Published
15 minutes ago

Israeli forces have recovered the body of one of the hostages from Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has said.

The army confirmed that Ron Benjamin, 53, was found alongside the bodies of three other hostages whose identities were confirmed on Friday.

The 53-year-old had been taking part in a group cycle ride near the Gaza border when the Hamas attack began on 7 October.

About 1,200 people were killed during the unprecedented attack when Hamas gunmen burst into Israel. They took 252 others back to Gaza as hostages.

News of Mr Benjamin's death comes one day after Israeli authorities confirmed they had recovered the bodies of three other hostages - Shani Louk, Amit Buskila, and Itzhak Gelerenter.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

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Published
1 hour ago

Georgia's president has vetoed a divisive "foreign agent" law that has sparked weeks of mass street protests.

On Tuesday MPs passed the controversial law which requires NGOs and independent media that receive more than 20% of their funding from foreign donors to register as organisations "bearing the interests of a foreign power".

Salome Zourabichvili said the law "in its essence and spirit, is fundamentally Russian" and an obstacle to Georgia's path to EU membership.

However, her veto is only symbolic as the prime minister's Georgian Dream party has enough members in parliament to override it by holding another vote.

In a televised address broadcast on Saturday, the president said her veto was "legally justified".

"This law cannot be a subject to any change, improvement and embellishment, and thus it’s a very simple veto. This law must be withdrawn, " she said.

Ms Zourabichvili - an opponent of prime minister Irakli Kobakhidze - was widely expected to veto the law.

Meanwhile, Mr Kobakhidze has called on youth protesters to select at least 10 representatives to join a public discussion with him on the controversial law.

According to The Interpressnews agency reported on Friday, he said: "I am ready to not only listen to their critical remarks, but in specific cases, share them. I expect the same attitude from youths."

Critics say the law is inspired by authoritarian legislation neighbouring Russia uses to crush dissent.

Some are concerned that the law will derail the country's path to EU membership as conditions for membership involve candidate countries implementing reforms on democracy and the functioning of the state, the rule of law, fundamental rights and reform of public administration.

Georgia was granted EU candidate status in December 2023.

Massive rallies against the bill have gripped the Caucasus country for nearly a month. Photos and footage posted online in recent days appeared to show violent altercations between protesters and police.

Published
18 May 2024, 15:58 BST

Updated 10 minutes ago

Thousands of people who were having to boil their water in Devon due to a parasite outbreak are being told they no longer have to.

South West Water (SWW) said it was no longer advising 14,500 households in Brixham to boil their water before drinking it.

The company said 17,000 households and businesses had been affected by the boil water notice after traces of cryptosporidium, a parasite that causes diarrhoea, was identified in its network on Wednesday.

It is still advising about 2,500 properties in Hillhead, upper parts of Brixham and Kingswear to continue to boil their drinking water.

Health officials have said there are 46 confirmed cases of cryptosporidiosis linked to the outbreak, with more than 100 other people reporting symptoms.

Conservative MP Anthony Mangnall, whose Totnes constituency covers Brixham, welcomed restrictions being lifted, but said the situation had been "totally unacceptable".

“I share the anger of the residents of Brixham and the surrounding area, and we need clear answers as to why this has happened and what has caused it," he added

Laura Flowerdew, SWW's chief customer officer, apologised for what happened.

"This situation has caused an immense amount of disruption, distress and anxiety," she said.

"We are truly sorry this has happened."

The water company said it was increasing the compensation offered to the remaining affected residents by £100, bringing the total they will receive to £215.

SWW said a damaged valve on private land in the Hillhead supply area was identified as the "possible cause of contamination".

It said the area had "since been isolated from the network and repaired".

The water company said people who are unsure if they remain in the area affected by the parasite should visit its postcode checker, external or call them.

Speaking to the BBC, Ms Flowerdew could not say when the boil water notice would be lifted for the remaining 2,500 properties.

"We are expecting that work to continue over the weekend and into next week," she said.

"Public health is absolutely critical... so we are looking to ensure we have done everything we need to before we lift the notice.

"We are expecting this to extend a number of days."

The water company on Tuesday said tap water in the town was safe to drink, but U-turned less than 24 hours later and advised residents to start boiling their water.

Residents have expressed anger at SWW's communication since the start of the parasite outbreak.

Asked about the U-turn, Ms Flowerdew said: "All the decisions we have made have all been evidence-based.

"When we issued the notice on Tuesday, we had no indication the water supply had signs of the cryptosporidium in it.

"As soon as we got information that provided sound evidence - we put a notice in place."

Ms Flowerdew said the firm would be looking for "evidence" supporting the water was safe to drink before the boil notice was fully lifted.

“The important thing now is to look in the Hillhead area and make sure we have absolutely confirmed the source of the issue and to fix that issue," she said.

"Public health is of paramount importance."

Mother-of-two Michaela Lewis said she no longer had confidence in the quality of the water supply.

She said her five-year-old daughter had been unwell for about two weeks.

"I'm very angry," she said.

"I understand these things happen, the response is what's really angered me.

"It's just not good enough... to say they water was safe when they didn't have adequate evidence to back that up."

Ms Flowerdew said in response: "As a mother myself, I find that incredibly distressing and I can only apologise."

Published
11 minutes ago

Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters marched through central London on Saturday, reiterating calls for a ceasefire in Gaza.

The protest marked the 76th anniversary of what Palestinians refer to as the Nakba - the mass displacement of people after the creation of Israel in 1948.

The Metropolitan Police said it had held "regular discussions" with organisers the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign to minimise disruption.

A counter-demonstration by pro-Israel group Enough is Enough took place at Piccadilly Circus at the same time.

Ch Supt Colin Wingrove, leading this weekend’s policing operation, said: "All Londoners have a right to have their voices heard, just as they also have a right to go about their lives without fear or being subject to serious disruption."

The pro-Palestinian march was the 14th such event held in London since the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October, in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 240 kidnapped.

After the 7 October attack, Israel launched an offensive in Gaza that has killed more than 35,000 people, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

Demonstrators, some carrying "ceasefire now" placards, were heard singing and chanting as they made their way from Regent's Street to Whitehall, where they gathered for speeches.

One protester, Sandi, a Palestinian who has family in Gaza, said that she had not heard from her relatives there for the last 10 days.

"The internet connection is down, so sometimes it's longer - weeks - that I don't hear from them," she told the BBC.

"Like everyone else in Gaza, they're suffering from a lack of safety, access to food, internet, medical aid and freedom of movement."

Stephen Kapos, a Holocaust survivor, said he was attending the march to express solidarity with the Palestinian people and to protest against what he described as Israeli leaders' "misuse of the memory of the Holocaust".

"It is an insult to my family, an insult to the memory of the Holocaust and an insult to the suffering of that period. I'm protesting against that. Not in our name," he said.

The Palestinian Solidarity Campaign said demonstrators were calling "again for action to end the genocide in Gaza".

The UN's top court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), is considering a case brought by South Africa in January accusing Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel has rejected the claim as false and "grossly distorted".

The ICJ is not expected to deliver a ruling on the genocide case for several years.

Published
27 minutes ago

Customers have been unable to use Marks and Spencer's website and app for several hours after it was hit by a technical issue.

The website temporarily came back online but ongoing issues remain.

Users see an error message on the homepage and cannot navigate to any part of the website.

An M&S spokeswoman told the BBC a problem with a third party provider was "temporarily affecting access".

The company added: "We hope to be back up and running soon and are sorry to customers for the inconvenience caused."

Problems with access to the website and app were first reported on X, formerly Twitter, from around lunchtime on Saturday.

The website came back online just before 17:15 BST for a short time before returning to the original error message. The app is still showing a notice about a technical glitch.

It said: "Sorry you can't shop through the app right now.

"We're busy making some planned changes, but will be back soon."

Some customers complained on social media that they had been unable to use their Sparks card - the company's loyalty scheme - as they did not have a physical card and claimed they had lost out on savings.

In March, supermarket Sainsbury's was also hit with technical issues. It was unable to carry out most of its online grocery orders after an overnight update caused contactless payments to fail.

Police are continuing to question three people on suspicion of murder after a woman was found dead in east Belfast.

Kathryn Parton - known as Kat - was discovered with serious head injuries in a house in Madrid Street on Wednesday afternoon.

The 34-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.

The three who remain in custody are a woman aged 43 and two men aged 22 and 23.

Earlier this week, the PSNI said they were trying to establish the exact circumstances of her death.

Belfast East MP Gavin Robinson described the incident as heart-breaking.

The charity Women's Aid said Ms Parton was the 19th woman to be killed in Northern Ireland since 2020.