MPs are calling for a change in the law to prevent benefit claimants from suffering harm at the hands of the government department that is meant to help them.

Several people have died in recent years after failures by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

A cross-party committee of MPs says new legislation and "deep-rooted cultural change" at the DWP are needed to protect vulnerable clients.

A DWP spokesperson said the government was "currently consulting on a new safeguarding approach" which "genuinely supports vulnerable people".

In recent years, the deaths of Errol Graham, Philippa Day and Kevin Gale have seen the DWP widely criticized for its handling of vulnerable clients.

• Mr Graham, who suffered from severe mental health problems, weighed just four-and-a-half stone when he died in 2018 after his benefits were wrongly stopped
• In 2019, a coroner found that Ms Day took her own life after her benefits were cut in error
• Kevin Gale died by suicide in 2022, having been diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety, exacerbated by his universal credit application

In Mr Gale's case, the coroner highlighted "that current DWP procedures may not be practical for those with mental health illness and can exacerbate symptoms".

The inquest heard of the number and length of DWP forms that claimants were required to complete, the length of telephone queues for DWP advisers, and the requirement to travel long distances for appointments for people affected by mental health illness.

Thursday's report, from the Work and Pensions Select Committee, reveals the deaths of at least 274 people have been investigated internally by the DWP in since April 2015.

Such inquiries - Internal Process Reviews - are launched when there is an allegation that a case has been mishandled by the DWP which has potentially contributed to serious harm or a safeguarding concern.

During the same period, 58 reviews were opened into cases where customers suffered harm - but the MPs said the scale of the failings was likely to be greater.

"That people continue to face harm after dealing with the DWP is a self-evident failure of safeguarding in the system," said committee chair Debbie Abrahams MP.

"Until recently, getting people back into work to cut costs had been prioritised over providing support and care for vulnerable people," Ms Abrahams added.

"We heard evidence that the process of engaging with the DWP... too often led to mental distress.

"Deep-rooted cultural change of the DWP is desperately needed to rebuild trust and put safeguarding at the heart of policy development.

"Introducing a statutory duty to safeguard vulnerable claimants for the department is a fundamental part of this."

A new law, holding the secretary of state accountable for safeguarding clients, would ensure that everyone saw it as their responsibility to protect claimants, says the committee.

'Nasty and traumatic'

Carl, 44, a former roofer from Croydon, south London, said his first interaction with the DWP "felt quite a nasty and traumatic experience".

He had struggled for 18 months with a degenerative back condition that had left him with mobility issues and constant pain, requiring strong painkillers.

In 2018, after trying a variety of less manual roles, such as plastering and carpet fitting, he realised he could no longer hold down a job.

He applied for universal credit, his first ever benefit application, which led to an appointment at his local job centre.

Carl says the work coach was "very dismissive and patronising".

"He said: 'If you want money from us, you're going to have to jump through these hoops.'

"It almost felt like he was trying to imply that I was being dishonest and I was putting it on.

"It was a very uncaring response. I wanted support to get a non-manual job."

'Absolutely life-changing'

Shannon Johnstone, 28, who found herself sleeping rough about seven years ago before turning to the DWP for help, said the recommendations "are going to be absolutely life-changing for people... if they're done right".

At the start of her claim, she remembers the DWP told her: "We can't help with your homelessness," which she says was understandable but off-putting.

She does not know if they referred her case to homeless organisations as she was never told. Now she welcomes the recommendation to include the views of people with lived experience in the design, planning and implementation of DWP policy.

"People who have gone through the system understand what it feels like to be interviewed by a [DWP] inspector," says Shannon who now works for the charity, Expert Link.

"They understand what it's like to gather lots of paperwork, so by including them in the design of the system, it's going to work so much better."

In a statement, the DWP said the government was committed to protecting the people who use its services "and fixing the broken welfare system we inherited so it works for those who need it".

"That's why we are currently consulting on a new safeguarding approach and our reforms will improve people's lives and rebuild trust, by establishing an approach that genuinely supports vulnerable people."

The spokesperson added that the government was encouraging people to have their voices heard in the consultation and help build a system "that works better for all".

Israel is preparing a series of sites in Gaza that could be used as distribution centres for humanitarian aid in a controversial new plan, satellite images show.

The Israeli government suspended food and medicine deliveries into Gaza in March.

Ministers said the move, which has been condemned by UN, European and Middle Eastern leaders, was intended to put pressure on Hamas to release its remaining hostages. Israel also accused Hamas of stealing aid – an allegation the group has denied.

The UN has said the blockade has caused severe shortages of food, medicines and fuel, and an assessment on Monday warned that Gaza's population of around 2.1 million people was at "critical risk" of famine.

The US confirmed last week that it was preparing a new system for providing aid from a series of hubs inside Gaza, which would be run by private companies and protected by security contractors and Israeli forces.

Images analysed by BBC Verify show that land has already been cleared, with new roads and staging areas constructed at a number of locations in southern and central Gaza in recent weeks.

Israel has not publicly said where the hubs will be, but humanitarian sources - briefed previously by Israeli officials - told BBC Verify that at least four centres will be built in the southern section of Gaza and one further north near the Netzarim Corridor, a strip of land controlled by the military that effectively divides the territory.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation - an organisation set up to support the plan - initially said food, water and hygiene kits would be supplied to 1.2 million people, less than 60% of the population.

On Wednesday it announced it would start operations before the end of May, and appeared to call for Israel to allow aid through normal channels until its distribution centres were fully operational. It also called for aid hubs to be built in northern Gaza, something not envisaged under the original plan.

UN agencies have insisted they will not co-operate with the plan - which is in line with one previously approved by Israel's government - saying it contradicted fundamental humanitarian principles.

A spokesperson for the UN's Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) accused Israel of seeking to use "food and fuel as leverage, as part of a military strategy".

"All aid would be channelled through a handful of militarised hubs," Olga Cherevko told BBC Verify.

"That kind of arrangement would cut off vast areas of Gaza – particularly the most vulnerable, who can't move easily, or are otherwise marginalised – from any help at all."

Meanwhile, Bushra Khalidi of Oxfam described the new plan as a "farce".

"No logistical solution is going to address Israel's strategy of forcible displacement and using starvation as a weapon of war. Lift the siege, open the crossings and let us do our job."

It is understood that the proposed new system has not yet had final sign-off from the Israeli government.

'Secure distribution sites'

BBC Verify used satellite imagery to identify four potential sites based on the limited available information about their locations.

The sites are similar in size, shape and design to existing open-air distribution sites inside Gaza, such as at Erez, Erez West and Kisufim. The largest site we've looked at is bigger - more comparable to the area inside Gaza at Kerem Shalom crossing.

Our analysis of the imagery shows significant development at one of the sites in south-west Gaza, close to the ruins of a village that is now an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) base.

Satellite photos since early April show the construction of a road there and a large staging area, surrounded by berms - large defensive barriers made of piled sand - about 650m (2,130ft) from the border with Egypt.

A high-resolution image captured on 8 May shows bulldozers and excavators working on a section of land spanning about 20 acres (8 hectares). IDF armoured vehicles are at a fortified building nearby.

A photo taken on site, geolocated by BBC Verify, also shows lighting being installed on the perimeter.

Further imagery from 11 and 12 May shows this, along with three other sites, continuing to expand. One site is about half a kilometre from a collection of eight UN warehouses, and 280m from another large warehouse.

Stu Ray - a senior imagery analyst with McKenzie Intelligence - agreed the sites were likely to be secure distribution centres. He noted that some of the facilities are in "close proximity to IDF Forward Operating Bases which ties in with the IDF wishing to have some control over the sites".

Analysts with another intelligence firm, Maiar, said the facilities appeared to be designed with separate entrances for trucks to move in and out, and with other gaps in the berms that would be suitable for pedestrian entrances.

The IDF did not comment on the potential aid centres when approached by BBC Verify, but said that its operations in Gaza were carried out "in accordance with international law". Cogat - the Israeli body responsible for managing crossings into Gaza - did not respond to a request for comment.

Three of the four sites located by BBC Verify are south of the IDF's newly created Morag Corridor.

What is the Morag Corridor?

This is an Israeli military zone that runs across the Gaza Strip and separates the southern cities of Khan Younis and Rafah.

Since the IDF established a security zone there in early April, a six-mile (10km) road has been built covering two thirds of the width of Gaza, bordered by defensive berms and dotted with IDF outposts.

This new road leads directly to one of the development sites visible in satellite imagery, and a pre-existing road connects it to two more.

This entire area has been subjected to extensive land clearance by the IDF. BBC Verify has geolocated video and images of areas throughout the Morag Corridor, and south of it, filmed by Israeli forces, which show controlled demolitions using explosives and heavy machinery, and extensive destruction of buildings.

Humanitarian sources said Israeli briefings indicated that aid would enter Gaza via Kerem Shalom crossing.

Satellite imagery shows ongoing construction work happening there too over the past few months, with the apparent expansion of its storage areas, and new roads added.

Since Israel stopped new aid supplies in March, the UN has reiterated that it has an obligation under international law to ensure that the basic needs of the population under its control are met.

Israel has insisted that it is complying with international law and that there is no shortage of aid in Gaza.

What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?

Israel has issued one of the most sweeping evacuation orders for civilians in Gaza yet seen in this war.

Large swathes of Gaza City, a conurbation already partially destroyed by bombing, have been declared unsafe, the residents taking shelter there told to leave for their own safety ahead of "intense strikes" by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Among the buildings highlighted by Israel are the Islamic University, Al-Shifa Hospital and three former schools.

While Israel alleges that the buildings are being used by Hamas as "command and control centres", local authorities and aid agencies say there are thousands of civilians sheltering there.

Evacuating these areas would require time, they say, and there could be huge numbers of casualties.

It's an ominous sign of Israel's threat to significantly expand its military campaign in Gaza.

The former Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, has been one of very few senior Israelis so far to speak out against expanding the military campaign in Gaza.

In an interview with the BBC, Olmert said: "Most Israelis are against what is happening, large numbers of the [army's] commanders are against expanding the military operation and want to end the war right now."

Olmert is a frequent and increasingly vocal critic of Israel's current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and his views reflect growing concern about the impact of the 20-month-long war on the country's morale, economy and international standing.

Olmert was also outspoken on the humanitarian impact of the war on the residents of Gaza.

"It's totally intolerable, unacceptable and unforgivable, it needs to be stopped right away," said the former top official, who has been accused by pro-government outlets of "lobbying for Palestinians".

He added: "We have to provide all of the humanitarian needs of the population. We can't allow morally the beginning of famine in Gaza. That has to stop."

Such opinions are rarely reflected in the Israeli media or in public opinion polls but they've been urgently repeated in passionate speeches in recent days by UN organisations, aid agencies and by some of Israel's allies abroad – French President Emmanuel Macron called Israel's actions in Gaza "shameful". Netanyahu accused him of "standing with Hamas".

There's growing evidence of profound suffering across Gaza after a 10-week blockade, during which Israel has prevented the entry of any food, medicines or fuel into the Palestinian enclave.

A UN-backed assessment has said that Gaza's population of around 2.1 million Palestinians is at "critical risk" of famine and faces "extreme levels of food insecurity". The World Health Organisation says without enough nutritious food, clean water and access to health care, an entire generation will be permanently affected.

Israeli government spokesman David Mencer insisted to the BBC that "Israel is certainly not starving Gaza".

"I don't dispute that there is hunger in Gaza, but we believe that it is hunger caused by Hamas. There is food in Gaza, that's our information. There is no famine," he said.

Israel also resumed its aerial bombardment of Gaza on 18 March and its attacks have killed 2,799 since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry, including 80 people on Wednesday.

There are faint hopes that an updated US-sponsored ceasefire proposal could still be accepted by Israel and Hamas. It reportedly would see the release of some remaining hostages in exchange for an unspecified period of calm.

However Netanyahu has said Israel will expand its military offensive in Gaza and that nothing will stop the war. Hamas meanwhile has refused to release the remaining hostages unless Israel agrees to a permanent ceasefire and withdraws from Gaza.

On Wednesday evening 67 former hostages signed a letter urging Netanyahu to reach a "comprehensive deal" for the return of all captives still being held by Hamas.

"The majority of Israeli society wants the hostages home - even at the cost of halting military operations," the letter said.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said the letter was written to build on the "historic momentum" after Edan Alexander's release. Hamas said it freed the 21-year-old as a goodwill gesture to Donald Trump, who is visiting the region.

The ex-hostages letter appealed to Trump not to "let this historic momentum stop".

A poll for Israel's Channel 12 at the end of April suggested that 68% of respondents supported signing a hostage deal with Hamas even if it meant ending the war, while just 22% supported continued fighting in Gaza.

So far Netanyahu remains unmoved.

"Despite American determination, there is no change in the PM's position - we will not allow an end to the war," an official in Mr Netanyahu's entourage said, according to diplomatic sources.

Israel launched a military campaign to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 52,928 people have been killed in Gaza since then, the health ministry says.

Co-op narrowly averted being locked out of its computer systems during the cyber attack that saw customer data stolen and store shelves left bare, the hackers who claim responsibility have told the BBC.

The revelation could help explain why Co-op has started to recover more quickly than fellow retailer M&S, which had its systems more comprehensively compromised, and is still unable to carry out online orders.

Hackers who have claimed responsibility for both attacks told the BBC they tried to infect Co-op with malicious software known as ransomware - but failed when the firm discovered the attack in action.

Both Co-op and M&S declined to comment.

The gang, using the cyber crime service DragonForce, sent the BBC a long, offensive rant about their attack.

"Co-op's network never ever suffered ransomware. They yanked their own plug - tanking sales, burning logistics, and torching shareholder value," the criminals said.

But cyber experts like Jen Ellis from the Ransomware Task Force said the response from Co-op was sensible.

"Co-op seems to have opted for self-imposed immediate-term disruption as a means of avoiding criminal-imposed, longer-term disruption. It seems to have been a good call for them in this instance," she said.

Ms Ellis said these kinds of crisis decisions are often taken quickly when hackers have breached a network and can be extremely difficult.

Speaking exclusively to the BBC, the criminals claimed to have breached Co-op's computer systems long before they were discovered.

"We spent a while seated in their network," they boasted.

They stole a large amount of private customer data and were planning to infect the company with ransomware, but were detected.

Ransomware is a kind of attack where hackers scramble computer systems and demand payment from victims in exchange for handing back control.

It would also have made the restoration of Co-op's systems more complex, time-consuming and expensive - exactly the problems M&S appears to be wrestling with.

The criminals claim they were also behind the attack on M&S which struck over Easter.

Although M&S has yet to confirm it is dealing with ransomware, cyber experts have long said that is the situation and M&S has not issued any advice or corrections to the contrary.

Nearly three weeks on, the retailer is still struggling to get back to normal, as online orders are still suspended and some shops have had continued issues with contactless payments and empty shelves this week.

An analysis from Bank of America estimates the fallout from the hack is costing M&S £43m per week.

On Tuesday, M&S admitted personal customer data was stolen in the hack, which could include telephone numbers, home addresses and dates of birth.

It added the data theft did not include useable payment or card details, or any account passwords - but nonetheless urged customers to reset their account details and be wary of potential scammers using the information to make contact.

Co-op seems to be recovering more quickly, saying its shelves will start to return to normal from this weekend.

Nonetheless it is expected to feel the effects of the cyber attack for some time.

"Co-op have acted quickly and their work on the recovery helps to soften things slightly, but rebuilding trust is a bit harder," Prof Oli Buckley, a cyber security expert at Loughborough University, told the BBC.

"It will be a process of showing that lessons have been learned and there are stronger defences in place," he added.

The same cyber-crime group has also claimed responsibility for an attempted hack of the London department store Harrods.

The hackers who contacted the BBC say they are from DragonForce which operates an affiliate cyber crime service so anyone can use their malicious software and website to carry out attacks and extortions.

It's not known who is ultimately using the service to attack the retailers, but some security experts say the tactics seen are similar to that of a loosely coordinated group of hackers who have been called Scattered Spider or Octo Tempest.

The gang operates on Telegram and Discord channels and is English-speaking and young – in some cases only teenagers.

Conversations with Co-op hackers were carried out in text form - but it is clear the hacker, who called himself a spokesperson, was a fluent English speaker.

They say two of the hackers want to be known as "Raymond Reddington" and "Dembe Zuma" after characters from US crime thriller Blacklist which involves a wanted criminal helping police take down other criminals on a 'blacklist'.

The hackers say "we're putting UK retailers on the Blacklist".

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The BBC Radio 2 breakfast show lost more than 360,000 listeners following Zoe Ball's exit, new audience figures show.

The presenter hosted her final breakfast programme in December after six years in the slot, and recently took up a new role fronting Saturday afternoons on the station.

After her departure, DJ Mark Goodier covered the show for most of January, until new host Scott Mills took over at the end of that month.

Radio 2 still comfortably has the most popular breakfast show in the UK, attracting an audience of 6.45 million between January and March, a 5% drop on the previous quarter, according to industry ratings body Rajar.

Ball had added more than 200,000 listeners during her final three months on the programme.

After taking over the breakfast show, Mills was replaced on his former afternoon slot by Trevor Nelson, whose evening programme was taken over by DJ Spoony.

Vernon Kay attracted an audience of 6.73 million in the first three months of 2025, meaning his mid-morning show retained its crown as the most popular radio programme in the UK.

The show is down, however, on the audience of 8.2 million achieved by his predecessor Ken Bruce, who left in 2023.

The station's weekly audience fell by about half a million compared with its previous total of 13.65 million in the final quarter of 2024, Rajar said.

Radio 2 chief Helen Thomas said: "In a quarter which saw Radio 2 launch a new daytime schedule in late January, host some of the world's most loved musicians in the Piano Room throughout February, and celebrate country music in March, I'm thrilled that Radio 2 remains the UK's most popular radio station with 13.11m listeners each week."

Listening figures often drop after major schedule changes, and Ball herself lost nearly 800,000 listeners in 2019 after Chris Evans' departure.

The breakfast show regularly attracted more than nine million listeners during Evans' tenure. That figure has not been matched since, although radio audiences have become increasingly fragmented in recent years.

The BBC, and Radio 2 in particular, went through a tumultuous period around 2022, which saw several high-profile figures leave the station, either by choice or through schedule shake-ups.

Elsewhere, Heart's breakfast show, hosted by Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden, has seen its audience rise by 250,000 listeners.

It attracted a record audience of 4.3 million in the first quarter of the year, cementing its status as the most popular commercial breakfast show in the UK.

Meanwhile, Gok Wan's first three months co-hosting Magic Radio's breakfast show, alongside Harriet Scott, saw the programme marginally increase its audience to 862,000.

However, it is still significantly down on the 1.2 million listeners it had a year ago, when it was fronted by former Boyzone singer Ronan Keating.

Capital's breakfast show, hosted by Jordan North, was down by 140,000 listeners after a leap in listeners following his arrival last year.

And after a loss of more than a quarter of a million in 2024, Kiss Breakfast, hosted by Jordan Banjo and Perri Kiely, climbed by 80,000 in the latest quarter.

Big plumes of smoke are visible on a screen that's providing a live feed from Ukrainian drones hovering over the outskirts of the eastern city of Pokrovsk, one of the most intense front lines in Ukraine.

A few seconds earlier, Ukrainian artillery strikes Russian positions, places where we'd seen Russian soldiers moving about as they try to advance towards a key road going into Pokrovsk.

At least one Russian soldier is injured, possibly dead after the strike.

It's chilling to watch the live footage. It drives home the bloody consequences of the war that Russia started, in which hundreds of thousands have so far been killed, a "never-ending bloodbath" as US President Donald Trump calls it.

We are in a rural house converted into a command centre for the 155th mechanised brigade of the Ukrainian army. It's a few miles from front-line artillery positions.

The scale of the devastation that we see on the screens, homes and buildings completely flattened, is far greater than what we saw six months ago.

It is evidence of the fierce battle that has been fought over the past several months to defend Pokrovsk, a crucial transport hub in the Donetsk region.

This week, there's cautious optimism, even among sceptical soldiers who have witnessed hopes of a ceasefire being dashed over and over again, as diplomatic efforts from the US, Europe, Turkey and others have pushed Russia and Ukraine to direct talks for the first time in three years.

"I think something should happen since Russia was the first one to push for these talks. I mean since 2022, they have refused to go into any contact," says an officer who wants to be referred to with his call sign "Kozak".

"I want to believe this would be the beginning of the end of the war.

"But now I see, we have been successful in destroying their rear positions and their supply lines. Russia does not have the same strength and power it had at the beginning. So I think that something will happen."

Yurii, 37, used to work in a technology company before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. "They (Russia and Ukraine) have to start talking. Us soldiers, we wish this war would end. But it's important to remember that we cannot stop it because we did not start it," he says.

He looks up at the screen and spots Russian soldiers moving again. He and his colleagues calculate the co-ordinates of their positions and pass them on to their artillery unit.

We drive from the command centre to the artillery position, on mud tracks running through a wide expanse of open fields. Clumps of mud fly in the air, our car slips and slides, as we move as fast as possible. The speed is a mitigation against strikes from drones, which have sharply increased fatalities for both Russia and Ukraine since they were deployed in large numbers in 2023.

And war technology keeps evolving. Now there's a new threat – drones equipped with a real fibre optic cable which unrolls as they fly. "We cannot detect them or neutralise them, so there are probably a lot more drones in the area right now than we know," says Yurii.

As we drive into the artillery position hidden under trees and bushes, soldiers are already loading the gun. It's a French made self-propelled artillery gun called the "Caesar". Scores have been deployed in Ukraine since the start of the war, and France has been trying to ramp up production.

"I'm very impressed by its accuracy, and we can use a large range of ammunition. The most important thing is that bringing it into combat is very fast. It is much more effective than the old Soviet equipment I've used," says Kozak.

Ukrainian soldiers fire four rounds, each one emitting a deafening sound. From around us, we also hear the sound of incoming shells. The battle rages on.

"As you can hear, there is a wave of assaults from the enemy and we need a lot of ammunition to suppress that. We hope our international partners can give us as much ammunition as possible, because if we have to start choosing priority and non-priority targets then the enemy will be successful," says Kozak.

We ask the soldiers how they feel about suggestions that Ukraine will have to make concessions, that it might have to give up land to secure peace.

"It's painful to hear that. Even I want to go home to my family. My daughter is eight and I miss her so much. But we need to be strong. I don't believe that if we give up some territory, they will stop. In a couple of years, they will return and start over," says Yurii.

"A person who has not come here, who hasn't felt the consequences of Russian aggression, those armchair commentators say you can give up land and everything will be over. They will never understand how many brothers and friends we have lost. We shouldn't give up a single metre of our land," says Kozak.

The cost Ukraine has paid to defend its land is visible everywhere, most acutely in the photos of smiling, young soldiers posted by the side of highways, on memorial walls in central city squares, and on rows and rows of freshly dug graves in the country.

Yana Stepanenko lovingly buys her son's favourite treats - a cup of steaming hot chocolate and a chocolate roll.

Then she drives out to a cemetery in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, and places them neatly by 22-year-old Vladislav's grave. She and her daughter, 13-year-old Nicole, wipe the grave with wet tissues. Before long, they break down inconsolably into each other's arms.

Vladislav was a drone operator with the Ukrainian military. He was killed in combat in a Russian strike on 21 February this year.

For Yana, news of direct talks resuming bring no hope.

"It seems to me that this war is eternal. Of course, I hope they will find a solution. Because people are dying here and there (in Russia). But Putin is greedy. His hunger for our land is insatiable," says Yana.

Parts of the Zaporizhzhia region are currently occupied by Russia, the front line less than 40 miles from the city. But Russia has on more than one occasion demanded control of the full regions of Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Donetsk and Kherson as part of any peace deal.

"No way. I want to live in Ukraine, not Russia. We have seen what they do under occupation, what they did in places like Bucha – their cruelty and torture," says Yana. "Can you imagine, they've not even spared this graveyard," she adds, pointing to a big crater nearby where a bomb exploded some months ago.

Tears rolling down her eyes, she adds.

"I hope my child did not die for nothing. That there will still be a victory and all of Ukraine will become free."

Additional reporting by Imogen Anderson, Volodymyr Lozhko, Anastasiia Levchenko, Sanjay Ganguly

A mosquito-borne disease freshly arrived in Britain has spread large distances, with scientists racing to understand the risks to wild birds.

Infected insects can spread the deadly Usutu virus to blackbirds, raising fears for the famous songsters.

New data shows Usutu has spread across much of southern England in five years, and has been linked to declines in some blackbird populations.

Scientists are monitoring its spread amid warnings that mosquitoes and the diseases they carry may expand their range under climate change.

"We've seen that the virus has spread further than we thought it might do, and it's persisted," Dr Arran Folly of the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) told the BBC.

Scientists at the APHA in Weybridge, Surrey, have been tracking mosquito-borne diseases in wild birds for decades, amid warnings that climate change is turning Europe into a potential breeding ground for the insects.

Longer summers, hotter temperatures and heavy rainfall are creating conditions for the nuisance insects to move into areas that were previously inhospitable to them.

Until 2020, all results came back clear. Then, after the summer heatwave of that year, Usutu was detected in several blackbirds in Greater London.

"Blackbirds specifically are quite susceptible to the virus and since 2020 we've found a decline in blackbirds of approximately 40% in Greater London," said Dr Folly.

"It gives an indication that in the future we might get other viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes emerging in the UK."

Diseases such as Usutu are a growing threat to wild birds, amid a host of other pressures, including habitat loss, climate change and pesticide use.

What is Usutu?

• Usutu virus was first detected more than half a century ago around southern Africa's Usutu River

• It has since spread around the world, reaching Europe three decades ago, and was picked up for the first time in the UK in 2020

• Blackbirds are particularly susceptible to the virus, which can also infect horses and, from time to time, humans.

• The virus is regarded as generally of low risk to people, and there have been no human cases reported in the UK to date.

The latest data shows that Usutu has spread further than the scientists expected.

It has now been detected in wild birds across much of southern England, at least as far west as Dorset and as far north as Cambridgeshire.

How big a risk Usutu poses to wild birds is uncertain. The virus has been linked to mass die-offs of blackbirds elsewhere in Europe, though that doesn't seem to be the case in Britain.

And the blackbird remains one of the commonest garden birds with numbers holding steady in many parts of the country, especially in rural areas, and in the north.

To untangle the puzzle – and gather more data on blackbird numbers – the scientists have joined forces with the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO).

They are calling for volunteers to count blackbirds in their gardens over the summer months to find out more about the comings and goings of the birds.

Around now blackbirds are breeding and raising their young, frequently seen hopping along the ground and singing from the branches of trees on summer evenings.

Lucy Love, a garden birdwatch ambassador for the BTO, knows the blackbirds in her gardens by sight and has grown fond of them.

"They're beautiful birds – intelligent, friendly and they have the most beautiful song with a lovely melodic tone to it," she explained.

"And we cannot lose them – they're a vital part of our ecosystem."

A luxury superyacht that sank off the coast of Sicily, killing the tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch along with six others, was knocked over by "extreme wind" and could not recover, according to an interim report into the disaster.

The UK's Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), which has led the international investigation, said winds of over 80mph "violently" hit the vessel, causing it to flood within seconds.

The Bayesian sank near the town of Portofino on 19 August of last year during freak weather, with reports of water spouts.

Seven of the 22 people onboard were killed, including Mr Lynch, 59, and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah.

Investigators say the yacht was knocked to a 90-degree angle within 15 seconds at 04:06 am local time, causing people, furniture and loose items to fall across the deck.

"There was no indication of flooding inside Bayesian until water came in over the starboard rails and, within seconds, entered the internal spaces down the stairwells," the report says.

The MAIB's chief inspector of marine accidents Andrew Moll said the situation was "irrecoverable" once the yacht tilted beyond 70 degrees.

The Bayesian was also "vulnerable" to lighter winds, according to the report, with speeds of 73mph able to tip it over.

The owner and crew of the yacht were unaware of this, as it was not included in the onboard stability information book, it adds.

The MAIB is investigating the incident as the Bayesian was registered in the UK. No date has been set for when its final report will be published.

It said its report was based on "a limited amount of verified evidence" as a criminal investigation by Italian authorities has restricted access to the wreck.

An operation to raise the 56-metre vessel from the seabed was paused over the weekend after a diver died while working on the wreck. Work is set to resume on Thursday.

The report lays out more detail as to how the sinking unfolded.

Investigators say the yacht sailed to the site where it sank on the previous day, in order to "shelter" from forecast thunderstorms. The sails were furled at the time.

Wind speed was "no more than eight knots (9mph)" at 03:00 - about an hour before the incident. Some 55 minutes later it had increased to 30 knots (34.5mph), and it had accelerated to 70 knots (80.6mph) by 04:06 when the yacht capsized.

As the storm intensified, several crew members were working in response to the conditions. The deck hand went onto the deck to close the yacht's windows.

Five people were injured "either by falling or from things falling on them" and the deck hand was "thrown into the sea", the report says.

Two of the yacht's guests used furniture drawers "as an improvised ladder" to escape their cabin, it adds.

Dr Simon Boxall, Oceanographer at the University of Southampton, said the Bayesian was in "the wrong place at the wrong time".

"The priorities for the crew would have been to shut the hatches and the doors, which they did," he told the BBC.

This means speculation about water flooding in because everything was open is "obviously not the case".

"The next priority would have been to start the engines - so they would have some manoeuvrability to position themselves within a storm - and to then lift anchor, which the crew did, but this takes time," he added.

"It's not like a car where you jump in and turn the key. It would take 5 or 10 minutes before you can start the engines with a vessel of this size."

Survivors escaped on the Bayesian's life raft and were rescued by a small boat dispatched from another nearby yacht, the report says.

Mike Lynch was a prominent figure in the UK tech industry, where his backing of successful companies led to him being dubbed the British equivalent of Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

But the latter years of his life were consumed by a long-running legal dispute which resulted in him being controversially extradited to the US.

Inquest proceedings in the UK are looking at the deaths of Mr Lynch and his daughter, as well as Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife, Judy Bloomer, who were all British nationals.

US lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo also died in the sinking, along with Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, who was working as the yacht's chef.

Fifteen people managed to escape on a lifeboat, including Mr Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares.

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Thirty-five seconds. That's all the time you get to change the set at Eurovision.

Thirty-five seconds to get one set of performers off the stage and put the next ones in the right place.

Thirty-five seconds to make sure everyone has the right microphones and earpieces.

Thirty-five seconds to make sure the props are in place and tightly secured.

While you're at home watching the introductory videos known as postcards, dozens of people swarm the stage, setting the scene for whatever comes next.

"We call it the Formula 1 tyre change," says Richard van Rouwendaal, the affable Dutch stage manager who makes it all work.

"Each person in the crew can only do one thing. You run on stage with one light bulb or one prop. You always walk on the same line. If you go off course, you will hit somebody.

"It's a bit like ice skating."

The stage crew start rehearsing their "F1 tyre change" weeks before the contestants even arrive.

Every country sends detailed plans of their staging, and Eurovision hires stand-ins to play the acts (in Liverpool 2023, it was pupils from the local performing arts school), while stagehands start shaving precious seconds off the changeovers.

"We have about two weeks," says Van Rouwendaal, who's normally based in Utrecht but is in Basel for this year's contest.

"My company is around 13 Dutchies and 30 local guys and girls, who rock it in Switzerland.

"In those two weeks, I have to figure out who's right for each job. Someone's good at running, someone's good at lifting, someone's good at organising the backstage area. It is a bit like being good at Tetris because you have to line everything up in a small space, in the perfect way."

As soon as a song finishes, the team are ready to roll.

As well as the stagehands, there are people responsible for positioning lights and setting pyrotechnics; and 10 cleaners who sweep the stage with mops and vacuum cleaners between every performance.

"My cleaners are just as important as the stage crew. You need a clean stage for the dancers - but also, if there's an overhead shot of somebody lying down, you don't want to see shoeprints on the floor."

The attention to detail is clinical. Backstage, every performer has their own microphone stand, set to the correct height and angle, to make sure every performance is camera perfect.

"Sometimes the delegation will say the artist wants to wear a different shoe for the grand final," says Van Rouwendaal. "But if that happens, the mic stand is at the wrong height, so we've got a problem!"

Spontaneously changing footwear isn't the worst problem he's faced, though. At the 2022 contest in Turin, the stage was 10m (33ft) higher than the backstage area.

As a result, they were pushing heavy stage props – including a mechanical bull – up a steep ramp between every act.

"We were exhausted every night," he recalls. "This year is better. We've even got an extra backstage tent where we prepare the props."

Props are a huge part of Eurovision. The tradition started at the second ever contest in 1957, when Germany's Margot Hielscher sang part of her song Telefon, Telefon into (you guessed it) a telephone.

Over the intervening decades, the staging has become ever more elaborate. In 2014, Ukraine's Mariya Yaremchuk trapped one of her dancers in a giant hamster wheel, while Romania brought a literal cannon to their performance in 2017.

• Your guide to all 37 Eurovision songs
• UK act Remember Monday: 'The closer we get, the hungrier we become'
• Céline Dion sends message to Eurovision
• How to win Eurovision, according to the experts
• Swiss host city Basel promises 'everyone is welcome'

This year, we've got disco balls, space hoppers, a magical food blender, a Swedish sauna and, for the UK, a fallen chandelier.

"It's a big logistics effort, actually, to get all the props organised," says Damaris Reist, deputy head of production for this year's contest.

"It's all organised in a kind of a circle. The [props] come onto the stage from the left, and then get taken off to the right.

"Backstage, the props that have been used are pushed back to the back of the queue, and so on. It's all in the planning."

'Smuggling routes'

During the show, there are several secret passageways and "smuggling routes" to get props in and out of vision, especially when a performance requires new elements half-way through.

Cast your mind back, if you will, to Sam Ryder's performance for the UK at the 2022 contest in Italy.

There he was, alone on the stage, belting out falsetto notes in his spangly jumpsuit, when suddenly, an electric guitar appeared out of thin air and landed in his hands.

And guess who put it there? Richard van Rouwendaal.

"I'm a magician," he laughs. "No, no, no… That was a collaboration between the camera director, the British delegation and the stage crew."

In other words, Richard ducked onto the stage, guitar in hand, while the director cut to a wide shot, concealing his presence from viewers at home.

"It's choreographed to the nearest millimetre," he says. "We're not invisible, but we have to be invisible."

What if it all goes wrong?

There are certain tricks the audience will never notice, Van Rouwendaal reveals.

If he announces "stage not clear" into his headset, the director can buy time by showing an extended shot of the audience.

In the event of a bigger incident – "a camera can break, a prop can fall" – they cut to a presenter in the green room, who can fill for a couple of minutes.

Up in the control room, a tape of the dress rehearsal plays in sync with the live show, allowing directors to switch to pre-recorded footage in the event of something like a stage invasion or a malfunctioning microphone.

A visual glitch isn't enough to trigger the back-up tape, however - as Switzerland's Zoë Më discovered at Tuesday's first semi-final.

Her performance was briefly interrupted when the feed from an on-stage camera froze, but producers simply cut to a wide shot until it was fixed. (If it had happened in the final, she'd have been offered the chance to perform again.)

"There's actually lots of measures that are being taken to make sure that every act can be shown in the best way," says Reist.

"There are people who know the regulations by heart, who have been playing through what could happen and what we would do in various different situations.

"I'll be sitting next to our head of production, and if there's [a situation] where somebody has to run, maybe that's going to be me!"

It's no surprise to learn that staging a live three-hour broadcast with thousands of moving parts is incredibly stressful.

This year, organisers have introduced measures to protect the welfare of contestants and crew, including closed-door rehearsals, longer breaks between shows, and the creation of a "disconnected zone" where cameras are banned.

Even so, Reist says she has worked every weekend for the past two months, while Van Rouwendaal and his team are regularly pulling 20-hour days.

The shifts are so long that, back in 2008, Eurovision production legend Ola Melzig built a bunker under the stage, complete with a sofa, a "sadly underused" PS3 and two (yes, two) espresso machines.

"I don't have hidden luxuries like Ola. I'm not at that level yet!" laughs Van Rouwendaal

"But backstage, I've got a spot with my crew. We've got stroopwafels there and, last week, it was King's Day in Holland, so I baked pancakes for everyone.

"I try to make it fun. Sometimes we go out and have a drink and cheer because we had a great day.

"Yes, we have to be on top, and we have to be sharp as a knife, but having fun together is also very important."

And if all goes to plan, you won't see them at all this weekend.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin is not among the names listed by the Kremlin as due to attend peace talks on the war in Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday, despite calls from Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky for him to attend.

Russia's delegation will instead be headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinksy, according to the Kremlin statement.

Zelensky had previously said he would attend the talks and meet Putin in person if the Russian president agreed, and said he would do everything he could to ensure the face-to-face meeting took place.

The Ukrainian president will be in the Turkish capital Ankara on Thursday to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Putin and Zelensky have not met in person since December 2019. Russia and Ukraine last held direct negotiations in March 2022 in Istanbul, shortly after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of its neighbour.

Fighting has raged in Ukraine since then. Russian forces have slowly expanded the amount of territory they control over the past year, mostly in the east of Ukraine.

Putin had initially called for direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey's largest city "without pre-conditions", before Zelensky announced that he would go in person and expected the Russian president to travel as well.

Putin's suggestion of direct talks in Istanbul followed Western powers' call for a 30-day ceasefire, after European leaders met in Kyiv on Saturday.

After Trump called for Ukraine to accept the offer on Sunday, Zelensky said he would travel there himself.

"There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will be waiting for Putin in Türkiye on Thursday. Personally," Zelensky wrote in a social media post.

Earlier on Wednesday, Donald Trump floated the possibility of joining the meeting himself if Putin did.

The US president, who is currently in Qatar, told reporters he did not know if his Russian counterpart would attend "if I'm not there".

"I know he would like me to be there, and that's a possibility. If we could end the war, I'd be thinking about that," Trump said.

The US is expected to send a high-level delegation to the talks, including the country's top diplomat Marco Rubio.

Since returning to the White House, President Trump has sought to broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.

He ended a years-long Western boycott of Russia's leader by speaking to Putin over the phone in February, and his envoy Steve Witkoff has met Vladimir Putin for talks in Moscow.

Trump has previously said Russia and Ukraine were "very close to a deal".

On Sunday, when Putin proposed the direct talks, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: "A potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine!"

Donald Trump has said his administration is now exploring the possibility of normalising relations with Syria - his comments coming shortly after he met Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose forces ended the decades-long dictatorship of the Assad family.

The extraordinary encounter, unthinkable just months ago, was short but significant.

"I think he has got the potential," Trump remarked after his meeting in Riyadh, 37 minutes long, with the former Syrian fighter formerly linked to Al-Qaeda.

The $10m US bounty on his head was only lifted in December.

Video footage of their conversation in a lavish Saudi royal palace showed some initial awkwardness as they spoke through a translator.

A beaming Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammad bin Salman, sat next to them. The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined them by telephone.

Trump acknowledged it was these two leaders who had convinced him to also lift the US's punishing Syria sanctions.

His sudden announcement on Tuesday night at a major US-Saudi investment forum in Riyadh won him a standing ovation. It was a volte-face after his many previous posts on social media that the US had "no interest in Syria".

"Tough guy, very strong past," is how Trump later described Sharaa to journalists travelling with his high-powered American delegation on his first official four-day tour.

It was a very Trump gloss about Sharaa's old links to al-Qaeda. His Islamist group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), was al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria until he severed ties in 2016. HTS is still designated as a terrorist organisation by the UN, US and UK.

Since assuming power in December, Sharaa has been wearing Western business suits and trying to present himself as a president for all Syrians.

"It's a new light at the end of this tunnel," exclaimed Hind Kabawat, minister of social affairs and labour, in the interim government.

She told the BBC's Newshour programme they had been calling for sanctions relief ever since their "Liberation Day".

The US decision sparked celebrations across a county where 90% of Syrians are said to be living in poverty, after more than a decade of civil war and profound suffering.

Removing restrictions which cut Syria off from the international financial system will enable greater engagement by aid agencies and encourage foreign investment and trade.

• Trump pledges to lift Syria sanctions as he seals $142bn arms deal on Saudi visit

"We are the North Korea of the Middle East," a hotel receptionist in Damascus told me last December when I asked for another electronic hotel key.

He tearfully lamented that "we don't have enough cards, we have shortages of everything".

It may also help convince some of the millions of Syrians living in exile to think more seriously about returning home. And it could help a fledgling government to pay salaries, begin to rebuild, and address the growing discontent over the privations of daily life.

But dismantling the vast web of sanctions now strangling Syria will take time.

"Some sanctions can be removed immediately using presidential waivers," commented Dina Esfandiary of Bloomberg Economics.

"But lifting the multi-layered sanctions won't be easy and will require real commitment by the Trump administration."

I remember travelling to Tehran in the wake of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and the Obama administration's commitment to ease sanctions there.

At the news conference with the visiting EU's high representative for foreign policy, Iranian journalists kept asking, with palpable anguish, why it was still impossible for them even to open a bank account.

Syria's new friends, including regional powers like Saudi Arabia and Turkey, now positioning themselves to shape the new Syria, will need to ensure Trump and his team stay interested.

But he's made it clear he expects something in return if there is to be a full normalisation of relations. The first item on his list is "join the Abraham Accords".

The US president regards this process of normalisation with Israel, which several Arab states including the United Arab Emirates has joined, as one of his foreign policy achievements in his first term.

Sharaa, praised by his friends as pragmatic, has already signalled that he understand the importance of building a working relationship with his neighbour, even though Israel continues to bomb what it calls "terrorist targets" – air bases, military installations and weapons depots – insisting they could "fall into the wrong hands".

Last month, the Syrian leader reportedly told a visiting US congressman, Cory Mills, that Syria was prepared to normalise ties with Israel and join the Abraham Accords under "the right conditions".

Israeli media have reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had urged President Trump not to lift sanctions. He remains suspicious of Sharaa and his HTS forces, as well other groups which include foreign fighters in their ranks.

Removing foreign fighters is another of Washington's demands; it's one of the very many challenges now facing Syria's leader.

President Trump hailed this moment as "a chance at greatness". Millions of Syrians just welcome a greater chance that their lives will finally start changing for the better.

Seven-year-old Archie York was killed in a blast in Newcastle caused by his neighbour's illegal attempts to make cannabis sweets. As one of his killers is jailed, Archie's mother says her son's death should serve as a warning to other criminals.

Shortly before 01:00 BST on 16 October, the slumbering streets of Benwell were rent by the roar of an enormous explosion.

Katherine Errington had been asleep in her bedroom with her seven-week-old son Finley, when the pair were suddenly bombarded with and buried beneath the walls and contents of their flat.

She initially thought she was having a nightmare, but the taste of blood in her mouth quickly confirmed this was all too real. The utter panic and confusion was replaced by a realisation she was trapped beneath the debris of her home.

She could hear her baby son crying but could not find him in the darkness and destruction - his cries soon gave way to a chilling silence.

"I closed my eyes," Katherine recalls. "I thought 'if my son's gone, as in unalive, I'll close my eyes and whatever happens I'll not remember it, I'll be asleep'."

Then she heard the shouts of her partner Robbie, desperately searching for her and their baby, and she called back to him so he could zero in on her voice.

Katherine managed to push her foot through the bricks into the dust-filled air, Robbie seizing it gratefully and starting to frantically dig her out, also, miraculously, finding Finley alive and pulling him to safety.

"I got out and looked at where my flat was supposed to be," she says. "There was nothing left of it."

The street outside had rapidly filled with neighbours and emergency services, with Katherine and her baby quickly rushed away for medical treatment.

It was at the hospital where police officers told her the explosion had been even more devastating than she had imagined. Her eldest son, Archie, was "gone".

The last time she had seen him, her "perfect little boy" and Robbie had been asleep on the living room settee.

Seven-year-old Archie had been the dictionary definition of a "mischievous cheeky boy", his mum says. "He was just a normal, happy little boy."

He loved superheroes, computer games and school, where "everybody loved him", Katherine says.

Archie had been overjoyed at the arrival of Finley almost two months earlier, wanting to feed him and change his nappies, maturing overnight into a proper big brother.

"It was just how a family should be," Katherine recalls. "It was the best seven weeks of my life."

Within seconds, several houses on Violet Close were practically demolished and a huge fire was raging, with more than 100 people having to be evacuated from their homes.

Initial suspicions were that it was a gas leak, a faulty boiler somewhere, but investigators quickly honed in on the activities of Katherine and Robbie's downstairs neighbour, 35-year-old Jason Laws, who was also killed in the blast, and his associate Reece Galbraith.

"The scene was hell for almost two months," Det Ch Insp Katie Smith of Northumbria Police says, detailing the "harrowing" finger-tip searches officers had to make in the rubble in the days and weeks after the blast.

A suspiciously large number of butane cannisters were discovered scattered throughout the debris which, along with other industrial items such as a vacuum oven, indicated a factory making so-called shatter - a glassy-type substance used to form cannabis sweets - was operating in one of the flats.

The blast was caused by a build-up of the highly flammable butane, the gas used in the production process, which was taking place while the neighbours all slept peacefully nearby.

"The dangers go without saying," Det Ch Insp Smith says. "[Galbraith and his associates] knew about the risks that night, it says on the side of the gas cannister how highly flammable it is.

"They disregarded that to make some money from drugs.

"It caused utter devastation."

For Katherine, finding out her son had been killed because of the illegal activities of a criminal neighbour only worsened her grief.

"It sickens me that it could have been prevented," she says. "You are supposed to trust your neighbours.

"This is more upsetting for us because someone chose to do that, it was their choice, not ours."

The day she was burying her boy, 33-year-old Galbraith was in court denying being responsible for his death.

It was only later, when confronted with the wealth of prosecution evidence against him including DNA, finger prints and mobile phone data, that Galbraith changed his plea and admitted manslaughter.

His initial denials caused further pain and consternation for Katherine.

"He's got no compassion whatsoever, no remorse for anything he has done," she says.

She says her life now is indescribable, the shock and grief at the loss of Archie still all-consuming.

Katherine never would have thought the routine of kissing her son goodnight and laying out his school clothes for the next morning would be obliterated in such a violent manner.

But she is also keen to ensure he is remembered for being the "funny little cheeky boy" who "touched so many hearts" rather than for the way he was killed.

Katherine is also keen other criminals heed what happened.

"This should be enough to stop anyone trying to do any illegal activities," she says.

"[Galbraith] has now got a seven-year-old's death on his hands from his choice."

Neither Katherine nor Robbie ever saw a future without Archie.

Their son was going to be a rock for Finley, but the baby is now an only child with no memory of the brother who doted on him.

"I don't think we will ever move on from this," Katherine says.

"That day is going to haunt us to the day we die."

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Evri will merge with DHL's UK parcel delivery businesses to create a combined courier firm handling more than a billion parcels and a billion letters a year.

DHL focuses on faster, secure higher-value deliveries of items such as computers or phones, whereas Evri handles much larger volumes of lower-value goods such as clothing.

Evri's deliveries are handled by self-employed couriers using their own vehicles, while DHL's parcels are delivered by a combination of couriers and the company's own fleet of vehicles.

The companies hope that combining the two operations will offer "greater choice" and "cost-competitive solutions" in the UK.

Evri said the deal will also expand its international delivery capacity by giving it access to DHL's global network.

DHL's e-commerce business will be renamed "Evri Premium – a network of DHL eCommerce".

DHL delivers a billion letters a year in the UK, mainly for businesses sending out bulk mail to clients – and the merger will see Evri offer a letter service for the first time.

It hopes to use this service to handle deliveries of smaller items as well as letters.

The group said its combined operation will have access to a network of 15,000 out-of-home delivery points in shops and lockers.

With about a billion parcels a year, the merged business would get closer to Royal Mail's parcel volumes. It delivered 1.3 billion parcels and 6.7 billion letters last year, according to its annual report.

Martijn de Lange, the chief executive of Evri, said that over the last decade Evri had "grown ten-fold in size".

He added the merger would "further expand our access into the European and global e-commerce markets".

After the merger DHL will acquire a minority stake in Evri - financial terms have not been disclosed.

DHL's other services in the UK, such as the DHL Express international delivery service are not included in the deal.

The merger is still subject to approval from the Competition and Markets Authority.

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced limits on how long some offenders can be returned to prison, under plans to ease prison overcrowding.

Under the shake-up, offenders recalled for breaching their licences will be released after a fixed 28-day period.

The change is intended to bypass lengthy waits for a parole board assessment before they can be released again.

Mahmood warned that despite promised new prisons, it would not be possible to "build our way out of this crisis".

She said the change would not apply to those who commit a serious further offence – or are deemed to pose a high risk.

She announced that work would start on three new prisons later this year, but the government currently faced running out of spaces for male offenders by November.

Changes from an upcoming review of sentencing, led by former Conservative minister David Gauke, were only likely to be felt from spring next year, she added.

The prison population is 88,087 from a useable operational capacity 89,442, according to the latest official weekly figures.

It is estimated to increase to between 95,700 and 105,200 by March 2029, according to a government analysis released last year.

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The line-up for UK's celebrity edition of The Traitors has finally been revealed - with enough star power to rival Graham Norton's chat show sofa.

The 19-strong roundtable of stars joining Claudia Winkleman at Ardross Castle in Scotland boasts household names across sport and the arts.

Among them are comedians Stephen Fry and Alan Carr, chat show host Jonathan Ross and Olympic diver Tom Daley - all vying to win the game of deception.

Singers Paloma Faith, Cat Burns and Charlotte Church will also be there, alongside others including historian David Olusoga, broadcaster Clare Balding, actress Celia Imrie and Ted Lasso star Nick Mohammed.

The third series of The Traitors, which aired in January, attracted more than 10 million viewers with its opening episode and 7.4m for its live finale.

The show's format is deceptively simple. A handful of contestants, known as traitors, pick off their castmates, the faithful, with nightly "murders" - while the faithful try to work out their identity. If any traitors remain at the end, they nab the cash prize (though this time the money goes to a charity of the winner's choosing).

The celebrity season, which airs this autumn, will bring a unique mix of fame, ego and public image to the popular format. BBC News speaks to psychologists to uncover likely faithfuls, traitors and frontrunners.

The comedians

Alan Carr, Jonathan Ross, Stephen Fry, Joe Wilkinson and Lucy Beaumont

Comedians are likely to be "the obvious frontrunners to go the distance", says Susie Masterson, a psychotherapist registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).

Humour can be a highly adapted defence mechanism, she says, which can make comedians more opaque than other contestants.

Comics are also quick on their feet, used to presenting a persona and masking in public - this makes them well-equipped traitors, notes Masterson.

"I think Alan Carr could well be a frontrunner," she says. "There is an affability about him, but he's also not afraid of stirring the pot. He's very authentic and has a big personality without necessarily dominating the space."

But fame could disadvantage the high-profile names in the group, like Jonathan Ross. Status, explains consultant counselling psychologist Dr Ritika Suk Birah, can create a power imbalance.

"It can make others feel threatened or suspicious of their motives, even when there's no evidence," she says.

This may be a particular challenge for those understood as both intelligent and articulate, like Stephen Fry.

This perception can lead others to assume strategic manipulation, potentially forcing early elimination out of fear rather than logic, adds Dr Birah.

Unfortunately, Masterson also believes Fry could fit into the category of contestants who "struggle with criticism or scrutiny".

"He might struggle with banishing people as well as any potential heat he might receive," she says.

The singers

Paloma Faith, Cat Burns and Charlotte Church

Stage performers like Cat Burns are used to high-pressure situations, interacting with a variety of people in a live environment. "This could help at the round table," says Masterson.

She adds that Paloma Faith and Charlotte Church are both "big personalities and have direct communication styles". While this may make them good motivators, Masterson is unsure whether they can appear contained or measured enough to endure as traitors.

The sports stars

Tom Daley, Joe Marler and Clare Balding

Sports people will likely make good faithfuls, says Masterson, as strong physical types tend to do better in most of the challenges and can also both lead and motivate the rest of the group. They are also usually goal-driven and able to handle pressure.

"They are quite different personalities in this group, and I'm interested to see how it might play out," says Masterson.

"Clare Balding is very practical and pragmatic, but we have also seen her emotional side on TV recently".

She feels Tom Daley, and to a lesser extent Balding, could well be "golden retriever types" - loyal and supportive - whereas rugby star Joe Marler may be less likely to want to talk things through.

As for the in-built competitive edge, she says success depends on whether they can "play as a team rather than against each other."

The actors

Nick Mohammad, Mark Bonnar, Tameka Empson, Ruth Codd, Celia Imrie

Actors, like comics, may also face distrust depending on how much their castmates expect them to be naturally deceptive.

However, among the group of actors, there is a good mix of ages, types of acting and levels of fame - from soap star Tameka Empson to established film names like Mark Bonnar and Celia Imrie. This could "balance out this superficial disadvantage" by muddying the threat level, says Masterson.

She says cast members with lesser-known personalities, like Ruth Codd and Nick Mohammed, might be harder to read.

The media personalities

David Olusoga, Niko Omilana and Kate Garraway

Presenters like Kate Garraway will be used to live interactions, giving them a potential advantage at the roundtable, notes Masterson.

Historian David Olusoga, as a heavyweight intellect, will likely face the same preconception struggle as Fry, she says.

Masterson also adds that quiet people can struggle to go the distance on the show, as they can either be perceived as threatening or unsupportive by the group.

But the show's history has shown this isn't always the case. Last year's contestant Francesca was hardly visible in the first few episodes, even prompting memes about her supposed irrelevancy, before growing into the show and making it to the final.

One dark horse is YouTube prankster Niko Omilana, says author Eloise Skinner, who holds a diploma in psychotherapy.

His career in social media and online content might offer an edge in the game, as someone fluent in an online world that is hyper-aware of perception.

French police have charged a taxi driver with stealing luggage and cash from UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and his wife Nicola Green.

The driver allegedly sped off with the couple's luggage after a row over a fare for the 360-mile journey from Forli, in Italy, to the French ski resort of Flaine, in Haute-Savoie.

The driver insisted he was owed 700 euros (£590) in cash for part of the journey not covered by an upfront payment to a booking service.

But the Foreign Office said in a statement the fare had been paid in full before they set off on their private holiday.

The taxi driver had a row with Ms Green before driving off with their luggage to a police station, where he made a complaint.

According to French newspaper la Provence, an investigation into a "commercial dispute" was opened by the Bonneville prosecutor's office in Haute-Savoie.

A member of the foreign secretary's office contacted the driver to get the luggage back, and it was allegedly deposited at a police station with a "considerable" sum of money missing from Ms Green's bag, prompting her to make a statement to officers.

Bonneville prosecutor Boris Duffau told the BBC the taxi driver was now being charged with theft.

"An investigation has been opened following a disagreement regarding the payment of a taxi ride between Italy and France," said Mr Duffau.

"After an investigation by French police, the Bonneville prosecutor's office has decided to prosecute the taxi driver who has been summoned to appear at the Bonneville court on 3 November 2025.

"He has been charged with theft (of luggage and cash) to the detriment of Nicola Green and David Lindon Lammy."

The couple had decided to take a private holiday in France after spending three days on a state visit to Italy with King Charles and Queen Camilla.

Sources say they arranged their own transport, at their own expense, through booking company getTransfer.com.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) told the BBC there were no sensitive documents or laptops in the car and the foreign secretary had been travelling on his own personal passport, rather than a diplomatic one.

The FCDO strongly disputes the taxi driver's version of events.

A spokesperson said: "The fare was paid in full.

"The foreign secretary and his wife are named as victims in this matter and the driver has been charged with theft.

"As there is an ongoing legal process, it would be inappropriate to comment further."

The UK's rivers are forecast to hit exceptionally low levels in some parts of the country in the next three months, according to the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH), raising questions over supplies to households, farmers and businesses.

The warning comes after the driest spring in England since 1961, with northern regions experiencing the driest start to the year in nearly a century.

Almost all of the UK is expected to have below normal or low river levels in May, apart from the south-west of England.

The Environment Agency has said that the UK is at medium risk of drought and warned households of the risk of water restrictions.

The next 2-3 weeks will be "crucial" in determining if drought will happen, says Mark Owen, head of fisheries for the Angling Trust and a member of the National Drought Group.

That is the group led by the government that can declare if drought is officially underway.

The country is not now in drought, but the impacts of the exceptionally dry weather are already being felt.

Some farmers are being forced to water their crops instead of relying on rainfall, which is something that normally happens later in the year.

"We are having a drought now from an agricultural point of view," arable farmer Nick Deane told BBC News from his farm in Norfolk.

He had to start irrigating his fields in March.

"We have to ration our water and decide which areas we are going to put that water on in order to keep the crops growing," he said.

He warned that an extremely long drought would mean farmers struggle to produce food and more produce would need to be imported.

The dry and sunny weather this year has led to a larger area of the UK burned by wildfires this year compared to in any other entire year.

The last drought was in June-August 2022, which was the joint hottest summer (with 2018) and fifth driest since the 1890s.

Five companies introduced hosepipe bans, affecting 19 million people, and waterways had restricted navigation.

That drought was preceded by six months of very dry weather.

However, the wet summer in 2024 and moderately-wet winter means water supplies are in a better place now and water companies have larger reserves to rely on.

But dry weather earlier in the year has risks. It does "potentially pose a greater risk to water resources later on in the year, particularly if the dry weather continues," says Stephen Turner, hydrologist at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.

Last week, Richard Thompson, chair of the National Drought Group, warned that water companies may need to bring in water restrictions to protect supplies if the dry weather continues.

At the moment the key questions are when will it next rain and when it does, how much will there be.

There are some signs that some rain is on the horizon, with unsettled weather from the west at the end of next week.

Drinking water comes from different places depending on the geography and geology of regions.

Roughly speaking, the south of England takes a long time to get into drought but a long time to leave. That's because a lot of rainfall is stored in rocks underground and takes a long time to reach rivers and water supplies.

By contrast, the north of England quickly enters drought and quickly gets out because reservoirs are more heavily used for water supplies.

Water Companies introduce hosepipe bans when water supplies reach a certain low in their areas.

If drought conditions become severe, the government can restrict irrigation of farms, reduce boats' movement on waterways, and limit water available to non-essential businesses like car washes.

In an extreme scenario, it could ration the amount of water available to homes and businesses but that has not happened since 1976.

Water industry bosses and the National Farmers' Union (NFU) are calling on the government to do more to ensure the driest parts of the UK have secure water supplies in the face of any future drought.

Water UK, which represents the water industry, is calling for a new national water grid of pipes, canals and reservoirs to be set up in England to move water from the wettest regions to where it is most needed.

And farmers say they need more government funding and less planning red tape to build their own reservoirs to supply their farms.

Mr Deane came together with five other farmers, including fruit growers, to build their own reservoir. It took four years and cost more than £1m.

It has proved vital, they say, with 15% of the stored water already used this year in the dry conditions.

But the group said obtaining planning permission was costly and difficult.

A government spokesman said it was working with the agricultural sector to improve its water supply resilience and establish more groups of farmers who could work together to develop their own reservoirs.

He added: "Over £104bn of private sector investment has been secured to fund essential infrastructure, including nine new reservoirs, to help secure our future water supply for farmers."

Are the dry conditions linked to climate change?

The prolonged dry weather is linked to what are called "blocking highs" when a high pressure weather system becomes stuck.

Scientists do not know if this blocked pattern is linked to climate change.

Global warming is expected to cause more extreme weather events globally.

Studies about our future climate suggest more and longer periods of dry weather as well as periods of less rainfall in the UK. Winters are likely to be wetter and warmer.

That could exacerbate other forms of drought like hydrological or agricultural drought, according to the Met Office.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said Canadians were not "impressed" by the UK government's invitation to US President Donald Trump for a second state visit.

The newly elected Carney told Sky News that the UK's invitation earlier this year did not help Canadians, who were facing repeat comments from Trump about making Canada the 51st US state.

"To be frank, [Canadians] weren't impressed by that gesture... given the circumstance," he said. "It was at a time when we were being quite clear about the issues around sovereignty."

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer invited Trump to come to the UK for a visit during a meeting at the White House in February.

Asked whether the invitation was "appropriate", Carney said that was a decision for the government of the UK and Buckingham Palace.

"I leave the diplomacy to the UK government," he said.

The BBC has contacted the Carney's office and No 10 for comment.

Buckingham Palace declined to respond.

The criticism from Carney comes as the Canadians prepare to welcome King Charles III and Queen Camilla at the end of this month for a royal visit.

During the Sky News interview, Carney said his invitation for the King - Canada's head of state - to attend the opening of Canada's Parliament "is not coincidental".

"It is also a reaffirming moment, will be a reaffirming," Carney said, saying issues around Canada's sovereignty "have been accentuated by the president".

During his visit, the King will also read the Speech from the Throne - a function usually carried out by the governor general.

The last time this happened was in October 1977 when Queen Elizabeth II read the speech for the second time in Canada's history. The first was in 1957.

Since returning to the White House, Trump has made repeated comments undermining Canada's sovereignty, including that the Canadian border is an "artificially drawn line".

Meanwhile, Carney has firmly said Canada is "not for sale, ever".

Carney - who said he would only meet the US president "until we get the respect we deserve" - sat down with Trump in Washington DC last week to begin negotiations on a new trade and security relationship.

During the visit, Trump repeated his 51st state comments.

Pressed on that, Carney told Sky News that Trump has shifted his tone from "expectation to a desire for that to happen".

"He also came from a place where he recognised that was not going to happen."

There's a vast empty space in the middle of the factory floor in Foshan in southern China where workers should be welding high-end air fryers for the US market.

Derek Wang says his American customers were wowed by his air fryer models - which are controlled via smartphones and can also bake, roast and grill.

But then on 2 April, Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs hit all Chinese goods entering the US, eventually reaching 145% - and his clients asked him to pause production.

"I tried to keep smiling through my anxiety for the sake of my 40 workers," he told the BBC.

On Wednesday, as a deal to ease the trade war came into effect, Mr Wang said his US buyers were back on the phone.

Both countries still face some tariffs. There is at least a 30% tax on all Chinese goods entering the US and Beijing has kept a 10% levy on American goods coming into the country, down from 125%.

But this surprise agreement after a weekend of negotiations in Switzerland has given factories and businesses some breathing room.

"At this time, our US client is willing to pay for the tariffs. Of course, we had to bargain with them as they asked us to lower some of our costs," he said.

Mr Wang, who studied engineering in Delaware in the US, spent three years helping develop the air fryer model. It cost him $500,000 to set up his company and he said the tariffs came as a shock.

"It felt like my parents were getting a divorce. China and US are the most important economic and cultural powers in the world. Their sudden separation would lead to a world that we cannot imagine. Tariffs as high as 145% would mean we have to say goodbye to one another.

But he adds, "there's a saying in Chinese: good fortune comes out of bad".

Mr Wang believes his "good fortune" is that this trade war has accelerated his plan to diversify away from doing business with America.

This is one of the reasons why Beijing believes it has the upper hand in its negotiations with Washington. China has choices and officials have been actively encouraging the country's firms to do more business in places like Africa, South America and South East Asia.

Many other Chinese businesses have also told the BBC that they are looking to diversify away from the US to reduce their reliance on the market - suggesting in the long-term there could be more of a separation between the US and China, rather than a divorce.

Donald Trump has suggested that he may speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping by the end of this week. The world's two largest economies will now enter talks after agreeing to a ceasefire in their economic war for 90 days.

Beijing has framed this deal as a win - not just for China but for all countries facing US tariffs.

But it has come at a cost.

A short walk through Shunde district - known as the "capital of home appliances" - presents a sobering assessment of a struggling manufacturing sector.

Factory workers use the cooler evenings in Foshan to let off a little steam. They spill out into every corner of the local park.

During the day they pack, mould and assemble nearly everything that you would find in your kitchen - from gas stoves and washing machines to kettles and fridges.

At night, after leaving work, one group line dances in one corner of the small park, while a heated basketball match takes place in another part.

Posters lining the walls of the streets tout "stable work and easy" jobs involving packing and screwing products for 30 days in a home appliance factory for 16 yuan an hour, to assembling air conditioning units for 20 yuan an hour.

But agents told us that several factories had stopped hiring, especially those linked to the US - some had even shut down parts of their production line.

The BBC was told that several of these workers will sleep in the park to save money. Many of them travel to Foshan from their home towns, which can be hundreds of kilometres away.

Several nearby hostels offer rooms for 20 yuan a night, which can be at least an hour's pay. Many will want to pocket whatever they earn to send it back to their families.

This is the picture of China that President Trump's team have tried to present – one of sluggish growth, rising unemployment and a chronic housing crisis.

"We're not looking to hurt China," Mr Trump said after the trade agreement was announced, while adding that China was "being hurt very badly".

"They were closing up factories. They were having a lot of unrest, and they were very happy to be able to do something with us."

This may be overstating Beijing's economic woes. This country is still leading the world when it comes to the production of electric vehicles and solar panels, and it is making significant headway in artificial intelligence technology.

Officials in China have also continued to stress this country can take the pain of an economic war. But it is being keenly felt by some on the frontline and that may be part of why Beijing has started talking to the US.

This latest "ceasefire" has prompted a rush of orders between the two countries as businesses wonder if it can last.

He Ke, or HK to his American clients, has called his workers back from their home towns to restart his sofa business, Gongyuan Furniture.

It ground to a halt even before Mr Trump's tariffs hit 145%.

"We had a day off straightaway," said Mr He. "Once the tariffs hit 50%, we had already come to a standstill. When they hit 145%, we certainly could not do business. It was just not possible."

His production line with around 200 workers once took up all four floors of the building.

Since the Covid pandemic, he has only needed one floor and around 40 staff. But he still has the odd high-profile client – he claims Elon Musk sits on one of his sofas.

Some workers have already returned and are lifting a soft chair onto a compressor machine to get it ready to box and ship.

Sewing machines hum in the background as workers stitch fabric into the right shape to cover memory foam cushions.

Mr He says he has seen many changes in Foshan since he started making sofas in 2013.

"We feel that the global economy is not good. The domestic economy has also been hit and this affects the life of people here. In the past, when we went out to spend money, we spent a lot of money. We did not think about whether the price was high or cheap. We will buy it as long as we like it. Now, when we want to buy a relatively expensive things, we have to think twice, because the money is not easy to earn."

Like Mr Wang and his air fryers, Mr He also says he is looking at diversifying his sales away from the US, but he has hope that the world's two biggest economies can come to an agreement in the next 90 days.

"I am just a small businessman. But I do understand that the game between these two countries is temporary. I think if they want to survive with each other for a long time, they will definitely sit down and talk things over."

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced limits on how long some offenders can be returned to prison, under plans to ease prison overcrowding.

Under the shake-up, offenders recalled for breaching their licences will be released after a fixed 28-day period.

The change is intended to bypass lengthy waits for a parole board assessment before they can be released again.

Mahmood warned that despite promised new prisons, it would not be possible to "build our way out of this crisis".

She said the change would not apply to those who commit a serious further offence – or are deemed to pose a high risk.

She announced that work would start on three new prisons later this year, but the government currently faced running out of spaces for male offenders by November.

Changes from an upcoming review of sentencing, led by former Conservative minister David Gauke, were only likely to be felt from spring next year, she added.

The prison population is 88,087 from a useable operational capacity 89,442, according to the latest official weekly figures.

It is estimated to increase to between 95,700 and 105,200 by March 2029, according to a government analysis released last year.

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The BBC's boss has reminded stars to follow the corporation's rules and avoid damaging "mistakes", after Gary Lineker attracted renewed criticism for his use of social media.

On Tuesday, the Match of the Day host deleted an Instagram story post he shared from the group Palestine Lobby, which said: "Zionism explained in two minutes" and featured an illustration of a rat.

A rat has historically been used as an antisemitic insult, referring to language used by Nazi Germany to characterise Jews. His representatives said he was not aware of the connection.

Asked whether the post had broken BBC guidelines, director general Tim Davie said: "The BBC's reputation is held by everyone, and when someone makes a mistake, it costs us."

He added: "I think we absolutely need people to be exemplars of the BBC values and follow our social media policy. It's as simple as that."

The Campaign Against Antisemitism said it was submitting a complaint to the BBC, adding that Lineker's "continued association with the BBC is untenable".

The charity posted on X: "Nothing to see here. Just Gary Lineker's Instagram account sharing an anti-Israel video misrepresenting Zionism, complete with a rat emoji."

A spokesperson for the Board of Deputies of British Jews said "the BBC should ask him to leave now rather than allowing him to dictate his own terms".

"He has caused great offence with this video – particularly with his egregious use of a rat emoji to illustrate Zionists."

Lineker's agent said: "Whilst viewing and reposting a video, Gary did not notice a rodent emoticon added by the author of the post. Although if he had, he would not have made any connection. The repost has been removed."

Zionism refers to the movement to create a Jewish state in the Middle East, roughly corresponding to the historical land of Israel, and thus support for the modern state of Israel.

The BBC, when asked on Tuesday if it had any comment on Lineker's now-removed post, responded by referring to its guidance on personal use of social media.

The former England striker has attracted criticism before for his posts on social media in the past.

He was temporarily suspended from the BBC in March 2023 after an impartiality row over a post in which he said language used to promote a government asylum policy was "not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s".

The BBC's social media rules were then rewritten to say presenters of flagship programmes outside news and current affairs - including Match of the Day - have "a particular responsibility to respect the BBC's impartiality, because of their profile on the BBC".

In November 2024, Lineker announced his departure from Match of the Day, but he will remain with the BBC to front FA Cup and World Cup coverage.

The UK's rivers are forecast to hit exceptionally low levels in some parts of the country in the next three months, according to the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH), raising questions over supplies to households, farmers and businesses.

The warning comes after the driest spring in England since 1961, with northern regions experiencing the driest start to the year in nearly a century.

Almost all of the UK is expected to have below normal or low river levels in May, apart from the south-west of England.

The Environment Agency has said that the UK is at medium risk of drought and warned households of the risk of water restrictions.

The next 2-3 weeks will be "crucial" in determining if drought will happen, says Mark Owen, head of fisheries for the Angling Trust and a member of the National Drought Group.

That is the group led by the government that can declare if drought is officially underway.

The country is not now in drought, but the impacts of the exceptionally dry weather are already being felt.

Some farmers are being forced to water their crops instead of relying on rainfall, which is something that normally happens later in the year.

"We are having a drought now from an agricultural point of view," arable farmer Nick Deane told BBC News from his farm in Norfolk.

He had to start irrigating his fields in March.

"We have to ration our water and decide which areas we are going to put that water on in order to keep the crops growing," he said.

He warned that an extremely long drought would mean farmers struggle to produce food and more produce would need to be imported.

The dry and sunny weather this year has led to a larger area of the UK burned by wildfires this year compared to in any other entire year.

The last drought was in June-August 2022, which was the joint hottest summer (with 2018) and fifth driest since the 1890s.

Five companies introduced hosepipe bans, affecting 19 million people, and waterways had restricted navigation.

That drought was preceded by six months of very dry weather.

However, the wet summer in 2024 and moderately-wet winter means water supplies are in a better place now and water companies have larger reserves to rely on.

But dry weather earlier in the year has risks. It does "potentially pose a greater risk to water resources later on in the year, particularly if the dry weather continues," says Stephen Turner, hydrologist at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.

Last week, Richard Thompson, chair of the National Drought Group, warned that water companies may need to bring in water restrictions to protect supplies if the dry weather continues.

At the moment the key questions are when will it next rain and when it does, how much will there be.

There are some signs that some rain is on the horizon, with unsettled weather from the west at the end of next week.

Drinking water comes from different places depending on the geography and geology of regions.

Roughly speaking, the south of England takes a long time to get into drought but a long time to leave. That's because a lot of rainfall is stored in rocks underground and takes a long time to reach rivers and water supplies.

By contrast, the north of England quickly enters drought and quickly gets out because reservoirs are more heavily used for water supplies.

Water Companies introduce hosepipe bans when water supplies reach a certain low in their areas.

If drought conditions become severe, the government can restrict irrigation of farms, reduce boats' movement on waterways, and limit water available to non-essential businesses like car washes.

In an extreme scenario, it could ration the amount of water available to homes and businesses but that has not happened since 1976.

Water industry bosses and the National Farmers' Union (NFU) are calling on the government to do more to ensure the driest parts of the UK have secure water supplies in the face of any future drought.

Water UK, which represents the water industry, is calling for a new national water grid of pipes, canals and reservoirs to be set up in England to move water from the wettest regions to where it is most needed.

And farmers say they need more government funding and less planning red tape to build their own reservoirs to supply their farms.

Mr Deane came together with five other farmers, including fruit growers, to build their own reservoir. It took four years and cost more than £1m.

It has proved vital, they say, with 15% of the stored water already used this year in the dry conditions.

But the group said obtaining planning permission was costly and difficult.

A government spokesman said it was working with the agricultural sector to improve its water supply resilience and establish more groups of farmers who could work together to develop their own reservoirs.

He added: "Over £104bn of private sector investment has been secured to fund essential infrastructure, including nine new reservoirs, to help secure our future water supply for farmers."

Are the dry conditions linked to climate change?

The prolonged dry weather is linked to what are called "blocking highs" when a high pressure weather system becomes stuck.

Scientists do not know if this blocked pattern is linked to climate change.

Global warming is expected to cause more extreme weather events globally.

Studies about our future climate suggest more and longer periods of dry weather as well as periods of less rainfall in the UK. Winters are likely to be wetter and warmer.

That could exacerbate other forms of drought like hydrological or agricultural drought, according to the Met Office.

A British teenager has been arrested in Tbilisi, Georgia, on suspicion of drug offences.

Bella Culley, 18, from Billingham, who is understood to have gone missing in Thailand, is accused of illegally buying, possessing and importing large quantities of narcotics including marijuana.

Georgian Police have said, if found guilty, she could face up to 20 years in jail or life imprisonment.

The Foreign Office have confirmed that they are "supporting the family of a British woman who is detained in Georgia".

Georgian Police said it had seized up to 12kg (26lbs) of marijuana and just over 2kg (4.4lbs) of the narcotic drug hashish in a travel bag at Tbilisi International Airport.

A spokesperson said: "As a result of joint operational measures and investigative actions, officers of the Main Directorate for Combating Illicit Drug Trafficking of the Central Criminal Police Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Customs Department of the Revenue Service of the Ministry of Finance arrested a British citizen on charges of drug trafficking.

The woman "is charged with the illegal purchase and possession of a particularly large amount of narcotics, the illegal purchase and possession of the narcotic drug marijuana, and the illegal importation of the drug into Georgia", they said.

Cleveland Police has confirmed an 18-year-old woman from Billingham has been arrested in Georgia "on suspicion of drugs offences" and remains in custody.

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At least 48 Palestinians have been killed in a series of Israeli air strikes in northern Gaza overnight, a local hospital says.

The Indonesian hospital reported that 22 children and 15 women were among the dead after a number of homes in Jabalia town and refugee camp were hit. A video shared online appeared to show at least a dozen bodies on the floor there.

The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports. It had warned residents of Jabalia and neighbouring areas to evacuate on Tuesday night after a Palestinian armed group launched rockets into Israel.

It came as the UN's humanitarian affairs chief urged members of the UN Security Council to take action to "prevent genocide" in Gaza.

Speaking at a meeting in New York on Tuesday, Tom Fletcher accused Israel of "deliberately and unashamedly imposing inhumane conditions on civilians".

He called on Israel to lift its 10-week blockade on Gaza and criticised the Israeli-US plan to take over the distribution of humanitarian aid in the territory.

The Israeli ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, told the council that foreign aid was being used to help Hamas's war effort.

Meanwhile, US Special Envoys Steve Witkoff and Adam Boehler said they would travel to Qatar for fresh negotiations on a possible ceasefire and hostage release deal.

Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has threatened to expand its military offensive in Gaza this week unless Hamas agrees to release the 58 hostages it is still holding.

On Tuesday, a massive Israeli air strike on the European hospital's compound in southern Gaza killed at least 28 people, according to local officials.

Israeli media reports said the target was Mohammed Sinwar, who is believed to have become the leader of Hamas in Gaza after his brother Yahya was killed by Israeli forces last October.

The Israeli military described it as "a precise strike on Hamas terrorists who were operating in a command-and-control centre" underneath the hospital.

The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 52,908 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

Sir Keir Starmer has told MPs suspected arson attacks on properties linked to him are "an attack on all of us, on democracy and the values that we stand for".

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch condemned the attacks as "completely unacceptable" at the beginning of their weekly Prime Minister's Questions clash.

Police are continuing their investigation into the fires at north London properties and a car linked to Sir Keir.

A 21-year-old man was arrested at an address in Sydenham, south-east London, in the early hours of Tuesday on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life and remains in custody.

Counter-terrorism officers are working "at pace" to establish the cause of the fires and "any potential motivation", Scotland Yard said.

At Prime Minister's Questions, Badenoch told the PM: "I think I speak for the whole house when I say that this wasn't just an attack on him, but on all of us and on our democracy."

Sir Keir thanked the opposition leader for contacting him "pretty well straight away" to lend her support.

In his first comments since the attacks, the prime minister said: "I really do appreciate that, and she's absolutely right that this is an attack on all of us, on democracy and the values that we stand for."

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: "Can I offer our support to the prime minister and his family after the appalling arson attacks on his home.

"And can I echo his thanks to our brilliant police and firefighters."

Emergency services responded to a fire at the prime minister's private home in Kentish Town, north London, early on Monday.

On Sunday, crews were called to a small fire at the front door of a house converted into flats in nearby Islington - a property Sir Keir is understood to have lived in during the 1990s.

Police are also looking at a car fire which took place on Thursday on the same street as the Kentish Town property. It is understood that the car used to belong to Sir Keir.

The prime minister is understood to still own the home in Kentish Town but lives in Downing Street. He lived there before the 2024 general election and it has been rented out since then.

Counter-terrorism police are leading the inquiry and are treating the fires as suspicious.

Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan Police's counter-terrorism command, acknowledged the probe may cause concern to MPs.

He encouraged any of them worried about their safety to get in touch with Operation Bridger, the specialist unit set up to protect MPs.

Evri will merge with DHL's UK parcel delivery businesses to create a combined courier firm handling more than a billion parcels and a billion letters a year.

DHL focuses on faster, secure higher-value deliveries of items such as computers or phones, whereas Evri handles much larger volumes of lower-value goods such as clothing.

Evri's deliveries are handled by self-employed couriers using their own vehicles, while DHL's parcels are delivered by a combination of couriers and the company's own fleet of vehicles.

The companies hope that combining the two operations will offer "greater choice" and "cost-competitive solutions" in the UK.

Evri said the deal will also expand its international delivery capacity by giving it access to DHL's global network.

DHL's e-commerce business will be renamed "Evri Premium – a network of DHL eCommerce".

DHL delivers a billion letters a year in the UK, mainly for businesses sending out bulk mail to clients – and the merger will see Evri offer a letter service for the first time.

It hopes to use this service to handle deliveries of smaller items as well as letters.

The group said its combined operation will have access to a network of 15,000 out-of-home delivery points in shops and lockers.

With about a billion parcels a year, the merged business would get closer to Royal Mail's parcel volumes. It delivered 1.3 billion parcels and 6.7 billion letters last year, according to its annual report.

Martijn de Lange, the chief executive of Evri, said that over the last decade Evri had "grown ten-fold in size".

He added the merger would "further expand our access into the European and global e-commerce markets".

After the merger DHL will acquire a minority stake in Evri - financial terms have not been disclosed.

DHL's other services in the UK, such as the DHL Express international delivery service are not included in the deal.

The merger is still subject to approval from the Competition and Markets Authority.

There's a vast empty space in the middle of the factory floor in Foshan in southern China where workers should be welding high-end air fryers for the US market.

Derek Wang says his American customers were wowed by his air fryer models - which are controlled via smartphones and can also bake, roast and grill.

But then on 2 April, Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs hit all Chinese goods entering the US, eventually reaching 145% - and his clients asked him to pause production.

"I tried to keep smiling through my anxiety for the sake of my 40 workers," he told the BBC.

On Wednesday, as a deal to ease the trade war came into effect, Mr Wang said his US buyers were back on the phone.

Both countries still face some tariffs. There is at least a 30% tax on all Chinese goods entering the US and Beijing has kept a 10% levy on American goods coming into the country, down from 125%.

But this surprise agreement after a weekend of negotiations in Switzerland has given factories and businesses some breathing room.

"At this time, our US client is willing to pay for the tariffs. Of course, we had to bargain with them as they asked us to lower some of our costs," he said.

Mr Wang, who studied engineering in Delaware in the US, spent three years helping develop the air fryer model. It cost him $500,000 to set up his company and he said the tariffs came as a shock.

"It felt like my parents were getting a divorce. China and US are the most important economic and cultural powers in the world. Their sudden separation would lead to a world that we cannot imagine. Tariffs as high as 145% would mean we have to say goodbye to one another.

But he adds, "there's a saying in Chinese: good fortune comes out of bad".

Mr Wang believes his "good fortune" is that this trade war has accelerated his plan to diversify away from doing business with America.

This is one of the reasons why Beijing believes it has the upper hand in its negotiations with Washington. China has choices and officials have been actively encouraging the country's firms to do more business in places like Africa, South America and South East Asia.

Many other Chinese businesses have also told the BBC that they are looking to diversify away from the US to reduce their reliance on the market - suggesting in the long-term there could be more of a separation between the US and China, rather than a divorce.

Donald Trump has suggested that he may speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping by the end of this week. The world's two largest economies will now enter talks after agreeing to a ceasefire in their economic war for 90 days.

Beijing has framed this deal as a win - not just for China but for all countries facing US tariffs.

But it has come at a cost.

A short walk through Shunde district - known as the "capital of home appliances" - presents a sobering assessment of a struggling manufacturing sector.

Factory workers use the cooler evenings in Foshan to let off a little steam. They spill out into every corner of the local park.

During the day they pack, mould and assemble nearly everything that you would find in your kitchen - from gas stoves and washing machines to kettles and fridges.

At night, after leaving work, one group line dances in one corner of the small park, while a heated basketball match takes place in another part.

Posters lining the walls of the streets tout "stable work and easy" jobs involving packing and screwing products for 30 days in a home appliance factory for 16 yuan an hour, to assembling air conditioning units for 20 yuan an hour.

But agents told us that several factories had stopped hiring, especially those linked to the US - some had even shut down parts of their production line.

The BBC was told that several of these workers will sleep in the park to save money. Many of them travel to Foshan from their home towns, which can be hundreds of kilometres away.

Several nearby hostels offer rooms for 20 yuan a night, which can be at least an hour's pay. Many will want to pocket whatever they earn to send it back to their families.

This is the picture of China that President Trump's team have tried to present – one of sluggish growth, rising unemployment and a chronic housing crisis.

"We're not looking to hurt China," Mr Trump said after the trade agreement was announced, while adding that China was "being hurt very badly".

"They were closing up factories. They were having a lot of unrest, and they were very happy to be able to do something with us."

This may be overstating Beijing's economic woes. This country is still leading the world when it comes to the production of electric vehicles and solar panels, and it is making significant headway in artificial intelligence technology.

Officials in China have also continued to stress this country can take the pain of an economic war. But it is being keenly felt by some on the frontline and that may be part of why Beijing has started talking to the US.

This latest "ceasefire" has prompted a rush of orders between the two countries as businesses wonder if it can last.

He Ke, or HK to his American clients, has called his workers back from their home towns to restart his sofa business, Gongyuan Furniture.

It ground to a halt even before Mr Trump's tariffs hit 145%.

"We had a day off straightaway," said Mr He. "Once the tariffs hit 50%, we had already come to a standstill. When they hit 145%, we certainly could not do business. It was just not possible."

His production line with around 200 workers once took up all four floors of the building.

Since the Covid pandemic, he has only needed one floor and around 40 staff. But he still has the odd high-profile client – he claims Elon Musk sits on one of his sofas.

Some workers have already returned and are lifting a soft chair onto a compressor machine to get it ready to box and ship.

Sewing machines hum in the background as workers stitch fabric into the right shape to cover memory foam cushions.

Mr He says he has seen many changes in Foshan since he started making sofas in 2013.

"We feel that the global economy is not good. The domestic economy has also been hit and this affects the life of people here. In the past, when we went out to spend money, we spent a lot of money. We did not think about whether the price was high or cheap. We will buy it as long as we like it. Now, when we want to buy a relatively expensive things, we have to think twice, because the money is not easy to earn."

Like Mr Wang and his air fryers, Mr He also says he is looking at diversifying his sales away from the US, but he has hope that the world's two biggest economies can come to an agreement in the next 90 days.

"I am just a small businessman. But I do understand that the game between these two countries is temporary. I think if they want to survive with each other for a long time, they will definitely sit down and talk things over."

A man whose illegal cannabis factory exploded in a block of flats, killing seven-year-old Archie York, has been jailed for 14 years.

Archie died when the blast caused by Reece Galbraith, 33, obliterated several homes in Benwell in the early hours of 16 October 2024, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

The fatal explosion was caused by a build-up of butane created in the process of making drug-infused sweets in one of the flats by Jason Laws, 35, who was also killed, and Galbraith.

Galbraith, of Gateshead, admitted two counts of manslaughter, with Archie's mother screaming at him in court that he had killed her son.

Mr Laws and Galbraith were using a ground-floor flat in the block of 12 homes on Violet Close to make so-called cannabis shatter, a brittle substance containing a high concentration of the psychoactive compound THC which is used to form sweets from, prosecutor David Brooke KC said.

• 'My son was killed by criminals making cannabis'

At about 00:40 BST, their "sophisticated" factory exploded, killing Archie, who lived upstairs with his parents and baby brother, and totally destroying six homes, the court heard.

There was then a "fierce fire" and the block ultimately had to be demolished, with dozens of people losing their homes and possessions, Mr Brooke said.

Archie had been asleep in his living room when the blast occurred and was killed instantly, while his father Robbie York, mother Katherine Errington and seven-week-old brother Finley all survived, the court heard.

Mr Brooke said there had also been an "enormous impact" on the local area, with the damage and costs to Newcastle City Council valued at £3.7m, 81 adults and 59 children from 51 homes displaced and 10 households having to be permanently rehoused.

Ms Errington told the court her son's death had "broken us in ways I didn't know possible" and the family had "lost everything", adding she felt "survivor's guilt".

In a fury, she angrily told Galbraith he "took risks for profit" before screaming at him: "You killed my son."

"This was your choice," Ms Errington said. "We will never forgive you for what you did to our beautiful boy."

The court heard Archie's beloved dog Chase had also been killed in the blast.

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