In 2005, the economist Pietra Rivoli followed the production of a T-shirt from a cotton farm to a Walgreens to understand global trade. Today, she sees a new system arising.
Ten people, including six children, have been killed in an Israeli air strike while waiting to fill water containers in central Gaza on Sunday, emergency service officials say.
Their bodies were sent to Nuseirat's al-Awda Hospital, which also treated 16 injured people, seven of them children, according to a doctor there.
Eyewitnesses said a drone fired a missile at a crowd of people queuing with empty jerry cans next to a water tanker in the heart of the al-Nuseirat refugee camp.
The Israeli military has been asked to comment.
Unverified footage shared online after the strike showed bloodied children and lifeless bodies, with screams of panic and desperation.
Residents rushed to the scene and transported the wounded using private vehicles and donkey carts.
The strike came as Israeli aerial attacks across the Gaza Strip have escalated.
A spokesperson for Gaza's Civil Defense Agency said 19 other Palestinians had been killed on Sunday, in three separate strikes on residential buildings in central Gaza and Gaza City.
Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to Hamas's cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 57,882 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Most of Gaza's population has been displaced multiple times.
More than 90% of homes are estimated to be damaged or destroyed. The healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene systems have collapsed, and there are shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter.
This week, for the first time in 130 days, 75,000 litres of fuel was allowed into Gaza - "far from enough to meet the daily needs of the population and vital civilian aid operations", the United Nations said.
Nine UN agencies warned on Saturday that Gaza's fuel shortage had reached "critical levels", and if fuel ran out, it would affect hospitals, water systems, sanitation networks and bakeries.
"Hospitals are already going dark, maternity, neonatal and intensive care units are failing, and ambulances can no longer move," the UN said.
CCTV footage shows Ukrainian intelligence officer Ivan Voronych in Kyiv shortly before he was shot dead on 10 July
Ukraine says two agents working for Russia have been killed after a senior Ukrainian intelligence officer was shot dead on Thursday.
Col Ivan Voronych was shot several times in a Kyiv car park in board daylight, after being approached by an unidentified assailant who fled the scene.
The head of Ukraine's Security Service (SBU), Vasyl Malyuk, said in a video statement that two agents working for Russia's security service FSB had been tracked down and "liquidated" after they resisted arrest on Sunday morning.
Separately, Ukraine's national police said the agents were "citizens of a foreign country", without giving any further details. There was no immediate response from Moscow.
CCTV footage of the incident on 10 July - verified by the news agency Reuters - showed a man leaving a building in Kyiv's southern Holosiivskyi district shortly after 09:00 local time (06:00 GMT), while another man ran towards him.
The SBU said on Sunday the suspects had been tracking Col Voronych's movements prior to the attack, and were sent the co-ordinates of a hiding place where they found a pistol with a silencer.
It said that after he was shot, they then tried to "lay low," but were found following a joint investigation with national police.
The SBU mainly focuses on internal security and counter-intelligence, like the UK's MI5. But it has played a prominent role in sabotage attacks and assassinations deep inside Russia since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Sources within Ukraine's security services told the BBC that the SBU was responsible for the killing of the high-ranking Russian Gen Igor Kirillov in December 2024.
In April, Gen Yaroslav Moskalik was killed in a car bomb attack in Moscow - which the Kremlin blamed on Kyiv.
Ukraine's security services have never officially admitted responsibility for the deaths.
This week's deaths come after Russian strikes on Ukraine have hit record levels.
Fighting has also continued on the frontlines, with Russia's military making slow gains in eastern Ukraine and retaking control of most of Russia's Kursk region that Kyiv's forces seized in a surprise offensive last summer.
Efforts to negotiate a ceasefire in the more than three-year-long war have faltered.
A man has escaped a French prison by hiding in the bag of a fellow inmate who was leaving prison after serving their sentence, officials told local media.
The prison service has launched an investigation after the man escaped from Lyon-Corbas prison in south-east France on Friday, according to broadcaster BFMTV.
He "took advantage of the liberation of his fellow inmate to hide himself in his luggage and get out", the prison service said in a statement to AFP news agency.
French media have reported that the escaped prisoner was serving several sentences and was also under investigation in a case linked to organised crime.
A judicial investigation has also been opened into possible "escape as part of an organised gang and criminal conspiracy", according to local media.
Last month, the Lyon Bar Association expressed alarm about overcrowding at the Lyon-Corbas prison.
As of 1 May 2025, around 1,200 people were detained in the prison, which has capacity for 678 places, BFMTV had reported.
Doctors also rallied and went on strike over the proposed government plans last year
Thousands of South Korean medical students are set to return to classes after a 17-month long boycott, the Korean Medical Association has announced.
Trainee doctors walked out to oppose government plans to increase medical school admissions, arguing it would lower the quality of the education they received.
No timeline for their return has been provided by the association, but the group has urged the government to restore the academic calendar and improve training conditions.
Prime Minister Kim Min-Seok welcomed the end of the boycott, describing it as a "big step forward".
"It's time to take a deeper look at the medical field, the Congress, and the government, so that citizens can help solve problems," he wrote in a statement on Facebook.
The Korean Medical Association said "we will place our trust in the government and parliament and commit to returning to school to help normalize medical education and the healthcare system," in a reported statement issued jointly with the parliament's education committee and other lobby groups.
The government wanted to increase the annual admittance of medical students to universities from around 3,000 to roughly 5,000, saying more staff were needed to meet demand.
It went back on its plan in March 2025.
Yonhap News Agency reported that 8,305 students will be subject to grade retention, requiring them to repeat the same academic year, according to the education ministry.
2025年4月2日|宣布“对等关税”:特朗普4月2日在白宫玫瑰花园举行“让美国再次富有”(Make America Wealthy Again)记者会,宣布“对等关税”措施。美国对大多数国家征收10%的基准关税,但针对特定国家征收更高税额。中国、欧盟和越南分别面临34%、20%和46%的关税; 日本、韩国、印度、柬埔寨和台湾,分别受到24%、25%、26%、49%和32%进口关税的打击。
The event’s most coveted seats are available only through invitation, reserved for celebrities and dignitaries. Here’s a look at who’s sitting in them.
Queen Camilla, seated bottom center, watched the Wimbledon Tennis Championships from the Royal Box on Centre Court on Wednesday, accompanied by actor Hugh Grant, to her left, during the tenth day of the tournament in London.
Ten people, including six children, have been killed in an Israeli air strike while waiting to fill water containers in central Gaza on Sunday, emergency service officials say.
Their bodies were sent to Nuseirat's al-Awda Hospital, which also treated 16 injured people, seven of them children, according to a doctor there.
Eyewitnesses said a drone fired a missile at a crowd of people queuing with empty jerry cans next to a water tanker in the heart of the al-Nuseirat refugee camp.
The Israeli military has been asked to comment.
Unverified footage shared online after the strike showed bloodied children and lifeless bodies, with screams of panic and desperation.
Residents rushed to the scene and transported the wounded using private vehicles and donkey carts.
The strike came as Israeli aerial attacks across the Gaza Strip have escalated.
A spokesperson for Gaza's Civil Defense Agency said 19 other Palestinians had been killed on Sunday, in three separate strikes on residential buildings in central Gaza and Gaza City.
Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to Hamas's cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 57,882 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Most of Gaza's population has been displaced multiple times.
More than 90% of homes are estimated to be damaged or destroyed. The healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene systems have collapsed, and there are shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter.
This week, for the first time in 130 days, 75,000 litres of fuel was allowed into Gaza - "far from enough to meet the daily needs of the population and vital civilian aid operations", the United Nations said.
Nine UN agencies warned on Saturday that Gaza's fuel shortage had reached "critical levels", and if fuel ran out, it would affect hospitals, water systems, sanitation networks and bakeries.
"Hospitals are already going dark, maternity, neonatal and intensive care units are failing, and ambulances can no longer move," the UN said.
Watch Heidi Alexander "guarantees" electric vehicle costs will be lowered
The government will make it cheaper to buy an electric car (EV) in a bid to get more drivers to make the switch, the Transport Secretary has said.
Heidi Alexander was responding to reports suggesting the government will offer drivers thousands of pounds in grants to cut the price of buying an EV.
People without driveways will be able to have charge points fitted using "cross-pavement gullies" paid for with £25m allocated to councils, she told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.
The Conservatives welcomed the investment but accused the government of "forcing families" into "expensive electric vehicles before the country was ready".
"We are going to be making some announcements later this week on how we make it more affordable for people to buy an electric vehicle," Alexander said.
When pushed on whether this would come in the form of hundreds of millions of pounds in EV grants, as reports suggested, Alexander refused to say.
"I can guarantee to your viewers that we will be making it cheaper for those who do want to make the switch to an electric vehicle, " she added.
The Department for Transport would not comment further.
It comes after Alexander told the Telegraph the high cost of electric vehicles was making people wary, saying "It was right that the government thinks in the round about what we can do to tackle both of the issues, on charging and on the upfront cost of purchase."
Richard Fuller MP, shadow chief Secretary to the Treasury, accused Labour of "forcing families into more expensive electric vehicles before the country is ready."
Alexander admitted she did not have an electric vehicle herself, adding that she lived in a terraced house without a driveway.
"I don't have an electric car... like millions of people in this country - I bought a new car about six years ago, I'm thinking about the next car that I will purchase and it will definitely be an electric vehicle," she said.
Some 21.6% of new cars sold during the first half of the year were electric, according to the latest figures from the UK motor trade association the SMMT.
However, figures remain well below the mandated targets manufacturers have been set, ahead of the ban on selling new petrol and diesel cars which comes into effect in 2030.
In April, Alexander announced manufacturers would have more flexibility on annual targets and face lower fines to allow them to manage the impact of trade tariffs from the US.
Laura Strang, 25, from Oban, Scotland saves money by booking at the last minute.
She even booked her honeymoon just two days before they flew.
"We got married on the 21st of June and waited until the 23rd of June to book a holiday for June 25th.
"We had two weeks in Mexico because it was cheaper than two weeks in Europe."
Laura and her husband Sam Gledhill, 27, paid £1,200 each for 14 nights all-inclusive in Cancun.
"I would say we saved thousands of pounds, based on reviews," she says.
"Ten nights in Spain was coming up the same or more expensive. It's a 10-hour flight over to Mexico so it's a little bit crazy, that."
She says she and her husband have previously booked holidays within a few days of flying to Tenerife, Salou and Marrakesh and have saved money each time.
"Choosing not to go all-inclusive can save money but that depends on the country," says Laura.
"We found Mexico quite expensive when going out and about [so all-inclusive made sense], but you could probably save money in Spain by going half board."
'We travel off-peak and look for kids go free places'
Nathan Hart and his fiancee Cassie Farrelly estimate they saved £3,300 by searching for a holiday that offered a free child's place and going outside school holidays.
They have booked a 10-day all-inclusive holiday in Spain's Balearic Islands at the end of September with their three-year-old twin daughters Alba and Luna.
The couple from Merthyr Tydfil, Wales recommend using the filter option on some of the biggest travel agency websites.
"When searching you can see which places offer one free child place, choose a range of locations and sort by lowest price," says Nathan.
"We found an exceptional hotel for £800 per person plus one free child place, so that's already an £800 saving.
"As well as that, on the booking page you can see a calendar showing the difference in price for the holiday on different dates."
Nathan says when he compared the same holiday in August it was double the price.
"That would have been completely unaffordable for us.
"I now completely understand why parents with older kids travel inside school term time and it's absolutely something we will have to consider when our girls are older."
Parents who take their children out of school for holidays during term time risk being fined, and repeat offenders could face prosecution.
'I swapped my London flat for a Spanish villa'
May Burrough works in central London. But her flat is too small to have lots of people to stay, so last October she invited some close friends to a five-bedroomed villa with a pool on the Costa Brava, Spain.
She estimates it would normally have cost around £3,500 to rent a house like that. But she used a home-swapping site and only paid €100 (£85) - for the cleaning fee - plus around £250 on transport.
Although she saved money on the villa, May and her friends did splash out on food and drink, such as oysters and wine from the region.
"We really had a lush time at the house because we were like, 'well, we're not paying for the accommodation!'"
Because finding someone to do a straight swap with can often be tricky, the Home Exchange site she uses allows her to earn credits by letting people stay in her one-bedroom flat, and then spend them elsewhere.
"It does take a bit of effort. I put valuables away, you have to change the bedsheets, cleaning every time. But it is fully worth it," says May.
She says the site is a bit clunky to use, but she loves what it allows her to do, for an annual fee of around £170.
Recently she booked a one-night stay in Vienne, France so she could go to a concert.
"A hotel was going to be mega-expensive. So I booked a room in someone's home and left in the morning."
'I use my credit card to get loyalty points for flights'
Ebrahim Paruk, 35, from Nuneaton near Coventry in Warwickshire saves money on flights by saving up Virgin Atlantic credit card points.
He does his best to collect as many points as possible.
"I pay for everything I can with the card," he says, including his bills, weekly petrol, and weekly groceries.
"These are day-to-day necessities that you have to buy, so you might as well get a reward," he says.
Describing himself as "the biggest football fan you will probably ever find", he started doing it as a way of going to the major international tournaments.
The best saving he made with the points was a return flight to Düsseldorf to watch Germany v Denmark in the 2024 Euros - he saved £400 on his £800 flight.
To add to the saving, he won the match ticket and hotel accommodation in a competition, meaning the whole trip cost him a total of £500.
Now he uses the same method to save money when booking holidays for him and his wife.
'I house sit and get to see the US'
Annmaree Bancroft is a single mum of a three-year-old and has been house sitting with him 11 times.
Their first time was looking after two dogs for a week in a house in Scarsdale outside New York City.
This year they will be going back there for a few days, this time as friends of the homeowner. Then they will stay on for three more weeks in the US, without paying for any overnight accommodation, thanks to further housesitting stints in Connecticut and Brooklyn.
The cost of the holiday will be the £1,435 she is spending on flights, plus travel between cities and spending money.
"A lot of parents think that once you have a child, you can't travel," says Annmaree.
"That is just not true. There are these alternative ways now to travel and make it affordable."
If you do choose to house sit, it is recommended that you use a reputable site. Annmaree uses the online platform Trusted Housesitters, which charges a membership fee for sitters of £99 to £199 a year.
'We're staycationing in the UK'
House sitting may also be an option for those choosing not to go abroad.
Kayleigh Pennel-Price lives with her partner, two children, aged two and four months, and their golden retriever Kofi in Wiltshire.
She had looked into a family holiday through the traditional means but calculated that it would cost around £3,000 to go on a foreign holiday for a week.
Instead, the whole family is going house sitting in a small village in Buckinghamshire for two weeks.
They will be staying in a home with a sauna, swimming pool and a private woodland, to look after two Yorkshire terriers, booked through the website HouseSit Match.
"We mostly plan to just stay there," says Kayleigh, who thinks the whole trip could cost £250.
"We love both abroad and UK holidays, but we don't like to leave our dog," she says. "And with the two babies, abroad is a little harder."
Diogo Jota (right) scored 65 goals in 182 appearances for Liverpool.
Published
Liverpool boss Arne Slot says his players should be themselves and follow their emotions as they come to terms with the death of team-mate Diogo Jota.
Portugal forward Jota and his brother Andre Silva died in a car crash on 3 July in the Spanish province of Zamora.
The Reds play their first pre-season friendly since Jota's death at Preston North End at 15:00 BST on Sunday.
In his first interview since Jota's death, Slot told Liverpool TV: "If we want to laugh, we laugh; if we want to cry, we're going to cry.
"If they want to train they can train, if they don't want to train they can not train. But be yourself, don't think you have to be different than your emotions tell you.
"We will always carry him with us in our hearts, in our thoughts, wherever we go."
The funeral of the brothers took place in their hometown of Gondomar last Saturday when a large Liverpool delegation, including Slot, were in attendance.
There have also been floral tributes at Anfield, where Jota's wife Rute Cardoso, members of the brothers' family and Liverpool's squad all visited on Friday to pay their respects.
Liverpool have retired Jota's number 20 shirt across their men's, women's and academy teams in "honour and memory" of the former Wolves forward.
A number of tributes have been planned for the Preston game, including a pre-match rendition of Liverpool's anthem You'll Never Walk Alone and a minute's silence, with both sets of players wearing black armbands.
"Nothing seems to be important if we think of what has happened," said Slot. "But we are a football club and we need to train and we need to play again, if we want it or not.
"What I've said to the players, I can say it here as well. It's very difficult to find the right words because we constantly debate what is appropriate. What is appropriate in our actions? What is appropriate [for] what we have to say? Can we train again? Can we laugh again? Can we be angry if there's a wrong decision?
"And I've said to them, maybe the best thing for us to do is handle this situation like Jota was. And what I meant with that is that Jota was always himself, it didn't matter if he was talking to me, to his team-mates, to the staff, he was always himself. So let us try to be ourselves as well."
Jota scored 65 goals in 182 appearances for Liverpool, helping them win the FA Cup and League Cup in 2022 and the Premier League title last season.
He played his final match for Portugal as they beat Spain in the final of the Nations League on 8 June. He scored 14 goals in 49 internationals.
The Guardia Civil told BBC Sport that Jota and his brother died after their car, a Lamborghini, left the road due to a tyre blowout while overtaking another vehicle.
The brothers had been heading to the Spanish port of Santander so Jota could return to Liverpool for pre-season training.
Ten people, including six children, have been killed in an Israeli air strike while waiting to fill water containers in central Gaza on Sunday, emergency service officials say.
Their bodies were sent to Nuseirat's al-Awda Hospital, which also treated 16 injured people, seven of them children, according to a doctor there.
Eyewitnesses said a drone fired a missile at a crowd of people queuing with empty jerry cans next to a water tanker in the heart of the al-Nuseirat refugee camp.
The Israeli military has been asked to comment.
Unverified footage shared online after the strike showed bloodied children and lifeless bodies, with screams of panic and desperation.
Residents rushed to the scene and transported the wounded using private vehicles and donkey carts.
The strike came as Israeli aerial attacks across the Gaza Strip have escalated.
A spokesperson for Gaza's Civil Defense Agency said 19 other Palestinians had been killed on Sunday, in three separate strikes on residential buildings in central Gaza and Gaza City.
Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to Hamas's cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 57,882 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Most of Gaza's population has been displaced multiple times.
More than 90% of homes are estimated to be damaged or destroyed. The healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene systems have collapsed, and there are shortages of food, fuel, medicine and shelter.
This week, for the first time in 130 days, 75,000 litres of fuel was allowed into Gaza - "far from enough to meet the daily needs of the population and vital civilian aid operations", the United Nations said.
Nine UN agencies warned on Saturday that Gaza's fuel shortage had reached "critical levels", and if fuel ran out, it would affect hospitals, water systems, sanitation networks and bakeries.
"Hospitals are already going dark, maternity, neonatal and intensive care units are failing, and ambulances can no longer move," the UN said.
Alder Hey said it would not officially comment on individual cases to respect patient confidentiality but the death has been confirmed to the BBC.
No details have been released about whether the child was being treated for other health problems or their vaccination status.
It is thought 17 children have been treated at Alder Hey for the virus since June.
The child is believed to be only the second in the UK in a decade to have died after contracting measles, after Renae Archer, of Salford, Greater Manchester, died aged 10 in 2023.
PA Media
There has been a spike in cases at Liverpool's Alder Hey Children's Hospital
An Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said: "To respect patient confidentiality, we can't comment on individual cases.
"We are concerned about the increasing number of children and young people who are contracting measles.
"Measles is a highly contagious viral illness which can cause children to be seriously unwell, requiring hospital treatment, and in rare cases, death.".
The hospital warned parents earlier this week that a fall in MMR vaccine uptake was behind the spike in measles cases in the region.
Chief nurse Nathan Askew said he felt misunderstandings around the vaccine were to blame.
"This vaccine's been in use for well over 50 years. It's very safe, tried and tested," he said.
Patients at the site include those with compromised immunity due to other health issues "making them more susceptible to infections, including measles, an Alder Hey spokesperson said.
Watch: New Ofcom rules "foundation" for safer internet but "not end of the conversation" says Heidi Alexander
The government is considering further action to keep children safe online and will not "sit back and wait" on the issue, a cabinet minister has said.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander told the BBC new age-verification rules beginning later this month would have a "really important" impact.
She said the regulations, to be overseen by media regulator Ofcom, would not be the "end of the conversation" on online safety.
Ofcom boss Melanie Dawes vowed to rigorously enforce the new requirements, adding the regulator "means business". But she acknowledged Ofcom may require further legal powers in order to keep pace with the rapidly developing impact of artificial intelligence (AI).
Under new powers introduced by the Online Safety Act and passed under the previous Tory government, Ofcom will require internet companies to conduct stricter age verification methods to check whether a user is under 18.
A new code of practice, to apply from 25 July, will also require platforms to change algorithms affecting what is shown in children's feeds to filter out harmful content.
At the last election, Labour committed to "build on" the previous government's law and consider further measures to keep children safe.
But it is yet to publish fresh legislation of its own, with ministers arguing the existing set of new regulations need to be rolled out first.
'Addictive habits'
Speaking to Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Alexander said the new rules would bring in "really robust safeguards" to ensure proper age verification.
But she added: "We are very clear as a government that this is the foundation for a safer online experience for children, but it is not the end of the conversation".
She said Technology Secretary Peter Kyle was looking at further action in a number of areas, including how to address "addictive habits" among children, although she did not provide further details.
"We're not going to be a government that sits back and waits on this, we want to address it," she added.
Ofcom's chief executive told the programme the new rules would mean tech platforms would have to change their content algorithms "very significantly".
Ms Dawes said the regulator would give websites some flexibility when deciding which age-verification tools to use, but pledged that those failing to put adequate checks in place "will hear from us with enforcement action".
However, she acknowledged some newer forms of AI "may not" be covered be powers contained in the existing legislation.
"There may need to be some changes to the legislation to cover that," she added.
Resident doctors took part in 11 separate strikes during 2023 and 2024
Talks between Health Secretary Wes Streeting and the British Medical Association (BMA) will take place next week in a bid to avert strike action in England's NHS, the BBC understands.
Resident doctors, previously known as junior doctors, announced earlier this week that they will walk out for five consecutive days from 25 July until 30 July over a dispute about pay with the government.
The BMA said strikes would only be called off if next week's talks produce an offer it can put to its members.
The government has insisted it cannot improve its offer of a 5.4% increase for this year.
Resident doctors were awarded a 5.4% pay rise for this financial year - which will go into pay packets from August - following a 22% increase over the previous two years.
But they are arguing that pay in real terms is still around 20% lower than it was in 2008 and have called for the government to set out a pathway to restoring its value.
They believe that this year's 5.4% increase doesn't take them far enough down that path.
Health department sources have told the BBC the health secretary is sympathetic to improving working conditions for resident doctors, but he won't budge on salaries.
After the BMA's strike announcement, Streeting called the strike "unnecessary and unreasonable", adding: "The NHS is hanging by a thread - why on earth are they threatening to pull it?"
He said the government was "ready and willing" to work with the BMA, but any further strike action would be a disaster for patients and push back the progress made in reducing waiting lists in England.
BMA resident doctor committee co-chairs, Dr Melissa Ryan and Dr Ross Nieuwoudt, said on Wednesday they had been left with "no choice" but to strike without a "credible offer to keep us on the path to restore our pay".
Lord Robert Winston, a professor and TV doctor who was a pioneer of IVF treatment, resigned from the BMA on Friday over the planned strikes.
In an interview with The Times, he urged against strike action and said it could damage people's trust in the profession.
Resident doctors took part in 11 separate strikes during 2023 and 2024.
In order to end the previous strikes last year the incoming Labour government awarded a backdated increase worth 22% over two years.
The action in England will not affect resident doctors in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, who negotiate directly with their devolved governments on pay.
Resident doctors' basic salaries in England range from £37,000 to £70,000 a year for a 40-hour week, depending on experience, with extra payments for working nightshifts and weekends.
That does not include the latest 5.4% average pay award for this year which will start to be paid into wage packets from August.
Absorbing Sinner-Alcaraz rivalry set for next chapter
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are meeting for the second successive Grand Slam men's singles final
Published
There are a number of factors which turn an exciting rivalry into an epic, enduring duel that transcends the sport.
The core talent. The blend of personalities. The gripping encounters on the biggest stages.
The tussle between Italy's Jannik Sinner and Spain's Carlos Alcaraz - ranked one and two in the men's game - has all those components.
It also has arguably the most important ingredient: each player being pushed to a greater height by the other.
On Sunday, the pair will meet again in the Wimbledon final - where Sinner aims to win his first title and Alcaraz bids for a rare third in a row.
A renewal of their acquaintance at the All England Club comes just 35 days after Alcaraz beat Sinner in an all-time classic French Open final.
Asked about their rivalry, Alcaraz said: "I'm not going to say I'm feeling like when Rafa [Nadal] and Roger [Federer] are playing.
"But I'm feeling like it is a different energy when we are facing each other than other players."
Sinner, 23, and 22-year-old Alcaraz have created a duopoly in the men's game over the past two seasons.
Because of his brilliance, Sinner has remained the world number one - despite serving a three-month doping ban this year in a case which rocked the sport.
The pair have gained a grip on the Grand Slam tournaments, winning the past six majors between them.
Their epic French Open battle was another demonstration of how the absorbing rivalry - which the ATP Tour has long pinned its hopes on filling the Federer-Nadal-Novak Djokovic void - could be a blockbuster for years to come.
"You cannot compare what the 'Big Three' did for 15-plus years. [Our rivalry] is not that big yet," said three-time Grand Slam champion Sinner, who is aiming for his first non-hard court major.
"This is the second consecutive Grand Slam that we are in the final and playing each other - I believe it's good for the sport.
"The more rivalries we have from now on, the better it is, because people want to see young player going against each other."
The quality, excitement and tension of the recent Roland Garros final accelerated interest in the pair.
Alcaraz fighting back from two sets down - and having saved three championship points - to win a five-setter in over five hours has whetted the appetite for Wimbledon.
The five-time major champion expects to be pushed "to the limit" again at the All England Club.
"It's going to be a great day, a great final. I'm just excited about it," he said.
"I just hope not to be five and a half hours again. But if I have to, I will."
Ice versus fire - the 21st century version
The contrasting personalities are reminiscent of another pair who created a rivalry which continues to endure almost 50 years later.
Bjorn Borg was the 'ice' compared to John McEnroe's 'fire' and there are similar characteristics in Sinner and Alcaraz.
Sinner is ice-cold during matches and little appears to faze the mild-mannered Italian - on or off court.
He was able to stay sanguine during the doping controversy and has also moved on quickly from the brutal nature of his French Open defeat.
"We keep talking about the fact that he's got really good self-awareness and puts everything into perspective," Sinner's coach Darren Cahill told BBC Sport.
"I think that's part of the reason why he's been able to do what he's been able to do here.
"I would have been heartbroken after losing a final where I had match points, but he sees the big picture really well and is why he's able to bounce back so quickly."
Alcaraz is not as combustible as the famously volatile McEnroe. But he does possess a more colourful side than Sinner.
He bellows 'Vamos' when big moments go his way in matches and also regularly shows his emotion by breaking out into beaming smiles.
The natural warmth and authenticity of the Spaniard, plus his array of stunning shot-making, makes him relatable to fans.
"He's got the X-Factor - he's a performer," American great Billie Jean King told BBC Sport.
Who's got the advantage?
Sinner has been the dominant player on the ATP Tour for the past two seasons, winning 98 of his 109 matches (90%) and lifting nine titles.
In the same timeframe, Alcaraz has won 102 of his 120 matches (85%) and claimed nine titles.
But it is the Spaniard who is dominating their head-to-head record.
The triumph on the Paris clay was his fifth straight victory over Sinner, extending his dominance to eight wins from their 12 career meetings.
"When Sinner brings his A game there is no-one that can beat him - other than Alcaraz," said seven-time major champion McEnroe, who is a BBC Sport analyst during the championships.
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Sinner won their only previous meeting at Wimbledon, back in 2022 when he won 6-1 6-4 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 in the last 16
"On the other hand if Alcaraz doesn't bring his A game then Sinner will win every time. So it's going to be extremely interesting."
Alcaraz has moved through the gears nicely at the All England Club and goes into the final - unlike Sinner - having suffered no injury problems over the past fortnight.
After beating Djokovic in the semi-finals, Sinner said the elbow injury he suffered in the fourth round against Grigor Dimitrov would provide "no issues" on Sunday.
"I will give a slight edge to Carlos as a favourite because of the two titles he's won here and the way he's playing and the confidence he has right now," seven-time champion Djokovic said.
"But it's just a slight advantage because Jannik is hitting the ball extremely well.
"It's going to be, again, a very close match-up like we had in Paris."
Attorney General Pam Bondi said she had ordered the charges to be dropped
The US attorney general has ordered charges to be dropped against a doctor accused of destroying Covid-19 vaccines worth $28,000 (£20,742), distributing fake vaccination record cards, and giving children saline shots instead of the vaccine at their parents' request.
Pam Bondi said Dr Michael Kirk Moore Jr. "gave his patients a choice when the federal government refused to do so". He had been indicted by the Justice Department under the Biden administration in 2023.
The plastic surgeon was already on trial in Utah, where he had pleaded not guilty to all charges including conspiracy to defraud the US.
The acting US Attorney for the district of Utah, Felice John Viti, filed to dismiss the charges on Saturday, saying this was "in the interests of justice".
Dr Moore was accused of providing fraudulently completed vaccination certificates for more than 1,900 vaccine doses, the US Attorney's office in Utah said in 2023.
These were allegedly provided, without administering the vaccine, for a charge of $50 (£37), in exchange for direct cash payments or donations to a specific charity.
The government also accused him of giving children saline shots at their parents' request so that the "children would think they were receiving a COVID-19 vaccine," according to the US attorney's office.
He was accused alongside his company - Plastic Surgery Institute of Utah, Inc. - and three others of seeking to defraud the US and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Bondi wrote on X on Saturday that she had ordered the Justice Department to drop the charges because Dr Moore "did not deserve the years in prison he was facing".
She said US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and Senator Mike Lee, both Republicans, had brought the case to her attention, calling them champions for "ending the weaponization of government".
Lee thanked the attorney general for "standing with the countless Americans who endured too many official lies, mandates, and lockdowns during COVID".
Dr Moore and other defendants faced up to 35 years in prison on multiple charges, according to the Associated Press news agency.
The singer and activist Bob Geldof at home in London. The Live Aid shows were seen by about 1.5 billion people in more than 150 countries and would go on to raise more than $140 million.