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WATCH: Eurovision's second semi-final... in 59 seconds - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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As usual, the Eurovision Song Contest brings the most eclectic mix of performers.
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The second instalment of the Eurovision Song Contest semi-finals didn't fail to provide a variety of memorable performances.
Here's a selection from the show in Liverpool.
Available to UK viewers only
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-65564195
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Eurovision: Ukraine's Zelensky should address contest, says Rishi Sunak - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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The organisers of the song contest turned down a request from Ukraine's president to speak.
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UK Politics
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Volodymyr Zelensky met Rishi Sunak during a trip to Downing Street in February
Rishi Sunak is "disappointed" Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has not been allowed to address this year's Eurovision, his spokesman says.
The organisers, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), say it would breach its political impartiality.
But Downing Street said it would be "fitting" for Mr Zelensky to speak given Russia's invasion of his country.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is also calling for the Ukrainian leader to be allowed to make a speech.
Ukraine was meant to be hosting this year's Eurovision after winning it last year, but it is taking place in Liverpool instead after Russia's invasion.
It has been reported that Mr Zelensky wanted to make a video appearance at the contest's final on Saturday, to an expected global audience of 160 million.
But in a statement on Thursday, the EBU said it had turned down a request from the Ukrainian president to address the event, despite his "laudable intentions".
"The Eurovision Song Contest is an international entertainment show, and governed by strict rules and principles," it added.
"As part of these, one of the cornerstones of the contest is the non-political nature of the event. This principle prohibits the possibility of making political or similar statements as part of the contest."
BBC Director General Tim Davie told the BBC's Eurovisioncast he understood the EBU's decision and that throughout its history, Eurovision "has not been a platform for political statement".
But he stressed the BBC was hosting on behalf of Ukraine and that it is "a celebration across Europe for freedom, for democracy".
The EBU said that a Ukrainian design agency had been involved in designing artwork for the event, and 11 Ukrainian artists, including last year's winners Kalush Orchestra, would be performing.
However, Mr Sunak's spokesman questioned the decision not to have Mr Zelensky speak, saying: "The values and freedoms that President Zelensky and the people of Ukraine are fighting for are not political, they're fundamental."
His spokesman argued that Eurovision "themselves recognised that last year" by banning Russian artists from participating.
However, he added that the prime minister had no plans to intervene and ask broadcasters to change their mind.
Ukraine's ambassador to the UK, Vadym Prystaiko, said the final of the contest would have been a "great moment" for Mr Zelensky to address a huge audience.
But speaking to PA Media, he added: "We understand all the internal politics and the unbiased sort of approach to all this, that's why we don't have to push too much."
Ukraine will be represented at this year's contest by Nigerian-Ukrainian pop duo TVORCHI
In statement, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: "It's vital that we all continue to keep the plight of the Ukrainian people front of mind as they stand up to Russian aggression on behalf of us all.
"Eurovision is an expression of international unity and freedom, and President Zelensky should be able to address it as a great defender of both."
The EBU initially said it would allow Russia to participate in the 2022 final, following its invasion of Ukraine two months before it was due to be held in Italy.
But it then changed course within 24 hours, saying that allowing Russia to take part would "bring the competition into disrepute".
UA:PBC, Ukraine's public broadcaster, as well as those from Iceland, Finland, Norway and the Netherlands, had called for Russia to be banned.
Boris Johnson, who was British prime minister during Russia's invasion and oversaw the UK's initial response, said "it would have been right to hear" from him during the final on Saturday.
Formed in 1950, the EBU has 68 broadcasting organisations as members, including the BBC - which is hosting this week's finals and semi-finals.
Eurovision was conceived in the 1950s as a way of promoting post-war unity between European states. As a result, politics has always been kept at arm's length.
It's a policy that's never been easy or comfortable to enforce. In 2005, Lebanon was due to make its debut when it refused to air Israel's entry. As a result, it received a three-year ban from the contest, and never took part.
Georgia also fell foul of the rules in 2009, when they submitted a song called "We Don't Wanna Put In".
The lyrics were a thinly-veiled critique of Russia's Vladimir Putin, following the previous year's Russo-Georgian war. When the country refused to amend the song, they were suspended.
The commitment to neutrality is so strong that, last year, organisers agonised over what to do about Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.
Although Russia was eventually banned, Eurovision's executive supervisor Martin Osterdahl said it had been a hard decision to make.
"It was, and it still is," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
But, he added: "How Europe feels very much affects the contest. When we say we are not political, what we always should stand up for are the basic and ultimate values of democracy."
Critics of the decision to decline President Zelensky will say the contest has already made a political move by banning Russia. And their argument isn't without merit.
But the EBU would counter that supporting a war-torn country is very different to allowing the leader of that country to make a call to arms.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65574033
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Sudan conflict: Army and RSF agree deal to protect civilians - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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They agree to allow safe passage for civilians and to protect relief workers but not to a ceasefire.
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Africa
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Sudanese refugees have fled into neighbouring Ethiopia to escape the conflict
After nearly a week of talks, Sudan's warring parties have signed a deal to alleviate the suffering of the civilian population, but have made little progress towards peace.
This is a first step to providing relief for trapped civilians.
They agreed to allow safe passage for people leaving battle zones, protect relief workers and not to use civilians as human shields.
However, they did not agree to pause the fighting.
There are reports of more air strikes and shelling in the capital, Khartoum on Friday.
The talks have been mediated by the US and Saudi Arabia, the host country.
US officials said they were cautiously hopeful there was momentum now for the safe delivery of relief supplies, as both sides committed to let in badly needed humanitarian assistance after looting and attacks that targeted aid.
However, the conflicting parties are still quite far apart when it comes to brokering peace, the US said.
They are still discussing a proposal for a truce and a mechanism to monitor it.
Meanwhile Saudi Arabia said there is still more work to be done, according to Arab News: "Other steps will follow, and the most important thing is to adhere to what was agreed upon."
Not everyone is happy about the new deal, with some Sudanese saying it falls short of what they expect: "I'm really incredibly disheartened," Professor Nisrin Elamin from Toronto University told the BBC's Newsday programme.
"Ceasefires that they have agreed to in the past have not held. I don't understand why we would ever take them by their word. To me this is really just another closed door negotiations with no civilian actor," Professor Elamin added, saying that she still has family who are stuck in Khartoum surrounded by conflict.
The BBC has heard several accounts of people trapped in Khartoum, who have been witness to loud explosions, gunshots and all-out violence.
The conflict erupted in mid-April when the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) refused to be integrated into Sudan's army under a planned transition to civilian rule.
Since then, the death toll has risen to more than 600 according to the WHO, and thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-65569513
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Gothenburg Greats: Dons who beat Real Madrid get Freedom of Aberdeen - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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Former Aberdeen FC players who famously won the 1983 European Cup Winners' Cup are honoured.
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NE Scotland, Orkney & Shetland
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The players were honoured at the ceremony at Pittodrie
Members of the Aberdeen FC team who famously won the 1983 European Cup Winners' Cup have been awarded Freedom of the City.
The Dons beat Real Madrid 2-1 to lift the trophy in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Fans gathered at the club's Pittodrie Stadium to watch the Freedom ceremony.
Others to have previously received the honour include Sir Alex Ferguson, who managed Aberdeen to Gothenburg glory, footballer Denis Law and former Russian president Mikhail Gorbachev.
Former players honoured at the emotional event on Friday - alongside the club itself - included Willie Miller, Alex McLeish, Gordon Strachan and Eric Black.
The late Neale Cooper - who died in 2018 - was remembered, with a number four shirt covering an empty seat on the stage.
A video message from Sir Alex was played and was greeted by warm applause.
"This is a wonderful honour, well done," he said, as he recalled the victory 40 years ago.
Aberdeen Lord Provost David Cameron said: "The Gothenburg Greats team are all local heroes and continue to be regarded as some of the greatest players to pull on the red and white colours of Aberdeen Football Club.
"It is a fitting tribute that we can confer the Freedom of the City to them during the 40th anniversary celebrations of that famous night in Gothenburg."
Aberdeen FC chairman Dave Cormack said it was a "humbling" award for everyone associated with the club.
"The Freedom of the City is the highest honour the city of Aberdeen can confer," he said.
Thousands of fans travelled to Sweden in 1983 to see the famous win, many by ferry, and even by fishing boat.
Aberdeen remain the last Scottish side to win a European trophy.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-65561922
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Australian government approves first new coal mine since elected - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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The government came to power a year ago promising greater action on climate change.
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Australia
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The Australian government has approved a new coal mine for the first time since it was elected - on a climate action platform - last year.
The government was bound by national environment laws when considering Central Queensland's Isaac River coal mine, a spokeswoman said.
Only one coal mine proposal has ever been blocked under those laws.
Scientists have repeatedly warned that any new fossil fuel projects are not compatible with global climate goals.
The Isaac River coal mine - which will be built near Moranbah, an 11-hour drive north of Brisbane - is expected to produce about 2.5 million tonnes of coal over five years.
The mine will extract metallurgical coal, also known as coking coal, which is used in steelmaking.
Although a small mine compared to others in the state, its production could amount to some 7 million tonnes of greenhouse gases in its lifetime, think tank the Australia Institute says.
Environment groups had called on the government to block the new development, on the grounds it would increase global emissions and damage the habitat of endangered or vulnerable species like the koala, the central greater glider and the ornamental snake.
But when Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek's proposed decision was announced on Thursday afternoon, the government said no-one had made submissions during the formal consultation period.
"The Albanese government has to make decisions in accordance with the facts and the national environment law - that's what happens on every project, and that's what's happened here," a spokeswoman for Ms Plibersek said .
The proponents of the mine, Bowen Coking Coal, will have the opportunity to respond to any proposed conditions on the development before it is formally approved - usually in a matter of months.
Since it came to power in May 2022 after campaigning on greater climate action, Anthony Albanese's Labor government has enshrined into law a stronger emissions reduction target - of 43% by 2030 - and has negotiated the introduction of a carbon cap for the country's biggest emitters.
But it has refused to rule out new coal and gas projects.
And while it in February blocked a coal mine on environmental grounds for the first time in history, it did not consider climate in doing so.
The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says any new fossil fuel projects are not compatible with the aim of the Paris Agreement - limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees. In fact, existing fossil fuel infrastructure must be urgently phased out, it says.
Greens environment spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young said the decision demonstrated a need for reform.
"Australia's environment laws are clearly broken. Polluting projects are failing to be assessed for the emissions they create," she said.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-65541621
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Sats reading paper: Government defends 'challenging' tests - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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An English reading paper fuels debate about the purpose of the tests for Year 6 pupils in England.
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Family & Education
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The government has defended tests for Year 6 pupils across England, after some parents and teachers said a paper in this week's Sats was too difficult.
One head teacher said the English reading test included some "GCSE-level" questions. Some pupils were left in tears and did not finish the paper.
It has fuelled a debate among teachers and parents about the purpose of Sats.
A Department for Education (DfE) spokesperson told BBC News the tests were "designed to be challenging".
The government had previously said it worked to ensure that "all tests are appropriate".
But asked for further comment on the English reading paper, the DfE added that Sats had to be tough "in order to measure attainment across the ability range, including stretching the most able children".
The government has advised that details of the content of the test paper should not be published until all Year 6 pupils have had the chance to take it.
Sats are tests taken by pupils in Year 2 and Year 6 to assess their reading, writing and maths skills - and to test schools' performances.
Sarah Hewitt-Clarkson, head teacher at Anderton Park Primary School in Birmingham, said it was "heartbreaking" to see her pupils struggling to get through the reading paper.
Mrs Hewitt-Clarkson, who has two teenage daughters who have taken their GCSEs in the past few years, said: "I'm not a secondary English teacher, but... some of those questions were definitely of that level. It's just unfair."
Mrs Hewitt-Clarkson hopes the Standards and Testing Agency - which is part of the DfE - might consider lowering the pass mark this year, in response to how difficult some students found it.
"For children to fail - or not achieve the standardised score - where we know in class they have been performing at an age-related expected level, or above, it just shows all the flaws of a system that depends almost entirely on one test," she said.
The government says it converts children's raw test scores into "scaled scores" so that tests can be compared, even if the difficulty varies.
Sarah Hewitt-Clarkson hopes this year's pass mark will be lowered
Heather, from Ipswich, said her son found this week's Sats process "absolutely fine".
"Our school puts very little pressure on our children for the Sats," she told BBC Radio 5 Live. "It's been quite a positive experience."
But Davina Bhanabhai, a writer from Leeds, said her daughter was "really flustered" by the English reading paper on Wednesday.
"Children came out feeling distraught, anxious and stressed. These three emotions are not what we want to bring our children up to experience," she told BBC News.
"The teachers are stressed because that's the only measure they have that they can show that they're doing their job," she added. "[The children] want to do well, so naturally that stress is going to be passed down [to them]."
Two education unions, the National Education Union (NEU) and NAHT, have raised concerns about the paper.
NEU joint general secretary, Mary Bousted, added there were "better ways of assessing pupils" than through Sats.
Steve Chalke, founder of Oasis UK, a trust which runs schools across England, said the test had left "many kids in tears, stressed and anxious".
He said texts chosen in the reading test were "inappropriate in that they were elitist", and covered experiences that were "completely outside the cultural context of children that live in poverty".
"The texts were boring, they weren't fun, and education should be about fun as much as anything else," he told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme.
Isabel Nisbet, who was the chief executive of the exams watchdog Ofqual between 2007 and 2011, said a fair test is one "learners can relate to, and the content is something that is meaningful to them".
She said the tests will be marked consistently, and she is "quite confident" the way the marks are reported "will take account of how difficult the test was".
She told the Today programme: "The problem is other types of unfairness… and in particular there is a kind of unfairness if people's legitimate expectations are not met.
"For example if they have practised particular types of text, or particular types of reading, and then the test comes along and suddenly they find it's not what they were brought to expect, and that's an upsetting thing."
Standard Assessment Tests, or Sats, are tests that children take in Year 6, at the end of Key Stage 2. They are national curriculum assessments in English grammar, punctuation and spelling, English reading and maths.
The government's Standards and Testing Agency says the purposes of Sats tests are to:
Children also sit Sats in Year 2, at the end of Key Stage 1.
Last year, 59% of Year 6 pupils met the expected levels in reading, writing and maths - down from 65% in 2019.
The national curriculum tests were cancelled in 2020 and 2021, during the pandemic.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-65570684
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Wild lion Loonkiito, 'one of the world's oldest', killed in Kenya - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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"Symbol of resilience" Loonkiito was killed after preying on livestock in a Kenyan village on Wednesday.
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Africa
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At 19, Loonkiito had a longer life than most wild lions
A wild male lion believed to be one of the world's oldest has died after being speared by herders, authorities in Kenya have said.
Loonkiito, who was 19, died in Olkelunyiet village on Wednesday night after preying on livestock.
Conservation group Lion Guardians said he was "the oldest male lion in our ecosystem and possibly in Africa". Most lions live to around 13 in the wild.
Almost all lions live in Africa with a small population in India, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature.
Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) spokesperson Paul Jinaro told the BBC the lion was old and frail and wandered into the village from the park in search of food.
Mr Jinaro could not confirm if he was the oldest lion in the country but noted he was "very old".
The Maasai-operated Lion Guardians group works to conserve the lion population in Amboseli National Park, and said the end of a drought was "habitually marked by an uptick in human-lion conflict" as "wild prey recover and become more difficult to hunt".
"In desperation, lions often turn to take livestock," it said.
It added the killing of Loonkiito was a "tough situation for both sides, the people and the lion", and eulogised him as "a symbol of resilience and coexistence".
Paula Kahumbu, a wildlife conservationist and chief executive officer of WildlifeDirect, said she was pained by the killing of the lion and called for measures to protect wildlife in the country.
"This is the breaking point for human-wildlife conflict and we need to do more as a country to preserve lions, which are facing extinction," Ms Kahumbu told the BBC.
The average lifespan of a lion is about 13 years in the wild, although they can live much longer in captivity.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-65574623
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Mae Muller gets surprise call from Ringo Starr! - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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Before the ex-Beatle rang her, a choir burst into song with her Eurovision entry, I Wrote A Song.
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UK Eurovision entrant Mae Muller has had a double surprise on the streets of Liverpool ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest final.
During an interview with the BBC, a choir burst into song with her Eurovision entry, I Wrote A Song.
Then one of Liverpool's most famous sons sent her a good luck message.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-65572099
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The View: Gig halted after band members clash on stage - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The concert by The View was halted after the lead singer apparently threw a punch at the bassist.
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Manchester
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The View, pictured left to right: Darren Rennie, Kieren Webster, Pete Reilly and Kyle Falconer
A gig came to an abrupt halt after The View lead singer apparently threw a punch at the band's bassist.
Fans were left shocked when the disturbance broke out between Kyle Falconer and Kieren Webster at The Deaf Institute in Manchester.
The set ended with the musicians walking off stage after the clash was captured in footage shared on Twitter.
Fan Saffie Yates, who had waited six years to see the band, said she first thought it was some sort of stunt.
She said: "It was very scary to see someone you respect behave like this.
"The bass player normally plays a couple of songs and it was his birthday yesterday. He wanted to play a third song and the lead singer went for him.
"He punched the bassist. I didn't know if it was part of the act.
"The band left the stage and the fans were hanging around waiting to see what would happen.
Warning: The Tweet below contains offensive language and violence.
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A statement from the band's management apologised to fans who attended the Wednesday night show.
A spokesman said the group's next appearance, booked in London for Thursday night, had been postponed.
He added: "Unfortunately we are having to postpone tonight's London show.
"Our promoter is working to resolve the situation.
"Please keep hold of your tickets for now & we will make a further announcement in a few days. Massive apologies to all our fans."
The band, from Dundee, is also due to play at the Neighbourhood Weekender festival in Warrington at the end of the month before several other festival dates over summer.
Formed in 2005, The View is best known for its hit Same Jeans, which charted at number three in 2007, and their platinum-selling debut album Hats Off to the Buskers which topped the album charts.
The band split in 2017 and has since played a variety of comeback gigs.
Described on its Twitter feed as "three pals in a band from Dryburgh", the group is planning to release a new album called Exorcism of Youth in August.
Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram?You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-65558954
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Plaid Cymru: MS says misconduct in party allowed to go on too long - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Mid and West Wales Senedd member says Plaid needs a culture change after leader's resignation.
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Wales
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Cefin Campbell says "unacceptable behaviour" was tolerated in Plaid Cymru for many years
A culture of bullying and misogyny in Plaid Cymru was allowed to go on "too long", one of its MSs has said.
Cefin Campbell said rumours of misconduct were known about for "many years" within the party and everyone who failed to report it was complicit.
Adam Price quit as leader on Wednesday after a report found "too many instances of bad behaviour" were tolerated by senior figures.
Mr Campbell said the culture within the party now "had to change".
"For too long... people have known about misconduct in Plaid Cymru, whether it's misogyny, bullying, sexual harassment or whatever unacceptable behaviour," the MS for Mid and West Wales told BBC Radio Wales.
He said he had not seen the behaviour described in a review led by former Plaid politician Nerys Evans since he became a Senedd member in 2021, but admitted he had "heard rumours".
"So we are all complicit in the sense that we haven't maybe reported even rumours, so that has to stop, that culture has to change."
Mr Campbell said he had supported Mr Price to continue as leader to implement the 82 recommendations in the report.
Adam Price resigned after saying he no longer had the support of his party
But he said Mr Price had "lost the dressing room" among the Plaid's Senedd group and did the "honourable thing" by stepping down.
North Wales MS Llyr Gruffydd became interim leader of Plaid on Thursday.
Mr Campbell said the party is not "divided" but the Senedd group has "differing views".
"I think that's always healthy for a democratic party," he said. "I haven't seen any infighting, there have been different views."
He added he still respects those who moved against Mr Price, saying they did what they believed was "for the good of the party".
Plaid Cymru has said a permanent new leader will be in place in the summer
Karl Davies, who was Plaid Cymru chief executive from 1993 to 2002, warned that "if the party has moved from being a place where people felt safe, felt inclusive, and it has become a fearful culture, with people not feeling that inclusion, then the party is in a dire situation".
Speaking on BBC Radio Cymru's Dros Frecwast programme, he said: "The party depends on its members in terms of financial resources, to go out and knock on doors during elections, and depends on being part of their community.
"If the members feel that they are not being led correctly and that the party leadership is maintaining the 'toxic' culture, as it was called in the report, then there will be no motivation to go out and do the work and that will be damning for the party practically as well as culturally."
Elin Jones believes it would be better if a "divisive" leadership election was avoided
Mr Davies spoke of a "feeling that the membership in the Senedd has taken over the party and the members are less powerful".
"The new leader needs to ensure that the members of the party feel that they are once again in control, and I really hope that there will be a leader who will understand the grass roots of the party," he added.
Meanwhile, Senedd presiding officer and Ceredigion Plaid Cymru MS Elin Jones confirmed in a Facebook post that she would not be joining any leadership race.
She added that she would rather there was no such election at all, but admitted her view could belong to a "minority of one".
Ms Jones, who previously ran to lead the party in 2012, said: "I won't be putting my name forward to be Plaid Cymru leader.
"Who would I like it to be? In all honesty, I'd like to see unity behind one candidate, thus avoiding a divisive, distracting leadership election so we can carry on with the job for our constituents and our country.
"There's a lot of work to do."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-65570357
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Free school meals: Rising food prices 'harming Wales plan' - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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There are calls for extra funding for caterers so they can deliver better food for pupils.
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Wales
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A payment of £2.90 per child per meals is no longer viable, says Prof Kevin Morgan
The increasing cost of food means school caterers are struggling to deliver the Welsh government's plan for universal free school meals.
School food expert Prof Kevin Morgan said the government needs to look at increasing the price per meal given to local councils.
Education Minister Jeremy Miles said it is looking at the unit price.
It was set with "an assumption about possible increases in costs", Mr Miles said.
He added: "The world has obviously moved on and we are doing a review."
At the moment, Welsh councils get about £2.90 per child per meal for primary school meals.
This price was set before the new universal school meals policy was started last September.
Prof Morgan told the BBC's Wales Live "that £2.90 is no longer a viable rate in my view".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Cook Jane Jones looking forward to the challenge when the rollout began
"That obviously needs to be looked at again," he added.
He said it was important that the food available for children was attractive and high quality to reduce waste.
Universal free school meals will be rolled out in phases to primary school pupils across Wales
Brad Pearce, the national chairman of the Local Authority Caterers Association, painted a difficult picture for school caterers across Wales.
He said members had seen increases of 20% on the price of things such as milk, cheese, meat, fruit and vegetables.
"Cumulatively we'll have seen increases between 50 and 70% since May last year," he added.
Mr Pearce said the funding per meal needed to rise with inflation to enable caterers to buy good quality produce.
He said: "We need those to be reviewed and addressed... to take into account the increase in food costs so we can buy the local, fresh produce to produce the best quality meals."
According to the Office for National Statistics, food inflation has increased by nearly 5% since September.
Universal free school meals are being rolled out in phases to all primary school pupils in Wales, as part of a co-operation agreement between the Labour Welsh government and Plaid Cymru.
"It needed to be a whole school approach, with the additional workload that it's brought," says head teacher Gayle Major
By April, every child in reception, Year One and Year Two was supposed to have been offered a free school meal.
Most schools in Wales have reached that target, but not all.
Despite this, the education minister said he was confident the target of offering all primary school pupils a school meal would be reached by April 2024.
"The effort which has gone into delivering this policy amongst local authorities right across Wales has been mammoth," said Mr Miles.
"By next year every child in a primary school in Wales will be offered a nutritious hot meal which is an incredible achievement."
At Blaenhonddan Primary School in Bryncoch, Neath Port Talbot, staff said the rollout had been hard work but a success.
Head teacher Gayle Major said parents were "absolutely delighted" with the new policy but there were "significant challenges" to get it started.
"It needed to be a whole school approach, with the additional workload that it's brought to the school, the willingness of the staff within the kitchen and within my own staff to take on the extra responsibility has enabled it to be a success," she said.
"The school has taken on two extra permanent members of staff to cope with the increase in demand."
More on this story on Wales Live, which is on BBC One Wales on Wednesdays at 22:40 BST, and on the BBC iPlayer
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-65557956
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South Africa supplied arms to Russia - US ambassador Reuben Brigety - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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President Cyril Ramaphosa's office says it is disappointed by the claims and demands evidence.
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Africa
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The Russian fleet sent to South Africa for naval exercises was led by the Admiral Gorshkov warship, seen here in Cape Town in February
The US ambassador to South Africa has accused the country of supplying weapons to Russia despite its professed neutrality in the war in Ukraine.
Reuben Brigety claimed that a Russian ship was loaded with ammunition and arms in Cape Town last December.
President Cyril Ramaphosa's office said it was disappointed by the claims and said no evidence has been provided to support them.
The country has maintained claims of neutrality in the invasion of Ukraine.
Mr Brigety said at a media briefing in Pretoria on Thursday that Washington had concerns about the country's stated non-aligned stance on the conflict.
He referred to the docking of a cargo ship in the Simon's Town naval base between 6 and 8 December last year which he was "confident" uploaded weapons and ammunition "as it made its way back to Russia".
The presence of the ship, the Lady R, had seemed curious at the time and raised questions from some local politicians.
"The arming of the Russians is extremely serious, and we do not consider this issue to be resolved," Mr Brigety said, in a damning accusation that seems to have caught South Africa's officials off guard.
In the wake of the allegations, the South African government announced the establishment of an independent inquiry led by a retired judge, a spokesman for the president's office said.
The US has been critical for months about South Africa's continued cosy relationship with Russia.
State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel told journalists on Thursday that the US had previously raised concerns about the Lady R with numerous South African officials.
He said the US would speak out against "any country taking steps to support Russia's illegal and brutal war in Ukraine", but would not say whether there would be any repercussions for South Africa if the claims proved to be true.
Washington has also expressed concerns about South Africa's participation in military exercises with Russia and China during the anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told parliament his government was looking into the claims
The naval exercises took place over 10 days in February and were criticised by opposition figures as an endorsement of the Russian invasion.
The South African authorities denied the war games were provocatively timed to coincide with the one-year anniversary and said the country routinely hosts similar drills with other nations, including France and the US.
South Africa previously abstained from a UN vote condemning the invasion. It also refused to join the US and Europe in imposing sanctions on Russia.
In response to a question raised by the leader of the opposition John Steenhuisen, President Ramaphosa told parliament on Thursday that the comments made by the US ambassador would be looked into.
The president asked opposition parties to allow for the process to be completed, adding that "in time we will be able to speak about it".
If the claims are true, they not only weaken South Africa's claim of neutrality, but some may even go as far as saying the country is complicit in the ongoing aggression of Russia in Ukraine.
"If South African bullets are found on Ukraine bodies, that is not a position we would want to be in," one expert in international relations said.
The details around the arms cache are still thin. It is not clear if the weapons would have been acquired from a state-owned arms company, or a weapons company based in South Africa.
But either way, this does not bode well for South Africa's international ties, especially with the US, one of its largest trade allies.
At the heart of the issue for South Africa now, off the back of these claims, will be the impression this could create that the country is not only non-aligned but has in fact chosen to be a "soft ally" to Russia, at a time when some Western countries see Russia as an aggressor guilty of human rights violations.
South Africa has modern-day ties with Russia because they are members of the Brics alliance, a group which represents some of the world's leading emerging economies, including China, Brazil and India.
The country's governing African National Congress (ANC) also has long-standing ties with Russia.
South Africa was faced with a diplomatic dilemma in March after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He is accused of being responsible for war crimes in Ukraine, including the unlawful deportation of children.
Mr Putin was due to attend an upcoming Brics summit in South Africa in August but the warrant meant that Pretoria would have to detain him on arrival.
In response, last month Mr Ramaphosa said the ANC had decided that South Africa should quit the ICC, before backtracking hours later citing what his office called a communications "error".
Historically, South Africa had a thriving arms industry, selling weapons to countries across the continent. The scale of that arms power to date is currently not known.
South Africa's authorities have been less than pleased with the accusation from the US ambassador, saying the matter should have been handled through proper diplomatic channels.
It is not enough for the envoy to simply claim the existence of the intelligence and there will be an expectation from many in South Africa for the US to provide evidence of its claim.
This is a hang-over from claims once made by the US of weapons of mass destruction, which led to the invasion of Iraq some years ago.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-65563027
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Education: Cannabis linked to increase in school exclusions - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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Attendance in one Welsh country remains lower than pre-pandemic levels, following trends across Wales.
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Wales
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The report from Flintshire council finds that exclusions are generally on the rise across the county
Cannabis related issues have led to an increase in exclusions from schools, a council report has found.
Data collected in Flintshire showed that absences are increasing in the county, following similar trends across Wales.
The report highlighted illness, pupil behaviour and substance related issues as having an impact on attendance.
The council's education committee accepted the report's recommendations at a meeting on Thursday.
The report, from the council's chief officer for education Claire Homard, looked at the 2021-22 academic year. It found that attendance in Flintshire schools remains lower than pre-pandemic levels.
While illness continued to be the main factor impacting on attendance, substance related issues has led to a notable increase in exclusions across the county.
"The levels of permanent and fixed-term exclusion remain on an increasing trend, particularly across the secondary sector," the report said.
It noted, however, that this increase reflects trends across Wales.
It also highlighted that exclusions were already increasing prior to the initial Covid-19 lockdown.
But an "increasing complexity of need" and "wider contributing factors" such as children at risk of exploitation, substance misuse issues and anti-social behaviour are making providing this support increasingly difficult, the report said.
"One noticeable increase recorded was in relation to substance related issues mainly associated with cannabis usage."
To combat this, Flintshire council is working with partner agencies such as the drug and alcohol service Sorted and North Wales Police.
Other issues covered in the report were absences related to Covid, holidays, and head teachers challenging parents and carers on unauthorised absences.
Finally, it highlighted that levels of unauthorised absences are gradually increasing.
Parents have a statutory duty to ensure their children attend school and action can be taken against those whose children do not attend with good reason, including fixed penalty notices.
"In 21/22 an initial batch of 10 fines were issued. Of these, seven were progressed and upheld by the magistrates' court resulting in one conditional discharge and six considerable financial penalties," the report said.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-65571907
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Eurovision stars complete BBC quiz - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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Mae Muller, Victor Vernicos and Gustaph answer six Eurovision questions.
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Mae Muller, Victor Vernicos and Gustaph answer six questions from the BBC News Eurovision quiz.
Watch to find out how they got on.
To have a go yourself, find the filter on the BBC News Instagram account on a mobile device and tilt your head sideways to select 'true' or 'false' in augmented reality.
And it's on TikTok @bbcnews - play with it there.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-65578337
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Labour takes sexual harassment extremely seriously, says Keir Starmer - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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The Labour leader faces questions about an investigation that found a senior party aide groped an intern.
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UK Politics
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Sir Keir Starmer has said he takes allegations of sexual harassment "extremely seriously" after a Labour aide received a warning after allegedly groping a junior a staff member.
The adviser to a member of Labour's front bench was allowed to keep his job, though he has now resigned.
Misconduct allegations "are taken seriously" by Labour, Sir Keir said.
According to Politico, the aide was alleged to have groped a female intern 20 years his junior -a complaint which was upheld by two separate investigations.
She complained first to the parliamentary authorities, which resulted in a letter of apology, and then to the Labour Party, which took three years to investigate the case, the news website said.
Under party rules, allegations of sexual misconduct are investigated by a panel of Labour's National Executive Committee members, advised by an independent legal professional.
Asked whether he was embarrassed the inquiry took three years, Sir Keir Starmer, a former director of public prosecutions, said: "I think all of these allegations have to be taken extremely seriously, and they are taken seriously by me and the party.
"I do understand, from my experience as chief prosecutor, how difficult it is for people to come forward.
"That is among the reasons why we made our process completely independent, so it is not a political process any more.
"What I would say is: I would encourage anybody to come forward and to feel they are supported through that independent process."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65572165
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Teen's terror plot against police and soldiers thwarted by mother - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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Islamist militant Matthew King faces sentence for planning attacks on British soldiers and police.
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Essex
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A teenage Islamic State convert who has admitted plotting attacks on British police and soldiers has had his sentencing delayed after reports he has threatened to behead a prison imam.
The judge at the Old Bailey has adjourned the sentencing of 19-year-old Matthew King from Wickford in Essex.
He was put under surveillance after his mother raised concerns that videos he was watching promoted hatred.
Judge Mark Lucraft KC said she had "done exactly the right thing".
King pleaded guilty in January to the preparation of terrorist attacks between 22 December 2021 and 17 May 2022.
At Friday's sentencing hearing in London, the prosecution outlined the case and the defence began its mitigation, however the judge adjourned the hearing for two weeks for further inquiries to be made at the prison where King is being held.
The court heard that intelligence reports from the jail suggested King had said he would "behead the imam".
King's barrister Hossein Zahir KC said this was "a throwaway remark by an angry young man being stuck in his cell" and asked for further inquiries.
Earlier, the prosecuting barrister Paul Jarvis told the court King had dabbled in drugs since early secondary school, was expelled and left education at 16 with no qualifications.
He said King converted to Islam in 2020 and, at first, his behaviour improved, but in 2021 he began criticising his sisters' clothing as immodest and attended mosques wearing combat clothing.
He was put under surveillance after his mother reported him to the government's anti-extremism agency Prevent, because she feared some of the videos he was watching promoted hatred.
Several of the mosques he attended also warned him about his behaviour, and one decided he was no longer welcome, Mr Jarvis told the court.
In 2022, in the weeks before his arrest, King began carrying out reconnaissance in east London, including on police officers patrolling outside Stratford railway station, as well as at Stratford police station itself and the local magistrates' court.
Mr Jarvis told the court that one of the videos found on his phone featured footage near the police station, overlaid with a soundtrack including the words: "Coldly kill them with hate and rage. Plan your perfect killing spree."
On 17 May 2022, a CCTV camera captured him filming after dark outside a 7 Rifles Army barracks in east London.
He was arrested at his home the following day and his phone examined.
Officers found Snapchat messages King sent to a girl who was still in the sixth form, known in court as Miss A, in which he said he wanted to travel to Syria to become a martyr.
They exchanged messages about how they would like to mutilate members of the British and American armed forces.
Miss A wrote to him: "We can't let them die quick tho. Slow painful death akhi... I'll guide you through it. Or bring him or her home."
The prosecution said King had said he was "training for Jihad" and just wanted "to kill people".
Mr Jarvis told the court that on 17 May 2022, the day before King's arrest, the girl messaged him to say she wanted to concentrate on her exams.
King replied to say he would "be worshipping Allah" and he might soon be "on the news".
The sentencing has been adjourned until 26 May.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-65576185
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Vesna 'are not your dolls': Eurovision Q&A - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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Six piece girl band Vesna have already made the final, with a song that urges support for Ukraine.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Every day this week, we're speaking to one of the leading contenders for the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest.
For our penultimate chat, we caught up with girl group Vesna, whose feminist anthem My Sister's Crown sailed through Tuesday's qualifiers, thanks to its defiant refrain: "We are not your dolls".
Although they're representing Czechia (formerly the Czech Republic), the six-piece are actually a multi-national act.
Rapper Tanita is Bulgarian, bass player Tereza is Slovak, pianist Olesya is Russian, while songwriter Patricie Kaňok, drummer Marketa and violinist Bára are all from Czechia.
They even collaborated with Ukraine's Kateryna Vatchenko on their Eurovision entry - whose chorus is sung in Ukrainian as a message of solidarity with their war-torn European neighbour.
Dressed in blush-pink suits, with floor-length ponytails, the band are mobbed by fans when they arrive in the Eurovision press centre. After posing for an endless succession of Instagram photos, TikTok video and BeReal snaps, they sit down to discuss their Eurovision experience.
You've just been mobbed! Is that happening everywhere now?
Patricie: Yes! It still feels a bit crazy. But we're just so happy that our message is being understood. That's what Eurovision is about. So, when the fans come and they love the song, we couldn't be more grateful.
How has the whole rehearsal and semi-final process been?
Patricie: It's really fine. We feel rooted on the stage and we feel calm. I think we're ready for the final.
How strange is it to be dancing instead of playing your instruments on stage?
Olesya: It's very strange - because until recently we pretended to play the instruments on stage and it was like, where's the sound? [The technical complexity of Eurovision means that all songs are sung to a backing track]. But now, as we are all dancing, we can express our emotions through our movements.
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I'm a drummer and if anybody asked me to get up and dance, I'd be like, "I'm good, thanks. I'll stay hidden behind the kit."
Tanita: Fortunately, our drummer has great moves, so we have no problem.
Patricie: We always say how funny that our first public dance performance will be watched by 60 million people and our second, in the final, will be watched by 200 million. For beginners, that's pretty good!
You're rocking these incredible floor-length braids, which are part of your dance routine.
Tanita; We call it hair-ography! We've been practicing for three months.
Has anyone tripped up yet?
Patricie: No, we have carefully planned the plaits not to be longer than our ankles. Of course, tripping over has happened in our nightmares, but it hasn't happened in real life. And It won't happen.
The band's performance was a fan favourite in the Liverpool Arena at Tuesday's semi-final
My Sister's Crown is a really powerful song. Can you tell us a bit about the lyrics?
Patricie: Our message is to stand up for those people who are being put down or being stepped on. If you see somebody being pushed into the corner, or having their crown taken away, we feel it's wrong.
So it has a message of empowerment - which you can see in our sisterhood. But can also apply to a community or a country that is going through a hard time.
When you sing the chorus in Ukrainian, it's a really powerful statement.
Patricie: That's correct. When we sing, "we stand for you" in Ukrainian, we are supporting that Slavic country with a message from all the other Slavic counties.
There's a feminine principle of solidarity and empathy with other, and when you see that basic human rights are being neglected, it's just so painful.
You've been playing together since 2016. How has the band developed?
Tanita: We all met in music school in Prague in the Czech Republic, but we all come from different countries.
Patricie: We've already released two albums at home, and the music usually depicts what we are going through as a band, as women. The more mature we get, we see world in a different way, so every record reflects that growth and I think with time it's getting more and more polished.
So for example, right now, with the opportunity of having our music exposed to the whole world, we decided to create an EP which is combining other Slavic languages.
I heard a rumour it will be released on Sunday...
Patricie: Yeah, it comes out one day after Eurovision.
The group have already released two albums, toured with Aurora and collaborated with Hradec Kralove's Philharmonic Orchestra
Czechia's best result in Eurovision is sixth place but there's speculation that you might improve on that. Does that get into your head?
Patricie: Every time when we go on a stage, a few moments before we begin, we just make a circle and we remind each other, "This is not about us being perfect. It's not about worrying about making mistakes or not making mistakes." We're really here to spread a message and that has already happened.
So if people love it and if they understand it - if it touches their heart - then that's our victory.
Patricie, I know you're a huge Taylor Swift fan... What would you do if she called up to ask for a collaboration?
Patricie: Oh my God. You don't want me into your microphone but, 'Aaaaaaaaaaah'! For sure she could come along. She's a genius songwriter. I don't understand how she manages to write two albums in one year!
To be fair, that was in lockdown. We all had a lot of time on our hands.
Patricie: That's true. But again, I think we also did a good job of staying creative during Eurovision. We recorded three new songs in the last two months and you can hear them on the EP. So we are in Taylor's shadow but it's a good shadow to be in.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-65556806
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Jordan Neely: Ex-Marine Daniel Penny to be charged over New York subway death - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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Daniel Penny, 24, will be accused of causing the death of Jordan Neely who was placed in a chokehold.
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US & Canada
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The incident on 1 May was filmed by bystanders and sparked protests across New York
A former US Marine who placed a homeless man in a fatal chokehold on the New York subway is expected to be charged with manslaughter.
Daniel Penny, 24, will be arrested on Friday and accused of causing the death of 30-year-old Jordan Neely in a train carriage on 1 May.
His lawyers say he could not have known his actions to subdue Mr Neely would lead to his death.
My Neely was pinned to the ground and put in a chokehold for several minutes.
He had been shouting at other subway passengers and asking for money, witnesses said, but there is no indication he had physically attacked anyone.
The incident was filmed by bystanders and sparked protests across New York. A video captured by a freelance journalist on the train shows the former Marine holding the Mr Neely around the neck for two minutes and 55 seconds.
He was later found unconscious in the carriage and taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead. His death resulted from compression of the neck, the city's medical examiner ruled.
Mr Penny told other riders to call the police during the struggle, according to CBS News, the BBC's US partner.
He was questioned and released by police in New York on the day of the incident. But on Thursday, prosecutors said they would bring criminal charges against him.
"We can confirm that Daniel Penny will be arrested on a charge of manslaughter in the second degree," a spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office said in a statement.
"We cannot provide any additional information until he has been arraigned in Manhattan criminal court."
It is not clear whether charges will be brought against two other unidentified people who were also seen restraining Mr Neely.
In a statement earlier this month, lawyers for Mr Penny expressed condolences to the Neely family, and said Mr Penny and other passengers acted in self-defence.
They said Mr Neely's behaviour was "the apparent result of ongoing and untreated, mental illness", which prompted Mr Penny and others "to protect themselves, until help arrived".
A witness to the altercation said Mr Neely was shouting about being hungry and thirsty. Police sources also told CBS News that Mr Neely was allegedly acting erratically.
In a statement earlier this week, Mr Neely's family said that Mr Penny needed to be in prison. "The family wants you to know that Jordan matters," they said.
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Mr Neely was a Michael Jackson impersonator who frequently performed in Times Square.
He had a number of previous offences, which New York City Mayor Eric Adams said highlights the need to improve the mental health system so that it can better protect people like him.
He had 42 arrests on charges such as evading fares, theft, and assaults on three women, according to US media reports.
His mother, Christie Neely, was murdered in 2007 by her boyfriend, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2012, according to the Jersey Journal.
Following his mother's death, Mr Neely began experiencing mental health issues, his aunt, Carolyn Neely, told the New York Post.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-65567073
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Kids react to UK's past Eurovision winners - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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From Bucks Fizz to Sandie Shaw, what do Liverpool children think about previous champions?
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The UK has won Eurovision five times, so what do children think about these past performances?
To reflect on the UK’s previous success, kids from the Liverpool Philharmonic Melody Makers choir give their honest reviews.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65548573
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Three teachers in hospital after Johnstone High School disturbance - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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The teachers and a 14-year-old pupil were injured in an incident at Johnstone High School.
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Glasgow & West Scotland
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Three teachers and a 14-year-old pupil have been injured in a disturbance at Johnstone High School in Renfrewshire.
Police were called at about 10:45 after a former pupil entered the school.
Three female teachers aged 59, 48 and 34 were taken to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley with minor injuries to be checked over. The 14-year-old pupil also suffered minor injuries.
Police said a 16-year-old girl had been charged and would be reported to the Scottish Children's Reporter.
A video showing a girl appearing to strike a teacher is circulating among pupils at the school. No weapons were involved in the incident.
Renfrewshire Council said the school continued to operate as normal and senior staff were providing any support needed to staff and pupils.
The parent of a Johnstone High pupil told BBC Scotland that there had been "ongoing issues with violence and vandalism over a number of months".
He added: "The toilets are now permanently closed to all pupils, as they have been completely vandalised and taken out of use on numerous occasions.
"I have total sympathy for the headteacher, who I believe does an excellent job in very difficult circumstance."
Earlier on Friday, the NASUWT teaching union said an increase in "challenging" behaviour in schools across the country since the pandemic meant teachers were often having to intervene in fights between pupils and called for more to be done to protect staff.
The union's Mike Corbett said: "While the full circumstances of this incident are yet to be made public, we have raised repeated concerns about the vulnerability of teachers to violence and verbal abuse from pupils.
"Teachers have reported to us that the prevalence of poor behaviour appears to have increased since the pandemic and that in too many cases they do not feel adequately protected at work."
Scotland's biggest teaching union, the EIS, has previously said it has received reports of rising numbers of violent incidents in schools.
Several social media videos of fights between pupils have also been highlighted in the media.
In November, teachers at Bannerman High in Glasgow announced 12 days of strike action over violent and abusive pupil behaviour.
The following month, teachers at a school in Aberdeen also voted in favour of industrial action over pupil violence against staff.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-65574915
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Ukraine claims gains in Bakhmut after Russia denials - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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After months of slow Russian advances in the devastated city, the momentum seems to have shifted.
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Europe
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A Ukrainian soldier firing an anti-tank grenade launcher at a front line near Bakhmut (pictured on 3 May)
Ukraine says it has recaptured ground in Bakhmut, a rare advance after months of grinding Russian gains in the eastern city.
Kyiv said its forces advanced 2km (1.2 miles) in a week. Russia said its troops had regrouped in one area.
The claims signal a momentum shift in Bakhmut - but more widely, there is no clear evidence of a Ukrainian counter-offensive.
However, two explosions were reported on Friday in Russian-occupied Luhansk.
Images posted on social media, verified by the BBC, show a big plume of black smoke rising from the city, which lies about 90km (55.9 miles) behind the front line in eastern Ukraine.
The blasts come a day after the UK said it had supplied Ukraine with long range Storm Shadow cruise missiles.
Kremlin-appointed officials said six children in Luhansk were injured in a missile attack alongside Russian parliamentarian Viktor Vodolatsky. The authorities there have blamed the attack on Kyiv.
Luhansk is beyond the reach of the Himars rockets Ukraine has previously relied on for deep strikes against Russian targets.
But Russian-appointed officials in the region said they thought Ukrainian-made missiles were responsible, hitting administrative buildings of two defunct enterprises.
Earlier Russia's defence ministry said Russian troops in one Bakhmut area had changed their position for strategic reasons.
It said units of the southern group of Russian forces had taken up a better defensive position in the Maloilinivka area, something which took into consideration "the favourable conditions of the Berkhivka reservoir".
However the head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin said what the Ministry of Defence was talking about "is unfortunately called 'fleeing' and not a 'regrouping'".
As the intense, bloody battle has worn on, Bakhmut has become symbolically important - though many experts question its tactical value.
In a post on Telegram, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar claimed Russia suffered significant troop losses as Ukraine gained 2km without losing any positions.
Meanwhile Russian military bloggers reported Ukrainian advances or troop movements in several areas.
The Institute for the Study of War also said Ukrainian forces had probably made gains of 2km in Bakhmut.
The BBC has verified video of soldiers with Ukrainian-identifying markings posing in front of a gate and a tank in the distance, also with Ukrainian markings.
The video, published on 11 May, has been located to an area around Bakhmut industrial college, until recently held by Wagner troops.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says his army needs more equipment ahead of counter-offensive
Away from Bakhmut, the exiled mayor of Melitopol reported a large explosion on Friday morning in the centre of the south-eastern city, which has been occupied by Russia since the start of the war.
It was not known what caused the blast, but the Ukrainian air force made 14 strikes on Russian forces and military equipment on Thursday, Ukraine's armed forces said.
Alongside the air strikes, Ukraine said it destroyed nine Russian drones and carried out successful attacks on dozens of military targets - including artillery units, an ammunition warehouse and air defence equipment.
After months of stalemate, a Ukrainian counter-offensive - helped by newly-arrived Western weapons - has been openly discussed. But Ukraine's president said on Thursday it was too early to start the attack.
"With [what we already have] we can go forward and, I think, be successful," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview.
"But we'd lose a lot of people. I think that's unacceptable. So we need to wait. We still need a bit more time."
Despite President Zelensky's words, pro-Kremlin Russian war correspondent Sasha Kots claimed the counter-offensive had begun.
Ukrainian tanks were on the Kharkiv ring road heading towards the border with Russia, he said, quoting "trusted" sources. His claims could not be independently verified.
"There are low loaders in the columns carrying Western [tank] models among others," Kots added.
"In other words," he said, "Kiev [Kyiv] has decided to aggravate the situation along the northern front in parallel with the start of offensive actions on the flanks of Artyomovsk [the Russian name for Bakhmut]."
Another Russian war correspondent, Alexander Simonov, wrote on Telegram that Ukrainian forces had broken through near the village of Bohdanivka, close to Bakhmut, taking "several square kilometres" of ground.
Ukrainian military analyst Oleksandr Musivenko said Kyiv recognised that the anticipated counter-offensive might not necessarily defeat Russia "in all occupied areas".
He told Ukrainian NV radio there was every possibility the war could continue into next year. "It all depends on how the battles develop. We can't guarantee how the counteroffensive will develop," he said.
An unnamed senior US military official told CNN that Ukrainian forces were preparing for a major counter-offensive by striking targets such as weapons depots, command centres and armour and artillery systems..
Ukraine's spring 2022 advances in the southern and north-eastern parts of the country were also preceded by air attacks to "shape" the battlefield.
Daniele Palumbo and Richard Irvine-Brown contributed to this article
Frank Gardner weighs up the possible outcomes for the war, as Ukraine prepares a counter-offensive against Russian forces.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65567143
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Ukraine war: WFP chief Cindy McCain says grain deal with Russia needed to feed world - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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Cindy McCain tells the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme the deal must be renewed by 18 May.
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Europe
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A grain terminal at the port in Odesa in Ukraine
The head of the World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that it will be difficult to feed the world if Russia pulls out of the Ukraine grain deal.
Cindy McCain told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme that the deal, which is due to expire on 18 May, must be renewed.
The export agreement has allowed Ukraine to transport millions of tonnes of food despite the ongoing conflict.
The deal was brokered by the UN and Turkey last July.
It was agreed to help tackle a global food crisis after access to Ukraine's ports in the Black Sea was blocked by Russian warships following the invasion in February 2022.
Ukraine is a major global exporter of sunflower, maize, wheat and barley, and more than half of the wheat grain procured by the WFP last year came from there.
At the same time, the UN also agreed to help Moscow facilitate its own agricultural shipments.
"They must renew the deal. We can't possibly be able to feed the region let alone the world unless they do," Ms McCain said.
"As you know, Ukraine used to be pretty much the breadbasket of Europe, and now that's not happening. And we need to get the grain out because it's affecting other countries."
The deal is meant to be extended for 120 days at a time but Russia has threatened to quit the agreement on 18 May over obstacles to its grain and fertiliser exports.
Senior officials from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN met in Istanbul on Thursday to discuss proposals to extend the deal.
The meeting appeared to end without Russian agreement.
The Kremlin said that Russian President Vladimir Putin could speak to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan at short notice if needed regarding an extension of the deal, but no such plans have been announced as yet.
Ms McCain said the WFP had been sourcing grains from other sources to distribute to countries around the world but it had not been able to feed as many people due to rising costs.
Cindy McCain told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme that it was "50/50" whether the deal would be renewed
She said the conflict "has managed to completely cascade around the world difficulties to be able to feed people".
Ms McCain, who took office last month, said she believed it would be difficult for Ukrainian farmers to be able to bring in a harvest this year.
"I know that there are some farms that are still operating. But you have to remember, a large majority of the land where the crops were grown before are now mined, with land mines," she said.
"The equipment that they use to work the farms are mined. This is a tragic situation. And if the conflict were to end today, we'd be years being able to clear the land and clear the properties to make sure that it was safe to plant and safe to put livestock on."
On whether she thought Russia would sign an extension to the Black Sea grain deal, she said: "No, I'm not, I'm not confident that they will. The things I've been hearing is that... it's 50/50 right now.
"It worries me very much. And it should worry everybody else too."
She urged "every world leader" to help facilitate the renewal of the deal and end the conflict.
Turkey's Defence Ministry said on Thursday that progress had been made in the talks on the Black Sea grain deal and that the parties had agreed to continue four-way technical meetings.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said after the talks that the grain deal should be extended for a longer period and expanded. He said the talks would continue online.
Russia has issued a list of demands regarding its own agricultural exports that it wants met before it agrees to an extension, including restarting a pipeline that delivers Russian ammonia to a Ukrainian Black Sea port, which the UN has been pushing for.
You can see the whole interview on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, this Sunday, on BBC One and iPlayer from 09:00 BST
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65565800
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E Jean Carroll: Donald Trump appeals against $5m verdict in sex abuse trial - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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A jury on Tuesday found Mr Trump liable for the sexual assault and defamation of writer E Jean Carroll
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US & Canada
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Former US President Donald Trump has filed a court notice of appeal two days after a civil trial found he sexually abused a woman, E Jean Carroll, in a New York department store.
A New York jury awarded Ms Carroll nearly $5m in damages over her allegation that Mr Trump attacked her in the 1990s.
Jurors found Mr Trump, 76, liable for battery and defamation, but not rape.
His appeal comes a day after the former president called his accuser a "wack job" during a CNN town hall event.
"I swear on my children, which I never do. I have no idea who this woman is. This is a fake story," he said.
He accused the civil trial's presiding judge of anti-Trump bias and said that his decision not to testify in person would not have made any difference to the outcome.
The jury's verdict marked the first time Mr Trump, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than two dozen women, was found legally responsible for assault.
Ms Carroll, a writer and long-time advice columnist, claimed Mr Trump raped her inside a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room and has defamed her by calling her allegation "a hoax and a lie".
The jury of six men and three women deliberated for less than three hours on Tuesday before reaching their decision.
The standard of proof in civil cases is lower than in criminal cases, meaning that jurors were only required to find that it was more likely than not that Mr Trump assaulted Ms Carroll.
While the jury found Mr Trump liable for sexual battery and defamation of Ms Carroll, they did not find Mr Trump liable of raping her. To do so, the jury would have needed to have been convinced that Mr Trump had engaged in non-consensual sexual intercourse with Ms Carroll.
Mr Trump's lawyer Joe Tacopina told reporters outside the courtroom that it was "a strange verdict".
"They rejected her rape claim and she always claimed this was a rape case, so it's a little perplexing," he said.
He added that, in Mr Trump's hometown of New York, where the former president is now unpopular, "you just can't get a fair trial".
The case will now move to the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Ms Carroll's lawyer Roberta Kaplan earlier expressed confidence to US media that Mr Trump has "no legitimate arguments for appeal".
"I've rarely felt more confident about an appeal than I do about this one," she said.
Ms Kaplan also told the New York Times that her client was giving "serious consideration" toward filing a new defamation suit against Mr Trump over his latest comments on CNN.
Mr Trump is currently the frontrunner to once again win the Republican nomination for president in 2024, earning more than 50% support in national polls, including several conducted after the New York trial began.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-65566501
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Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price quits after damning report - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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Adam Price quits after review found misogyny, harassment and bullying in his party.
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Wales
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Adam Price says he no longer had the support of his party
Adam Price has quit as Plaid Cymru leader after a report found misogyny, harassment and bullying in the party.
North Wales Senedd member Llyr Gruffydd will take over as interim leader, with a new leader in place in the summer, the party has said.
It follows months of difficulties including allegations of a sexual assault made against a senior staff member, and a toxic working culture.
In his resignation letter, Mr Price said he no longer had the "united support" of his colleagues.
He said he wanted to resign in the wake of the report's findings, but was initially persuaded not to quit.
"You have my personal assurance that I will continue to serve my country, my constituents and our party with determination and enthusiasm," he said in a letter to party chairman, Marc Jones.
On Thursday Labour First Minister Mark Drakeford said discussions on his co-operation agreement with Plaid will take place "in light of recent developments"
He thanked Mr Price "for the constructive way the Welsh government and Plaid Cymru have worked together".
The resignation announcement was made following a meeting of the party's ruling body, the National Executive Committee (NEC), late on Wednesday night.
One source from the meeting said some members raised the possibility of Adam Price remaining in post.
But it was considered untenable given the seriousness of the findings of the review.
Plaid's Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts said Mr Price was not asked to resign in the wake of the "toxic culture" report because "stability" was needed to implement its recommendations.
Interim Plaid Cymru leader Llyr Gruffydd has been in the Senedd since 2011
Speaking on the Today programme, Liz Saville Roberts said: "Effective leadership is about balancing conflicting demands.
"What we felt strongly was that we needed a collegiate approach within the party because it (the report) cuts across all aspects of the party and it requires a change of culture".
"In order to do that we would need stability".
She also told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast that Mr Price had to go because he had become a "distraction".
She ruled herself out of a leadership contest, saying any new leader would have to be an elected member in the Senedd.
"I'm an MP in Westminster so that's done and dusted," she said.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Adam Price apologised last week but said the damning report points to a "collective failure" across the party
Mr Gruffydd's appointment as interim leader was agreed at a meeting of the party's Senedd members on Thursday and will need to be rubber-stamped by Plaid Cymru's National Council on Saturday.
He will not stand in the forthcoming leadership contest
Mr Gruffydd said he was "grateful to the Plaid Cymru Senedd group" for the nomination and thanked Mr Price for his "vision, commitment, and dedication".
Plaid Cymru is the third largest party in the Welsh Parliament, with 12 Members of the Senedd and three MPs in Westminster.
The pro-independence party is in a co-operation agreement with the Welsh Labour government, which means they help them govern.
Mr Price was elected party leader in 2018, when he ousted Leanne Wood.
Welsh Conservative leader, Andrew RT Davies, said: "I have no doubt Adam Price's departure is a moment of personal sadness for him.
"Following the recent report into the culture within their party, it became clear Plaid Cymru politicians no longer had confidence in his leadership, so his departure became inevitable."
For the converted, the die-hard believers, it wasn't meant to be like this.
Adam Price was touted by many in Plaid Cymru as a "once in a generation" politician who could overcome the party's many electoral barriers.
When he challenged his predecessor for the leadership in 2018, he said only he could "create the momentum" Plaid needed to become Wales' main party of government and install him as first minister.
And yet, there was no great advance at the following Senedd election - Plaid remains in third place behind the Welsh Conservatives.
Supporters will say it was an election like no other, one focused almost entirely on the public's broadly favourable opinion of the Welsh Labour government's handling of the pandemic.
It is clear, though, that some of the sheen had faded and in terms of public support, the party remains no further forward under Adam Price's leadership.
As it nears its 100th birthday celebrations, Plaid Cymru will seek its 11th leader with many of the perennial questions about its purpose, its lack of reach beyond the heartlands and its relationship with Welsh Labour likely to be raised.
But it is the drip, drip of negative stories over the last year, culminating in a damning report that found a toxic culture within the party that meant Adam Price's position was no longer tenable.
Addressing those major issues will be his successor's primary focus.
Since last year Plaid Cymru has been dogged by claims of a toxic culture in the party, and it emerged last November that an allegation of sexual assault had been made against a senior member of staff.
Separately, a serious allegation was also made about the conduct of a Member of the Senedd, Rhys ab Owen, who is now suspended from the Senedd group pending an investigation.
The party asked Nerys Evans, a lobbyist and former Plaid assembly member, to hold a review last December.
Her working group's report said Plaid needed to "detoxify a culture of harassment, bullying and misogyny".
It said too many instances of bad behaviour were tolerated, and said an anonymous survey of staff and elected members highlighted examples "of sexual harassment, bullying and discrimination".
Mr Price admitted the document left Plaid Cymru "harmed and tarnished". He apologised, but refused to quit.
In his resignation letter, Mr Price said: "On receiving the report, I informed you that I felt morally bound to step down as leader of the party in recognition of our collective failure."
"You counselled against my resignation as you felt it would make it more difficult to achieve progress in implementing the recommendations."
He said he was "persuaded by the argument that my stepping down would be an abdication of responsibility".
But he added: "It is now clear I no longer have the united support of my colleagues that would be necessary to follow this course to fruition."
Mr Drakeford said: "I want to thank Adam Price for the constructive way the Welsh government and Plaid Cymru have worked together to develop and implement the co-operation agreement. These shared priorities are making a real difference to people across Wales.
"The co-operation agreement is an agreement between the Welsh government and Plaid Cymru - not between individuals. There will be discussions about the agreement in light of recent developments."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-65553413
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Prince Harry: Claimants 'smearing' Mirror executives, lawyer says - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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Andrew Green KC says there have been "extreme allegations of dishonesty" as the group mounts its defence.
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UK
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The third day of the High Court hearing over alleged phone hacking claims against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) has wrapped up.
The claims have been brought by Prince Harry and three other high-profile claimants, represented by barrister David Sherborne KC.
This morning, Sherborne alleged that unlawful information-gathering practices - including hacking voicemails - to obtain private information had been covered up at the paper.
This was after he alleged on Thursday that such illicit activities were "widespread" and "authorised at the highest level" at the Mirror Group - which has denied using voicemail interception in these cases.
This afternoon we heard from the Mirror Group's lawyer, Andrew Green KC, who said the latest claims are of a "breath-taking level of triviality" and claimants were "smearing" executives by accusing the board of lies to cover up hacking.
Green argued that the claims before the court in this hearing are essentially out of time - and that they should have been brought earlier. Our legal correspondent Dominic Casciani explained that claims for damages should be brought within six years of the alleged victim knowing what happened.
Later, Green made the case that "any reasonable person" would have been aware of the phone hacking scandal that shut down the News of the World in 2011.
He said two of the claimants, Nikki Sanderson and Fiona Wightman, could have brought a claim against the Mirror Group years earlier.
He cited coverage of a 2015 civil trial in which the publisher was found to have hacked the phones of eight celebrities - but he argued they have now run out of time to sue for damages.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-65566057
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MP Joanna Cherry's Fringe show to go ahead after trans row - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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Joanna Cherry's show was cancelled over her views on transgender issues, but the venue apologised.
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Scotland
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SNP MP Joanna Cherry had said she would take legal action against The Stand if neccesary
The comedy club which cancelled a Fringe show by SNP MP Joanna Cherry has reinstated the event.
The Stand had cancelled the show after staff said they were not comfortable with her views on transgender issues.
But the venue has now said the decision was "unfair and constituted unlawful discrimination against Ms Cherry".
Ms Cherry said it was a "very welcome move by The Stand" and confirmed she will take part in August's event as originally planned.
The Stand said it had taken legal advice and now accepted it had got its original decision wrong.
In a statement, the club said it "publicly and unreservedly apologise to Ms Cherry".
It added: "We have always been clear that we oppose all forms of discrimination and recognise the rights of individuals to air views with which we may disagree.
"We hope that this apology draws a line under this episode."
Ms Cherry welcomed the apology and confirmed she will take part in the event.
She told BBC Radio Scotland Drivetime: "I didn't want to have to take legal action here and this was never about money.
"But the fact that The Stand have fully and frankly accepted that cancelling the event on account of my philosophical views as a lesbian and a feminist was unlawful, I really hope that's going to benefit other women, and indeed men."
Ms Cherry added she hoped the U-turn would discourage discrimination "against people like me" - who she said fully support equal rights for trans people but "don't believe that any man should be able to self identify as a woman".
The Stand previously said some of its staff were unwilling to work at the event
The Stand - which was co-founded by SNP MP Tommy Sheppard - has said it will donate its share of the profit from the event to the Edinburgh Food Project charity.
It added that management of the event will be discussed with its staff in the coming weeks.
Mr Sheppard, who sits on the venue's board and is believed to be one of a number of shareholders, said it would be wrong to characterise it as a dispute between him and Ms Cherry.
Ms Cherry was booked to take part in a series of In Conversation With... events with public figures in August.
The Edinburgh South West MP is a critic of Scotland's gender recognition reform plans, which make it easier for people to change their legally-recognised sex.
The MP previously said she felt she had been "cancelled and no-platformed" because she was a lesbian who holds gender-critical views, and had vowed to take "whatever legal action is necessary" unless The Stand admitted that it acted unlawfully, issued an apology and reinstated the event.
The Stand has released a copy of the letter its legal team sent to Ms Cherry.
The Scottish Events Campus in Glasgow was ordered to pay almost £100,000 in damages to a controversial evangelical US preacher after axing his event in 2020.
Franklin Graham's appearance at the Hydro was scrapped following pressure from Glasgow City Council, Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie and campaigners over his views on issues such as homosexuality, Islam and Donald Trump.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-65575748
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Tens of thousands at US border as Title 42 migrant policy ends - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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A record number of people are arriving at the southern border after a pandemic-era rule ended.
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US & Canada
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: What is the Title 42 border policy?
Tens of thousands of people are waiting to cross into the US from Mexico, officials say, after a pandemic-era border policy expired on Friday.
The policy, known as Title 42, allowed the US to swiftly deport people without an asylum hearing, using the coronavirus pandemic as justification.
It ended overnight after three years along with the country's national Covid-19 health emergency.
President Biden's new rules to replace Title 42 are facing legal challenges.
Several people in the town of El Paso in Texas said they hurried to reach the border ahead of the policy change. They told the BBC they were unsure what the new rules would mean and had been left confused by rumours and misinformation.
Jon Uzcategui and his girlfriend Esmaily, both 24, arrived here from Venezuela. They said they were told by smugglers and other migrants that they would be immediately deported if they presented themselves at the border, prompting them to illegally cross the barriers separating El Paso from Mexico.
"We trusted them, and were starting to move into the US. But we were stopped at a roadblock," said Mr Uzcategui, who was eventually allowed in after his asylum claim was heard. "The agents told us that [what we heard] was all false."
"All the migrants were talking about 11 May," he added. "But there were lots of rumours. We just knew something was changing."
The end of Title 42 triggered a desperate race to the 2,000-mile (3,200km) US-Mexico border. About 10,000 people have been crossing each day - the highest levels on record.
Border authorities on Friday said they had not seen "a substantial increase" in migrants crossing since the end of Title 42.
The Mexican government put the number of waiting migrants at its border with the US at just under 27,000 - less than half of the US estimate of 60,000.
Ahead of the policy's expiration, it was quiet in El Paso where makeshift migrant camps on the city's streets have largely been removed. But local authorities and humanitarian organisations are bracing for what some fear may be a difficult-to-manage rise in attempted crossings.
The city's mayor, Oscar Leeser, warned that an estimated 10,000 migrants were waiting for an opportunity to cross into El Paso from Ciudad Juarez in Mexico.
About 10,000 migrants were crossing the border every day ahead of Title 42's expiry
The Biden administration has unveiled a raft of new measures aimed at encouraging people to stop crossing illegally and to follow the asylum process.
These include the opening of regional processing centres in Latin America and the expanded use of a Customs and Border Patrol-run app to book asylum appointments.
Officials say those crossing the border illegally will be deported, barred from re-entering the US for at least five years and presumed ineligible for asylum.
Under Title 42, there were no such consequences meaning repeat attempts to cross the border were common.
"We are ready to humanely process and remove people without a legal basis to be in the US," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said. "The border is not open."
The new rules and the efforts of immigration officials to assuage the fears of local residents have done little to reassure many of those who help migrants in El Paso.
"It's going to be a very large challenge for us," said Susan Goodell, the chief executive of El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank, which has been feeding hundreds of migrants each day on the city's streets.
"We're preparing, to the best of our ability, to find the food that we need to feed people living on the street or in shelters," she said. "With the lifting of Title 42, we think it'll be a short time before we start seeing a large number of migrants coming into the community again."
"We're stocking up on food and supplies as much as possible," said Nicole Reulet, marketing director of Rescue Mission El Paso, a local shelter that houses migrants.
"Nobody really knows what to expect, or what the numbers will look like. It makes it hard for us to prepare."
On Thursday, about 25,000 migrants were in Border Patrol custody, far exceeding the agency's capacity to hold them.
To reduce overflow, officials had planned to release migrants and tell them to report to an immigration office within 60 days. That effort, however, was blocked by a federal judge in Florida. The Biden administration is expected to appeal.
In the longer term, the lifting of Title 42 is likely to be a contentious political issue in the US. House Republicans, for example, are already considering a package of immigration bills, although they have little chance of passing a Democratic-controlled Senate.
The country's immigration system has not been significantly updated for decades and both Democrats and Republicans have said it is in need of reform.
But the two sides have major differences on border policy, meaning there is little prospect of bipartisan legislation that could overhaul the system in future
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Migrant mother tells children: 'We're on a quest to find the treasure'
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Your pictures of Scotland: 5 - 12 May - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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A selection of your pictures of Scotland sent in between 5 and 12 May.
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Scotland
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A selection of your pictures of Scotland sent in between 5 and 12 May.
Send your photos to scotlandpictures@bbc.co.uk. Please ensure you adhere to the BBC's rules regarding photographs that can be found here.
Please also ensure you take your pictures safely and responsibly.
Conditions of use: If you submit an image, you do so in accordance with the BBC's terms and conditions.
Chris and Mirryn Morris took this photo of some Painted Lady butterflies which they have raised from baby caterpillars, enjoying an orange.
There were sunny conditions for this Dunoon crossing, as this photo, taken by Daniel White, shows.
"I took this picture of Andrew Carnegie's statue looking over the city he helped build whilst wandering around Pittencrieff park, which he left to the people," says Bob Smart in Dunfermline.
"Neat sowing of spring cabbage caught my eye near Kirkliston," says Lorna Donaldson.
Kirsty Darroch was visiting Islay and this donkey "posed perfectly".
The view of Glen Finglas reservoir, taken on a "dreich holiday Monday walk around Lendrick Hill" by Derek Elmhirst.
"Reflections on Delgatie Castle lake - the colours just jumped out at me," says Reg Connon.
"While on a recent visit to Edinburgh Zoo I spotted this giraffe and bird admiring the view over the city together," says Jan Dolny.
A view within a view from Harsha Madasu - of a painter in Bruntsfield Place, Edinburgh.
Jude Bytheway found this puffin taking shelter out of the gale-force winds, at Sumburgh Head on Shetland.
The hunt for some lobsters off the coast of Staxigoe was submitted by Archie Budge.
The view from Loch Rannoch Hotel looking over the loch to Schiehallion, by Nick Sproston.
Alex Mackintosh made this discovery after driving across the Applecross mountain road.
"A big community event in Dollar: a traditional duck race - lots of fun and games," says Victor Tregubov.
Stuart Lilley captured these rain droplets on a dandelion seedhead, in his garden in Inverness.
The Art Deco interior of the 1930s observation car on the Strathspey Steam Railway, from Cliff Williams.
"Tricky access route paid off at Unstan chambered cairn on Orkney," says Sarah Sivers.
An exhibitor at Yardworks 2023, Glasgow's international festival of street art, hosted by SWG3 - from Geoff Der.
"Newhaven Main Street with the wisteria in full bloom," says Nicola Gourlay.
"Absolutely loved finding my first green hairstreak butterfly at Flanders Moss," says Paul Fraser.
The cherry blossom trees in Dawson Park, Broughty Ferry brightened up a grey day for Alana Willox.
"Peace and tranquillity" on a walk at Threave Castle for Viv Alexander.
David Brookens says this seat at Kingscross point, between Whiting Bay and Lamlash, gives "one of the best views on Arran".
Deer at sunrise in Kildalton, Islay, from David Livingstone.
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-65493713
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Eurovision: Russia banned from competing at 2022 Song Contest - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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The organisers said the inclusion of Russia could bring the competition into disrepute.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Rock band Maneskin won last year's Eurovision and have gone on to score top 10 hits in the US, the UK and the rest of Europe
Russia will no longer be allowed to participate in this year's Eurovision Song Contest, the European Broadcasting Union has said.
The EBU, which produces the event, said Russia's inclusion could bring the competition into disrepute "in light of the unprecedented crisis in Ukraine".
Russia launched an attack on its neighbour Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday.
Western governments have ramped up international sanctions in response.
Just 24 hours ago, the contest had said Russia would be allowed to compete, so this is a rapid change in stance for the EBU.
It follows the announcement that football's 2022 Champions League final would be played in Paris, after Russia was stripped of the match following the invasion of Ukraine.
F1's Russian Grand Prix, due to take place in Sochi in September, was also cancelled.
Earlier this week, Ukrainian broadcaster UA:PBC urged the EBU to suspend Russia's Eurovision membership and ban it from the contest.
State broadcasters from countries including Iceland, Finland, Norway and the Netherlands had called for Russia to be banned from the contest.
Finland said if Russia took part, it would not send a representative to the contest in Turin in May.
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The EBU said it remained dedicated to "protecting the values of a cultural competition which promotes international exchange and understanding, brings audiences together, celebrates diversity through music and unites Europe on one stage".
UK Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries tweeted: "Eurovision stands for freedom, unity and respect between countries - watched and enjoyed by tens of millions around the world. Glad to see Eurovision taking action and kicking Russia out."
The 66th edition of Eurovision is due to take place in Turin, after Italian rock band Maneskin won the 2021 contest.
Manizha represented Russia at last year's Eurovision Song Contest with an ode to female empowerment, Russian Woman
Russia had not announced its act for the contest, which it last won in 2008 with Dima Bilan singing Believe.
In recent years, it has been one of the strongest Eurovision performers, with five top five finishes in the past decade.
Ukraine has selected hip-hop trio Kalush Orchestra, whose song Stefania was written as a tribute to their mothers.
The band replaced the country's original contestant, Alina Pash, who withdrew last week after facing scrutiny over a trip she made to Russia-controlled Crimea in 2015.
While there is no suggestion Pash entered Crimea from Russia, she said the controversy over her visit had overshadowed her participation in the contest.
The Ukrainian government considers people who enter the territory via Russia to have crossed the border illegally.
Tensions between Russia and Ukraine have overshadowed previous editions of the song contest.
Russia were favourites to win the competition in 2016, until Ukrainian singer Jamala stole a last-minute victory with a song that depicted the deportation of Crimean Tatars by Josef Stalin in 1944 - a horrific chapter the nation's parliament has described as tantamount to genocide.
The lyrics were widely interpreted as a criticism of Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. Jamala, who is herself a Crimean Tartar, appeared to confirm the link when she told the press: "The main message is to remember and to know this story. When we know, we prevent."
On the path to victory, her song picked up several important votes from former Soviet countries who have traditionally voted for Russia. Eurovision expert John Kennedy O'Connor called the result "a pointed slap in Russia's face".
A year later, Russian contestant Julia Samoylova was blocked from entering Ukraine, which was hosting the competition, because she had reportedly toured Crimea without entering it through the border with the Ukrainian mainland.
Russian television station Channel One then announced it would not broadcast the contest or take part.
Jamala has now called on Eurovision fans not to ignore Russia's actions in Ukraine.
"I don't know how this is possible, but they bombed peaceful people," she said in an Instagram video. "Please support Ukraine. Stop Russian aggression."
Follow us on Facebook, or on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-60530513
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Phone hacking authorised at highest levels of publisher, court hears - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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Prince Harry's lawyer claims investigators received huge sums to illicitly obtain private information.
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UK
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Prince Harry attended the High Court in March for a separate hearing against the publisher of the Daily Mail newspaper
Unlawful information gathering was widespread and authorised by those at the highest levels of Mirror Group Newspapers, a court has heard.
Prince Harry is among high-profile figures accusing the publisher of using private investigators and phone hacking to gain access to stories about them.
His barrister David Sherborne said millions of pounds were paid to private investigators, with the payments signed off by senior figures at MGN.
It is alleged that journalists from the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People newspapers obtained private and confidential information about people's lives through a variety of illegal means.
The bulk of the trial's evidence are 207 newspaper stories, published between 1991 and 2011 - some 67% of which were written about Harry, the Duke of Sussex.
Mr Sherborne told the High Court one of the most "serious and troubling" features of the case is the extent to which "widespread, habitual and unlawful" activities were "authorised at the highest level".
This included "the systemic and widespread use of PIs (private investigators) by MGN journalists to unlawfully obtain private information" of various individuals, Mr Sherborne told London's High Court.
Mr Sherborne has referred the court to key senior figures in MGN who he claims "authorised" the unlawful obtaining of information.
He said this included former editors Piers Morgan, Neil Wallis, Tina Weaver, Mark Thomas, Richard Wallace and Bridget Rowe, and alleged that managing editors and senior executives also knew.
"Mr Morgan was right at the heart of this in many ways," Mr Sherborne told the court. "He was a hands-on editor and was close to the board. We have the direct involvement of Mr Morgan in a number of these incidents."
Mr Morgan was Daily Mirror editor from 1995 until 2004.
Mr Sherborne said the alleged unlawful activities also included MGN journalists intercepting landline voicemails, even if the phone numbers were ex-directory - meaning they were not listed in the telephone directory and the phone company would not provide them to those who asked for them.
Claims brought by Harry and three others are being heard in the trial, expected to last six to seven weeks, as being "representative" cases of the types of allegations facing the publisher.
The other claimants are former Coronation Street actors Nikki Sanderson and Michael Turner, known by his stage name Michael Le Vell, and comedian Paul Whitehouse's ex-wife Fiona Wightman.
They are all expected to give evidence - when the prince does so in June, he will become the first senior member of the Royal Family to appear in court and be cross-examined in modern times.
The four cases were chosen by the trial judge to help the court set the level of damages MGN should pay if the claimants win, as well as establish the various allegations facing the publisher.
The court would then consider other cases from celebrities including the former Girls Aloud singer Cheryl, actor Ricky Tomlinson, former Arsenal and England footballer Ian Wright and the estate of late singer-songwriter George Michael.
MGN has denied the allegations, including those of voicemail interception.
In its defence against some of the claims made by Prince Harry, MGN's lawyers argued that he did not have "a reasonable expectation of privacy".
This argument was made in response to articles about his relationship with Chelsy Davy - the break-up of which Harry blamed on press intrusion, his alleged drug use and one that reported he was forced to carry out farm work as punishment for wearing a Nazi uniform to a party.
In other instances it claimed published information was "limited and banal".
In response to one of the 33 articles put forward by Prince Harry's legal team, which gave details about his 18th birthday celebrations, MGN lawyers argued that the information came from an interview the duke gave to the Press Association.
The article published under the headline "No Eton trifles for Harry, 18" in September 2002 "simply repeated the details that the claimant [Harry] had given" including that he would not be having a party and would be spending the day with his father and brother, MGN argues in court documents. It said there was "no evidence of voicemail interception".
However on Wednesday, the publisher acknowledged and "unreservedly" apologised for a separate instance of unlawful information gathering against Harry, adding that the legal challenge brought by the prince "warrants compensation".
On Thursday, reporters saw the list of 33 stories at the heart of Prince Harry's claim for damages against MGN. He is relying on them to prove phone hacking and other unlawful activity against him. Here are some of them:
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: "I've never hacked a phone, I wouldn't even know how" - Piers Morgan (interview filmed in March)
In Thursday's hearing, Mr Sherborne discussed a Daily Mirror front page story from 1999, which revealed confidential details about the finances of Prince Michael of Kent - cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth II - including that he was in debt to a bank.
Prince Michael's lawyers later told MGN they had deduced that a "blagger" had called the bank and, posing as the royal's accountant, obtained confidential information.
MGN eventually settled the claim, published an apology and paid his legal costs, the barrister said.
"It's inconceivable, given the way this progressed, that the legal department and Mr Morgan were not well aware of the source of the story, and that it came from illegally obtained information," Mr Sherborne told the court.
Mr Morgan has consistently denied any knowledge of phone hacking during his time editing the newspaper, but this will be the first time a court has been asked to rule on claims about what he knew.
Speaking to the BBC's Amol Rajan before the trial began, Mr Morgan said he could only talk to what he knew about his own involvement, adding: "I've never hacked a phone, I wouldn't even know how."
Mr Morgan also pointed out he only worked for the Daily Mirror and had no responsibility for the Sunday Mirror, Sunday People or other titles.
In 2015, MGN admitted journalists had regularly used unlawful techniques to obtain private information - and issued a public apology.
The High Court ordered the publisher to pay out damages totalling £1.25m to eight phone-hacking victims, including more than £260,000 to the actor Sadie Frost.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65555637
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Hacker marketplace still active despite police 'takedown' claim - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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Police said the "dangerous" Genesis Market had been dismantled, but it is still selling hacker products.
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Technology
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Officers from Britain's National Crime Agency arrest a suspect during raids in Grimsby last month
A hacker marketplace used to steal accounts for Netflix, Amazon and other services is still active, despite police saying it had been taken down.
Last month, an international police operation announced that Genesis Market had been seized and deleted from the mainstream internet.
But the identical version of the market hosted on the darknet remains online.
On Monday, a post on the unaffected version of the market was said it was "fully functional".
Genesis Market is described by police as a "dangerous" website specialising in selling login details, IP addresses and browsing cookie data that make up victims' "digital fingerprints".
The service was considered one of the biggest criminal facilitators, with more than two million stolen online identities for sale at the time of the police action.
Operation Cookie Monster was led by the FBI and Dutch police and announced on 5 April.
Several agencies around the world celebrated the website "takedown", announcing that 119 people had been arrested and describing the criminal service as "dismantled".
But researchers at cyber-security company Netacea have been monitoring the darknet version of the market, and say the website was only disrupted for about two weeks.
Users trying to log into Genesis on the mainstream internet see a message saying the website has been seized
"Taking down cyber-crime operations is a lot like dealing with weeds. If you leave any roots, they will resurface," says Cyril Noel-Tagoe, Netacea's principal security researcher.
Mr Noel-Tagoe praised police for seizing the mainstream internet version of the market, but says the operation was more of a disruption than a takedown.
"The roots of Genesis Market's operation, namely the administrators, darknet website and malicious software infrastructure, have survived," he said.
Criminal administrators have since posted an update to the marketplace saying that they have released a new version of their specialist hacking browser, resumed collecting data from hacked devices and added more than 2,000 new victim devices to the market.
News and product updates have been posted to Genesis Market this week
Experts at cyber-security company Trellix, who helped police disrupt some of the hacking tools sold on Genesis Market, agreed that the leaders of the website were still at large.
"It is true that the Genesis administrators quickly responded on Exploit [hacker] forums stating that they would be back online shortly with improvements," said John Fokker, head of threat intelligence at Trellix, adding that the darknet site was still accessible.
Police did not comment on the darknet site remaining online at the time of the "takedown".
An FBI spokesperson has since told the BBC that work is continuing to "make sure that users who leverage a service like Genesis Marketplace face justice".
The UK's National Crime Agency insists that the operation has dealt a "huge blow" to cyber-criminals.
"Although a dark web version of the site remains active, the volume of stolen data and users has been significantly reduced. I have no doubt that the operation damaged criminal trust in Genesis Market," Paul Foster, deputy director of the NCA's National Cyber Crime Unit, told the BBC.
As well as reducing the visibility of the marketplace by taking it off the mainstream internet, police and many experts agree that the high number of arrests of users will have a chilling effect on hackers considering using the site.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: What is the dark web?
However, it's not clear how many of those arrested will face prosecution. The NCA says only one of the 30 people arrested in the UK has so far been charged with any offences.
Research of hacker forums from Trellix and Netacea does suggest an unease about the marketplace since the operation, but it is hard to know if cyber-criminals have been put off in the short term or permanently.
User comments are still being posted on the marketplace's news page, but in small numbers.
Taking down criminal websites hosted on the darknet is notoriously difficult as the location of their servers are often hard to find or in jurisdictions that do not respond to Western law enforcement requests, like Russia.
The US Treasury, which has sanctioned Genesis Market, believes the site is run from Russia. It is not known for sure, but the site offers Russian and English translations.
In the last year, police have had success in fully removing some darknet markets like the drugs sites Monopoly and Hydra.
Russian-language site Hydra was the highest-grossing dark web market in the world and was thought to be based in Russia but was actually hosted in Germany, which allowed German law enforcement to shut it down.
• None The darknet drug dealers who keep coming back
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-65558612
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Imran Khan leaves court after being granted bail - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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It follows a Supreme Court ruling that his arrest on corruption charges was illegal.
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Asia
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Pakistan's ex-prime minister Imran Khan has left court premises in Islamabad, a day after the Supreme Court ruled his dramatic arrest on corruption charges was illegal.
On Friday evening, Mr Khan's party said he was heading for the city of Lahore.
Judges granted Mr Khan protected bail, meaning he can not be re-arrested on those charges for two weeks.
The court also ordered he could not be arrested on any charges filed after last Tuesday until 17 May.
Despite the rulings, the corruption charges against Mr Khan still stand.
"The head of the country's largest party was abducted, kidnapped from the high court, and in front of the entire nation," Khan told AFP from the court building.
"They treated me like a terrorist, this had to have a reaction," he said of the protests that followed.
Mr Khan remained within court premises after the hearing on Friday seeking preventive bail against other charges, which he told the BBC included counts of terrorism, sedition and blasphemy.
Conviction would disqualify the former international cricket star - and Pakistan's prime minister from 2018 to 2022 - from standing for office, possibly for life. Elections are due later this year.
Mr Khan had arrived at the hearing under heavy armed guard, and greeted supporters with a single raised fist.
Speaking during Friday's hearing, Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial said the arrest was unlawful because it took place on court premises.
He ordered that the "whole process" of Mr Khan's arrest "needs to be backtracked".
The 70-year-old - who was arrested on Tuesday as he arrived at a courthouse in Islamabad - pleaded not guilty to the charges when a judge formally indicted him with corruption for the first time in the dozens of cases he faces.
Officials say Mr Khan unlawfully sold state gifts during his premiership, in a case brought by Pakistan's Election Commission.
Imran Khan was surrounded by a crowd of people as he left court on Friday
The dramatic saga has significantly escalated tensions between Mr Khan and Pakistan's powerful military.
Many analysts believe Mr Khan's election win in 2018 happened with the help of the military, which both parties denied.
But he later fell out with the army. After a series of defections, and amid mounting economic crises, he lost his majority in parliament.
Since being ousted less than four years into his term, he has become one of the military's most vocal critics, and analysts say the army's popularity has fallen.
And his PTI party says the charges against him - which relate to gifts given to him by foreign leaders while he served as prime minster - are politically motivated.
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His dramatic arrest outside the courthouse on Tuesday sparked outrage among Mr Khan's supporters.
At least 10 people were killed and some 2,000 arrested as unrest swept the country. Those protests included an attack at a military commander's home residence in Lahore, which was set on fire.
While this week's violence petered out after the army was deployed in Islamabad and other areas, such as Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the country remains on edge.
Critics say the PTI has been fuelling unrest through social media posts calling for protesters to take to the streets, and judges told Mr Khan that he must condemn the violence and tell supporters to stop.
Mr Khan says he and his party only call for peaceful protest.
Pakistan's current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who took power after Khan was ousted, criticised the Supreme Court's ruling to free Khan in a cabinet speech aired on state TV.
He alleged that judges had favoured Imran Khan, and their ruling had caused "the death of justice in Pakistan".
He further criticised Mr Khan and his party for their inflammatory language and encouraging protesters to take to the streets.
"Imran Khan has divided the nation," he said.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-65571796
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Elon Musk names Linda Yaccarino new Twitter boss - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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NBCUniversal's former advertising head is revealed as the new chief executive of the social network.
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Business
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Elon Musk has named a new chief executive of Twitter, just over six months after his controversial takeover of the social media company.
The billionaire said Linda Yaccarino, the former head of advertising at NBCUniversal, would oversee business operations at the site, which has been struggling to make money.
He said she would start in six weeks.
Mr Musk will remain involved as executive chairman and chief technology officer.
"Looking forward to working with Linda to transform this platform into X, the everything app," he wrote on Twitter, confirming the decision a day after he had stoked speculation by writing that he had found a new boss without revealing their identity.
Mr Musk - who bought the social media platform last year for $44bn - had been under pressure to find someone else to lead the company and refocus his attention on his other businesses, which include electric carmaker Tesla and rocket firm SpaceX.
With fewer than 10% of Fortune 500 tech companies headed by women, Ms Yaccarino will become that rare example of a woman at the top of a major tech firm, after rising steadily through the ranks of some of America's biggest media companies.
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Ms Yaccarino was raised in an Italian-American family. After graduating from Penn State, she worked at Turner Entertainment for 15 years before joining NBCUniversal, where she oversaw roughly 2,000 people, and was involved with the launch of its streaming service.
Her work has been marked by close collaborations with big brands, finding opportunities for product placement and convincing them to advertise alongside television shows - even ones with a reputation for edgy content, such as Sex and the City when it first launched.
She has also built relationships in new media with the likes of Apple News, Snapchat and YouTube.
A 2005 profile in an industry publication portrayed her as a busy, married mother-of-two children, then aged 13 and 9.
"I have absolutely no hobbies," she said at the time.
Business Insider's Claire Atkinson has followed Ms Yaccarino's career for two decades and said her background in advertising could help Twitter, which has seen its ad sales drop sharply since Mr Musk's takeover.
"If Twitter are looking to monetise better than they have been, then that would be the place to start and Linda would be the ideal person to make that happen," the chief media correspondent said.
"She's the kind of person that I can imagine Elon Musk needs," Ms Atkinson added. "She won't be rolled over."
Indeed, her negotiating style within the industry earned her the nickname the "velvet hammer", according to the Wall Street Journal in 2012.
Ms Yaccarino will face the challenge of running a business that has struggled to be profitable, while facing intense scrutiny over how Twitter handles the spread of misinformation and manages hate speech.
When Mr Musk first started discussing his plans for Twitter last year, he said he wanted to reduce the platform's reliance on advertising and make changes to the way it moderated content.
He also said he wanted to expand the site's functions to include payments, encrypted messaging and phone calls, turning it into something he called X.
But Mr Musk courted controversy when he fired thousands of staff upon his takeover, including people who had been tasked with dealing with abusive posts.
He also overhauled the way the service authenticates accounts, charging for blue ticks in a move critics said would facilitate the spread of misinformation.
Some of the changes raised concerns among advertisers, worried about risks to their brands, who subsequently halted spending on the site.
Mr Musk has acknowledged "massive" declines in revenue, though he told the BBC last month that companies were returning.
At an advertising conference last month Ms Yaccarino interviewed Mr Musk and pressed him on what he was doing to reassure firms that their brands would not be exposed to risk.
"The people in this room are your accelerated path to profitability," she said. "But there's a decent bit of sceptics in the room."
There has also been some instant scepticism at Ms Yaccarino's appointment on social media, where many were looking for clues to her politics, which reportedly lean conservative.
Her work for the World Economic Forum, an organisation viewed negatively as "globalist" by those on the right, has not been well-received in some quarters along with her role in a coronavirus vaccination campaign featuring Pope Francis.
Others on the left have questioned her political involvement in a White House sports, fitness and nutrition council under former President Donald Trump.
Mr Musk, who has also put women in senior positions at SpaceX and Tesla, is known to be a notoriously unpredictable and demanding boss.
Even the announcement unfolded in an unusual manner, after media reports sparked by Mr Musk's post that identified Ms Yaccarino appeared to catch her bosses at NBCUniversal off guard.
As of mid-Friday in the US, Ms Yaccarino had still not commented publicly on the move.
Industry watchers will be curious to see how the relationship develops between the New Yorker and the until now hands-on Mr Musk.
Ms Atkinson said the two Twitter executives would be facing "difficult conversations" about how to handle moderation, especially with the 2024 presidential election approaching in the US.
"How long Linda can last under these tricky management situations is anyone's guess," Ms Atkinson said.
• None Elon Musk says he has appointed new Twitter boss
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65574826
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Seeing a UFO in Glasgow inspired my Eurovision song - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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Rikki Peebles was favourite to win in 1987, singing about an extra terrestrial spotted over the M8.
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Scotland
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Many of Eurovision's performances have been described as out of this world.
And last year's near-win by Sam Ryder, who sang Space Man, brought the 2023 final to Liverpool.
But Scots singer-songwriter Rikki Peebles was on the trend decades before.
He represented the UK in 1987 with a song inspired by his sighting of a UFO in his home city of Glasgow.
"All my adult life I have had an affinity with all things UFO, not of this world," Peebles said.
"It was about 1984 and I was in my car driving on the new M8 motorway. I sat at a junction after coming off .
"I looked up and I saw this massive light in the sky but it moved from my left, right across my vision to the right and then slowly disappeared.
"I thought I had to report this to authorities. I did and the next day the same thing had been seen over parts of Wales. I knew it wasn't just me. This was something not of this earth."
The experience inspired Peebles to write a song. He had been signed by a small independent music label and was putting an album together after releasing several singles in Europe.
He was also writing songs for Scottish pop group Middle of the Road (who famously sang Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep, written by Lally Stott).
The 67-year-old told BBC Radio Scotland's Drivetime programme that he knew nothing about Eurovision until he walked into the studio one day.
He said: "I was recording an album at the time. One day a staff member came in and said one of my songs had been put forward for Eurovision. I didn't know.
"Then they contacted me and said the song was through to the last 60. It's strange but I knew right then that this song would go the full road, I could feel it."
It got to the last 20, then the last 12. And then Only The Light became the UK's official entry.
Peebles walked on the stage at the final of the Eurovision Song Contest in Brussels just after discovering he was joint favourite to win - along with the Irish entry sung by Johnny Logan.
He tried to soak up the whole Eurovision experience.
"Eurovision then, I imagine, was on par with going to an Olympic Games," he said.
"You are thrust into all these countries with so many people involved. You don't have much time to make friendships as you are so wrapped up in the week leading in to the performance.
"But it was an amazing feeling of being elevated from an ordinary person and into this world of Eurovision."
The stage is set in Liverpool for the Eurovision final on Saturday
History was made in Brussels that night but sadly not for Rikki Peebles.
Only The Light came 13th with 47 points.
The other favourite, Hold Me Now by Johnny Logan won with 172 points. This made him the only artist to have won the contest twice, after his 1980 winner What's Another Year.
Logan went on to win a third time as the composer of Linda Martin's winning entry Why Me? in 1992.
Peebles is now retired from music and works as a cabbie in Glasgow.
Rikki Peebles is not the only Scottish link to Eurovision.
This small nation has had a hand in many aspects of the contest over the years.
The last Scot to represent the UK was Scott Fitzgerald, who came within a point of beating Celine Dion to the title in 1988.
Before Rikki Peebles, in a strange coincidence, the two previous Scottish entrants played together as children in the east end of Glasgow.
Scott Fitzgerald played with Lulu when they were children, in a tenement back court in Glasgow
One of them, Marie Lawrie, grew up to be Lulu, who won the competition in 1969 with Boom Bang-a-Bang.
Almost 20 years later wee Billy McPhail, who says he used to play with Lulu in a tenement back court, represented the UK under his stage name Scott Fitzgerald.
In 1966, Scottish traditional singer Kenneth McKellar was the UK entry for the contest in Luxembourg. Despite donning a kilt for the occasion, A Man Without Love placed a disappointing ninth out of 18 entries.
In 1967 the UK celebrated the first of its five Eurovision victories with Sandie Shaw's Puppet on a String. The success of the song was in no small part due to its writer, Govan-born Bill Martin.
Martin also wrote the 1968 UK entry Congratulations, performed by Cliff Richard.
In 1972, Scotland hosted the competition. Monaco, the previous winners, were unable to host, so the contest was held in Edinburgh instead.
The Usher Hall was the venue, with Edinburgh Castle the location for the all-important juries.
Paisley songwriter David Sneddon, winner of BBC's Fame Academy in 2002, wrote the Greek entry Better Love for the 2019 Contest.
And in 2020 Scotland hosted the Eurovision Song Contest again - on screen, that is.
The Netflix film Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, starring Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams, featured Edinburgh as host city, confusingly using Glasgow's Hydro as the concert venue.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-65556858
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Who is Plaid Cymru's Adam Price? - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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Adam Price was long-regarded as a great hope for Plaid Cymru but departs amid a bullying scandal.
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Wales politics
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Adam Price took over as party leader in autumn 2018
Adam Price said Plaid Cymru's "time has come" when he took over as leader five years ago.
His victory was not unexpected - with his imposing presence and strong oratory skills, Mr Price had long been regarded as a future leader.
But he departs after a report heavily criticised the workplace culture that existed in his party, alleging harassment, bullying and misogyny.
A miner's son from the Amman Valley, Adam Price's politics were shaped by the long miners' strike of the mid-1980s.
He became an MP in 2001, representing Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, and made his mark in Westminster by leading an unsuccessful attempt to impeach the then prime minister, Tony Blair, over claims that Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction.
Mr Price stood down as an MP in 2010 before going to study at the prestigious Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in the US.
In 2016 he returned to frontline politics - this time in Cardiff Bay, still representing his home constituency.
One campaign leaflet that year famously described him as an "X-factor politician" and the "mab darogan" (the son of prophecy) - a figure from Welsh mythology who it is said will redeem Wales in its hour of need.
Adam Price and other party leaders meeting the Prince of Wales at the Senedd last year
Two years later he ousted Leanne Wood and became the first openly gay leader of a Welsh political party.
Mr Price described the decision to challenge one of his "oldest friends in politics" as "the most difficult thing I've had to wrestle with in my political life".
Ms Wood would later tell the BBC that the move led to the collapse of their friendship.
In a departure from his predecessor's approach, Mr Price put the notoriously tricky subject of independence at the heart of his political plan, pledging to hold a referendum on the issue by 2030.
But at the snap general election of December 2019 the party found itself squeezed out of the Brexit-dominated debate, and though Plaid held on to its four seats in Westminster, its share of the vote fell back and it came a disappointing third in its main target seat of Ynys Môn.
Labour First Minister Mark Drakeford and Adam Price signed a co-operation deal in late 2021
And so to the 2021 Senedd election, where independence would be front and centre of the party's campaign.
Ahead of the vote, Mr Price said that he would count anything less than becoming first minister as a "failure", and he ruled out working with the Conservatives and joining a coalition with Labour as a junior partner.
But the party slipped back into third place, losing its grip on the Rhondda seat held by Ms Wood, as it struggled to compete with the favourable response towards the Labour First Minister Mark Drakeford's leadership during the pandemic.
Months later, and with Mr Drakeford having fallen just short of a majority in the Senedd, Mr Price formed a co-operation agreement with the Welsh Labour government.
This was to be a new kind of deal, and one which would allow Plaid Cymru to push through some of its key policies, including Senedd expansion, the extension of free school meals, and free childcare for two year-olds.
And that's why in the run-up to last May's Welsh local elections Mr Price - by now a father of two young children - was able to claim his party was "making a difference", and had "snatched a moral victory from the mawing jaws of defeat".
By the end of the year the party was engulfed by claims of a toxic culture within Plaid and criticism of the leadership's handling of the situation.
That culminated in a report by Nerys Evans which said the party had tolerated "too many instances of bad behaviour".
Mr Price initially insisted he would remain in post, arguing that quitting would be "abdicating" his responsibility.
However a week on Mr Price has announced that he will step down and so it will be up to his successor to address the issues raised by the report and set a course for the party into the general election.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-63872715
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Harry and others 'long way off' proving hacking claims, Mirror publisher says - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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Prince Harry is among high-profile figures accusing Mirror Group Newspapers of illicit practices.
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UK
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Prince Harry is one of four people taking action against the newspaper publisher
Prince Harry and other celebrity claimants are a "long way off" proving Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) unlawfully gathered information on them, the publisher has told a court.
Harry is among high-profile figures accusing MGN of various illicit practices including phone hacking.
Andrew Green KC, representing MGN, said the evidence was "slim" in some areas and "utterly non-existent" in others.
He spoke on day three of a highly anticipated hearing at the High Court.
MGN, which publishes the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People newspapers, vehemently denies the allegations.
During Friday's proceedings, Mr Green said the claims had been made with "no basis" and "a sense of outrage".
"The evidence in this case is slim in relation to one of the claimants and utterly non-existent for the other three," he told the court.
He also took aim at the newspaper articles that had been submitted as evidence, saying they offered a "breathtaking level of triviality".
Some 207 stories, published between 1991 and 2011, make up the bulk of the case's evidence. More than 60% of them are about Harry, Duke of Sussex.
As well as intercepting voicemails, the claimants have accused the publisher of using private investigators to illegally gather details about them to write stories.
David Sherborne, the lawyer representing the claimants, told the court that the board knew about the hacking and covered it up.
In response, MGN said the claimants were "smearing" executives, adding that there had been "extreme allegations of dishonesty".
Harry is among four people whose claims are being heard in the trial as "representative" cases of the types of allegations facing the publisher. They will also help the court set the level of damages MGN should pay if the claimants win.
Others involved are Coronation Street actors Nikki Sanderson and Michael Turner, known by his stage name Michael Le Vell, and comedian Paul Whitehouse's ex-wife Fiona Wightman.
Michael Le Vell was pictured arriving at court on the first day of the trial
The publisher's lawyer argued that Ms Sanderson and Ms Wightman have run out of time to sue for damages, because these types of claims should be brought within six years of the alleged victim knowing what happened.
The Mirror Group's lawyer said phone hacking has been talked about for at least 20 years, with the publisher publicly apologising for its part in the high-profile scandal in 2014.
Therefore, he argued, any potential victims should have known long ago to get a case started.
But Mr Sherborne said the claimants would not have suspected they too were victims because MGN covered up their wrongdoings so well and for so long.
Mr Green compared this current case to the one in 2015, where MGN conceded that unlawful techniques were used to obtain private information, and was ordered to pay £1.25m in damages.
But he said this case is different, because back then, there was "direct evidence" from Dan Evans, a former Sunday Mirror journalist.
Mr Evans "has not said he hacked any of (the claimants)" this time around, Mr Green said.
Depending on the outcome of this case, the court could then consider cases from a range of celebrities including former Girls Aloud singer Cheryl and former Arsenal and England footballer Ian Wright.
During Thursday's hearing, Mr Sherborne told the court that one of the most "serious and troubling" features of the case included "the systemic and widespread use of PIs (private investigators) by MGN journalists to unlawfully obtain private information" of various individuals.
He referred the court to key senior MGN figures who he claimed "authorised" the unlawful obtaining of information.
He said this included former editors Piers Morgan, Neil Wallis, Tina Weaver, Mark Thomas, Richard Wallace and Bridget Rowe, and alleged that managing editors and senior executives also knew.
"Mr Morgan was right at the heart of this in many ways," Mr Sherborne told the court.
Mr Morgan, who edited the Mirror from 1995 until 2004, has repeatedly denied any knowledge of unlawful information gathering happening under his watch - in particular phone hacking.
The trial, which is expected to run for seven weeks, will continue on Monday, when Mr Evans will testify.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65570185
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Ukraine war: Inside the fight for the last streets of Bakhmut - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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The eastern city is a crumpled, skeletal wreck. But Ukraine knows losing it could be costly.
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Europe
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Ukrainian forces are preparing for a counteroffensive near the besieged city of Bakhmut
In a bunker just outside the city limits of Bakhmut, Ukraine's 77th Brigade direct artillery fire to support their infantry - their last line of defence on the western edge of the city.
Ukraine is still clinging to the last few streets here.
But the live video feed the artillery gunners watch intently, from a drone flying above the city, suggests that even if Russia can finally wrestle control, it would be little more than a pyrrhic victory.
The prize is now a crumpled, skeletal city - with hardly a building left unscathed, and with its entire population vanished.
The battle for the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut has been the longest and bloodiest of this war so far. Western officials estimate between 20,000 and 30,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded here, while Ukraine's military has also paid a heavy price - and it still isn't over.
The plumes of smoke still hang heavy over the besieged city, accompanied by the relentless rumble of artillery fire.
Russia has been trying to capture Bakhmut for months, and it's been a testament - so far - to Ukraine's determination not to give ground. But it's also a reminder that its coming counteroffensive could prove far more challenging.
Drone footage from above Bakhmut shows the devastation caused by the continuing battle for the city
Back in the bunker, Ukraine's 77th Brigade orders another artillery strike on a house. Seconds later a plume of smoke rises from the rubble. Two men emerge from the smoke, stumbling down a street. One appears to be injured.
I ask if they're Wagner soldiers - the Russian paramilitary force which has been leading the assault. "Yes," replies Myroslav, one of the Ukrainian troops staring at the screen.
"They are fighting quite well, but they don't really care about their people," he says.
He adds that they don't seem to have much artillery support and they just advance in the hope that they'll be "luckier than the last time". His comrade, Mykola, interjects: "They just walk towards us, they must be on drugs."
Looking at this shell of a city it's hard to understand why either side has sacrificed so many lives for it.
Mykola admits that the defence has also been costly for Ukraine. He says many soldiers have given their lives, and it's hard to fight in the densely packed streets. He says they've been replaced by troops with less experience, but adds: "They will become the same warriors as those who fought before them."
The whole point of Bakhmut is to keep the enemy there
To the south of the city, Ukraine's 28th Brigade has been helping prevent Bakhmut from being encircled.
The Wagner forces they once faced have already been replaced by paratroopers of Russia's VDV, or airborne forces. But they're still locked in daily skirmishes.
During a lull in the fighting, Yevhen, a 29-year-old soldier, takes us on a tour of their defensive position in a small wood.
The arrival of spring has provided them with some leaves for cover, but many of the trees have been stripped by the constant shelling.
Ukrainian troops seek cover behind bushes on the outskirts of the city of Bakhmut
As we run from a trench, across exposed ground pock-marked by shell holes, the Russians open fire with their mortars. "That was pretty damn close," says Yevhen in perfect English as we reach some cover.
As we move to another position he says: "Now we're going to fire back."
Minutes later his men follow up with a volley of small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). There are no casualties this time. But hours after we leave one of their soldiers is seriously injured.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has called Bakhmut "a fortress" of Ukrainian morale. Yevhen displays that determination not to give up. "The whole point of Bakhmut is to keep the enemy there," he says.
If Ukraine gave up Bakhmut, he says, they'd only lose more lives later. "We could retreat to save a few lives, but we would then have to counter-attack and we'd lose even more".
Ukraine's hope is that the fight over Bakhmut has blunted Russia's ability to conduct its own offensive operations, and exhausted its army and supplies.
In a bunker just outside the city limits, Ukraine's 77th Brigade direct artillery fire to support their infantry
But Russia has also been preparing to stymie Ukraine's upcoming offensive.
Recent satellite images of the occupied south show it has built hundreds of miles of deep trench lines and dragon's teeth tank traps to slow down any attempted advance. More difficult to punch through than the razor wire and mines we saw in front of these Ukrainian positions.
Southern Ukraine is where many expect the focus of the Ukrainian offensive to be. Russia has already ordered a partial evacuation near the nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia.
Ukraine, too, has been rationing artillery rounds in preparation for an attack that will be spearheaded by newly trained brigades of troops and some of the 1,300 armoured vehicles and 230 tanks supplied by the West. Though we have also witnessed convoys of Western military equipment heading East.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov has tried to dampen down expectations - warning against "overestimating" the outcome.
I ask Yevhen if he feels that pressure too. He says he knows it won't be easy, but adds: "We've already changed the whole world's opinion of the Ukrainian army and we still have lots of surprises."
But this time it may prove harder to conceal the element of surprise.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65533192
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Wildfire smoke from Alberta and British Columbia reaches US - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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Satellite images show much of Canada and parts of US blanketed by smoke from the Alberta wildfires.
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US & Canada
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Images from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration show the smoke from the Alberta wildfires
Much of Canada and parts of the US are blanketed by smoke as wildfires in the province of Alberta continue to rage.
As of Thursday, there are 75 active wildfires in Alberta, 23 of which are considered out of control.
Early May is typically the start of wildfire season in the region, but experts have said that this level activity is unusual.
Temperatures are expected to rise sharply in the coming days, fuelling concern of more fires to come.
Images taken by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) show the smoke from the Alberta wildfires has travelled far to the eastern portion of Canada, reaching Quebec and Ontario down to the US-Canada border.
"Canada's wildfire season is off to an unusually active start," NOAA said on Twitter on Thursday.
NOAA's fire and smoke map showed much of Canada covered in light to medium smoke as of Thursday evening. The map also shows light smoke hanging over much of the US northeast and mid-Atlantic regions.
In the Washington DC area, the National Weather Service said Thursday's bright orange sunset was caused by "smoke from the Canadian wildfires [that] remains suspended in the upper atmosphere".
As the fires in Alberta continue to burn, 300 members of the Canadian military are being deployed to help local firefighters put out the flames on the ground and by air, officials said.
The military will also aid with community evacuations. Nearly 30,000 people have been forced out of their homes since the fires began a week ago.
Officials said that 28 schools remain closed due to the fires, affecting more than 6,000 students.
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"I recognise that this continues to be an extremely stressful time for many Albertans," said Mike Ellis, Alberta's minister of emergency preparedness, at a news conference on Thursday.
Mr Ellis said while temperatures in the province have cooled in recent days, the region is slated for an "above normal" hot and dry weekend that raises the threat of more fires.
The western Canada province saw 427 fires so far this year that burned through 410,000 hectares - nearly double the five-year average of hectares burned in an entire season.
Nearby British Columbia (BC) and Saskatchewan have also seen fires and evacuations in recent days.
Like Alberta, BC is also slated for an unusually hot few days from Friday to Tuesday, raising concerns about both wildfires and floods from snowmelts. Temperatures are expected to hit 30C (86F) on Monday near Fort St John, a town near the BC-Alberta border, where a wildfire is burning nearby.
Experts say that while wildfires can be sparked by direct human involvement, natural factors can also play a huge part.
The cycle of extreme and long-lasting heat caused by climate change draws more and more moisture out of the ground and vegetation. The world has already warmed by about 1.2C since the industrial era began.
There are 75 active wildfires in Alberta as of Thursday evening, 23 of which are considered out of control
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-65566072
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Ukraine war: Bakhmut defender remembered by comrades - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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Pavel Kuzin single-handedly manned a machine gun in Bakhmut so his comrades could be evacuated.
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Europe
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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."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65313367
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Daniel Penny: Ex-Marine in court charged with manslaughter over New York subway death - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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Daniel Penny is charged with manslaughter after putting Jordan Neely in a chokehold on a subway.
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US & Canada
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Protesters stand on the train tracks at the Lexington Ave/63rd Street subway station during a "Justice for Jordan Neely" protest Image caption: Protesters stand on the train tracks at the Lexington Ave/63rd Street subway station during a "Justice for Jordan Neely" protest
Multiple protests erupted in the days after Jordan Neely's death on a New York subway.
One of the demonstrators, Kyle Ishmael, a 38-year-old who lives in Harlem, said the video of Neely's death "disgusted" him.
"I couldn't believe this was happening on my subway in my city that I grew up in," he told BBC's US partner, CBS News.
At one protest last week, dozens of people were taken into custody after a group of people jumped down onto the subway tracks.
Some of the rallies have turned violent, with images of a bloodied man being taken to a police van circulating widely on media.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-us-canada-65553189
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Hospital boss claims unfair dismissal after chairman 'bullied' her - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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The Countess of Chester trust chief executive also accuses the chairman of putting finance over safety.
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Health
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Dr Susan Gilby said she faced "offensively sexist comments" in meetings
A former NHS chief executive is suing her employer, saying she was "bullied, harassed, intimidated and undermined" by the hospital trust's chairman.
In legal papers, seen by BBC News, Dr Susan Gilby alleges she was effectively unfairly dismissed by the Countess of Chester NHS Foundation Trust, after she made a formal complaint.
She has also accused the chairman of putting finance above patient safety.
In a statement, the trust said it denied all the allegations.
Dr Gilby, a consultant in anaesthesia and intensive care, was appointed as medical director and assistant chief executive of the NHS trust, in August 2018.
Her arrival came a month after nurse Lucy Letby was arrested on suspicion of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill 10 others at one of the trust's hospitals in Cheshire. Ms Letby's trial is ongoing and she denies the charges.
When the chief executive resigned in September that year, Dr Gilby was promoted to the role.
According to documents prepared for a forthcoming employment tribunal, Dr Gilby alleges the problems began when a new chairman, Ian Haythornthwaite, was appointed in late 2021.
She claims that soon after joining the trust, Mr Haythornthwaite - a former BBC accountant - sought to "intervene and influence, and ultimately to control, many operational matters" beyond the scope of his job.
Dr Gilby's claim alleges that the chairman had an "extremely and unnecessarily aggressive" approach, with subordinates "increasingly frightened of crossing him".
She also accuses him of appointing friends to the trust's board and putting finance above patient safety.
Dr Gilby claims the chairman was "highly aggressive and intimidatory" in meetings, that he banged his hand on a desk to emphasise his point, and oversaw a climate where "offensively sexist comments and ferocious and repetitive criticisms" were made by either him or his associates.
Dr Gilby's complaint accuses the chairman of putting finance above patient safety at the hospital trust
She made a formal whistle-blowing complaint against the chairman in July 2022, raising her concerns about his behaviour to both the trust and NHS England.
The trust responded to her concerns, Dr Gilby claims, by proposing that she be seconded to a senior advisory role within NHS England on the condition she withdrew her allegations.
NHS England also contacted her about a role. Dr Gilby responded to the offer in November saying she was not willing to withdraw her allegations; she was suspended by the trust on 2 December. On 5 December, she gave the trust six months' notice of her intention to resign.
Dr Gilby is suing the trust and Mr Haythornthwaite for constructive unfair dismissal.
In a statement, the Countess of Chester NHS Trust said: "There are significant points of dispute between Dr Gilby and the trust and the trust denies all allegations that she has raised. A number of active internal investigations are in train and the trust will not provide any further comment whilst those investigations are ongoing."
Mr Haythornthwaite said he had "nothing to add at this time" to the trust's statement.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-65538005
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Ex-Marine charged with New York subway chokehold death of Jordan Neely - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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Daniel Penny, 24, faces up to 15 years if convicted of the death of 30-year-old Jordan Neely.
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US & Canada
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A former US Marine who placed a passenger in a fatal chokehold on the New York subway has appeared in court to be charged with manslaughter.
Daniel Penny, 24, is accused of causing the death of 30-year-old Jordan Neely on 1 May. He did not enter a plea.
His lawyers said he could not have known his actions to subdue Mr Neely would lead to his death.
Mr Neely, who was homeless, was pinned to the ground and restrained for several minutes on the train carriage.
He had been shouting at other passengers and asking for money, witnesses said.
Mr Neely was later found unconscious in the carriage and taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead. His death resulted from compression of the neck, the city's medical examiner ruled.
Hands cuffed behind his back, Mr Penny appeared at Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday to be formally charged and was later released on $100,000 (£80,000) in cash bail.
He must return to court on 17 July or a warrant will be issued for his arrest, the judge said. He must also turn over his passport and seek permission to cross state lines.
On the day Mr Neely died, Mr Penny was questioned by police and then released.
But footage of the altercation on a northbound F train set off protests, and the Manhattan district attorney's office launched an investigation.
The video, captured by a freelance journalist on the train, shows the former Marine holding Mr Neely around the neck for two minutes and 55 seconds.
The journalist who filmed it, Juan Alberto Vazquez, told the New York Times that Mr Neely had shouted at passengers but did not attack anyone.
He recalled Mr Neely saying "I don't mind going to jail and getting life in prison" before he was restrained.
On Friday morning, Mr Penny arrived in a black SUV at a police station in Manhattan to surrender to authorities. Wearing a black suit and white shirt, he did not speak or answer any questions from reporters gathered outside.
His lawyer, Thomas Kenniff, said his client has "his head held up high" and had willingly surrendered "with the sort of dignity and integrity that is characteristic of his history of service to this grateful nation".
Mr Penny "risked his own life and safety, for the good of his fellow passengers", Mr Kenniff added, expressing confidence he would be "fully absolved of any wrongdoing".
He faces a count of second-degree manslaughter and up to 15 years in jail if convicted.
According to New York law, that charge will require a jury to find that Mr Penny engaged in reckless conduct that created an unjustifiable risk of death.
"The investigation thus far has included numerous witness interviews, careful review of photo and video footage, and discussions with the Medical Examiner's Office," said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in a statement.
"As this case proceeds, we will be constrained from speaking outside the courtroom to ensure this remains a fair and impartial matter,"
New York defence attorney Jeffrey Lichtman told the BBC he thought prosecutors would fail meet this standard, and show Mr Penny knew his actions would kill.
"If litigated properly this is a slam dunk acquittal," he said, calling Mr Penny a "sympathetic defendant".
In a statement released a few days after Mr Neely's death, Mr Penny's lawyers said their client had "never intended to harm Mr Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death".
Mr Penny spent four years in the Marines, rising to the rank of sergeant before being honourably discharged in June 2021, according to his lawyers. He is now enrolled in a full-time bachelor's college degree studying architecture.
Across the street from the court, a small memorial dedicated to Mr Neely has been assembled with signs urging officials to prosecute Mr Penny.
In a statement earlier this week, Mr Neely's family said that Mr Penny needed to be in prison. "The family wants you to know that Jordan matters," they said.
Mr Neely was a Michael Jackson impersonator who frequently performed in Times Square. "He sang, he danced, he entertained," a lawyer for the family said.
His mother, Christie Neely, was murdered in 2007 by her boyfriend, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2012, according to the Jersey Journal.
Following his mother's death, Mr Neely began experiencing mental health issues, said Donte Mills, a lawyer for the Neely family.
"He had demons. He went through tragedy at a very young age," Mr Mills said. "And then his mother was taken from him and her body was dumped in a suitcase on a highway, and it changed Jordan's mentality forever."
Mr Neely had 42 arrests on charges such as evading fares, theft and assaults on three women, according to US media reports. He had recently pleaded guilty to assaulting a 67-year-old woman leaving a subway station in 2021.
Mr Mills addressed the arrests on Friday, saying that Mr Penny "did not know Jordan Neely before this incident. He did not know how many times he had been arrested."
"So that's a non-factor," he added.
Mayor Eric Adams has said the case highlights the need to improve the mental health system so that it can better protect people like Mr Neely.
Mr Adams and New York state Governor Kathy Hochul have increased the presence of police to address rising crime on the city's subway.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-65573879
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Hannah Waddingham: From Ted Lasso to a Eurovision Song Contest star - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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The English actress, one of the song contest's co-hosts this year, is already a fan favourite.
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Entertainment & Arts
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The standout stars of this year's Eurovision Song Contest do not just include the competitors - one of the hosts has become a fan favourite as well.
Hannah Waddingham has been a leading lady on stage for more than two decades and found wider fame thanks to TV shows Game of Thrones, Ted Lasso and Sex Education.
She can now add "Eurovision icon" to her CV.
Hannah Waddingham (right) with fellow co-hosts Alesha Dixon and Julia Sanina
The English actress is co-hosting the contest's finals with British presenter Alesha Dixon and Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina and the BBC's Graham Norton.
While they have all been excellent so far, Waddingham in particular has earned rave reviews, and her appearances have capped her elevation to A-list status.
Viewers have responded to her unbridled energy and overflowing sense of fun, plus the effortless composure and assured stage presence that come from years in the West End and on Broadway.
Her enthusiastic facial expressions, exuberant style, impromptu dance moves and language skills also have the crowd eating out of the palm of her hand.
King Charles met the hosts and commentators at the Eurovision arena last month
At a press conference on Friday, one reporter informed her she had been dubbed "mother" on social media. "Can I just ask if that's a good thing?" she responded.
It is - being a term particularly used in the gay community to refer to iconic women.
Waddingham only hosted her first awards ceremony last month - the Olivier Awards - when she was particularly praised for comforting an emotional winner.
"It was my first ever presenting gig, [with] this subtle little one being my second," she said.
"As with the Oliviers - the winners and the losers, everyone [at Eurovision] makes the effort of their lives. All of us, all of them on stage, everyone backstage, we're all just trying to put on a beautiful, massive, joyous show, and be unified by music.
"So it's very much our job to be there for the ups and the downs for the winners and the losers, and that's why I wanted to get involved."
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Waddingham and grand final co-host Graham Norton, pictured in 2009, have been friends for years
Waddingham is from London and spent her childhood in theatres watching her mother, a singer with the English National Opera.
By her 20s, she was in leading roles in the West End herself. Waddingham now has three Olivier nominations to her name - for Monty Python show Spamalot, Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music and Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate.
After some TV roles, including in ITV comedy Benidorm, she was cast as Septa Unella, better known as the Shame Nun in Game of Thrones, joining in season five.
It was "horrifically difficult" to be taken seriously enough to make the leap from stage to screen - and she had to go to the US to make a real breakthrough, she has said.
She went down well when she hosted the Olivier Awards in London in April
"You see the same faces constantly, I think, on British television. And that was my frustration," she told Kate Thornton's White Wine Question Time podcast in 2021.
"I had to jump over to the other side of the pond in order to get recognised. And I don't think that's right, personally."
But with a baby on the way, she no longer wanted to be on stage six nights a week. She started filming Game of Thrones just eight weeks after giving birth.
Waddingham with Lady Gaga at the 2022 Critics Choice Awards
That led to shows like Superman prequel Krypton. But while filming that, her daughter, three at the time, became seriously ill with Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP), which affects the blood vessels. It was "all a bit touch and go", Waddingham said.
After being unable to immediately get home to be with her, so told her agents she no longer wanted acting jobs that would require her to travel.
"I am first and foremost a mum, and more importantly, a single mum," she said. While her daughter was recovering a month later, she stood in her garden one night and "thanked the Universe" for making her better.
The cast of Ted Lasso visited the White House in Washington, DC in March
While she was at it, she asked the Universe for another job that would allow her to be near her daughter and keep them afloat financially.
"And also, can I be so cheeky as to say, could it be something that shows everything that I can do, and things that I don't feel like I've been able to do yet? And is there any way it could just be around the corner?" she asked.
"And I'm not joking, within two months the audition came in for Ted Lasso, that shoots 40 minutes away from my house."
Waddingham won the Emmy for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series for Ted Lasso in 2021
The Universe came through. Waddingham won the role in the Apple TV+ comedy as Richmond FC owner Rebecca Welton, who hires hapless US coach Ted because she wants the team to fail to spite her former husband.
It became a hit, and Waddingham won an Emmy, a Critics' Choice Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Global fame has come relatively late. "You don't think your career is going to rev up during your 40s," she told the Plot Twist podcast last year. "Being a mother, you think it's going to slow down a bit."
There's not much chance of that. She recently appeared in Hocus Pocus 2 and ITV's Tom Jones, and will be in forthcoming films The Fall Guy, Garfield and Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Two.
She celebrated her Screen Actors Guild Awards win via a video link last year
If she hadn't made it as an actress, she would have liked to work as an interpreter, she has said. "I love languages."
She speaks Italian and French - as she demonstrated in the Eurovision semi-finals.
"I was just keen to show the hands across the water and try giving languages another go," she told reporters on Friday.
"It's that fine line of wanting to be respectful to a language and include it, but not screw it up. So I hope I'm doing OK."
All the build-up, insights and analysis is explored on the BBC's Eurovisioncast.
Eurovisioncast is available on BBC Sounds, or search wherever you get your podcasts from.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-65556783
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Nikki Allan murder: David Boyd guilty of killing Sunderland girl - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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David Boyd lured seven-year-old Nikki Allan to a derelict building where he beat and stabbed her.
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Tyne & Wear
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David Boyd will be sentenced on 23 May for murdering Nikki Allan
A convicted child abuser has been found guilty of brutally murdering a seven-year-old girl more than 30 years ago.
Nikki Allan was repeatedly hit with a brick and stabbed dozens of times before her body was abandoned in a derelict building near her home in Sunderland in October 1992.
David Boyd, 55, from Stockton-on-Tees, was convicted at Newcastle Crown Court after a three-week trial.
Nikki's mother said the "evil man" had "slipped through the net" for decades.
He will be sentenced on 23 May.
Boyd, then aged 25, was a neighbour of Nikki's at the Wear Garth flats in the east end of Sunderland and his partner had been the girl's babysitter.
However, he avoided suspicion in the initial Northumbria Police investigation because detectives were focussed on another man - also a neighbour - 24-year-old George Heron.
He was prosecuted but acquitted at a trial in 1993 after a judge ruled police had used "oppressive" tactics when questioning him and said his confession had been obtained under duress.
Boyd was familiar with the abandoned Old Exchange building about 300 yards from where he and Nikki lived, and knew how to get inside through a broken, boarded-up window.
DNA matching his was found on Nikki's clothes and he bore a "striking resemblance" to a man seen with Nikki shortly before her death, prosecutors said.
The trial heard Boyd, of Chesterton Court in Norton, confessed to having sexual fantasies about young girls and was convicted of indecently assaulting a nine-year-old girl in 1999.
He also had a conviction for indecent exposure in 1997 when he flashed three young girls in a park and one for breaching the peace in 1986 when he grabbed a 10-year-old girl and asked her for a kiss.
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Prosecutor Richard Wright KC previously told jurors Nikki was lured to the building by someone she knew and the "irresistible conclusion" was it was done for a "sinister purpose" even though there was no evidence of a sexual assault.
He said the case against Boyd was "circumstantial but compelling" but if he was not the murderer then Nikki must have been killed by a "phantom" who had left no evidence behind.
The jury of 10 women and two men in Boyd's trial reached their verdict after two-and-a-half hours of deliberation.
The public gallery erupted with raucous cheers and cries of "thank you" when the verdict was read out. Police officers had to be summoned into the court to restore order.
Boyd, dressed in a white T-shirt, did not visibly react and was remanded into custody.
Nikki Allan was killed in the Old Exchange building in the Hendon area of Sunderland
Outside court, Nikki's mother Sharon Henderson, who campaigned tirelessly to keep her daughter's case in the public consciousness, spoke of the "injustice" her family had lived with for three decades.
Addressing the botched police investigation in 1992, she told reporters: "This evil man slipped through the net to murder Nikki when he was on their files in the first place.
"Three doors down from Nikki's grandparents [where Boyd had been living]. They should have investigated him straight away."
Asked how she had managed to keep fighting for justice, she replied: "Because Nikki's my daughter and I love her."
Speaking after the verdict, Assistant Chief Constable Brad Howe of Northumbria Police praised Nikki's family's "patience and strength over the last 30 years", adding: "Today is about justice for Nikki and her family."
"David Boyd hid his crime, lying about his involvement and prolonging the family's suffering, knowing all along that he had taken the life of their little girl," he said.
He said the investigation had been one of the "most complex and comprehensive ever conducted" by the force.
Det Ch Supt Lisa Theaker, the senior investigating officer in the case, added: "Nikki would have been 37 now and who knows what her life could have been.
"But her future was cruelly taken away from her by David Boyd. The pain and suffering that he has caused, and to so many people, is immeasurable."
Christopher Atkinson, head of the Complex Casework Unit at Crown Prosecution Service North East, said: "Despite the unimaginable grief endured by Nikki's family, Boyd continued to pretend that he was not involved in the killing for 30 years."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-65534421
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New York City passes law barring weight discrimination - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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America's largest city joins a movement to make size a protected trait on par with race and gender.
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Business
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Supporters of New York City's weight discrimination bill rally in New York
New York City has passed a bill outlawing discrimination based on weight, joining a growing movement in the US to make size a protected trait on par with race and gender.
More than 40% of American adults are considered obese and studies show weight stigma is pervasive.
The bias can bring sharp costs, such as lower wages, especially for women.
City Councilman Shaun Abreu said weight discrimination was "a silent burden people have had to carry".
During public hearings, supporters cited difficulty navigating seating at restaurants and theatres, getting turned away by landlords, and butting up against weight limits on the city's bike sharing programme.
Councilman Abreu, who sponsored the bill, said he became more aware of the issue when he gained more than 40lb (18.1kg) during lockdown and saw a shift in how he was treated. He said the lack of protections had amplified the problems people face.
"They're being discriminated against with no recourse and society saying that's perfectly fine," he said.
The measure is expected to be signed into law by New York's mayor later this month. The effort received widespread support, passing 44-5, despite scepticism in some quarters.
New York City council's minority leader, Joseph Borelli, who is a Republican, told the New York Times he was worried the law would empower New Yorkers "to sue anyone and everything".
"I'm overweight but I'm not a victim. No-one should feel bad for me except my struggling shirt buttons," he said.
Michigan has barred workplace discrimination based on weight since 1976 and a handful of other cities, including San Francisco and Washington DC, have legislation on the books.
State-level bills have now been introduced in New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Jersey.
The efforts follow a dramatic increase in obesity rates over the past 20 years.
Tegan Lecheler, advocacy director for the National Association for the Advancement of Fat Acceptance, which worked with Councilman Abreu on the New York City bill, said she hoped the measure would "encourage a larger conversation of framing this beyond health".
"It's not a health issue. It's a civil rights issue," she said. "This is really about if people are safe and protected and have the right to be in spaces."
New York's human rights law already bars discrimination in housing, the workplace and public accommodation based on 27 characteristics, including age, marital status, disability and national origin.
The bill adds weight and height to that list, while including exceptions for jobs in which weight and height are a "bona fide occupational qualification" or where there is a public health and safety concern.
Councilman Abreu said he hoped the move by the largest city in the country would encourage other cities and states to follow suit.
"We want this bill to send a message to everybody that you matter, regardless of if you're above or below average weight," he said. "That's why we pushed this."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65562288
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Delayed CalMac catamaran begins sailings on Arran route - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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The boat, hired at a cost of £9m, still has an issue which prevents it from sailing on the Islay route.
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Glasgow & West Scotland
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MV Alfred completed its first sailing for CalMac on Friday
CalMac's chartered catamaran MV Alfred has entered service on the west coast ferry operator's Arran route.
But a technical problem with its starboard thruster has ruled out its use on CalMac's Islay service for now.
The Scottish government has provided £9m for the nine-month long loan of the boat from Orkney-based Pentland Ferries.
Delays, including servicing of its hydraulic systems, has meant Alfred has only now joined CalMac's fleet.
It was expected to be available last month.
Alfred's first sailing between Ardrossan on the North Ayrshire coast and Brodick on Arran started just after 11:00.
CalMac said the catamaran would be on a non-bookable, turn-up-and-go basis for the first two weeks to allow for familiarisation and to determine if the passage time and turnaround times were "realistic".
The boat is to be used for two return services a day and will berth overnight in Ardrossan.
Passengers on Alfred's first sailing on CalMac's Arran route
Following berthing trials, Alfred has been deemed suitable for use at several other CalMac ports - including Lochmaddy and Ullapool.
It could also be used at Port Askaig on Islay - but only once the thruster issue has been fixed. Pentland Ferries is to carry out work to resolve the problem.
CalMac said extensive ramp modifications were also needed before it could be deployed fully at Troon and Campbeltown.
Chief executive Robbie Drummond said: "We very much welcome the introduction into service of MV Alfred and the resilience that she will offer.
"Her addition should mitigate the impact of disruption or when certain islands are reduced to single vessel service."
He added: "The main route to and from Arran has been operating with one vessel for some time, so the addition of MV Alfred will provide much-needed support to the local community."
Meanwhile, Pentland Ferries' own services remain suspended after its vessel MV Pentalina ran aground.
Northlink, the state-subsidised main ferry service provider to Orkney, has scheduled extra crossings between Stromness and Scrabster until the end of June to meet passenger demand.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-65558335
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Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby given speeding fine - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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Justin Welby admitted the offence and was given three penalty points at a magistrates' court.
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London
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The Most Reverend Justin Welby was caught driving 5mph above the 20mph speed limit, near Lambeth Palace
The Archbishop of Canterbury has been fined more than £500 and given three penalty points after he was caught speeding in London.
The Most Reverend Justin Welby was recorded driving at 25mph in a 20mph zone in his Volkswagen Golf last year.
The 67-year-old had been going along the Albert Embankment towards his official residence at Lambeth Palace.
He admitted the offence in writing and was sentenced at a private magistrates' court hearing.
The archbishop, who was caught by a speed camera on 2 October, was prosecuted through the single justice procedure - a method that allows courts to deal with cases without the defendant having to go to a hearing.
He pleaded guilty online on Wednesday, the same day he appeared at the House of Lords to condemn the government's Illegal Migration Bill.
Lavender Hill Magistrates' Court ordered Mr Welby to pay a £300 fine, a £120 victim surcharge and £90 in legal costs, as well as adding the penalty points to his driving licence.
A spokesperson for Lambeth Palace said the archbishop had been unaware the case might be dealt with in court.
The spokesperson said: "He has tried to resolve this and pay the fine three times. He has all the paperwork to prove that he has tried to pay.
"Admin errors seem to be causing problems."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-65572257
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Officials urged Braverman to halt asylum plan for RAF Scampton - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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Civil servants told the home secretary to halt plans to house asylum seekers at the Lincolnshire site.
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UK Politics
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Civil servants advised the home secretary to abandon plans to house asylum seekers at a former RAF base in Lincolnshire, it has emerged.
In an email from February, seen by the BBC, a senior Home Office official advised Suella Braverman to stop work on the site at RAF Scampton.
The official noted "significant challenges to progress" on the site.
The Home Office said internal departmental discussions were a routine part of its decision-making.
It comes after West Lindsey District Council, where the base is located, lost its High Court bid for an injunction to stop work on the site.
The internal email was part of evidence referred to during a court hearing on Thursday.
RAF Scampton is one of a number of military sites the Home Office wants to convert into large-scale asylum accommodation to house asylum seekers waiting for their claims to be assessed.
When it announced the plans to convert it in March, the department said it wanted to reduce the cost of housing people in hotels, currently running at around £6m a day.
The Home Office says up to 2,000 asylum seekers could be housed at RAF Scampton, a base famous for being the former home of the Red Arrows and the World War Two Dambusters squadron.
The council had recently secured £300m from a developer to regenerate RAF Scampton into a site to be used for tourism, aviation, education and research.
In court, the council's lawyers said the Home Office's decision to turn the base into migrant accommodation would "kill off" the plan, calling this "perverse".
The email, dated 8 February from a senior official in the Resettlement, Asylum Support and Integration Directorate - does not go into detail about the objections but does make reference to the impact of the asylum proposal on redevelopment plans.
It recommends that the home secretary "agree to stop work on proposals for RAF Scampton", and "immediately notify the local authorities that the Home Office are no longer developing proposals for the site."
In court, Home Office lawyers insisted the regeneration project had been explicitly taken into account by the home secretary.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the department said the military sites would provide "cheaper and more suitable accommodation for those arriving in small boats".
"Not only are these sites more affordable for taxpayers, they are also more manageable for communities, due to healthcare and catering facilities on site, 24/7 security and the purpose built, safe and secure accommodation they provide," the spokesperson added.
West Lindsey District Council is still going ahead with a broader legal challenge to the government's decision to use RAF Scampton.
Braintree District Council in Essex is also involved in similar legal action over plans to turn Wethersfield Airfield into accommodation for asylum seekers.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65577195
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Green minister Lorna Slater criticised for using private ferry - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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The Tories accuse Lorna Slater of hypocrisy for chartering a boat instead of taking a Calmac ferry to Rum.
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Scotland politics
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Scottish Greens minister Lorna Slater has been accused of hypocrisy for using a private ferry for an official visit to an island.
The boat was hired to take a group of eight people, including Ms Slater, to Rum on Friday morning.
The Scottish government said it would ensure the best value for taxpayers and allow Ms Slater to "maximise time on the island".
But the Conservatives questioned why Ms Slater did not take a CalMac ferry.
And they predicted that the government's decision to hire a private boat would anger islanders struggling to access lifeline ferry services.
The circular economy minister was travelling with members of the Isle of Rum Community Trust, as well as NatureScot and Scottish government staff on a charter operated by Western Isle Cruises.
The minister's spokesperson said this would allow her to spend more time on the island and support a small local business.
The Scottish Conservatives described it as a "vessel of hypocrisy", saying that islanders have been concerned about the current provision of timetabled ferry services.
The ferry network faces continuing problems with reliability due to an ageing fleet, something which has long angered island communities.
Ms Slater was due to discuss the future of Kinloch Castle which was built in the 1890s as a hunting lodge
Donald Cameron, a Tory MSP for the Highlands and Islands, said the Greens were "forever lecturing the public on the need to use public transport" but Ms Slater was "happy for the Scottish government to charter a private boat to take her to and from Rum".
He added: "Her excuse for doing so - that, essentially, the CalMac timetable doesn't suit - will go down like a lead balloon with Scotland's island communities.
"Those who rely on lifeline ferry services don't have the luxury of hiring a private boat to travel.
"Instead, they are dependent on an ageing and unreliable CalMac fleet they've been lumbered with due to the scandalous incompetence of the government Lorna Slater is at the centre of."
He accused Ms Slater of "breath-taking" hypocrisy and lack of self-awareness, and added that the "tone-deaf indifference to them" was "another kick in the teeth to betrayed islanders".
A Scottish Labour spokesperson said: "This is stunning hypocrisy. While island communities are facing serious disruption to ferry services, Lorna Slater is chartering a private boat.
"The Greens are out of touch with working people and nothing more than the SNP's little helpers. Scotland deserves better."
Steve Robertson from the island's community trust described the row as "a storm in a teacup" but confirmed that the CalMac ferry service did not meet the island's needs.
He said: "Lorna Slater is coming over to do a very important meeting to try and move things forward for the community.
"It makes people feel disappointed that that's the story when for us a taxi charter boat is a normal part of island life. We have to use these to make the island anything like sustainable.
"She can take the ferry service if she wants to have the meeting on the ferry and fit in with the very narrow options to spend time on Rum."
Rum Community Trust's Steve Robertson said charter boats were needed to make the island sustainable
CalMac runs one return ferry service between Rum and Mallaig on three weekdays and at weekends during the summer season, costing £9.40 per passenger.
On Fridays the MV Lochnevis leaves Mallaig at 12:45, arriving at 14:10. That gives three hours and 10 minutes on the island before the return crossing departs at 17:20.
A longer day trip is possible on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. On Saturdays the ferry timetable allows a stop on the island of seven hours and 25 minutes.
A Scottish government spokesperson said: "The minister is travelling to Rum early this morning to meet with islanders to discuss key issues including the future of Kinloch Castle.
"Eight people, including islanders, staff and the minister, are travelling on the boat for the meeting on Rum.
"In terms of ministerial travel costs, these are determined in accordance with the Scottish government's travel and subsistence policies, to ensure the best value for the Scottish taxpayer, and will be published in the normal way."
Kinloch Castle, a former Edwardian pleasure palace, is at risk of deteriorating as it is no longer being used as a hostel.
City financier and former Tory donor Jeremy Hosking had said he was interested in buying the castle, but blamed Ms Slater's intervention when he withdrew his bid.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-65570607
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Eurovision semi-final: Australia break this year's rock 'curse' - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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The five-piece band, whose singer is an immigration lawyer, are one of 10 acts going to the final.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Australia's Voyager have broken the rock group curse at this year's Eurovision Song Contest by qualifying for Saturday's grand final.
The five-piece, fronted by immigration lawyer Danny Estrin, sailed through the second semi-final alongside fellow rockers Joker Out, from Slovenia.
Their success comes two days after the first semi, where every guitar group was eliminated.
They included Ireland's Wild Youth, who extended the country's losing streak.
Ireland, who hold the record for the most Eurovision wins of all time, have now failed to qualify five times in a row.
Voyager's lead singer, Daniel Estrin is a partner at law firm Estrin Saul, who spends his days in court helping migrants sort out their visa issues, before taking to the stage at night.
"I think I might be the first lawyer to take part in Eurovision," he told Australian Broadcaster SBS. "Although I know San Marino sent a dentist a while ago."
This could be Australia's final chance to win - their contract with Eurovision runs out in 2023, and will need to be renegotiated before next year's contest.
Meanwhile, the song contest's organiser has confirmed it will not allow Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky to deliver a video message at the Eurovision final on Saturday.
There is expected to be a special tribute to Ukraine on the night with 11 artists performing including last year's winner Kalush Orchestra.
But the European Broadcasting Union said "strict rules" prevented it from allowing the Ukrainian leader to speak.
"One of the cornerstones of the contest is the non-political nature of the event," the EBU said.
"This principle prohibits the possibility of making political or similar statements as part of the contest."
The second semi wasn't as thrilling as Tuesday's first instalment, with a surfeit of piano ballads sapping the show of energy. A highlight reel reminding fans of the night's songs was essentially a three-minute supercut of women belting out high notes.
But every so often, the contest showed signs of life. Be-hatted Belgian star Gustaph lit up the stage with his infectious house anthem Because Of You; and Poland's Blanka brought some sunshine to a rainy Liverpool Thursday thanks to her breezy pop hit Solo, which is already a huge streaming hit.
Both acts made it through to the grand final, where they'll face stiff competition from Sweden's Loreen and Finland's Käärijä, who are favourites to win.
Of the 16 acts who performed on Thursday, the following 10 qualified:
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Most notable moments from Eurovision semi-final two (UK only)
Hosts Alesha Dixon, Hannah Waddingham and Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina were also back on stage after making their presenting debut on Tuesday night.
They oversaw a conga line led by cartoon character Peppa Pig, and an exuberant half-time show by drag queens Miss Demeanour, Mercedes Benz and Tamara Thomas.
The contest itself opened with Danish-Faroese pop singer Reiley, whose wayward vocals set the tone for a night full of fluffed notes.
His 11 million TikTok followers weren't enough to help his sugary-sweet pop anthem Breaking My Heart qualify for the final.
Reiley's pastel-coloured staging was designed to appeal on TikTok
Armenia's Brunette was next up with Future Lover - a yearning ballad, about a lover she has yet to meet. Staged with dramatic lighting atop a perilously titled stage, her self-penned song also made the cut.
But it was bad news for Romania's Theodor Andrei, whose torrid tale of a toxic relationship (sample lyric: "Take off your clothes and step on me") proved too off-putting to pick up votes.
The other acts who went home were Iceland's Diljá, Georgia's Iru, San Marino's Piqued Jacks and Greece's Victor Vernicos who, at 16 years old, was this year's youngest contestant.
Albania's ode to family unity, Duje, got the seal of approval, as did Austria's Who The Hell Is Edgar - a slyly subversive anthem about the music industry's mistreatment of songwriters.
Teya and Salena were greeted by huge cheers, as the audience sang their hooky "Poe, poe, poe, poe, poe" chorus
There was a British connection for Lithuanian qualifier Monika Linkyte, whose backing singer is an Adele impersonator who works in an Essex supermarket.
And viewers got their first glimpse of the UK's actual entrant, Mae Muller, towards the end of the show.
The singer spoke briefly to host Alesha Dixon, before introducing a rehearsal clip of her entry, I Wrote A Song.
"I think it's safe to say on behalf of the whole UK that we're so excited to be hosting on behalf of Ukraine," she said, as fans lifted the country's blue and yellow flags around the Liverpool Arena.
"We love you guys," she added.
Viewers got their first glimpse of Mae Muller's colourful performance
The UK is one of five countries - alongside Spain, Italy, France and Germany - who qualify automatically for the final thanks to their financial contribution to the contest.
Ukraine, who won last year, also go straight to the final. Their act, Tvorchi, also introduced their song, Heart Of Steel, on Thursday night.
Liverpool is hosting the contest on behalf of the Eastern European country due to the ongoing Russian invasion.
Russia has been suspended from participating as a result, while this week's events have had a strong Ukrainian flavour.
Thursday's show featured a moving segment titled "'Music Unites Generations", where Mariya Yaremchuk, who represented Ukraine in Eurovision 2014, sang a medley of well-known Ukrainian songs.
She was joined on stage by rapper OTOY and 14-year-old Ukrainian Junior Eurovision representative Zlata Dziunka, illustrating how music can transcend generations and overcomes darkness.
Several former Ukrainian contestants will take part in Saturday's Grand Final, including former winners Kalush Orchestra (2022) and Jamala (2016).
Liverpool's rich music heritage will also be celebrated, with stars including Duncan Laurence, Cornelia Jakobs, Daði Freyr, Netta, and Sonia, performing songs from the host city.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-65561578
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UK economy: Cost of living and strikes weigh on growth - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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The economy grew only slightly in the first three months of the year, as high prices kept purse strings tight.
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Business
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The UK grew only weakly in the first three months of the year with the economy hit by strikes, cost of living pressures and wet weather.
The economy grew by just 0.1% between January and March, figures showed, and it remains smaller than levels seen before the Covid pandemic.
The UK is also lagging behind growth seen in other major economies.
On Thursday, the Bank of England said it was more optimistic about prospects, and the UK would avoid a recession.
Its comments came after the Bank increased interest rates to 4.5% from 4.25% as part of its continued attempt to slow soaring prices.
The ONS figures showed that while the economy grew slightly over the first three months of 2023, in March it contracted by 0.3%, with car sales and the retail sector having a bad month.
The economy is still 0.5% smaller than pre-pandemic levels, the ONS said.
While the UK outperformed Germany in the first three months of the year, many other major economies grew faster.
Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said: "Stubbornly high inflation, negative real wage growth and general cost of living pressures are weighing on the consumer, and in turn the services industry which is typically a key growth engine for the UK economy.
"Today's figures point to the importance of taming inflation, a daunting task facing the Bank of England and the government, in order to catalyse a revival in services."
Darren Morgan, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said while growth during the first quarter of the year had been helped by IT and construction, this had been partially offset by the impact of strikes in the health, education and public administration sectors.
Speaking to the BBC's Today programme, Mr Morgan also said that car sales had been "relatively weak" for March, while retail sales had been hit by wet weather which put people off visiting the High Street.
"We also saw food store sales slip and retailers told us that the increased cost of living and rising food prices are continuing to affect consumer spending," he added.
The economy just about grew in the first quarter of this year, but at 0.1% that was by the barest possible margin. The fall in March, the latest month, is of some concern with the service sector going into reverse, and car sales disappointing.
Strikes and the weather are factors here, but there is no denying the sluggish pattern that has persisted for a year now, as energy prices have risen. It will be not much comfort that Germany is not growing at all. On a quarterly basis the UK economy has still not regained all the ground lost since the pandemic and Brexit.
The current second quarter could see a fall too given the extra bank holiday. But forecasters are looking for the second half of the year for growth to start climbing again.
After a massive energy shock and other crises, the avoidance of a recession exceeds expectations. As the Bank of England said yesterday, two thirds of the impact of rate rises to date are yet to hit households.
While the engine of growth in the economy is on, the UK is going to have to wait a little longer for take-off.
Responding to the latest growth figures, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: "It's good news that the economy is growing but to reach the government's growth priority we need to stay focused on competitive taxes, labour supply and productivity."
Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said: "Despite our country's huge potential and promise, today is another day in the dismal low growth record book of this Conservative government."
David Dargan, managing director of construction business Starship Group, told the BBC he was positive about the outlook for the economy.
David Dargan says the construction sector is facing a "new norm" of higher costs
"We've had a bit of a perfect storm in construction with rising costs, shortages of material and labour but I think we've been really resilient and have learnt to trade our way through it," he said.
He added that the construction sector was facing a "new norm" when it comes to costs and it has taken clients a while to get used to that.
KPMG economist Yael Selfin said the contraction seen in the economy during March "underscores its fragility", despite lower energy prices, improvements to the supply of goods, and a pick-up in consumer confidence.
"While recession is probably no longer on the cards, vulnerabilities resulting from higher borrowing costs... are likely to dampen business and household activity this year."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65562888
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Woman in coma after Earl's Court royal police escort crash - family - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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A police motorcycle was escorting the Duchess of Edinburgh when the crash happened, police say.
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London
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Helen Holland was critically injured in a crash with a police motorcycle escorting the Duchess of Edinburgh on Wednesday
A woman who was critically injured in a crash with a police motorcycle escorting the Duchess of Edinburgh is in a coma in hospital, her family say.
Helen Holland, 81, was hit at the junction of West Cromwell Road and Warwick Road in Earl's Court, west London, at 15:20 BST on Wednesday.
Her family said they were "shocked and sickened" at her injuries.
The police watchdog said their investigation was in its early stages and evidence was being gathered.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct said Ms Holland was in a critical condition in hospital.
Ms Holland, from Birchanger, Essex, had been in London visiting her older sister on Wednesday, her family told the BBC.
Her son and daughter-in-law Martin and Lisa-Marie Holland said they were "shocked and sickened at her extensive injuries".
"She is being well cared for by the NHS who we must thank deeply for their help in keeping her alive," they added.
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, was "grateful for the swift response of emergency services", a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said on Thursday the duchess was "grateful for the swift response of emergency services and will keep abreast of developments".
"Further comment at this time would not be appropriate while the incident is being investigated," they added.
Buckingham Palace previously said the duchess's "heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the injured lady and her family".
The Directorate of Professional Standards has been notified about the crash.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-65570762
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Elon Musk says he has appointed new Twitter boss - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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The billionaire has been under pressure to name someone else to lead the company and focus on his other firms.
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Business
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Elon Musk says that he has found a new chief executive to lead Twitter.
He announced the news on the social media platform, which he bought last year for $44bn (£35bn).
Mr Musk did not name the site's new boss but said "she" would start in six weeks, and he would become executive chairman and chief technology officer.
Reports said the incoming leader would be Linda Yaccarino, head of advertising sales at media giant NBCUniversal, which later confirmed her departure.
Mr Musk has been under pressure to name someone else to lead the company and focus on his other businesses.
Last year, after Twitter users voted for him to step down in an online poll, he said: "No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive."
However, although Mr Musk had said he would hand over the reins, it was by no means clear when or even if it would happen.
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Tesla shares rose after the announcement. Mr Musk has previously been accused by shareholders of abandoning Tesla after his takeover of Twitter and damaging the car company's brand.
"We ultimately view this as a major step forward with Musk finally reading the room that has been around this Twitter nightmare," said Dan Ives from investment firm Wedbush Securities.
"Trying to balance Twitter, Tesla and SpaceX as CEOs [is] an impossible task that needed to change."
According to the Wall Street Journal and Variety, NBCUniversal's Ms Yaccarino was in talks to become Twitter's chief executive. The speculation surrounding Ms Yaccarino intensified on Friday when NBCUniversal announced she had left the firm.
Twitter did not comment on the reports.
It is sometimes difficult to know when the billionaire and owner of Twitter is being serious.
Last month, when the BBC asked Mr Musk who was going to succeed him as chief executive of the social media company, he said he had made a dog Twitter's leader.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Elon Musk says his 'dog is the CEO of Twitter'
But if Mr Musk has indeed appointed a female executive, it would make her one of the few women to reach the top of a major technology company.
Women accounted for fewer than 10% of chief executives of tech firms included in America's 500 biggest companies last year.
Although Mr Musk has talked about paid subscribers to Twitter Blue, it is advertising that brings in the vast majority of revenue at Twitter.
The new boss will no doubt seek to improve relationships with advertisers, and smooth their fears over content moderation.
Mr Musk, a self-proclaimed free speech absolutist, has said he took over Twitter to protect free speech. However, advertisers do not want their content next to misinformation or extremist content.
He purchased Twitter in October only after a lawsuit forced him to go through with the deal. Upon taking charge, Mr Musk controversially fired thousands of staff in a bid to cut costs at the firm, which has struggled to be profitable.
In March, Mr Musk said those efforts had paid off and the platform's finances were improving.
And last month he told the BBC that most of the advertisers that had abandoned Twitter immediately after the acquisition had returned.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65562289
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Paul Clark: Former MP jailed over child abuse images - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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Former Labour MP Paul Clark represented Gillingham in Kent for 13 years.
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Kent
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Former Labour MP Paul Clark was sentenced to two years and four months in prison
A former Labour MP who shared child abuse material has been jailed.
Paul Clark, who represented Gillingham in Kent for 13 years, was caught with more than 1,400 images on five electronic devices.
During his career, Clark worked as a parliamentary private secretary to deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and education secretary Ed Balls.
At Maidstone Crown Court, the 66-year-old was sentenced to two years and four months in prison.
Following his arrest in May 2021, Clark's devices were seized for analysis and officers recovered more than 1,400 indecent images of children.
He was subsequently charged with three counts of making indecent images of children and six counts of distributing indecent images of children between April 2013 and May 2021.
The court heard that when Clark was arrested, he initially made no comment, but later told officers, "I know why you're here", and "I kept telling myself to stop".
The former politician's defence barrister, Ronnie Manek KC, said Clark was "a man full of remorse and regret".
The court heard there was no evidence that any of the offending took place while Clark was in office.
Catrin Attwell from the Crown Prosecution Service's organised child sexual abuse unit said the examination of Clark's electronic devices revealed imagery of children as young as three.
"The electronic devices also revealed chatlogs in which Clark discussed his sexual desires, distributed indecent images of children to others for their sexual gratification and used social media to identify and talk to users under the age of 18," she said.
Clark has also been issued with a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and must sign the sex offenders register.
Danielle Pownall, National Crime Agency (NCA) operations manager, said: "Behind a significant number of images in Clark's possession was a vulnerable child being abused, just to satisfy paedophiles.
"He helped fuel the sickening trade in this material by downloading the images and sending them on to other offenders. In doing so, he also re-victimised every child."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-65557543
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UK confirms supply of Storm Shadow long-range missiles in Ukraine - BBC News
| 2023-05-12T00:00:00
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The Storm Shadow cruise missile will give Ukraine new capabilities in its conflict with Russia.
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Europe
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The UK has confirmed it is supplying Ukraine with long-range missiles it requested for its fight against invading Russian forces.
The Storm Shadow cruise missile has a range of over 250km (155 miles), according to the manufacturer.
By contrast, the US-supplied Himars missiles used by Ukraine only have a range of around 80 km (50 miles).
The weapons will give Ukraine the "best chance" of defending itself, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said.
They are fired from aircraft, so the longer range means Ukrainian pilots will be able to stay further from the frontlines.
Once launched, the Storm Shadow drops to low altitude to avoid detection by enemy radar, before latching onto its target with an infra-red seeker.
The announcement was made in the House of Commons by Mr Wallace. The decision follows repeated pleas from Ukraine for more weapons from the West.
Mr Wallace said the missiles would "allow Ukraine to push back Russian forces based on Ukrainian sovereign territory".
He said the UK took the decision after Russia "continued down a dark path" of targeting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
Mr Wallace wrote to his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu in December, he said, to warn that further attacks could result in the UK donating more capable weapons.
He said the missiles were "going into" or already in Ukrainian hands, and described the move as "calibrated and proportionate to Russia's escalations".
"None of this would have been necessary had Russia not invaded," he said.
He said the missiles would be compatible with Ukraine's existing, Soviet-era planes and praised the technicians and scientists who made that possible.
But he warned the range of the British-supplied Storm Shadows was "not in the same league" as Russia's own missile systems - with some of Moscow's weapons being able to travel far further.
Earlier this year, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov insisted longer-range missiles would not be used to attack targets within Russia itself.
"If we could strike at a distance of up to 300 kilometres, the Russian army wouldn't be able to provide defence and will have to lose," he told an EU meeting.
"Ukraine is ready to provide any guarantees that your weapons will not be involved in attacks on the Russian territory."
The UK's Royal Air Force arms its Eurofighter Typhoon jets with Storm Shadow missiles
In February, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was prepared to send long-range missiles to Ukraine, and the British government opened a bidding process for their procurement.
"Together we must help Ukraine to shield its cities from Russian bombs and Iranian drones," Mr Sunak said then. "That's why the United Kingdom will be the first country to give Ukraine longer-range weapons."
On Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow would take an "appropriate" military response to any British-supplied Storm Shadow weapons used by Ukrainian forces.
The Storm Shadow missile has been operated by both British and French air forces and has been used previously in the Gulf, Iraq and Libya.
The British-supplied missiles can only be fired by aircraft, but French missiles can be fired from ships and submarines.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says his army needs more equipment ahead of counter-offensive
• None Zelensky: We must wait before starting offensive
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65558070
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Sudan crisis: Sudanese singer Shaden Gardood killed in crossfire - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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Shaden Gardood, 37, died one day after Sudan's warring parties signed a deal to protect civilians.
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Africa
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One of Sudan's most prominent singers, Shaden Gardood, has been killed in crossfire in the Sudanese city of Omdurman.
Gardood died amid clashes between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Friday.
The 37-year-old's death came only one day after the warring parties signed a deal to alleviate civilian suffering.
Fighting erupted in Sudan in April over a vicious power struggle within the country's military leadership.
Gardood lived in the al-Hashmab neighbourhood, where RSF presence has increased in recent days.
Her niece, Heraa Hassan Mohammed, confirmed her death on Facebook and said: "She was like a mother and a beloved to me, we were just chatting, may God give her mercy."
She then wrote the Islamic phrase used when a person dies: "inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un".
In a video which circulated on social media, Gardood said she was trying to hide from the shelling and asked her son to close the windows.
She could be heard saying: "Go away from the doors and the windows… in the name of Allah, we are going to die ready wearing our full clothes... you should wear this, we will die in a better shape."
Gardood regularly made live videos on Facebook talking about the clashes and shelling in her neighbourhood, and she wrote intensively against the war.
In one of her last posts on Facebook, she said: "We have been trapped in our houses for 25 days… we are hungry and living in an enormous fear, but are full of ethics and values," referring to looting across Khartoum, the capital of Sudan.
Gardood lived near the national television and radio building, which has been a battlefield from the first day of the war.
The RSF was guarding the building and they came under constant shelling by fighter jets, with on-the-ground clashes between the two forces.
One resident living in the same neighbourhood as Gardood said: "Last night, the clashes were violent and intense, which lasted for long hours with fighter jets hovering over all night last night.
"But what I observed is that the clashes were a bit less immediately after Shaden was injured, then we continued to hear the sound from afar."
The resident said that Gardood later died of her wounds.
Gardood is survived by her 15-year-old son, Hamoudy, and her mother and sister.
The fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF has been taking place in Khartoum for almost four weeks.
The conflict erupted in mid-April, when the RSF refused to be integrated into Sudan's army under a planned transition to civilian rule.
More than 600 civilians have died and more than 4,000 injured, closing down about 80% of the hospitals with severe food, water and electricity shortages.
Gardood was originally from South Kordofan state, a war zone area since 2011, before she resided in Khartoum with her family.
She sang for peace and security in her region and promoted the culture of her marginalised community, al-Bagara, in South Kordofan, playing the role of Hakama - traditional poets in western Sudan who encourage men to go for fighting - for peace.
As well as being a singer, Gardood was a researcher in the al-Bagara Melodies and presented papers on the legacy of the Hakamas in the past and present.
A number of public figures were killed in Khartoum in the past few weeks, among them Sudan's first professional actress, Asia Abdelmajid, who died in crossfire at the age of 80.
Former footballer Fozi el-Mardi, 72, was also killed only a few days after the death of his daughter who was killed in a crossfire in Omdurman.
Four days after the start of the war, constant ceasefires were announced under the request of regional powers, but none were upheld.
The clashes have not stopped as the fighter jets continue hovering over the entire city.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-65585746
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ARC refuses to recall 67 million airbag inflators after regulator's request - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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The parts maker rejected the request, saying investigators had not found any "systemic" defects.
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US & Canada
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Concerns over exploding airbags have long plagued the motor industry
A company that supplies airbag parts to about one-quarter of US vehicles has rejected a request to recall its defective product.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said ARC Automotive's airbag inflators had ruptured and caused injury on several occasions due to a safety defect.
It urged the parts maker to immediately withdraw 67 million of its inflators.
ARC replied that the agency's findings did not support a large-scale recall.
Concerns over airbag inflators that explode and hurl shrapnel at passengers have long plagued the motor industry.
ARC's products are used by several top car makers, including BMW, General Motors, Hyundai and Kia.
GM on Friday agreed to recall almost one million vehicles. The driver of a GM-made SUV sustained facial injuries from a ruptured airbag this March.
That incident is one of nine, dating back to 2009, that was cited by the NHTSA in a letter to the parts supplier that presented the findings of an eight-year investigation.
"An airbag inflator that ruptures when deploying in a vehicle is plainly defective," wrote Stephen Ridella, director of the NHTSA office of defects investigation.
Recommending an immediate recall for safety reasons, he warned the defect had created "an unreasonable risk of death and injury" to front-seat passengers.
The company wrote back on Thursday that it "strongly disagrees" with the NHTSA's findings.
"ARC takes any potential issue with its products very seriously," said Steve Gold, ARC's vice-president of product integrity.
But, he said, investigators had failed to identify any "systemic or prevalent defect" in the inflators, instead relying on incidents that resulted from "random "one-off" manufacturing anomalies" that have already been addressed.
The stand-off is likely to tee up a legal battle if the two parties cannot reach an agreement.
The spat is reminiscent of the years-long recall of more than 100 million defective inflators sold by Takata Corporation.
The sprawling recall was the largest in the history of the US motor industry and ultimately led the Japanese parts maker to file for bankruptcy.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-65578475
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Ukraine Eurovision act's city Ternopil attacked before performance - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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Ternopil was hit by Russian missiles before Tvorchi took the stage in Liverpool, authorities say.
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Europe
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Tvorchi held up a sign displaying the name of their hometown while participating in the Eurovision Song Contest
The hometown of Ukraine's Eurovision act was hit by Russian missiles moments before the band took to the stage in Liverpool, officials say.
The head of Ternopil regional state administration, Volodymyr Trush, confirmed two people had been injured.
Ukraine's foreign ministry accused Russia of attacking Kyiv and Ternopil regions before and during Tvorchi's Eurovision performance.
Ten minutes before taking to the stage at the Liverpool Arena, Tvorchi posted on Instagram citing reports of Ternopil in western Ukraine being attacked.
After performing, they added: "Ternopil is the name of our hometown, which was bombed by Russia while we sang on the Eurovision stage about our steel hearts, indomitability and will.
"This is a message for all cities of Ukraine that are shelled every day. Kharkiv, Dnipro, Khmelnytsky, Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Uman, Sumy, Poltava, Vinnytsia, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Kherson and all others.
"Europe, unite against evil for the sake of peace!"
Tvorchi posted on Instagram saying Russia was bombing their native city of Ternopil
Tvorchi, made up of producer Andrii Hutsuliak and Nigeria-born vocalist Jeffery Kenny, hoped to defend the Eurovision title after Kalush Orchestra won last year in Turin.
They performed "Heart of Steel" - a song about troops who led an ultimately unsuccessful resistance against Russian forces at the Azovstal plant in Mariupol.
Liverpool is hosting the contest on behalf of Ukraine due to the ongoing conflict.
At the end of their performance, Tvorchi held their fists in the air as acts from other nations were also seen waving the blue and yellow flag of Ukraine.
Tvorchi are made up of producer Andrii Hutsuliak and Nigeria-raised vocalist Jeffery Kenny
The UK's ambassador to Ukraine Dame Melinda Simmons described Tvorchi's Eurovision performance as "poignant".
Writing on Twitter, she added: "Reminder that the reason why Ukraine could not host this event is because Russia continues to invade and the people of Ukraine live in continuing danger."
Though Swedish act Loreen took the Eurovision crown after a nail-biting finish, there was praise for Tvorchi from Ternopil's mayor who thanked the band for supporting the city during their performance.
Posting on Facebook in Ukrainian, Mayor Nadal wrote: "It was at this time that our city was attacked by Russian missiles.
"Thank you, because your speech has become a symbol of not only the unity of the country, but of the whole world."
He told the BBC the fire at the warehouse in Ternopil had been brought under control.
"Firefighters worked all night and continue to work," he said, adding that the two people who were wounded suffered minor injuries and were in hospital.
Russia has not yet made any official comment.
Earlier in the day, President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Pope Francis at the Vatican and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome.
He has since flown to Germany, arriving in Berlin just before 01:00 local time.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65586701
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Coronation photo shows King Charles with Prince William and Prince George - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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Official photo shows the King with his elder son and grandson, who are next in line to the throne.
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UK
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The King and his son and grandson were pictured on Coronation day in Buckingham Palace
The latest official Coronation photograph released by Buckingham Palace sends a strong message about the monarchy's next generations.
King Charles III is shown with his son Prince William and grandson Prince George, bringing together the King with those next in the line of succession.
The picture, taken in the palace Throne Room, is part of a set of official photographs taken by Hugo Burnand.
The King is seen wearing the Imperial State Crown and coronation robes.
In these formal portraits, he is pictured carrying the regalia from the Coronation - an orb and sceptre - while sitting in a throne made for the Coronation of Edward VII.
It is an image full of lavish symbolism and regal colours of gold, red and purple.
A second newly released photograph shows King Charles and Queen Camilla with their pages of honour and ladies in attendance.
It shows some of the members of the Queen's family who had roles in last Saturday's Coronation, including her sister Annabel Elliot, her grandsons Freddy Parker Bowles and Gus and Louis Lopes, as well as her great-nephew Arthur Elliot.
In a modern development, the Prince and Princess of Wales have released a YouTube video giving some candid shots of their preparations for the Coronation.
The short clip includes shots of Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis as they get ready to leave home for their grandfather's big day.
The photo of the Royal Family includes the Queen's sister and grandsons
The first set of official Coronation photos showed the King and Queen, but also focused on the "working royals", highlighting those who will be at the centre of royal duties during the King's reign.
There are expected to be more official photographs released as part of a Cabinet Office initiative to provide public buildings with a photographic portrait of the King.
Anti-monarchy campaigners have complained about the budget of £8m for the project, calling it a "shameful waste", with no details released so far of how the funds might be spent.
Read the latest from our royal correspondent Sean Coughlan - sign up here.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65575553
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Elon Musk names Linda Yaccarino new Twitter boss - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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NBCUniversal's former advertising head is revealed as the new chief executive of the social network.
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Business
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Elon Musk has named a new chief executive of Twitter, just over six months after his controversial takeover of the social media company.
The billionaire said Linda Yaccarino, the former head of advertising at NBCUniversal, would oversee business operations at the site, which has been struggling to make money.
He said she would start in six weeks.
Mr Musk will remain involved as executive chairman and chief technology officer.
"Looking forward to working with Linda to transform this platform into X, the everything app," he wrote on Twitter, confirming the decision a day after he had stoked speculation by writing that he had found a new boss without revealing their identity.
Mr Musk - who bought the social media platform last year for $44bn - had been under pressure to find someone else to lead the company and refocus his attention on his other businesses, which include electric carmaker Tesla and rocket firm SpaceX.
With fewer than 10% of Fortune 500 tech companies headed by women, Ms Yaccarino will become that rare example of a woman at the top of a major tech firm, after rising steadily through the ranks of some of America's biggest media companies.
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Ms Yaccarino was raised in an Italian-American family. After graduating from Penn State, she worked at Turner Entertainment for 15 years before joining NBCUniversal, where she oversaw roughly 2,000 people, and was involved with the launch of its streaming service.
Her work has been marked by close collaborations with big brands, finding opportunities for product placement and convincing them to advertise alongside television shows - even ones with a reputation for edgy content, such as Sex and the City when it first launched.
She has also built relationships in new media with the likes of Apple News, Snapchat and YouTube.
A 2005 profile in an industry publication portrayed her as a busy, married mother-of-two children, then aged 13 and 9.
"I have absolutely no hobbies," she said at the time.
Business Insider's Claire Atkinson has followed Ms Yaccarino's career for two decades and said her background in advertising could help Twitter, which has seen its ad sales drop sharply since Mr Musk's takeover.
"If Twitter are looking to monetise better than they have been, then that would be the place to start and Linda would be the ideal person to make that happen," the chief media correspondent said.
"She's the kind of person that I can imagine Elon Musk needs," Ms Atkinson added. "She won't be rolled over."
Indeed, her negotiating style within the industry earned her the nickname the "velvet hammer", according to the Wall Street Journal in 2012.
Ms Yaccarino will face the challenge of running a business that has struggled to be profitable, while facing intense scrutiny over how Twitter handles the spread of misinformation and manages hate speech.
When Mr Musk first started discussing his plans for Twitter last year, he said he wanted to reduce the platform's reliance on advertising and make changes to the way it moderated content.
He also said he wanted to expand the site's functions to include payments, encrypted messaging and phone calls, turning it into something he called X.
But Mr Musk courted controversy when he fired thousands of staff upon his takeover, including people who had been tasked with dealing with abusive posts.
He also overhauled the way the service authenticates accounts, charging for blue ticks in a move critics said would facilitate the spread of misinformation.
Some of the changes raised concerns among advertisers, worried about risks to their brands, who subsequently halted spending on the site.
Mr Musk has acknowledged "massive" declines in revenue, though he told the BBC last month that companies were returning.
At an advertising conference last month Ms Yaccarino interviewed Mr Musk and pressed him on what he was doing to reassure firms that their brands would not be exposed to risk.
"The people in this room are your accelerated path to profitability," she said. "But there's a decent bit of sceptics in the room."
There has also been some instant scepticism at Ms Yaccarino's appointment on social media, where many were looking for clues to her politics, which reportedly lean conservative.
Her work for the World Economic Forum, an organisation viewed negatively as "globalist" by those on the right, has not been well-received in some quarters along with her role in a coronavirus vaccination campaign featuring Pope Francis.
Others on the left have questioned her political involvement in a White House sports, fitness and nutrition council under former President Donald Trump.
Mr Musk, who has also put women in senior positions at SpaceX and Tesla, is known to be a notoriously unpredictable and demanding boss.
Even the announcement unfolded in an unusual manner, after media reports sparked by Mr Musk's post that identified Ms Yaccarino appeared to catch her bosses at NBCUniversal off guard.
As of mid-Friday in the US, Ms Yaccarino had still not commented publicly on the move.
Industry watchers will be curious to see how the relationship develops between the New Yorker and the until now hands-on Mr Musk.
Ms Atkinson said the two Twitter executives would be facing "difficult conversations" about how to handle moderation, especially with the 2024 presidential election approaching in the US.
"How long Linda can last under these tricky management situations is anyone's guess," Ms Atkinson said.
• None Elon Musk says he has appointed new Twitter boss
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65574826
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Who is Plaid Cymru's Adam Price? - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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Adam Price was long-regarded as a great hope for Plaid Cymru but departs amid a bullying scandal.
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Wales politics
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Adam Price took over as party leader in autumn 2018
Adam Price said Plaid Cymru's "time has come" when he took over as leader five years ago.
His victory was not unexpected - with his imposing presence and strong oratory skills, Mr Price had long been regarded as a future leader.
But he departs after a report heavily criticised the workplace culture that existed in his party, alleging harassment, bullying and misogyny.
A miner's son from the Amman Valley, Adam Price's politics were shaped by the long miners' strike of the mid-1980s.
He became an MP in 2001, representing Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, and made his mark in Westminster by leading an unsuccessful attempt to impeach the then prime minister, Tony Blair, over claims that Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction.
Mr Price stood down as an MP in 2010 before going to study at the prestigious Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in the US.
In 2016 he returned to frontline politics - this time in Cardiff Bay, still representing his home constituency.
One campaign leaflet that year famously described him as an "X-factor politician" and the "mab darogan" (the son of prophecy) - a figure from Welsh mythology who it is said will redeem Wales in its hour of need.
Adam Price and other party leaders meeting the Prince of Wales at the Senedd last year
Two years later he ousted Leanne Wood and became the first openly gay leader of a Welsh political party.
Mr Price described the decision to challenge one of his "oldest friends in politics" as "the most difficult thing I've had to wrestle with in my political life".
Ms Wood would later tell the BBC that the move led to the collapse of their friendship.
In a departure from his predecessor's approach, Mr Price put the notoriously tricky subject of independence at the heart of his political plan, pledging to hold a referendum on the issue by 2030.
But at the snap general election of December 2019 the party found itself squeezed out of the Brexit-dominated debate, and though Plaid held on to its four seats in Westminster, its share of the vote fell back and it came a disappointing third in its main target seat of Ynys Môn.
Labour First Minister Mark Drakeford and Adam Price signed a co-operation deal in late 2021
And so to the 2021 Senedd election, where independence would be front and centre of the party's campaign.
Ahead of the vote, Mr Price said that he would count anything less than becoming first minister as a "failure", and he ruled out working with the Conservatives and joining a coalition with Labour as a junior partner.
But the party slipped back into third place, losing its grip on the Rhondda seat held by Ms Wood, as it struggled to compete with the favourable response towards the Labour First Minister Mark Drakeford's leadership during the pandemic.
Months later, and with Mr Drakeford having fallen just short of a majority in the Senedd, Mr Price formed a co-operation agreement with the Welsh Labour government.
This was to be a new kind of deal, and one which would allow Plaid Cymru to push through some of its key policies, including Senedd expansion, the extension of free school meals, and free childcare for two year-olds.
And that's why in the run-up to last May's Welsh local elections Mr Price - by now a father of two young children - was able to claim his party was "making a difference", and had "snatched a moral victory from the mawing jaws of defeat".
By the end of the year the party was engulfed by claims of a toxic culture within Plaid and criticism of the leadership's handling of the situation.
That culminated in a report by Nerys Evans which said the party had tolerated "too many instances of bad behaviour".
Mr Price initially insisted he would remain in post, arguing that quitting would be "abdicating" his responsibility.
However a week on Mr Price has announced that he will step down and so it will be up to his successor to address the issues raised by the report and set a course for the party into the general election.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-63872715
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Priti Patel: Tory leadership errors cost us dearly in local elections - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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The former home secretary blames "those in power" for Tory local election losses in a speech.
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UK Politics
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Priti Patel blamed the Tory leadership for the party's recent local election losses
Former home secretary Priti Patel has blamed the Conservative Party's leadership for heavy local election losses in a speech.
Ms Patel said she was sorry that it was "errors and mistakes sometimes of us in Westminster and our actions that have cost our party dearly".
She was among several high-profile Tory MPs who spoke to the Conservative Democratic Organisation, a new grassroots pro-Boris Johnson group.
The Tory Party said it had no comment.
She told the group's conference in Bournemouth: "Some parts of Westminster and our colleagues have done a better job of damaging our party than the opposition, the left-wing campaign groups, the civil service, which we all struggle with day in day out and even I'm afraid, some of those in the media that want to distort and make life difficult for us".
The Conservative MP for Witham suggested that if government leaders spent more time with the party's grassroots they would be more in touch with their values.
Highlighting heavy Tory losses in the recent local elections in England and the "serious repercussions" of that for the party, the former cabinet minister said that "for the first time in 20 years... we are no longer the largest party in local government".
The Conservatives lost control of 48 councils and lost more than 1,000 councillors in May's English local elections.
Many in the party were angry at the scale of the losses, which were worse than predicted, with some blaming Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
There are three things that unite the new Conservative Democratic Organisation - a belief that the Tory party has become too centralised, a strong feeling that many current policies aren't "Conservative" enough and a lingering resentment about the toppling of Boris Johnson by MPs and the later appointment of Rishi Sunak without a vote of party members.
The problem for this group is that the first two issues aren't likely to be addressed to their satisfaction without the third - a change of leader. But given recent events that's something few want to talk openly about - Jacob Rees-Mogg said it would be an "absurd" thing to do. And that suggests that many are now starting to look beyond the next election.
But other senior Tories are unimpressed. Writing in the Times, former armed forces minister Tobias Ellwood hit out at what he called a "right-wing caucus" within the party, focused on tax cuts, "Europe-bashing" and culture wars. Those MPs, he said, were "disloyal" and "reckless", and failed to recognise that a Conservative victory at the next general election is still possible.
Ms Patel was a close ally of Mr Johnson and served as home secretary during his premiership.
She paid tribute to him in her speech as the "man that got Brexit done" and as the person who delivered on the "people's priority".
In a video message played at conference, Mr Johnson thanked delegates for "continuing to campaign for freedom and democracy".
The Conservative Democratic Organisation conference in Bournemouth was attended by other high-profile supporters of Mr Johnson including Mr Rees-Mogg and Nadine Dorries.
In the speech, Ms Patel criticised MPs who removed Mr Johnson from power.
She said Westminster colleagues had "turned their back on the membership and effectively broken that golden thread in terms of the democracy from the bottom of the party right up to the top".
She also criticised recent budgets for diverging from what she called Conservative values.
She warned that if the party does not change it would risk losing more votes.
Reacting to Ms Patel's comments, the Liberal Democrats said the Tories had "decided to rekindle their infighting" and the party was marked by "constant chaos".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65579691
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Eurovision: Ukraine's Zelensky should address contest, says Rishi Sunak - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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The organisers of the song contest turned down a request from Ukraine's president to speak.
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UK Politics
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Volodymyr Zelensky met Rishi Sunak during a trip to Downing Street in February
Rishi Sunak is "disappointed" Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has not been allowed to address this year's Eurovision, his spokesman says.
The organisers, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), say it would breach its political impartiality.
But Downing Street said it would be "fitting" for Mr Zelensky to speak given Russia's invasion of his country.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is also calling for the Ukrainian leader to be allowed to make a speech.
Ukraine was meant to be hosting this year's Eurovision after winning it last year, but it is taking place in Liverpool instead after Russia's invasion.
It has been reported that Mr Zelensky wanted to make a video appearance at the contest's final on Saturday, to an expected global audience of 160 million.
But in a statement on Thursday, the EBU said it had turned down a request from the Ukrainian president to address the event, despite his "laudable intentions".
"The Eurovision Song Contest is an international entertainment show, and governed by strict rules and principles," it added.
"As part of these, one of the cornerstones of the contest is the non-political nature of the event. This principle prohibits the possibility of making political or similar statements as part of the contest."
BBC Director General Tim Davie told the BBC's Eurovisioncast he understood the EBU's decision and that throughout its history, Eurovision "has not been a platform for political statement".
But he stressed the BBC was hosting on behalf of Ukraine and that it is "a celebration across Europe for freedom, for democracy".
The EBU said that a Ukrainian design agency had been involved in designing artwork for the event, and 11 Ukrainian artists, including last year's winners Kalush Orchestra, would be performing.
However, Mr Sunak's spokesman questioned the decision not to have Mr Zelensky speak, saying: "The values and freedoms that President Zelensky and the people of Ukraine are fighting for are not political, they're fundamental."
His spokesman argued that Eurovision "themselves recognised that last year" by banning Russian artists from participating.
However, he added that the prime minister had no plans to intervene and ask broadcasters to change their mind.
Ukraine's ambassador to the UK, Vadym Prystaiko, said the final of the contest would have been a "great moment" for Mr Zelensky to address a huge audience.
But speaking to PA Media, he added: "We understand all the internal politics and the unbiased sort of approach to all this, that's why we don't have to push too much."
Ukraine will be represented at this year's contest by Nigerian-Ukrainian pop duo TVORCHI
In statement, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: "It's vital that we all continue to keep the plight of the Ukrainian people front of mind as they stand up to Russian aggression on behalf of us all.
"Eurovision is an expression of international unity and freedom, and President Zelensky should be able to address it as a great defender of both."
The EBU initially said it would allow Russia to participate in the 2022 final, following its invasion of Ukraine two months before it was due to be held in Italy.
But it then changed course within 24 hours, saying that allowing Russia to take part would "bring the competition into disrepute".
UA:PBC, Ukraine's public broadcaster, as well as those from Iceland, Finland, Norway and the Netherlands, had called for Russia to be banned.
Boris Johnson, who was British prime minister during Russia's invasion and oversaw the UK's initial response, said "it would have been right to hear" from him during the final on Saturday.
Formed in 1950, the EBU has 68 broadcasting organisations as members, including the BBC - which is hosting this week's finals and semi-finals.
Eurovision was conceived in the 1950s as a way of promoting post-war unity between European states. As a result, politics has always been kept at arm's length.
It's a policy that's never been easy or comfortable to enforce. In 2005, Lebanon was due to make its debut when it refused to air Israel's entry. As a result, it received a three-year ban from the contest, and never took part.
Georgia also fell foul of the rules in 2009, when they submitted a song called "We Don't Wanna Put In".
The lyrics were a thinly-veiled critique of Russia's Vladimir Putin, following the previous year's Russo-Georgian war. When the country refused to amend the song, they were suspended.
The commitment to neutrality is so strong that, last year, organisers agonised over what to do about Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.
Although Russia was eventually banned, Eurovision's executive supervisor Martin Osterdahl said it had been a hard decision to make.
"It was, and it still is," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
But, he added: "How Europe feels very much affects the contest. When we say we are not political, what we always should stand up for are the basic and ultimate values of democracy."
Critics of the decision to decline President Zelensky will say the contest has already made a political move by banning Russia. And their argument isn't without merit.
But the EBU would counter that supporting a war-torn country is very different to allowing the leader of that country to make a call to arms.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65574033
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Race Across the World: Cathie and Tricia's special friendship - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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Childhood friends Cathie and Tricia exchanged barely a cross word on their 9,942-mile adventure.
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Wales
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Tricia (left) and Cathie have been friends since they were 13-year-old schoolgirls in mid Wales
From Thelma and Louise in the movies to the Absolutely Fabulous Patsy and Eddie, female friendships have been charming audiences for decades.
But there's a new couple of bosom buddies who have captured the hearts of many - Cathie and Tricia from BBC 1's Race Across the World.
Cathie Rowe, 50, and Tricia Sail, 49, who have been best friends since they were 13, spent 51 days travelling 9,942 miles (16,000km) from west to east Canada.
With a budget of just £2,498.13, and no access to phones or flights, things could have become tense - but they say there was barely a cross word.
Cathie says she and her best friend Tricia have a "wonderful friendship"
"Our friendship is very difficult to describe to other people," Cathie told Breakfast on BBC One.
"It is very natural to us, we don't really think anything of it but other people tell us how special it is and how unique it is.
"It is a wonderful, wonderful friendship and we can be completely ourselves with each other without worrying what the other one thinks."
The pair, who met at school in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, spent much of their time in Canada holding hands.
Cathie (left) and Tricia have been friends since they were 13
"Cathie was literally my guide," explained Tricia, who now lives in Exeter, Devon.
Tricia has a degenerative eye condition and was keen to take on the challenge while she still could.
At the time of filming she had about 10% sight in each eye, which has since deteriorated further.
"I will lose my sight completely," she said. "I wanted to do it to prove to myself and to other people that have sight loss that you can still live, you can still do all these things.
"Doing this journey with Cathie was just incredible because I know when we grow old disgracefully she's going to be able to say to me 'you remember the Rocky Mountains, it looks a bit like that'."
Cathie says the pair did not have a cross word during the challenge
Cathie, who now lives in Bridgend, said she was incredibly proud of her friend.
"She showed enormous strength, fantastic determination and she didn't let anything hold her back," she said.
"She quite often jumped in with both feet and I had to reel her in a bit - she was just incredible and I'm hugely, hugely proud of her and to be her best friend."
The pair met when they were teenagers
Despite the gruelling challenge and being far away from family, friends and home, Cathie insists they did not argue.
But there must have been things that annoyed them about one another?
Tricia's most annoying habit is reacting without thinking, said Cathie.
"It could be anything and she would just jump in there straight away without thinking about it and sometimes I'd be like 'well you do it then'".
The gruelling challenge saw the pair spend 51 days travelling thousands of miles from west to east Canada
"She has to think about things for a long time before she does anything," said Tricia.
Tricia (right) has a degenerative eye condition and will eventually completely lose her sight
Since then they have been inundated with interview requests and seen their followers on social media rocket.
Tricia believes the interest in them is down to their relationship.
"I think it's that myself and Cathie have got such a good friendship, such a good relationship and we're not frightened of anything, I think that's why people have got behind us," she said.
The pair are already planning another trip together, this time walking the Great Wall of China
Looking back on the incredible adventure, Cathie has nothing but gratitude.
"It was incredible, quite surreal, [there's] disbelief but also tinged with sadness that it has actually come to an end," she told BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour.
"It was this incredible time, some of it indescribable and then turning the book over and finding that we'd won, I don't think either of us had any words, we just kind of screamed and blubbed at each other for the next 10 minutes."
Since returning home they have walked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu along with Cathie's husband, and are hoping to trek the Great Wall of China together in October.
Asked what she would say to someone considering going on a big adventure with their best friend, Cathie said: "Definitely - do it."
The third series of Race Across the World is available on BBC iPlayer.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-65571245
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AI creator on the risks, opportunities and how it may make humans 'boring' - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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AI boss on the future of artificial intelligence and what will happen if computers become more clever than humans.
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UK Politics
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"Humans are a bit boring - it will be like, goodbye!" That's the personal prediction - that artificial intelligence (AI) will supplant humans in many roles - from one of the most important people you've probably never heard of.
Emad Mostaque is the British founder of the tech firm, Stability AI. It popularised Stable Diffusion, a tool that uses AI to make images from simple text instructions by analysing images found online.
AI enables a computer to think or act more like a human. It includes what's called machine learning, when computers can learn what to do without being giving exact instructions by a human sitting at a keyboard tapping in commands. Last month, there was a dramatic warning from 1,000 experts to press pause on its development, warning of potential risks, and saying the race to develop AI systems is out of control.
In an interview we'll show in full on Sunday, tech founder Mostaque questions what will happen "if we have agents more capable than us that we cannot control, that are going across the internet… and they achieve a level of automation; what does that mean?
"The worst case scenario is that it proliferates and basically it controls humanity."
That sounds terrifying, but he is not alone in pointing out the risk, that if we create computers smarter than ourselves we just can't be sure what will happen next.
Mostaque believes governments could soon be shocked into taking action by an event that makes the risks suddenly real. He points to the moment Tom Hanks contracted Covid-19 and millions sat up and paid attention.
When a moment like that arrives, governments will conclude "we need policy now", the 40-year-old says.
There's been a spike in concern for example after a Republican attack advert on Jo Biden was created using fake computer generated images.
When there's a risk to information that voters can trust, that's something governments have to respond to, says Mostaque.
Despite his concerns, Mostaque says that the potential benefits of AI for almost every part of our lives could be huge. Yet he concedes that the effect on jobs could be painful, at least at the start.
Mostaque says he believes AI "will be a bigger economic impact than the pandemic", adding that "it's up to us to decide which direction" this all goes in.
AI could lead to 300m job losses according to one prediction.
Some jobs will undoubtedly disappear, the bank Goldman Sachs suggested an almost incomprehensible 300m roles could be lost or diminished by the advancing technology.
While no one wants to be replaced by a robot, Mostaque's hope is that better jobs could be created because "productivity increases will balance out" and humans can concentrate on the things that make us human, and let machines do more of the rest. He agrees with the UK's former chief scientific advisor, Sir Patrick Vallance, that the advance of AI and its impacts could prove even bigger than the industrial revolution.
Mostaque is an unassuming mathematician, the founder of a company he only started in 2020 that has already been valued at $1bn, and with more cash flooding in, including from Hollywood star Ashton Kutcher, is likely to be soon worth very much more. Some speculation has put the value as high $4bn.
Unlike some of his competitors he is determined his technology will remain open source - in other words anyone can look at the code, share it, and use it. In his view, that's what should give the public a level of confidence in what's going on.
"I think there shouldn't have to be a need for trust," he says.
"If you build open models and you do it in the open, you should be criticised if you do things wrong and hopefully lauded if you do some things right."
But his business also raises profound questions about ownership, and what's real. There's legal action underway against them by the photo agency Getty Images which claims the rights to the images it sells have been infringed.
In response, Mostaque says: "What if you have a robot that's walking around and looking at things, do you have to close its eyes if it sees anything?"
That's hardly likely to be the end of that conversation.
The entrepreneur is convinced that the scale of what's coming is enormous. He reckons that in 10 years time, his company and fellow AI leaders, ChatGPT and DeepMind, will even be bigger than Google and Facebook. Predictions about technology are as tricky as predictions about politics - educated guesses that could turn out to be totally wrong. But what is clear is that a public conversation about the risks and realities of AI is now underway. We might be on the cusp of sweeping changes too big for any one company, country or politician to manage.
The first steam train puffed along the tracks in Darlington more than 50 years after the steam engine was patented by James Watt. This time we're unlikely to have anything like as long to get used to these new ideas, and it's unlikely to be boring!
You can watch much more of our conversation with Emad Mostaque on tomorrow's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg live on BBC One or here on iPlayer.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65582386
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Harry and others 'long way off' proving hacking claims, Mirror publisher says - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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Prince Harry is among high-profile figures accusing Mirror Group Newspapers of illicit practices.
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UK
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Prince Harry is one of four people taking action against the newspaper publisher
Prince Harry and other celebrity claimants are a "long way off" proving Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) unlawfully gathered information on them, the publisher has told a court.
Harry is among high-profile figures accusing MGN of various illicit practices including phone hacking.
Andrew Green KC, representing MGN, said the evidence was "slim" in some areas and "utterly non-existent" in others.
He spoke on day three of a highly anticipated hearing at the High Court.
MGN, which publishes the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People newspapers, vehemently denies the allegations.
During Friday's proceedings, Mr Green said the claims had been made with "no basis" and "a sense of outrage".
"The evidence in this case is slim in relation to one of the claimants and utterly non-existent for the other three," he told the court.
He also took aim at the newspaper articles that had been submitted as evidence, saying they offered a "breathtaking level of triviality".
Some 207 stories, published between 1991 and 2011, make up the bulk of the case's evidence. More than 60% of them are about Harry, Duke of Sussex.
As well as intercepting voicemails, the claimants have accused the publisher of using private investigators to illegally gather details about them to write stories.
David Sherborne, the lawyer representing the claimants, told the court that the board knew about the hacking and covered it up.
In response, MGN said the claimants were "smearing" executives, adding that there had been "extreme allegations of dishonesty".
Harry is among four people whose claims are being heard in the trial as "representative" cases of the types of allegations facing the publisher. They will also help the court set the level of damages MGN should pay if the claimants win.
Others involved are Coronation Street actors Nikki Sanderson and Michael Turner, known by his stage name Michael Le Vell, and comedian Paul Whitehouse's ex-wife Fiona Wightman.
Michael Le Vell was pictured arriving at court on the first day of the trial
The publisher's lawyer argued that Ms Sanderson and Ms Wightman have run out of time to sue for damages, because these types of claims should be brought within six years of the alleged victim knowing what happened.
The Mirror Group's lawyer said phone hacking has been talked about for at least 20 years, with the publisher publicly apologising for its part in the high-profile scandal in 2014.
Therefore, he argued, any potential victims should have known long ago to get a case started.
But Mr Sherborne said the claimants would not have suspected they too were victims because MGN covered up their wrongdoings so well and for so long.
Mr Green compared this current case to the one in 2015, where MGN conceded that unlawful techniques were used to obtain private information, and was ordered to pay £1.25m in damages.
But he said this case is different, because back then, there was "direct evidence" from Dan Evans, a former Sunday Mirror journalist.
Mr Evans "has not said he hacked any of (the claimants)" this time around, Mr Green said.
Depending on the outcome of this case, the court could then consider cases from a range of celebrities including former Girls Aloud singer Cheryl and former Arsenal and England footballer Ian Wright.
During Thursday's hearing, Mr Sherborne told the court that one of the most "serious and troubling" features of the case included "the systemic and widespread use of PIs (private investigators) by MGN journalists to unlawfully obtain private information" of various individuals.
He referred the court to key senior MGN figures who he claimed "authorised" the unlawful obtaining of information.
He said this included former editors Piers Morgan, Neil Wallis, Tina Weaver, Mark Thomas, Richard Wallace and Bridget Rowe, and alleged that managing editors and senior executives also knew.
"Mr Morgan was right at the heart of this in many ways," Mr Sherborne told the court.
Mr Morgan, who edited the Mirror from 1995 until 2004, has repeatedly denied any knowledge of unlawful information gathering happening under his watch - in particular phone hacking.
The trial, which is expected to run for seven weeks, will continue on Monday, when Mr Evans will testify.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65570185
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Southampton 0-2 Fulham: Aleksandar Mitrovic scores on return from ban as Saints relegated from Premier League - BBC Sport
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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Southampton's 11-year stay in the Premier League ends in tame fashion as their relegation is confirmed with defeat at home by Fulham.
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Southampton 0-2 Fulham: Aleksandar Mitrovic scores on return from ban as Saints relegated from Premier League Last updated on .From the section Premier League
Aleksandar Mitrovic reached a career-high top-flight tally of 12 goals with Fulham's second at Southampton Southampton's 11-year stay in the Premier League ended in tame fashion as their relegation was confirmed with defeat at home by Fulham. Aleksandar Mitrovic, making his return from an eight-game ban for pushing referee Chris Kavanagh, sealed Saints' fate with a stooping header after Carlos Vinicius' opener. The hosts could have few complaints about the outcome after producing a muted performance despite knowing they had to win to have any chance of pulling off an unlikely survival mission. They did have a Carlos Alcaraz strike disallowed for a marginal offside just before Vinicius broke the deadlock but the confident Cottagers were comfortably the better side. Willian's first-half volley was cleared off the line by fellow Brazilian Lyanco, who had earlier been fortunate to escape a video assistant referee's penalty check for handball. But Vinicius tucked home after Lyanco's clearance ricocheted to him kindly off Harrison Reed and Mitrovic nodded in his 12th league goal of the season from Harry Wilson's cross. Southampton, lethargic throughout, had no response after falling behind and will be playing Championship football next season for the first time since 2012.
• None Follow reaction from Southampton v Fulham and the rest of Saturday's Premier League action
• None Go straight to all the best Southampton content Sorry Saints sink into second tier Ruben Selles - 'Southampton will bounce with or without me' Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, a Saints supporter, was among those in attendance on Saturday but the clumps of empty seats before kick-off at St Mary's suggested many fans had already conceded the game was up. Their fears were proven right and those vacant chairs numbered thousands at the final whistle, with some of the few who stayed behind voicing their displeasure at interim boss Ruben Selles and his players. Southampton have collected just three points from the past 33 available, slipping into freefall just as a number of their relegation rivals had begun to produce important and, in some cases, unexpected results. Much of the damage was done long before that run, however - Southampton slipped into the relegation places on 6 November after a 4-1 home loss to Newcastle and have remained there ever since. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was among the Southampton fans in attendance for the game against Fulham They sacked Ralph Hasenhuttl a day after that drubbing but the subsequent ill-fated appointment of Nathan Jones as his successor yielded worse results than the Austrian had overseen. The former Luton boss lost seven of his eight league games in charge - the only glimmer of light a 2-1 win at Frank Lampard's then equally hapless Everton. Jones, quickly on thin ice with supporters following home defeats by Brighton and relegation rivals Nottingham Forest, was dismissed after a 2-1 loss to 10-man fellow strugglers Wolves on 11 February. By that time, Saints had hit rock-bottom, sinking to 20th after the Boxing Day defeat by Brighton and staying rooted to the table virtually ever since. Two wins in Selles' first three games in charge - both 1-0 victories, at Stamford Bridge against misfiring Chelsea and at home to fellow drop candidates Leicester - provided a glimmer of hope. But key losses to West Ham, Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest, as well as letting a 3-1 lead after 88 minutes slip to draw 3-3 at then leaders Arsenal, put paid to any hopes of a great escape. Southampton have spent more than three times as long at the foot of the Premier League in 2022-23 as any other club Southampton's previous absence from the Premier League, after relegation in 2005, lasted seven years and included a two-season dip into League One - both things they will hope to avoid this time. They will almost certainly have to rebound without inspirational skipper James Ward-Prowse, who will have suitors aplenty - although it is a damning indictment on their season and, perhaps, summer recruitment, that it is difficult to pick out too many other obvious saleable assets. Saints could take inspiration from Fulham, twice relegated from the top flight in the past four years but showing signs they can shed that yo-yo tag under Marco Silva. This win lifted last season's Championship title-winners to ninth and all but assured the Cottagers a top-half finish, a deserved reward for the entertaining and attacking brand of football they have produced. While Southampton were enduring a club-record 24th league loss of the season and failing to improve on their all-time low home haul of 10 points, from 54 available so far, Fulham were setting happier milestones. This was their 15th Premier League win of the campaign - a record high for the club, as was a seventh top-flight away victory, and they also equalled their highest goal tally of 52 from 2003-04 and 2004-05.
• None Attempt saved. Manor Solomon (Fulham) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Bobby De Cordova-Reid.
• None Harrison Reed (Fulham) wins a free kick on the right wing.
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• None Delay in match because of an injury Manor Solomon (Fulham).
• None Attempt blocked. Roméo Lavia (Southampton) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Moussa Djenepo.
• None Attempt blocked. Kamaldeen Sulemana (Southampton) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page
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Cyclone Mocha: People pack shelters as storm menaces refugee camp - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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Half a million people are evacuated to safer areas in Bangladesh as the powerful storm nears.
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Asia
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About half a million people are being evacuated to safer areas in south-eastern Bangladesh, ahead of a cyclone that could be extremely dangerous.
Mocha is predicted to make landfall at midday, with 170kph (106mph) winds and storm surges of up to 3.6m (12ft).
There are concerns the cyclone could hit the world's largest refugee camp, Cox's Bazar, where close to a million people live in makeshift homes.
Rains are already falling on the camp and red warning flags have been raised.
Cyclone Mocha could be the most powerful storm seen in Bangladesh in nearly two decades.
As the weather system heads towards the Bangladesh-Myanmar coast, nearby airports have been shut, fishermen have been told to suspend their work and 1,500 shelters have been set up, as people from vulnerable areas are moved to safety.
"We are ready to face any hazards... we don't want to lose a single life," Vibhushan Kanti Das, additional deputy commissioner at Cox's Bazar, told the BBC.
People are packing in to cyclone shelters as the storm approaches
Throughout the day, families have been arriving at designated cyclone shelters. Hundreds have been packing into classrooms at a school in Cox's Bazar.
Some brought plastic bags filled with a few of their possessions. Others arrived with their livestock, chickens and cattle.
Jannat, 17, took a space on a classroom desk, along with her two-month-old baby. She brought a few clothes with her in a bag, but nothing else. Her husband was still at their coastal home, making sure things were safely secure before joining her.
She said she was scared about this cyclone, after her home was damaged in Cyclone Sitrang last year too.
"I am worried about what comes next,' Jannat told the BBC. "I'm scared my home will be submerged again."
Close to a million Rohingya refugees who have fled neighbouring Myanmar (also known as Burma) remain at risk, living in flimsy bamboo shelters with tarpaulin covers. The UN says it is doing what it can to protect these areas.
Bangladesh's government does not allow refugees to leave their camps, so many say they are frightened and unsure of what will happen if their shelters are hit by the storm.
Mohammad Rafique (centre) says all he and his family can do is pray
Mohammad Rafique, 40, and his family live in one of the small bamboo shelters built for refugees.
Such shelters with tarpaulin roofing are unlikely to provide much protection from strong winds and heavy rains.
All we can do is pray to God to save us, Mohammad says. "We have nowhere to go for safety, and no-one to turn to."
He adds: "We have faced many difficulties before and our homes have been destroyed in the past. We hope it won't happen this time."
Forecasters expect the cyclone to bring a deluge of rain, which can trigger landslides - a serious danger for those who reside in hillside camps, where landslips are a regular phenomenon.
MD Shamsul Douza, from the Bangladeshi government office which oversees the refugees and the camps, told the BBC that they were working with NGOs to ensure the camps were as prepared as possible for the cyclone.
But he said moving refugees out of the camps was not an easy task.
"Moving a million refugees is very difficult, the implementation of the movement is difficult. We have to be practical," the official said.
"Our plan is to save lives. We are also focused on the days after. There may be heavy rains leading to flash floods and landslides, which would also pose a risk."
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The impact of climate change on the frequency of storms is still unclear, but we know that increased sea surface temperatures warm the air above and make more energy available to drive hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons.
As a result, they are likely to be more intense with more extreme rainfall.
The world has already warmed by about 1.1C since the industrial era began and temperatures will keep rising unless governments around the world make steep cuts to emissions.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-65581169
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Teen's terror plot against police and soldiers thwarted by mother - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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Islamist militant Matthew King faces sentence for planning attacks on British soldiers and police.
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Essex
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A teenage Islamic State convert who has admitted plotting attacks on British police and soldiers has had his sentencing delayed after reports he has threatened to behead a prison imam.
The judge at the Old Bailey has adjourned the sentencing of 19-year-old Matthew King from Wickford in Essex.
He was put under surveillance after his mother raised concerns that videos he was watching promoted hatred.
Judge Mark Lucraft KC said she had "done exactly the right thing".
King pleaded guilty in January to the preparation of terrorist attacks between 22 December 2021 and 17 May 2022.
At Friday's sentencing hearing in London, the prosecution outlined the case and the defence began its mitigation, however the judge adjourned the hearing for two weeks for further inquiries to be made at the prison where King is being held.
The court heard that intelligence reports from the jail suggested King had said he would "behead the imam".
King's barrister Hossein Zahir KC said this was "a throwaway remark by an angry young man being stuck in his cell" and asked for further inquiries.
Earlier, the prosecuting barrister Paul Jarvis told the court King had dabbled in drugs since early secondary school, was expelled and left education at 16 with no qualifications.
He said King converted to Islam in 2020 and, at first, his behaviour improved, but in 2021 he began criticising his sisters' clothing as immodest and attended mosques wearing combat clothing.
He was put under surveillance after his mother reported him to the government's anti-extremism agency Prevent, because she feared some of the videos he was watching promoted hatred.
Several of the mosques he attended also warned him about his behaviour, and one decided he was no longer welcome, Mr Jarvis told the court.
In 2022, in the weeks before his arrest, King began carrying out reconnaissance in east London, including on police officers patrolling outside Stratford railway station, as well as at Stratford police station itself and the local magistrates' court.
Mr Jarvis told the court that one of the videos found on his phone featured footage near the police station, overlaid with a soundtrack including the words: "Coldly kill them with hate and rage. Plan your perfect killing spree."
On 17 May 2022, a CCTV camera captured him filming after dark outside a 7 Rifles Army barracks in east London.
He was arrested at his home the following day and his phone examined.
Officers found Snapchat messages King sent to a girl who was still in the sixth form, known in court as Miss A, in which he said he wanted to travel to Syria to become a martyr.
They exchanged messages about how they would like to mutilate members of the British and American armed forces.
Miss A wrote to him: "We can't let them die quick tho. Slow painful death akhi... I'll guide you through it. Or bring him or her home."
The prosecution said King had said he was "training for Jihad" and just wanted "to kill people".
Mr Jarvis told the court that on 17 May 2022, the day before King's arrest, the girl messaged him to say she wanted to concentrate on her exams.
King replied to say he would "be worshipping Allah" and he might soon be "on the news".
The sentencing has been adjourned until 26 May.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-65576185
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Chesterfield 2-2 Notts County (3-4 on penalties): Magpies seal promotion in shootout - BBC Sport
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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Notts County beat Chesterfield on penalties in the National League promotion final to secure their return to the English Football League.
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Last updated on .From the section National League
Notts County had missed out on automatic promotion by just four points to title winners Wrexham Notts County twice battled back from a goal down before beating Chesterfield on penalties in an astonishing National League promotion final at Wembley to reclaim their status as 'world's oldest football league club'. Substitute goalkeeper Archie Mair, brought on to replace Sam Slocombe in the 120th minute, crucially saved spot-kicks from Darren Oldaker and Jeff King before Cedwyn Scott sealed a dramatic 4-3 shootout triumph. Victory for the 161-year-old Magpies, who were founder members of the Football League in 1888, ended their four-year non-league exile while defeat consigned Chesterfield to a sixth season in the National League. Ruben Rodrigues had bounced a volley off the turf and over goalkeeper Ross Fitzsimons to level at 2-2 in the second half of extra time to ensure the showdown would be decided from the spot. Armando Dobra's curled finish had restored Chesterfield's lead in the first period of 15 additional minutes after an enthralling game ended 1-1 at the end of normal time. A calamitous start from Notts goalkeeper Slocombe - which had the Magpies defending a rare indirect free-kick inside the box after just two minutes - cost them dearly as his challenge on Andrew Dallas allowed the striker to put Chesterfield ahead from the spot. The Spireites had Notts scrambling to stay in touch at the break as the side that won a club-record 32 league games during the regular season struggled to muster a meaningful response. Sam Austin sent a shot over the bar from the edge of the area and Connell Rawlinson wastefully steered a header wide for a much-improved Notts after the break. Liam Mandeville squandered a late chance to seal victory moments before experienced Notts midfielder John Bostock caught Fitzsimons out with a set-piece that skipped in at the near post. Dobra edged the Derbyshire club back ahead three minutes after the restart and, after Macaulay Langstaff and Rawlinson went close to again restoring parity, it was Rodrigues who sent the final to a shootout.
• None Relive the National League promotion final as it happened After four years and three failed play-off attempts - including defeat by Harrogate in a 2020 promotion final played behind closed doors at Wembley during the Covid-19 pandemic - Notts finally secured their English Football League (EFL) return at the end of a record-breaking season. Luke Williams' side were pipped for automatic promotion and the title by Hollywood-funded Wrexham, who topped the table with an all-time high 111 points. The 107 points the Magpies collected to finish second would have got them straight up as champions in every other season before this one. The club-record wins total and 117 goals in a campaign - which included a record 25-game unbeaten league run between September and February - would have counted for nothing if they had lost at the national stadium. Chesterfield finished one spot below Notts in the table, but the gap between the two was 23 points. They were the only side, other than Wrexham and Notts, to have a spell at the top of the table after the first month of the season - and they pushed Notts to their limits at Wembley in an incredible energy-sapping game. Chesterfield were presented with a bizarre chance almost immediately after kick-off when County conceded an indirect free-kick in the penalty area. Notts set their entire side up a yard in front of the goalline to block King's effort from the left of the penalty spot, but the uncertain start by the Magpies quickly got worse. Slocombe raced out to try shut Dallas down on the edge of the area, but caught the Spireites forward as he tried to lift the ball beyond the keeper. Dallas collected himself and went straight down the middle to beat Slocombe from the spot to put Chesterfield ahead after five chaotic minutes. Nervy Notts struggled to match frenetic Chesterfield for much of the first half, but Austin had a chance to level from close range in the 17th minute when he stretched to meet a lofted cross from Aaron Nemane. Dallas continued to torment Notts' backline down the left, calling Slocombe into action as the forward attempted pull a dangerous ball back across goal. It was not until the 37th minute that Notts managed to register a shot on goal with Nemane sending an effort directly into Fitzsimons' hands. Austin and Rawlinson were off target in search of a second-half equaliser, only for Bostock to deliver with a clever free-kick after a Slocombe error at the other end almost gifted Chesterfield the win in normal time. Dobra had Chesterfield ahead again in extra time and while Langstaff went close to adding to his National League record 42 goals and Rawlinson also flashed a chance wide, it was Rodrigues who salvaged Notts' hopes. On-loan keeper Mair, in just his fifth game for Notts, played an instrumental role off the bench with his penalty saves and, after Bostock made a mess of his spot-kick to seal it, Scott kept his cool to secure victory.
• None Penalty missed! Still Chesterfield 2(2), Notts County 2(3). John Bostock (Notts County) hits the woodwork with a.
• None Penalty saved! Jeff King (Chesterfield) fails to capitalise on this great opportunity, saved.
• None Penalty saved! Darren Oldaker (Chesterfield) fails to capitalise on this great opportunity, saved.
• None Jeff King (Chesterfield) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page
• None Examine the seven men who attempted to kill Queen Victoria
• None Where were the Tudors from? Find out about the origins of the most famous ruling dynasty in British history
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/65521672
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Eurovision live 2023: Sweden's Loreen crowned winner - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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The results came down to the wire, but ultimately the country to beat, Sweden, came out on top.
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Entertainment & Arts
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As Loreen sings in her Eurovision-winning song Tattoo "it's time to say goodbye".
And it's farewell from us here after a non-stop few hours of live coverage from this year's Eurovision Song Contest.
Lightning struck twice for the Swedish singer, as she claimed the crown for the second time in 11 years. While she was the favourite, the votes came down to the wire after Finnish rapper Käärijä and his verdant sleeves brought the house down and came a very respectable second.
Yellow and blue were the colours of the night, not just because of the winner but because of Ukraine. The UK hosted the competition on Ukraine’s behalf, and last year's winners Kalush Orchestra kicked off the show in style.
It was a bad night at the office for the UK's Mae Muller, who came second last. It's a long way from Sam Ryder's second place last year, but it's that unpredictability that keeps Eurovision fans coming back for more every year.
The celebrations are in full flow in Liverpool but it's goodnight from me and my colleagues Jasmine Taylor-Coleman, Aoife Walsh and Antoinette Radford in London.
Thanks to our team reporting from the contest all week, and to you for following along. Is it too soon to say, "Hello, this is Sweden calling?!"
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/entertainment-arts-65447817
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Israel-Gaza: Shaky start to ceasefire ending five days of fighting - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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Palestinian rocket attacks and Israeli air strikes continued for hours after the ceasefire began.
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Middle East
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Palestinian Islamic Jihad confirmed a ceasefire had been agreed, while Israel said quiet would be met with quiet
There are hopes a ceasefire will take hold to end five days of fighting between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) militants in Gaza.
It got off to a shaky start, as both sides kept firing for two hours after the truce started on Saturday evening.
At least 33 Palestinians have been killed since Tuesday in Gaza, where Israel says it has struck PIJ targets.
Palestinian rocket fire into Israel has killed two people, one Israeli and one Palestinian working in the country.
The mediation efforts were led by Egypt, which urged both sides to adhere to the ceasefire agreement.
Washington welcomed the announcement of the ceasefire, and said US officials had worked with regional partners to achieve the resolution.
Barrages of Palestinian rockets set off warning sirens in southern Israel, close to Gaza, and the suburbs of the city of Tel Aviv just before the truce was due to come into effect at 22:00 local time (19:00 GMT) on Saturday.
Minutes after it supposedly started, militants launched more rockets at southern Israeli communities and the Israeli military carried out air strikes on what it said were two PIJ rocket launchers in Gaza.
Further rocket fire at around 23:00 drew another round of air strikes.
More than 1,200 rockets and mortars have been fired from Gaza towards Israel
Despite the fighting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office issued a statement confirming that a ceasefire had been agreed and thanked Egypt for its "intensive efforts" to secure one.
It also said Israel had made clear that its acceptance meant "quiet will be met with quiet, and that if Israel is attacked or threatened, it will continue to do everything that it needs to in order to defend itself".
PIJ also confirmed the ceasefire, with a spokesman telling Reuters news agency: "We will abide by it as long as the occupation [Israel] abides by it."
According to a text from Egyptian intelligence seen by the BBC, Palestinian militants and Israel have agreed to stop actions targeting civilians and other individuals.
The BBC's Yolande Knell in Jerusalem says this form of wording appears to cover both the recent intense rocket fire from Gaza and Israel's controversial policy of targeted killings of militant leaders.
Israel began its military operation in Gaza before dawn on Tuesday, killing three leaders of PIJ in their homes as well as at least 10 civilians, including relatives and neighbours of the men.
PIJ fighters then fired barrages of rockets at southern and central Israel, which they said were intended to avenge the dead.
At least 1,234 rockets and mortars have been fired from Gaza in total, with 976 crossing into Israeli territory, according to the Israeli military. Most have been intercepted or have landed in open areas, but some have hit homes and other buildings.
One woman was killed when a rocket hit an apartment building in the central city of Rehovot on Thursday, while a worker from Gaza was killed when he was hit by rocket shrapnel at a building site in the southern Sdot Negev region.
The military says 221 of the rockets have fallen short inside Gaza and that they have killed four people there, including three children. Islamic Jihad denies the allegation.
Israel has carried out air strikes on 371 PIJ targets across Gaza, killing three more leaders and destroying what it said were the group's rocket launch sites and command centres.
About half of the 33 people killed in Gaza were civilians, including seven children and four women, according to local health officials.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-65585950
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Ukraine claims gains in Bakhmut after Russia denials - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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After months of slow Russian advances in the devastated city, the momentum seems to have shifted.
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Europe
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A Ukrainian soldier firing an anti-tank grenade launcher at a front line near Bakhmut (pictured on 3 May)
Ukraine says it has recaptured ground in Bakhmut, a rare advance after months of grinding Russian gains in the eastern city.
Kyiv said its forces advanced 2km (1.2 miles) in a week. Russia said its troops had regrouped in one area.
The claims signal a momentum shift in Bakhmut - but more widely, there is no clear evidence of a Ukrainian counter-offensive.
However, two explosions were reported on Friday in Russian-occupied Luhansk.
Images posted on social media, verified by the BBC, show a big plume of black smoke rising from the city, which lies about 90km (55.9 miles) behind the front line in eastern Ukraine.
The blasts come a day after the UK said it had supplied Ukraine with long range Storm Shadow cruise missiles.
Kremlin-appointed officials said six children in Luhansk were injured in a missile attack alongside Russian parliamentarian Viktor Vodolatsky. The authorities there have blamed the attack on Kyiv.
Luhansk is beyond the reach of the Himars rockets Ukraine has previously relied on for deep strikes against Russian targets.
But Russian-appointed officials in the region said they thought Ukrainian-made missiles were responsible, hitting administrative buildings of two defunct enterprises.
Earlier Russia's defence ministry said Russian troops in one Bakhmut area had changed their position for strategic reasons.
It said units of the southern group of Russian forces had taken up a better defensive position in the Maloilinivka area, something which took into consideration "the favourable conditions of the Berkhivka reservoir".
However the head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin said what the Ministry of Defence was talking about "is unfortunately called 'fleeing' and not a 'regrouping'".
As the intense, bloody battle has worn on, Bakhmut has become symbolically important - though many experts question its tactical value.
In a post on Telegram, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar claimed Russia suffered significant troop losses as Ukraine gained 2km without losing any positions.
Meanwhile Russian military bloggers reported Ukrainian advances or troop movements in several areas.
The Institute for the Study of War also said Ukrainian forces had probably made gains of 2km in Bakhmut.
The BBC has verified video of soldiers with Ukrainian-identifying markings posing in front of a gate and a tank in the distance, also with Ukrainian markings.
The video, published on 11 May, has been located to an area around Bakhmut industrial college, until recently held by Wagner troops.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says his army needs more equipment ahead of counter-offensive
Away from Bakhmut, the exiled mayor of Melitopol reported a large explosion on Friday morning in the centre of the south-eastern city, which has been occupied by Russia since the start of the war.
It was not known what caused the blast, but the Ukrainian air force made 14 strikes on Russian forces and military equipment on Thursday, Ukraine's armed forces said.
Alongside the air strikes, Ukraine said it destroyed nine Russian drones and carried out successful attacks on dozens of military targets - including artillery units, an ammunition warehouse and air defence equipment.
After months of stalemate, a Ukrainian counter-offensive - helped by newly-arrived Western weapons - has been openly discussed. But Ukraine's president said on Thursday it was too early to start the attack.
"With [what we already have] we can go forward and, I think, be successful," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview.
"But we'd lose a lot of people. I think that's unacceptable. So we need to wait. We still need a bit more time."
Despite President Zelensky's words, pro-Kremlin Russian war correspondent Sasha Kots claimed the counter-offensive had begun.
Ukrainian tanks were on the Kharkiv ring road heading towards the border with Russia, he said, quoting "trusted" sources. His claims could not be independently verified.
"There are low loaders in the columns carrying Western [tank] models among others," Kots added.
"In other words," he said, "Kiev [Kyiv] has decided to aggravate the situation along the northern front in parallel with the start of offensive actions on the flanks of Artyomovsk [the Russian name for Bakhmut]."
Another Russian war correspondent, Alexander Simonov, wrote on Telegram that Ukrainian forces had broken through near the village of Bohdanivka, close to Bakhmut, taking "several square kilometres" of ground.
Ukrainian military analyst Oleksandr Musivenko said Kyiv recognised that the anticipated counter-offensive might not necessarily defeat Russia "in all occupied areas".
He told Ukrainian NV radio there was every possibility the war could continue into next year. "It all depends on how the battles develop. We can't guarantee how the counteroffensive will develop," he said.
An unnamed senior US military official told CNN that Ukrainian forces were preparing for a major counter-offensive by striking targets such as weapons depots, command centres and armour and artillery systems..
Ukraine's spring 2022 advances in the southern and north-eastern parts of the country were also preceded by air attacks to "shape" the battlefield.
Daniele Palumbo and Richard Irvine-Brown contributed to this article
Frank Gardner weighs up the possible outcomes for the war, as Ukraine prepares a counter-offensive against Russian forces.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65567143
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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak sees Southampton relegated from Premier League - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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The PM is a lifelong fan of the club, but his support was not enough to inspire them to beat relegation.
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UK
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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was an unhappy onlooker as his football club Southampton suffered relegation.
With his party coming off heavy losses in the local elections, he may have been hoping for some good news as he took his seat at St Mary's Stadium.
However, sitting in the stands in jeans and a grey hoodie, he saw Fulham score twice in the second half to end his club's 11-year Premier League stay.
Southampton's loss on Saturday puts them eight points adrift of safety with two matches to play, and not even a parliamentary intervention would be able to change their fate now.
Born and raised in Southampton, Sunak has long spoken of his support of the team.
A biography of Mr Sunak has previously said as a youngster his father Yashvir was a season ticket holder, and one of the prime minister's "most prized possessions" was a card he received for his 18th birthday signed by the entire squad.
However, during his bid to become prime minister in August last year he came under the intense glare of the football community after saying Southampton's could improve their fortunes by beating Manchester United that coming weekend.
The team were playing Leicester City, but did have United the following week.
Rishi Sunak sat in the VIP area at Saturday's game
His teams had two goals put past them in the second half to see them fall out of the top flight for the first time in over a decade
Supporting a football team is often seen as a way for political leaders to broaden their appeal, but can prove a tricky business.
David Cameron claimed to be a Aston Villa fan, but a blunder in a speech in 2015 saw him claim the top flight's other claret and blue team West Ham - something he later put down to "brain fade".
A Newcastle United fan, Sir Tony Blair received ridicule for a number of years due an apparent claim to have seen club legend Jackie Milburn play at St James Park in the 1950s - even though the player had retired when he was five.
In 2008, the regional newspaper which first reported it clarified it had come from something misheard on the radio.
One former prime minister was never likely to make this kind of slip-up. Gordon Brown was a staunch fan of Scottish lower league side Raith Rovers and could happily recite to interviewers the full line-up of the first match he saw as a seven-year-old.
And possibly to add to Sunak's pain, Southampton's rivals Fulham have their own connection with Downing Street.
After the match, Fulham's Twitter account showed a picture of Sunak grimacing in the crowd, along with their own caption "Sorry, the only Prime Minister we recognise is Hugh Grant" - a nod to the dancing PM portrayed in 2003 romantic comedy Love Actually.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65585908
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Ukraine war: Pope tells Zelensky he is 'praying for peace' - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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The pontiff meets Ukraine's leader at the Vatican, pleading for urgent help to victims of Russia's invasion.
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Europe
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Saturday's talks between Pope Francis and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky lasted about 40 minutes, the Vatican said
Pope Francis has told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky he is constantly praying for peace after the two met privately at the Vatican.
The pontiff also stressed on the urgent need to help "the most fragile people, innocent victims" of the full-scale invasion launched by Russia last year.
Mr Zelensky earlier met Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni who assured him of Rome's support for united Ukraine.
More than 1,000 police are deployed and a no-fly zone over Rome is in place.
In a statement on Saturday, the Holy See said Pope Francis and President Zelensky "discussed the humanitarian and political situation in Ukraine caused by the ongoing war" during a meeting that lasted about 40 minutes.
The Argentine pontiff and President Zelensky "both agreed on the need to continue humanitarian efforts to support the population".
The statement added: "The Pope has assured his constant prayer and continuous invocation to the Lord for peace - since last February" - when Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the full-scale invasion.
Pope Francis has often said that the Vatican stands ready to act as a mediator in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Earlier this month, he stated that the Vatican was working on a peace plan to end the war, saying that the mission was "not yet public. When it is public, I will talk about it."
But the relationship between Ukraine and the Vatican has sometimes been uneasy.
A few months after the war in Ukraine began, the Pope said in an interview that Moscow's invasion was "perhaps somehow provoked".
And last August, Ukraine's ambassador to the Vatican took the unusual step of criticising the Pope after the pontiff referred to Darya Dugina, the daughter of a Russian ultra-nationalist figure, who was killed by a car bomb, as an "innocent" victim of war.
Earlier on Saturday, President Zelensky had talks with his counterpart Sergio President Mattarella and then met Ms Meloni for a working lunch.
Silvio Berlusconi, leader of the conservative Forza Italia party, is an old friend of President Putin. They went on trips together and exchanged birthday gifts.
Matteo Salvini, the deputy prime minister, has frequently voiced pro-Russian sentiments and criticised military assistance to Ukraine. President Zelensky is not expected to meet either Mr Salvini or Mr Berlusconi during his trip.
At the news conference that followed the meeting between Mr Zelensky and Ms Meloni, the Ukrainian leader invited "all the Italian political leaders and representatives of civil society" to visit Ukraine.
He said they would be able "to see what a single person was capable of doing to us, what Putin was capable of, and you will understand why we are fighting this evil".
Ms Meloni stressed that the war would only end when Russia stopped its "brutal and unjust aggression" and withdrew from all Ukrainian territory.
She also pledged Italy's support for Ukraine for "as long as is necessary".
Meanwhile, the German government unveiled its biggest military aid package for Ukraine yet, worth €2.7bn (£2.4bn). Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to President Zelensky, said the aid indicated that Russia was "bound to lose and sit on the bench of historical shame".
Earlier this week, German media reported that President Zelensky was planning to visit Germany following his trip to Italy, although this has not yet been confirmed.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65581170
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Sats reading paper: Government defends 'challenging' tests - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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An English reading paper fuels debate about the purpose of the tests for Year 6 pupils in England.
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Family & Education
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The government has defended tests for Year 6 pupils across England, after some parents and teachers said a paper in this week's Sats was too difficult.
One head teacher said the English reading test included some "GCSE-level" questions. Some pupils were left in tears and did not finish the paper.
It has fuelled a debate among teachers and parents about the purpose of Sats.
A Department for Education (DfE) spokesperson told BBC News the tests were "designed to be challenging".
The government had previously said it worked to ensure that "all tests are appropriate".
But asked for further comment on the English reading paper, the DfE added that Sats had to be tough "in order to measure attainment across the ability range, including stretching the most able children".
The government has advised that details of the content of the test paper should not be published until all Year 6 pupils have had the chance to take it.
Sats are tests taken by pupils in Year 2 and Year 6 to assess their reading, writing and maths skills - and to test schools' performances.
Sarah Hewitt-Clarkson, head teacher at Anderton Park Primary School in Birmingham, said it was "heartbreaking" to see her pupils struggling to get through the reading paper.
Mrs Hewitt-Clarkson, who has two teenage daughters who have taken their GCSEs in the past few years, said: "I'm not a secondary English teacher, but... some of those questions were definitely of that level. It's just unfair."
Mrs Hewitt-Clarkson hopes the Standards and Testing Agency - which is part of the DfE - might consider lowering the pass mark this year, in response to how difficult some students found it.
"For children to fail - or not achieve the standardised score - where we know in class they have been performing at an age-related expected level, or above, it just shows all the flaws of a system that depends almost entirely on one test," she said.
The government says it converts children's raw test scores into "scaled scores" so that tests can be compared, even if the difficulty varies.
Sarah Hewitt-Clarkson hopes this year's pass mark will be lowered
Heather, from Ipswich, said her son found this week's Sats process "absolutely fine".
"Our school puts very little pressure on our children for the Sats," she told BBC Radio 5 Live. "It's been quite a positive experience."
But Davina Bhanabhai, a writer from Leeds, said her daughter was "really flustered" by the English reading paper on Wednesday.
"Children came out feeling distraught, anxious and stressed. These three emotions are not what we want to bring our children up to experience," she told BBC News.
"The teachers are stressed because that's the only measure they have that they can show that they're doing their job," she added. "[The children] want to do well, so naturally that stress is going to be passed down [to them]."
Two education unions, the National Education Union (NEU) and NAHT, have raised concerns about the paper.
NEU joint general secretary, Mary Bousted, added there were "better ways of assessing pupils" than through Sats.
Steve Chalke, founder of Oasis UK, a trust which runs schools across England, said the test had left "many kids in tears, stressed and anxious".
He said texts chosen in the reading test were "inappropriate in that they were elitist", and covered experiences that were "completely outside the cultural context of children that live in poverty".
"The texts were boring, they weren't fun, and education should be about fun as much as anything else," he told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme.
Isabel Nisbet, who was the chief executive of the exams watchdog Ofqual between 2007 and 2011, said a fair test is one "learners can relate to, and the content is something that is meaningful to them".
She said the tests will be marked consistently, and she is "quite confident" the way the marks are reported "will take account of how difficult the test was".
She told the Today programme: "The problem is other types of unfairness… and in particular there is a kind of unfairness if people's legitimate expectations are not met.
"For example if they have practised particular types of text, or particular types of reading, and then the test comes along and suddenly they find it's not what they were brought to expect, and that's an upsetting thing."
Standard Assessment Tests, or Sats, are tests that children take in Year 6, at the end of Key Stage 2. They are national curriculum assessments in English grammar, punctuation and spelling, English reading and maths.
The government's Standards and Testing Agency says the purposes of Sats tests are to:
Children also sit Sats in Year 2, at the end of Key Stage 1.
Last year, 59% of Year 6 pupils met the expected levels in reading, writing and maths - down from 65% in 2019.
The national curriculum tests were cancelled in 2020 and 2021, during the pandemic.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-65570684
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Wild lion Loonkiito, 'one of the world's oldest', killed in Kenya - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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"Symbol of resilience" Loonkiito was killed after preying on livestock in a Kenyan village on Wednesday.
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Africa
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At 19, Loonkiito had a longer life than most wild lions
A wild male lion believed to be one of the world's oldest has died after being speared by herders, authorities in Kenya have said.
Loonkiito, who was 19, died in Olkelunyiet village on Wednesday night after preying on livestock.
Conservation group Lion Guardians said he was "the oldest male lion in our ecosystem and possibly in Africa". Most lions live to around 13 in the wild.
Almost all lions live in Africa with a small population in India, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature.
Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) spokesperson Paul Jinaro told the BBC the lion was old and frail and wandered into the village from the park in search of food.
Mr Jinaro could not confirm if he was the oldest lion in the country but noted he was "very old".
The Maasai-operated Lion Guardians group works to conserve the lion population in Amboseli National Park, and said the end of a drought was "habitually marked by an uptick in human-lion conflict" as "wild prey recover and become more difficult to hunt".
"In desperation, lions often turn to take livestock," it said.
It added the killing of Loonkiito was a "tough situation for both sides, the people and the lion", and eulogised him as "a symbol of resilience and coexistence".
Paula Kahumbu, a wildlife conservationist and chief executive officer of WildlifeDirect, said she was pained by the killing of the lion and called for measures to protect wildlife in the country.
"This is the breaking point for human-wildlife conflict and we need to do more as a country to preserve lions, which are facing extinction," Ms Kahumbu told the BBC.
The average lifespan of a lion is about 13 years in the wild, although they can live much longer in captivity.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-65574623
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Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price quits after damning report - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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Adam Price quits after review found misogyny, harassment and bullying in his party.
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Wales
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Adam Price says he no longer had the support of his party
Adam Price has quit as Plaid Cymru leader after a report found misogyny, harassment and bullying in the party.
North Wales Senedd member Llyr Gruffydd will take over as interim leader, with a new leader in place in the summer, the party has said.
It follows months of difficulties including allegations of a sexual assault made against a senior staff member, and a toxic working culture.
In his resignation letter, Mr Price said he no longer had the "united support" of his colleagues.
He said he wanted to resign in the wake of the report's findings, but was initially persuaded not to quit.
"You have my personal assurance that I will continue to serve my country, my constituents and our party with determination and enthusiasm," he said in a letter to party chairman, Marc Jones.
On Thursday Labour First Minister Mark Drakeford said discussions on his co-operation agreement with Plaid will take place "in light of recent developments"
He thanked Mr Price "for the constructive way the Welsh government and Plaid Cymru have worked together".
The resignation announcement was made following a meeting of the party's ruling body, the National Executive Committee (NEC), late on Wednesday night.
One source from the meeting said some members raised the possibility of Adam Price remaining in post.
But it was considered untenable given the seriousness of the findings of the review.
Plaid's Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts said Mr Price was not asked to resign in the wake of the "toxic culture" report because "stability" was needed to implement its recommendations.
Interim Plaid Cymru leader Llyr Gruffydd has been in the Senedd since 2011
Speaking on the Today programme, Liz Saville Roberts said: "Effective leadership is about balancing conflicting demands.
"What we felt strongly was that we needed a collegiate approach within the party because it (the report) cuts across all aspects of the party and it requires a change of culture".
"In order to do that we would need stability".
She also told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast that Mr Price had to go because he had become a "distraction".
She ruled herself out of a leadership contest, saying any new leader would have to be an elected member in the Senedd.
"I'm an MP in Westminster so that's done and dusted," she said.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Adam Price apologised last week but said the damning report points to a "collective failure" across the party
Mr Gruffydd's appointment as interim leader was agreed at a meeting of the party's Senedd members on Thursday and will need to be rubber-stamped by Plaid Cymru's National Council on Saturday.
He will not stand in the forthcoming leadership contest
Mr Gruffydd said he was "grateful to the Plaid Cymru Senedd group" for the nomination and thanked Mr Price for his "vision, commitment, and dedication".
Plaid Cymru is the third largest party in the Welsh Parliament, with 12 Members of the Senedd and three MPs in Westminster.
The pro-independence party is in a co-operation agreement with the Welsh Labour government, which means they help them govern.
Mr Price was elected party leader in 2018, when he ousted Leanne Wood.
Welsh Conservative leader, Andrew RT Davies, said: "I have no doubt Adam Price's departure is a moment of personal sadness for him.
"Following the recent report into the culture within their party, it became clear Plaid Cymru politicians no longer had confidence in his leadership, so his departure became inevitable."
For the converted, the die-hard believers, it wasn't meant to be like this.
Adam Price was touted by many in Plaid Cymru as a "once in a generation" politician who could overcome the party's many electoral barriers.
When he challenged his predecessor for the leadership in 2018, he said only he could "create the momentum" Plaid needed to become Wales' main party of government and install him as first minister.
And yet, there was no great advance at the following Senedd election - Plaid remains in third place behind the Welsh Conservatives.
Supporters will say it was an election like no other, one focused almost entirely on the public's broadly favourable opinion of the Welsh Labour government's handling of the pandemic.
It is clear, though, that some of the sheen had faded and in terms of public support, the party remains no further forward under Adam Price's leadership.
As it nears its 100th birthday celebrations, Plaid Cymru will seek its 11th leader with many of the perennial questions about its purpose, its lack of reach beyond the heartlands and its relationship with Welsh Labour likely to be raised.
But it is the drip, drip of negative stories over the last year, culminating in a damning report that found a toxic culture within the party that meant Adam Price's position was no longer tenable.
Addressing those major issues will be his successor's primary focus.
Since last year Plaid Cymru has been dogged by claims of a toxic culture in the party, and it emerged last November that an allegation of sexual assault had been made against a senior member of staff.
Separately, a serious allegation was also made about the conduct of a Member of the Senedd, Rhys ab Owen, who is now suspended from the Senedd group pending an investigation.
The party asked Nerys Evans, a lobbyist and former Plaid assembly member, to hold a review last December.
Her working group's report said Plaid needed to "detoxify a culture of harassment, bullying and misogyny".
It said too many instances of bad behaviour were tolerated, and said an anonymous survey of staff and elected members highlighted examples "of sexual harassment, bullying and discrimination".
Mr Price admitted the document left Plaid Cymru "harmed and tarnished". He apologised, but refused to quit.
In his resignation letter, Mr Price said: "On receiving the report, I informed you that I felt morally bound to step down as leader of the party in recognition of our collective failure."
"You counselled against my resignation as you felt it would make it more difficult to achieve progress in implementing the recommendations."
He said he was "persuaded by the argument that my stepping down would be an abdication of responsibility".
But he added: "It is now clear I no longer have the united support of my colleagues that would be necessary to follow this course to fruition."
Mr Drakeford said: "I want to thank Adam Price for the constructive way the Welsh government and Plaid Cymru have worked together to develop and implement the co-operation agreement. These shared priorities are making a real difference to people across Wales.
"The co-operation agreement is an agreement between the Welsh government and Plaid Cymru - not between individuals. There will be discussions about the agreement in light of recent developments."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-65553413
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In pictures: Eurovision performances fire up fans - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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Electric performances have been firing up Eurovision fans in Liverpool for this year's final.
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In Pictures
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Fans from across the globe were treated to a Eurovision Song Contest feast in Liverpool.
The winners of the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest, Kalush Orchestra performed on stage at the start of the final.
UK entry Mae Muller took part in the flag parade as the proceedings began, and Marco Mengoni carried the Pride flag as well as the Italian one.
Alesha Dixon, Julia Sanina, Hannah Waddingham and Graham Norton were all on stage for the start.
Mimicat representing Portugal, Teya and Salena for Austria, Loreen from Sweden and Andrew Lambrou for Cyprus were among the first performers.
Czechia entrant Vesna's braids drew attention, as did the performance of Finland's Kaarija.
Ukraine, last years winners, were represented by TVORCHI. Let 3 from Croatia had a controversial performance.
The UK's Mae Muller was the final act.
Duncan Laurence and other past Eurovision acts joined the presenters on stage after the performances.
Loreen hears that she has won after a tense voting count.
In the Eurovision Village, crowds sang their hearts out as they watched all the musical drama on a big screen.
HMS Mersey was illuminated in the colours of Ukraine.
Irish duo Jedward were among the acts who entertained fans in the Village zone earlier in the day.
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Hannah Waddingham: From Ted Lasso to a Eurovision Song Contest star - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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The English actress, one of the song contest's co-hosts this year, is already a fan favourite.
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Entertainment & Arts
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The standout stars of this year's Eurovision Song Contest do not just include the competitors - one of the hosts has become a fan favourite as well.
Hannah Waddingham has been a leading lady on stage for more than two decades and found wider fame thanks to TV shows Game of Thrones, Ted Lasso and Sex Education.
She can now add "Eurovision icon" to her CV.
Hannah Waddingham (right) with fellow co-hosts Alesha Dixon and Julia Sanina
The English actress is co-hosting the contest's finals with British presenter Alesha Dixon and Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina and the BBC's Graham Norton.
While they have all been excellent so far, Waddingham in particular has earned rave reviews, and her appearances have capped her elevation to A-list status.
Viewers have responded to her unbridled energy and overflowing sense of fun, plus the effortless composure and assured stage presence that come from years in the West End and on Broadway.
Her enthusiastic facial expressions, exuberant style, impromptu dance moves and language skills also have the crowd eating out of the palm of her hand.
King Charles met the hosts and commentators at the Eurovision arena last month
At a press conference on Friday, one reporter informed her she had been dubbed "mother" on social media. "Can I just ask if that's a good thing?" she responded.
It is - being a term particularly used in the gay community to refer to iconic women.
Waddingham only hosted her first awards ceremony last month - the Olivier Awards - when she was particularly praised for comforting an emotional winner.
"It was my first ever presenting gig, [with] this subtle little one being my second," she said.
"As with the Oliviers - the winners and the losers, everyone [at Eurovision] makes the effort of their lives. All of us, all of them on stage, everyone backstage, we're all just trying to put on a beautiful, massive, joyous show, and be unified by music.
"So it's very much our job to be there for the ups and the downs for the winners and the losers, and that's why I wanted to get involved."
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Waddingham and grand final co-host Graham Norton, pictured in 2009, have been friends for years
Waddingham is from London and spent her childhood in theatres watching her mother, a singer with the English National Opera.
By her 20s, she was in leading roles in the West End herself. Waddingham now has three Olivier nominations to her name - for Monty Python show Spamalot, Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music and Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate.
After some TV roles, including in ITV comedy Benidorm, she was cast as Septa Unella, better known as the Shame Nun in Game of Thrones, joining in season five.
It was "horrifically difficult" to be taken seriously enough to make the leap from stage to screen - and she had to go to the US to make a real breakthrough, she has said.
She went down well when she hosted the Olivier Awards in London in April
"You see the same faces constantly, I think, on British television. And that was my frustration," she told Kate Thornton's White Wine Question Time podcast in 2021.
"I had to jump over to the other side of the pond in order to get recognised. And I don't think that's right, personally."
But with a baby on the way, she no longer wanted to be on stage six nights a week. She started filming Game of Thrones just eight weeks after giving birth.
Waddingham with Lady Gaga at the 2022 Critics Choice Awards
That led to shows like Superman prequel Krypton. But while filming that, her daughter, three at the time, became seriously ill with Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP), which affects the blood vessels. It was "all a bit touch and go", Waddingham said.
After being unable to immediately get home to be with her, so told her agents she no longer wanted acting jobs that would require her to travel.
"I am first and foremost a mum, and more importantly, a single mum," she said. While her daughter was recovering a month later, she stood in her garden one night and "thanked the Universe" for making her better.
The cast of Ted Lasso visited the White House in Washington, DC in March
While she was at it, she asked the Universe for another job that would allow her to be near her daughter and keep them afloat financially.
"And also, can I be so cheeky as to say, could it be something that shows everything that I can do, and things that I don't feel like I've been able to do yet? And is there any way it could just be around the corner?" she asked.
"And I'm not joking, within two months the audition came in for Ted Lasso, that shoots 40 minutes away from my house."
Waddingham won the Emmy for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series for Ted Lasso in 2021
The Universe came through. Waddingham won the role in the Apple TV+ comedy as Richmond FC owner Rebecca Welton, who hires hapless US coach Ted because she wants the team to fail to spite her former husband.
It became a hit, and Waddingham won an Emmy, a Critics' Choice Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Global fame has come relatively late. "You don't think your career is going to rev up during your 40s," she told the Plot Twist podcast last year. "Being a mother, you think it's going to slow down a bit."
There's not much chance of that. She recently appeared in Hocus Pocus 2 and ITV's Tom Jones, and will be in forthcoming films The Fall Guy, Garfield and Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Two.
She celebrated her Screen Actors Guild Awards win via a video link last year
If she hadn't made it as an actress, she would have liked to work as an interpreter, she has said. "I love languages."
She speaks Italian and French - as she demonstrated in the Eurovision semi-finals.
"I was just keen to show the hands across the water and try giving languages another go," she told reporters on Friday.
"It's that fine line of wanting to be respectful to a language and include it, but not screw it up. So I hope I'm doing OK."
All the build-up, insights and analysis is explored on the BBC's Eurovisioncast.
Eurovisioncast is available on BBC Sounds, or search wherever you get your podcasts from.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-65556783
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Nikki Allan murder: David Boyd guilty of killing Sunderland girl - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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David Boyd lured seven-year-old Nikki Allan to a derelict building where he beat and stabbed her.
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Tyne & Wear
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David Boyd will be sentenced on 23 May for murdering Nikki Allan
A convicted child abuser has been found guilty of brutally murdering a seven-year-old girl more than 30 years ago.
Nikki Allan was repeatedly hit with a brick and stabbed dozens of times before her body was abandoned in a derelict building near her home in Sunderland in October 1992.
David Boyd, 55, from Stockton-on-Tees, was convicted at Newcastle Crown Court after a three-week trial.
Nikki's mother said the "evil man" had "slipped through the net" for decades.
He will be sentenced on 23 May.
Boyd, then aged 25, was a neighbour of Nikki's at the Wear Garth flats in the east end of Sunderland and his partner had been the girl's babysitter.
However, he avoided suspicion in the initial Northumbria Police investigation because detectives were focussed on another man - also a neighbour - 24-year-old George Heron.
He was prosecuted but acquitted at a trial in 1993 after a judge ruled police had used "oppressive" tactics when questioning him and said his confession had been obtained under duress.
Boyd was familiar with the abandoned Old Exchange building about 300 yards from where he and Nikki lived, and knew how to get inside through a broken, boarded-up window.
DNA matching his was found on Nikki's clothes and he bore a "striking resemblance" to a man seen with Nikki shortly before her death, prosecutors said.
The trial heard Boyd, of Chesterton Court in Norton, confessed to having sexual fantasies about young girls and was convicted of indecently assaulting a nine-year-old girl in 1999.
He also had a conviction for indecent exposure in 1997 when he flashed three young girls in a park and one for breaching the peace in 1986 when he grabbed a 10-year-old girl and asked her for a kiss.
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Prosecutor Richard Wright KC previously told jurors Nikki was lured to the building by someone she knew and the "irresistible conclusion" was it was done for a "sinister purpose" even though there was no evidence of a sexual assault.
He said the case against Boyd was "circumstantial but compelling" but if he was not the murderer then Nikki must have been killed by a "phantom" who had left no evidence behind.
The jury of 10 women and two men in Boyd's trial reached their verdict after two-and-a-half hours of deliberation.
The public gallery erupted with raucous cheers and cries of "thank you" when the verdict was read out. Police officers had to be summoned into the court to restore order.
Boyd, dressed in a white T-shirt, did not visibly react and was remanded into custody.
Nikki Allan was killed in the Old Exchange building in the Hendon area of Sunderland
Outside court, Nikki's mother Sharon Henderson, who campaigned tirelessly to keep her daughter's case in the public consciousness, spoke of the "injustice" her family had lived with for three decades.
Addressing the botched police investigation in 1992, she told reporters: "This evil man slipped through the net to murder Nikki when he was on their files in the first place.
"Three doors down from Nikki's grandparents [where Boyd had been living]. They should have investigated him straight away."
Asked how she had managed to keep fighting for justice, she replied: "Because Nikki's my daughter and I love her."
Speaking after the verdict, Assistant Chief Constable Brad Howe of Northumbria Police praised Nikki's family's "patience and strength over the last 30 years", adding: "Today is about justice for Nikki and her family."
"David Boyd hid his crime, lying about his involvement and prolonging the family's suffering, knowing all along that he had taken the life of their little girl," he said.
He said the investigation had been one of the "most complex and comprehensive ever conducted" by the force.
Det Ch Supt Lisa Theaker, the senior investigating officer in the case, added: "Nikki would have been 37 now and who knows what her life could have been.
"But her future was cruelly taken away from her by David Boyd. The pain and suffering that he has caused, and to so many people, is immeasurable."
Christopher Atkinson, head of the Complex Casework Unit at Crown Prosecution Service North East, said: "Despite the unimaginable grief endured by Nikki's family, Boyd continued to pretend that he was not involved in the killing for 30 years."
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Swiss village of Brienz evacuated over risk of imminent rockslide - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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Brienz's 100 residents, as well as the village's dairy cows, were given 48 hours to evacuate.
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Europe
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The village of Brienz and its church at the foot of a mountainside rockfall
Residents of a tiny Swiss village have all been evacuated because of the risk of an imminent rockslide.
Brienz's fewer than 100 villagers were given just 48 hours to pack what they could and abandon their homes.
Even the dairy cows were loaded up for departure after geologists warned a rockfall was imminent.
Two million cubic metres of rock is coming loose from the mountain above, and a rockslide could obliterate the village.
The development has raised questions about the safety of some mountain communities, as global warming changes the alpine environment.
The rock has been shifting since the Ice Age, but scientists say the pace has accelerated
Brienz, in the eastern canton of Graubünden, is now empty.
The village has been judged a geological risk for some time and is built on land that is subsiding down towards the valley, causing the church spire to lean and large cracks to appear in buildings.
Some rocks have already fallen down the mountainside
As the minutes ticked towards the deadline to leave, even Brienz's dairy cows were being taken to safety.
The residents, some young, some old, families, farmers and professional couples, had two days to abandon their homes.
They were asked earlier this week to evacuate the village by Friday evening.
Renato Liesch, a resident of Brienz, is photographed beneath a village sign before he drives away from his home
The mountainside on Friday when all villagers were asked to abandon their homes
Switzerland's Alpine regions are especially sensitive to global warming - as the permafrost high in the mountains begins to thaw, the rock becomes more unstable.
This particular mountain has always been unstable, but recently the rock has been shifting faster and faster.
Days of heavy rain could bring two million cubic metres of loosened rock crashing down the mountainside onto the village, scientists warned.
Now the villagers must wait, in temporary accommodation, for the rock to fall - and hope it misses their homes.
A road block sits in front of the village Brienz
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Train strikes: RMT industrial action coincides with Eurovision final - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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RMT union members from 14 rail companies are walking out on Saturday in a long-running pay row.
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Business
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RMT general secretary Mick Lynch (third from right) joins members of his union on Saturday outside Euston station
Rail passengers have faced travel disruption on the day of the Eurovision Song Contest final as RMT union members strike again in a long-running dispute over pay and conditions.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper said the strikes were "cynically targeting" the final, taking place in Liverpool on Saturday night.
But the RMT denies planning strikes to coincide with the event in Liverpool.
It said Saturday was chosen for a strike as it was the last date allowed under employment laws.
There will be no further strike action until 31 May.
Train companies warned passengers should be prepared for disruption on the days immediately after the strikes.
Train drivers who are part of a different union, Aslef, went on strike on Friday, with some parts of England having no trains all day. It also denies planning strikes to impact Eurovision.
Merseyrail, which operates trains around Liverpool, said it was unaffected by Saturday's strikes and would run late night services.
Most train companies travelling to and from Liverpool had a limited service as a result of the strike action, according to National Rail.
Speaking at a picket line outside London Euston station, Mr Lynch said was the last Saturday of the union's six-month mandate in which it could strike.
He then told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme: "We've not targeted Wembley or Liverpool or any of the activities that people get up to" - a reference to both Eurovision and to the football National League play-off final at Wembley on Saturday afternoon.
He said the union "wouldn't target a cup final", but did not rule out considering strikes taking place on 3 June, when the men's FA Cup final and Scottish Cup final will be held.
Future strike dates could be announced as early as next week, he said, adding that the union was available to meet with the government and employers at any time to try to agree a deal.
He has written to the transport secretary calling for an special summit between ministers, train companies and unions to end chaos on the railways.
In a statement, the Department for Transport said RMT members should be allowed to vote on the latest pay offer.
"Since coming into office, ministers have met with the RMT leadership four times and helped facilitate three fair pay offers from employers," it said.
"It's now time for unions to give their members democratic say on their future."
The following rail operators will be impacted:
The Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents 14 train companies, said rail users should plan ahead and check services before travel. It warned that with fewer services running there would be "wide variations".
Rebecca Dane-Alderman was planning to travel from Milton Keynes to Worthing to watch the Eurovision final with her best friend - a tradition they have shared every year, except for during the coronavirus pandemic.
She said most of Friday was spent trying to find alternative routes, but they were unsuccessful, so instead will watch it in separate locations over a video call.
She told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme: "Most of yesterday I was quite sad and I felt quite devastated by it all.
"I know there are bigger problems in the world, but it was just something that, like I said is a tradition to us, and we were really looking forward to doing."
The RDG offered rail workers a backdated pay rise of 5% for 2022, with a second year's pay rise was dependent on reforms being negotiated.
Mr Harper has called on the RMT to allow its members to have a vote on the offer that the RDG has put forward.
But Mr Lynch said the RDG had "torpedoed" the talks aimed at ending the long-running dispute because agreement would have prohibited further industrial action.
He told BBC One's Breakfast: "We haven't got enough people, and our members, and Aslef members, are having to work extended shifts, extra days, six and seven days out of the week, when they're sick and tired of it."
Responding in a statement, the RDG said the RMT had "time and time again... blocked the deal negotiated line by line by its top team from going out to its membership for a vote".
It said in a statement it was "time the union leadership and executive finally agreed on what they want from these negotiations".
Meanwhile, train drivers with Aslef have rejected a two-year offer which would see members receive a backdated pay rise of 4% for 2022 and a 4% increase this year.
However, there has been some resolution between the rail industry and the unions. A revised offer from Network Rail, which owns and operates the UK's railway infrastructure, was accepted by RMT members on 20 March, ending that separate dispute.
Aslef drivers will strike again on 31 May and 3 June, affecting services across on the day of the FA Cup final in England and the Scottish Cup final.
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Turkey election: Opposition dares to dream of Erdogan defeat - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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President Erdogan, who says he has kept Turkey standing tall, faces a united opposition in Sunday's vote.
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Europe
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Supporters of the main challenger made his trademark heart-shape gesture at the rally
Turkey's all-powerful President Erdogan is in the fight of his life against an opposition that has united against him for Sunday's elections.
His main rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, appeared before a throng of supporters on Friday, flanked by allies from across the political spectrum who have come together as never before.
As the rain beat down in Ankara, he vowed to restore "peace and democracy".
The man he wants voters to oust after 20 years - Recep Tayyip Erdogan - said he had kept Turkey standing tall despite many challenges, including the economy with its rampant inflation and February's catastrophic double earthquakes.
Both issues have dominated this febrile campaign for both the presidency and parliament.
At 74, the opposition leader is often described as soft-spoken, but he gave a powerful speech to an audience that believes this is their best hope so far of reclaiming power from a president who has dramatically increased his own at the expense of parliament.
On the eve of the vote Mr Kilicdaroglu visited the mausoleum of modern Turkey's founder Ataturk
Mr Kilicdaroglu is slightly ahead in the opinion polls and his supporters have dared to dream he might win outright on Sunday, with more than 50% of the vote, rather than face a run-off two weeks later.
His last campaign event was laying carnations at the Ankara mausoleum of Ataturk, the founder the modern secular state.
Hours later, President Erdogan led Saturday evening prayers at Hagia Sophia mosque in Istanbul, and was filmed by worshippers controversially making a political speech in which he said the Muslim world was closely following developments in Turkey.
It was controversial because three years ago he was the leader who decided to end the historic site's secular status as a museum.
Mr Erdogan ended his election push with Saturday prayers at Hagia Sophia mosque in Istanbul
Asked on TV on Friday night what he might do if he lost, he said the question was absurd, but that his government had come to power democratically: "If our nation changes its mind, we will do exactly what democracy requires."
Firat, one of five million first-time voters, said he was delighted at conservatives and nationalists appearing on the same platform as the head of the centre-left Republican People's Party (CHP).
Here was nationalist Meral Aksener, the only female leader in the six-strong alliance, and there was Temel Karamollaoglu, who fronts the pro-Islamist Felicity party.
Mr Kilicdaroglu's party is secular to the core, but he has worked hard to reach out to women who wear the headscarf. The six parties have rallied under the slogan Haydi (Come on!) and a campaign song of the same name.
Firat (R), with his sister and mother at the opposition rally, praised the opposition's unity
Tensions are running so high ahead of the vote that he wore a bullet-proof vest on stage in Ankara for his final rally and at another event earlier on.
The race has become as tense as it is pivotal. One of the four candidates for the presidency, Muharrem Ince, pulled out on Thursday, complaining that he had been targeted on social media with deepfake sex videos that had "manipulated the electorate".
When the main opposition challenger blamed Russia, the Kremlin denied having anything to do with the videos or seeking to interfere in the vote.
Mr Erdogan, who has maintained ties with Vladimir Putin, warned his rival: "If you attack Putin, I will not be OK with that."
The president was addressing party loyalists in Istanbul, but the night before, he was just outside the capital in a city of half a million people that seemed in full support of his AK Party.
Orange, blue and white party AKP flags fluttered throughout the centre of Sincan, as locals filled the streets in the hope of catching a glimpse of Mr Erdogan.
Streets around the Erdogan rally in Sincan were filled with supporters
Supporters chanted party songs as they waited for the president to show up on stage in a green jacket. One chorus rang out repeatedly: Re-cep Tay-yip Er-do-gaaaan.
"We built schools, universities and hospitals... we changed the face of our cities. We extracted our own natural gas and oil," Mr Erdogan told thousands of cheering supporters.
His strategy, first as prime minister but then as president, has been to build growth, often through big-ticket construction projects that are visible in many of the big cities, but not so obvious in Sincan.
President Erdogan was greeted by a mass of adoring supporters in Sincan
Although his party still commands strong support, he relies on the backing of the nationalist MHP and other smaller groups in his People's Alliance.
His greatest support comes mainly from conservative or nationalist Turks, and he has aimed his rhetoric not just at the West, which he accuses of going against him, but at the LGBT community too.
"The AK Party does not allow LGBT people into its neighbourhood, and the MHP does not allow them into the People's Alliance, because we believe in the sanctity of a family."
These political alliances have become essential under Turkey's political system, as a party needs 7% of the national vote to get into parliament, or be part of an alliance that does.
Whoever wins the presidency will need to have sufficient support in parliament to back their plans.
On the campaign trail in Ankara, centre-left candidate Aysun Palali Koktas said that while the economy and the aftermath of the earthquake were the top two issues of the election, the future of Turkey's democracy and people's rights were just as important.
"When we tweet, we don't want to be frightened, and that's the case especially for young people," she said.
But, AK Party candidate Zehranur Aydemir, 25, believes young voters are very well treated by the government. "You can see young people at every level in our party."
More than 64 million people are expected vote at home and abroad on Sunday.
To win outright, a candidate will have to secure more than half the vote.
If no candidate gets at least 50% plus one vote in the first round, the presidential election will go to a second round on 28 May between the two who received the most votes.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan - the most controversial president in modern Turkish history. What is behind his rise from prison to power - and his ruthless determination to stay at the top?
Watch now on BBC iPlayer (UK Only)
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65568647
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Sudan conflict: Grandmother died trapped by fighting in Khartoum - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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Alaweya Reshwan died at home in Khartoum, trapped by the fighting that is tearing Sudan apart.
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Africa
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Azhaar Sholgami is trying to bury her grandmother.
The elderly woman has been dead for days, no-one knows how many. She died alone, trapped in her house in Khartoum by the brutal battle between Sudan's two warring generals.
Azhaar had been watching from New York, desperately trying to save her. Now, she is desperately trying to recover her body.
She's not alone. Intense fighting has made it dangerous to gather the dead in parts of Sudan's capital.
The humanitarian agreement reached by the two sides in Jeddah on Friday specifically commits to helping aid workers collect, register and bury those killed in the fighting.
"We keep on seeing dead bodies on the street, and hospitals that are out of service," says Patrick Youssef, the Africa Regional Director for the International Committee of the Red Cross. "I hope the new declaration of humanitarian principles can truly allow for humanitarian corridors."
So far it hasn't, because the parties have yet to secure a truce to turn their promises on paper into reality.
Azhaar's grandparents, Abdalla Sholgami and Alaweya Reshwan, got stuck in the heat of the fighting. They lived in Baladiya street in Khartoum, next to the military headquarters and the British embassy. It became a battlefield for the two warring parties - Sudan's army, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Azhaar's 85-year-old grandfather Abdalla Sholgami was a British citizen. He was shot three times in Khartoum
Mr Sholgami, a British citizen, was shot three times, leaving his disabled wife alone at home. He somehow survived, and his family are now trying to evacuate him from Sudan.
But there was no word about his wife and Azhaar's grandmother, Alaweya. Weeks of Azhaar's frantic phone calls to the British embassy failed to get help.
Her grandparents couldn't make their way to the airfield for the evacuation of British citizens, so they were left stuck in Khartoum.
Three days ago she got a call from the Turkish embassy, also located next to the house, saying her grandmother was dead.
Azhaar didn't want to believe it.
"I called back again and said, 'Maybe she's in a coma, did you check her pulse? Did you check her body, see if her heart is beating?' And then he tells me that her body's been decaying," she says.
"It's quite painful to think that she was alone, with no electricity in the midst of the heat - it's really hot in Sudan right now - waking up to bomb sounds."
Another woman we spoke to had an uncle, Ahmad, who lived in a nearby neighbourhood. She didn't want us to reveal her name because she fears she might be targeted, but told us this story.
Ahmad's family was gathering at the home of a relative so they could evacuate together. He realised he'd forgotten his paperwork, so he returned to his home in the Riyadh neighbourhood and never came back.
Six days later his brother got a call from someone trying to identify a body lying in front of Ahmad's house.
The person said Ahmad had found RSF fighters in his home. The situation escalated, they killed him, looted the place, and left.
Neighbours wrapped Ahmad in plastic bags until aid workers were able to arrive. They wanted to bury him right there because there's no garden, but the family refused to have him laid to rest virtually in the street. So his body still lies there, encased in the plastic.
Azhaar is still trying to arrange for someone to pick up her grandmother's remains. An organisation that tried on the day the Jeddah Declaration was announced had to turn back because they got caught in a gunfight.
"I was very close to my grandmother," she says. "And in our last conversation before I left for New York she said, I'm scared you're going to leave me alone."
"I laughed at her. I said, I'll never leave you alone, no matter what, I'll always be there… I feel I let her down."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-65576671
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Rail strikes cynically targeting Eurovision, transport minister says - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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Transport Secretary Mark Harper says a "fair and reasonable pay offer" has been made to rail workers.
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UK Politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Strikes should be not be targeting Eurovision, says Mark Harper
Transport Secretary Mark Harper has accused the RMT transport union of "cynically targeting the Eurovision song contest" by calling strikes on the day of the final.
RMT members are due to strike on 13 May after the union rejected the latest pay deal from train operators.
The RMT said the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents the train operators, had "torpedoed" pay talks.
But Mr Harper said a "fair and reasonable pay offer" had been made.
In an interview on the Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Mr Harper urged the RMT - the UK's largest specialist transport union - to put the pay offer to its members and let them decide.
Mr Harper said, rather than doing this, the RMT had "called strikes which are cynically targeting the Eurovision song contest".
"The reason that's so appalling is because that's not our song contest," Mr Harper said. "We're hosting it for Ukraine."
Mr Harper said the RMT should be standing "in solidarity" with Ukrainian rail workers targeted by Russian President Vladimir Putin in war-torn Ukraine.
The BBC asked the RMT if it wished to comment but the union said it had nothing to add beyond its previous statements.
The RMT union said it would launch action across 14 train operators for 24 hours on Saturday 13 May - the day Liverpool hosts the Eurovision final on behalf of Ukraine.
Members will be walking out from 00:01 to 23:59 BST on 13 May.
The union's executive and the train operators had been discussing a new pay offer aimed at ending a long-running dispute.
The RDG's proposals involved one year's pay rise of 5% that was dependent on the union agreeing to go into a "dispute resolution process" and accepting the general principle of changes to working practices.
Earlier this week, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said the RDG had "reneged on their original proposals and torpedoed these negotiations".
Train operators said they had been "blindsided" by the strike, and denied union claims they had changed their offer.
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".
The RMT's decision to take industrial action followed the announcement of strikes by Aslef, a union that represents train drivers.
Aslef has strikes on 12 and 31 May, and on 3 June, the day of the FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium in London. The strikes will run from 00:01 to 23:59 each day.
The union rejected a fresh offer from 16 train firms, including a 4% pay rise for two years in a row and changes to conditions.
Mick Whelan, Aslef's general secretary, said the offer was "risible" and "clearly not designed to be accepted as inflation is still running north of 10%".
The only people responsible for the ongoing strikes in this country "are the government and the employers", he told the BBC.
On the Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Mr Harper was asked whether the government was prepared to let rail strikes disrupt the industry until Christmas.
He did not answer the question directly, but said: "In the end, the people who work in those industries have got to make a judgement about whether they accept the pay offer."
"All that the rail unions are going to do is drive people away from it," he said. "Take the two biggest events they're trying to disrupt, Eurovision and the FA Cup Final."
Mr Harper predicted the bus and coach sector would "step up" on the days of planned rail strikes in May and June.
How will you be affected by the rail strikes? haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
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Gaza cancer patients face life-threatening treatment delays - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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Many patients are unable to leave for urgent treatment as Israel keeps all crossings shut, Palestinians say.
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Middle East
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Five days into the worst fighting in months between Israel and militant groups in Gaza, concern is mounting about the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory.
It is estimated that more than 200 patients, mostly with cancer, are unable to leave for urgently needed treatment. They include children.
Israel controls two crossings with Gaza - used for people and goods - which have been closed since the start of its military operation on Tuesday.
Operators of the sole power plant in the impoverished strip - which relies on Israeli fuel imports - say it will be forced to close in three days.
A spokesman told the BBC this would "lead to an exacerbation of the humanitarian problems". The plant supplies about half of the electricity in the territory, where some 2.3 million Palestinians live.
Dina el-Dhani, a Palestinian cancer patient in Gaza City, says she missed her scheduled treatment in Jerusalem
A British surgeon who is among an estimated 140 humanitarian workers currently stranded in Gaza says cancer patients are facing potentially life-threatening delays.
Prof Nick Maynard, a consultant surgeon at Oxford University Hospitals, arrived in Gaza City last week as part of an aid programme teaching advanced cancer surgery to Palestinian doctors.
"The doctors I work with here have got multiple examples of people who are in desperate need of cancer treatment," Prof Maynard told the BBC.
"These treatments are undoubtedly being delayed and potentially leading to deaths because of the delays now," he added.
Prof Maynard said he was one of about a dozen non-resident British nationals stuck in Gaza.
Ziyad al-Za'noun, 70, has cancer of the spinal cord and is treated every week at Istishari Hospital in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank.
"I have been suffering from cancer for three years and there is no treatment for it here in Gaza," he said.
"On Tuesday, I was scheduled to go for a chemotherapy session in Ramallah, but we were surprised by the closure of Erez crossing.
"My health condition is getting worse, and I am using painkillers to overcome the pain, and my psychological condition is also deteriorating," Ziyad al-Za'noun added.
Israel tightened its blockade of Gaza in 2007 after it was taken over by the Islamist militant group Hamas, citing security concerns.
Hamas does not recognise Israel's right to exist and is designated as a terrorist group by Israel and many other countries.
Gaza's hospitals face severe shortages of medical equipment and medicines largely due to the blockade, but also because of internal Palestinian political divisions.
Many cancer patients need to leave for medical treatment; they have to apply for Israeli permits to exit via the Erez crossing. Most of those who get these are transferred to Augusta Victoria Hospital in occupied East Jerusalem.
More than 90 patients - six of them children with cancer - were due to arrive there in the past week but could not travel, according to Dr Fadi al-Atrash, the hospital's chief executive.
"There is always a need to refer patients primarily to Augusta Victoria and even other hospitals in the West Bank," Dr Fadi said.
"It's because of the lack of services in Gaza, lack of drugs, human resources and appropriate infrastructure."
When the current hostilities end, patients and relatives accompanying them will have to apply for new Israeli permits to leave Gaza.
"When the checkpoints are open, there will be another process for permits. More time will be taken to arrange their exit from Gaza to the hospital and that will add to the delay in their treatment that they have suffered from in the past week," Dr Fadi said.
Already Gaza's power plant is reducing the amount of electricity it generates, to try to save its fuel reserves. If it shuts down, this will have an impact on many different services.
"Preventing the entry of fuel shipments threatens it with a complete stop and will prevent the Gaza Electricity Distribution Company from supplying vital facilities such as hospitals, waste pumps and treatment plants, potable water wells and desalination plants," said Muhammad Thabet, a spokesman for the company.
Normally, some 300 lorryloads of goods enter Gaza each day through the Kerem Shalom commercial crossing with Israel.
In past conflicts, there would have been serious food shortages after several days of closure. However, recently Egypt has eased its tight restrictions on the Palestinian territory, which means food and other goods are continuing to enter.
For now, supermarkets still have stocks of basic items - but many shelves are empty, prompting shoppers to form long queues as they start stockpiling.
Israel's military-run authority that controls entry into Gaza said its crossings had been under the constant threat of rocket fire and remained shut this week.
The Israeli defence ministry said on Saturday that Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) militants had fired dozens of mortars at Erez and Kerem Shalom since Tuesday.
It also posted what it said was security camera footage showing a blast caused by a mortar fired at Erez.
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But the first day of Israel's airstrikes witnessed no Palestinian fire and there have also been several lulls in the fighting.
While Egypt is continuing to try to mediate a ceasefire, the intense barrages of Palestinian rockets and Israeli air strikes and shelling have brought normal life to a halt for millions of ordinary people.
In Israel, some 1.5 million people have been told to stay close to or in a bomb shelter. Schools and many businesses in the south of the country are closed.
In Ashkelon, one self-employed resident said she had had no income in the past week and nor had her husband, a shop owner whose store has been closed.
Israeli air defence systems have not been able to intercept all of the hundreds of rockets fired. One woman has been killed and several people have been injured. A number of buildings have been damaged.
In Gaza, some 33 people have been killed - about half of them civilians - including women and children. Houses and apartments have been destroyed or damaged.
On Friday, the UN said 417 people from about 73 families had been internally displaced.
The UN has raised concerns about how the fighting is worsening the humanitarian situation in Gaza - where more than half the population lives in poverty.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-65393231
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Green bread is crowned Britain's best loaf - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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Miyo Aoetsu invented Brioche Japonaise, which is flavoured with matcha, white chocolate and fruit.
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Derby
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Miyo Aoetsu says her speciality is a "fusion of Japanese and Western baking"
A green loaf of bread flavoured with matcha, white chocolate and fruit has been crowned the best loaf in Britain.
The bread, called Brioche Japonaise, was baked in Derbyshire by a woman who started baking as a hobby.
Miyo Aoetsu now runs Kuma-San Bakehouse professionally from her home in Matlock, supplying local businesses and baking loaves for customers to collect.
Her award-winning loaf was inspired by her Japanese heritage and also her time living in France.
"In my country it's quite common to use matcha for sweets, cakes, cookies and things like that," she said.
"There's the bitterness of the matcha and the sweetness of the chocolate and white fruit, so the balance of the taste is quite exciting."
The Brioche Japonaise was highly praised by judges
The bread won top spot in the Britain's Best Loaf competition, run by trade magazine British Baker, and also won the Innovation category.
Craft Bakers Association president Neil Woods said: "In all the years I've been judging, I haven't seen anything like this before."
The loaf was praised by the judges for its "outstanding use of ingredients, wonderful texture, and decadent white chocolate inclusions", which they said remained "almost gooey to deliver a wonderful eating experience".
Miyo now bakes her bread professionally from her home in Matlock, after starting as a hobby
Miyo first moved to the UK to study at the University of Manchester, where she met her husband.
The couple later lived in Luxembourg and France, where Miyo got a taste for French bread. She then started baking her own bread after moving back to England.
"I missed French bread a lot because it was very different from the bread here," she said.
"I started making my own bread as a hobby. However, when I baked for friends and family they really, really loved it, and they encouraged me to be a professional baker."
She said she was "very excited" to win awards for her Brioche Japonaise because it reflected her Japanese culture and identity.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-65572068
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Eurovision: 'Liverpool is brimming with pride and joy' - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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The countdown is on to the grand final of Eurovision in Liverpool and the city is buzzing.
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Liverpool
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The city is buzzing with life, music and many, many sequins
For seven months Liverpool has waited for this day, beating six other cities shortlisted for the honour of hosting Eurovision on behalf of war-torn Ukraine.
All eyes are now firmly on the city.
The place is "abuzz" according to the city region mayor, while Claire McColgan of Culture Liverpool said the scouse capital was "full of love, compassion and joy".
Events have been taking place for weeks, with fans flocking to the Pier Head fan area from Europe and beyond, with all ticketed events sold out in record time.
With 150 million viewers tuning in worldwide, Liverpool is front and centre on a truly global stage.
Among the many fans is Remi, from French website Eurovision Quotidien, who said the atmosphere in Liverpool was "amazing".
"Eurovision is in the railway station, in the street, the shops, the library, the book shops, the universities, even the schools are involved.
"[It's] everywhere. I think it is incredible," he said. "It is the capital of Eurovision, it is a true Eurovision city."
Eurovision super fans are in Liverpool for Europe's biggest party
Oksana Skybinska, head of the Ukraine delegation at Eurovision, said seeing the Ukrainian colours of yellow and blue across the city was "comforting".
"It feels really precious that the city really wants to make this Eurovision of Ukrainian spirit," she said.
The UK is hosting the international song contest on behalf of last year's winners Ukraine and Ms Skybinska said from the beginning of the bidding process it was clear Liverpool was the best choice.
Fans have turned up to Liverpool city centre in their droves
"It was quite obvious that Liverpool would make it in the best possible way because of the openness of the city and the people."
She said the city had been "ready to embrace other nations and other people", adding, "it is a beautiful combination of Liverpool and Ukraine".
The heart of Eurovision has become a popular photo spot
Liverpool is absolutely buzzing! Full of life, music and many, many sequins!
You can't pass a shop front for disco balls and window art, with businesses creating limited edition menus and cocktails.
And everywhere you look, there are people with smiles on their faces, draped in flags and costumes, humming the chorus to one of the Eurovision ear worms.
Even the weather has been better than forecasts predicted, with the sun shining on the city.
Scousers working in town are able to pop out on their lunch breaks and soak up the atmosphere, sampling traditional Ukrainian food, while pausing at a passing pop up act, like Sam Ryder at the Albert Dock - or Sophie Ellis-Bexter playing a kitchen disco in John Lewis.
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The council's two week EuroFestival has meant that you don't need golden tickets to the arena shows, with 24 cultural events and commissions taking place around the city - and nine days worth of free concerts in the EuroVillage.
It's meant thousands of kids have been able to watch The English National Opera performing classics on the city's iconic waterfront and school children across the region have been taught to say 'hello' in Ukrainian.
Liverpool is brimming with pride and joy - the legacy of which will last a lifetime.
Mel Giedroyc, one of the commentators, said the buzz in the area was "extraordinary".
"I was in the arena for the second semi-final and I thought the arena was going to lift off at one point... the atmosphere is just phenomenal."
Mel Giedroyc said the atmosphere in the city has been "phenomenal"
But speaking to BBC Breakfast, she spoke of the "balance of coverage", adding: "It's very, very poignant.
"I think you feel that kind of poignancy wherever you are in Liverpool... we need to honour them, and we need to give them a good show."
Both Liverpool City Council and Liverpool City Region (LCR), have contributed £2m towards the cost of the contest and have been delighted by how people have embraced it.
LCR Mayor Steve Rotheram told BBC Radio Merseyside: "The whole place is abuzz... it reminds me of what happened in 2008 and the buzz with the European Capital of Culture.
"But the excitement... I was stopped on the street yesterday by the president of the superfans of Eurovision who said he'd been to 10 [Eurovisions] and he had never experienced anything like he is experiencing in Liverpool at the moment."
Director of Culture Liverpool at Liverpool City Council Claire McColgan CBE said the people of Liverpool had "come out and wrapped their arms around Ukraine".
"I believe culture is a part of everyday life and it matters to this city," she said.
"People in Liverpool get that, its the most incredible city creatively."
Ms McColgan reflected on how the city had grown in confidence since the Capital of Culture events.
"I can feel the difference in the city, we are confident now," she said. "It feels like a whole generation in this city now expects this," she said, "we go big or go home".
"It's been an incredible six months in the life of this city.
"And Liverpool and Eurovision go together really well, especially in these circumstances. It is a great party and celebration but is also full of love, compassion and joy.
"I'm so proud of the city, I'm so proud to live here. We did it Liverpool!"
Watching the contest on home soil has been described as a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity"
Eurovision researcher and commentator Prof Brian Singleton, from Trinity College, Dublin, has been to 13 Eurovision Song Contests and said the city has "embraced" the event.
"It's just everywhere," he said. "You can't escape it and I just love that."
He said the contest was becoming more mainstream in recent years and was being taken more seriously with artists gaining fame "despite what the results are".
"You don't have to win it now to be really successful," he said. "It's the biggest TV show in the world".
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Eurovision: Catherine, Princess of Wales, makes surprise appearance - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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She played an instrumental piece pre-recorded in Windsor Castle's Crimson Drawing Room earlier this month.
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UK
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch Catherine, Princess of Wales, appear in surprise Eurovision cameo
Catherine, Princess of Wales, made a surprise appearance playing the piano during the opening performance of Eurovision.
She played an instrumental piece, created by Joe Price and Kojo Samuel, recorded in Windsor Castle's Crimson Drawing Room earlier this month.
She wore a blue Jenny Packham dress and earrings belonging to the late queen.
The 10-second clip appeared in a performance by last year's winners Kalush Orchestra.
That performance also included contributions from Lord Lloyd-Webber, Sam Ryder, Ms Banks, Ballet Black, Bolt Strings and Joss Stone.
The opening Eurovision film showed Kalush Orchestra performing their winning entry Stefania, from the Maidan Nezalezhnosti metro station in Kyiv.
Sweden's Loreen won the competition for the second time with her pop anthem Tattoo.
The UK's entrant, Mae Muller, failed to replicate the success of Sam Ryder last year and finished in 25th place, out of 26.
Sweden's victory means it will host next year's event, which will mark the 50th anniversary of Abba's historic victory with Waterloo in 1974.
The instrumental piece was recorded in the Crimson Drawing Room of Windsor Castle
The princess, who has grade three piano and grade five theory, previously accompanied pop star Tom Walker on piano while he sang his previously unheard Christmas song For Those Who Can't Be Here during a 2021 carol service she hosted at Westminster Abbey.
The service, which was broadcast on ITV on Christmas Eve that year, paid tribute to the work of "inspirational" people who served their communities during the pandemic.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65586380
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Officials urged Braverman to halt asylum plan for RAF Scampton - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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Civil servants told the home secretary to halt plans to house asylum seekers at the Lincolnshire site.
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UK Politics
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Civil servants advised the home secretary to abandon plans to house asylum seekers at a former RAF base in Lincolnshire, it has emerged.
In an email from February, seen by the BBC, a senior Home Office official advised Suella Braverman to stop work on the site at RAF Scampton.
The official noted "significant challenges to progress" on the site.
The Home Office said internal departmental discussions were a routine part of its decision-making.
It comes after West Lindsey District Council, where the base is located, lost its High Court bid for an injunction to stop work on the site.
The internal email was part of evidence referred to during a court hearing on Thursday.
RAF Scampton is one of a number of military sites the Home Office wants to convert into large-scale asylum accommodation to house asylum seekers waiting for their claims to be assessed.
When it announced the plans to convert it in March, the department said it wanted to reduce the cost of housing people in hotels, currently running at around £6m a day.
The Home Office says up to 2,000 asylum seekers could be housed at RAF Scampton, a base famous for being the former home of the Red Arrows and the World War Two Dambusters squadron.
The council had recently secured £300m from a developer to regenerate RAF Scampton into a site to be used for tourism, aviation, education and research.
In court, the council's lawyers said the Home Office's decision to turn the base into migrant accommodation would "kill off" the plan, calling this "perverse".
The email, dated 8 February from a senior official in the Resettlement, Asylum Support and Integration Directorate - does not go into detail about the objections but does make reference to the impact of the asylum proposal on redevelopment plans.
It recommends that the home secretary "agree to stop work on proposals for RAF Scampton", and "immediately notify the local authorities that the Home Office are no longer developing proposals for the site."
In court, Home Office lawyers insisted the regeneration project had been explicitly taken into account by the home secretary.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the department said the military sites would provide "cheaper and more suitable accommodation for those arriving in small boats".
"Not only are these sites more affordable for taxpayers, they are also more manageable for communities, due to healthcare and catering facilities on site, 24/7 security and the purpose built, safe and secure accommodation they provide," the spokesperson added.
West Lindsey District Council is still going ahead with a broader legal challenge to the government's decision to use RAF Scampton.
Braintree District Council in Essex is also involved in similar legal action over plans to turn Wethersfield Airfield into accommodation for asylum seekers.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65577195
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Portuguese parliament votes to allow limited euthanasia - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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Doctors can now help people suffering from incurable diseases or severe injuries to end their lives.
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Europe
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Portugal's parliament has voted to allow medically assisted dying in certain limited circumstances.
Medical professionals will be allowed to help people die if they are in extreme suffering as a result of an incurable disease or severe injury and they are unable to end their own lives.
The vote overturned a series of vetoes exercised by the country's conservative President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
Deputies overwhelmingly voted in favour of the law.
Almost all members of the governing Socialist Party (PS) backed the legislation, as did three smaller left-of-centre parties and the Liberal Initiative (IL). Several members of the largest opposition party, the centre-right Social Democrats (PSD), also supported the bill.
Isabel Moreira, the Socialist Party politician who steered the bill through parliament, hailed the vote as a realisation of freedoms aspired to in Portugal's 1974 Revolution, which ushered in democracy.
Overturning a presidential veto, she said, was "something normal" in a democratic state - not least after a public debate on the subject that has lasted for over three years.
Most PSD members voted against the bill, as did the far-right Chega party, the third largest in parliament, and the Communist Party (PCP).
The Chega leader André Ventura, who like the PSD leadership had demanded a referendum on the subject of euthanasia, told parliament during the debate that he did not believe that the law would ever come into force.
Even if it does, he argued, "there will not be a single doctor in Portugal" prepared to act on its provisions, and any future right-leaning parliament would move to repeal it.
President de Sousa - who in vetoing the bill in April acknowledged that he saw no legal anomalies in it, unlike previous versions that he sent to the Constitutional Court - is obliged to sign it into law within eight days of receiving it, once it is published in the official gazette.
But the reform can be derailed in the meantime, or at least delayed, if one in 10 members of parliament formally ask the Constitutional Court to review the legislation.
Several PSD members of parliament have already declared their intention to do so.
Euthanasia is fully legal in three European countries: Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. But assisted death and passive euthanasia - of various types - are legal in many more European countries.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65574311
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Papua New Guinea minister quits over luxury Coronation trip controversy - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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Papua New Guinea's foreign minister called critics of his daughter's TikTok "primitive animals".
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Asia
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Justin Tkatchenko was one of the Papua New Guinea delegates who went to London for King Charles III's coronation
Papua New Guinea's foreign minister has quit after a controversy over spending on the country's official delegation at King Charles III's coronation.
Justin Tkatchenko travelled with his daughter Savannah, who posted a TikTok showing her first-class plane journey and shopping spree in Singapore.
On Wednesday, he branded her critics "primitive animals".
Mr Tkatchenko's comments sparked protests in the capital Port Moresby on Friday outside Parliament House.
Papua New Guinea is a Commonwealth nation in the Pacific which has King Charles as its head of state.
In a statement on Friday, Mr Tkatchenko said he "stood aside" after consulting with Prime Minister James Marape.
He added that he wanted to ensure recent events did not interfere with upcoming official visits by US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"I also want to ensure the truth of this matter is cleared and the misinformation and lies are corrected," he said.
Mr Tkatchenko and his daughter were criticised for travelling with at least 10 officials to see the coronation of King Charles, at a cost of almost $900,000, according to local newspaper Post-Courier.
Government spokesman Bill Toraso confirmed to the Reuters news agency 10 of its staff had travelled to London, alongside 10 guests.
In the since-deleted video, Savannah filmed her visit to luxury fashion stores in Singapore and her meal in the "stunning" first-class lounge on her way to London.
This prompted anger in Papua New Guinea, where some argued that public money would have been better spent on basic services.
Mr Tkatchenko blasted his daughter's critics in an interview with Australia's ABC.
"She's absolutely traumatised by these primitive animals," he said. "I call them primitive animals because they are."
"Jealousy is a curse. And, you know, these people clearly show that they have got nothing to do in their lives other than to put down people that want to do something good for their country."
He later apologised about his comments, which he said had been "taken the completely wrong way".
He added they were targeted only at individuals who had made "disgusting and vile comments" about his daughter, including "sexual and violent" threats.
Prime Minister James Marape asked Papua New Guineans to accept Mr Tkatchenko's apology, saying in a statement he too had been offended by the remarks.
Mr Tkatchenko's resignation comes ahead of Mr Modi's two-day visit to Papua New Guinea starting on 21 May, which will coincide with Mr Biden's trip the following day.
The White House has confirmed President Biden will stopover in Port Moresby after travelling from the G7 Leaders' Summit in Japan.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-65579650
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Loreen: Who is Sweden's two time Eurovision final winner? - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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She had something none of the other contestants did - experience of winning it before.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Sweden's Loreen was always the one to beat, and her team knew it too.
She had something none of the other contestants competing on Saturday's Eurovision grand final had - the experience of winning it before.
The 39-year-old from Stockholm took the title with her banger Euphoria in Baku, Azerbaijan, in 2012. Now, with Tattoo, and 583 points, she becomes the first woman to win it twice.
It's an experience she said was "overwhelming" as she accepted the glass microphone and took to the stage in Liverpool to repeat her winning performance.
In November 2022, at a gig in Amsterdam where lots of previous Eurovision contestants were performing, Loreen closed the show.
Rumours were circulating she was going to try to enter Eurovision again. And there is no barrier to competing more than once in this contest.
Backstage after the show in her dressing room I cheekily asked if they were true? "Darling," was all she said.
A few weeks later it was confirmed Loreen would be participating in Melodifestivalen - the TV selection show to pick Sweden's participant for the song contest in Stockholm.
It runs for six weeks and has become a must-watch event for Eurovision fans around the world - with viewing parties in different cities.
The crowd at Melodifestivalen is packed to the arena rafters in Stockholm
After one such party at the Swedish church in north London in early March, fans piled into the upstairs of a pub around the corner and Eurovision hits were played.
Tattoo, Loreen's Melodifestivalen entry came on, and people put down drinks to dance to it hard. Bear in mind, it hadn't even won the Swedish selection by then.
But she is royalty in Eurovision world and fans were excited that she was trying again.
When the final rolled around on 11 March in Stockholm, and the BBC's Eurovisioncast went to interview her, she picked up the conversation again with: "Darling...".
"I didn't think I'd do it ever again," she said. "But then they sent me the song and I could just feel it was a good song, and then they popped the question.
It took her team, which included the same songwriter and producers of Euphoria, around four weeks to change her mind and convince her to go for the double gold in Liverpool.
Sweden and Finland picked their acts on the same night - the last two countries to confirm their participants in this year's contest.
Now Loreen was in the mix, the other contestants were excited.
The UK's Mae Muller continuously refers to her as a "queen", while other Eurovision artists openly said that she had it in the bag.
Meanwhile, Tattoo continued to notch up tens of millions of streams.
Pre-party events took place across Europe in the run-up to Liverpool and fans travelled to places like Madrid and London to see her perform her two Eurovision songs live.
Outside the venue in London, many fans had Swedish flags and said they were there specifically for Loreen.
It's hard to encapsulate her cultural significance in the competition's history but she generated a whole new generation of fans of the song contest after 2012 - including myself.
"I love this community," Loreen said, as she posed for selfies. "I hope people feel how much I love them and care".
Once rehearsals began in Liverpool and a full arena of 6,000 people packed into the venue for preview shows this week, it was fascinating to hear the crowd's silence when she sang.
The audience was transfixed by her and nobody wanted to miss a moment.
She created a performance that looked visually stunning on-screen, captivating the 160 million watching at home with pyrotechnics, smoke machines, incredible staging and, most-importantly, stand-out vocals.
Sweden's 2023 win puts it on par with Ireland as having the most victories in the competition with seven.
Next year, the competition will head to Scandinavia - some 50 years since Abba won in 1974 with Waterloo, catapulting them to international stardom.
My prediction for next year's slogan for Eurovision could also be a personal message from me to this year's contestants: "Thank you for the music."
All the build-up, insights and analysis is explored each week on a BBC podcast called Eurovisioncast.
Eurovisioncast is available on BBC Sounds, or search wherever you get your podcasts from.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-65347371
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Sabotage probe after cables cut on Royal Navy warship HMS Glasgow - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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BAE Systems launched an inquiry into "intentional damage" of HMS Glasgow at its yard on the Clyde.
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Glasgow & West Scotland
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HMS Glasgow was floated on the Clyde for the first time in December
An inquiry has been launched into "intentional damage" of a Royal Navy warship at a Scottish shipyard.
Defence contractor BAE Systems said repairs were being assessed after about 60 cables were cut on HMS Glasgow.
The Type 26 frigate is currently being fitted out at BAE's yard at Scotstoun on the River Clyde in Glasgow.
It is the first of eight Type 26 vessels being built. A BAE spokesperson said work had been temporarily paused for an investigation.
The military news website UK Defence Journal, which reported the incident, suggested that it may have been sabotage by a contractor in a payment dispute.
But BAE Systems did not confirm any motive for the damage.
A spokesperson said: "We uncovered a limited number of cables on HMS Glasgow earlier in the week, which appear to have been damaged intentionally.
"We immediately launched an internal investigation, alongside our suppliers, and temporarily paused work on the ship to inspect every area of the vessel and ensure our high standards and quality controls are met."
The firm said work had now resumed and an assessment was in progress "to scope the repairs needed".
A total of eight Type 26 frigates are to be built in Glasgow by BAE Systems
It is understood that about 23,000 cables will be installed on the frigate - including data cables for communication and electrical cables to power the ship's systems.
The incident comes after HMS Glasgow made its first trip in December.
The frigate was moved down the River Clyde on a specialist barge and lowered into Loch Long.
It was then towed back to the yard at Scotstoun for fitting out.
The next two Type 26 ships, HMS Cardiff and the HMS Belfast, are already under construction by BAE Systems on the Clyde.
In November, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced BAE Systems has been awarded a £4.2bn contract to build five more Type 26 frigates, on top of the three already under construction.
In total, Scottish shipyards have orders to build 13 Royal Navy frigates.
Eight Type 26s are being constructed by BAE Systems on the Clyde, while five Type 31 vessels are being built by Babcock at Rosyth in Fife.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-65582895
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Porthmadog: Police officer suspended after punching video - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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North Wales Police says it has suspended an officer who was filmed seemingly punching a suspect.
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Wales
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. North Wales Police said the incident is being "fully investigated"
A police officer who was filmed seemingly punching a man nine times while restraining him has been suspended by North Wales Police.
The incident occurred during the arrest of a man, 34, in Porthmadog, Gwynedd, north-west Wales, on Wednesday.
In the footage, a male officer was seen with his arm around the man's neck and appeared to punch him in the face.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said it had launched an independent investigation.
North Wales Police said on Thursday the matter was being "fully investigated".
The man who was being arrested has been released on bail, the force said.
The video appeared to show the suspect being taken to the ground by a male and female officer after a brief altercation.
Separate footage showed the man being led to a police vehicle with a swollen and bruised face.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-65576683
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Erdogan: Turkey's all-powerful leader of 20 years - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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How Recep Tayyip Erdogan rose from humble beginnings to becoming a political giant.
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Europe
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President Erdogan has spearheaded numerous major infrastructure projects as part of a programme to modernise Turkey
From humble beginnings, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has grown into a political giant, leading Turkey for 20 years and reshaping his country more than any leader since Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the revered father of the modern republic.
Despite being buffeted by a series of crises, he still came out on top in the first round of the 2023 presidential race and is tipped to maintain his grip on power.
He was in his most vulnerable position for years, his opponents convinced they could defeat him.
And for a pugnacious leader who built a proud record on modernising and developing Turkey, he appeared slow to react to the loss of more than 50,000 lives in double earthquakes in February.
After he survived a coup attempt in 2016, he turned his presidency into an ever more powerful executive role, and cracked down on his opponents and dissent.
First as prime minister from 2003 and then as directly elected president since 2014, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has flexed Turkey's muscles as a regional power, championed Islamist causes and been quick to outmanoeuvre political opposition.
Although he is the head of a Nato country, he has positioned himself as a broker in Russia's war in Ukraine and kept Sweden waiting in its bid to join the Western defensive alliance. His muscular diplomacy has riled allies in Europe and beyond.
He has polarised his country but President Erdogan is a proven election winner. His supporters call him reis - "chief".
Accusing his opponents of treating Turkey's electorate with contempt and failing to win them over he declared: "As 85 million, we will protect our ballot, our will and our future."
Born in February 1954, Recep Tayyip Erdogan grew up the son of a coastguard, on Turkey's Black Sea coast. When he was 13, his father decided to move to Istanbul, hoping to give his five children a better upbringing.
The young Erdogan sold lemonade and sesame buns to earn extra cash. He attended an Islamic school before obtaining a degree in management from Istanbul's Marmara University - and playing professional football.
Erdogan supporters like his tough language and defence of traditional Muslim values
In the 1970s and 80s, he was active in Islamist circles, joining Necmettin Erbakan's pro-Islamic Welfare Party. As the party grew in popularity in the 1990s, Mr Erdogan was elected as its candidate for mayor of Istanbul in 1994 and ran the city for the next four years.
But his term came to an end when he was convicted of inciting racial hatred for publicly reading a nationalist poem that included the lines: "The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and the faithful our soldiers."
After serving four months in jail, he returned to politics. But his party had been banned for violating the strict secular principles of the modern Turkish state.
In August 2001, he founded an new, Islamist-rooted party with ally Abdullah Gul. In 2002, the AKP won a majority in parliamentary elections, and the following year Mr Erdogan was appointed prime minister. He remains chairman of the AKP or Justice and Development Party to this day.
From 2003, he spent three terms as prime minister, presiding over a period of steady economic growth and winning praise internationally as a reformer. The middle class expanded and millions were taken out of poverty, as Mr Erdogan prioritised giant infrastructure projects to modernise Turkey.
But critics warned he was becoming increasingly autocratic.
By 2013, protesters took to the streets, partly because of his government's plans to transform a much-loved park in the centre of Istanbul, but also in a challenge to more authoritarian rule. The prime minister condemned the protesters as "capulcu" (riff-raff), and neighbourhoods would clang pots and pans at nine o'clock every night in a spirit of defiance. Allegations of corruption ensnared the sons of three cabinet allies.
The Gezi Park protests marked a turning point in his rule. To his detractors, he was acting more like a sultan from the Ottoman Empire than a democrat.
Mr Erdogan also fell out with a US-based Islamic scholar called Fethullah Gulen, whose social and cultural movement had helped him to victory in three consecutive elections and had been active in removing the military from politics. It was a feud that would have dramatic repercussions for Turkish society.
After a decade of his rule, Mr Erdogan's party also moved to lift a ban on women wearing headscarves in public services that was introduced after a military coup in 1980. The ban was eventually lifted for women in the police, military and judiciary.
Critics complained he had chipped away at the pillars of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's secular republic. While religious himself, Mr Erdogan always denied wanting to impose Islamic values, insisting he supported the rights of Turks to express their religion more openly.
Mr Erdogan's wife Emine often appeared in public in a headscarf
However, he has repeatedly supported criminalising adultery. And as a father of four, he has said "no Muslim family" should consider birth control or family planning. "We will multiply our descendants," he said in May 2016.
He has extolled motherhood, condemned feminists and said men and women cannot be treated equally.
Mr Erdogan has long championed Islamist causes - and was known to give the four-finger salute of Egypt's repressed Muslim Brotherhood.
In July 2020, he oversaw the conversion of Istanbul's historic Hagia Sophia into a mosque, angering many Christians. Built 1,500 years ago as a cathedral, it was made into a mosque by the Ottoman Turks, but Ataturk had turned it into a museum - a symbol of the new secular state.
It was no accident that the president chose to address supporters at evening prayers within hours of the 2023 vote getting under way.
Barred from running again for prime minister, in 2014 he stood for the largely ceremonial role of president in unprecedented direct elections. He had big plans for reforming the post, creating a new constitution that would benefit all Turks and place their country among the world's top 10 economies.
But early in his presidency, he faced two jolts to his power. His party lost its majority in parliament for several months in a 2015 vote, and then months later, in 2016, Turkey witnessed its first violent attempted coup for decades.
Rebel soldiers came close to capturing the president, holidaying at a coastal resort, but he was airlifted to safety. In the early hours of 16 July, he emerged triumphant at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport, to the cheers of supporters. Almost 300 civilians were killed as they blocked the advance of the coup plotters.
The president appeared on national TV and rallied supporters in Istanbul, declaring he was the "chief commander". But the strain was clear when he sobbed openly while giving a speech at the funeral of a close friend, shot with his son by mutinous soldiers.
The plot was blamed on the Gulen movement and led to some 150,000 public servants being sacked and more than 50,000 people being detained, including soldiers, journalists, lawyers, police officers, academics and Kurdish politicians.
This crackdown on critics caused alarm abroad, contributing to frosty relations with the EU: Turkey's bid to join the union has not progressed for years. Arguments over an influx of migrants into Greece exacerbated the ill-feeling.
But from his gleaming, 1,000-room Ak Saray palace overlooking Ankara, President Erdogan's position appeared more secure than ever.
Controversy has surrounded Mr Erdogan's costly and sprawling presidential palace in Ankara
He narrowly won a 2017 referendum granting him sweeping presidential powers, including the right to impose a state of emergency and appoint top public officials as well as intervene in the legal system.
A year later, he secured outright victory in the first round of a presidential poll.
His core vote lies in small Anatolian towns and rural, conservative areas. In 2019, his party lost in the three biggest cities - Istanbul; the capital, Ankara; and Izmir.
Losing the Istanbul mayorship narrowly to Ekrem Imamoglu of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) was a bitter blow to Mr Erdogan, who was the city's mayor in the 1990s. He never accepted the result.
Mr Imamoglu was ahead of the president in the opinion polls before he was barred from running in the May elections. The president and his allies were accused of using the courts to disqualify the popular mayor from the vote.
Turkey's third biggest party, the pro-Kurdish HDP, also feared being banned from the parliamentary vote because of alleged links to Kurdish militants, but instead it decided to stand under a different banner.
Like previous Turkish leaders, President Erdogan has cracked down hard on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Although Turkey has taken in more than 3.5 million refugees fleeing the Syrian civil war, Ankara has also launched operations against Kurdish militias across the borders, alienating Kurds in Turkey.
Mr Erdogan has long held close ties with Russia's Vladimir Putin and has sought a pivotal role as a mediator in the conflict in Ukraine.
Despite being the leader of a Nato state, he bought a Russian anti-missile defence system and chose Russia to build Turkey's first nuclear reactor.
Ahead of the 2023 election, he sought to bolster his credentials with nationalist and conservative voters by accusing the West of moving against him.
"My nation will foil this plot," he asserted, describing it as a kind of breaking point.
He rounded off his 2023 presidential campaign with a visit to the mausoleum of Adnan Menderes, Turkey's first democratically-elected prime minister who was executed in 1961 after a military coup.
His message: "The era of coups and juntas is over."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13746679
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Woman in coma after Earl's Court royal police escort crash - family - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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A police motorcycle was escorting the Duchess of Edinburgh when the crash happened, police say.
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London
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Helen Holland was critically injured in a crash with a police motorcycle escorting the Duchess of Edinburgh on Wednesday
A woman who was critically injured in a crash with a police motorcycle escorting the Duchess of Edinburgh is in a coma in hospital, her family say.
Helen Holland, 81, was hit at the junction of West Cromwell Road and Warwick Road in Earl's Court, west London, at 15:20 BST on Wednesday.
Her family said they were "shocked and sickened" at her injuries.
The police watchdog said their investigation was in its early stages and evidence was being gathered.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct said Ms Holland was in a critical condition in hospital.
Ms Holland, from Birchanger, Essex, had been in London visiting her older sister on Wednesday, her family told the BBC.
Her son and daughter-in-law Martin and Lisa-Marie Holland said they were "shocked and sickened at her extensive injuries".
"She is being well cared for by the NHS who we must thank deeply for their help in keeping her alive," they added.
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, was "grateful for the swift response of emergency services", a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said on Thursday the duchess was "grateful for the swift response of emergency services and will keep abreast of developments".
"Further comment at this time would not be appropriate while the incident is being investigated," they added.
Buckingham Palace previously said the duchess's "heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the injured lady and her family".
The Directorate of Professional Standards has been notified about the crash.
Follow BBC London on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hellobbclondon@bbc.co.uk
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-65570762
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Paul Clark: Former MP jailed over child abuse images - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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Former Labour MP Paul Clark represented Gillingham in Kent for 13 years.
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Kent
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Former Labour MP Paul Clark was sentenced to two years and four months in prison
A former Labour MP who shared child abuse material has been jailed.
Paul Clark, who represented Gillingham in Kent for 13 years, was caught with more than 1,400 images on five electronic devices.
During his career, Clark worked as a parliamentary private secretary to deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and education secretary Ed Balls.
At Maidstone Crown Court, the 66-year-old was sentenced to two years and four months in prison.
Following his arrest in May 2021, Clark's devices were seized for analysis and officers recovered more than 1,400 indecent images of children.
He was subsequently charged with three counts of making indecent images of children and six counts of distributing indecent images of children between April 2013 and May 2021.
The court heard that when Clark was arrested, he initially made no comment, but later told officers, "I know why you're here", and "I kept telling myself to stop".
The former politician's defence barrister, Ronnie Manek KC, said Clark was "a man full of remorse and regret".
The court heard there was no evidence that any of the offending took place while Clark was in office.
Catrin Attwell from the Crown Prosecution Service's organised child sexual abuse unit said the examination of Clark's electronic devices revealed imagery of children as young as three.
"The electronic devices also revealed chatlogs in which Clark discussed his sexual desires, distributed indecent images of children to others for their sexual gratification and used social media to identify and talk to users under the age of 18," she said.
Clark has also been issued with a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and must sign the sex offenders register.
Danielle Pownall, National Crime Agency (NCA) operations manager, said: "Behind a significant number of images in Clark's possession was a vulnerable child being abused, just to satisfy paedophiles.
"He helped fuel the sickening trade in this material by downloading the images and sending them on to other offenders. In doing so, he also re-victimised every child."
Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-65557543
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Elon Musk says he has appointed new Twitter boss - BBC News
| 2023-05-13T00:00:00
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The billionaire has been under pressure to name someone else to lead the company and focus on his other firms.
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Business
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Elon Musk says that he has found a new chief executive to lead Twitter.
He announced the news on the social media platform, which he bought last year for $44bn (£35bn).
Mr Musk did not name the site's new boss but said "she" would start in six weeks, and he would become executive chairman and chief technology officer.
Reports said the incoming leader would be Linda Yaccarino, head of advertising sales at media giant NBCUniversal, which later confirmed her departure.
Mr Musk has been under pressure to name someone else to lead the company and focus on his other businesses.
Last year, after Twitter users voted for him to step down in an online poll, he said: "No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive."
However, although Mr Musk had said he would hand over the reins, it was by no means clear when or even if it would happen.
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Tesla shares rose after the announcement. Mr Musk has previously been accused by shareholders of abandoning Tesla after his takeover of Twitter and damaging the car company's brand.
"We ultimately view this as a major step forward with Musk finally reading the room that has been around this Twitter nightmare," said Dan Ives from investment firm Wedbush Securities.
"Trying to balance Twitter, Tesla and SpaceX as CEOs [is] an impossible task that needed to change."
According to the Wall Street Journal and Variety, NBCUniversal's Ms Yaccarino was in talks to become Twitter's chief executive. The speculation surrounding Ms Yaccarino intensified on Friday when NBCUniversal announced she had left the firm.
Twitter did not comment on the reports.
It is sometimes difficult to know when the billionaire and owner of Twitter is being serious.
Last month, when the BBC asked Mr Musk who was going to succeed him as chief executive of the social media company, he said he had made a dog Twitter's leader.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Elon Musk says his 'dog is the CEO of Twitter'
But if Mr Musk has indeed appointed a female executive, it would make her one of the few women to reach the top of a major technology company.
Women accounted for fewer than 10% of chief executives of tech firms included in America's 500 biggest companies last year.
Although Mr Musk has talked about paid subscribers to Twitter Blue, it is advertising that brings in the vast majority of revenue at Twitter.
The new boss will no doubt seek to improve relationships with advertisers, and smooth their fears over content moderation.
Mr Musk, a self-proclaimed free speech absolutist, has said he took over Twitter to protect free speech. However, advertisers do not want their content next to misinformation or extremist content.
He purchased Twitter in October only after a lawsuit forced him to go through with the deal. Upon taking charge, Mr Musk controversially fired thousands of staff in a bid to cut costs at the firm, which has struggled to be profitable.
In March, Mr Musk said those efforts had paid off and the platform's finances were improving.
And last month he told the BBC that most of the advertisers that had abandoned Twitter immediately after the acquisition had returned.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65562289
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