy was a "grave mistake" and vowed to protect aid workers Many Palestinians in the Gaza Strip will be wondering how they are going to feed their families after World Central Kitchen (WCK) paused its operations in response to the killing of seven of its aid workers in an Israeli air strike. Another US charity it works with, Anera, has also suspended work because of the escalating risks faced by its local staff and their families. Together, they were serving two million meals a week across the Palestinian territory, where the UN has warned that an estimated 1.1 million people - half the population - are facing catastrophic hunger because of Israeli restrictions on aid deliveries, the ongoing hostilities and the breakdown of order. WCK's decision to pause its work also led to the "freezing" of a maritime aid corridor from Cyprus, which the charity helped set up last month to increase the trickle of aid getting into the north of Gaza and avert a looming famine. The WCK convoy was hit on Monday night as it travelled south along the Israeli-designated coastal aid route, just after they had unloaded more than 100 tonnes of food from a barge at a warehouse in Deir al-Balah. That barge was part of a four-vessel flotilla that sailed back to Cyprus with 240 tonnes of supplies that could not be brought ashore in the wake of the strike. The Norwegian Refugee Council warned that "what happened to World Central Kitchen threatens the entire aid system" and had left it "on the brink". Before the strike, World Central Kitchen was providing about 350,000 meals across Gaza each day WCK accused the Israeli military of a "targeted attack" on vehicles clearly marked with the charity's logo and whose movements had been co-ordinated with Israeli authorities. The victims were British, Polish, Australian and Palestinian, and also included a dual US-Canadian citizen. The military's chief of staff, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, described the strike as a "grave mistake" that had followed "misidentification at night". He also vowed to take "immediate action" to ensure that more was done to protect aid workers, including the immediate establishment of a new "humanitarian command centre" to improve co-ordination. "Israel is at war with Hamas, not with the people of Gaza," he stressed. However, aid groups say they are not sure such promises will lead to meaningful changes. They also assert that this was not an isolated incident, with 196 Palestinian aid workers reportedly killed since the war began in October. Jan Egeland, the secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council and a former UN humanitarian chief, told the BBC that WCK was "among those who have the closest co-operation with the Israelis", in terms of sharing information about their workers' locations and planned movements. Before the strike, WCK was playing an increasingly prominent and important role in Gaza, with 400 Palestinian staff and 3,000 people working indirectly for it in its 68 community kitchens and distribution system. WCK has provided 12% of the 193,000 tonnes of aid from international organisations that had reached Gaza since October, according to data from Cogat, the Israeli defence ministry body tasked with co-ordinating deliveries. However, UN agencies were responsible for 80% of the total. WCK's founder, the chef José Andrés, told Reuters news agency on Wednesday that it was "analysing the situation and how to keep doing the work we do". Anera - which was providing 150,000 meals a day in collaboration with WCK - said it understood the consequences pausing its own work would have on Palestinians, but that its Palestinian staff had for the first time deemed the risk to their safety and that of their families "intolerable". It said the charity's logistics co-ordinator and his son had been killed in an Israeli air strike in Deir al-Balah in March, despite the fact that the co-ordinates of the shelter where they were staying had been provided to the Israeli military. "We've asked for explanation as to why that site was struck and we've received none," Derek Madsen of Anera told the BBC. "These sites are known and so I think it is very difficult for us to understand how these strikes happen." Project Hope, another US-based organisation, paused its work for three days in solidarity with WCK and to "reassess the security situation as we prioritise our staff members' safety". Arlan Fuller, director of emergency preparedness and response, said in a statement sent to the BBC that its employees were deeply concerned by the deaths of the WCK team, and that the strike has raised significant doubts about the effectiveness of co-ordination with the Israeli military. For the people of Gaza, the suspension of WCK's operations "means more famine, more dead children, more epidemic disease because people are so malnourished", Mr Egeland warned. At least 27 children are reported to have died as a result of malnutrition since October, according to the World Health Organization. Mr Egeland urged Israel to start by opening the Karni and Erez border crossings with northern Gaza to allow aid convoys to drive there directly. Most aid convoys are currently forced to start at the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom and Egyptian-controlled Rafah crossings with the south of Gaza and then pass through what the UN calls "high-risk areas", mainly due to shooting and shelling or the breakdown in civil order. Cogat says Israeli forces have co-ordinated the entry of more than 500 lorries into the north over the past two months via those routes as well as a new gate and military road that runs south of Gaza City. Israel has also facilitated the now-suspended maritime corridor set up by WCK as well as airdrops of aid by Western and Arab countries. The UN says both are helpful but cannot replace the large-scale delivery of aid by land. The first WCK aid ship was carrying 200 tonnes of aid and took several days to reach Gaza. By comparison, a lorry can carry about 20 tonnes and the nearest Israeli container port is only a 40km drive from northern Gaza. A C-130 transport plane meanwhile has a maximum payload of 21 tonnes, but only about 40 airdrops have taken place so far and they are considered expensive, ineffective and dangerous for people on the ground. The UN says 159 lorry loads of aid crossed into Gaza by land each day on average between 1 and 28 March, and that the pre-war average was 500 lorry loads, including fuel. Cogat says the pre-war average only included 70 food lorries and that 140 entered each day during March. It insists there is no limit to the amount of food and other humanitarian aid that can enter Gaza and accuses UN agencies of failing to distribute aid effectively. The Open Arms. a Spanish charity vessel, returned to Cyprus on Wednesday after the maritime aid route was suspended There was no apparent drop-off in aid crossing into Gaza following the strike on the WCK convoy, with 217 lorries transferred via Israel and Egypt on Wednesday and 179 food packages being airdropped, according to Cogat. But Nate Mook, who was chief executive of WCK until 2022, warned that the longer-term consequences could be "devastating" for Gazans because "we probably have not seen the last of the aid organisations to pull out". Zawar Ali of International Medical Corps told the BBC that it was reconsidering its safety protocols and whether to restrict its workers' movements. It had already decided to relocate its field hospital from the north of Rafah to al-Mawasi, an area to the west which the Israeli military has declared "humanitarian zone" but has still carried out strikes on what it says are Hamas targets. Dr Bashar Murad, the executive director of the Palestinian Red Crescent, said many of its paramedics were refusing to evacuate wounded and sick people from the north to the south in their ambulances due to the lack of safety guarantees, despite their protection under international law and co-ordination efforts by international organisations. Aseel Baidoun of Medical Aid for Palestinians said it had not suspended operations after a strike in January damaged a residential compound in al-Mawasi that housed the British charity's local team and their families, injuring several people. But now, she added: "We really are scared of the security [situation]." "If a foreigner with international immunity is bombed and killed, then what will they do to us?" Mohammed Aborjela, a Palestinian online content creator who launched the Youth of Gaza initiative to deliver aid after the war began, told BBC. He said Palestinian aid workers faced higher risks and greater challenges than their international colleagues, but insisted it would not stop him and his colleagues continuing their work. "The danger of not providing aid is no less important than the danger of being killed," he added. Natalia Anguera of Action Against Hunger also said it would try to continue working despite "more and more challenging" conditions. "Most of our staff are... Palestinians. They are suffering themselves, but they also have a very strong and clear commitment to their humanitarian mandate. They want to go on delivering," she told the BBC. She said the international community needed to push strongly for a humanitarian ceasefire because it was the only way that aid organisations would be able to scale up their response to the level required. Mr Egeland also stressed the importance of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), which he said was "bigger than the rest of us combined" but was being "systematically undermined by Israel". Israel accuses UNRWA of supporting Hamas, which triggered the war when its gunmen attacked southern Israel on 7 October last year. The agency has denied this, but in January it sacked nine of the 12 employees accused in an Israeli document of playing a part in the attacks. UNRWA called for a "complete reversal in policies" from Israel in response to Monday's strike, including lifting the ban on it delivering aid to northern Gaza.

The victim was found outside a house in Brentwick Gardens on Wednesday morning Police say 10 people have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man was fatally stabbed in London. Officers said the man was found in the street with serious injuries in Brentwick Gardens, Brentford, at 05:15 BST and died at the scene. It came after the force was alerted to reports of intruders at an address in the same street. Seven men and three women were subsequently detained and remain in custody. Det Supt Figo Forouzan, from Met Police, said: "This is a truly shocking incident that will understandably cause the community concerns. "I want to reassure the Hounslow residents that we have commenced a thorough investigation with the support of our homicide investigation team to ensure those responsible are brought to justice." The force has appealed for witnesses or anyone with information to come forward.

This is the fourth time in as many months that the prime minister has met President Biden. I have been in tow each time, and it's been fascinating to get a glimpse of their growing relationship. And quite some growing it's had to do. When Rishi Sunak became prime minister, President Biden, in congratulating him, managed to call him Rashee Sanook. Not long after that, Mr Sunak acknowledged to me that the UK's reputation had "taken a bit of a knock," courtesy of the rolling political chaos of much of 2022. Core to his brand as prime minister is attempting to personify the opposite: hoping to be seen as dependable, believable, credible, trustworthy. Little wonder, then, he ducked a question on the way here about what he made of Prince Harry's remarks that the UK is judged globally by the state of the press and the government - both of which the prince reckons are at "rock bottom." But, having tried to prove he can be the gentle jazz of politics rather than the heavy metal that came before, the challenge for Rishi Sunak now is delivery, and quickly, with a general election expected next year. Ukraine will be a recurring theme on this trip. Mr Sunak has told us the UK is looking into who was to blame for the destruction of the huge dam there. He said it was too soon to make "a definitive judgement." But, he added, if it was intentional, it would represent "the largest attack on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine since the start of the war." The UK and US's ongoing support for Kyiv will be central to the discussions between the leaders at the White House on Thursday. Rishi Sunak and Joe Biden met in Japan, last month Also on the agenda, the regulation of artificial intelligence and economic cooperation. On AI, the prime minister is expected to make the case that the UK can be a global leader on its development and regulation. And on the economy, Rishi Sunak has said he will "continue discussing" America's Inflation Reduction Act - which has seen billions in new subsidies targeted at green industries in the US - with some fretting the UK is being left behind. You can read more about it here from my colleague Faisal Islam. The gulf between the president and the prime minister's instincts on this is wide, if not surprising: a Democratic president opting for massive state intervention, in the hope of greening his economy, reviving left behind areas and bringing manufacturing back to the US. And a Conservative prime minister not naturally drawn towards huge interventions like this - and suggesting "subsidy races," as he put it, were a "zero sum" game. But even if there is a philosophical opposition from some to what the president is doing, what are the political responses to it? Rishi Sunak said "we've created lots of jobs" in green industries and "reduced carbon faster" than comparable countries. He doesn't believe attempting the same plan as Washington would be wise. Meanwhile, Rachel Reeves - who hopes to become the UK's first ever female chancellor if Labour win the next election - was in the US capital just a few weeks ago, and openly embracing a strategy very similar to Joe Biden's. Is her plan affordable, and achievable? They are big and, as yet, unanswered questions. What is much clearer is President Biden's attempts to rewire the global economy has implications all over the place - not least on our own domestic economy - and politics.

The death of a 43-year-old man is the first in the UK to be linked to the "zombie" drug xylazine, which is prompting overdose warnings in the US. Normally used as a large-animal tranquiliser but now being found in heroin, it can cause a dangerously low heart rate and large open skin wounds. UK experts are calling it "a really concerning drug". They say drug users should be warned it is now present in the UK but there is no safe dose in humans. Karl Warburton, form Solihull, West Midlands, died in May 2022 at home and had a history of illicit drug use, according to the coroner's report. He had been referred to addiction services on a number of occasions. An examination of his body detected heroin, fentanyl and cocaine in his system, as well as xylazine. A report on his death in the Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine says he was "likely to have bought heroin and not known it was laced with xylazine and fentanyl". "To the best of our knowledge, this is the first death associated with xylazine use reported in the UK, and even Europe, and indicates the entry of xylazine into the UK drug supply," it adds. Xylazine is used by vets as a powerful sedative but it's not approved for use in humans. Known as "tranq" or "tranq dope" when cut with heroin and fentanyl by drug dealers, xylazine has been causing huge problems in the US. If injected directly into someone's bloodstream, it can cause large open skin ulcers to form. These can start to rot and lead to amputation. It also lowers breathing and heart rate to dangerously low levels, which has led to it being dubbed a "flesh-eating zombie drug". Xylazine emerged on the illicit drug market in Puerto Rico in the early 2000s and has since been found in the US, mainly in the east, and in Canada. The US government has called it "an emerging threat" because of its growing role in fatal overdoses across the country - about 7% of the total. And in some states, the drug was found in more than a quarter of overdoses. But until now, there has been no sign of xylazine in the UK. The drug was detected only because the Birmingham lab that carried out tests after the man's death noticed some strange results and identified xylaxine. "The drug is not included in standard drug screens in the UK, so we don't know how widespread the xylazine problem is," said Dr Caroline Copeland, King's College London lecturer and director of the National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths. "We need to find out how that person ended up with it in his system." Xylazine was listed on the man's death certificate as contributing to his death but there was no way of recording it in the UK drug-deaths database. The report highlights the need to monitor changes in illicit-drug markets and in emerging drugs. "There is no safe dose to use", it concludes, because there is an overlap between fatal and non-fatal doses of xylazine reported in people.

James Gallagher wired up for the heatwave experiment Sometimes it can feel like the world is on fire. Europe has been baking in a heatwave nicknamed the settimana infernale - "week of hell" - in Italy. Temperatures above 50C have been recorded in China and the US, where body bags filled with ice are being used to cool hospital patients. The UK has just had its hottest ever June. And in 2022, the UK recorded a temperature above 40C for the first time. Last year's heatwave has been blamed for 60,000 deaths across Europe. It's no wonder the United Nations has warned we now live in the era of "global boiling". "I think it's really important to realise it's no longer just something that's distant or far away from us or something in the future. We are really seeing it now," says Prof Lizzie Kendon from the Met Office. So what does the changing climate mean for our bodies and our health? I tend to collapse into a sweaty puddle when it gets hot, but I've been invited to take part in a heatwave experiment. Prof Damian Bailey from the University of South Wales wants to give me a typical heatwave encounter. So we're going to start at 21C, crank up the thermostat to 35C and then finally up to 40.3C - equivalent to the UK's hottest day. "You will be sweating and your body's physiology is going to change quite considerably," Prof Bailey warns me. Prof Bailey leads me into his environmental chamber. It's a room-sized piece of scientific equipment that can precisely control the temperature, humidity and oxygen levels inside this airtight space. I've been here once before to explore the effects of cold. But the shiny steel walls, heavy door and tiny portholes take on new meaning in anticipation of the temperature being cranked up. I feel like I'm staring out of my oven. The temperature starts at a perfectly pleasant 21C when the first instruction to "completely strip everything off" comes from Prof Bailey. In response to a raised eyebrow, I'm reassured we're going to work out how sweaty I get, by seeing how my weight changes. James getting wired up for the experiment inside the environmental chamber at the University of South Wales. Next, I'm connected to a dizzying array of gizmos tracking the temperature of my skin and my internal organs, my heart rate and blood pressure. A huge mouthpiece analyses the air I exhale and an ultrasound inspects the flow of blood to my brain through the carotid arteries in my neck. "Blood pressure is working nicely, heart rate is working nicely, all of the physiological signals at the moment are telling me that you're in spiffing shape," Prof Bailey tells me. We have one quick brain test to complete - memorising a list of 30 words - and then the fans kick in. The temperature is starting to rise. My body has one simple goal - to keep the core temperature around my heart, lungs, liver and other organs at about 37C. "The thermostat in the brain, or hypothalamus, is constantly tasting the temperature, then it sends out all of these signals to try to maintain that," says Prof Bailey. We take a pause at 35C to take some more measurements. It's warm in here now. It's not uncomfortable - I'm just relaxing in a chair - but I wouldn't want to work or exercise in this. Prof Bailey is also feeling the heat inside the chamber Some changes in my body are already clear. I look redder. Damian does too, he's stuck in here with me. That's because the blood vessels near the surface of my skin are opening up to make it easier for my warm blood to lose heat into the air. Also I'm sweating - not dripping, but positively glistening - and as the sweat evaporates, that cools me down. We then plough on to 40.3C, and now I feel like the heat is pounding me. "It's not linear, it's exponential. Five degrees centigrade [more] doesn't sound much, but it really is physiologically so much more of a challenge," Prof Bailey says. I'm glad we're not going higher. When I wipe my hand across my brow it is sodden. It's time to repeat the tests. When I chuck my sweaty clothes on the floor, towel off and climb back on the scales I'm shocked to learn I've lost more than a third of a litre's worth of water during the course of the experiment. The cost of opening up all those blood vessels near my skin to lose heat is also clear. My heart rate has increased significantly and at 40C it is pumping an extra litre of blood per minute around my body than it was at 21C. This extra strain on the heart is why there is an increase in deaths from heart attacks and strokes when temperatures soar. And as the blood heads to my skin, it's my brain that loses out. Blood flow goes down and so does my short-term memory. But my body's main goal - keeping my core temperature at around 37C - has been achieved. "Your body is working really quite nicely to try to defend that core temperature, but of course, the numbers are suggesting you weren't the same beast at 40 degrees as you were at 21 and that's in less than an hour," says Prof Bailey. In my experiment only the temperature was changed, but the other crucial factor to consider is the amount of water vapour in the air - the humidity. If you've ever been really uncomfortable on a muggy night then you can blame the humidity as it impairs our body's ability to cool down. Sweating alone isn't enough - it's only when the sweat evaporates into the air that it gives us that cooling effect. When there are high levels of water already in the air, it's harder for sweat to evaporate. Damian kept the humidity fixed at 50% (not unusual for the UK), but a team at Pennsylvania State University in the US tested a bunch of healthy young adults at different combinations of temperature and humidity. They were looking for the moment when core body temperature started to rise rapidly. "That's when it becomes dangerous. Our core temperature starts to rise and that can lead to organ failure," says researcher Rachel Cottle. And that danger point is reached at lower temperatures when the humidity is high. The concern is that heatwaves are not only becoming more frequent, longer in duration and more severe, but they're becoming more humid too, says Cottle. She points out that last year, India and Pakistan were hit by a severe heatwave with both critical temperatures and high humidity. "It's definitely a 'now' problem, not a future problem," she says. The human body is built to operate at a core temperature of about 37C degrees. We become more light-headed and prone to fainting as the core rises closer to 40C. High core temperatures damage our body's tissues, such as heart muscle and the brain. Eventually this becomes deadly. "Once the core temperature rises to around about 41-42 degrees centigrade we start to see really, really significant problems and if not treated the individual will actually die as a result, succumbing to hyperthermia," says Prof Bailey. People's ability to cope with the heat varies, but age and ill health can make us far more vulnerable, and temperatures we may have once enjoyed on holidays may be dangerous at a different stage in life. "You're going to leave the lab today with a smile on your face - all of these statistics coming are telling me that you have risen to the challenge and you've done a jolly good job," says Prof Bailey But old age, heart disease, lung disease, dementia and some medications mean the body is already working harder to keep going, and is less able to respond to the heat. "Every day it's a physiological challenge for them, now when you throw in extra spicy heat and humidity, sometimes they can't rise to that challenge," says Prof Bailey. Many of the tips for coping with the heat are obvious and well known - stay in the shade, wear loose fitting clothes, avoid alcohol, keep your house cool, don't exercise in the hottest parts of the day and stay hydrated (you saw how much I sweated in an hour). "Another tip is try not to get sunburned. A mild sunburn can knock out the ability to thermoregulate or to sweat for as long as two weeks," says Prof Bailey. But dealing with the heat is something we could all have to become used to dealing with. Without action on climate change Prof Lizzie Kendon said the hottest UK summer day could increase by 6C under a high-emission scenario: "That's a huge increase by the end of the century." Inside Health was produced by Gerry Holt and Dan Welsh. • None The new normal - why this summer has been so very hot

King Charles has delivered a speech partly in German at Bellevue Palace in Berlin during a state visit to the country, his first since becoming monarch. The monarch made several jokes and praised the ties between the UK and Germany. The King and his wife Camilla, the Queen Consort, attended a state banquet hosted by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Among those in attendance were the first lady Elke Büdenbender, as well as dignitaries from both Germany and the UK, including former Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Drone appears to be shot down in Moscow region Ukraine has launched a drone attack on Moscow, the Russian defence ministry says, forcing flights to be diverted from Vnukovo International Airport. Five drones were reportedly used in Tuesday's attack, which also targeted locations in the wider region around the capital. The defence ministry said all the drones were shot down and there were no casualties or damage. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the alleged attack. Restrictions at Vnukovo airport, one of Moscow's three international airports, have now been lifted. Flights from Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt were among those affected. According to the defence ministry, four of the drones flying in the Moscow region were shot down by air defence systems. A fifth was intercepted electronically before crashing. "An attempt by the Kyiv regime to attack a zone where civil infrastructure is located, including an airport that receives international flights, is a new terrorist act," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram. Russian state media said one of the drones crashed in the town of Kubinka, which is roughly 36km (22 miles) from Vnukovo airport in the south-west of the city. Another was reportedly shot down near the village of Valuevo, also near the airport. The BBC is trying to verify this information independently. This is not the first drone attack to target Moscow. In May, Russia's defence ministry said at least eight drones caused minor damage. It was the first time the city had been targeted by multiple drones since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and came after Moscow blamed Kyiv for a drone attack on the Kremlin. Tuesday's drone attack comes after Ukraine launched its counter-offensive against Russia. This has not yet achieved the sort of speed and momentum some had hoped for, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who previously acknowledged progress was slow. Meanwhile, the death toll from a Russian drone attack on the northern Ukrainian city of Sumy on Monday has risen to three, according to the local mayor. Several other people were injured. Sign up for our morning newsletter and get BBC News in your inbox.

Warning: This article contains details some readers may find distressing A teenager who helped jail her paternal grandfather after he sexually abused her as a small child is speaking out to "take away the shame" for survivors like her. Poppy hopes her story will change attitudes and help others. The 18-year-old has set aside her right to anonymity because she believes "if people can see a face behind something so taboo, it makes it more relatable". She describes how, as a small child, she thought the abuse she suffered was normal - and how she felt enormous relief when she eventually told her parents, aged 11. Only by talking openly, says Poppy, will others understand that abuse can happen within any family. This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Poppy says she "lost a lot of family" after helping jail her grandfather "Why should we be hidden? It is a crime, as simple as that," she says. "I am like any other person probably going through it. Survivors are very good at acting like nothing is wrong, people didn't see it in me." Poppy is speaking out as new data shows more cases of child sexual abuse are being reported to police in England and Wales than ever before. There were 105,542 sexual offences recorded against children in the year up to March. The Home Office figures have been analysed for the BBC by the Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse (CSA Centre), which studies the causes, impact and scale of abuse. The centre says greater awareness is a key reason for a 57% increase in recorded offences over six years. Child sexual abuse within a family environment accounts for nearly half the cases. That's why Poppy believes talking publicly will help children realise that someone will listen to them. It's a hot summer's day. At a busy airfield in Kent, Poppy is pulling on overalls and being helped into a parachute harness. Four days after finishing her A-levels and a week before her 18th birthday, she is about to jump out of a plane to raise money for a charity that helped her deal with the abuse that blighted her early years. Poppy believes doing her first skydive mirrors the "scary leap" you take when you tell someone about abuse. Her mother, Miranda, is there to support her. Her father, David, is working away, but she video calls him just before she climbs into the plane. They are a close family. They've had to be to survive the toughest of times. Poppy compares skydiving to taking the leap to tell someone about her abuse They believe Poppy was first abused when she was a toddler. "I thought grandparents did that to their grandchildren," says Poppy. "I thought that was quite normal." David's father, John, would help out by looking after Poppy when needed. "I knew the cues," Poppy says. When the regular children's programme she watched with him ended, then the abuse would begin. Today Poppy is eloquent and thoughtful, but as she casts her mind back to that time she falters as she searches for words. "It would always start with: 'Can you help me come and get dressed?' And I'd have to go to his bedroom. I was made to do things to him, he would then do things to me." When I say to her that she was groomed, she says yes and describes the complex relationship she had with her paternal grandfather. She says she felt so much shame and believed she was in the wrong, so wanted to protect him. At the age of five, just before going on a trip to Legoland, she tried to tell her mother about the abuse. A photo taken that day shows a little girl with long blonde plaits smiling up at her parents. If it is hard for Poppy to find the right words now, this is a reminder of how impossible it must have been at such a young age. Poppy tried to tell her parents what was happening when she was five "She started to tell us, then giggled," says Miranda. "We just didn't really realise what she was trying to tell us." Her parents thought she had seen John when he had come out of the shower. David spoke to his father. "His immediate response was - 'I might have got changed in front of her,'" says David. His father promised it wouldn't happen again. "He literally shut it down completely, but in a calm way. And I thought, OK! He is my dad!" The abuse stopped, but as Poppy grew, so did her anxiety. She describes the guilt she felt as "eating her alive". A teenager's story of survival and making a difference. By talking openly about the sexual abuse that devastated her early life, Poppy is determined to challenge the taboos that make it difficult for survivors to ask for and get help. At school, aged 10 and 11, Poppy was having lessons warning about sexual exploitation and grooming. She began to recognise what had happened to her. "I'm sat there thinking, 'I'm involved in that'," Poppy says. "That's me, that's dark. That's disgusting." The CSA Centre says an estimated one child in every 10 will have their life damaged by some form of sexual abuse by the age of 16. Then came a day when Poppy was being physically sick. Her mother suggested they go for a walk. It was then Poppy took the leap and told her about the abuse. "I just needed to keep her safe," says Poppy's mother Miranda "It was sickening," says Miranda. "She obviously saw the look on my face, and was like, 'Mum, please don't tell anybody. I don't want anything to happen to him. I love him.' She immediately said, 'It's my fault. I'm not a nice person.'" Miranda says she was "clueless" as to what to do next. "I'd never even come across anyone that had been through this. I just needed to keep her safe." Poppy had been worried about her mum's reaction, but says it was an immediate "we are going to get through this". The relief she felt was huge, because "it was now in other people's hands". They headed home, and as Miranda puts it: "Cried a lot, then it was, how do I tell David?" She phoned her husband - as he was working away. He describes his "huge mixed emotions" when he heard the news. "I had to make this call to ultimately report my father," he says. "It was incredibly tough. However, she's my daughter, and she comes first." The grandfather never admitted what he had done - says child protection officer Det Con Deniz Aslan Poppy was then interviewed by Det Con Deniz Aslan, from Kent Police's child protection team, along with a social worker. Det Con Aslan remembers the 11-year-old being very anxious. This was the first time she had explained to anyone exactly what her grandfather had done. "Any sexual abuse of a child is serious," DC Aslan says. "But the rape of an under 13-year-old, I don't think you get more serious than that." She says the grandfather never admitted what he had done. Miranda's voice breaks as she describes being told by the police the details of what had happened. "She was being raped by him. And she felt responsible for it. No child should feel responsible for that," she says. "Poppy would never give us the full detail of what he'd done. She was trying to protect us." For David, there was the distress of knowing his father was the abuser. "He was abusing our daughter, and then five minutes later, he was having a cup of tea with us. So I felt, who is this man? "But then equally, as a child, I had many happy memories. There was a real conflict going on in my mind." Poppy's parents sold their business and moved house to keep her safe It took 18 months for the case against the grandfather, John, to reach trial. Across England and Wales, only 12% of reported offences result in charges - according to the CSA Centre - and it typically takes nearly two years for those to get to court. Poppy's recorded interview was played, then she was cross-examined. She had just turned 13. "I was so desperate to fight my own corner," she says. "In some ways, there was a good amount of anger behind me, so telling my side of the story was incredibly important." In 2018, John was found guilty on three counts, including rape, and was jailed for 13-and-a-half years. The judge described Poppy's testimony as "heart-rending" and "utterly compelling". John's defence that she had made it up at her parents' instigation was described as "quite absurd". He died in prison last year. The conviction was important for Poppy, but so was the counselling she received. She had to wait five months for that support - now, it can take much longer. At Family Matters in Kent, where Poppy went, they have more than 300 abuse survivors waiting. "When you want help, you want help now," says the charity's chief executive, Mary Trevillion - whose team spends a lot of time risk assessing people while they wait for a counsellor. She also finds many people hide what has happened to them, only asking for help when they are adults. The Home Office told us it was significantly increasing support for victims of child sexual abuse - including quadrupling money for victims' services by 2024-25. It also said it recognised that child sexual abuse was an "often-hidden" crime, and that was why the government was making it "mandatory for those who work with young people to report any suspicions that a child is being sexually abused or exploited". The small plane climbs high into the cloudless sky. Poppy is doing the skydive to raise money for a helpline that supports abuse survivors while they wait to see a counsellor. So far, she has raised more than £70,000. Poppy and her instructor shuffle to the edge of the plane's open door - the patchwork fields of Kent spreads out beneath them. Poppy says her life now is "incredible" Minutes later, Poppy is on the ground - safe and laughing. "You've got that initial panic," she says, "but then it's just that relief to jump out - you are in it now, you've got to do it." Thinking back to the 11-year-old who found the courage to tell her mother about the abuse, Poppy says "I'd give her a massive hug. Without her strength, I don't think I'd be here today and the life I have now is incredible." Her message to others who are struggling with abuse is "take that jump" - tell someone. "I can't promise you will be believed by everyone," she says. "But I can promise there is someone who will believe you, and there is a way through this." If you are affected by any of the issues in this article you can find details of organisations that can help via the BBC Action line.

Tyler McDermott was found with a gunshot injury on Norman Road Two men have been arrested after a teenager died in a shooting in north London. Tyler McDermott, 17, was found by the emergency services on Norman Road in Tottenham at about 04:20 BST on Thursday and died on Friday . The Met said two 19-year-olds have been arrested on suspicion of murder and remain in custody. The detective leading the investigation appealed to a group of people at the scene at the time to come forward. Det Ch Insp Neil John said: "There is still significant work to do to identify those involved in Tyler's murder. "There were a large number of people in the area at the time of Tyler's murder and I am reiterating my appeal to anyone who was there, or who has information about this incident, to contact police immediately." The Met added Tyler's family continue to be supported by specialist officers and a post-mortem examination is scheduled to take place on Sunday. Follow BBC London on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Melody Thornton could not finish I Will Always Love You as some people were loudly singing Singer Melody Thornton has apologised after rowdy audience members halted a performance of The Bodyguard musical. The ex-Pussycat Dolls star was unable to complete the show's final song due to the disruption at Manchester's Palace Theatre on Friday. Speaking on Instagram, Thornton said she "fought really hard" to finish the show, but it had not been possible. The theatre said two audience members who refused to sit down and stop singing were removed by security staff. The theatre had previously asked people not to sing along to the stage adaptation of the 1992 film, which stars Thornton and former Emmerdale and Hollyoaks actor Ayden Callaghan in the roles made famous by Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner. A representative said staff were "disappointed that the last 10 minutes of the show needed to be cancelled due to disruptive customers refusing to stay seated and spoiling the performance for others". They praised the work of the venue's security for "dealing with these difficult circumstances in a professional and calm way" and thanked Greater Manchester Police (GMP) "for their assistance". The force confirmed officers had attended after two people were removed by security staff. Audience member Karl Bradley told BBC Radio Manchester that some spectators in the higher tier had started a countdown ahead of the finale, which features the classic song I Will Always Love You. He said they "started to project themselves" by singing along and attempted to hit the song's high notes, but could not "and that's when the chaos began". He said Thornton's microphone was cut, though the star kept singing, but "eventually the lights cut off as the drama unfolded". He added that there were "audible gasps" from other audience members and people were "all stood up, looking up". This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by Ayden Callaghan This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Speaking on Instagram, Thornton said she was "just very, very sorry that we couldn't finish the show". "I fought really hard, it feels awful," she said. "I respect that you paid your money and I am so grateful to everyone who respects the people on stage who want to give you a beautiful show." Callaghan tweeted that a "few badly behaved individuals ruined it". He said there had been "disgusting behaviour" and though the cast "wanted to carry on", they were unable to because "it had become a major incident". He added that he was "really sorry to what was 99.9% a brilliant audience". GMP said two people were removed by security staff and spoken to by officers at the theatre. It said "a decision about any further action will be made once the evidence has been reviewed". The theatre's representative said future performances would "continue as planned". "We ask that customers are considerate towards the cast, fellow audience members and theatre team so that everyone can enjoy the wonderful entertainment on stage," they added. Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to [email protected] The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Flowers are left on the pavement to remember the children shot dead in class in Belgrade There is an awful silence hanging over the steep hill on which Vladislav Ribnikar elementary school sits. On Wednesday, a 13-year-old entered the school, armed with two guns and a "kill list" - and shot dead eight fellow students and a security guard. Six other children remain in hospital. The school is at the heart of this central Belgrade community, where streams of mourners are arriving, bearing flowers and soft toys. Exactly 24 hours after the worst school shooting in Serbian history, pupils from the next-door college stand along the street to stand in silence and remember those killed. "I am crushed," says final-year school student Alex Oborina, 19, beside some of the handwritten notes left on the pavement. "We have failed as a society because this is something that should not happen to a 13-year-old. He should not be grabbing a gun and going into his school and shooting his friends." Alex seems to echo the sentiment everyone here feels. "This is probably the worst thing that has ever happened in my life. We need to use this as a stepping stone to rebuild. " Alex Oborina believes the children's parents will never have justice for what happened I ask if the suspect's age of 13 will make it even harder for Serbian society to come to terms with this attack because he is too young to face prosecution. "Whatever happened, even if he had been 18 or 19, justice would never have been served for those parents who lost their children." The boy was arrested by police immediately after the shooting. His father who legally owned both guns was also detained, as was his mother. His lawyer, Irina Borovic, says he has been interviewed by doctors and has now been taken to a Belgrade neurology and psychiatry clinic for children and youth. The motive for the attack remains unclear. But of the victims, seven of the eight who were killed were girls. Further down the hill, candle wax oozes down on to the stems of white lilies resting against a thin tree. An elderly woman makes the sign of the cross before slowly kneeling down and placing a single flower. Above her, a teddy bear is attached to the fencing of the football pitch, near the empty goal. During the afternoon, a large crowd gathers outside the school. Most are pupils from elsewhere in Belgrade who have come here to pay their respects. Thousands of people, mainly pupils from other Belgrade schools, converged on the school Mother-of-two Sanja Bastic has travelled here with teachers from her own children's school as a sign of solidarity. She begins to weep as she explains how her 10-year-old son asked her husband last night what would happen if a shooting happened to them next. "My son asked, 'how would you feel if you were having to wait outside the school and I didn't come out?' "The kids are sometimes smarter than we are and notice things we don't." Sanja believes her country has to look wider than the actions of just one teenager. "It's not the kid's fault. It's our fault. This is a combination of things that are happening here. We are a great country with good people and we're welcoming but we have problems here that we need to solve drastically." Violence both online and in real life have to be addressed urgently, she adds. "I'm afraid this may be the beginning. We just need to stop it. We have now realised that in our country something like this can happen, and we need to take care of our kids." A teddy bear is a painful reminder that most of the victims of the shooting were children A short distance from the school, at the Ministry of Education, the woman responsible for preventing violence in classrooms in Serbia tells the BBC that nothing in the suspect's school records showed any sign that he might be capable of such devastating violence. "Official information we have about this particular case tell us that nothing suggested something like this will happen," says Milja Krivokuca. "The most important thing for us to do now is to support everyone, stabilise the situation and then we will go back and look retrospectively to see if something could have been done differently." At least two unions representing teachers say their members will go on strike tomorrow, demanding better protection for staff and pupils. President Aleksandar Vucic has suggested the age of criminal liability may be lowered from 14 to 12 in the wake of the killings. Ms Krivokuca agrees: "It is my opinion that it would be desirable to lower the age for criminal responsibility because of one important reason: It is necessary to secure maximum protection [for schools]". Serbia should also compare its legislation with neighbours in Europe and further afield, she believes. "We might need to see what other countries are doing where legal responsibility starts at 12, and sometimes 10 years old."

Melody Powell has her heart set on a post-pandemic trip to New York Major airlines are charging some disabled passengers double to fly from the UK, the BBC has found. Nearly 30 carriers contacted by the BBC said passengers with mobility problems must purchase a full-price ticket for a personal care assistant (PA). This is despite Civil Aviation Authority guidance on EU law, maintained by the UK post-Brexit, urging airlines to subsidise the cost. Disabled people with mobility issues say the situation is discriminatory. Melody Powell has been saving up to visit friends in New York who kept her company online during years of Covid shielding, but says the extra cost makes flying impossibly expensive. Melody, 25, uses a wheelchair and needs to fly with a PA to help her reach the toilet and get off the plane. She now has enough money to pay for her own fare - almost £600 - but is still a long way from being able to afford another full-price ticket. "Seeing how much it will cost me to fly because I'm disabled is quite scary," she says. LISTEN: You can hear more about airline charging on the BBC Access All podcast. Richard Amm is unable to visit his family in South Africa during the festive season or at short notice, when PA tickets can cost £1,500. When his 77-year-old mother broke three ribs recently, flying over was too costly. "I would love to visit my mum," Richard says. "But facing double the cost, it just isn't really feasible for me to go." Richard says the cost of a PA ticket means he is unable to visit his family in South Africa at Christmas The 40-year-old uses a wheelchair and has trouble lifting his arms, so needs help on long flights. He feels the current situation is "totally discriminatory" and makes it even harder for disabled people to manage the already high costs of living. "Most of us are too poor to even afford a ticket for ourselves," Richard says. According to disability charity Scope the average additional monthly cost of being disabled is about £600 - because of the higher cost of specialist equipment and higher usage of essentials like energy. But the employment rate for disabled people is 54%, compared to 82% for non-disabled people. BBC News contacted more than 100 airlines, including all that fly from Heathrow, to find out how many insist on a PA and whether they offer a discount. British Airways told the BBC that it provided discounted PA fares on direct flights to Brazil and US, but refused to specify by how much. US law allows for subsidised tickets, but only if the airline believes a PA is necessary for safety reasons and the individual does not. But in reality, the BBC has been told, this excludes the majority of disabled passengers as it is extremely rare for the clause to be activated - as most people who are told they need a PA already accept that they do. Being told by airlines to travel with, and pay for, a PA is a common frustration for disabled passengers, says Josh Wintersgill, a wheelchair user and entrepreneur who is trying to improve aviation accessibility. "With many not requiring companions, being forced to travel with someone feels very undermining and incurs additional costs. This is significantly unfair and borderline discriminatory," he says. He says there is a need for "drastic international collaboration" to improve "outdated and ineffective regulations and guidelines". European aviation regulations, maintained by the UK post-Brexit, explicitly advise airlines to offer discounts for passengers who require an escort, but they are advisory only, and cannot be enforced. The CAA, which regulates UK aviation policy set by the Department of Transport, also recommends free or discounted PA tickets, but again lacks the power to impose them. The CAA's chief, Anne Bowles, told the BBC that while there was no legal requirement for airlines to offer free or discounted seats to an accompanying person, "our view is that it is best practice for airlines to do so". Adopting these recommendations would bring the aviation sector in line with travelcard schemes across the UK that provide free or discounted travel to disabled people - and sometimes their carers - on buses, trains and taxis. Similar PA concessions also apply at ticketed events. Melody is frustrated that there is no obligation for airlines to offer discounted fares. "When it comes to any sort of legislation that's meant to help disabled people, it's never a legally binding thing," she says. "It's always 'a suggestion' that people conveniently forget exists." Airlines and airports are required to provide disabled passengers with assistance to the plane free of charge, including help to board and disembark the aircraft, in line with anti-discrimination commitments. However, during the flight itself, airline staff are not expected to help disabled passengers access the toilet or evacuate the aircraft. This is because airlines are not considered service providers under the UK Equality Act, leaving few legal options to challenge disability discrimination in air travel. Airlines are only required to follow the Montreal Convention, a set of rules which limit responsibility to personal injury or loss and damage of baggage. Campaigner Chris Wood said more legislation was needed because the current advice was just "guidance, not the law". What the rules should be and what we want are "two different things", he told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme, suggesting that airlines should show "a little bit of empathy". The founder of Flying Disabled added that some airlines are "great", but they all "need guidance". Airlines and airports are required to help disabled passengers on and off planes free of charge Last year the government conducted an aviation consultation that addressed accessibility for disabled passengers but, like its aviation passenger charter, it did not specifically address additional ticket costs for PAs. When asked by the BBC over the widespread failure of airlines to adopt recommendations to subsidise PA fares, the Department for Transport said it was "committed to ensuring" accessible air travel but did not address the additional ticket charges. Enforcing global disability rights in air travel is a challenge because there is no collective means of imposing obligations internationally. For example, when a 2019 lawsuit in Canada found that requiring obese passengers and those with a disability to purchase two seats was discriminatory, the country's airlines began to subsidise PA tickets - but for domestic flights only. Legal experts have told the BBC that the most probable path for change is for a bloc of countries, such as the EU, to impose a member-wide standard that might then become a global norm. Post-Brexit, the UK's position would require its own unique commitments. A host of failings have been highlighted by the disabled community in recent years. These include being left on planes or at terminals for a long time when waiting for assistance, difficulties accessing the toilet and wheelchairs being lost or damaged. Rather than face the additional costs and challenges of flying as a disabled passenger, many avoid it. Ben Iles, 44, likes to travel but has flown just twice in the past 20 years, having had bad experiences getting on and off planes - he now prefers to use a van that is adapted to his wheelchair. "I have everything I need," he says. But there are some signs of progress for disabled and less mobile travellers - the Department for Transport said last month that it planned to give the CAA the power to fine airlines for breaching consumer laws. This includes removing the reimbursement cap for damaged wheelchairs, which are currently treated like regular luggage and valued by weight, not price. The CAA has also suggested a ranking to provide transparency about the disability performance of different airlines. In response to the BBC's findings, Airlines UK, the industry trade body, said its airlines held a "proven track record" of constructive engagement on disability issues and would continue to be supportive of any initiative that improved quality and access to air travel. Do you have a similar story to the passengers in this article? You can share your experiences by emailing [email protected]. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways: If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at [email protected]. Please include your name, age and location with any submission.

Edwards, who joined the BBC in 1984, is one of the UK's most high-profile broadcasters BBC News presenter Huw Edwards, who has been named as the presenter at the centre of an explicit photo row, is one of the UK's most high-profile broadcasters. He has been the BBC's choice to front coverage of major national events, a reflection of how well-regarded he is by the corporation. Trusted by viewers, he has over decades built a reputation as a reliable and calming presence on screen. Last Wednesday, on what transpired to be his last day on air for BBC News before the scandal broke, Edwards was broadcasting from Edinburgh as Scotland prepared to greet King Charles. Less than a week later, the 61-year-old's broadcasting career is under serious pressure, after his wife issued a statement naming him as the BBC presenter facing a series of damaging allegations. He joined BBC News as a trainee in 1984 and he eventually secured a job as political reporter for BBC Wales. Just two years later, he became BBC Wales's parliamentary correspondent. By the early 1990s he was the BBC's chief political correspondent at Westminster. He became a regular face on the BBC News channel, then called BBC News 24, after it launched in 1997. Edwards became one of the main anchors on the Six O'Clock News in 1999 In its early days, the channel was plagued by technical difficulties, but Edwards' confident and level-headed performance in challenging circumstances was said to have impressed BBC bosses. Around the same time, Edwards was working as an occasional cover presenter on BBC One's Six O'Clock News, one of the most-viewed television news bulletins in the UK, becoming one of the programme's main anchors in 1999. Four years later, he was promoted to the Ten O'Clock News, widely seen as the BBC's flagship bulletin, and was increasingly asked to present and commentate on major national events for the BBC. They included the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (as they were known at the time) in 2011, the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh (2021), the Queen's Diamond and Platinum Jubilee (2012 and 2022) and the coronation of King Charles (2023). He was also on air when Nelson Mandela died in 2013, and co-hosted the results of the Brexit referendum in 2016. But perhaps the biggest single moment in Edwards' long presenting career came last September, when he announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II. He had started his shift early that day following rumours of the Queen's declining health, presenting rolling news coverage from 14:00 before confirming the Monarch's death to the nation that evening while wearing a black tie. He went on to front coverage of the late Queen's funeral. He was widely praised by viewers, and the coverage won Edwards and his colleagues a TRIC award, presented last month. Edwards has presented the flagship News at Ten bulletin for the last 20 years As well as major royal events, Edwards had recently become the face of the BBC's general election coverage. The Welsh broadcaster was one of the BBC's top earners. In 2017, the first year the BBC was compelled by Parliament to publish the salaries of its star presenters, it was revealed Edwards made £550,000. Following a flurry of negative headlines about the amount of money the BBC spent on top talent, and the disparity between some of its male and female stars, Edwards took a pay cut, and six years later his salary stands at £435,000. Edwards made a cameo appearance as himself in the 2012 James Bond film Skyfall, presenting a BBC News report on a fictionalised attack on the British intelligence service MI6. In an interview with BBC Radio Cymru in 2021, Edwards indicated he may not have many years left as the corporation's chief news anchor due to the demands of the role. "The nightly news business, after 20 years, that can be taxing, even though I still enjoy the job," he said. "But I don't think I'll be doing that for long… I think it's fair for the viewers to get a change." Edwards was named as the BBC presenter by his wife Vicky Flind on Wednesday In the same year, Edwards made a Welsh-language documentary about his career, during which he revealed he had suffered bouts of depression over 20 years, and had been left "bedridden" by his struggle with his mental health. But after a distinguished career at the BBC, there are now serious questions about Edwards' career. After the Sun published allegations on Friday that an unnamed BBC presenter had paid large sums of money for explicit images of an individual, there were days of speculation about who the presenter might be. Over the following days, the Sun, and later BBC News, released further allegations, keeping the story in the headlines. Finally, on Wednesday, his wife Vicky Flind confirmed Edwards' identity on his behalf, saying she was doing so "primarily out of concern for his mental well-being" and to protect their five children. "Huw is suffering from serious mental health issues," she said. "The events of the last few days have greatly worsened matters, he has suffered another serious episode and is now receiving in-patient hospital care where he'll stay for the foreseeable future." "Once well enough to do so, he intends to respond to the stories that have been published."

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Awning of one of Macron's favourite cafes in flames Protesters in Paris have attacked one of French President Emmanuel Macron's favourite restaurants, as tensions over controversial pension reforms continue. Riot police had to form a barricade around La Rotonde bistro, which was briefly set on fire. Thursday was the 11th day of unrest since January, over legislation raising the retirement age by two years, from 62 to 64. The country awaits a decision on the validity of the legislation next week. The Constitutional Council will rule on the reforms on 14 April, and has the power to strike down some or all of it. Mr Macron is currently in China to meet President Xi Jinping. The unrest, along with strike action, has caused disruption throughout France, and on Thursday demonstrations again took place across the country. Trade union leaders are hoping for a large turnout to keep up momentum ahead of the council's decision. "We haven't given up yet and we don't intend to," said public servant Davy Chretien, 50, quoted by AFP news agency in Marseille. In Paris protesters threw stones, bottles and paint at police at La Rotonde - a famous cafe frequented by figures including Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. Mr Macron and his team celebrated there following his 2017 election victory. Earlier, striking railway workers stormed the former headquarters of Credit Lyonnais bank, which now houses the BlackRock investment company and other firms. Protesters forced their way into the central Paris building that houses BlackRock, chanting and setting off fireworks France's interior ministry estimated 570,000 people took part in Thursday's strikes, although French unions claimed the number was far higher, at nearly two million. The unions have called for new strikes and protests on 13 April - a day before the ruling on the reform. Though the protests have been largely peaceful, there has been an element of violence since the government in March decided to force the legislation through the lower house of parliament - where it lacks an absolute majority - without a vote. Mr Macron has defended the move, saying the reform is a necessity.

Russia has repeatedly attacked the Ukrainian port city of Odesa in the days since it withdrew from the grain deal A short life, with its flaws, but the only diplomatic light in the darkness of Russia's invasion. It had allowed Ukraine to export its grain to the world through the Black Sea. A third less than normal, but still 33 million tonnes. However, in recent months, its health had deteriorated. Russia was accused of slowing the route with naval blockades and long inspections, and the deal finally succumbed. Last week saw Moscow's official withdrawal. Russia then launched a wave of missile strikes on ports it once promised to leave alone. EXPLAINED: What was the Ukraine grain deal? One site destroyed was a grain terminal owned by one of Ukraine's biggest producers, Kernel. Officials say more than 60,000 tonnes of grain has been destroyed in the past week. "We stopped our exports for the first two to three months of the war," explains Yevhen Osypov, Kernel's CEO. "The prices of oil and grain went up by 50%, and you can see the same happening again now." While global grain supplies seem to be stable for now, global markets saw the price of grain rise by 8% within a day of Russia pulling out - the highest daily rise since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year. Russian President Vladimir Putin now says his country "is capable of replacing the Ukrainian grain both on a commercial and free-of-charge basis, especially as we expect another record harvest this year". In an article published on the Kremlin's website ahead of this week's Russia-Africa summit, President Putin wrote that "Russia will continue its energetic efforts to provide supplies of grain, food products, fertilisers and other goods to Africa". Both Russia and Ukraine are among the world's leading grain exporters. At the weekend Russian missile strikes severely damaged Odesa's Transfiguration Cathedral, in the city's Unesco world heritage-listed historic centre The Kremlin had earlier agreed not to target port infrastructure in three locations in the region, but that diplomatic shield is no more. With damaged ports, no agreed corridor through the Black Sea and Russia controlling most of the coastline, Mr Osypov believes Ukraine's grain export capacity will drop by a further 50%. "It's a huge challenge for our farmers because they'll have to sell their products 20% below cost," says Mr Osypov, who predicts there will be fewer people in the future working less land. The death of the grain deal extends well beyond Odesa's ports. The city's mayor Gennady Trukhanov thinks Moscow just wants to show nothing will be exported without them, and he's right. "The most terrible thing is that in order to achieve their goal, they've attacked innocent people," he says. Ukraine is known as Europe's breadbasket because of the vast amount of grain it produces You're left in little doubt over the scale of Ukrainian grain production when standing 40 metres high on top of a silo in the central Poltava region. The plant we're in can hold 120,000 tonnes. It's around a third full, and while Ukraine is unable to export through the Black Sea, it will keep filling up. The site is surrounded by an endless agricultural expanse. This is a country which can't suddenly stop producing grain. It has to go somewhere - or at least that's the hope. "We feel there is a need for us to harvest as much grain as possible," says Yulia, a lab technician at Kernel, as she pours samples into a pipe. Before the birth of the grain deal, tens of millions of people from some of the world's poorest countries were at risk of starvation because of Ukraine's inability to export it. Twelve months later, that risk has returned. "The Russians probably don't understand what hunger is," says Yulia. "People are starving, there's a large supply, but they can't get it for no reason." Lab technicians like Yulia test Ukraine's grain once it has been harvested Moscow had threatened to pull out before, mainly saying there were too many restrictions on its own agricultural goods. It also wants a major bank let into a global payment system, restrictions lifted on Russian fertiliser companies, and for its ships to get full access to insurance and foreign ports. President Putin has now turned those complaints into demands. However, if they were to be met, that would require a relaxation of western sanctions, which is hard to imagine. Last July, the Kremlin had seemed keen to be "part of the solution" when it came to the food crisis that it has directly caused by invading Ukraine. Battlefield frustrations seem to have changed that stance. Despite the lack of a pulse, Turkey - one of the main brokers of the grain deal along with the United Nations - is still hopeful it can be resuscitated. The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres (left) and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan helped broker the grain deal in 2022 So, assuming the initiative is indeed dead, is there an heir apparent? An alternative solution for Ukraine to export? Road and rail has been used through neighbouring countries like Romania and Poland, but there have been times when Ukrainian grain has flooded their markets and driven down prices, to the annoyance of farmers. The River Danube has also been developed as a route through central Europe, with two million tonnes of grain making it through in the last 12 months, compared with 600,000 the year before. However both scratch the surface of what Ukraine hopes to shift, and are much more expensive logistically. During her recent visit I asked the head of US Aid, Samantha Power, whether Ukraine's status as "Europe's breadbasket" was a thing of the past. She'd just announced a package worth almost a billion dollars for Ukraine, which included agricultural modernisation. "We're doing what we can, but there's no substitute for peace," was her reply.

The stepfather of a five-year-old girl has pleaded guilty to her murder. Nadia Zofia Kalinowska died after being found injured at her family home at Fernagh Drive in Newtownabbey in December 2019. Her mother, 28 year-old Aleksandra Wahab, and the child's stepfather, 34-year-old Abdul Wahab, went on trial on Wednesday at Belfast Crown Court, accused of murder. When the case resumed on Thursday, Abdul Wahab pleaded guilty to murder. The Pakistani national also pleaded guilty to two charges of grievous bodily harm with intent 24 hours before the child's death and on other occasions between July and December that year. A minimum period, before he can be released, will be set at a future date. The trial had been told the schoolgirl was tortured and killed in her home - a place where she should have felt safe. During the opening, Crown barrister Liam McCollum detailed the injuries inflicted on Nadia. As well as suffering a skull fracture and lacerated liver which caused her death, Nadia had sustained fractures and re-fractures to her ribs, a fractured collarbone, a fractured pelvis and an injury to her bowel. Also present at Nadia's time of death were 70 surface injuries including bruising and abrasions. Nadia was rushed to hospital from her home in Newtownabbey This led the Crown to conclude that Nadia had been subjected to a campaign of physical abuse in the family home which culminated in her death. As the hearing was due to resume on Thursday, barristers for both Mr and Mrs Wahab asked that their clients be re-arraigned. At this point Abdul Wahab bowed his head and tearfully pleaded guilty to the murder. Aleksandra Wahab pleaded guilty to allowing the death of a child and allowing a child to suffer serious physical harm. These pleas were accepted by the court and the jury was discharged. She was remanded back into custody. Addressing the jury of seven men and five woman, the judge said that as both defendants had now pleaded guilty to three charges each, he directed them to return not guilty verdicts on all the remaining counts. A spokesperson for the school said: "Our school community is still in shock at this terrible tragedy. We have lost Nadia who was a much loved pupil. "Our thoughts and prayers are with those impacted at this time."

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. China "represents a challenge to the world order", the PM says. China "represents a challenge to the world order" which the UK must take seriously, Rishi Sunak has said. The prime minister told the BBC he was increasing funding for the armed forces because "the world has become more volatile" and "threats to our security have increased". Defence spending will rise by nearly £5bn over the next two years. But No 10 has given no timeframe for a longer term ambition to boost spending to 2.5% of national income. Mr Sunak was speaking in California, where he held talks with his US and Australian counterparts to agree details of a UK-US pact to supply Australia with nuclear-powered submarines. The agreement, known as the Aukus pact, was signed in 2021 as part of a joint effort to counter Chinese military power in the Indo-Pacific region. Mr Sunak said in a press conference to mark the pact that the Aukus partnership would deliver "one of the most advanced" submarines "the world has ever known", creating thousands of jobs in British shipyards. The new SSN-Aukus submarines will also be used by the UK, and will be in operation for the Royal Navy by the late 2030s under the plan. The boats will replace the UK's seven Astute-class subs. The UK's submarines will mainly be built by BAE Systems at Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, and Rolls-Royce, with the US sharing sensitive technology for the project. Australia's boats will be built in South Australia, using some components manufactured in the UK, and will be in service in the early 2040s. Mr Sunak said: "The Aukus partnership, and the submarines we are building in British shipyards, are a tangible demonstration of our commitment to global security. "This partnership was founded on the bedrock of our shared values and resolute focus on upholding stability in the Indo-Pacific and beyond." Earlier, in an interview with the BBC's Chris Mason, Mr Sunak said: "China is a country with fundamentally different values to ours and it represents a challenge to the world order. "And that's why it's right that we are alert to that and take steps to protect ourselves… stand up for our values and protect our interests." He said the government took the "challenge" posed by China seriously, adding that the UK had taken action including blocking Chinese investment in sensitive sectors like semiconductors. Pressed on whether the ambition to increase defence spending to 2.5% of national income was meaningless without a timeframe, the prime minister said the government should be judged "on our actions". As chancellor, Mr Sunak said he had overseen the largest uplift in defence spending since the end of the Cold War and the government had increased spending every year since then. "We're one of the largest spenders on defence anywhere in the world, the largest in Europe, and that will continue to remain the case," he added. However, Labour pointed out that defence spending had not hit 2.5% of GDP since it left government in 2010. The UK currently aims to spend 2% of GDP on defence each year, latest figures show. Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy described the ambition as "another hollow promise", with "no plan and no timetable". Some Tory MPs have also expressed concern about the level of investment in the armed forces. Tobias Ellwood, who is chairman of the Commons Defence Committee, said the UK was on a "peacetime budget" as the world was "sliding towards a new Cold War". While Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has publicly welcomed the extra £5bn announced by the prime minister, he had been hoping for considerably more. There had been reports - denied by Mr Wallace - that he had threatened to resign if he did not get a commitment to increase defence spending to 3% of GDP by 2030. Mr Wallace told the Commons he was "not interested" in resigning, although he added that he was worried about the increased threats facing the UK and long-term investment was needed. Hulking floating airports, aircraft carriers, dominate the shoreline on the Pacific Coast of the United States, where there is a gathering of what's known as the Aukus pact: Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom, keeping a collectively nervous eye on an increasingly muscular China. Privately, the government is stark in its assessments. Western democracies are comparatively and collectively weaker economically as China grows; Beijing can use every instrument of the state as a tool of foreign policy in a way that's impossible in an open democracy. All the data make us more concerned, not less, as one senior figure put it. The review of foreign and defence policy, which has just been published, says the UK is committed to "swift and robust action" to counter any threat to UK national interests from China. Mr Sunak was also asked whether Chinese-owned social media app TikTok should be banned on all government phones. It comes after the Sunday Times reported experts at GCHQ's National Cyber Security Centre had identified risks to sensitive information from the app and could issue advice to ministers and civil servants. The prime minister refused to comment directly but said "we take the security of devices seriously and we look also at what our allies are doing". The US government and the European Commission have already taken steps to ban TikTok on the phones of staff members. The government has set out its plans for foreign and defence policy in an new version of the so-called Integrated Review. The update was ordered by then-Prime Minister Liz Truss in September last year to take account of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The review identified Russia as "the most pressing national security and foreign policy priority in the short-to-medium term". But it also describes China under Communist Party rule as an "epoch-defining and systemic challenge... across almost every aspect of national life and government policy". It says the government will engage "constructively" with Beijing on shared priorities but where the Chinese government's actions threaten the UK's interests "we will take swift and robust action to protect them". Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, who is among the Tory MPs calling for the government to take a tougher line on China, said he was "confused" about what the government's position was. "Does that now mean that China is a threat or an epoch-defining challenge or a challenging government epoch or none of that?" he asked in the Commons. Mr Lammy said the updated review was "overdue" but welcome. "The initiative to improve understanding of China in government is vital, particularly given the Foreign Office has only been training 14 people a year to speak fluent Mandarin," he added.

Chris Heaton-Harris spoke to the media after meeting the main Stormont parties The secretary of state has hit back at accusations that he had set out a "punishment budget". He was responding to claims from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) that it was "wrong for people to punish people of Northern Ireland". The secretary of state said Stormont can repay a £300m budget overspend across two years rather than one. Repaying the 2022-23 overspend over a longer period will "provide some protection to frontline public services", he said. But he added departments still faced difficult decisions "in order to live within the funding available". Stormont officials have been planning for budget cuts of at least £500m in cash terms in this financial year - most Stormont departments will have their budgets cut in cash terms. "The purpose was not to punish anybody with this budget - it's to make sure services can continue in the absence of devolved government," said Mr Heaton-Harris. Asked what else he could offer the DUP given that its stance on re-entering Stormont has not changed, he replied: "Let's see where talks lead to." DUP Leader Jeffrey Donaldson said his party had "real concerns about the lack of allocations within the budget for pay awards". "There are major challenges here and we are concerned about the way the Northern Ireland Office is handling things," he said. "This is what the secretary of state described as a flat budget. "Of course I want to see Stormont back up and running but it needs to be on a stable foundation." He said going back to Stormont was not a "quick fix". The Department of Health, the largest department, is receiving an allocation of £7.25bn for day-to-day spending - similar to the amount it got last year. This "flat cash" funding will likely be viewed as a difficult settlement for the department, given the current high rate of inflation and outstanding pay demands. Compared with last year's budget figures the amount of money going to Education, Justice and Economy - the biggest spending departments - has been cut slightly in cash terms. Education will get £2.57bn, down from £2.64bn, Justice will get £1.12bn, down from £1.14bn, while Economy will get £772m, down from £780m. This budget could have been worse. But make no mistake, it is still likely to mean deteriorating public services for NI citizens. The blow has been softened a little by allowing last year's £300m overspend to be repaid over two years instead of one. The repayments will be drawn from any new money sent from Westminster later this year rather than being immediately chopped from departmental funds. But that will present a significant challenge to the senior civil servants currently running Stormont. There is an expectation that the UK government will eventually provide extra money to settle public sector pay disputes in England. That will automatically mean extra funding for Stormont. But that raises the prospect that the senior officials will then have to tell their workforces that they will not get a pay deal to match England because the overspend comes first. That is not a recipe for industrial peace. Read more from John here. Mr Heaton-Harris said the overspend would be cleared by using any additional in-year funding from the Treasury. Should this not cover the full amount, the outstanding balance would be paid in 2024-25 by reallocating money from previously announced Northern Ireland funding packages. It is understood that the possibility of drawing on a funding stream known as financial transactions capital (FTC) is being considered. This is a conditional form of capital funding which Stormont consistently underspends. The Treasury would have to agree that FTC could be used in this way. No new money-raising policies, such as water charges, were advanced by the Northern Ireland secretary. He repeated that lower levels of revenue generation but higher public-service provision in Northern Ireland compared to the rest of the UK was "unsustainable". New legislation to allow the UK government to explore options for increasing budget sustainability has also been introduced. It will work with the Northern Ireland Civil Service to review areas for further revenue raising. In Belfast on Wednesday people protested against budget cuts Stormont can expect more money if the UK government allocates new funding to settle public sector pay deals in England. But if that money must be used to reduce the overspend, it could be very difficult for senior officials to offer similar pay deals to public servants in Northern Ireland unless savings are found in other areas. Ulster University economist Esmond Birney said the budget presented a tough challenge for the Stormont departments. He described allowing the overspend to be paid down over two years as being the least worst option, compared to doing it immediately which "would have implied very large spending cuts in this year". On Wednesday the head of Stormont's civil service, Jayne Brady, warned that the "damage" caused by the proposed budget reductions would be unprecedented. Writing to Mr Heaton-Harris's office, she outlined her "profound concern" about senior civil servants being placed in "harmful decision-making positions" about which services should be cut. It was a rare and significant intervention, and one not typically made by senior civil servants. Retail NI Chief Executive Glyn Roberts said the budget would be "brutal for public services". He said civil servants would be put in an "incredibly difficult position when deciding on how to apply severe cuts". He called for a restored executive and a review of how Northern Ireland is financed. The secretary of state hosted round table talks with parties in Northern Ireland The Stormont political parties met Mr Heaton-Harris on Thursday afternoon about the budget. They are not in government due to the Democratic Unionist Party's (DUP) boycott of Stormont, which began in February 2022. Sinn Féin's former Finance Minister Conor Murphy said the budget would devastate public services. "The absence of an executive is really reprehensible at this stage when this is the outcome for people we represent," he said. Ulster Unionist Party leader Doug Beattie said the budget did not contain "any flexibility". "It's quite grim, if I'm really honest, but it's been put to us and it's difficult to do anything without a government up and running," he said. Alliance Party assembly member Andrew Muir described the discussions as "grim and truly bleak". He expressed concern that it would be left to civil servants to take decisions about cuts and said that was "entirely wrong". Social Democratic and Labour Party assembly member Matthew O'Toole described the meeting with Mr Heaton-Harris as concerning. He said the budget would mean "a real squeeze on public services" imposed on people in Northern Ireland that they did not deserve, ask or vote for. Permanent secretaries - top civil servants - have been running Northern Ireland's nine departments since October but their powers are severely limited. They can only implement policies previously agreed by politicians and their ability to react to changing circumstances is negligible. Departments have been operating without proper budgets since the start of the financial year in April.

The pub closed on 1 May and Mrs Ryley told a local news website "I've had enough" Two former pub managers have given a voluntary interview to Essex Police after their collection of golly dolls was seized by the force. Five officers removed the offensive dolls from the White Hart Inn in Grays, which has since shut down, following a hate crime allegation. Essex Police was waiting for landlord Chris Ryley to return from abroad and it confirmed he and wife Benice Ryley were spoken to on Thursday. A police spokesperson said: "Two people, a man and woman, have been interviewed voluntarily as part of our investigation. The police seized the dolls from behind the bar on 4 April and the Campaign for Real Ale removed the pub from its Good Beer Guide the following week. Mrs Ryley said at the time she had displayed the collection, donated by her late aunt and customers, for nearly 10 years. The building was vandalised with white paint and had its windows damaged on 16 April - prompting a separate police investigation. Mrs Ryley closed the pub on 1 May, citing a boycott by brewing companies and the maintenance firm Innserve. Heineken and Carlsberg both told the couple to stop serving its lager, with Heineken labelling the collection as an "abhorrent display". Admiral Taverns, the company that owned the pub building, said it planned to reopen the venue under new management. The dolls are thought to date back to the minstrel entertainment shows, when typically white actors painted their faces black and depicted negative stereotypes of black people. It became a fictional character that appeared in books by Florence Kate Upton in the late 19th Century. Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected] The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Bank of America has been ordered to pay out $150m (£116m) in penalties after it was found to have opened credit cards without customers' permission. Regulators also discovered the bank "double-dipped" fees from customers and withheld promised reward bonuses. The violations at the US's second-largest bank affect hundreds of thousands of customers and date back to 2012 in some cases, regulators said. Bank of America has not admitted or denied the investigation's findings. The bank has been ordered to refund customers and pay a total of $150m in penalties to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Customer refunds are expected to be worth more than $80m, the CFPB said. The regulator said Bank of America illegally applied for and enrolled consumers in credit card accounts without their knowledge or authorisation to help bank employees reach sales incentive goals. Customers were charged unjustified fees and "suffered negative effects to their credit profiles", said the CFPB. Bank of America is also accused of double-dipping fees that were charged when a customer had insufficient funds in their account. People were charged $35 when a transaction was declined. But Bank of America allowed fees to be repeatedly charged for the same transaction. The lender said it has since ended charging the $35 fee for insufficient funds and reduced overdraft fees. Bank of America also eliminated sales goals for its credit card staff in January 2023, and agreed to keep that change in place for at least three years. Rohit Chopra, director at the CFPB, said: "Bank of America wrongfully withheld credit card rewards, double-dipped on fees, and opened accounts without consent. "These practices are illegal and undermine customer trust. The CFPB will be putting an end to these practices across the banking system." President Joe Biden has pledged to crack down on "junk fees" imposed by companies across a range of industries, including sales of concert tickets and airline flights. He has urged Congress to outlaw certain charges, such as fees for quitting a mobile phone or pay TV service before the contract expires. Under his direction, the CFPB increased its scrutiny of banks and their customer fees in 2022, soliciting complaints from consumers about practices such as overdraft fees. The White House has said its push has led to more than $5bn in annual savings for the public, after many banks, including Bank of America, voluntarily eliminated or reduced the charges. Bank of America said the money it made from overdraft and non-sufficient fund fees has dropped more than 90% as a result of changes made in the first half of 2022. The bank was fined $20m in 2014 and ordered to pay more than $700m to customers for deceptive marketing and illegal charges related to its credit cards. It was also ordered to pay $225m in penalties last year for botching the distribution of unemployment benefits. • None What are junk fees and how might Biden tackle them?

Senior civil servant Sue Gray, who investigated lockdown gatherings in Downing Street, has been offered a job as Sir Keir Starmer's chief of staff. A Labour spokesman said Sir Keir was "delighted" that "she hopes to accept the role subject to the normal procedures". But allies of Boris Johnson reacted with anger to the news. Former minister Jacob Rees-Mogg said Ms Gray's Partygate conclusions now looked "like a left-wing stitch up". "So much for an impartial Civil Service, the Gray report now looks like a left-wing stitch up against a Tory prime minister," the former business secretary and Brexit opportunities minister tweeted. A friend of Mr Johnson said Ms Gray's job offer undermined the validity of her investigation into parties held in Downing Street when Covid-19 restrictions were in force. "What was supposed to be an investigation by independent civil servants is now revealed to have been carried out by someone who ultimately would go on to work for Keir Starmer," they said. Ms Gray herself has yet to comment. A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: "We can confirm that Sue Gray has resigned from the post of Second Permanent Secretary in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). This was accepted by the department Permanent Secretary and Cabinet Secretary with immediate effect. "We will not be commenting further on individual personnel matters. We are reviewing the circumstances under which she resigned." Under the civil service code, officials of Ms Gray's seniority must wait a minimum of three months before taking up outside employment. The move will be scrutinised by the anti-corruption watchdog, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba), which will advise the prime minister on whether the move is "unsuitable". Rishi Sunak will make a final ruling, but does not have the power to block an appointment. Ms Gray went from an influential but little-known arbiter of conduct in government to a household name. Her report on the Partygate scandal last year contributed to Mr Johnson's downfall as prime minister, prompting numerous Conservative MPs to call on him to resign. She criticised "failures of leadership and judgment" in No 10 and said "the senior leadership at the centre, both political and official, must bear responsibility". Separately, Mr Johnson received one of 126 fines issued by the Metropolitan Police while it investigated gatherings in Downing Street and Whitehall. Hearings in an inquiry by the Commons Privileges Committee into opposition claims Mr Johnson misled MPs about what he knew about the lockdown gatherings in government buildings are expected to begin in the coming weeks. Other key allies of Mr Johnson have been quick to comment. Former Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries tweeted that Ms Gray's reported move to Sir Keir's office was "not surprising". "Whilst writing report, she used QC who tweeted out pro Labour anti gov [government] tweets whilst Alistair Campbell heaped praise upon her. Her comms [communications] assistant briefed against Johnson from day 1. "The Gray report was a stitch up of PM and CSs [civil servants]," she said. Very few civil servants become household names. Sue Gray definitely cleared that bar. She was selected to investigate Partygate because of her reputation as an unimpeachable government official. It's important to stress that Ms Gray taking a political job with Labour doesn't mean she was ever biased in her role as a civil servant. Everyone working in government will have personal views, but they're trusted and expected to serve the ministers of the day. But her proposed career move does provide allies of Boris Johnson with ammunition to question the legitimacy of her Partygate findings (which were very bad for the former prime minister). Why are Labour making this appointment? The qualities Sue Gray has largely been associated with - professionalism, propriety and public service - are exactly those they want to project. And it sends a sign about the party's intentions - Keir Starmer wants to work closely with someone who was (until very recently) a senior civil servant, because he intends to make it to 10 Downing Street. Bassetlaw MP Brendan Clarke-Smith said he was "genuinely shocked", and accused Sir Keir of having "scant regard for the public image of the civil service and the damage this will do". "After the events of last year, people will quite understandably be questioning the appropriateness of this appointment, including issues of impartiality," he added. Former civil servant Alex Thomas, who now works for the Institute for Government think tank, said the move would be "difficult for the civil service", giving its "critics a stick". "Tricky development for those defending impartiality," he added.

Sir Keir Starmer said politicians writing books about Covid and leaking messages was “insulting” and a “ghoulish spectacle”. He was referencing newspaper claims of leaked messages about former Health Secretary Matt Hancock. Rishi Sunak paid tribute to health workers, adding the Covid inquiry should do its work rather than him commenting on "piecemeal bits of information". A spokesman for Mr Hancock has said the messages had been "doctored" to create a false story which is "flat wrong".

Front line staff vacancies account for 75% of those cut More than 600 vacancies at the Department for Communities (DfC) - including those for front line staff - will not be filled, it has been confirmed. The decision means there is a risk of slowing down the delivery of benefits for those in need. The DfC is responsible for benefits, housing, addressing homelessness, arts and culture and sport. Frontline staff vacancies account for 75% of those cut. The department said the cuts would be made in order to live within an "inadequate" budget. Arm's length bodies of the DfC and third-party organisations funded by the department will receive a 5% cut to their budgets. These include the Arts Council, Libraries NI and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive among others. Councils will receive a £4m cut to the Rates Support Grant compared to the previous year, which will affect seven of Northern Ireland's 11 councils. The department has also decided to leave four offices in the greater Belfast area. None of the offices are public facing, meaning services will not be impacted. The DfC is the largest department in the Northern Ireland Civil Service with more than 9,000 staff. In taking these decisions, the department said it would be £10m over budget, understood to be a calculated risk which is expected to be managed throughout the year. Confirming the funding decisions, DfC permanent secretary Colum Boyle said the department had "sought to mitigate the significant and adverse impact" of the budget, which he described as "sub-optimal". "Our shared priority remains supporting the most vulnerable and at-risk in our society," he said. "However, difficult decisions had to be made to live within the funding available." Funding for homelessness is set to be increased by £2m The Supporting People programme which helps people live independently in the community has had funding sustained at the same as last year's level. Discretionary support, which provides emergency financial support for people in crisis situation, will receive £20m funding. Last year, £40m of discretionary support grants were handed out after significant demand due to the cost of living crisis. Funding for homelessness is to be increased by £2m (or 8%) compared to last year. The Affordable Warmth Scheme and Neighbourhood Renewal programmes have also been protected. In terms of the capital budget, the DfC is facing a £59m (27%) shortfall compared to what was asked for, against a backdrop of record inflation in areas such as construction. This mean's the budget will not be able to meet the department's target to start 2,000 new social homes this year and is now only expected to achieve 1,470 new starts.

This has, broadly, been a debate focused on policy rather than personality - something summed up when Humza Yousaf said he was "not going to sit here and slag off colleagues in government". He did clash with Kate Forbes over her approach to business, but that was teed up by the audience more than the candidates themselves. When given the chance, the trio have not sought to land punches on each other. The cross-examination portion of the debate was notably less fiery than in previous events. That may be in part because yellow-on-yellow attacks are greeted with glee by opposition parties, but it is also a mark of how the candidates have developed their approach. Rather than seeking to savage Humza Yousaf in the cross-examination section, this time Kate Forbes asked policy-laden questions which promoted her own strengths on economic issues. Ash Regan brought up gender reform - again, something she sees as a strength of her own campaign. Humza Yousaf was actually ticked off by Stephen Jardine for talking about his own policies at length when he was meant to be questioning Kate Forbes. This may be because of the fear that mud thrown now could still be stuck when future elections roll around. But it may also be because this race uses a single transferable vote system – and in a tight contest, second-preference votes could turn out to be crucial. It may be more profitable to make friends than to try to knock out opponents entirely.

President Zelensky followed into a press conference by Poland's President Duda and Lithuania's President Nauseda Image caption: President Zelensky followed into a press conference by Poland's President Duda and Lithuania's President Nauseda Away from the scene in Kramatorsk, the Polish and Lithuanian presidents are in Kyiv to meet their Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky. We're starting to receive a few remarks from them via the news agencies now - we'll keep you posted. It's expected that the leaders are today preparing some of the groundwork ahead of a meeting on 11-12 July in Lithuania of Nato members. The hopes of Ukraine and Sweden to join the Western military alliance are expected to be a key theme. In April, Zelensky accepted an invitation to attend the summit in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius. However, he recently told the Wall Street Journal that unless Ukraine is “acknowledged and given a signal in Vilnius" he did not believe there was any "point" in attending. Sweden had hoped to join by the time of the July summit, but Turkey and Hungary have yet to agree. It's thought that the deployment to Belarus of troops from the Russian mercenary group Wagner will also be high on Nato's agenda next month.

Distant relatives of US President Joe Biden are looking forward to seeing him back on home soil "You'd know there's Irish roots in him because he's good craic like." That's one Irishman's take on US President Joe Biden, and he would know, being related to him. Back in 2016, the White House called the Irish Family History Centre, asking it to trace Mr Biden's ancestry ahead of an upcoming visit. After weeks of searching parish records and land registers it compiled a list of his closest living relatives - many of who knew nothing of the connection. Enter the Blewitts of Ballina, County Mayo, and the Finnegans of Carlingford, County Louth. Trips to both counties feature on the US presidents whistle-stop itinerary of Ireland and his cousins cannot wait to see him back to cement the connections made during his visit in 2016. US President Joe Biden is fiercely proud of his Irish heritage Proud of his Irish heritage, President Biden said he was brought up on stories of the "faith and fortitude" of his relatives that left Ireland. "I grew up in a household where my grandfather and grandmother Finnegan, all my mother's brothers and my father told us about the courage and commitment it took for our relatives to emigrate from Ireland - in the midst of tragedy - to distant shores where they didn't know what awaited them," he told RTÉ in 2016. The Blewitt family are linked to president Biden through his great-great-grandfather Patrick. The family were aware of their connection to the US politician for decades, and met Mr Biden in 2016. He made a second visit to Mayo at their invitation in 2017. According to Joe Blewitt, it was during this trip that he told his Irish cousins he would one day return to Ballina "as president". "Of course I knew it was true. "He's been in politics all his life - that man was bound to be president so I'm absolutely delighted," Mr Blewitt told BBC News NI. The Blewitts have visited the White House several times, most recently last month for St Patrick's Day. "It was a surreal, very special day for us... It's just one of those days when [it] goes too fast," Mr Blewitt said. This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Celebrations broke out across Ballina when Biden's presidential victory was declared He speaks fondly of the president, describing his distant cousin as a down-to-earth, genuine character with a quick wit. "He loves jokes... You'd know there's Irish roots in him because he's good craic like." True to his word, Mr Biden is set deliver a speech to the people of Ballina on Friday. "We're all happy to see him... It's great for the country, it really just tightens the close bond between America and Ireland," Mr Blewitt added. Mr Biden's public address will take place outside St Muredach's Cathedral which was constructed using bricks sold by Edward Blewitt in 1828 - 27,000 of them earned him £21 and 12 shillings. It was this money that afforded the family of 10 to eventually set sail to New York on the SS Excelsior in 1851. Mr Biden's great-great-great grandfather sold bricks used to build St Muredach's Cathedral in Ballina About 250km (155 miles) to the east of Ballina in County Louth, the president will link up with the Finnegan side of the family tree. Owen Finnegan emigrated to the US in 1849. His family followed a year later and settled in Seneca, New York, with their namesake eventually being passed on to the president's own descendants - one of his grand-daughters is named Finnegan Biden. Fianna Fáil councillor for the area Andrea McKevitt told BBC News NI that "the atmosphere is electric" across the Cooley peninsula as residents prepare to welcome Mr Biden with a sea of stars and stripes. Ms McKevitt is a distant cousin, related through the president's great-great-grandfather Owen. Andrea McKevitt said her distant cousin's visit sends a strong message during peace deal anniversary Andrea McKevitt's family were oblivious to the connection until 2016 when White House officials contacted her uncle to break the news. "I think at the beginning he thought somebody was joking but then when we had paperwork and started looking into it, it proved to be true indeed," she said. Ms McKevitt was also in attendance at this year's St Patrick's Day celebration at the White House, something she described as a "pinch-me moment". "It was a family event," she joked. "It wasn't until it was over I thought: 'Oh my God, I can't believe that's just happened' "You're living in a dream nearly for the whole day waiting to go in and when you finally got there it was just amazing." An advertisement for passage to new York appears on the front page of the Newry Commercial Telegraph newspaper on 10 April 1849 And through the Finnegans there's a Kearney connection with President Biden's fifth cousin once removed getting an invitation to the White House last month. Former Ireland international rugby player Rob Kearney was singled out of the crowd, just a day before Ireland beat England to win the Six Nation's Grand Slam, with the president nailing his colours to the mast. This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by Irish Rugby This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. It's expected Mr Biden's engagements in Louth will be on a smaller scale than those on the opposite side of the country in Mayo, but Ms McKevitt insists there is no rivalry between the two counties. "We're happy to let Mayo run with the big public address. Here in Dundalk we had President Clinton address us in 1998, so we can't get all the limelight," she said. With the president's visit timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, Ms McKevitt said it sends a "really strong, important message" to the people of Ireland. "There was a deal made 25 years ago. It's time for us to keep moving and getting on to the next stage of the peace process," she said. "Hopefully his hand of wisdom and hand of friendship can ensure that more work continues to be done so peace remains on this island."

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: I'm resigning, this is a distraction for the BBC - BBC chairman BBC chairman Richard Sharp has resigned after breaking rules over dealings with Boris Johnson ahead of his appointment. A report found Mr Sharp created the appearance of a conflict of interest by not fully disclosing his knowledge of the ex-PM's personal finances. His position was scrutinised after it emerged he tried to secure a high-level government meeting for a businessman offering Mr Johnson financial help. Mr Sharp defended his conduct but said he did not want to be a distraction. A critical report led by barrister Adam Heppinstall was published on Friday, after months of speculation about Mr Sharp's position and a row about BBC independence. The probe was set up after reports in the Sunday Times revealed Mr Sharp, a close associate of Mr Johnson, had played some role in the PM's personal finances at the same time as he was seeking to secure the senior BBC job. In late 2020, Mr Sharp sought to arrange a meeting between Cabinet Secretary Simon Case and Sam Blyth, a distant cousin of Mr Johnson who had offered to support the PM financially, after reading press claims he was struggling to make ends meet. The ex-investment banker and Conservative Party donor had already applied for the senior BBC job when he approached Mr Case and was appointed a few months later. The report found he had failed to disclose two potential perceived conflicts of interest: first, by telling Mr Johnson he wanted to apply for the BBC role before doing so; and second, by telling the PM he intended to set up a meeting between Mr Case, the country's most senior civil servant, and Mr Blyth. It notes that Mr Sharp does not accept the first conclusion, but he has apologised for the second, though described it as "inadvertent and not material". The report found "there is a risk of a perception that Mr Sharp was recommended for appointment" because he sought to assist the PM in a private financial matter "and/or that he influenced the former prime minister to recommend him by informing him of his application before he submitted it". It described his involvement in Mr Johnson's private financial affairs as "very limited" but concluded that it should have been declared anyway - even though the meeting between Mr Case and Mr Blyth did not subsequently take place. The report did not make a judgement "on whether Mr Sharp had any intention of seeking to influence the former Prime Minister in this manner". Mr Sharp has previously insisted he believed flagging his BBC application with Mr Case and agreeing to have no further involvement in any loan discussions resolved any conflict of interest issues, and therefore they did not need to be further disclosed - but the report disagreed with his position. He said he did not play "any part whatsoever in the facilitation, arrangement, or financing of a loan for the former prime minister" but that he was quitting in order to "prioritise the interests of the BBC". Mr Sharp conceded that with hindsight he should have disclosed his role in setting up a meeting between Mr Case and Mr Blyth to the appointments panel during the scrutiny process ahead of him taking up the senior role, and he apologised for the "oversight". The details of who said what to who and when are complicated but there is a simple issue, did Richard Sharp tell the full truth when he applied for the job? He says today's independent report makes clear that he didn't and he was in breach of the rules. That breach he says was "inadvertent" and an "error" he regrets - but it matters. He is the head of the BBC and its reputation is based on trust. The job description for the BBC Chairman says it is essential that they "observe high standards of openness and seek to maximise transparency and accountability". MPs on the Commons Media Select Committee have already criticised Richard Sharp for a lack of openness and transparency for not revealing his role in a loan guarantee to Boris Johnson. These were, they said, "serious errors of judgment". Their report added: "Mr Sharp has accepted that his failure to disclose this involvement has caused embarrassment to him and the BBC and has potentially been misconstrued, both of which are tests on conflicts that the public appointments process specifically requires candidates to consider." It's probably worth quoting here the exact words from the Cabinet Office's Governance Code: "If you have any interests that might be relevant to the work of the BBC, and which could lead to a real or perceived conflict of interest if you were to be appointed, please provide details in your application." The weeks of headlines and the critical conclusions of two reports into his actions have certainly been, in his words, "a distraction from the Corporation's good work". The report also called for an overhaul of the rules around public appointments, and criticised the leaking of ministers' preferred candidates for senior jobs to the media - pointing out there were reports about Mr Sharp being tipped for the BBC role in newspapers before the process was completed. Mr Sharp's position came under further scrutiny in March following Gary Lineker's suspension over a tweet criticising government asylum policy, a decision which triggered a wider row about BBC impartiality. Critics of the BBC's handling of the issue contrasted Lineker's suspension with how allegations against Mr Sharp were dealt with, pointing out the chairman was able to remain in post despite ongoing investigations. Lineker tweeted on Friday the BBC chair should "not be selected by the government of the day... not now, not ever". The BBC chair can only be appointed or sacked by the government. The BBC director general, the executive who has ultimate editorial control over the corporation, does not have the power to remove them. Responding to the resignation, the BBC's former controller of editorial policy, Richard Ayre, said the matter came down to "the integrity and transparency" of Mr Sharp's application and that he "had to go". He continued: "Meaningfully or not he had done a favour [for Mr Johnson]. He didn't declare that to the assessment panel." Tim Davie, director-general of the BBC, said Mr Sharp had made a "significant contribution to the transformation and success of the BBC". Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he has not seen the report into Mr Sharp and did not guarantee a non-political figure would replace him. Speaking to reporters in Glasgow, Mr Sunak said: "There's an appointments process that happens for those appointments. I'm not going to prejudge that." Labour's shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell said: "The prime minister should have sacked him weeks ago. Instead it took this investigation, called by Labour, to make him resign." Mr Sharp will remain in post until a successor is appointed in June.

Staff sickness in the NHS in England has reached record levels. Figures for 2022 show an absence rate - the proportion of days lost - of 5.6%, meaning the NHS lost the equivalent of nearly 75,000 staff to illness. This is higher than during the peak pandemic years of 2020 and 2021 - and a 29% rise on the 2019 rate. Mental health problems were the most common cause, responsible for nearly a quarter of absences, the Nuffield Trust analysis of official NHS data shows. Big rises were also seen in cold, coughs, infections and respiratory problems, likely to be linked to the continued circulation of Covid as well as the return of flu last year. There were three categories covering these types of illnesses. If combined, they would be responsible for more sickness than mental health. The think tank warned the NHS was stuck in a "seemingly unsustainable cycle" of increased work and burnout, which was contributing to staff leaving. The analysis, exclusively for BBC News, comes ahead of the publication of the government and NHS England's long-awaited workforce plan. Nuffield Trust senior fellow Dr Billy Palmer said: "The health service is grappling with a difficult new normal when it comes to staff sickness leave. "There has been a lot of focus on recruitment but we need more endeavour to improve the working conditions of existing staff and protect them from illness. "The workforce plan needs to have concrete support to enable employers to improve NHS staff experience if the service is to break this cycle of staff absences, sickness and leaving rates." The NHS sickness rate, the highest since records began, in 2010, is above the public sector average of 3.6%. The Nuffield Trust warned it was likely to be an undercount of the true figure as not every absence would have been recorded. And while recording systems differed in Wales and Scotland, it was clear those nations were also seeing increased levels of sickness in the NHS. Miriam Deakin, of NHS Providers, which represents health managers, said the findings "laid bare the psychological strain on staff". She said the absences came on top of 110,000 vacancies in the health service and warned the situation was having a "knock-on effect on patient care". Unison head of health Sara Gorton said the rise in illness was due to the "unrelenting pressure" on the NHS. "Until the NHS has sufficient employees to care for and treat all the people needing its help, absence levels will keep going through the roof. If there's to be a healthy NHS, it first needs a healthy workforce." A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said high rates of Covid at the start of 2022 would have had an influence on the figures. "For those staff that need it the NHS provides physical and mental health support - including targeted psychological support and treatment," she added. Do you work for the NHS? Have you needed to take time off sick? You can share your experiences by emailing [email protected]. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways: If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at [email protected]. Please include your name, age and location with any submission.

A new business lobby council has been formed, boasting some of the UK's largest companies as its founding partners. The Business Council has been launched by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) in a bid to "design and drive the future of the British economy". Heathrow, BP, IHG Hotels & Resorts and Drax are among its new members. It comes as the troubled CBI faces a crunch vote on its future after it was mired in serious sexual allegations. The CBI has been canvassing opinion from its existing membership on a series of reforms, the result of which will be revealed at a key meeting on Tuesday. It has received the public backing of 13 companies - including manufacturing giant Siemens and the world's largest computer software firm Microsoft ahead of the vote. But the new group will be hoping to pick up the support of businesses which cut ties with the CBI - including household names such as John Lewis and BMW. The BCC works to support and connect tens of thousands of companies in the UK and internationally and is known for putting out a quarterly economic survey. BCC director general Shevaun Haviland and president Baroness Martha Lane Fox will join business leaders in London on Monday to discuss the work of its new council to represent the interests of UK firms. "Over the past few months we have been talking to the nation's largest corporates and it has become clear to us they are looking for a different kind of representation," Ms Haviland said. "These businesses want to be part of a framework that's rooted in their local communities, but with the ability to shape the national and international debate," she added. Ms Haviland said the Business Council would focus on an initiative directed at the future of the economy targeting: The new group will not know until Tuesday how much support its competitor will continue to receive but the CBI's new director general Rain Newton-Smith has described the vote as "critical" to its future. The BBC's business editor Simon Jack said the timing of the announcement from the BCC was hard to ignore, saying the launch represented a "tussle for the trust of business and the ear of government". A CBI source said "the timing of this is very opportunistic. Business succeeds through a collaborative approach and we find that more effective". Over the weekend the Sunday Times newspaper reported that the CBI's last director general Tony Danker was planning to sue his former employer, after he was forced out over the sexual misconduct allegations.

Molly, who has autism, spent several months in a children's ward A safety investigation has warned that young people with complex mental health needs are being put at significant risk, by being placed on general children's wards in England. The findings come from the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB). BBC News recently highlighted the plight of a 16-year-old autistic girl, who spent several months in a children's ward. Other families have since contacted the BBC describing similar situations. The majority had faced similar difficulties getting appropriate support.Mental health patients 'at risk' in child wards The HSIB - which is a government-funded body - says that paediatric wards are designed to care for patients who only have physical health needs and not for those with mental health needs. It describes the situation in 18 hospitals it visited as "challenging", and 13 were described as "not safe" for children who were suicidal or at risk of harming themselves to be on their paediatric wards. Hospitals say they are seeing an increasing number of children with a combination of autism, learning disabilities and complex social and mental health needs. NHS England says it has an ongoing transformation programme to improve mental health services for children and young people, including adapting hospital environments for those with "sensory needs". The HSIB started the investigation after a young patient on a paediatric ward tried to harm themselves and staff. The child was waiting for a mental health assessment. They managed to abscond from the ward and on two occasions took a drugs overdose. Two weeks ago, the BBC told the story of 16-year-old Molly who has autism, high levels of anxiety and eating problems. She spent nearly seven months in a side room on a children's ward at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth, because of a shortage of places that could provide her with the support and therapy she needed. Her family says she found the noisy environment traumatic. Despite having agency mental health nurses watching her 24 hours a day, she ran Mental health patients 'at risk' in child wardsaway from the hospital once and was able to seriously harm herself on a number of occasions. She was also restrained numerous times. In April, her behaviour became so distressed that the children's ward closed to other patients for 10 days. She was then moved to a mental health unit, where she is doing better. Her local health and care system said it was "very sorry" it had not been able to support her in a more suitable environment, when "she was most vulnerable". Molly's story prompted other families to get in touch with the BBC. Julie's child, who has autism, spent a year in a side room of a children's hospital at the age of 15. The teenager, who does not want their name used, also has eating problems. Julie says that her child was made to feel at fault, even though "they hadn't asked to be there". She says: "They'd been put there waiting for something that wasn't coming, and how can you... make a vulnerable child feel that they're just a difficulty and a brat." Julie's child who has autism spent a year in the side room of a children's ward Jo-Ann's 15-year-old daughter is being assessed for autism and mental health difficulties. She is currently in the burns unit at a children's hospital. She has no physical problems for them to treat, but was moved there from the paediatric ward of another hospital. She was admitted after trying to harm herself nearly three months ago. "She is classed as too vulnerable to go onto a mental health unit," Jo-Ann said. "She has fallen into no man's land." She said the NHS and council-run children's services are trying to put together the support her daughter needs at home. One parent also got in touch describing how terrifying it was for children who were physically very poorly, when there was someone being restrained or who was disruptive on the ward. It is a mark of HSIB's significant concern about the situation that it decided to publish this interim report, before it has finished its full investigation. The report said paediatric wards contained many self-harm risks, including ligature points, and that they were busy, noisy places which were unsuitable for children experiencing a mental health crisis, or with sensory needs, for instance, because they have autism. It found that therapeutic help was limited or non-existent and children deteriorated as a result. Molly's hospital room - her autism meant she found the noise of the ward traumatic HSIB said on one paediatric ward there were more than 70 security incidents over three months relating to children with high-risk behaviours. Most involved the young person being physically restrained. "In just over half of the security incidents reported, the child or young person had been sedated, sometimes requiring multiple attempts (up to seven) for the sedation to become effective," it said. The report said on occasions nearly all the paediatric nursing teams on different wards could be involved in trying to support patients whose behaviour was high risk. Staff told the investigators they were concerned about the "negative psychological impact" it was having on other patients and their families. HSIB said it saw "vulnerable and unwell children and babies next to or near a young person who was trying to harm themselves and/or whose behaviour could be violent and aggressive". The report says there were many incidents where staff were assaulted, and some hospitals, which were struggling to recruit and retain staff, described their workforce as "collapsing". An NHS England spokesperson said: "The NHS will be reviewing the concerns raised by HSIB and will consider them as part of ongoing work to improve care for the record number of children and young people with mental health needs that the NHS is treating. "In some circumstances it can be appropriate for young people to receive mental health care in acute settings, such as for treatment of physical health needs, and to support staff in doing this safely there is a clear framework to follow and an online training platform, while several areas are piloting services that better integrate mental and physical health care." Have you been affected by the issues raised in this story? You can share your experiences by emailing [email protected]. Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways: If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at [email protected]. Please include your name, age and location with any submission.

Pavel Kuzin was killed in Bakhmut amid brutal fighting around the eastern Ukrainian city Staff sergeant Pavel Kuzin took his position at the machine gun - the only soldier still able to fight. Everyone else in his troop lay dead or injured. Suffering from shell-shock and with one arm bandaged, the 37-year-old fired at the waves of Russian soldiers trying to storm his position. They didn't even try to take cover, but simply walked towards him across the open field. It was clear Pavel wouldn't be able to hold the position for long, but he needed to buy time for a rescue team to arrive. His final action in life was to ensure his wounded comrades got to safety. The Ukrainian military says Bakhmut is now the scene of many "unprecedentedly bloody" battles like this, where they now have to repel up to 50 attacks on their positions every day. Russia has concentrated massive forces in this area, and their brutal strategy of launching human wave attacks helps them to advance slowly - but at a very high cost. Pavel was in charge of a forward observation group that consisted of six Ukrainian soldiers. On 17 February, shortly after the start of their watch, they came under heavy fire. A tank began hammering their position. Unlike relentless mortar rounds, the tank's aiming was chillingly accurate. Shells were landing a few metres from their trenches. Two soldiers were wounded and Pavel told them to go into a dugout. A combat medic went down to tend to their injuries and prepare them for an evacuation. Moments later, the wooden shelter was directly hit by a shell. "There was a bright flash," one of the wounded soldiers with a callsign Tsygan told the BBC. "I was thrown onto the logs with such force that it nearly crushed me. I couldn't understand whether I was dead or alive. Someone was shouting, it seemed the sound was coming from 100m away." I couldn't understand whether I was dead or alive It was Pavel's voice who was checking on them. The other soldier was half-buried under dirt and logs. He was dead. Tsygan could barely move and Pavel had to drag him up over the splintered logs that blocked the way. It was painfully slow to move Tsygan just a few metres away into a nearby trench. When the shelling paused briefly, Pavel went back trying to find others. Two minesweepers arrived to clear the logs and find the bodies. But yet another shell hit the dug out, killing one of the men and injuring the other. The tank kept firing. At that moment, Russian troops started storming their position. Pavel called for a support group to evacuate the wounded and rushed back to his Browning machine gun to stop the Russian infantry. The 206th Battalion in which Pavel served had fought in the southern Kherson and north-eastern Kharkiv regions. But the battles over Bakhmut were very different from what they had seen before. "The intensity of fighting to break through our positions was shocking," says Mykola Hlabets, platoon commander. "Sometimes, [Russian soldiers] would get as close as 20 metres from us, crawling and moving under a treeline or across an open field. This is where we had our first gunfights at such proximity." "They would just stand and walk towards our positions without any cover. We wiped out one group after another, but they kept coming." Hlabets described them as a suicide squad. Others call them cannon fodder. Ukrainians are trying to fight off Russia's human wave attacks - similar to tactics used during World War One A number of videos have been shared on telegram channels recently where newly mobilized Russian soldiers appealed to President Vladimir Putin and the authorities to stop what they called "illegal orders" to send them "to be slaughtered". Last month mobilised soldiers from Belgorod posted a video saying that they were sent for an assault mission without proper training. After suffering heavy losses, they said they refused to carry out their orders. Often these poorly trained soldiers are reportedly forced to keep pushing forward. The assault group Storm of the 5th Brigade of the Russian army said in a video appeal that they couldn't leave their position because of zagryad otryad, or blocking troops - detachments that open fire at their own men who try to retreat. These wave attacks are similar to World War One tactics, when troops charged the enemy and engaged in close combat. And despite their lack of training and experience, sending newly recruited soldiers to such assaults are bringing some results for Russia, albeit at a very high cost. Ukrainians expose their positions when they open fire to stop those attacks. That allows Russian artillery to identify the target and destroy it, as happened with Pavel's post. Also, soldiers at forward positions run out of ammunition while trying to repel numerous wave attacks. They then become an easy target. That was the risk Pavel knew he faced as he rushed to his Browning machine gun. But as long as he kept firing, his wounded brothers-in-arms had a chance to be rescued. Tsygan was bleeding in the trench where Pavel had left him. Shrapnel had smashed his pelvis. Another piece had gone through his thigh, and a third had hit his abdomen, "turning the internal organs upside down", he said. He was barely conscious. "I didn't see much, it was all white," he said. "I lay on the snowy ground for two hours and I didn't feel cold or anything." Next to him was another wounded soldier. The rescue team on an armoured personnel carrier hastily picked them up as shelling resumed. They didn't even have time to close the hatch, Tsygan says. By that time, Pavel's machine gun had fallen silent. He died from a head wound: a piece of shrapnel had pierced his helmet. Commanders of the 206th battalion decided to send a group to retrieve the bodies of Pavel and the other soldiers. The next day in the evening, three groups of two soldiers each set off to bring the bodies back. "The plan looked good on paper, but things quickly went wrong," junior sergeant Vasyl Palamarchuk, who was in the lead group, remembers. They got lost and nearly ran into Russian positions in the dark. When they got close to the dugout, Russians spotted them and opened fire from a tank. Pavel Kuzin died holding off Russian attackers so his wounded fellow soldiers could be evacuated Russian tanks and artillery had continuously shelled that post in those days, but the Ukrainian big guns had largely stayed quiet. The reason was a massive shortage of shells. "Once we counted that the Russians had fired up to 60 shells a day, whereas we could allow only two," Palamarchuk explains. "They destroyed trees and everything else and you had no place to hide." Ukraine is struggling to find ammunition for its Soviet-era artillery. Getting shells for weapons donated by Ukraine's western partners has its own limits. As the secretary general of the Nato military alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, said recently: "The current rate of Ukraine's ammunition expenditure is many times higher than our current rate of production." Palamarchuk's group eventually picked up Pavel's body just a few hours before Russian troops seized the area. Heavy snow turned into a freezing rain. After numerous breaks on the way back, crawling through craters left by shells, they finally arrived. The whole operation over just a kilometre's distance lasted for six hours. It was past midnight but the entire battalion gathered at the evacuation point to pay their respects to Pavel, who is survived by his daughter and wife. "It was a huge loss for our unit," Palamarchuk says. "He saved two people but died himself."