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It's a dance, a viral meme, and now a trend among elite athletes.

Over the last few weeks, social media feeds all over the world have been flooded with videos of a sunglass-wearing young boy in Indonesia, balancing on the tip of a long racing boat and doing what is possibly the world's coolest dance.

It's being seen as the ultimate representation of "aura farming" - an internet phrase for the act of looking cool and building one's "aura" (another word for charisma, or rizz).

The moves, full of swag and easy to follow, are now being copied across the world with big sporting names like American Football player Travis Kelce, F1 driver Alex Albon, the Paris Saint-Germain football team all jumping on the trend.

And behind it all is eleven-year-old Rayyan Arkan Dikha, who told the BBC that the viral moves came to him on the spur of the moment.

"I came up with the dance myself," he told BBC Indonesia on Thursday.

"It was just spontaneous."

The 5th-grader from a village in Kuantan Singingi Regency was making his debut at the national Pacu Jalur boat race. "Pacu" means race and "Jalur" refers to the long canoe-like boats that are raced.

Dikha is the Togak Luan - the dancer at the tip of the boat whose role is to energise the crew.

In the widely shared video, he wears a traditional outfit known as a Teluk Belanga with a Malay Riau headcloth. Standing on the prow of the speeding race boat which is being rowed by at least 11 adults, he blows kisses to his left and right before rhythmically moving his arms - all without much facial expression.

In one dance sequence, he reaches one hand forward at chest level while sweeping the other underneath, then rolls both fists like a wheel as he transitions from left to right. In another sequence, he stretches one arm forward and the other backward, striking a balanced pose.

Videos featuring various sound tracks under hashtags like "aura farming kid on boat" and "boat race kid aura" have racked up millions of views on TikTok since late June. And Dikha himself has now been given a nickname, "The Reaper".

"He's known as 'the reaper' because he never loses," reads one top-liked comment under a clip that has got 1.1 million likes.

"Bro taking out opps[opponents] while aura farming is crazy," says another.

Many online users have been trying to copy his moves, posting videos of themselves, or their friends, recreating the dance.

Sports teams are taking notice too. On 1 July, the French football club Paris Saint-Germain uploaded a TikTok clip attempting the boat racing dance, with the caption: "His aura made it all the way to Paris." The video has been watched more than 7 millions in just 10 days.

The next day, Travis Kelce, NFL player and boyfriend of pop icon Taylor Swift, posted his own version, which has since garnered over 14 million views.

"Dancing at the tip of the boat is not easy," Indonesia's minister of culture Fadli Zon told reporters at an event meant to fete Dikha on Wednesday.

"Maintaining balance as a dancer who motivates the Pacu Jalur rowing team is truly not simple. Perhaps that's why children are chosen instead of adults - because it's easier for them to keep balance."

The concern is real, Dikha's mother Rani Ridawati told BBC Indonesia.

"The main concern is that he might fall," she said, but added that he was a strong swimmer.

"Sometimes if he falls accidentally or suddenly, I worry he might get hit by the paddles.

"But if he falls, there's already a rescue team. The rescue team is in place," she said.

Although Dikha doesn't recognise any of the celebrities who've copied his dance - he first says he knows Travis Kelce before admitting he doesn't -he's quickly becoming one himself - especially in his home country.

Last week, he was named a cultural ambassador by the governor of Riau, the province he comes from.

This week, he and his mother were invited to the capital, Jakarta, to meet with the country's ministers of culture and tourism, and to appear on national television.

He says he's "happy" his dance is being noticed around the world.

"Every time my friends see me, they say 'you're viral'," he says, beaming with a shy smile.

While his dream is to become a police officer, he has one tip for anyone who wants to follow in his footsteps:

"Stay healthy, friends, so you can become like me."

For weeks, a battle over language and identity has been raging in India's richest state, Maharashtra.

The row began in April after the Maharashtra government made it compulsory for state-run primary schools to teach Hindi as a third language, apart from English and Marathi (the state's dominant language). This, it said, was in line with a federal policy which mandates that children be taught three languages in school.

The National Education Policy (NEP), introduced in 1968, aims to promote and regulate education in India and the government updates it occasionally. The latest iteration of the policy, introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government five years ago, is being implemented in stages and has run into controversy earlier.

The Maharashtra government's decision met fierce opposition from civil society groups, language activists and opposition leaders who accused it of trying to impose Hindi - predominantly spoken in northern and central Indian states - in the state.

Language is a sensitive issue in India where many states, including Maharashtra, were formed on linguistic lines after independence. The local language is often intrinsically linked to regional pride and identity, and any change to the status quo can be perceived as a threat. For instance, last year, Kannada-language activists in Bengaluru, often called India's Silicon Valley, held protests demanding that billboards be written in the local language and not just English.

But the uneasiness is especially high when it comes to Hindi, the most-spoken language in India. Over the years, steps by various federal governments to promote Hindi have fuelled fears within non-Hindi speaking states that the local culture will be diluted. These worries have been exacerbated by high migration from less-developed Hindi-speaking states to other parts of India, especially the south, in search of jobs.

Abhay Deshpande, a political analyst, says that these anxieties have increased after the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in 2014. Top leaders of the BJP - the party is stronger in Hindi-speaking states - have often courted controversy by making remarks about privileging Hindi.

As tensions rose in Maharashtra, the state government - ruled by a BJP-led coalition - revoked its decision and appointed a committee to re-examine the three-language policy. But the controversy refuses to die down.

The row comes months ahead of the long-overdue municipal polls which are set to be held in the state, including in Mumbai city, home to India's richest municipal corporation. It has sparked a political slugfest between the ruling coalition and opposition parties, with each side accusing the other of playing political games.

There have also been reports of violence against non-Marathi speakers in the state.

In April, two women in Thane district were allegedly assaulted in their residential complex after they said "excuse me" to a man who insisted they speak to him in Marathi.

The same month, a security guard in Mumbai was allegedly beaten up by workers from the opposition Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) - a nativist party known for its aggressive brand of politics - after he said that he did not know Marathi.

In May, a couple in Mumbai reportedly refused to pay a delivery agent after he declined to speak in Marathi. Last week, a shocking video showing a shop owner being assaulted, allegedly by MNS workers, for not speaking Marathi went viral on social media, sparking outrage.

• Hindi v Tamil: India's language battle heats up
• Bengaluru: Why English is dividing people in India's Silicon Valley

While the issue seems to have increased societal divisions, it has also brought together two political rivals almost two decades after they parted ways.

Last week, Uddhav Thackeray, chief of the local opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) party and Raj Thackeray, leader of the MNS - the son and nephew, respectively, of Bal Thackeray, patriarch of the erstwhile Shiv Sena, a Hindu nationalist party that gained popularity in Maharashtra in the 1960s with its nativist politics - held a joint rally to oppose alleged Hindi imposition.

While the strength of the truce remains to be seen, experts say that the optics of the cousins putting aside differences to "protect Marathi pride" could help their prospects in the upcoming municipal elections.

"The issue of Marathi language and culture is close to peoples' hearts," says Prashant Dixit, a former political journalist who has reported on the state for over two decades. "It is an emotive issue, especially for people living in Mumbai, and it has been so since the 1960s," he adds.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the erstwhile Shiv Sena, under the leadership of Bal Thackeray, conducted aggressive campaigns against people who had migrated to Mumbai from southern states, accusing them of taking up jobs that should have gone to locals.

In the decades after that, migration patterns changed and the party turned its ire towards people from northern states who were migrating to the city in search of economic opportunities. The party blamed migrants from states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar for taking away jobs.

These tensions look set to continue. According to data from India's last census, there was a 40% increase in Mumbai city's Hindi-speaking population between 2001 and 2011.

These Marathi-centric agitations have earlier resonated with voters, especially in Mumbai, and some believe that it could help the Thackeray cousins in the municipal elections as well.

However, many have criticised this approach.

An editorial in the Indian Express newspaper titled 'Slap In Mumbai's Face' argued that politics centred around linguistic identity was "deeply troubling" and that its parochialism lent itself to violence, something that "should have no place in India's most industrialised state".

Mr Dixit agrees - he thinks that any support garnered by aggressive language agitations is likely to be short-lived.

"People want their leaders to deliver on their promises and focus on real progress, in the form of better jobs and policies, so that life is better for everyone," he says.

Amber heat health alerts have been issued for much of England as the third heatwave of the summer kicks in.

The official alerts have been upgraded for southern England, the Midlands and East of England.

The warnings will come into force at noon on Friday and will remain in place until Monday morning, the UK Health Security Agency said.

Less severe yellow warnings remain in place in place for northern England.

Temperatures are forecast to go as high as 32C across England and Wales, with elsewhere in the UK expected to reach the high 20s.

Friday could be Wales's hottest day of the year so far if the temperature exceeds 30.8C as forecast.

The heat will continue into Saturday, when temperature may reach 31C in parts of central and north-east Scotland, making it the hottest day of the year so far north of the border.

Sunday is set to be cooler as a north-easterly breeze sets in, though temperatures will still be in the high twenties and low thirties for many.

There is also a chance of a few showers across some eastern areas of England.

The heatwave will be over for most on Monday as cooler Atlantic air spreads, bringing cloud and some showers to northern and western areas.

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Unite says it has suspended Angela Rayner from her membership of the union, amid a deepening row over the long-running bin strikes in Birmingham.

The deputy prime minister has been urging striking bin workers to accept a deal to end the dispute, which has seen mountains of rubbish pile up in the city.

The union said it would also re-examine its relationship with Labour after an emergency motion at its conference in Brighton.

Bin collection workers walked out in January, with an all-out strike going on since March. Unite is a major donor to the Labour Party, and has previously donated to Rayner herself.

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GP surgeries in England can offer advice to patients on getting back to work, including career coaching or exercise classes, as part of a pilot project to reduce the number of people who are signed off work sick.

The aim is to help people return to the workplace more quickly to reduce the length of time they need fit notes - better known as sick notes.

These are issued by health professionals if a patient is unwell or cannot work for more than seven days.

A total of £1.5m is being made available to 15 regions in England, and will be shared between GP practices in these areas to hire coaches or occupational therapists to support patients in their return to work.

The Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: "It's about fundamentally changing the conversation from 'you can't' to 'how can we help you?'

"When someone walks into their doctor's surgery worried about their job, they should walk out with a plan, not just a piece of paper that closes doors."

Health staff would be offered training to give work and health advice. People could be pointed towards fitness classes or career coaching.

In one case quoted by the government, a woman who was off work with a fractured ankle had an assessment with a fitness adviser and was referred for a 12-week exercise programme with the aim of strengthening the ankle.

The Department of Health and Social Care says that of 11 million fit notes issued electronically in England last year, 93% simply declared people "not fit for work" with no alternative support offered.

This new scheme expands on an initiative launched last October in the same 15 regions called WorkWell, jointly run by the Departments of Work and Pensions and Health and Social Care.

It involves NHS staff referring patients to other services. People in work but at risk of quitting have been given advice on mental health in the workplace.

In the new scheme, those out of work will be referred by NHS staff to services that offer support for finding a job, such as CV and interview techniques and liaising with employers on appropriate support.

Ministers say the policies are part of the move across government to encourage more people back into work with 2.8 million currently out of the workforce due to health conditions.

The Royal College of GPs said it recognised the health benefits of being in work and GPs would encourage it where safe to do so, but added that doctors did not issue fit notes without good reason.

Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chair of the College, said: "We want to work alongside the Government on this scheme so it's important that it is not presented as a punitive measure for patients."

Prof Hawthorne also stressed that the new scheme should also not be punitive for "hardworking GPs", who are "doing their best under enormous pressures, caused by historic underfunding and poor workforce planning",

WorkWell is operating in 15 English regions and the new fit note initiative will provide £1.5m to be shared between them.

The regions are Birmingham and Solihull; Black Country; Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire; Cambridgeshire and Peterborough; Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly; Coventry and Warwickshire; Frimley; Herefordshire and Worcestershire; Greater Manchester; Lancashire and South Cumbria; Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland; North Central London; North West London; South Yorkshire; Surrey Heartlands.

The former Metropolitan Police commissioner, Lord Ian Blair, has died at the age of 72.

The crossbench peer and senior police officer led the UK's largest force between 2005 and 2008, including during the 7/7 bombings in London.

Christ Church, Oxford, where Lord Blair studied English and later became an honorary student, confirmed his death on Friday.

Born in Chester in 1953, Lord Blair joined the Met in 1974 as part of its graduate entry scheme.

He rose through the ranks, serving in both uniform and CID, and went on to lead major investigations, including the response to the King's Cross fire of 1987.

In 1998, he became chief constable of Surrey Police before returning to the Met two years later as deputy commissioner.

Lord Blair was appointed commissioner in February 2005, just months before a series of bombings killed 52 people on London's transport network.

Two weeks later, firearms officers shot dead Brazilian electrician Jean Charles de Menezes at Stockwell Underground station, after mistaking him for a terror suspect.

The force was later found to have breached health and safety laws over the shooting.

Lord Blair was cleared of personal wrongdoing but faced sustained pressure over the incident for the remainder of his time in the role.

Parliament's standards commissioner has launched an investigation into ex-Reform MP Rupert Lowe.

The BBC understands it is for allegedly failing to register hundreds of thousands of pounds raised in donations to fund his independent "Rape Gang Inquiry".

More than £600,000 has been donated to a Crowdfunder started by Lowe in March to support a national inquiry into gang-based sexual exploitation across the UK. So far, Lowe has not declared any of the money on his MPs' register.

Lowe started the project before the PM announced a government-backed national inquiry into grooming gangs last month. He has since said his investigation will continue regardless. Lowe has been approached for comment.

The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards has confirmed they are investigating whether Lowe breached parliamentary rules on declaring donations within the 28-days - as set out in the MPs' Code of Conduct.

Under parliamentary rules, MPs must declare any donation from a single source over £1,500 - or over £300 in earnings or gifts.

Lowe's Crowdfunder includes a statement that donors giving above the parliamentary limit will have their names published in the Commons register.

Most of the £600,000 came in small sums - but records show over a dozen donations exceeded £1,500, none of which have appeared in Lowe's register of financial interests.

Lowe was elected as a Reform UK MP for Great Yarmouth in 2024 but was suspended by the party in March, amid claims of threats towards the party's chairman, Zia Yusuf.

In May, the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to press charges over threats he was alleged to have made. Lowe claimed in a BBC Newsnight interview that he had been the victim of a "political assassination attempt".

Not long after his suspension from Reform, Lowe set up his Crowdfunder - accusing ministers of failing victims and saying: "Our gutless political class is too cowardly to even start to process what has truly happened."

Lowe's Rape Gang Inquiry has set up a board, including Conservative MP Esther McVey.

According to the inquiries social media page it has sent "hundreds and hundreds of FOI requests to every local council, police force, NHS trust and more in order to uncover vital information relating to the rape gangs".

Lowe has promised to stream hearings online and insisted his private investigation will continue to push for accountability.

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