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Trump administration to destroy nearly $10m in contraceptives

The Trump administration has decided to destroy $9.7m worth of contraceptives rather than send them abroad to women in need.
A state department spokesperson confirmed that the decision had been made – a move that will cost US taxpayers $167,000. The contraceptives are primarily long-acting, such as IUDs and birth control implants, and were almost certainly intended for women in Africa, according to two senior congressional aides, one of whom visited a warehouse in Belgium that housed the contraceptives. It is not clear to the aides whether the destruction has already been carried out, but said they had been told that it was set to occur by the end of July.
“It is unacceptable that the State Department would move forward with the destruction of more than $9m in taxpayer-funded family planning commodities purchased to support women in crisis settings, including war zones and refugee camps,” Jeanne Shaheen, a Democratic senator from New Hampshire, said in a statement. Shaheen and Brian Schatz, a Democratic senator from Hawaii, have introduced legislation to stop the destruction.
“This is a waste of US taxpayer dollars and an abdication of US global leadership in preventing unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions and maternal deaths,” added Shaheen, who in June sent a letter to secretary of state Marco Rubio about the matter.
The department decided to destroy the contraceptives because it could not sell them to any “eligible buyers”, in part because of US laws and rules that prohibit sending US aid to organizations that provide abortion services, counsel people about the procedure or advocate for the right to it overseas, according to the state department spokesperson.
Most of the contraceptives have less than 70% of their shelf life left before they expire, the spokesperson said, and rebranding and selling the contraceptives could cost several million dollars. However, the aide who visited the warehouse said that the earliest expiration date they saw on the contraceptives was 2027, and that two-thirds of the contraceptives did not have any USAID labels that would need to be rebranded.
The eradication of the contraceptives is part of the Trump administration’s months-long demolition of the Agency for International Development (USAID), the largest funding agency for humanitarian and development aid in the world. After the unofficial “department of government efficiency” (Doge) erased 83% of USAID’s programs, Rubio announced in June that USAID’s entire international workforce would be abolished and its foreign assistance programs would be moved to the State Department. The agency will be replaced by an organization called America First.
In total, the funding cuts to USAID could lead to more than 14m additional deaths by 2030, according to a recent study published in the journal the Lancet. A third of those deaths could be children.
“If you have an unintended pregnancy and you end up having to seek unsafe abortion, it’s quite likely that you will die,” said Sarah Shaw, the associate director of advocacy at MSI Reproductive Choices, a global family planning organization that works in nearly 40 countries. “If you’re not given the means to space or limit your births, you’re putting your life at risk or your child’s life at risk.”
MSI tried to purchase the contraceptives from the US government, Shaw said. But the government would only accept full price – which Shaw said the agency could not afford, given that MSI would also have to shoulder the expense of transportingthe contraceptives and the fact that they are inching closer to their expiration date, which could affect MSI’s ability to distribute them.
The state department spokesperson did not specifically respond to a request for comment on Shaw’s allegation, but MSI does provide abortions as part of its global work, which may have led the department to rule it out as an “eligible buyer”.
In an internal survey, MSI programs in 10 countries reported that, within the next month, they expect to be out of stock or be on the brink of being out of stock of at least one contraceptive method. The countries include Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Senegal, Kenya and Sierra Leone.
Shaw expects the stock to be incinerated. “The fact that the contraceptives are going to be burned when there’s so much need – it’s just egregious,” she said. “It’s disgusting.” The Department of State spokesperson did not respond to a request for information on the planned method of destruction.
The destruction of the contraceptives is, to Shaw, emblematic of the overall destruction of a system that once provided worldwide help to women and families. USAID funding is threaded through so much of the global supply chain of family planning aid that, without its money, the chain has come apart. In Mali, Shaw said, USAID helped pay for the gas used by the vehicles that transport contraceptives from a warehouse. Without the gas money, the vehicles were stuck – and so were the contraceptives.
“I’ve worked in this sector for over 20 years and I’ve never seen anything on this scale,” Shaw said. “The speed at which they’ve managed to dismantle excellent work and really great progress – I mean, it’s just vanished in weeks.”
Other kinds of assistance are also reportedly being wasted. This week, the Atlantic reported that almost 500 metric tons of emergency food were expiring and would be incinerated, rather than being used to feed about 1.5 million children in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Meanwhile, almost 800,000 Mpox vaccines that were supposed to be sent to Africa are now unusable because they are too close to their expiration date, according to Politico.
The cuts to foreign aid are slated to deepen. Early Friday morning, Congress passed a bill to claw back roughly $8bn that had been earmarked for foreign assistance.
“It’s not just about an empty shelf,” Shaw said. “It’s about unfulfilled potential. It’s about a girl having to drop out of school. It’s about someone having to seek an unsafe abortion and risking their lives. That’s what it’s really about.”
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Three killed in explosion at Los Angeles police training facility


Three police officers were killed in an explosion at a County Sheriff's Department training facility in East Los Angeles, officials say.
The explosion occurred at the Biscailuz Center Academy Training on Friday morning at around 07:30 local time (15:30 BST), according to first responders.
Confirming the deaths in a post on X, US Attorney General Pam Bondi called it a "horrific incident" and said that federal agents have been deployed on the scene and are "working to learn more".
It was unclear what caused the explosion or if there were any more victims.
The explosion occurred in a parking lot of the Special Enforcement Bureau at the facility, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department (LASD) told BBC's US partner CBS News.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has been briefed about the explosion and he is "closely monitoring the situation", his office said in a statement on X.
Newsom's office added that state assistance has also been offered to help respond to the incident.
Kathryn Barger, Chief of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, wrote in a statement that she is "closely tracking the situation as we learn more about what occurred and the condition of those affected".
"My heart is heavy, and my thoughts are with the brave men and women of the Sheriff's Department during this difficult time," she said.
Colombian gold miners rescued after about 18 hours trapped underground
Eighteen workers trapped for about 18 hours in a gold mine in north-western Colombia have been rescued by emergency crews, the country's government has said.
The miners became stuck on Thursday in the El Minón mine, in Colombia's Antioquia region, after equipment failure, according to AFP news agency.
After a 12-hour-long rescue operation, all the workers are in good health, Colombia's National Mining Agency (ANM) said.
In a letter sent to the government, the local mayor in Remedios said the mine was apparently unlicensed.
The operation to free the miners finished at just after 03:00 local time (09:00 BST) on Friday, according to Colombia's energy minister.
Video of the rescue showed the miners' colleagues clapping and cheering as they climbed out of the mine shaft.
Yarley Erasmo Marin, a representative of a local miners' association, told the AFP news agency that a mechanical failure caused the collapse of a structure designed to prevent landslides, blocking the mine's main exit.
Oxygen had to be given to the trapped miners through hoses while they waited to be rescued, local radio station ABC reported.
The ANM said in a statement that the mining community should "refrain from illegal mining activities, which endanger the lives and safety of those involved and also impact the country's resources and the environment".
Mining accidents are not uncommon in Colombia and dozens of deaths have been recorded in recent years.


Romance scam victim travels 700km 'to marry French beauty queen'


A Belgian man has travelled 760km (472 miles) to meet a French beauty queen he had been led to believe would be his future wife, only to realise he had been a victim of online romance fraud.
Michel, 76, turned up at the home of Sophie Vouzelaud in France but was met by the model's husband.
He told Ms Vouzelaud's husband, Fabien, he had paid €30,000 ($35,000) to the scammers and thought he had been in a romantic relationship for several weeks.
"I am an imbecile," the man said to the couple as he contemplated taking the long journey back.
Michel's misadventure became known after a video of his unfortunate encounter with the couple was shared online by Fabien.
For weeks, the Belgian - a widower of four years - had been communicating on WhatsApp with who he thought was Ms Vouzelaud, former Miss Limousin and first runner-up to Miss France in 2007.
He turned up outside the couple's property in Saint-Julien, some 420km (270 miles) south of Paris, on 9 July and according to Fabien said: "I am the future husband of Sophie Vouzelaud", to which he retorted: "Well, I'm the current one."
Ms Vouzelaud, 38, then tried to explain to him that he had been swindled and the couple urged him to go to the police to file a complaint. It is not clear if he has done so.
Romance fraud is when someone is conned into sending money to a criminal who convinces them they are in a genuine relationship.
How to avoid romance scams
According to Action Fraud, signs of romance fraud include a person being secretive about their relationship or becoming hostile or angry when asked about their online partner.
They may have sent, or be planning to send, money to someone they have never met in person.
Advice for protecting yourself against scams includes:
- Be suspicious of any requests for money from someone you have never met in person, particularly if you have only recently met online
- Speak to your family or friends to get advice
- Profile photos may not be genuine, so do your research first. Performing a reverse image search using a search engine can help you find photos that have been stolen from somewhere else
Advice for supporting a victim of a scam includes:
- Reassure your loved one you are there for them and it is not their fault
- Improve your own understanding about romance scams
- Remember to look after yourself, too - supporting someone through romance fraud can be tough
Source: Action Fraud / Victim Support
Boy, 10, dead as nine in hospital after coach crash


A school's head teacher says she feels "complete devastation" after one of her pupils was killed in a coach crash.
A 10-year-old boy died after a coach returning pupils to Minehead Middle School after a trip to Exmoor Zoo crashed in Somerset on Thursday.
Six other children remain in hospital - two at Bristol Children's Hospital and four in Somerset. Three adults are also being treated in hospital in Somerset, police say.
The school's head teacher Laura Mackie said the loss was "unimaginable", adding: "[I'm] thinking of the student that we lost, their family, their friends, all of their loved ones."
Avon and Somerset Police declared a major incident after the single-vehicle collision at Cutcombe Hill near Wheddon Cross at about 15:00 BST on Thursday.
The coach flipped onto its roof and slid down a bank.
Local mother-of-two Lianna O'Connor said: "I think as a community it's just as one mum cries, every other mum cries."


The coach was carrying about 70 people, many of them pupils from Minehead Middle School. In total, 21 passengers were taken to hospital.
Avon and Somerset Police said an investigation into the cause of the crash will take place and they have urged witnesses to come forward.
"Recovery of the vehicle and collision investigation are complex, and we expect the road to remain closed for a considerable time," a police spokesperson added.
Cranes are being used to recover the overturned coach.


One father said his 10-year-old daughter was on the school trip, but travelled on a different coach.
"I was able to pick [my daughter] up from school and didn't know anything until we got home," he said.
"It's just unbelievable isn't it?
"[I'm] absolutely devastated for the families and people on the bus that crashed."


The school's headteacher Laura Mackie laid flowers and said she was feeling "absolute devastation and heartbreak".
"[I'm] thinking of my staff team who are amazing, dedicated, and all of our wonderful students that have been affected and impacted by this awful, awful incident. It's just been horrific," she added.


Rachel Gilmour, MP for Tiverton and Minehead, said she was working with Somerset Council to seek funding from central government for therapy for the affected children.
Ms Gilmour said she was "completely distraught" after the crash in her constituency.
She said: "One becomes an MP and bizarrely, we don't think about this sort of thing, we think about the NHS and looking after our farmers and things like that.
"And then this, this is what being a community MP is all about. I've just been in to see the head teacher, I'm a big hugger, so I've been giving a lot of hugs today."
A spokesperson for Exmoor Zoo said they "cannot believe that fate has been so cruel to such a lovely, lively, well-behaved group of children".
"All our thoughts, blessings and prayers go out to everybody involved, we cannot comprehend what the children, their parents, teachers and emergency crews are all going through now," they added.
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Amber warning as thunderstorms to bring flash flooding


Parts of the UK are braced for potentially dangerous flash flooding as thunderstorms and torrential rain are set arrive over the weekend.
The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning for south-east England as more than a month's worth of rain is forecast to fall in a matter of hours on Saturday morning.
It says fast-flowing and deep floodwaters are likely, leading to road and transport disruption, as well as power cuts.
The torrential downpours come days after a third UK heatwave of the year that parched swathes of the UK and led to several hosepipe bans being declared.
This will make flooding more likely and severe as the dry ground will not be able to absorb as much water.
The amber warning covers a stretch of the south coast, London and Cambridge, and is in force from 04:00 BST to 11:00 on Saturday.
Between 20 and 40mm of rain could fall within an hour in this area, the Met Office has warned, which could accumulate to 70-100mm in just a few hours.
It said homes and businesses are likely to be flooded, which will happen "quickly", while this amount of surface water will make driving difficult and may lead to road closures.
Lightning strikes, hail and strong winds may also cause train and bus cancellations.
Yellow weather warnings will cover the rest of eastern, central and northern England and a portion of eastern Scotland. A yellow warning is already in force for parts of eastern England.
Amber warnings indicated there is an increased chance severe weather could affect people's day-to-day lives, including a potential danger to life. Yellow warnings are less severe.
The last amber warning over London was in January 2024, when Storm Henk hit parts of central England and Wales, according to the Met Office.
After arriving on Friday night, the storm is forecast to move inland, pushing northwards across England on Saturday morning before arriving in Scotland by midday.
Yellow warnings for rain cover parts of England and Scotland on Sunday and Monday as residual parts of the storm linger.
Last weeks heatwave brought travel disruption, a number of water-related deaths and hosepipe bans being declared for millions living in Yorkshire, Kent and Sussex.
One might think a heavy dose of rainfall would help reduce these drought conditions - but because the rain will be very heavy in localised areas, it will run off the dry, baked earth rapidly, perhaps overwhelming local sewers and waterways.
A substantial recovery in reservoir and groundwater aquifer levels would require a more sustained spell of wet weather.
Yorkshire's hosepipe ban is expected to last until winter.
Thunderstorms following a heatwave in the summer of 2022 brought flash flooding to London and the surrounding areas, flooding roads and Tube stations.
The rainfall also caused cancellations and delays at Gatwick Airport.
Royal swan count sees numbers on Thames resurface after dip


Swan numbers have begun to recover on the Thames, after a couple of years of worrying decline, according to an annual royal survey of swans.
A five-day search along the Thames, completed on Friday, found 115 young swans, rather than 86 last year, showing signs that the disappearance of swans could be beginning to be reversed.
The traditional count is called "swan upping", but in recent years it has been more like swan downing, with numbers plunging because of avian flu and human cruelty, including reports of swans being attacked by catapults and air guns.
But the new figures released by the King's swan marker, David Barber, show a more optimistic picture, after a 45% fall over the past two years.
The tradition of swan upping sees six boats sailing from Sunbury Lock in west London to Abingdon Bridge in Oxfordshire, with the "swan uppers" counting, weighing and giving a health check to young swans found along the way.
The annual event has also become a popular spectacle, with crowds gathering along the riverbank in the sunshine to watch the boats go past, with their colourful flags and crews in ceremonial outfits.


The fall in swan numbers had threatened to make the classic image of swans on the Thames an increasingly rare sight.
But the swan uppers have more positive news about the swan population and will be hoping a corner has been turned. Although it's still down on the 155 counted in 2022.
At the outset of the trip, Mr Barber said he was hoping that avian flu had "eased off", after an impact on the swan population that had been "quite disastrous".
"Fortunately, there has been a decrease in reported cases of the disease in the River Thames area in recent months," said the King's swan marker.


With a swan's feather in his cap and wearing a scarlet jacket, Mr Barber spoke of the risks to swans nesting on the Thames.
He said their search found swans needing to be cleaned from pollution such as engine oil. Fishing tackle was a longstanding problem and there were attacks from dogs and vandalism from humans.
Swan upping dates back to the 12th Century and was once about counting royal property - with the monarch having ownership of unmarked mute swans swimming on open water.
But is now more about conservation and education, involving schools along the route and helping to teach young people to respect and protect swans.
In particular Mr Barber wants to discourage young people from the mistreatment of swans - such as shooting them with catapults, which he says causes terrible suffering.
The figures so far show a more hopeful picture for swans on the Thames.


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More than 30 poisoned after suspected fake Botox


Thirty-eight cases of botulism poisoning have been recorded in England in the last six weeks after cosmetic procedures suspected to have involved the use of unlicensed Botox-like products, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said.
Botulism is a rare but life-threatening condition caused by toxins produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria.
Cases have been recorded in the East, East Midlands and the North East regions.
The UKHSA urged those seeking treatments to obtain proof that their Botox practitioner was qualified and that their products were licensed.
Botox injections are a common cosmetic procedure given to reduce facial lines and wrinkles.
The product is made from small, purified doses of botulinum toxin, produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. Larger doses can cause botulism.
According to the UKHSA, the evidence so far suggests clinics involved in the cases have used unlicensed Botox-like products.
In the most recent cases, recorded in East England and the East Midlands, patients had difficulty swallowing, slurred speech and breathing difficulties requiring respiratory support.
Other symptoms of botulism can include droopy eyelids, double vision and weak facial muscles.
Dr Gauri Godbole, of UKHSA, said botulism related to aesthetic procedures was rare but could be serious. She added that symptoms could take up to four weeks to develop and urged anyone who suspected they were suffering to contact the NHS 111 service.
Dr Alison Cave, chief safety officer at the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, said botulinum toxin was only available through prescriptions written by qualified healthcare workers.
"Buying botulinum toxin in any other circumstances significantly increases the risk of getting a product which is either falsified or not licensed for use in the UK.
"This means that there are no safeguards to ensure products meet the MHRA's standards for quality and safety."
The Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners says it receives numerous reports of the "illicit supply and use of unlicensed botulinum toxins".
It suggests those considering Botox injections ask for information about the product, including its brand and intended dose, before accepting a procedure.
People should check these details again with the person carrying out the procedure on the day of their treatment. The prescription for Botox must be in the customer's name.
The UKHSA recommends the following precautions:
- Make sure a practitioner is qualified, is wearing appropriate protective equipment and washes their hands. Practitioners should be happy to discuss their qualifications
- Those seeking a procedure should be offered a consultation beforehand that covers checks for medical conditions
- A consent form outlining the risks should be discussed and signed.
UK's asylum hotel bill down 30%, government says


The government spent nearly a third less on hotels to house asylum seekers between April 2024 and March 2025, according to newly published figures.
The Home Office's annual accounts show £2.1bn was spent on hotel accommodation - an average of about £5.77m per day, down from £3bn or £8.3m per day, the previous year.
Data obtained by BBC Verify shows the saving has been driven by a reduction in the average nightly cost per person housed, after a government move to use cheaper forms of accommodation and room sharing.
But Dr Peter Walsh, from the Migration Observatory think tank at Oxford University, warned that the surge in small boat crossings seen since March could lead to a renewed reliance on hotels.
"I don't think hotels are going away anytime soon based on based on current trends," he said.
Hotel accommodation is used when there is no other housing available for asylum seekers, and the government has committed to stop using asylum hotels by the end of this Parliament.
There were 32,345 people in asylum hotels at the end of March 2025, up from 29,585 people at the end of June last year, but lower than the total in December.


A senior Home Office source said one of the main factors behind the saving was moving some asylum seekers from hotels into other types of cheaper accommodation.
They said the department had prioritised moving families and children into regular housing so they were not living in hotels for long periods of time.
BBC News understands the majority of people moved out of hotels are now living in local housing, or houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), a type of rented accommodation where at least three individuals share the use of a bathroom and kitchen.
Most of these properties have been acquired through the government's contracts with Serco, one of the three companies responsible for asylum accommodation.
Some savings have also been made by renegotiating elements of those contracts, which were originally signed by the previous Conservative government.
Officials have previously told MPs that greater room-sharing in hotels has helped reduce the number of sites and per head costs over the past financial year.
It is not clear how many people usually share a room, but Home Office minister Angela Eagle has previously said "people can double up or treble up" if rooms are big enough.
The Home Office accounts suggest 273 hotels were in use in March 2024 but that number has now fallen by 71.
The average nightly cost per person fell from £162.16 in March 2023 to £118.87 by March 2025, according to BBC Verify's analysis of official data obtained through a Freedom of Information request.
The Home Office's accounts also show that almost £50m of public money was effectively written off after the Labour government scrapped a Conservative plan to use the RAF Scampton site in Lincolnshire to house asylum seekers.
Tens of millions had already been spent on the site when Labour came to power and axed the plans.
The Home office annual report says that decision resulted in a "constructive loss of £48.5m", but a department source said the site would have been an even more expensive option than hotels, even taking into account the loss incurred.
The report also confirmed that £270m paid to Rwanda to help support the country's economic development was not refunded after the UK government scrapped the Rwanda scheme.
Conservative ministers had planned to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda to deter people from crossing the Channel in small boats.
However, the scheme was stalled by legal challenges and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has said it led to just four people being removed to the country voluntarily.
The Rwandan government said last year that it was "under no obligation" to pay back the £270m after Labour scrapped the deal.
Lawyers for nurse in trans case criticise 'irresponsible' health board


A transgender doctor was "distressed" and sobbed while telling a senior colleague about a confrontation with a nurse over the use of female changing rooms.
Dr Elspeth Pitt told an employment tribunal Dr Beth Upton appeared pale and was "very shaken" when they met in a corridor at the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy at the end of their shift.
Sandie Peggie and Dr Upton had earlier had a disagreement after the nurse told the doctor they should not be in the same changing room.
After the exchange on Christmas Eve 2023, Dr Upton complained to NHS Fife about Ms Peggie's behaviour and the nurse was suspended on 3 January 2024.
On Friday the tribunal heard from Dr Pitt, who is a consultant in emergency medicine with NHS Fife.
She recalled being approached by Dr Upton about midnight, at the end of that day's work.
The pair then moved from the corridor to a well-being room, which was a short walk from the changing room.
Dr Pitt, who was on call through the night into Christmas morning, was asked what state Dr Upton was in.
The consultant replied: "She looked very shaken and she was visibly distressed and upset."
Dr Pitt added Dr Upton looked "quite pale" and "startled".
The consultant was then told there had been a "very upsetting incident".
Dr Pitt added: "She was really upset.
"She had felt very fearful and that point felt cornered."


The tribunal said the encounter with Ms Peggie had "become very unpleasant and painful for her".
Dr Pitt added: "The gist was that Sandie felt that Dr Upton should not be in the changing room."
The consultant said she was told the tone of the disagreement was "aggressive" and "unkind".
Dr Pitt said she mainly listened to Dr Upton but said she would report the matter and signposted the complainer to a British Medical Association (BMA) peer support network.
The consultant said she was not sure of the next steps but encouraged Dr Upton to get some rest and family time.
Dr Pitt told the tribunal she sent an email from her car to Dr Upton's supervisor and the charge nurse.
Timeline of the Sandie Peggie tribunal
The tribunal also heard an informal monthly meeting between senior consultants and senior nurses - held some time before the Christmas Eve incident - was made aware concerns had been raised about Dr Upton having access to the female changing room.
Dr Pitt said: "At one of those meetings before December, a member of senior nurses had said there had been a concern raised about Dr Upton using that changing room but that our understanding was that she was entitled to, that's what we had been informed.
"We were not told of the specifics, that was to be aware that people had a concern."
Ms Peggie's junior counsel, Charlotte Elves, later raised an email sent on 29 December 2023 from Dr Kate Searle, Dr Upton's line manager.
It said "we all support her and condemn the actions of Sandie".
Dr Pitt said it would have been sent to around 20 senior consultants, and described it as "information sharing".
The consultant said: "When I read 'condemn the actions' it was that we heard she had been verbally attacked.
"The way I would always think is anyone would condemn a behaviour that causes someone to feel unsafe or disrespected, that does not mean we condemn the person."
She also told the tribunal Dr Upton's sex was "just not something we talked about".
On Wednesday, Ms Peggie was cleared of gross misconduct following disciplinary proceedings by the health board.
She had been accused of misconduct, failures of patient care and misgendering Dr Upton.
NHS Fife said an internal hearing found there was "insufficient evidence to support a finding of misconduct".
The tribunal continues.
Why 2025 is a scarily good year for horror movies


Lights down, armrest gripped, teeth clenched - just an average evening at the cinema for a horror film fan.
The genre is having a great year in 2025, with the top three examples - Sinners, Final Destination: Bloodlines and 28 Years Later - taking a total of £41.3m ($55.6m) in the UK.
That's compared with £32.1m ($43.1m) for the eight biggest horrors released last year, according to Box Office Mojo.
In North America, scary movies have accounted for 17% of ticket purchases this year - up from 11% in 2024 and 4% a decade ago, according to a report from the Reuters news agency.
"Right now it feels like we're in the renaissance of horror," Chase Sui Wonders, one of the stars of I Know What You Did Last Summer (IKWYDLS), tells BBC Newsbeat.
"Everyone's going to theatres watching horror movies."
The small screen's also helping to switch us on to new releases.
According to data provided by TikTok, there's been an rise in horror-related videos globally on the app in the past 12 months.
It said 10.7m people used the horror hashtag - an increase of 38% - while HorrorTok rose 40% to 2.6m.
The tags aren't exclusively used on movie-related content, but TikTok said it had noticed a spike in videos using them during the Cannes Film Festival in May.
While the figures for the past year could suggest a horror explosion, long-time fans argue the popularity hasn't crept up on us out of nowhere.
Ash Millman, a journalist and presenter who specialises in covering horror, says the genre's success has been more of a slow-burn than a jump-scare.
Over the last 10 years, she says, it's been gathering more critical and commercial success.
She says the success of artier efforts such as Hereditary, from studio A24, and crowd pleasers from horror specialists Blumhouse.
But Ash does admit that this year has been a particularly good one for fans.
"It's got a bit of everything for everyone," she says.
"We have sequels, then amazing new things like Sinners.
"I do think we're going to be talking about 2025 for years to come."
Ash points out that the genre has constantly been fed by producers of smaller-scale indie productions, but the number of major releases this year is notable.
"I think blockbuster horror has become a thing again," she says.
"People want to go to the cinema, they want to see it on the big screen, they want to be scared."


Since the Covid-19 pandemic, when streaming films at home increased, Hollywood has been struggling to get people back into cinemas.
Horror movies, which tend to be relatively cheap to make, seem to be bucking the trend, and IKWYDLS is the latest big studio release hoping to do the same.
Its director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson tells Newsbeat the feeling of watching with an audience is hard to replicate on your sofa.
"I think it's the collective experience of being scared," she says.
"It's so fun. Everybody wants to go to the movies with their friends and jump and scream and have a good time."
IKWYDLS is a retread of the cult 1997 slasher movie about a group of friends who agree to cover up a tragic accident, only to be pursued a year later by an anonymous killer known as the Fisherman.
The original came out in October - the traditional "spooky season" window for big horror releases.
But IKWYDLS cast member Jonah Hauer-King says he thinks the new version won't feel out of place in July.
"Counter-intuitively, though it is frightening and scary, there is something feel-good about this kind of film," he says.
"It doesn't take itself too seriously and it is a bit of a wild ride, so it feels like a summer popcorn film with the scares and with the thrills."


Jonah thinks there is also a deeper reason for the appeal of horror, too.
"I think at the moment people want to go to the cinema for a bit of escapism, forget about things and have a bit of fun," he says.
Ash agrees, and says times of "chaos and uncertainty" in the wider world tend to boost the genre.
"I think that's always a big festering ground for horror to make statements," she says.
"I feel like horror is a reflection of society but gives us a bit of control over it.
"Usually you see people kind of battling against a great evil and overcoming it in blockbuster horror, where we get a nice wrapped-up ending.
"And I think that's a really nice form of escapism and a way of kind of moving past these horrible things going on in the world."


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Man accused of airport assault 'didn't know' he hit female PCs
A student who hit two police officers to the floor at Manchester Airport has told jurors he did not know they were women.
Mohammed Amaaz, 20, claimed he was acting in self-defence or defending his brother when he struck out at PCs Lydia Ward and Ellie Cook, as well as PC Zachary Marsden.
Liverpool Crown Court heard the Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officers entered Terminal 2 car park's pay station area on 23 July 2024 after reports that a male fitting Mr Amaaz's description had just headbutted a member of the public.
Prosecutors say Mr Amaaz resisted arrest while Muhammad Amaad, 26, intervened, with both allegedly subjecting police to a "high level of violence". Mr Amaad also denies assault.


Mr Amaaz previously told jurors he feared PC Marsden would "batter him" to death after he was grabbed by the head and neck and pushed downwards.
During cross-examination, prosecutor Paul Greaney KC asked Mr Amaaz whether he was "resisting" the attempts of officers to arrest him.
"If those officers wanted to detain me they could have simply told me so," replied the accused.
"These officers had come and literally forced me straight into the ticket machine. They didn't give me a second to think."
Mr Greaney told members of the jury that Mr Amaaz went on to kick PC Marsden as the officer struggled with Mr Amaad.
And he said Mr Amaaz then punched PC Cook to the face.
He said: "You knew full well you were punching a woman."
"No," responded Mr Amaaz. "I didn't know that at this stage."
Mr Greaney pointed out to the accused that in CCTV footage he was looking straight in the direction of PC Ward when he then punched her to the face and broke her nose.
He said: "Can I invite you to acknowledge that you knew obviously she was a woman, a woman with long red hair?"
Amaaz replied: "Not at this moment, no. This has happened so quickly. It is a matter of seconds."
Mr Greaney asked whether he thought PC Ward was part of a group trying to murder him.
Mr Amaaz said: "She was part of that group. I believed PC Marsden tried to kill me."
The prosecutor asked the defendant: "Do you still believe that now?"
"Yes."
Mr Greaney accused Mr Amaaz of being "wholly out of control", something which the 20-year-old student denied.
The barrister then asked Mr Amaaz whether he thought PC Cook was "intent on killing" him.
He replied: "At this point I thought this officer is going to attack me. I didn't think she would kill me."
Mr Greaney said: "Do you agree that your violence knocked her to the ground?"
Mr Amaaz replied: "Yes, I struck her."
'Stamped on me'
Mr Greaney: "This is the second woman you have hit to the floor within seconds?"
"Yes," replied Mr Amaaz.
Mr Greaney said: "All of this violence was offensive and entirely unlawful."
Mr Amaaz disagreed.
He told the court: "These were police officers who were attacking me and my brother again and again, trying to kill us.
"This lunatic (PC Marsden) booted me in the head and stamped on me."
Mr Amaaz denies assaulting PC Marsden and PC Ward, causing them actual bodily harm.
He also denies assaulting emergency worker PC Cook, and the earlier assault of a member of the public, Abdulkareem Ismaeil, at a Starbucks cafe in Terminal 2's arrivals area.
Mr Amaad denies assaulting PC Marsden, causing actual bodily harm.
The trial of the brothers, both from Rochdale in Greater Manchester, will resume on Monday.
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Court orders former Brazilian president Bolsonaro to wear ankle tag


A court has ordered Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro to wear an ankle tag and put him under curfew over fears he might abscond while standing trial.
He governed Brazil from 2019 to 2022 and is accused of plotting a coup to prevent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office in January 2023. He denies any wrongdoing.
It follows US President Donald Trump's attempts to quash the case, which he has called a "witch hunt", by threatening steep tariffs on Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro said the court restrictions amounted to "supreme humiliation" and that he had never considered leaving Brazil.
On Friday, police raided his home and political headquarters on orders from the Supreme Court.
Judge Alexandre de Moraes also ordered that Bolsonaro be banned from social media and barred from communicating with his son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, who has been lobbying for him in the US, and foreign ambassadors, diplomats or embassies.
The ex-president will be placed under 24-hour surveillance and have to comply with a nighttime curfew.
Judge Moraes said Bolsonaro was acting deliberately and illegally, together with his son Eduardo, to have sanctions imposed on Brazilian public officials.
In a statement, Bolsonaro's lawyers expressed "surprise and outrage" at the court's decision, adding that the former president had "always complied with the court's orders".
According to the Federal Police, Bolsonaro has attempted to hinder the trial and undertaken actions that constitute coercion, obstruction of justice and an attack on national sovereignty.
Last week, the US president threatened a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods from 1 August, directly citing Brazil's treatment of Bolsonaro.
Lula hit back, saying he would match any tariffs imposed on Brazil by the US. In a post on X, the president said Brazil was a "sovereign country with independent institutions" and "no one is above the law".
On Thursday, Trump posted a letter on Truth Social that he sent to Bolsonaro in which he said the criminal case amounted to political persecution and that his tariff threat was aimed at exerting pressure on Brazilian authorities to drop the charges.
The US president has compared the prosecution to legal cases he himself faced between his two presidential terms.
Bolsonaro is standing trial along with seven accused over events which culminated in the storming of government buildings by his supporters a week after Lula's inauguration in January 2023.
The eight defendants are accused of five charges: attempting to stage a coup, involvement in an armed criminal organisation, attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, aggravated damage and deterioration of listed heritage.
If found guilty, Bolsonaro, 70, could face decades behind bars.


The former president has consistently denied the charges against him, calling them "grave and baseless" and claiming to be the victim of "political persecution" aimed at preventing him running for president again in 2026.
Speaking in court in June, Bolsonaro said a coup was an "abominable thing" and there had "never been talk of a coup" between him and his military commanders.
He narrowly lost the presidential election to his left-wing rival Lula in 2022.
He never publicly acknowledged defeat. Many of his supporters spent weeks camped outside army barracks in an attempt to convince the military to prevent Lula from being sworn in.
A week after Lula's inauguration, on 8 January 2023, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed Brazil's Congress, Supreme Court and the presidential palace in what federal investigators say was an attempted coup.
Bolsonaro was in the US at the time and has always denied any links to the rioters.
A federal investigation into the riots and the events leading up to them was launched. Investigators subsequently said they had found evidence of a "criminal organisation" which had "acted in a coordinated manner" to keep then-President Bolsonaro in power.
Their 884-page report, which was unsealed in November 2024, alleged that "then-President Jair Messias Bolsonaro planned, acted and was directly and effectively aware of the actions of the criminal organisation aiming to launch a coup d'etat and eliminate the democratic rule of law".
Brazil's Attorney General Paulo Gonet went further in his report published last month, in which he accused Bolsonaro of not just being aware but of leading the criminal organisation that he says sought to overthrow Lula.
Tribunal hears trans doctor sobbed while reporting nurse


A transgender doctor was "distressed" and sobbed while telling a senior colleague about a confrontation with a nurse over the use of female changing rooms.
Dr Elspeth Pitt told an employment tribunal Dr Beth Upton appeared pale and was "very shaken" when they met in a corridor at the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy at the end of their shift.
Sandie Peggie and Dr Upton had earlier had a disagreement after the nurse told the doctor they should not be in the same changing room.
After the exchange on Christmas Eve 2023, Dr Upton complained to NHS Fife about Ms Peggie's behaviour and the nurse was suspended on 3 January 2024.
On Friday the tribunal heard from Dr Pitt, who is a consultant in emergency medicine with NHS Fife.
She recalled being approached by Dr Upton about midnight, at the end of that day's work.
The pair then moved from the corridor to a well-being room, which was a short walk from the changing room.
Dr Pitt, who was on call through the night into Christmas morning, was asked what state Dr Upton was in.
The consultant replied: "She looked very shaken and she was visibly distressed and upset."
Dr Pitt added Dr Upton looked "quite pale" and "startled".
The consultant was then told there had been a "very upsetting incident".
Dr Pitt added: "She was really upset.
"She had felt very fearful and that point felt cornered."


The tribunal said the encounter with Ms Peggie had "become very unpleasant and painful for her".
Dr Pitt added: "The gist was that Sandie felt that Dr Upton should not be in the changing room."
The consultant said she was told the tone of the disagreement was "aggressive" and "unkind".
Dr Pitt said she mainly listened to Dr Upton but said she would report the matter and signposted the complainer to a British Medical Association (BMA) peer support network.
The consultant said she was not sure of the next steps but encouraged Dr Upton to get some rest and family time.
Dr Pitt told the tribunal she sent an email from her car to Dr Upton's supervisor and the charge nurse.
Timeline of the Sandie Peggie tribunal
The tribunal also heard an informal monthly meeting between senior consultants and senior nurses - held some time before the Christmas Eve incident - was made aware concerns had been raised about Dr Upton having access to the female changing room.
Dr Pitt said: "At one of those meetings before December, a member of senior nurses had said there had been a concern raised about Dr Upton using that changing room but that our understanding was that she was entitled to, that's what we had been informed.
"We were not told of the specifics, that was to be aware that people had a concern."
Ms Peggie's junior counsel, Charlotte Elves, later raised an email sent on 29 December 2023 from Dr Kate Searle, Dr Upton's line manager.
It said "we all support her and condemn the actions of Sandie".
Dr Pitt said it would have been sent to around 20 senior consultants, and described it as "information sharing".
The consultant said: "When I read 'condemn the actions' it was that we heard she had been verbally attacked.
"The way I would always think is anyone would condemn a behaviour that causes someone to feel unsafe or disrespected, that does not mean we condemn the person."
She also told the tribunal Dr Upton's sex was "just not something we talked about".
On Wednesday, Ms Peggie was cleared of gross misconduct following disciplinary proceedings by the health board.
She had been accused of misconduct, failures of patient care and misgendering Dr Upton.
NHS Fife said an internal hearing found there was "insufficient evidence to support a finding of misconduct".
The tribunal continues.
UN says it has credible reports of summary executions during Syria fighting


The UN human rights chief says his office has received credible reports indicating widespread violations and abuses, including summary executions and arbitrary killings, during the recent violence in the southern city of Suweida.
Among the alleged perpetrators were members of the security forces and individuals affiliated with the interim government, as well as local Druze and Bedouin armed elements, Volker Türk said in a statement.
"This bloodshed and the violence must stop," he warned, adding that "those responsible must be held to account".
Almost 600 people are reported to have been killed since sectarian clashes between Druze militias and Bedouin tribes erupted in the province on Sunday.
Despite a ceasefire announced three days ago, there were reports of clashes between Bedouin and Druze fighters west of the predominantly Druze city of Suweida on Friday, near the village of Walgha.
An Israeli official also said that Israel had agreed to allow the limited entry of Syrian Internal Security Forces personnel into Suweida for 48 hours to protect Druze civilians "in light of the ongoing instability".
The UN's humanitarian office meanwhile warned that almost 2,000 families remained displaced by the violence, and that insecurity and road closures were preventing deliveries of humanitarian and medical aid to Suweida.
When the clashes between the Bedouin and Druze erupted on the weekend, Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa's government responded by deploying forces to Suweida city for the first time since Islamist-led rebels overthrew President Bashar al-Assad in December, ending 13 years of civil war.
However, the fighting escalated and government forces were accused by residents and activists of killing Druze civilians and carrying out extrajudicial executions.
On Tuesday night, the government announced that it had agreed a ceasefire and that the military would pull out and responsibility for security would be handed to religious elders and some local factions.
According to Türk, the UN human rights office has documented the unlawful killing of at least 13 people on 15 July, when "armed individuals affiliated with the interim authorities deliberately opened fire at a family gathering".
"On the same day, they reportedly summarily executed six men near their homes in two separate incidents," he said.
The office has also documented the public humiliation of a Druze men, including the forcible shaving of his moustache, which is an important cultural symbol for the Druze community.
"My office has received accounts of distressed Syrians who are living in fear for their lives and those of their loved ones," Türk said. "The deployment of state security forces should bring safety and protection, not add to the fear and violence."
The BBC has contacted the Syrian government and security forces about allegations of summarily killings and other violations.
In a televised address early on Thursday, Sharaa vowed to hold the perpetrators accountable and promised to make protecting the Druze a "priority".
"We are eager to hold accountable those who transgressed and abused our Druze people because they are under the protection and responsibility of the state," he said.
He went on to blame "outlaw groups", saying their leaders "rejected dialogue for many months".
He also said the government had agreed that the military would pull out of Suweida and responsibility for security would be handed to religious elders and some local factions.
State media have also cited authorities and tribes as accusing "outlaw groups" of carrying out "massacres" of Bedouin fighters and civilians and other violations.
The UN human rights chief said there must be "independent, prompt and transparent investigations into all violations, and those responsible must be held to account, in accordance with international standards".
"It is crucial that immediate steps are taken to prevent recurrence of such violence. Revenge and vengeance are not the answer," he added.
Türk raised concerns regarding reports of civilian casualties resulting from Israeli air strikes on Suweida, Daraa and in the centre of Damascus, where the defence ministry's headquarters and a site near the presidential palace were hit.
Israel said it carried out the strikes to stop government forces from attacking the Druze and to force the military to withdraw from Suweida province.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said on Thursday night that it had documented the killing of at least 594 people during the violence.
The UK-based monitoring group reported that 300 members of the Druze religious minority were killed, including 146 fighters and 154 civilians, 83 of whom were "summarily executed" by members of the interior and defence ministry's forces.
At least 257 government personnel and 18 Bedouin fighters were also killed, while three Bedouin civilians were summarily killed by Druze fighters, it added.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights, another monitoring group, said it had documented the deaths of 321 people, including six children and nine women, in Suweida since Sunday.
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