A Russian drone hit an apartment building in Romania, the country's defence ministry said early on Friday, causing a fire and injuring two people.

The drone crashed in the eastern city of Galati as Russia carried out attacks in Ukraine near the border, the ministry said in a statement.

The Romanian General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations said the drone's entire explosive payload detonated, causing a fire on the 10th floor of the residential building.

Russian drones have strayed across the border of the Nato member country a number of times during the four-year war with Ukraine, but this was the first time citizens from Romania had been hurt. Russia has yet to comment on the incident.

"This incident represents a serious and irresponsible escalation on the part of the Russian Federation," Romania's foreign ministry said, adding Bucharest had informed the Nato secretary general and "requested measures to accelerate the transfer of anti-drone capabilities to Romania".

The emergency services said two people received medical treatment after suffering abrasions and around 70 people were evacuated as the fire was put out.

Two F-16 fighter jets were scrambled after the drones were detected in Romanian airspace, the defence ministry said.

"One of these drones entered Romanian airspace, was tracked by radar as far as the southern part of the city of Galati, and crashed onto the roof of an apartment building, with the impact triggering a fire," it said.

The River Danube nearby forms the border with Ukraine, and Ukrainian ports are regularly targets of Russian air attacks.

In an incident in April, another Russian drone caused material damage in Galati, but no injuries.

Romania's defence ministry says that since the start of the war in Ukraine, drone fragments have been found on Romanian territory on 47 separate occasions, 12 of them this year alone.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Meanwhile, a nationwide air raid alert was also issued overnight in Ukraine, where officials in the south of the country said the port of Izmail in the Odesa region came under drone attack early on Friday.

And in a Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, three utility workers were killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on Thursday, the Kremlin-installed head of the region said.

A fourth man was seriously injured in the incident, Denis Pushilin said on the Telegram messaging app.

US President Donald Trump has said he is holding a meeting to make a "final determination" about an agreement to extend a ceasefire with Iran.

He said Iran "must agree that they will never have a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb", that the Strait of Hormuz must be reopened for "unrestricted shipping traffic, in both directions" and that any mines in the waterway "must be destroyed".

"I will be meeting now, in the Situation Room, to make a final determination," he said on Truth Social. Iran has not yet commented.

It comes after US officials told the BBC the two countries had agreed a framework of a deal - known as a memorandum of understanding - pending the approval of Trump and Iran's leadership.

The deal would reportedly extend the ceasefire for 60 days and launch talks on the future of Iran's nuclear programme.

In his post, Trump said he was prepared to lift the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and ships caught in the waterway "may start the process of "heading home!"

He also insisted Iran allows the US to remove and destroy its enriched uranium.

"No money will be exchanged, until further notice," he said. "Other items, of far less importance, have been agreed to."

The US has long demanded that Iran stop producing highly enriched uranium and dispose of its existing stockpile, which in theory could be used to create nuclear weapons.

Iran insists its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful and denies it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

Iran's Fars news agency cited informed sources as saying that Trump's latest comments were a "mixture of truth and lies".

There was no provision to destroy nuclear materials in the sides' memorandum of understanding, the agency reported.

On Thursday, US Vice-President JD Vance said negotiators were "going back and forth on a couple of language points", which include the "question of enrichment".

"We're not there yet, but we're very close and we're going to keep on working at it," he said.

Since the initial ceasefire between the US and Iran came into effect on 8 April, Trump has suggested - repeatedly - that the two sides are close to a deal and that negotiations are progressing, but so far there have been no substantive results.

Iran's chief negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said earlier on Friday that it has "no trust in guarantees or words", only actions.

"No action will be taken before the other side acts," he said in a social media post. "The winner of any agreement is the one who is better prepared for war the day after."

Nicola Sturgeon has said she wishes she had not kept Peter Murrell on as SNP chief executive when she became party leader in 2014.

The former first minister described her now estranged husband as a "key figure" in the party's success under her late predecessor Alex Salmond.

Sturgeon also said she did not think it was fair that Murrell - who embezzled more than £400,000 from the SNP over a 12-year period - should lose his job when she was promoted.

But she told the audience at a book festival in Wales: "Definitely, with the benefit of hindsight, that was a decision I wish I had taken differently."

On Monday Murrell admitted using party funds to purchase items including luxury goods, jewellery, cosmetics, two cars and a motorhome.

He was remanded in custody following the plea and could face a lengthy prison term when he is sentenced on 23 June.

An examination of facts surrounding the case is due to be heard on 2 June.

Sturgeon appeared at the Hay Festival in Hay-on-Wye, in Powys, in conversation with journalist Francine Stock to promote her 2025 memoir, Frankly.

She told the audience that Salmond, who later expressed reservations about the couple's professional roles, had appointed Murrell in 2000.

And the ex-MSP said her estranged husband's offending, which started in 2010, pre-dated her election as party leader.

Sturgeon said: "My judgement was that the chief executive was not line-manged by the party leader. There is a national executive committee.

"My judgement was that it was not fair for him to lose his job, that he had done well, because I was taking on a new job.

"If I could turn back the clock, of course, I would take a different decision."

The former first minister said she took responsibility for keeping Murrell in his post but added: "I still don't think that makes me responsible for somebody committing a crime."

On Thursday, Sturgeon appeared at a writers' event in Listowel, County Kerry to promote her book.

She told the audience it had been the "worst week of her life," adding she had dealt with the fallout from Murrell's plea in the public gaze.

Sturgeon said: "Just as other people have been, I have been deceived.

"I have been misled, I have been lied to and I have been betrayed, and I won't be the last woman who has been betrayed by her husband."

She added that she would "probably need to sit with a therapist", saying that "this is a long-winded way of saying I am not OK".

Sturgeon previously described the day she was arrested as part of Operation Branchform - the name of the Police Scotland investigation into SNP finances - as the "worst day of her life".

Earlier on Thursday, First Minister John Swinney dismissed calls for a Holyrood inquiry into the case during FMQs on Thursday, but said he was "appalled" by Murrell's conduct.

He said he did not believe an inquiry was needed following a five-year "forensic" police investigation.

Operation Branchform began in 2021, investigating allegations of fundraising fraud within the SNP.

During questioning, Sturgeon repeatedly answered "no comment" to detectives.

Her lawyer, Aamer Anwar, said Sturgeon had later provided a "detailed written response" to Police Scotland questions.

Murrell spent more than 20 years as chief executive of the party before resigning in March 2023 due to controversy over details of membership numbers.

He was arrested less than three weeks later in connection with the Operation Branchform investigation into SNP funds.

Sturgeon became first minister and leader of the SNP in November 2014, succeeding Alex Salmond in the wake of the Scottish Independence Referendum.

Campbell Gunn, who acted as an adviser to both, claimed Salmond had warned Sturgeon that Murrell's position as chief executive was "untenable" while she was party leader.

Gunn told BBC Radio Scotland's Drivetime programme: "Nicola chose to ignore that advice.

"And I have to say, in retrospect, a lot of the grief that has engulfed the party over the past six or seven years could have been avoided had that advice been taken."

A driver and passenger who filmed themselves inhaling from a balloon while at speeds of over 130mph (209kmh) have been jailed over the death of a man their vehicle crashed into.

Uways Hussain, 20, from Burnage, was jailed for 11 years and eight months at Manchester Crown Court earlier for causing death by dangerous driving. His passenger Usmon Mahmood was jailed for 12 years and nine months for aiding and abetting causing death by dangerous driving.

Sylvester Abayomi, 50, was killed when Hussain crashed into his car at 139mph (223.7kmh) in a 30mph zone on Kingsway, on 9 March.

Footage taken by Hussain and Mahmood showed them running red lights and weaving through traffic.

Greater Manchester Police have said the case was "one of the worst disregards of speeding officers have seen".

Following the sentencing earlier, Judge Nicholas Dean said the crash was "wholly unnecessary and entirely avoidable".

Dean added: "It [the crash] was a sustained, deliberate and escalating course of highly dangerous conduct over a prolonged period.

"It was terrifying."

Abayomi had entered Kingsway on a green light before he was fatally struck at around 04:36 GMT by the car Hussain was driving.

Hussain’s car had run a red light.

Abayomi‘s partner Denise described him as "the most caring soul and gentle person you could ever meet. He had time for everybody and is loved by everyone. Syll will be sadly missed."

Footage shown in court, taken by Hussain and Mahmood in the hours leading up to the crash showed the car travelling at more than four times the legal speed limit, driving through red lights and weaving in and out of traffic while the pair inhaled from a balloon.

In several cases the car reached over 130mph - and seconds before the crash, was recorded at 139mph, according to police.

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A movie poster showing a sheet of mono-yellow coloured wallpaper might typically wash over your head.

Not this one. It's instantly recognisable to millions - and inspires dread.

This is Hollywood's latest horror film - Backrooms - and it knows its audience: one more drawn to whispered horror than A-list names, monsters and gore.

Backrooms are essentially disturbing, abandoned rooms with seemingly no end in sight. It could be an empty office block, a hallway or a corridor - unsettling between-zones.

The concept came about in 2019, when anonymous users on message board 4chan were asked to "post disquieting images that just feel 'off'."

One user posted an image of an abandoned office space, with mustard yellow wallpaper and fluorescent lighting.

The post read: "If you're not careful and you noclip out of reality [gaming terminology for glitching or disappearing] in the wrong areas, you'll end up in the Backrooms, where it's nothing but the stink of old moist carpet, the madness of mono-yellow, the endless background noise of fluorescent lights at maximum hum-buzz, and approximately six hundred million square miles of randomly segmented empty rooms to be trapped in."

The post continued: "God save you if you hear something wandering around nearby, because it sure as hell has heard you."

The concept then grew into a hugely popular YouTube mini-series, with creator Kane Parsons, then 16, at the helm. Parsons used a CGI programme called Blender to create environments beyond his budget. Today, the series boasts more than 200m views.

It proved so captivating that Hollywood studio powerhouse A24 - which is behind Oscar-nominated horror The Substance - enlisted Parsons, now 20, for a film adaptation, which was released on Friday [29 May].

Parsons, now A24's youngest ever director, has one solemn tip for survival in the Backrooms: "Make peace with it before anything else, because I don't like to give false optimism."

His task in 2023 was clear: to drag this isolating hellscape kicking and screaming onto the big screen, and in a way that resembles his YouTube series.

He tells me that what excited him most about the project was using a Hollywood budget to dive deeper and bring a "real physicality" to ensure the film feels "distinct from the YouTube series".

He says the team behind the film achieved this by building a vast 30,000 sq ft set based on his Blender designs. It bears similarity to Parsons' first YouTube video - "Found Footage" - which has 80m views and featured shaky 90s camcorder footage of the eerie, yellow office block.

"I think it lets us buy into the characters to a greater degree," Parsons says.

A24's adaptation, written by Will Soodik, uses the concept of the Backrooms to explore mental health.

Oscar nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor stars as Clark, a frustrated furniture store salesman struggling following the breakup of his marriage.

As tensions grow between him and his therapist, Mary, played by Renate Reinsve, Clark discovers the store's route to the Backrooms - a space that begins to prey upon the pair's unresolved traumas.

The big screen lure of the Backrooms reflects the online rise of a very particular fear: the idea of a liminal - or transitional - space.

Neuroscience and architecture expert Meredith Banasiak, who researches the link between buildings and human wellbeing, says hallways and doorways often spark this fear.

This creates what is known as the doorway effect, which confuses our brains. "When spaces start blending together, the way we remember blends too," she explains.

The Backrooms takes this to the extreme - a physical symbol of memories "dissolving into themselves".

As Clark tells Mary in the film: "The more times [the Backrooms] remembers something, the less it does."

Banasiak says her research, and other academic papers, suggests trauma survivors often find these spaces challenging.

The Backrooms has a forum on Reddit, with more than 350k subscribers. Forum moderators say there's something "deeply existential" about the concept and that it's less about monsters and "more from the uncertainty of what else might already exist in the space with you".

TikTok is filled with Backrooms-themed clips - cumulatively topping 30bn views - highlighting the popularity of this 90s-themed landscape with Gen Z.

There's a crossover with gaming, too, with a free Backrooms survival title available on Steam, and similar experiences on offer on Roblox.

Internet researcher Gunseli Yalcinkaya says a mournful nostalgia for pre-internet memories and spaces, and the isolation of the Covid pandemic, may explain why young people are drawn to ideas like Backrooms.

Yalcinkaya says it captures the dissatisfaction of what it means to be a young person today, "where reality is constantly being mediated through screens - there's already a sense that reality is glitching, nothing feels real anymore".

As business publication Fast Company noted, Backrooms is among several recent liminal space titles "shaped by Gen Z's most traumatic formative years".

These include YouTuber Markiplier's horror film Iron Lung, adapted from a video game and set in a submarine. Independently released, it has taken over $50m (£43m) worldwide.

The online trailer for Backrooms quickly became one of A24's most-viewed uploads, with 31m views. The question, of course, is whether this online fever converts to offline ticket sales.

For Matthew Frank, author of The Ankler's Crowd Pleaser newsletter, the YouTube-to-big screen pipeline "feels like a sea change".

Hollywood executives are looking to internet-native culture for audiences and for film-makers like Parsons.

Frank says Backrooms executive producer Chris White discovered Parsons' work after his teenage son insisted he watch it. Another internet-native film-maker, Curry Barker, 26, also released his horror Obsession in cinemas this month, after a similar breakthrough.

It helps the studios too that these names come with "preset audiences" at a time when cinema is struggling against streaming.

Early projections for Backrooms "look really promising", says Frank. It is expected to easily exceed its $10m (£8m) budget and "feels like an event in the way that few movies are able to reach."

"Backrooms has this appeal as a piece of internet‑native IP to the audience," Frank adds.

As for Parsons, headlines in the media have made much of how young he is to be directing a Hollywood film - a focus that tires him.

He was worried his relative inexperience could impact perception, but it "never came up" on set, he tells me.

"Almost immediately it was just us, in a vacuum, talking about the project… I like to think I made up for any lack of experience by being completely obsessive."

Parsons, and perhaps Hollywood, have found plenty to explore in The Backrooms. Can they escape? No way.

Families in the UK say they are angry at the decision by prosecutors not to charge a Canadian man who is alleged to have sold a lethal chemical linked to the deaths of 73 British people.

The father of one of those who died told the BBC that Kenneth Law had caused "devastation" and that he wanted Law to face charges in the UK.

Law, a former chef, is expected to admit 14 counts of assisting suicides in Canada when he appears in court in Ontario later on Friday.

Prosecutors there say he marketed and sold lethal quantities of a substance online, which he sent to about 1,200 people around the world.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the Canadian legal system will take the losses of UK families into account.

A letter from the CPS, seen by the BBC, said Law would not face charges in the UK because of legal complexities.

David Parfett's 22 year-old son, Thomas, used the substance said to have been sold to him by Law.

"Tom was somebody who really saw the joy in life. He would find humour in the weirdest places. I often think about his laugh," Parfett said.

"Tom was a massive football fan and he was a good footballer as well. I miss the opportunity to enjoy the 2026 World Cup with him."

Parfett said: "I had wanted Law to face charges in the UK... he really needed to face justice over here."

Parfett is calling on the UK government to hold a public inquiry into the deaths.

"I think that a public inquiry is needed because we need action across multiple government departments and unfortunately, we are not seeing that coordination and that understanding of how to address the problem today," he said.

"Fundamentally, the government is failing in its duty to protect life."

The BBC has approached the Home Office for comment.

Law was charged with 14 counts of assisting suicides in Canada and 14 counts of second degree murder following his arrest in 2023.

His capture followed a complex investigation by at least 11 law-enforcement agencies and involved investigators from around a dozen countries, including the UK, Italy and the US.

British detectives were initially investigating whether 88 deaths were linked to Law's chemical packages, but in its letter to UK families, the CPS said it believed 73 deaths could be linked to Law and that he was expected to accept sending 330 packages to the UK.

If you or anyone you know has been affected by the issues raised in this article, details of organisations offering information are available at BBC Action Line.

The former head of China's famous Shaolin Temple - known as the birthplace of kung fu - has been sentenced to 24 years in jail for crimes including embezzlement and bribery.

Shi Yongxin had misappropriated temple assets worth more than 282m yuan ($42m; £31m) from 2003 to 2025, a court in the central Henan province said.

It said Shi had also used his official position to illegally obtain millions from temple construction projects, as well as offering huge bribes to Chinese officials.

Shi - whose birth name is Liu Yingcheng - had earlier admitted his guilt, China's state Xinhua news agency reported. On Friday, he said he would not appeal against the verdict.

The 1,500-year-old Shaolin Temple - located on a mountain range - attracts thousands of disciples from China and elsewhere every year.

Shi took office there as abbot in 1999, soon earning the nickname "CEO monk" for transforming the institution into a global brand.

Under his leadership, the temple started opening schools outside China and formed a travelling troupe of monks who performed Shaolin kung fu shows - the temple's signature style of martial arts.

Last year he was defrocked, China's Buddhist association said.

Shi was investigated for embezzlement and fathering several children in 2015, but was later cleared of the charges.

In an interview with BBC Chinese that year, he said: "If there were a problem, it would have surfaced long ago."

The name "Shaolin Temple" has gained prominence in pop culture over the years, including being the title of a 1982 film starring Jet Li.

The temple is referenced in songs by American hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan and inspired a spin-off of the video game Mortal Kombat.

Families in the UK say they are angry at the decision by prosecutors not to charge a Canadian man who is alleged to have sold a lethal chemical linked to the deaths of 73 British people.

The father of one of those who died told the BBC that Kenneth Law had caused "devastation" and that he wanted Law to face charges in the UK.

Law, a former chef, is expected to admit 14 counts of assisting suicides in Canada when he appears in court in Ontario later on Friday.

Prosecutors there say he marketed and sold lethal quantities of a substance online, which he sent to about 1,200 people around the world.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the Canadian legal system will take the losses of UK families into account.

A letter from the CPS, seen by the BBC, said Law would not face charges in the UK because of legal complexities.

David Parfett's 22 year-old son, Thomas, used the substance said to have been sold to him by Law.

"Tom was somebody who really saw the joy in life. He would find humour in the weirdest places. I often think about his laugh," Parfett said.

"Tom was a massive football fan and he was a good footballer as well. I miss the opportunity to enjoy the 2026 World Cup with him."

Parfett said: "I had wanted Law to face charges in the UK... he really needed to face justice over here."

Parfett is calling on the UK government to hold a public inquiry into the deaths.

"I think that a public inquiry is needed because we need action across multiple government departments and unfortunately, we are not seeing that coordination and that understanding of how to address the problem today," he said.

"Fundamentally, the government is failing in its duty to protect life."

The BBC has approached the Home Office for comment.

Law was charged with 14 counts of assisting suicides in Canada and 14 counts of second degree murder following his arrest in 2023.

His capture followed a complex investigation by at least 11 law-enforcement agencies and involved investigators from around a dozen countries, including the UK, Italy and the US.

British detectives were initially investigating whether 88 deaths were linked to Law's chemical packages, but in its letter to UK families, the CPS said it believed 73 deaths could be linked to Law and that he was expected to accept sending 330 packages to the UK.

If you or anyone you know has been affected by the issues raised in this article, details of organisations offering information are available at BBC Action Line.

A Russian drone hit an apartment building in Romania, the country's defence ministry said early on Friday, causing a fire and injuring two people.

The drone crashed in the eastern city of Galati as Russia carried out attacks in Ukraine near the border, the ministry said in a statement.

The Romanian General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations said the drone's entire explosive payload detonated, causing a fire on the 10th floor of the residential building.

Russian drones have strayed across the border of the Nato member country a number of times during the four-year war with Ukraine, but this was the first time citizens from Romania had been hurt. Russia has yet to comment on the incident.

"This incident represents a serious and irresponsible escalation on the part of the Russian Federation," Romania's foreign ministry said, adding Bucharest had informed the Nato secretary general and "requested measures to accelerate the transfer of anti-drone capabilities to Romania".

The emergency services said two people received medical treatment after suffering abrasions and around 70 people were evacuated as the fire was put out.

Two F-16 fighter jets were scrambled after the drones were detected in Romanian airspace, the defence ministry said.

"One of these drones entered Romanian airspace, was tracked by radar as far as the southern part of the city of Galati, and crashed onto the roof of an apartment building, with the impact triggering a fire," it said.

The River Danube nearby forms the border with Ukraine, and Ukrainian ports are regularly targets of Russian air attacks.

In an incident in April, another Russian drone caused material damage in Galati, but no injuries.

Romania's defence ministry says that since the start of the war in Ukraine, drone fragments have been found on Romanian territory on 47 separate occasions, 12 of them this year alone.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Meanwhile, a nationwide air raid alert was also issued overnight in Ukraine, where officials in the south of the country said the port of Izmail in the Odesa region came under drone attack early on Friday.

And in a Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, three utility workers were killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on Thursday, the Kremlin-installed head of the region said.

A fourth man was seriously injured in the incident, Denis Pushilin said on the Telegram messaging app.

Four top UK chefs and restaurant owners have urged the government to cut VAT for restaurants and pubs as they warned working in the hospitality industry was the "hardest it has ever been".

Tom Kerridge, Yotam Ottolenghi, Ravneet Gill and Simon Rogan told BBC Newsnight VAT should be slashed to 10% to ease pressure on businesses and bring rates closer to levels across Europe.

"We're not making any money whatsoever, and we're just keeping our heads above water," warned Rogan, while Kerridge said the government was getting taxation on businesses "very, very wrong".

Cabinet minister Pat McFadden acknowledged the government had "asked business to contribute more", adding "we help them where we can".

He said the government was lobbied about tax cuts "all the time", but there was a cost attached.

"The chancellor has to make these decisions in the round, netting off all of these demands against the increasing expenditure demands that government also faces by people every day saying 'why can't you spend more on this or this'," McFadden added.

But Ottolenghi, who has 11 restaurants, cafes and delis, described the situation was "crippling" - not just for his own business, but for others running bakeries, cafes, and pubs.

"Every pound that we take, a substantial amount of it just goes to the government for a different taxation," he said.

The call from the famous chefs follows a tough few years for the hospitality industry. The height of the Covid pandemic brought trade to a halt before energy prices soared due to the war in Ukraine and pushed up costs across the board with little respite since.

Customers hit by the cost of living have also cut back on spending, especially on dining out recently.

While various support packages, such as the pandemic-era Eat Out to Help Out scheme and previous VAT relief provided a temporary a boost, three hospitality businesses have gone under every day since the start of 2026, according to the industry body UK Hospitality.

Value added tax, or VAT, is the tax people have to pay when buying goods or services. The standard rate of VAT in the UK is 20%.

The rate, which applies to UK hospitality businesses, is the second highest in Europe behind Denmark, according to UK Hospitality.

It has repeatedly argued for VAT to be lowered near to rates seen in Germany (7%), Ireland (9%), France (10%), Italy (10%) and Spain (10%).

Kerridge, who runs five restaurants and pubs, said there were "so many different factors" driving costs up and eroding margins, including government policy decisions such as higher rates of National Insurance for employers, business rates and the minimum wage.

The Labour party supporter claimed the industry had reached a "peak point" where businesses could no longer pass on price increased to customers. "It just doesn't work because it will stop people coming out."

Pastry chef and author Ravneet Gill, who opened her first restaurant a year ago, said she "never imagined it would be this tough", especially the expense when it came to employing people.

Rogan, who has nine Michelin stars across his restaurant group in the UK, Malta and Hong Kong, agreed it was expensive to take on staff, but said VAT was "a killer".

Kerridge and his fellow chefs indicated they supported the rise in the minimum wage, but argued a VAT cut from 20% to 10% for the sector would "allow operators to breathe" and also reinvest.

He claimed it was about "survival" for the industry rather than passing on the cut to customers through cheaper prices.

"Don't look at us as having profit is a dirty thing," added Gill.

"We're not going on fancy yachts and driving expensive cars. We are doing it so we can regenerate our areas that we're in, employ more people."

Last week, chancellor Rachel Reeves announced VAT reduction from 20% to 5% on various attractionsover the summer holidays, which included children's meals in restaurants and cafes.

But Gill said she believed the policy was a "a very poor attempt at trying to offer something to hospitality and quite frankly it will lead to loopholes, fraud, misuse and no genuine good".

'Cutting employment costs can help young people'

Hospitality businesses such as restaurants, cafes and pubs often offer the first experience of work for many young people, with the industry employing 28% of all 18 to 20-year-olds, according to the Institute of Fiscal Studies.

However, those openings are disappearing: on Thursday, a damning report found job opportunities for young people were shrinking, with its author, former Labour minister Alan Milburn, saying the UK was "at risk of a lost generation".

The review came as official figures revealed more than one million young people were not in education, employment or training - the highest level in more than 12 years.

Following Milburn's report, the government said it was creating 300,000 work experience and training placements in sectors including construction, health and social care and hospitality.

Treasury minister Torsten Bell told the BBC's Today programme that the rates of employing aged 18 to 25-year-olds were "exactly the same as when we took office in 2024", but admitted higher taxes was having an impact.

The figures add to growing concerns over the number of young people not being able to secure a job in the UK.

Allen Simpson, chief executive of UK Hospitality, said the solution to the problem was to reduce the cost of employment for businesses.

"The government needs to make it economically beneficial to employ young people once again."

Rogan said when "when restaurants are under pressure," "investing in youngsters and sustainability, they're the first two things that fall by the wayside."

Food author Ottolenghi said there should be a public debate about "what we're losing" through restaurants closing.

"The risk for me is if those go... we're just going to kind of become a society where people sit around at home, look at screens and never interact with each other.

"We end up as an industry taking so much of the burden and government lays on more taxes. Those could come down quite easily for us because we employ all these young people and we give them skills."

Just over three-quarters of first class letters, or 75.7%, were delivered on time by Royal Mail in the year to the end of March, far off its target of 93%.

The latest quality-of-service report reflects the postal firm's performance under its new private owner, Daniel Kretinsky's EP Group, whose takeover was approved by shareholders at the end of April last year.

Meanwhile, only 90.2% of second class letters were delivered within three working days against a target of 98.5%.

Royal Mail said its service was improving and that it was on track to hit new reduced targets - of 90% for first class delivery and 95% for second class - by this time next year.

Chief operating officer Jamie Stephenson said: "We're putting significant investment into improving reliability and reaching these new delivery targets, but delivering lasting change across a network of this scale takes time."

The firm said it was investing £500m over the next five years as part of its improvement plan.

The postal service has faced years of criticism from politicians and the public over the slowness of its letter delivery.

It has been six years since the institution last met its letter delivery targets for second class post and ten years since it last met its letter delivery targets for first class post.

Its performance slumped during the Covid-19 pandemic and has failed to fully recover since.

In October last year, the regulator Ofcom fined Royal Mail £21m for missing the targets - the third-largest fine ever imposed by the communications watchdog.

Royal Mail was also fined in 2023 and 2024 for poor performance.

In February this year, postal workers told the BBC that some letters had been sitting undelivered for weeks and that they had been told to prioritise parcel delivery instead as it is more profitable.

Royal Mail executives were hauled in front of a parliamentary select committee in March to respond to the claims.

Kretinsky told MPs at the meeting that he was "deeply sorry for any letter that arrives late".

In response to the allegation that parcels were being prioritised, he said: "I have never heard any instruction or discussion, and have not participated in any exchange, that would sanction that Royal Mail is prioritising parcels over letters."

Improvement plan

Reacting to Friday's performance figures, Citizens Advice policy director Tom MacInnes said poor performance at Royal Mail was "business as usual".

"What's worse, Royal Mail claims people will have to wait another year until it can meet its new, lower delivery targets," he added.

As part of its improvment plan, Royal Mail has given part-time postal workers the option to work longer hours.

It has also agreed a plan with Ofcom to scrap second class delivery on Saturdays as part of its new model.

Ofcom has also reduced Royal Mail's letter delivery targets. Since April this year, the service has been measured against a new lower target: 90% of first class letters must arrive by the next working day and 95% of second class letters must be delivered within three days.

Ofcom said that "maintaining the current targets – which are more stretching than comparable European countries – would carry higher costs which would need to be recovered through higher prices".

Kemi Badenoch has told former Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair to "not waste your time" trying to convince the Labour government to change course.

The Conservative Party leader said Sir Tony was right to ask Labour MPs to focus on a "proper political project that increases our economic and military strength".

But Badenoch claimed there was "only one show in town" to deliver this, as she advised the Labour grandee to vote Conservative at the next general election.

Her letter follows Sir Tony's 5,600 word essay that argued Sir Keir Starmer's government had no "coherent plan" for the country and had introduced policies that held back business. The prime minister has defended his decisions.

Badenoch's open letter published in The Times is the latest contribution to the debate over Labour's future, which has seen essays and opinion pieces published by key Labour figures.

Sir Tony's initial intervention came as Sir Keir faces a potential leadership challenge following a poor set of election results and ministerial resignations.

Badenoch said those vying to replace Sir Keir "will be no better".

She also criticised some of Sir Tony's record in government, including on devolution and the impact of legal reforms on migration.

She said: "The Blairite legacy is that the entire country is now run by HR as Labour junk your best ideas and champion your worst.

"So you're right: we need problem-solvers. It's why I trained as an engineer and later, why I came into politics. I know that real problem-solving starts with diagnosing the root cause. It means facing the facts as they are, not as we wish them to be.

"Well, Tony surely now you must accept that the facts of life are Conservative. There is only one show in town for the political project you proposed."

Badenoch said Sir Tony's essay failed to address the "question of who we are as a nation", adding "culture matters" and "we are more than a series of economic units working to deliver growth".

After she criticised other political parties, Badenoch told Sir Tony: "Don't expect Labour to change. Don't waste your time with these essays."

She added: "If you want serious change at the next election my advice to you - as it is to everyone who is sick of Starmerism - is to vote Conservative."

Sir Tony, who won three general elections, had argued a change of Labour leader was "irrelevant if it doesn't start with a policy debate".

He agreed with some of the government's policies but he offered suggestions for change, including removing parts of the net-zero agenda "which prioritise clean energy over cheaper energy" and reforming welfare.

The former PM said Labour must remove obstacles to business growth, take action to tackle illegal immigration and harness artificial AI.

He called for the party to champion the "radical centre".

Sir Keir delivered a near-3,000 word riposte to Sir Tony on Thursday, in which he said he had made the right policy choices given the backdrop he inherited.

He acknowledged Labour's early decision to restrict winter fuel payments, on which it eventually U-turned, had been a "mistake", and that it had "asked a lot" of businesses by hiking the amount of National Insurance tax they pay.

But he said the party had "got the big political choices right", pointing to falls in migration, NHS waiting times, and knife crime, whilst arguing the UK was "outperforming our peers" economically.

Former health secretary Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor who is seeking a return to the Commons, accused Sir Tony of underestimating the impact of inequality in his critique.

Both men are considered potential Labour leadership challengers to Sir Keir, although no formal contest has been launched and the PM has said he would not "walk away".

Burnham is seeking to become an MP again on 18 June in the Makerfield by-election, on the outskirts of Wigan, in what is expected to be a closely-fought contest with Reform UK's Robert Kenyon.

You can see a full list of the candidates standing in the Makerfield by-election here.

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A Greek national has been charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service linked to Iran.

Ioannis Aidinidis, 46, was charged on Friday under the National Security Act after an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) London.

The Met said Aidinidis is accused of helping an intelligence service "believed to be Iran" by "targeting of a UK-based journalist working for Iran International".

Aidinidis, who lives in Munich, Germany, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' court on Friday.

He has been in custody since his arrest in West Sussex on 16 May.

"We know this may cause concern for many people here in the UK, and particularly those working in Persian-language media," Commander Helen Flanagan, head of CTP London, said.

She added that the force was providing advice and security support to a number of organisations and individuals, including "the specific individual and organisation linked to this investigation".

Police said there was not believed to be a wider threat to the public.

In April, three people were charged over an attempted arson attack on the offices of Iran International in north-west London.

An Islamist group with possible links to Iran - Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya - claimed responsibility for the attack. The claim has not been substantiated.

In a statement last month, Iran International said it had been subject to a "campaign of transnational intimidation aimed at silencing independent journalism".