Mayor Eric Adams of New York has sought to argue that his first-term wins have earned him the right to serve a second. But he cannot shake the stench of corruption around his administration.
Mayor Eric Adams, center, at the opening of his Manhattan campaign headquarters in Harlem on Wednesday. Shortly after the event, a key adviser passed a reporter a wad of cash, hidden in a bag of potato chips.
在2018年10月和2019年3月两架737 MAX 8客机相继坠毁且共造成346人遇难之后，中国是最后一个恢复接收波音飞机订单的国家，直到2023年12月才重新开始交付。不过在2024年5月至6月间，交付工作又一次暂停，原因是中国民用航空局（CAAC）要求波音对安装在737、787梦幻客机以及新款777X项目上的一块锂电池飞行记录仪进行额外认证。
Court hearings to decide on the steel firm's future had previously been adjourned several times
The UK's third-largest steelworks has been placed under government control, creating an uncertain future for nearly 1,500 workers in Rotherham and Sheffield.
Insolvency courts granted a compulsory winding up order sought by creditors owed hundreds of millions of pounds by Speciality Steels UK (SSUK) – part of the Liberty Steel metals empire of controversial tycoon Sanjeev Gupta.
The company will now be placed in the hands of the Official Receiver and special managers from consultancy firm Teneo, which has been appointed to run it on behalf of the liquidator.
The government has agreed to cover the ongoing wages and costs of the plant while a buyer for is sought.
Liberty Steel said the decision to put the firm into compulsory liquidation was "irrational".
Chief transformation officer Jeffrey Kabel said the move would "impose prolonged uncertainty and significant costs on UK taxpayers for settlements and related expenses, despite the availability of a commercial solution".
Lawyers for Mr Gupta had applied for a four-week adjournment to allow time to place the company in a "pre-pack administration", which allows an insolvent company to sell its assets to a bidder.
He wanted funding from investment giant BlackRock and Fidera, which invests in distressed companies, to buy back the business.
Winding up the company, his lawyers argued, could place the business in "free fall" and incur significant disruption, cost and risk to a nationally important steel company and its 1,500 workers.
The judge found the company was "hopelessly insolvent" with £600,000 in the bank, a monthly wage bill of £3.7m, supported by a parent group that has 15 entities in insolvency proceedings across nine jurisdictions.
A record 111,000 asylum applications were made to the UK during the year to June, but the government is processing cases faster, new Home Office figures show.
This is an increase of 14% from the previous year, and it is higher than the peak of 103,000 in 2002.
But officials are processing more cases than before the general election, meaning that over the long term there may be fewer people in the system needing housing support.
The latest data, which covers Labour's first year in office, comes as the government faces growing pressure over immigration.
The figures also showed 71,000 cases were awaiting an initial decision, relating to 91,000 people.
That backlog is almost half the peak of 134,000 cases at the end of June 2023, and means that there are 18,536 fewer people waiting for a decision today than there were in March.
The numbers of asylum seekers in hotels has risen slightly to 32,059 - a figure higher than when Labour came to power, but well below a peak of 56,000 in September 2023 under the Conservatives.
Labour has pledged to clear the backlog by 2029, pledging to cut Channel crossings and to open new government-run accommodation.
Ministers hope to end the use of hotels over the long term. However that depends on how quickly they can remove people who have no case to be in the UK.
Asylum seekers who cannot financially support themselves are placed in housing while their claims and appeals are considered.
In the year ending June 2025, the Home Office forcibly removed 9,100 people – up a quarter on the previous year. More than half were foreign national offenders who were being deported at the end of sentences.
Meanwhile, the High Court on Tuesday ruled a hotel in Epping, Essex, should stop housing asylum seekers after a legal challenge by the local council.
Other councils across the country, including some run by Labour, are now considering legal action.
Government spending on asylum in the UK was down by 12%, the figures show.
The total stood at £4.76bn in the year ending March 2025, down from £5.38bn the previous year.
It covers Home Office costs related to asylum, including direct cash support and accommodation, but not costs relating to intercepting migrants crossing the Channel.
Specific costs for hotels were not published in the latest data, but Home Office figures released in July showed £2.1bn was spent on hotel accommodation - down from £3bn the previous year.
The data also showed small boat arrivals accounted for 43,000, or 88%, of arrivals in the period, which represented 38% more than the previous year.
This is slightly fewer than the peak in 2022, which saw 46,000 people arrive by small boat.
More than half the people arriving to June 2025 came from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iran, Sudan and Syria, according to the government numbers.
Afghans were the most common nationality amongst small boat arrivals in the year ending June 2025, accounting for 15% of small boat arrivals (6,400).
Since January 2018, three-quarters of small boat arrivals are men, while only 16% are children.
According to the data, 5,011 children - those under the age of 18 - crossed by small boat to apply for asylum in the year to June 2025.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said Labour has "strengthened Britain's visa and immigration controls, cut asylum costs and sharply increased enforcement and returns".
She blamed the "broken immigration and asylum system" and said the previous Conservative government had left it in "chaos".
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the government is "failing" and has lost control of our borders".
Liberal Democrat spokesperson Lisa Smart MP said the asylum backlog has been "far too large for far too long".
"The Conservatives trashed our immigration system and let numbers spiral. Now this Labour government is failing to get a grip on the crisis," she said.
Chris Brain led the Nine O'Clock Service from 1984 to 1995
Heralded by Church of England leaders for its "ground-breaking" nightclub style, the Nine O'Clock Service attracted hundreds of young people to its meetings in Sheffield in the 1980s and 1990s.
But, during the seven-week trial of its leader, Chris Brain, jurors heard how as the service's popularity exploded, the former priest used his power to isolate followers and sexually assault women in his congregation.
Now after a jury has found him guilty of 17 counts of indecent assault, not guilty of 15 and failed to reach verdicts on five outstanding charges, the BBC examines his rise and fall.
When Chris Brain first began attending services at St Thomas Crookes in Sheffield in the 1980s, he was seen as charismatic, engaging and passionate.
But he believed the Church of England needed to move away from "fancy golf club Christianity" if it wanted to attract a younger generation - and he dreamed of combining modern music with the power of worship.
The Reverend Robert Warren, who was the vicar at St Thomas's at the time, told jurors at Inner London Crown Court that he gave Brain and his friends the chance to put the idea into practice in 1984, offering him a slot at 21:00 on a Sunday night.
Brain - who was a member of a Christian rock band called Present Tense - incorporated live music and multimedia displays into the services, putting on events more akin to a nightclub than a church.
Paul Hatton, who was a 20-something microbiology student at Sheffield Polytechnic at the time, told the court the services were "exciting" and "special" in their "enthusiasm" for young people.
"You would get there at about half past eight at night. The place was blacked out, the music was brilliant," he said.
Another former member put it more abruptly, saying in a BBC documentary from 1995: "We were sticking two fingers up to normal, middle class church ways of behaviour."
Chris Brain admitted to jurors during his trial that his leadership style was sometimes "overbearing"
The services, which became known as The Nine O'Clock Service, or NOS, were an instant hit.
Mr Warren told the court that over the next few years, the congregation swelled to about 400, and by the 1990s the NOS had to move to a bigger venue at the city's Ponds Forge sports complex as people signed up in their droves.
The court heard how on one occasion, the Bishop of Sheffield confirmed 93 people in one service alone.
George Carey, shortly before his appointment as Archbishop of Canterbury, told Brain he would like to see a Nine O'Clock Service "in every town and city in Britain", according to the 1995 documentary.
By 1991, the Diocese of Sheffield had fast-tracked Brain's route to the priesthood, allowing him to become ordained after just two years, instead of the usual four.
'God now, in your face': Chris Brain and others perform at Greenbelt festival in 1992
Away from the praise and the bright lights, however, members of the congregation described Brain as "manipulative and dictatorial".
Some told the court his vision for NOS went well beyond the services themselves, including a "vetting process" to join the congregation - and new members were asked if they would make "a vow of poverty".
Witness Rachel Hurding - not one of the women Brain was charged with assaulting - said all NOS members donated 10% of their earnings to a central pot.
Meanwhile, Bridget Evans - also not one of the complainants - said she gave about £40,000 to NOS over her seven years as a member, and she remembered feeling pressured by Brain into making donations.
Ms Evans told the court she had once handed over money from her father which was meant to fund a trip to South Africa for her brother's wedding, because Brain persuaded her it would be better for her not to go and for NOS to use the money to buy a van instead.
"His style of leadership, in retrospect I would call it very manipulative. At the time, I would say, it was very dictatorial," Ms Evans said.
"We were all pulled into the belief there was a vision for what we were about, what the aim of NOS was [and] that people had to accept the way it was in order to follow the common vision."
During his trial, Brain denied financially exploiting or controlling members of his congregation.
He told jurors he could sometimes be "overbearing", but claimed that was just his "direct Yorkshire style".
NOS outgrew St Thomas's, and in the early 1990s moved to Ponds Forge (pictured above in 1998)
NOS members were also discouraged from spending time outside their "discipleship group", including with friends or family, the court heard.
Another witness, who was not a complainant in the case, told the court if members socialised with other people, word would travel "up the ranks" and they would be "reprimanded by the leaders".
"You're then given this really hard cold shoulder," she said.
"You feel like if you don't fit in, if you don't go along with this, you're not going to be allowed to stay in this club, which basically is going to get you into heaven. It's as simple as that."
Others described being "Chris-napped", when Brain would drive them around in his car while he chastised them, and then often froze them out for several weeks before getting back in touch.
One victim described having a panic attack in the back of the car as Brain shouted at her and told her she was evil.
Another victim broke down in tears as she explained to the court that the whole thing was "so confusing".
"There was always a part of me [thinking], 'thank God he has contacted me…he is still happy with me, I'm still acceptable.' My self-esteem was totally based on how he responded to me."
Prosecutors said it was the endorsement of the Church that made Brain increasingly unaccountable and turned the NOS into a "cult".
Nine O'Clock Trust
Brain's ordination was fast-tracked as a result of the popularity of the NOS
Brain's manipulation of his followers, however, went beyond emotional abuse.
The court heard that following the birth of his daughter a number of young women were recruited for unpaid roles in what was known as the "homebase team", at his home in Parkers Road, to allow Brain to continue to focus on the NOS.
An 18-page document outlining what was expected of those selected was shown to the jury.
Among the duties mentioned was a rota for cooking and cleaning and walking his dog, Badger, along with the instruction that members of the team should do "anything" Brain asked for.
One witness told police that members of the homebase team were treated "like slaves", while another said they were made to sleep on a thin, old rug in the dining room.
One member of the team, who was often tasked with walking the dog, told the court she used to see "scantily-clad women through the window" on her way past.
She told the court she was often called late at night to "put him to bed", and "never felt I had the option to say no".
Brain would then ask her to give him a massage, including an occasion where he brushed her hand over his erect penis.
Brain did not deny that he had massages from many women in the homebase team as well as from others in his congregation.
Asked in court why he had the massages, Brain replied: "Why not?"
He said some massages, intended to relieve "tensions" in his body, could evolve into "sensual touching", which he said was between friends and "no big deal".
However, Brain's victims said this was when much of the sexual abuse took place.
Assaults he was found guilty of during the massages included kissing the women, touching their breasts and on one occasion, lying on top of a woman while clothed and "simulating sex" with her.
One victim told the court she felt "really shocked and panicked" after one assault, and that life in NOS became "strange and difficult" afterwards for her.
"I spent my life being constantly confused," she added.
Chris Brain admits 'improper sexual conduct' in BBC documentary in 1995
The court heard that the homebase team became known by others in the NOS as the "Lycra Lovelies" because of their clothes.
Ms Evans said: "Chris used to say it was very important people dressed in what was called 'the culture'…It often involved black Lycra leggings, tight-fitting tops and that sort of thing."
Meanwhile, NOS member Graham Moore told the court that, initially, the homebase team seemed like an appropriate way to support Brain and his wife, but over time it became increasingly concerning and there was "something not quite right".
He said many of the women began to look thinner, dressed the same and withdrew from contact with the rest of the NOS.
"It was what it looked like, which was extremely cultish - this group of girls around this charismatic leader, and they put him to bed at night," one victim said.
The demise of the NOS came about even quicker than its rise to fame, when, in the summer of 1995, allegations of sexual abuse by Brain culminated in his resignation and the movement's collapse.
In a BBC documentary the same year, Brain admitted that "for a priest in a church setting, I would have to say I was involved in improper sexual conduct with a number of women".
He told jurors at his trial that he had made that admission while in a state of "overwhelmed trauma" from all the publicity the allegations had received.
It was not until 2019 that South Yorkshire Police opened an investigation, and it was only in 2024 he was charged.
An appeals court has thrown out a $500m (£372m) penalty that President Donald Trump was ordered to pay in a New York civil fraud trial last year.
Judge Arthur Engoron had ordered Trump to pay the fee for massively inflating the value of the Trump Organization's properties in order to secure favourable loans.
In the ruling released on Thursday, judges on the New York Supreme Court's Appellate Division stated that while Trump was liable for the fraud, the fine of nearly half a billion dollars was excessive and likely violated protections in the US Constitution against severe punishment.
In the case Judge Engoron had ordered Trump to pay $355m, but with interest, that grew to more than $500m.
In the case against Trump, his two adult sons, and the Trump Organization, Judge Engoron also banned Trump from serving as a company director or taking out loans from banks in the state for three years.
The appellate panel of five judges was divided over the merits of the original lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who had accused the Trump and his sons of "persistent and repeated fraud".
While most said she was "within her lawful power in bringing this action", one believed the case should have been dismissed and two said that there should be a new trial of a more limited scope.
Those two, though, joined the decision to throw out the fine "for the sole purpose of ensuring finality", wrote Judge Peter Moulton in the 323-page decision.
Judge Moulton said that American voters had "obviously rendered a verdict" on Trump's political career.
"This bench today unanimously derails the effort to destroy his business," the judge wrote.
Trump's son, Eric Trump, who was involved in the case, celebrated the decision in a post on social media.
"Total victory in the sham NY Attorney General case!!! After 5 years of hell, justice prevailed!" he wrote.
Kristian Nairn said he would be "back on my feet very soon, in every sense"
Game of Thrones actor Kristian Nairn has pulled out of this year's Strictly Come Dancing "due to unexpected medical reasons", just days after the line-up was announced.
Nairn, 49, is best known for playing Hodor – the guileless servant of House Stark - in HBO's fantasy drama.
He also portrayed Wee John Feeney in the US TV period comedy drama Our Flag Means Death, and is a house music DJ.
"With a heavy heart, I have to step back from this season of Strictly Come Dancing due to unexpected medical reasons," Nairn said in a statement.
"I was truly looking forward to the journey, and I'm deeply sorry to disappoint anyone who was looking forward to seeing me on the dance floor.
"Thank you all for your support, and I will be back on my feet very soon, in every sense. Love to all, Kristian."
Last week, the 6ft 10in Northern Irishman became the 15th and final contestant to be unveiled for this year's Strictly.
When his participation was announced last Friday, he said taking part in the dance contest would be "a huge challenge for me physically, but I'm ready to rise to it."
Referencing his withdrawal, the show's ecedutive producer Sarah James said: "We've absolutely loved getting to know Kristian in this short time, and he has all the makings of a brilliant Strictly Come Dancing contestant.
"We're incredibly sorry to lose him from this year's series and we all wish him a speedy recovery."
His replacement will be revealed on The One Show on BBC One from 19:00 BST on Thursday.
The UK is among 27 countries backing a statement calling for Israel to allow immediate independent foreign media access to Gaza.
France, Germany, Australia, and Japan have also signed the text released by the Media Freedom Coalition - an intergovernmental group which advocates for the rights and protection of journalists globally.
The statement also condemned attacks on journalists, saying those working in Gaza must be protected.
International journalists have been banned by Israel from entering the Gaza Strip independently since the start of the war nearly two years ago. Some journalists have been taken into Gaza by the IDF under controlled access.
At least 192 journalists and media workers, the vast majority of them Palestinian, have been killed since then in the deadliest conflict for journalists ever documented, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
Thursday's statement, the first of its kind to be made jointly by countries, says their call is in light of "the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe", adding they "oppose all attempts to restrict press freedom and block entry to journalists".
It says that "deliberate targeting of journalists" is unacceptable, calling for all attacks to be investigated and followed up by prosecutions.
Sharif and another correspondent, Mohammed Qreiqeh, along with cameramen Ibrahim Zaher and Mohammed Noufal, were in a tent for journalists at the hospital's main gate when it was struck, the broadcaster said at the time.
Two other freelance journalists were killed - Moamen Aliwa and Mohammed al-Khaldi.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed it had targeted Sharif, alleging he had "served as the head of a terrorist cell in Hamas".
However, the CPJ said Israel had failed to provide evidence to back up its allegations. Al Jazeera has also denied Israeli claims.
With no international journalists allowed into Gaza, local reporters have continued throughout the war to provide coverage directly on social media and working for Palestinian or international media organisations.
Israel's High Court of Justice last year ruled that restrictions on entry were justified on security grounds. The Foreign Press Association, which represents journalists operating in Israel, has been petitioning the court to lift the ban, arguing that "unprecedented restrictions" had "hindered independent reporting".
More than 100 international aid organisations and human rights groups have warned of mass starvation in Gaza.
Israel, which controls the entry of aid supplies into Gaza, has accused the charities of "serving the propaganda of Hamas". But its own government figures show the amount of food it allowed into the territory between March and July was significantly below what the World Food Programme (WFP) says is needed for even basic assistance needs.
There are more fears about Palestinians after the Israeli military began the first stages of a planned ground offensive in Gaza City.
Israel's government announced its intention to conquer the entire Gaza Strip after indirect talks with Hamas on a ceasefire and hostage release deal broke down last month.
The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 62,122 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's health ministry. The ministry's figures are quoted by the UN and others as the most reliable source of statistics available on casualties.
Newly released Home Office data paints a mixed picture of how the government's asylum seeker strategy is working out.
On the number of asylum seekers housed in hotels - a current political flashpoint - the new data shows that the number has risen slightly compared to when it came to power. However the figures are far below the 2023 peak, when the Conservatives were in government.
The number of asylum applications in the UK during the year to June also reached a new record of 111,000 - though the government has reduced the backlog of claims by processing them faster.
In addition, in the year to June, about 38% more small boats landed on UK shores than the previous year.
BBC correspondents Jack Fenwick and Dominic Casciani assess what the figures tell us about the effectiveness of the government's asylum strategy.
Strategy could be working but long way still to go
By political correspondent Jack Fenwick
Headlines about record numbers of asylum applications and an increase in hotel use since Labour came to power clearly don't make comfortable reading for ministers.
But the overall view in the Home Office on Thursday morning, according to one source, was "not disappointed".
And behind those headlines there is evidence that elements of the government's strategy could be working.
This is the first data that takes into account the huge rise in small boat crossings since March.
A few months ago, some people inside the Home Office had been worried that hotel use could spike as a result.
But that hasn't happened. The number of asylum seekers in hotels actually went slightly down between March and June.
Ministers have been trying to find alternative sources of accommodation, like regular houses and flats within communities - but those numbers haven't gone up either.
By processing claims more quickly, the Home Office has been able to ensure that the big rise in small boat crossings hasn't had much of an effect on asylum accommodation.
Ending the use of hotels was a Labour manifesto pledge and ministers have a long, long way to go before they get close to achieving it.
But they'll be hoping they've now broken the link between small boats crossings and hotel use.
Opposition parties give that claim short shrift.
They say the government's record on illegal immigration will ultimately be judged on the small boat crossing numbers, which remain at stubborn, record-breaking highs.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp claims the numbers would be at zero if his party's plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda had been implemented.
Home Office accounts released last month show the Conservatives had around 1,000 civil servants working on the Rwanda plan.
Labour scrapped the idea and a senior Home Office source says they've been able to speed up initial asylum applications by moving many of those staff over to that team.
The same source also tried to shift some of the political onus going forward onto the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).
While initial asylum claims are being processed more quickly, there's increasing concern over what's happening in the appeals courts.
Data from March 2025 shows a record level of appeals being made against failed asylum applications.
The Home Office source said "courts are definitely a pinch point and we do need the MoJ to step up and help us with that".
A former justice secretary told us these types of appeals backlogs are often caused by "poor casework management" from the Home Office during the initial application phase.
There's clear potential for tension between two parts of government there in the coming months.
Ending hotel use still a huge challenge
By home and legal correspondent Dominic Casciani
The government's aim, ultimately, is to convince the public that it has better and greater control of the immigration and asylum system than its predecessors - and thanks to the rise of Reform it knows it has to send a signal that even if it does not achieve all its aims, that it is going in the right direction.
This is why these stats are complicated for both them and their opponents - and why both sides will highlight different aspects.
The good news for the government is that officials are taking decisions on asylum applications quicker than before.
As of June there were 91,000 cases in the asylum backlog. That's down a fifth on a year - and is almost half the peak of two years ago.
The smaller the backlog, the less the government needs to spend. The total asylum support bill has fallen to £4.8bn in 2024-25, down from £5.4bn the year before.
But now for the bad news.
More people who have been told they have no case are appealing against that decision. There are some 51,000 appeals before asylum and immigration judges. Those people are stuck in the system until they either win their appeal or are given a final decision to be removed.
And that's part of the reason why the Home Office is making only modest progress on the use of hotels - establishments which were brought in by the last government after it ran out of alternative accommodation around the country.
The government can show it has increased removals from the UK of people at the end of the process. But more than half of removals are not failed asylum applicants but foreign national offenders leaving prison.
Removals of small boat migrants are modest and many of these are legally low-hanging fruit, such as the brief phenomenon of a rush of Albanian nationals.
Crucially though - and this is a win for government - the number of people voluntarily leaving has gone up by 13% to 26,761. They are generally paid up to £3,000 to go - but that's far cheaper than battling through the courts.
Four other critical factors will play a huge role in this challenge.
The government's plan to strengthen counter-smuggling gang powers is still in Parliament. TBC on whether that works.
Ministers are waiting for the French to stop dinghies leaving the shore and a separate German commitment to change its law so it can seize boats being warehoused there.
The final factor relies on global events. People will keep leaving their homes around the world to come to Europe if they feel unsafe.
All of these things needs to come together - and keep going in the right direction - for the government to meet its commitment to end hotel use by the end of the Parliament.
"There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about."
Oscar Wilde was not talking about mixed doubles tennis. But his quote could easily be applied to an event which some felt needed new life breathing into it.
The US Open's decision to revamp its mixed doubles - enticing singles superstars with lucrative cash incentives, a shortened format and slot before the other main draws - certainly got people chatting.
Previously, it would be lost and largely forgotten in the midst of finals weekend.
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) opted to make an innovative move - but it divided opinion among those who love the sport.
"I know it created a lot of reaction and [it was] somewhat bold to do it," said three-time Grand Slam singles finalist Casper Ruud, who teamed up with six-time major champion Iga Swiatek and finished as runners-up.
"You can't argue that it's not been great for the fans."
Was attracting the big names an effective way to attract more eyeballs on the sport? Yes.
Did it also rip away a 138-year tradition and rob most specialist doubles players of a shot at a major title? Yes.
In the end, the curtain-raising event - spread over two days in what is traditionally qualifying week - led to a fitting final on which polarising narratives hung.
Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, the defending champions and only recognised doubles pairing in the 16-team event, were aiming to win for the greater good of their discipline.
One of their peers, Australian player Ellen Perez, spoke for many when saying she had "never felt more Italian" as she supported them.
Losing to Swiatek and Ruud - who had never played together before this week - would have been a blow for the doubles community.
Instead, Errani and Vavassori's triumph made the case to find room for more doubles specialists if, as expected, the format returns next year.
"We showed that doubles is a great product and in the future we need more marketing and visibility," Vavassori pleaded to the US Open decision-makers.
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Errani and Vavassori have won both their Grand Slam mixed doubles titles in New York
Ultimately, the two-day doubles party - where courtside DJs pumped up the extremely healthy crowds and encouraged a raucous atmosphere - will be considered a success.
Britain's Jack Draper, who is ranked fifth in the ATP singles rankings but has limited doubles experience, said he thought it was a "great" event.
"If I wasn't playing the mixed here, I'd be training. I prefer playing on a big court in front of people. It gets your eye in quicker," he said.
After the opening day's action, Draper made a Freudian slip which initially proved quite telling.
Draper was playfully scolded by his partner Jessica Pegula for describing the new-look event as an "exhibition" - a word used disparagingly by its detractors.
But, following their semi-final exit, Draper was keen to point out the event did not feel like a 'hit and giggle' after all.
"[On Tuesday] there were times where it felt a little bit more that way from our opponents," he said.
"Whereas tonight we were in the changing rooms, you're seeing Iga and Casper, they're fully dialled in. It was intense."
The fans on the ground in New York also demonstrated their appetite for something different.
On the opening day, the 25,000-seater Arthur Ashe Stadium was about two-thirds full when A-List pairing Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz walked out to a pop star-style reception.
For Wednesday's semi-finals and final, where face-value tickets ranged from $50 (£37) to $262 (£195), it was just short of a full house with only a sliver of empty seats at the very back.
Ticket-holders Hilary Hamm and Maria Segovia - ardent tennis fans who have previously travelled from New York to Wimbledon and the Australian Open - admitted they have rarely watched mixed doubles in the past.
"Moving it from finals weekend and making it a standalone event caught our attention," said 32-year-old Maria. "If it is going to increase crowd engagement, then I'd definitely to see more events like this."
Hilary, also 32, added: "I think it's been amazing. Watching the women leading the male partners has been particularly inspiring and shows tennis needs a strong mixed gender competition featuring the stars."
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Thousands of New York fans were excited to watch the world's leading singles players turn out in the mixed doubles
One described the event as "a complete farce", while another said it was a "shameful idea".
A poll in the piece showed 70% of our readers thought the overhaul was a bad move.
The good news for purists is the other three Grand Slams - the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon - are thought unlikely to follow suit in the near future.
Tennis Australia is equally as bold as its American counterpart, but does not have the same financial clout to offer the mountain of prize money and sweetening appearance fees.
Neither does the French Open or Wimbledon. Also, the two oldest Grand Slam tournaments are generally more reluctant to deviate from time-honoured traditions.
Draper, 23, is among the group who would like to see more change, saying it would be "cool" if all the majors adopted a similar approach.
He can be sure the power-holders in Melbourne, Paris and London will have been watching the New York trendsetters with intrigue.
Giraffes are one of the world's most distinct and well-loved creatures, always thought to be one species.
But now scientists at the International Union for Conservation of Nature say we can welcome three more species of the world's tallest mammal.
It's not the first time researchers have suggested there are four species of these giants strolling on our planet, but the latest assessment puts an official stamp on it.
How did scientists work it out? And what does it mean for the future of the animal?
Scientists compared the skull size and head shape of different giraffes and concluded there was enough genetic diversity for four groups to be considered as different species.
The researchers looked at natural features across Africa such as deserts, rivers and valleys that could have separated animals in the past, meaning they evolved separately from each other.
Say hello to the Southern giraffe, one of the newly-recognised species.
Michael Brown
A Southern giraffe, pictured in Namibia
This giraffe lives in Angola, southern Botswana, Namibia, southern Zimbabwe, Zambia, and southwestern Mozambique.
Two rivers (the Kunene and Zambezi) and rainforests in the Congo Basin probably separated the animals from overlapping with other giraffes.
The second new species is the Reticulated giraffe.
Michael Brown
Reticulated giraffe in Kenya
This giraffe lives in the open savannas and wooded grasslands of Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia.
Scientists think the Tana river, Ethiopia's mountains and towns separated this animal from other giraffes in the north of the region.
It is also a migrating animal, which means it may have passed by other giraffes when it could have cross-bred.
The third species we can officially recognise is the Northern giraffe.
Getty Images
Northern giraffe
This animal lives in western Ethiopia, central and western Kenya, eastern South Sudan and Uganda.
Scientists say the Nile River and Lake Victoria, as well as its migration pattern, separated this giraffe from others.
The fourth and final species is the beautiful Masai giraffe, with its distinctive leaf-pattern hide.
Getty Images
Masai giraffe in Kenya
It lives in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, separated from the Northern giraffe by Lake Victoria and the Nile River.
Although its pattern makes it seem like it could be a marker of being a separate species, the scientists say that the hides vary even within one population of giraffes and as the animals age.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) says that identifying genetic difference is "vital" for conservation and managing giraffe populations.
As a single species, the giraffe was classed as vulnerable to extinction, although some of the sub-species were increasing in numbers.
The IUCN will now re-assess the vulnerability of the four new species and their sub-species and says it hopes to better protect the majestic animals with the new information.
Vice President JD Vance, right, at the White House last month. Mr. Vance sparred with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine during a meeting in the Oval Office in February.
Officials removed decade-old guidance outlining the rights of students who are still learning English, which could weaken support for immigrant children.
Join us each month this school year to discuss a teen-friendly topic with a New York Times journalist who covers it. Post your thoughts, ask questions or suggest ideas, and the reporters will reply!
Donald Trump has strong-arming Congress down to a science. Now his redistricting gambit is putting his methods through a stress test.
It’s a strategy of intensifying levels of private coercion and public threats of consequence, driven by Trump and amplified by aides and allies behind closed doors and through the online MAGA echo chamber: White House visits, calls from the president, online insults and even primary threats.
That machine is whirring into gear again as the White House pushes Texas, Missouri and Indiana to gerrymander their congressional districts to protect Republicans’ House majority in the midterms. Vice President JD Vance and top aides have been dispatched to Indiana and staffers have phoned into Missouri. Trump is summoning Hoosier Republicans to the White House next week. Both his political operation and right-wing influencers have begun floating primary challenges.
“These folks are not sitting around thinking about redistricting. But in an instant, Trump can prioritize that issue for them and subsequently he can mobilize them on his behalf,” said Kevin Madden, a Republican strategist who has worked for House GOP leadership and on presidential campaigns. “I think he recognizes that formidable power and he’s willing to apply it far and wide.”
Now that redistricting pressure campaign is providing a significant test of whether the approach Trump has near-perfected within his governing trifecta in D.C. can translate beyond the beltway.
Every president has the power of the bully pulpit, wielding the heft of the Oval Office and inside-the-beltway pressure tactics to advance his agenda. But Trump also retains a uniquely powerful hold over the most enthusiastic voters in the GOP, and is able to leverage the grassroots support of his MAGA movement and Truth Social platform to compound pressure on any resistant Republicans to accede to his demands.
Marrying the two, Trump has a singular strategy that he’s employed to great effect so far this term to compel Republican lawmakers into supporting his appointees and legislative agenda.
There are very few exceptions, in part because Trump has made clear the consequences for dissent. Trump and his team have repeatedly threatened primary challenges for GOP lawmakers who do not bend to his will, going as far as standing up a super PAC that’s raising millions of dollars to target Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) for voting against the “big, beautiful bill.” And the White House is vetting potential primary challengers to Massie, including Kentucky state Sen. Aaron Reed, who traveled to Washington for a meeting last month, two people familiar with the trip confirmed to POLITICO.
“Incumbent presidents have broad sway over their party…The only real difference is that Trump will operate with language and threats we haven’t seen from other presidents,” said Doug Heye, a GOP strategist who has worked for House Republican leadership. “He’s more YOLO than lame duck.”
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Now Trump and his team are trying their playbook on GOP governors and state lawmakers as they push as many red states as possible into mid-decade redistricting. They are on the cusp of success in Texas, where the Republican-controlled Legislature is imposing a new map designed to net the party five seats.
Missouri Republicans are widely expected to follow suit when they return to Jefferson City in September for their annual veto session — despite still smarting from a knock-down, drag-out redistricting fight just two years ago in which they ultimately rejected drawing an additional GOP district.
While Republicans in the state Legislature are reluctant to revisit the difficult inter-party politics at play, the Trump administration is working to force them to submit anyway, calling up Gov. Mike Kehoe and local lawmakers who have expressed skepticism about the effort.
There’s also a less direct form of pressure at play — one that has guided GOP decision-making throughout Trump’s time as the party’s standard-bearer.
“No one wants to be seen as anti-administration or anti-Trump,” said a Missouri GOP operative granted anonymity to speak candidly about private deliberations. “That does not do anyone any good when they go back to their district.”
But the potential limits of Trump’s pressure-campaign playbook are showing in Indiana, where Republicans are so far resisting a more intensive — and public — push. That includes several GOP state lawmakers who have publicly panned the effort, with one hard-right representative slamming it as "politically optically horrible.”
The White House dispatched Vance and top administration aides to Indiana to pitch the governor and GOP legislative leaders on gerrymandering the map. White House Intergovernmental Affairs Director Alex Meyer, in his personal capacity, hascalled several lawmakers to press them to redistrict. A group called Forward America flooded voters’ phones with robocalls and text messages urging them to call their lawmakers to back the effort. Trump’s political operation is considering primarying lawmakers who refuse to fall in line — a threat amplified by MAGA influencer and Turning Point USA CEO Charlie Kirk.
As the pressure mounted, all seven of Indiana's Republican representatives in Congress issued a series of rapid-fire statements over six hours on Monday supporting Trump’s redistricting push — a clearly coordinated piling-on of pressure as state House Republicans huddled behind closed doors. The state’s two Republican senators backed the effort the following morning.
But progress remains elusive: Gov. Mike Braun is still undecided on whether to call a special session to advance a new map, and GOP resistance is still flaring from within the state house.
Trump and his team show no signs of letting up, bullish about Republicans’ advantages in the redistricting arms race that has exploded between red and blue states. The administration is planning to court more than four dozen Indiana Republicans — including the state House speaker and Senate president — at the White House next week.
And Trump’s allies believe his ability to get his party to fall in line on his agenda is nearly infinite.
“As Trump has said before: The party is what I say it is,” said David Urban, a Trump 2016 campaign adviser and longtime ally. “And that is largely true.”
Adam Wren contributed to this report.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report misidentified the state Vance visited. It was Indiana.
A flamboyant Washington as Malcolm before he was X, left, in the Lee biopic. At this point, he is a hustler known as Detroit Red, and is living large with his friend Shorty (Lee).
Hundreds of thousands of user conversations with Elon Musk's artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Grok have been exposed in search engine results - seemingly without users' knowledge.
Unique links are created when Grok users press a button to share a transcript of their conversation - but as well as sharing the chat with the intended recipient, the button also appears to have made the chats searchable online.
A Google search on Thursday revealed it had indexed nearly 300,000 Grok conversations.
It has led one expert to describe AI chatbots as a "privacy disaster in progress".
The BBC has approached X for comment.
The appearance of Grok chats in search engine results was first reported by tech industry publication Forbes, which counted more than 370,000 user conversations on Google.
Among chat transcripts seen by the BBC were examples of Musk's chatbot being asked to create a secure password, provide meal plans for weight loss and answer detailed questions about medical conditions.
Some indexed transcripts also showed users' attempts to test the limits on what Grok would say or do.
In one example seen by the BBC, the chatbot provided detailed instructions on how to make a Class A drug in a lab.
It is not the first time that peoples' conversations with AI chatbots have appeared more widely than they perhaps initially realised when using "share" functions.
OpenAI recently rowed back an "experiment" which saw ChatGPT conversations appear in search engine results when shared by users.
A spokesperson told BBC News at the time it had been "testing ways to make it easier to share helpful conversations, while keeping users in control".
They said user chats were private by default and users had to explicitly opt-in to sharing them.
While users' account details may be anonymised or obscured in shared chatbot transcripts, their prompts may still contain - and risk revealing - personal, sensitive information about someone.
Experts say this highlights mounting concerns over users' privacy.
“AI chatbots are a privacy disaster in progress,” Prof Luc Rocher, associate professor at the Oxford Internet Institute, told the BBC.
They said "leaked conversations" from chatbots have divulged user information ranging from full names and location, to sensitive details about their mental health, business operations or relationships.
"Once leaked online, these conversations will stay there forever," they added.
Meanwhile Carissa Veliz, associate professor in philosophy at Oxford University's Institute for Ethics in AI, said users not being told shared chats would appear in search results is "problematic".
"Our technology doesn't even tell us what it's doing with our data, and that's a problem," she said.
London Underground staff will strike from 5 September for seven days
There will be rolling strike action across the London Underground (LU) beginning on Friday 5 September for seven days, the RMT union has announced.
The union claimed transport bosses refused to engage with them over pay, fatigue management, extreme shift patterns and a reduction in the working week.
RMT General Secretary Eddie Dempsey said: "Fatigue and extreme shift rotations are serious issues impacting on our members health and wellbeing- all of which have not been adequately addressed for years by LU management."
A Transport for London (TfL) spokesperson said: "We urge the RMT to put our fair, affordable pay offer to their members and to continue to engage with us."
On Thursday, RMT accused management of a "dismissive approach", adding this had "fuelled widespread anger and distrust" among the workforce.
Staff at different grades will be taking industrial action at different times as part of rolling strike action, it said.
TfL's spokesperson said: "We regularly meet with our trade unions to discuss any concerns that they may have, and we recently met with the RMT to discuss some specific points.
"We are committed to ensuring our colleagues are treated fairly and, as well as offering a 3.4% pay increase in our ongoing pay discussions, we have made progress on a number of commitments we have made previously.
"We welcome further engagement with our unions about fatigue and rostering across London Underground, but a reduction in the contractual 35-hour working week is neither practical nor affordable."
In a separate dispute over pay and conditions, workers on the Docklands Light Railway will also be striking during this period in the week beginning 7 September.
Mr Dempsey added: "RMT will continue to engage LU management with a view to seeking a revised offer in order to reach a negotiated settlement."
Giraffes are one of the world's most distinct and well-loved creatures, always thought to be one species.
But now scientists at the International Union for Conservation of Nature say we can welcome three more species of the world's tallest mammal.
It's not the first time researchers have suggested there are four species of these giants strolling on our planet, but the latest assessment puts an official stamp on it.
How did scientists work it out? And what does it mean for the future of the animal?
Scientists compared the skull size and head shape of different giraffes and concluded there was enough genetic diversity for four groups to be considered as different species.
The researchers looked at natural features across Africa such as deserts, rivers and valleys that could have separated animals in the past, meaning they evolved separately from each other.
Say hello to the Southern giraffe, one of the newly-recognised species.
Michael Brown
A Southern giraffe, pictured in Namibia
This giraffe lives in Angola, southern Botswana, Namibia, southern Zimbabwe, Zambia, and southwestern Mozambique.
Two rivers (the Kunene and Zambezi) and rainforests in the Congo Basin probably separated the animals from overlapping with other giraffes.
The second new species is the Reticulated giraffe.
Michael Brown
Reticulated giraffe in Kenya
This giraffe lives in the open savannas and wooded grasslands of Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia.
Scientists think the Tana river, Ethiopia's mountains and towns separated this animal from other giraffes in the north of the region.
It is also a migrating animal, which means it may have passed by other giraffes when it could have cross-bred.
The third species we can officially recognise is the Northern giraffe.
Getty Images
Northern giraffe
This animal lives in western Ethiopia, central and western Kenya, eastern South Sudan and Uganda.
Scientists say the Nile River and Lake Victoria, as well as its migration pattern, separated this giraffe from others.
The fourth and final species is the beautiful Masai giraffe, with its distinctive leaf-pattern hide.
Getty Images
Masai giraffe in Kenya
It lives in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, separated from the Northern giraffe by Lake Victoria and the Nile River.
Although its pattern makes it seem like it could be a marker of being a separate species, the scientists say that the hides vary even within one population of giraffes and as the animals age.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) says that identifying genetic difference is "vital" for conservation and managing giraffe populations.
As a single species, the giraffe was classed as vulnerable to extinction, although some of the sub-species were increasing in numbers.
The IUCN will now re-assess the vulnerability of the four new species and their sub-species and says it hopes to better protect the majestic animals with the new information.
"There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about."
Oscar Wilde was not talking about mixed doubles tennis. But his quote could easily be applied to an event which some felt needed new life breathing into it.
The US Open's decision to revamp its mixed doubles - enticing singles superstars with lucrative cash incentives, a shortened format and slot before the other main draws - certainly got people chatting.
Previously, it would be lost and largely forgotten in the midst of finals weekend.
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) opted to make an innovative move - but it divided opinion among those who love the sport.
"I know it created a lot of reaction and [it was] somewhat bold to do it," said three-time Grand Slam singles finalist Casper Ruud, who teamed up with six-time major champion Iga Swiatek and finished as runners-up.
"You can't argue that it's not been great for the fans."
Was attracting the big names an effective way to attract more eyeballs on the sport? Yes.
Did it also rip away a 138-year tradition and rob most specialist doubles players of a shot at a major title? Yes.
In the end, the curtain-raising event - spread over two days in what is traditionally qualifying week - led to a fitting final on which polarising narratives hung.
Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, the defending champions and only recognised doubles pairing in the 16-team event, were aiming to win for the greater good of their discipline.
One of their peers, Australian player Ellen Perez, spoke for many when saying she had "never felt more Italian" as she supported them.
Losing to Swiatek and Ruud - who had never played together before this week - would have been a blow for the doubles community.
Instead, Errani and Vavassori's triumph made the case to find room for more doubles specialists if, as expected, the format returns next year.
"We showed that doubles is a great product and in the future we need more marketing and visibility," Vavassori pleaded to the US Open decision-makers.
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Errani and Vavassori have won both their Grand Slam mixed doubles titles in New York
Ultimately, the two-day doubles party - where courtside DJs pumped up the extremely healthy crowds and encouraged a raucous atmosphere - will be considered a success.
Britain's Jack Draper, who is ranked fifth in the ATP singles rankings but has limited doubles experience, said he thought it was a "great" event.
"If I wasn't playing the mixed here, I'd be training. I prefer playing on a big court in front of people. It gets your eye in quicker," he said.
After the opening day's action, Draper made a Freudian slip which initially proved quite telling.
Draper was playfully scolded by his partner Jessica Pegula for describing the new-look event as an "exhibition" - a word used disparagingly by its detractors.
But, following their semi-final exit, Draper was keen to point out the event did not feel like a 'hit and giggle' after all.
"[On Tuesday] there were times where it felt a little bit more that way from our opponents," he said.
"Whereas tonight we were in the changing rooms, you're seeing Iga and Casper, they're fully dialled in. It was intense."
The fans on the ground in New York also demonstrated their appetite for something different.
On the opening day, the 25,000-seater Arthur Ashe Stadium was about two-thirds full when A-List pairing Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz walked out to a pop star-style reception.
For Wednesday's semi-finals and final, where face-value tickets ranged from $50 (£37) to $262 (£195), it was just short of a full house with only a sliver of empty seats at the very back.
Ticket-holders Hilary Hamm and Maria Segovia - ardent tennis fans who have previously travelled from New York to Wimbledon and the Australian Open - admitted they have rarely watched mixed doubles in the past.
"Moving it from finals weekend and making it a standalone event caught our attention," said 32-year-old Maria. "If it is going to increase crowd engagement, then I'd definitely to see more events like this."
Hilary, also 32, added: "I think it's been amazing. Watching the women leading the male partners has been particularly inspiring and shows tennis needs a strong mixed gender competition featuring the stars."
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Thousands of New York fans were excited to watch the world's leading singles players turn out in the mixed doubles
One described the event as "a complete farce", while another said it was a "shameful idea".
A poll in the piece showed 70% of our readers thought the overhaul was a bad move.
The good news for purists is the other three Grand Slams - the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon - are thought unlikely to follow suit in the near future.
Tennis Australia is equally as bold as its American counterpart, but does not have the same financial clout to offer the mountain of prize money and sweetening appearance fees.
Neither does the French Open or Wimbledon. Also, the two oldest Grand Slam tournaments are generally more reluctant to deviate from time-honoured traditions.
Draper, 23, is among the group who would like to see more change, saying it would be "cool" if all the majors adopted a similar approach.
He can be sure the power-holders in Melbourne, Paris and London will have been watching the New York trendsetters with intrigue.
Watch: Endangered porpoises at the Institute of Hydrobiology in Wuhan, China
Chinese scientists are in a battle to save one of the last large animal species living in the Yangtze River – and a complete ban on fishing in the region is helping them.
At the Institute of Hydrobiology in Wuhan, just 5km (3.1 miles) from the banks of the river, the preserved bodies of the now-extinct river dolphin (baiji in Chinese) and paddle fish sit silently behind panes of glass.
"Now that those have become extinct, we're going to save the Yangtze river porpoise," Professor Wang Xi tells the BBC. "It has become the most important animal here."
It was in 2002 that the last known baiji died, 22 years after researchers at the Institute started caring for it. A year later, the last known paddle fish - a type of ray-finned fish which can grow to more than 3 metres - was accidentally caught by fishermen and, despite being radio tagged and released, disappeared.
The goal now is to stop the Yangtze finless river porpoise - 1,200 of which remain in the wild, according to current estimates – from suffering the same fate.
"It's the only top-level predator left in the river," Professor Wang explains. "They are rare and their numbers reflect the health of the entire system's ecology."
The last river dolphin, or baiji, died in 2002 - the only examples remaining are in museums
The idea of a halt on all fishing was first conceived by Professor Cao Wenxuan from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in 2006, but it took a lot more pressure from fellow scientists before a full 10-year-ban finally came into force nearly five years ago.
Enforced by police, the ban carries potential prison time for those caught fishing right along the Yangtze, as well as adjacent lakes and tributaries. It's been hugely disruptive, and put 220,000 fishermen out of work.
Yet the finless porpoise, which belongs to the oldest living branch of the porpoise family tree, remains critically endangered today.
Those the BBC was shown at the Institute are being held in captivity to be studied by CAS. They can be seen from above the water or below, after taking the stairs down beside a deep tank where the observation area is located.
The scientists say they get excited in the company of humans, and they certainly appear to be showing off: racing through the water and swimming at speed, close to the glass with people on the other side. Swimming past, they seem to look at you with a mischievous smile.
In the wild, they are still hanging on where other species could not.
The construction of the main part of Three Gorges Dam in 2006 didn't directly impact the finless porpoise, which don't have to go upstream to spawn, although it did affect the fish they eat.
Yang He
The finless porpoise belongs to the oldest living branch of the porpoise family tree
For other large marine animals, like the paddle fish or the Chinese sturgeon, the structure was catastrophic.
Wang Ding, a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), who specialises in cetaceans like the finless porpoise, has dedicated his life to preserving the health of the Yangtze. He can see the good and the bad with these dams – and recalls how things used to be.
"Every flood season we'd have to organise a team with strong muscles, using many men, to go to sleep on the bank of the river, just in case a flood came," he says. "Then, if the flood hit, everyone would do their best to try to keep the levy banks solid, to make sure they were not broken by the dangerous rushing water."
Now, he says, the Three Gorges Dam mitigates against the flooding.
As Professor Wang points out, however, this massive, river-blocking structure also prevents the Yangtze's giant sturgeons from reaching their spawning grounds.
While the endangered fish had briefly seemed to find an alternative location, he says, this is no longer the case - and these days sturgeons are only in the river because researchers are pouring them in, 10,000 at a time.
The giant Three Gorges Dam has affected local wildlife along the river
Despite over a million captive-bred sturgeon being released into the Yangtze last year, attempts to boost the population have been unsuccessful, as the fish are not reproducing by themselves in the wild.
So the finless porpoise doesn't end up like this, Professor Wang and other scientists are hoping that the current complete fishing ban will continue after the initial 10 years is up.
Their research, published in the Bulletin of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, records a drastic increase in fish numbers since the ban came into effect in 2021.
Another threat to the finless porpoise, however, might be harder to resolve.
Wang Xi pointed out that "ships are very dangerous for animal's brains because they are very noisy".
This is said to produce a form of underwater noise pollution which distresses the animals.
Chinese scientists think that the sound from ships may have contributed to the demise of the Yangtze's baiji river dolphins, which used sonar to communicate.
But it's one thing to ban fishing - it would be quite another to completely stop the busy river traffic which delivers passengers as well as goods, and provides lifeblood for much of central China's economy.
More achievable was forcing factories which produce chemicals to move away from the Yangtze. Thousands of these have been shut down or relocated over the past decade, in a move that is said to have significantly improved the river's water quality.
There has also been community involvement in the porpoise preservation push.
Yang He
Porpoise numbers are now rising again thanks to conservation efforts
After retirement, Yang He took up amateur photography. Now, he says, he goes to the river every day with his camera equipment trying to spot the animals.
When he gets some good shots he forwards them to the scientists, who say he's doing a better job than almost anyone tracking their progress.
Mr Yang says he once saw a porpoise in distress which had been caught in some netting. He notified the local authorities, who shut down that section of river to all shipping until it could be rescued – and it turned out the soon-to-be freed porpoise was pregnant. He felt pretty good about that, he says.
It is the porpoise numbers, however, that tell the most convincing story.
In the 1990s there were 3,300 finless porpoises in the wild. By 2006 this had halved.
Then the fishing bans came in, the factories were moved and the decline stopped. Not only that, but over the last five years of records, porpoise numbers have gone up by nearly a quarter.
Scientists are proud of these numbers – and the implications they hold for the health of the environment more broadly.
"We're saving the finless porpoise to save the Yangtze River," says Wang Ding. "This is like a great mirror, to have an idea how well we have been doing protecting this ecosystem.
"If the porpoises are doing fine, if their numbers are increasing, this means the ecological health of the whole river is also improving."
Indian government says ethanol blending has cut 69.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions since 2014
India's drive to blend more biofuels with petrol has helped the country cut millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions and save precious dollar reserves.
But it has also sparked worries among vehicle owners and food policy experts about its potential impact on fuel efficiency and food security.
Last month, India achieved its objective of blending 20% ethanol with petrol, known as E20, five years ahead of its target.
The government views this as a game changer in reducing carbon emissions and trimming oil imports. Since 2014, ethanol blending has helped India cut 69.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions and saved 1.36 trillion rupees ($15.5 bn; £11.5 bn) in foreign exchange.
A study by Delhi-based think tank Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) shows that carbon dioxide emissions from road transport in India will nearly double by 2050.
"The demand for fuel is only going to increase and shifting to ethanol-blended petrol is absolutely necessary to cut down emissions," Sandeep Theng from the Indian Federation of Green Energy, an organisation that promotes green energy, told the BBC.
But many vehicles in India are not E20-compliant, making their owners sceptical about the benefits of the policy.
Hormazd Sorabjee, editor of Autocar India magazine, said that ethanol has a "lower energy density than petrol and is more corrosive". This results in lower mileage and exposes certain vehicle parts to a greater risk of wear and tear.
Mr Sorabjee added that some manufacturers like Honda have been using E20 compliant material since 2009, but many older vehicles on Indian roads are not E20 compatible.
While there is no official data on the impact of of E20 fuel on engines, consumers routinely share anecdotes about their vehicle's deteriorating mileage on social media.
Many standard insurance policies in India also don't provide cover for damage due to the use of non-compliant fuel, a top executive at online insurance platform Policybazaar, who wanted to stay anonymous, told the BBC.
"Consumers need to take add-on policies but even those claims can be denied or downgraded based on fine print of the policy," he added.
The federal petroleum ministry has described these concerns as "largely unfounded".
In a post on X, the ministry said that engine tuning and E20-compatible materials could minimise the drop in mileage. It also advised replacing certain parts in older vehicles, saying the process was inexpensive and "easily done during regular servicing of the vehicle".
Getty Images
Expansion of ethanol use could mean diverting more farm produce into manufacturing fuel
Mr Sorabjee told the BBC that while mileage concerns are real, they are "not always as bad as made out to be".
The bigger concern, he said, was the potential damage to vehicle materials due to the corrosive properties of E20.
Some vehicle manufacturers are offering ways to mitigate this.
Maruti Suzuki, India's biggest four-wheeler maker, is reportedly likely to introduce an E20 material kit that could cost up to 6,000 rupees ($69; £51). The kit will reportedly replace components like fuel lines, seals and gaskets. Bajaj, a leading Indian two-wheeler maker, has advised using a fuel cleaner that could cost around 100 rupees ($1.15; £0.85) for a full tank of petrol.
But not all vehicle-owners are convinced. Amit Pandhi, who has owned a Maruti Suzuki car in Delhi since 2017, is unhappy that petrol pumps don't offer the choice to opt for a blend other than E20.
"Why should I be forced to buy petrol that offers less mileage and then spend more to make the materials compliant?" he asked.
In 2021, a document on India's transition to E20 published by Niti Aayog, a government think tank, had highlighted some of these concerns. It recommended tax benefits for buying E20 compliant vehicles, along with a lower retail price for the fuel.
The government has defended its decision to not pass the recommendations, saying that at the time of the report's release, ethanol was cheaper than petrol.
"Over time, procurement price of ethanol has increased and now the weighted average price of ethanol is higher than cost of refined petrol," the petroleum ministry said earlier this month.
Getty Images
India is looking to increase ethanol-blending in petrol in the coming years
It's not just consumers - the government's blended fuel push has also raised concern among climate researchers and food policy experts.
Ethanol is produced from crops like sugarcane and maize, and expanding its use means diverting farm produce into manufacturing more fuel.
In 2025, India would need 10 billion litres of ethanol to meet its E20 requirements, according to government estimates. The demand will balloon to 20 billion litres by 2050, according to Bengaluru-based think tank Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP).
Right now, sugarcane is used to produce about 40% of India's ethanol.
This puts India in a bind. It has to choose between continuing its reliance on sugarcane - which has a higher yield for ethanol but is water-intensive - or using food crops like maize and rice to produce the fuel.
But the shift comes with its own challenges.
In 2024, for the first time in decades, India became a net importer of maize, using large amounts of the crop to make ethanol.
Ramya Natarajan, a research scientist at CSTEP, said the diversion of produce had a significant impact on the poultry sector, which now has to spend more to buy corn for feedstock.
Moreover, this year, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) approved an unprecedented allocation of 5.2 million tonnes of rice for ethanol production. The rice in FCI stocks is earmarked to be given to India's poor at a subsidised rate.
The policy could lead to an "agriculture disaster in a couple of years", said Devinder Sharma, a farming sector expert.
"In a country like India, where 250 million people go hungry, we cannot use food to feed the cars," Mr Sharma said.
To meet the demand for ethanol through corn and sugarcane in a 50-50 ratio - as outlined by Niti Aayog - India would have to bring in an additional eight million hectares of land under maize cultivation by 2030, unless there is a drastic increase in yield, according to CSTEP.
But even that could lead to problems.
"If farmers replace rice or wheat cultivation with maize, that would be sustainable because we have enough surplus of these crops. But we need other crops like oilseeds and pulses too," Ms Natarajan said.
Ms Natarajan added that continuing with the E10 blend - petrol mixed with 10% ethanol - would have been a more ideal choice.
India, however, is planning to go even beyond E20.
"The country will now gradually scale towards E25, E27, and E30 in a phased, calibrated manner," Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri said recently.
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