After spending more than a week trying to save a humpback whale stranded off Germany's northern coast, rescue officials have conceded their hopes have run out.

The whale became stuck on a sandbank on 23 March before being rescued days later - only to swim into shallow waters on Poel Island, further down the Baltic Sea coast.

"We're of the firm opinion the animal will die there," Burkard Baschek, head of the German Oceanographic Museum, said on Wednesday.

During an emotional press briefing, local environment minister Till Backhaus said rescuers had "tried everything to give him a chance" and called the situation "an exceptional tragedy".

Greenpeace marine biologist Thilo Maack said they had tried to stop the whale entering a shallow bay on Poel Island, but it had done so anyway.

First spotted in German coastal waters in early March, the whale is thought to have become entangled in netting before eventually becoming stranded on a sandbank on Timmendorfer Strand, near the town of Travemünde.

The humpback is also thought to have been suffering from a skin condition brought on by the lower salt levels of the Baltic Sea.

Late last week, hopes had been high that the whale might move to deeper waters after excavators dug a channel enabling him to swim off.

Attempts to guide the humpback towards the saltier waters of the North Sea proved unsuccessful, and he swam some distance east along the coast before becoming stuck again in a coastal bay in the city of Wismar.

Rescuers coaxed him away but only as far as nearby Poel Island, where he is now lying on the seabed. With the water level set to drop, they believe he is too weak to swim any further.

Baschek said the whale's breathing and reaction to rescuers had deteriorated, and that the chances of coaxing him out of the bay were so slim it would be cruel to try.

It is thought his hopes of survival ran out early on Wednesday.

Backhaus, a leading rescue official in the northern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, told reporters that a 500m (1,640ft) exclusion zone had been set up around the whale so it could die with dignity.

The Supreme Court appeared sceptical of President Donald Trump's executive order limiting birthright citizenship, a sign the high court could strike down a key element of his immigration agenda.

A majority of the court's justices on Wednesday seemed unconvinced that the US should stop granting citizenship to children of undocumented immigrants and some temporary US visitors.

The administration has argued that its effort to limit birthright citizenship is necessary to help rein in illegal immigration. Opponents argue it would upend more than a century of precedent and unravel a cornerstone of US immigration law enshrined by the 14th Amendment.

Trump attended the oral arguments in person on Wednesday, a rare move by a sitting president that underscored the high stakes of the case.

A defeat for Trump would mark a second straight setback at the high court, following the decision last month that invalidated the president's global tariffs. A win would help Trump deliver on his pledge to reshape America's immigration policies.

During more than two hours of arguments, U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer sought to convince the justices that the 14th Amendment - which establishes the concept of birthright citizenship and was extended formerly to enslaved people - and subsequent court rulings and laws passed by Congress all mistakenly expanded birthright citizenship.

Chief Justice John Roberts, a key swing vote on the court, questioned Trump's authority to exclude the children of undocumented immigrants from receiving US citizenship.

"I'm not quite sure how you can get to that big group," Roberts said.

• Trump says he will attend birthright citizenship arguments at Supreme Court
• Trump wants to end birthright citizenship. Where do other countries stand?

The oral arguments turned on a key clause in the 14th Amendment, which grants citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the US who are "subject to the jurisdiction thereof."

Bauer argued that the clause should only apply to the children of foreign diplomats and a few other limited groups. Parents who are in the country illegally when their children are born have "allegiance" to their home countries and therefore don't fall under the jurisdiction of US law, he said.

"Jurisdiction means allegiance," Sauer said. Citing a previous court opinion, he later argued that "permanent residence and domicile decides [citizenship]. That's what the court should be bound by."

But several justices said that interpretation would fundamentally reshape how Americans and people living around the world understand the US birthright citizenship process.

Justice Elena Kagan said the administration was seeking to undo a legal tradition of birthright citizenship that dates back to English common law. "What the 14th Amendment did was accept that tradition and not attempt to put any limitations on it. That was the clear rationale," Kagan said.

Several justices also pointed to the 1898 Supreme Court ruling, United States v. Wong Kim Ark, the landmark decision that upheld birthright citizenship in the case of a child born to Chinese immigrants living in the US.

Cecillia Wang, an ACLU attorney representing the plaintiffs in court on Wednesday, used the decision to argue that Trump's executive order should be overturned.

"If we agree with you how to read Wong Kim Ark, then you win," Justice Brett Kavanaugh said. "That could be just a short opinion."

Whether the court ultimately issues a broad or narrow opinion remains to be seen. The difference between a sweeping ruling on constitutional grounds versus a more tailored opinion on statutory grounds is a critical one, legal experts said.

The justices could choose to focus on a 1952 law passed by Congress that codified birthright citizenship and not wade into the larger constitutional debate, said Stephen Yale-Loehr, an immigration law expert.

"The court does not like to rule on constitutional issues if it doesn't have to," Yale-Loehr said. "The court could argue that the Trump executive order is invalid on statutory grounds."

The court is expected to issue its decision in June. It would be the first major immigration case decided by the court on its merits since Trump started his second term. The court has taken up other immigration cases, but has so far sent them back to lower courts for further review.

Trump's push to end birthright citizenship is one part of his larger immigration crackdown. But it's nevertheless a longtime goal of many on the right, and something Trump has supported since his first term in office. A victory in this case would help Trump make the case that he is delivering on his campaign pledge to limit illegal immigration.

A loss would be a setback to Trump's immigration agenda. But it would also represent a larger blow to his efforts to aggressively expand executive power since returning to office. The ruling in February overturning Trump's sweeping global tariffs showed the justices are not willing to give Trump a blank check to bypass Congress and the courts.

Trump signaled his interest in the case by attending the oral arguments on Wednesday. Critics said his appearance was an improper effort to influence the court ahead of a decision that will have major repercussions for his domestic policy agenda.

"We are the only Country in the World STUPID enough to allow 'Birthright' Citizenship!" Trump said incorrectly on social media after leaving the court.

Two migrants have died attempting to cross the English Channel, French authorities have said.

Six others were rescued, with one of them taken to hospital requiring urgent care, after migrants got into difficulty boarding a boat near Calais on Wednesday morning.

The French maritime prefecture said the small boat was seen heading towards the beach at Gravelines at around 09:30 local time, where 30 migrants were waiting to board.

It comes a day after the UK and France extended talks over renewing a deal to try and stop small boats trying to the cross the Channel.

Responders pulled eight people onto a rescue boat when they got into difficulty, but two of them died.

A French naval helicopter was also deployed to carry out a search of the area to make sure no one was left in the water, the French authority said.

At least 12 French police officers were present in the beach area at the time.

Steve Smith, chief executive of refugee charity Care4Calais, said the two people who died had been "lost to our deadly border".

On Tuesday, the UK signed a two-month extension on a £476m deal made with France by the previous government for extra patrols to disrupt migrant smuggling gangs.

The agreement had been due to expire, but talks on renewing the deal were extended by two months to thrash out an agreement.

It means operational contracts will continue to be funded, costing the UK £16.2m.

A Home Office spokesperson claimed Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood was "driving a hard bargain".

The home secretary is understood to be pushing for the new arrangement to include performance-related clauses that would link funding to the proportion of boats intercepted by the French.

Under the current deal, nearly 700 law enforcement officers are on the ground patrolling beaches, using drones and buggies to stop people getting on boats.

The UK government claims the deal has prevented 42,000 illegal migrants getting on boats, although the overall number making the journey across the Channel has continued to increase.

Over the past three years, crossings in the Channel have increased, with 41,472 people arriving in the UK by small boat in 2025.

Between 1 January and 26 March 2026, a total of 4,441 people crossed the English Channel by small boat from France.

This is 33% lower than the number who had reached the UK by this point in 2025, which was 6,642, although weather conditions may have played a part in this, with rougher conditions in the Channel compared with the same period in 2025.

Presenter Scott Mills has confirmed he was investigated over a sexual offence, in his first statement since he was sacked from the BBC over allegations relating to his personal conduct.

In a statement, Mills said the announcement of his sacking had led "to the publication of rumour and speculation".

It comes after it emerged the police launched an investigation into Mills in 2016 before closing it in 2019 after prosecutors decided there was insufficient evidence to bring charges.

Mills said he had "fully cooperated and responded" to the investigation at the time, and thanked "from the bottom of my heart all those who have reached out to me with kindness" including his listeners and former colleagues.

The allegations, first published in the Mirror, are reported to have happened between 1997 and 2000, police said, when Mills would have been in his mid-20s.

On Tuesday, the Metropolitan Police told BBC News that they had investigated Mills for serious sexual offences against a teenage boy who was under the age of 16.

In a statement on Wednesday afternoon, the 53-year-old said: "The recent announcement that I am no longer contracted to the BBC has led to the publication of rumour and speculation.

"In response to this the Metropolitan Police has made a statement, which I confirm relates to me.

An allegation was made against me in 2016 of a historic sexual offence which was the subject of a police investigation in which I fully cooperated and responded to in 2018.

"As the police have stated, a file of evidence was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service, which determined that the evidential threshold had not been met to bring charges.

"Since the investigation related to an allegation that dates back nearly 30 years and the police investigation was closed 7 years ago, I hope that the public and the media will understand and respect my wish not to make any further public comment on this matter."

He added: "I wish to thank from the bottom of my heart all those who have reached out to me with kindness, my former colleagues, and my beloved listeners, who I greatly miss."

The announcement that the former presenter had been sacked by the BBC caused shock among listeners, and led to mounting pressure on the broadcaster to explain what led to his sudden departure.

Earlier on Wednesday, the BBC confirmed it knew about the sexual offences investigation in 2017.

But in a statement, a spokesperson added that the Radio 2 presenter was sacked after "new information" about his conduct came to light in recent weeks.

It said it was "doing more work to understand the detail of what was known by the BBC" at the time.

Travelodge's chief executive was sent a "serious complaint" on email by the victim of a sexual assault in one of its hotels - carried out by a man given the key card to her room - soon after the attack, despite the boss saying she only found out years later.

Kyran Smith entered the woman's room at a hotel in Maidenhead, Berkshire, in December 2022 and was jailed in February this year.

On Sunday, Jo Boydell said she had only become aware of the attack during Smith's trial, which began in November 2025.

When the BBC asked Travelodge about the victim's email, sent in January 2023 one month after the assault, Boydell said it had been "handled on my behalf" and there had been "serious failures".

Smith, from Staines, Surrey, gained access to the woman's hotel room after lying to hotel staff that he was her boyfriend, and was jailed for seven-and-a-half years.

In the email sent to Boydell's Travelodge email address, and seen by the BBC, the victim wrote in detail in January 2023 about what had happened and the conversations that she had had with reception staff minutes after she woke up to Smith sexually assaulting her in her bed.

'In tears'

"I was in tears, shock and absolutely appalled this happened," she wrote in the email, marked "serious complaint" and which Travelodge does not deny it received.

During Sunday's interview, Boydell told the BBC: "The first time I became aware of this was after the court reported the incident, which is completely unacceptable and also shows there are issues with the way we handled the case."

She also apologised, as she has done in previous statements, to the victim, both for the incident and how it was handled.

In the weeks following the attack, staff from the chief executive's office offered the victim a £30 refund, an offer that the victim said was "insulting".

Following the victim speaking with the BBC, Travelodge has committed to an independent review of their room security policies and has also made immediate changes to their door key policies, so that now the company will check with someone in the room before a new keycard is issued.

The firm has said it is also investigating more reports of strangers accessing rooms.

In a statement, Boydell said on Wednesday: "I am deeply sorry for the distress experienced by the survivor and I apologise for our handling of what happened to her.

"I have been very clear there were serious failures in our handling of every aspect of our response to her.

"The email sent by the survivor in January 2023 was handled on my behalf and I am clear this should never have happened."

She added: "Our response was deeply inappropriate and our processes did not work as they should have done in this instance because what happened was not escalated to me.

"We have conducted an internal review and made immediate changes to both our room security processes for additional key cards and our review and escalation processes since I became aware of what happened."

"I have commissioned an independent review led by a leading KC which is looking at every aspect of our handling of this case."

Nearly 100 MPs signed a letter calling for Boydell to meet with MPs to discuss the incident and safety at the company.

The prime minister also wrote directly to her calling for her to meet with MPs.

A search is under way for a gunman after a shooting left a man with potentially life-changing injuries.

Police said they were called to reports a gun had been fired at a car in Speedwell Road, Bristol, at 13:47 BST. A man in his 20s suffered serious injuries and was taken to hospital.

Avon and Somerset Police said the suspect fled the scene on a black and grey electric bike in the direction of Soundwell.

Four schools in the area were placed into precautionary lockdowns while the incident unfolded but have since begun to allow pupils to return home.

Police described the gunman as white, in his late teens or early 20s, of slim build, and about 1.8m (6ft) tall.

He was wearing a grey hoodie, black trousers, and a balaclava.

Ch Insp James Clements acknowledged the incident was "incredibly concerning" for people in the area and said police had deployed "significant resources" to find the gunman.

"We're doing everything we can to identify this person and arrest him," he added.

Clements said there would be a significant police presence in the area over the coming days.

"Our neighbourhood officers fully recognise how concerning this incident is and if you have any concerns I would urge you to speak to them," he added.

Police have also appealed for any witnesses to come forward.

Schools locked down

The incident saw Bristol Brunel Academy, Two Mile Hill Primary and Chester Park Infant and Junior schools placed on precutionary lockdowns.

In a statement, Two Mile Hill Primary said: "We understand that this is very close to the end of the school day and may cause inconvenience, however, the safety and security of our pupils and wider community is our highest priority."

The father of a Year 6 pupil at Two Mile Hill said while it was a "pain" waiting outside, the school had kept parents updated and the children were "happy inside playing".

"It's not a nice situation for anyone," he added.

Follow BBC Bristol on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.

Prosecutors are providing "early investigative advice" to police forces as they carry out inquiries into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Lord Peter Mandelson's links to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

A spokesperson for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said: "We can confirm that we are now providing early investigative advice to the Metropolitan Police Service regarding the force's investigation into a 72-year-old man and will continue to liaise as requested.

"We can now also confirm that we are providing early investigative advice to Thames Valley Police in relation to a 66-year-old man."

Mountbatten-Windsor and Lord Mandelson have separately been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office over their connections to the paedophile and have both since been released under investigation.

Mountbatten-Windsor has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.

Lord Mandelson has repeatedly let it be known that he believes he has not acted criminally.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.

Councillors have approved plans by fashion designer Stella McCartney and her husband Alasdhair Willis for a clifftop home in the Highlands.

The proposals for a site on Loch Ailort, a sea loch west of Fort William, had received more than 65 objections.

Opponents raised concerns about the property's size, design and impacts on the landscape and wildlife.

A spokesperson for the couple said the stone walls and turfed roof would make it barely visible, and that the energy efficient house would be used as a "family, forever home".

McCartney and Willis' proposed site is in an area at Roshven on a rocky headland called Commando Rock which historically was used for military training.

A previous owner of the land had started work on a house in the early 2000s, but later abandoned the project leaving some low walls.

The couple's project overlaps some of the previous site, and avoids removing pine trees, which had been a cause of some objections.

Renewable energy would provide power to the new house.

McCartney, daughter of former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney, has established herself as one of the world's leading fashion designers.

She was awarded a CBE in recognition of her services to fashion and sustainability in 2022.

Willis is a creative director at clothing brand Adidas.

Highland Council's south planning applications committee approved the plans on Wednesday, subject to a number of conditions.

They included measures to mitigate the impact of external lighting on the landscape due to the site's elevated position.

There was also a requirement that sewage and surface water drainage be handled away from the site's cliff edge.

A licence is also required from Scotland's nature body, NatureScot, due to the presence of otters in the area.

'Sympathetically designed'

Fort William and Ardnamurchan Green Party councillor Kate Willis asked that "strong" conditions be placed on the project.

But her request for a decision on the application to be deferred to allow for a site visit was not supported by other councillors.

Highland Independent councillor Thomas MacLennan said the property would sit "more comfortably" in the landscape than the previously consented property.

A spokesperson said the couple had sought to deliver a "highly sustainable home that has been sympathetically designed".

They said the property would use natural Scottish stone and have a turfed roof.

The spokesperson added: "It will be secluded and barely visible due to the site's contours, including views from the water.

"Unlike many of the homes in the area, this is not a holiday home; it is a house that the family will live in, our forever home.

"We look forward to continuing to engage with the local community as we progress our development and when we move into our new home."

Two teenage girls have been arrested after a large crowd of young people caused anti-social behaviour in south-west London, the Met Police has said.

Officers were called to Clapham High Street on Tuesday evening and put a dispersal order in place to move the young people out of the area.

Two teenage girls were arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker and were taken to custody, the force said.

It added that officers would respond to any concerns from local residents and businesses.

Christine said she was walking with her husband and baby in Clapham High Street when she saw hundreds of young people, adding: "I think it took everyone by surprise."

She continued: "We weren't sure what was going on initially. There were a lot of police and police cars. You don't see that very often, even having such a heavy police presence was very unusual.

"It was clearly people up to no good. It was quite intimidating, especially with a new baby."

She added: "It's a great neighbourhood, I'm sure it's just a one off. The police were very good yesterday, it was reassuring to have so many around."

Clapham resident Aisling said it was scary but added that any number of people in a big group was scary, no matter the age.

"Nobody wants to see violence in this area. I hope everyone in the shops and everyone passing by is okay."

She said the closure of shops was a "massive shame", adding: "They might have lost quite a lot of money from that. A lot of the staff are very frightened."

The force was contacted for further details.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk

Six Metropolitan Police officers are being investigated after a black child suffered a broken knee during a stop and search in north London, the police watchdog has said.

The boy, who was aged 16 at the time, was forced off his electric bike by an officer over concerns about his behaviour as he rode along Northumberland Park in Tottenham in April 2025, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said.

The IOPC launched an investigation in November, looking at the level of force used, whether race or the child's age was a factor in their treatment of him, and the aftercare provided to him.

The Met, which has been contacted for comment, made a mandatory referral to the IOPC of a complaint made on behalf of the boy about his treatment by officers.

Nothing was found in the search before officers removed the battery from his electric bike and told him he could leave.

But they returned a short time later and arrested him on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence, threats to kill and dangerous driving.

The officers attempted to take him into custody but this was refused and they were told to take him to hospital, where he was diagnosed with a fractured knee, according to the IOPC.

Since January, three police constables are being criminally investigated - one officer for potential offences of assault occasioning grievous bodily harm or actual bodily harm and the other two officers for intentionally encouraging or assisting an offence, contrary to section 44 of the Serious Crime Act 2007. They are also being investigated for potential gross misconduct.

A further three police constables are being investigated for potential misconduct in relation to alleged failures to challenge the conduct of the other officers and their treatment of the boy.

Body-cam footage

IOPC director Amanda Rowe said: "The use of stop and search is an important policing tool, however it must be used proportionately.

"This is a serious case where a child has been injured as a result of force being used and we are investigating the officers' actions in this case and their treatment of the child, who was not provided with immediate first aid.

"We have been in contact with the boy's family and obtained further evidence to assist our investigation. We will continue to keep all parties updated as the investigation progresses.

"As part of our investigation, we have viewed officers' body-worn video, obtained accounts from some of the officers involved, a statement from the boy and reviewed medical evidence.

"The officers will be interviewed under caution, and we are currently obtaining further witness statements."

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk

A mass robotaxi outage in the Chinese city of Wuhan caused at least a hundred self-driving cars to stop mid-traffic, sparking renewed debate around the safety of driverless vehicles.

Local police said initial findings suggested a "system malfunction" caused multiple vehicles to stop in the middle of the road on Tuesday.

Videos on social media have documented the outage, with one appearing to show it resulting in a highway collision, although police said no injuries had been reported and passengers exited their vehicles safely.

Baidu did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to the police statement, posted on social media site Weibo, the cause of the incident is still under further investigation.

Baidu operates its Apollo Go driverless taxi service in dozens of cities across the world, mostly in China.

In December 2025, ride-sharing apps Uber and Lyft announced partnerships with the Chinese technology giant to test its Apollo Go cars on UK roads, aiming to start trials in 2026.

However, both still need approval from regulators before they can begin the pilot programmes.

While driverless tech may be safer on average than human drivers, this incident showed it could "still go wrong in completely new ways," said Jack Stilgoe, professor of science and technology policy at University College London.

"If we're going to make good choices about this technology, we need to understand entirely new types of risk," he told BBC News.

The outage is not the first time self-driving cars have faced technical difficulties.

In December 2025, a large power outage in San Francisco led Waymo taxis to stop working around the city, causing huge traffic jams.

Meanwhile in August 2025, an Apollo Go robotaxi carrying a passenger in Chongqing fell into ​a construction pit.

Sign up for our Tech Decoded newsletter to follow the world's top tech stories and trends. Outside the UK? Sign up here.

Even if the US and Israel had not struck Iran just over a month ago, Sir Keir Starmer probably would have been giving a press conference today - and it would have contained much of the same content.

April has long been earmarked in government as a crucial moment for the prime minister to advertise various decisions made previously which take effect either today or next week, for example increases in minimum wage rates and the abolition of the two-child benefit cap.

As the prime minister acknowledged, these are not new announcements. And some of them will continue to be criticised by his political opponents as the wrong priority for limited government resources.

Still, it was striking to see the prime minister today redeploy these announcements as part of an argument for why the UK was well-placed to handle whatever the economic impacts of this conflict turn out to be.

Otherwise, though, this was a prime ministerial address peppered with gloomy language. Sir Keir spoke of a coming "storm", which may well be "fierce".

If the prime minister's message could be summarised in just one sentence, it was his admission that "this will not be easy".

Sir Keir was using that phrase to describe both the general economic impact of the Iran conflict and the particular difficulties in getting the Strait of Hormuz open again.

Indeed, at one point he warned that even if the conflict ends that does not necessarily mean the strait will reopen.

"This will not be easy" would also serve perfectly well as a description of the political impact of this conflict for the prime minister.

It is a simple statement of political fact that no government welcomes an economic shock. Historically - both in the 1970s and over the past few years - incumbent governments across the world have been punished by voters in such moments.

In that political context, the prime minister has made three big calls, all of them on display at today's press conference.

First, while talking up the gravity of the moment, he has decided not to respond with emergency measures.

Other than a package of support for those who use heating oil, the government is warning that any support for household energy bills will not come until the autumn.

The prime minister argues that households are protected, first, by the energy price cap for the next three months, and then by the fact that when the current cap elapses it will be the summer, when energy use is lower.

This is one of the areas where Sir Keir is coming under most criticism from other parties.

To his left, the Greens say he should commit billions to subsidise energy bills from July, while to his right the Conservatives and Reform UK say VAT should be removed from household energy bills now.

The Liberal Democrats want to change how renewable energy projects are funded to reduce bills. Plaid Cymru is calling for more support for households and businesses, while the SNP argues independence would allow Scottish minister to cut bills by reducing energy costs.

But household bills are just one element of this.

The prime minister has also resisted pressure, including from the Conservatives, Reform, the SNP and the Lib Dems, to introduce emergency measures to reduce fuel prices at the pump.

He insisted again today that the proposed increase in fuel duty in September was under review, but it is hard to find anybody in Westminster who believes this will go ahead. Some Labour MPs privately question why Starmer does not just say so now.

In holding off before taking action, the prime minister is putting himself out of step with some of his allies.

To take just one example, Australia - led by a Labour government from which this government often takes inspiration - has halved its fuel taxes.

On Tuesday, a member of the European Commission urged people to work from home, drive less, drive more slowly and fly less.

The UK government's messaging, while gloomy about the overall situation, is in starkly different place.

The second big call from Sir Keir is to embrace his disagreements with US President Donald Trump.

It's only a couple of months ago that the prime minister was still prioritising sticking close to the president as much as possible in order to protect the UK-US relationship.

That personal relationship has clearly ruptured in a serious way over Sir Keir's decision to resist US demands to play a bigger role in the war.

While insisting that the transatlantic alliance remains strong in terms of security and intelligence cooperation, the prime minister today emphasised, as he has done several times in recent days, that "this is not our war".

The third big call is related and formed a surprisingly prominent part of today's press conference: to use this moment to seek closer ties with the EU.

We already knew that there was going to be a second annual UK-EU summit in a month or two's time, and we already knew that the UK government hoped to use it not only to complete existing negotiations on areas of cooperation but also to seek deeper ties in other areas.

But Sir Keir's decision to emphasise it in today's press conference, called in the context of a spiralling conflict about which the UK and the US profoundly disagree, was deliberate and meaningful.

Having stressed the economic impact of the Iran conflict, the prime minister then stressed the economic dividends he hopes to secure from a closer post-Brexit relationship.

Notably, he said that Labour's 2024 general election manifesto still stood, which is to say the commitments that the UK would neither rejoin the EU's customs union or its single market.

But it feels increasingly like the government wants to get as close as possible to single market membership as it can from outside the bloc.

Of course, former Conservative prime minister Theresa May wanted that once too, but the EU resisted "cherrypicking" - the idea that the UK could have what it saw as the benefits of the single market (economic cooperation through shared regulations) without what it saw as the drawbacks (the free movement of people).

Those questions about economic support, the UK-US relationship and post-Brexit ties with Europe will now be at the heart of British politics as this storm gathers pace.

Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to keep up with the inner workings of Westminster and beyond.

He's-a back!

The most famous plumber in the world returns to cinemas this week with a sequel to the mega-successful Super Mario Brothers Movie.

It has been three years since Nintendo's mustachioed mascot appeared alongside brother Luigi, Princess Peach and their nemesis Bowser, making more than $1.3bn (almost £1bn) worldwide.

The Super Mario Galaxy movie, named after the Wii game of the same name, moves the action to space and adds beloved characters Yoshi and Rosalina to the cast.

Reviews of the new release are mixed, with some critics praising its imagination and pace, but others are saying it falls flat compared to the first film.

What is Super Mario Galaxy about?

Super Mario Galaxy picks up where the first film left off, with Bowser (voiced by Jack Black) imprisoned by brothers Mario and Luigi after being shrunk to pocket-sized.

When his son Bowser Jr., voiced by filmmaker and actor Benny Safdie, stages a breakout, it sparks an intergalactic chase.

Along the way, Mario and Luigi befriend dinosaur Yoshi, voiced by actor and musician Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino), and Rosalina, a princess voiced by Captain Marvel star Brie Larson.

Anya Taylor-Joy reprises her role as Princess Peach, and Wednesday star Luis Guzmán plays Wart - the main enemy from 1988 NES game Super Mario Bros 2.

Other characters from Super Mario Galaxy, widely considered one of the greatest video games ever released, also feature in promotional material for the film.

They include Lumas - glowing star-shaped characters that players encounter throughout the game.

What do reviews say?

The first Mario movie didn't get much love from critics, with a score of just 59%, based on 288 reviews, on film and TV review website Rotten Tomatoes.

But audiences loved it, helping to make it the second-biggest film of 2023, just behind the Barbie movie.

This time, the critical reaction has been around the plot and how it struggles to stay connected throughout the film.

The Guardian called the film a "bland screensaver of a movie" and gave it a one star rating, while The Independent gave it a slightly higher two stars but also lamented its "blandness".

One of the biggest complaints about the original movie from fans was the inclusion of various pop and rock songs on the game's soundtrack.

Many felt hits from the likes of Beastie Boys, AC/DC and Bonnie Tyler didn't fit well with the Mario Universe.

However, entertainment reporter Jonathan Sim says Galaxy pulls things back, which allows composer Brian Tyler's "excellent musical score" to take centre stage.

Sim adds that the cosmic film is a "gorgeously animated love letter to Mario fans".

Gaming content creator Sophie Keen, known online as Cadaea, told BBC Newsbeat that she feels The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is a good additional storyline for fans to enjoy.

"I see it as a nice extra", says Keen.

Keen says she actually preferred Galaxy to the first film as it has "loads of funny moments" alongside "cute, wholesome moments".

"If you like the first film, you probably will like the second," she explains.

"The only thing I really want people to know is that it's not a perfect 100% adaptation of the game.

"Don't expect the exact same plot to come out, just take it as a nice addition to Mario lore."

Nintendo's future

Nintendo is arguably the world's most famous video game company, but in recent years it's been moving into other forms of entertainment.

After both Mario movies, a film based on the Legend of Zelda is due to be released next year, and there appear to be plans for an animation based on Donkey Kong.

The company has also opened Mario-themed attractions at several Universal Studios resorts, as well as a string of Nintendo-branded merchandise stores in Japan and the USA.

It still makes most of its money from video games, but some fans have been upset at the lack of a brand new 3D Mario game this year.

For Keen, she thinks the movie is a "nice way to keep the fans happy" whilst they wait for the next game release.

Additional reporting by Tom Richardson and Peter Gillibrand

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.

The BBC knew about a police investigation into DJ Scott Mills in 2017, the corporation has confirmed.

But the Radio 2 presenter was sacked after "new information" about his conduct came to light in recent weeks, the BBC said.

Mills was previously questioned by police over historical allegations of serious sexual offences, but no charges were brought after prosecutors decided in 2019 there was insufficient evidence to proceed with the case.

Mills has not yet responded to repeated requests for comment.

BBC News understands that the director general at the time of the police investigation, Tony Hall, did not know about the allegations.

The BBC's statement on Wednesday came after mounting pressure on the broadcaster to explain what led to the Radio 2 DJ's sudden departure.

In a statement, a BBC spokesperson said: "Scott Mills had a long career across the BBC, he was hugely popular and we know the news this week has come as a shock and surprise to many.

"We also recognise there's been much speculation in the media and online since Monday. We hope people understand that there is a limit to what we can say because we have to be mindful of the rights of those involved.

"What we can confirm is that in recent weeks, we obtained new information relating to Scott and we spoke directly with him. As a result, the BBC acted decisively in line with our culture and values and terminated his contracts on Friday 27 March."

The spokesperson added: "Separately, we can confirm the BBC was made aware in 2017 of the existence of an ongoing police investigation, which was subsequently closed in 2019 with no arrest or charge being made. We are doing more work to understand the detail of what was known by the BBC at this time."

The statement concluded that the BBC has made "a significant commitment to improve its culture, processes and standards".

"Last year, following an independent culture review, we set out the behavioural expectations for everyone who works with or for the BBC and we were clear action would be taken if these were not met."

On Monday, it was announced that the former Radio 1 presenter had been sacked by the BBC over allegations related to his personal conduct.

The allegations, first published on Monday by the Mirror, relate to the period between 1997 and 2000, police said, when Mills would have been in his mid-twenties.

On Tuesday, the BBC apologised for not looking into a separate allegation of "inappropriate communications" involving Mills, first reported in the Telegraph, raised by a freelance journalist last year.

The UK will pursue closer economic ties with the European Union in light of the war in Iran, Sir Keir Starmer has said.

The prime minister told a news conference he would use a summit with the EU later this year to seek more cooperation with the bloc on the economy and security.

It comes as relations between the US and the UK have been increasingly strained by the PM's refusal to be drawn further into the war with Iran.

In his speech, Sir Keir warned the conflict would impact the UK but sought to reassure the public the government was taking action to ease the cost of living.

The PM is facing calls from opposition parties to set out now how the government plans to protect people from rising energy costs.

The Conservatives and Reform UK are both calling for VAT to be taken off household energy bills, while arguing the hike in fuel duty scheduled for September should be cancelled.

The Liberal Democrats are also calling for the increase not to go ahead, while the Greens say the government should commit billions of pounds now to subsidise energy bills from July, when the price cap is recalculated.

Plaid Cymru said the government should set out now what support would be available if energy bills rise, while the SNP argues Holyrood should control energy policy.

Sir Keir said: "No matter how fierce this storm we are well-placed to weather it and we have a long-term plan to emerge from it a stronger and more secure nation."

He highlighted a number of measures coming into force from this month aimed at easing the cost of living, including removing some green levies from energy bills and increasing the national living wage.

The PM insisted the government had been "ahead of the game" in its focus on the cost-of-living.

However, the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development has warned the UK is facing the biggest hit to economic growth from the war out of major economies.

Asked if he would reassure motorists that the increase in fuel duty would not go ahead, Sir Keir said the rate remained set until September.

He added that support for households would be kept under review but "a lot will depend on how long the conflict goes on" and how quickly the Strait of Hormuz can be reopened.

Meanwhile, the foreign secretary is hosting 35 nations - including European and Gulf counties - on Thursday.

The PM said the meeting would discuss possible measures to make the Strait of Hormuz "accessible and safe after the fighting has stopped".

He added that "this will not be easy" but said it was in the UK's national interest for the strait to reopen.

Iran has effectively blocked the strait - one of the world's busiest oil shipping channels - leading to soaring wholesale oil and gas prices.

A sustained rise in the price of oil is likely to lead to a jump in household energy bills in the UK, when the current cap is reset in July.

The PM and Chancellor Rachel Reeves have made a number of interventions in recent months arguing for a closer trading relationship with the EU.

However, Sir Keir argued that this was more urgent because of the impact of the US-Israel conflict with Iran.

"It is increasingly clear that as the world continues down this volatile path, our long-term national interest requires closer partnership with our allies in Europe and with the European Union," he said.

He added that Brexit "did deep damage to our economy" and "the opportunities to strengthen our security and cut the cost of living.... are simply too big to ignore".

A UK-EU summit is expected this summer, after the two sides struck a deal last May on areas including fishing rights, trade, defence and energy.

Sir Keir said this year's summit "will not just ratify existing commitments made at last year's summit" but would be "more ambitious".

The PM was asked if the UK was heading towards rejoining the EU single market, which enables goods, service and people to move freely between member states, with countries applying many common rules and standards.

"I do think that we should strengthen our cooperation on defence, security, energy, emissions and the economy," he replied.

"I'm ambitious that we can do more in relation to the single market, because I think that's hugely in our economic interests."

However, he said Labour's election manifesto commitment that there would be no return to the single market, the customs union or freedom of movement remained.

Pressed over whether he was choosing Europe over the US, Sir Keir insisted: "I'm not going to choose because I think it's in our interest to have a strong relationship with the US and with Europe."

He argued that closer ties with Europe would strengthen the UK's relationship with the US as well, since successive US presidents had been pushing for Europe to do more on defence and security.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticised Sir Keir in recent weeks, following his refusal to allow the US to use UK bases for its initial offensive strikes against Iran.

The UK has since given permission for its bases to be used for defensive action against Iranian missile strikes.

In his latest comments, Trump told the Daily Telegraph he was considering pulling out of the Nato military alliance with European countries after they did not join his war in Iran.

Asked about the remarks, Sir Keir said the UK was "fully committed to Nato", which he described as "the single most effective military alliance the world has ever seen".

He added: "Whatever the pressure on me and others, whatever the noise, I'm going to act in the British national interest in the decisions that I make.

"That's why I've been absolutely clear that this is not our war and we're not going to get dragged into it."

Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to keep up with the inner workings of Westminster and beyond.

A mass robotaxi outage in the Chinese city of Wuhan caused at least a hundred self-driving cars to stop mid-traffic, sparking renewed debate around the safety of driverless vehicles.

Local police said initial findings suggested a "system malfunction" caused multiple vehicles to stop in the middle of the road on Tuesday.

Videos on social media have documented the outage, with one appearing to show it resulting in a highway collision, although police said no injuries had been reported and passengers exited their vehicles safely.

Baidu did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to the police statement, posted on social media site Weibo, the cause of the incident is still under further investigation.

Baidu operates its Apollo Go driverless taxi service in dozens of cities across the world, mostly in China.

In December 2025, ride-sharing apps Uber and Lyft announced partnerships with the Chinese technology giant to test its Apollo Go cars on UK roads, aiming to start trials in 2026.

However, both still need approval from regulators before they can begin the pilot programmes.

While driverless tech may be safer on average than human drivers, this incident showed it could "still go wrong in completely new ways," said Jack Stilgoe, professor of science and technology policy at University College London.

"If we're going to make good choices about this technology, we need to understand entirely new types of risk," he told BBC News.

The outage is not the first time self-driving cars have faced technical difficulties.

In December 2025, a large power outage in San Francisco led Waymo taxis to stop working around the city, causing huge traffic jams.

Meanwhile in August 2025, an Apollo Go robotaxi carrying a passenger in Chongqing fell into ​a construction pit.

Sign up for our Tech Decoded newsletter to follow the world's top tech stories and trends. Outside the UK? Sign up here.

Leaning against a wall near a news-stand in central Rome, Tommaso Silvestri, 65, scans the morning's front pages, their headlines swinging between "apocalypse," "scandal" and "disaster" after Italy's latest footballing collapse.

"We've made a real mess of it," he says, shaking his head. "We had players who couldn't even find the target."

"The golden days of Italian football are well and truly gone."

On Tuesday night in Zenica, four-time World Cup winners Italy failed to qualify for the tournament for a third consecutive time, losing 4-1 on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina after being reduced to 10 men before halftime.

Since winning the World Cup in 2006, the Azzurri have largely disappointed in international tournaments - with the exception of their surprise victory at the Euros in 2021 against England at Wembley.

"We are what our results say we are," Silvestri said. "When you shoot and can't even hit the goal, you're not going to go far. When it comes to taking the game home, Italy just doesn't get there anymore."

Last night's defeat drew swift and emotional reactions across Italian politics and society.

"Everything has a limit," lamented Ignazio La Russa, president of the Senate and a senior figure in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's far-right Brothers of Italy party.

In a post on X, he wrote: "We're not going to the World Cup. We supported them, we hoped, we even railed against a couple of questionable refereeing decisions... but deep down we feared it. In fact, we knew it."

Gomorrah author and anti-mafia writer Roberto Saviano also weighed in, pointing to deeper structural failures in Italian football, from governance to youth development.

"Clubs are corrupt and at the mercy of criminal organisations. True laundering vaults. No investment in young players, no care for second-generation talent. It's easier to buy foreign players than to develop new athletes," he said in a post on Instagram.

Across Italy, a legendary football nation with a rich history of producing world-class talent, many are wondering what went wrong. Giovanni Colli, 71, rolling his eyes while sipping an espresso at a café near the Pantheon, says he feels "betrayed."

"Not going to the World Cup three times in a row, how on earth did it happen? What a huge disappointment. Everyone should resign. Give the young players a chance," he says.

Italy's World Cup heartbreak was crystallised in the tear-streaked face of coach Rino Gattuso, who struggled to hold back his emotions after the national team's defeat.

"We don't deserve this, it's not fair. I'm sorry I couldn't make it happen," Gattuso said, eyes glistening, before retreating to the dressing room.

The legendary 2006 World Cup-winning midfielder was only given the job of coach last June.

Despite the disappointment, Gattuso expressed pride in his players: "I'm proud of my boys and what they gave on the pitch."

The match, decided on penalties after Italy were reduced to 10 men following Alessandro Bastoni's early red card, gave a brief moment of hope to Italians with Moise Kean's goal, only for it to end in dismay.

Gattuso admitted the team's shortcomings: "When you have chances and don't take them, football punishes you."

Reflecting on their elimination, he added: "This hurts. We gave everything we could. It's a real shock."

Sport journalist Elisabetta Esposito of La Gazzetta dello Sport told the BBC that Italian football was facing a difficult period - one that would take time to overcome, during which loyalty to individual clubs was outweighing support for the national team.

"The risk is that this third consecutive failure to qualify will deepen young people's disengagement from the Azzurri," she said.

"The disappointment is profound, but the country is not only disappointed but almost disillusioned. It's as if a new generation no longer knows what it means to cheer for their country."

Reflecting on Tuesday's match, Esposito added: "From a technical standpoint, everything went wrong. The team hasn't worked together enough. Rebuilding will require a long-term strategy, chasing immediate wins with rushed decisions won't succeed."

On a busy street in central Rome, 56-year-old Teresa is walking her dog among tourists and commuters rushing to work.

"Oh, we are not going to the World Cup?" she asks. "I don't know much about football, but that's a bit of disaster, isn't it?"

A judge in Brazil has blocked a project to build a zipline connecting the famous Sugarloaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro to a nearby hill, Morro da Urca.

The attraction's developer said it would allow visitors to descend from Sugarloaf Mountain at speeds of almost 100km/h (62mph) via four ziplines covering a distance of 755m (0.47 miles).

The project - which started four years ago - had triggered protests from locals and environmentalists, who argued that the construction work was causing irreparable damage to the Unesco World Heritage Site.

The developer is expected to appeal against the decision.

Gricel Osorio Hor-Meyll, one of the activists who had led the campaign against the zipline told AFP news agency that the ruling was "a huge victory".

Those opposed to the attraction argued that in order to build the platforms needed to access the zipline, the rock on top of Sugarloaf Mountain would have to be excavated.

The company which manages the site said that excavation would be kept to a minimum by using areas with existing construction.

The project had the approval of both Rio City Council and the National Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute (IPHAN).

As part of Tuesday's ruling, the judge ordered that IPHAN and the project's developer pay 30m reals ($5.77m, £4.35m) in damages, stressing the "inestimable value of Sugarloaf Mountain, not only for Brazilians but for people worldwide".

The project has been at the centre of a legal battle for years and construction had been halted on a number of occasions as the company argued its case in court.

In January, construction work restarted after the high court had ruled that stopping would cause more damage than finishing the project at this late stage.

It added that the project was 95% completed.

That decision has now been overturned by Tuesday's ruling.

However, the legal saga is likely to continue with the company behind the project expected to lodge an appeal.

A man who was charged after a car hit a group of pedestrians in Derby city centre has appeared in court.

Seven people were seriously injured when they were hit by a black Suzuki Swift in Friar Gate at about 21:30 GMT on Saturday.

Sandhu Ponnachan, 36, from Alvaston, who only spoke to confirm his name and address, has been charged with six counts of grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent and one count of attempted GBH with intent, one count of dangerous driving, and one count of possession of a bladed article.

Ponnachan, who police said was originally from India, appeared at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, where he was remanded to appear at Derby Crown Court on 29 April.

Derbyshire Police said four men and three women, aged between 36 and 52, suffered serious but non life-threatening injuries during the incident.

Four have since been released from hospital, the force added.

Listen to BBC Radio Derby on Sounds and follow BBC Derby on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.

Dissident republican groups still have the capacity, ability and desire to carry out attacks on police despite their small numbers, Northern Ireland's justice minister has said.

It comes after a delivery driver was hijacked and told he would be killed if he did not drive a bomb, which was placed into the boot of his car, to the police station in Lurgan.

The device was found to be a "crude, but viable improvised explosive device", and police believe it is "highly likely" that dissident republicans are behind the attack.

Naomi Long said while there have been no concerns about an uptick in activity, those involved are "wedded" to destruction and violence.

"If they weren't intent in causing harm, then they wouldn't be in those groups, it's the only purpose that they serve," she told BBC News NI's Good Morning Ulster programme.

"From our perspective, we take it seriously. I know the PSNI [Police Service of Northern Ireland] work very hard to keep people safe, to suppress the activities of these organisations and where they can do so, bring the people involved to justice.

"But we can't be complacent about the risks."

Long said there were "not large numbers" of people still involved in these groups, but the attack in Lurgan is a "demonstration for anyone who has any doubt that these are people who are completely wedded to destruction, to disruption".

"We are talking about people who have been fairly committed to what they're doing over many years, and I think we can see that they remain wedded to violence and they're not in any sense trying to depart from that," she said.

"I think it's more likely that this is some kind of rallying the troops sort of issue ahead of Easter, but no consideration for an innocent person going to deliver pizza and end up being hijacked at gunpoint and forced to drive a bomb through the town."

She continued: "No regard whatsoever for the people who could have been killed had it exploded prematurely and no regard for the delivery driver and the PSNI who then had to deal with the aftermath of this."

The justice minister said while those responsible may try and "dress it up" as an attack on police, the incident is a "reckless attack on the people of Lurgan".

Lurgan attack 'shocking'

Sinn Féin assembly member John O'Dowd said it was a "shocking" incident, particularly for the delivery driver.

He said thousands of people had gathered in Lurgan weeks ago to celebrate St Patrick's Day, and that the "starkness of this event" casts a shadow on the town.

When asked about the potential of dissident republicans being involved in the attack, O'Dowd, who represents Upper Bann, said he did not see support for the groups.

"What they class themselves or what they call themselves is a matter for themselves, but I do think and I know that the vast majority of people in Lurgan want to move on and we have seen huge progress over this last 20, 25 years," he told Good Morning Ulster.

"I would appeal to anyone who believes there's going to be a return to the past to think again and to follow the course that has been set out by the people."

Tánaiste (Irish Deputy Prime Minister) Simon Harris said the attempted bomb attack was "deeply chilling".

Speaking to reporters in Dublin on Wednesday morning, Harris said: "The dark history needs to be left just there, and it is a reminder of the fact that we can never ever let our guard down in relation to that.

"We have a peace process on the island of Ireland, an enduring one, an ongoing one, and this chilling event is deeply concerning."

What happened in Lurgan?

At about 22:30 BST on Monday, a delivery driver in a white Audi was stopped by two masked men - one of whom was armed with a pistol - on Deramore Drive in the Kilwilkie estate.

He was threatened at gunpoint and ordered to drive his car to the police station on Church Place in the town.

When he arrived he told security staff there was a bomb in the car, which later triggered a security operation. About 100 homes were evacuated overnight, with residents taking refuge in Lurgan town hall and a number of roads in town centre were closed.

A controlled explosion was also carried out.

At a press conference on Tuesday, police confirmed that the device, while crude, was viable.

Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said: "As unsophisticated as it was, it posed a significant risk to the terrified delivery driver, our security staff and the local community."

Who are dissident republicans?

The term "dissident republicans" describes a range of individuals who do not accept the Good Friday Agreement - the 1998 peace deal which ended the worst of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

The Provisional IRA - the main armed republican paramilitary group for most of the Troubles - declared a ceasefire in the run up to the agreement and officially ended its violent campaign in 2005.

Dissident republicanism is made up of various groups which broke away from the Provisional IRA in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, including the Continuity IRA and New IRA.

The groups are much smaller than the Provisional IRA, although they have access to high-calibre weapons and have used improvised explosive devices and mortars in attacks and attempted attacks.

More on this story

• Artemis II: Inside the Moon mission to fly humans further than ever

Estate agents have accused Rightmove of charging "unsustainable" fees, with some saying their charges have more than doubled in recent years.

The online listing portal is now being pursued in a class action, launched by accountant Jeremy Newman on behalf of potentially hundreds of estate agents.

The BBC understands a letter of claim has been sent to Rightmove seeking just under £1.5bn in damages, claiming the website has "abused a dominant position" in the online property portal market.

Rightmove said the claim was "without merit, and we will defend it vigorously", adding it is "confident in the value we provide to our partners and consumers."

The claim alleges that Rightmove has charged thousands of estate agents and new home developers excessive and unfair subscription fees, and action has been filed in the Competition Appeal Tribunal.

Newman claims hundreds of estate agents are reporting a rise in fees with little change in the services they are receiving while they have been "squeezed" over the past few years by flat property prices.

"Estate agents are having to employ fewer people because they can't afford them alongside their fees to Rightmove," said Newman, who is also a former Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) panel member. "As a result, their services can't be as effective."

'Charging too much'

Rightmove has consistently reported a profit margin of around 70%, making it one of the most profitable companies in the FTSE 100.

The company's own consumer research suggests it has an 80% share of time spent on property portals.

Newman said the class action was not about arguing Rightmove should not exist, as it has "an important function in the property market".

But he added: "Rightmove is exploiting a self-evident dominant market position, and are charging too much for it."

The BBC has reviewed evidence from five estate agents suggesting there have been sharp rises in fees.

Many other agents report that Rightmove is significantly more expensive than other platforms, yet acknowledge it delivers most of their leads.

Many say they are struggling to absorb the costs but feel they have little choice.

On its website, Rightmove claims it gives agents "access and brand exposure to the UK's largest and most engaged home-moving audience."

A Rightmove spokesperson said the firm was "confident in the value we provide to our partners and consumers, who are at the core of our business solutions and digital platform."

"As one of the most efficient parts of the UK housing market, we help people across the UK to move home by bringing buyers, sellers, renters, landlords and agents together.

"Our platform continues to provide a growing range of constantly evolving products and features which facilitate market transparency, liquidity and confidence."

'It's like David and Goliath'

Alisa Zotimova is founder of AZ Real Estate, a London-based Bespoke Property Consultants and Estate Agents.

Zotimova said her fees have "more than doubled" in seven years.

She started with a reduced promotional rate which later increased significantly.

Whilst this was "no secret", she described this rise as "unsustainable".

"You don't have to sign up but it feels like I'm pushed into a bit of a corner with my customers expecting me to use it," she said.

If smaller agents cannot afford these sorts of fees, Zotimova said that would have knock-on effects for the housing market.

"For buyers, sellers, tenants and landlords there will be higher fees, less choice of agents if smaller ones can't compete," she said.

When Zotimova heard about the legal action she decided she didn't want to opt out.

"It feels a bit David and Goliath, now it seems there is maybe a chance," she said.

'I'm charged over £5,000 a month'

Chris, who owns two estate agents in Northamptonshire, is being charged more than £5000 a month for a basic membership, allowing him to advertise about 30-50 properties online.

He says his fees are the equivalent of two full time members of staff salaries per month.

"It's a lot of money to find every single month," he said, adding that the costs ultimately get passed on to clients.

"When you're trying to run and operate a small business and a particular company has complete control of that business, is a challenge," Chris said.

He accepts Rightmove is the "number one portal" but said costs shouldn't be determined by the company.

"We just have to continue to cut back and make savings in other areas to facilitate the juggernaut that is Rightmove," he said.

'Value for money'

Andy Keogh, an estate agent in the Midlands, believes the platform gives "value for money". He said 80% of his leads come from Rightmove which has a "monopoly on the market".

From June, his fees will go up from £1710 to £1850 a month, for up to 40 properties in sales and lettings.

"If you don't like it, don't use them. Agents who are moaning would struggle with their business if they decided to come off it," Keogh said.

He acknowledged that for lettings, Zoopla is much cheaper, which charges £450-500 a month.

Around 2.7 million people are set to receive a pay rise this week as the national minimum wage goes up by 50p to £12.71 for over 21s.

Workers aged 18-20 will see an 85p rise to £10.85, and under-18s and apprentices will get 45p more to £8 an hour.

Campaigners have welcomed the increases, but businesses have said the higher wage bills will force them to increase prices or cut staff.

The Low Pay Commission, the government agency which recommended the increases, said previous minimum wage rises for over-21s had "not had a significant negative impact on jobs".

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said wages were going up "for the lowest paid" but said the government "must go further to bear down on costs".

Spencer Bowman is the managing director of of Mettricks, a chain of four coffee shops in Southampton. He says he would normally be "thrilled" to pay staff more, but "the cost increases have got to be sustainable".

"There's nothing that I'd want more than to ensure that my team can earn a really fair amount of money for a fair day's work. And it's been one of my long-term ambitions to see hospitality workers, my employees, paid far more."

But Spencer says his business is being squeezed from every angle – as well as minimum wage, he has had increases in business rates, national insurance, and statutory sick pay. He also expects energy bills to go up because of the war in the Middle East.

"We're running on a minimum number of staff on shift. We can't run on fewer people," he says.

"If something doesn't give somewhere, we will be closing sites.

"It doesn't make any sense. Revenue is up. Our customer numbers are up. But our costs everywhere have hit a point where we're not financially sustainable and if that continues, there's only one outcome for that."

The minimum wage increases are on top of a 6.7% rise for over-21s and a 16.3% rise for 18 to 20-year-olds respectively last year, when there was also a rise in employers' National Insurance contributions.

Ministers are considering slowing down plans to pay adults of all ages the same minimum wage.

Labour committed in their election manifesto to remove "discretionary age bands" and increase the wages of 18 to 20-year-olds so they are paid the same as those over 21.

Ifunanya Ezechukwu, 25, calls the minimum wage rise a "step in the right direction".

"Especially with the cost of living being really bad, people need more money so they can actually afford the basics," she tells BBC Newsbeat.

She doesn't think employers paying staff more will necessarily translate to fewer job opportunities.

"I feel like they're probably just going to up the prices of their services, so I don't think there'll be less job opportunities," she says.

"I just feel like some things might get more expensive, which is unfortunate, and then the cycle just continues."

Alex McCarthy, a university student who works part-time in a pub, says he is feeling "very, very happy" about the rise.

But the 18-year-old says it probably won't be enough for some of his friends, who are working while living at university but are still struggling to do weekly shops and are having to borrow money off their parents.

Amelia Evans, 18, believes the rise is necessary because "everything is going up in price". But she is concerned it will limit her job opportunities.

"So far this year I think I've done maybe 20 applications, and haven't got any. I feel like it's going to impact me even more now."

When Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the increases in the Budget last year, she said the cost of living was still the biggest issue for working people.

"The economy isn't working well enough for those on the lowest incomes," she added.

At the time, the Treasury said the new minimum wage rates for 2026 struck a balance between "the needs of workers, the affordability for businesses and the opportunities for employment".

The Living Wage Foundation has welcomed the rises but says they do not go far enough.

The Foundation calculates what is known as the Real Living Wage, which it says is a more accurate reflection of the cost of living in the UK. It currently stands at £13.45 across the UK and £14.80 in London.

Kate Chapman, the executive director of the Living Wage Foundation, said one in seven businesses now pay the Real Living Wage.

"That's because they know the Living Wage is good for people, good for society and good for business," she said.

The British Chamber of Commerce has said that tax and labour costs are the biggest concerns for British businesses.

In its quarterly survey of 4,000 firms, 73% said labour costs are putting pressure on them to raise prices.

Additional reporting by Georgia Levy-Collins, Lizzy Bella, and Jemma Crew

Several household bills have gone up in April - although energy costs have fallen for now.

At the same time, minimum wage has gone up and and there are upcoming increases in benefits for many lower-income billpayers.

Prescription charges in England have also been frozen, and councils will be able to give cash payouts people struggling with the rising cost of living from a Crisis and Resilience Fund.

Here's a guide to the bill changes and how they affect you.

1. Household energy bills

Typical household energy bills have fallen by 7% between April and July, following a shake-up in charges by the government.

Nearly everyone in England, Wales and Scotland is benefiting from the cut irrespective of their tariff, although the amounts will vary between households.

For a household on a tariff governed by regulator Ofgem's price cap, and using a typical amount of gas and electricity, the annual bill will drop to £1,641.

The bill drop will only be temporary. The impact of the Iran war means that prices will increase sharply in July.

The latest forecast by analysts at energy consultancy Cornwall Insight suggests the household with typical energy use will pay £1,929 a year from July, an 18% rise.

2. Council tax

Council tax is a compulsory charge on properties in England, Scotland and Wales.

It is rising by an average of 4.9% for households in England. That means the average council tax for a Band D property in England will increase to £2,392 a year, up £111 on last year.

Many councils are allowed to increase bills by up to 5%, but seven have been given government permission to implement bigger hikes to help address a "challenging financial position".

There are some exemptions and discounts, for example for someone living alone and homes occupied only by students, which helps lower the cost for some.

A host of local authorities in Scotland have increased council tax sharply.

Wales now sees a 4.9% average increase in council tax.

Northern Ireland uses a domestic rates system instead of council tax. All of Northern Ireland's councils have reported increases in their district rates.

3. Water bills

The average annual water bill in England and Wales has increased by £33 to £639, according to industry trade body, Water UK.

The amounts vary sharply in different areas, and come after hefty rises in large parts of the country a year ago.

Water bills in Scotland have risen by an average of £42 a year (up 8.7%), taking the average bill to £532 a year.

Consumer groups say people can cut bills by checking if they are eligible for discounted tariffs, trialling a water meter, and by saving water, for example, by setting a time limit on showers.

4. Internet and TV

BT, EE, Plusnet and Virgin Media are all hiking broadband prices by £4 a month, Sky by £3, and Vodafone by £3.50 - adding nearly £50 per year to bills.

Additionally, one in four broadband customers are out of contract, paying up to £9 per month more than those in contract.

Mobile phone providers also tend to have mid-contact price rises written into contracts, so many billpayers face increases.

The cost of a TV licence has increased from £174.50 to £180 a year.

5. Car tax

Standard Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), for cars registered after April 2017, has increased from £195 to £200.

The exact amount for your vehicle excise duty will depend on the year your car was registered.

It applies to all fuel types, including electric vehicles which lost their tax-free status last year.

In addition, an annual supplement of £440 should be paid on cars with a list price of more than £40,000, or £50,000 for EVs.

6. Air passenger duty

Air Passenger Duty is a tax on flights which depart from the UK, paid by aircraft operators. The cost is usually passed onto passengers with their ticket price.

The duty is increasing across most fare bands, with different amounts charged dependant on the distance of the flight.

7. Hidden tax rises

The government has kept in place the freeze on tax thresholds on income tax.

This means more people start paying tax - or move into higher tax brackets - as wages rise.

The Conservatives initially froze thresholds until 2028-29 and then in November Labour extended that until 2031.

The move raises additional revenue to pay for public services but is often called a stealth tax by economists because it increases the tax take without a government having to put up rates.

The BBC has created a calculator to see how your pay could be affected.

The calculator applies to employees in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Tax bands in Scotland are different, and self-employed workers are taxed differently.

Any support the government offers to help people with high energy bills pushed up by the Iran war would be based on household income, the chancellor has told the BBC.

Wholesale oil and gas prices have soared over the past month, with supply from the Middle East severely disrupted. While household energy bills are set to fall in April under Ofgem's price cap, there is likely to be a big jump over the summer.

Rachel Reeves said it was "too early" to say exactly who would get help but hinted any support would not arrive until the autumn.

However, she refused to promise any immediate support for drivers, emphasising the need to keep the public finances under control.

Last week, Reeves confirmed that any help with gas and electricity bills would be targeted at "those who need it most", rather than the universal support that was rolled out by Liz Truss's government in 2022.

In a new interview with BBC Breakfast, she said: "I want to learn the lessons of the past because when Russia invaded Ukraine, the richest, the best-off third of households got more than a third of the support. That makes no sense at all."

Reeves acknowledged that gas usage would go up in the autumn – when Ofgem's current price cap for households in England, Scotland and Wales expires. The next price cap is yet to be announced but is expected to increase significantly.

"From July to September, gas usage, especially by families and pensioners, is the lowest of any months of the year because it is the summer months," she said.

When asked if support could go beyond people who receive benefits, Reeves said: "We're looking at ways in which we can support people based on their household income."

But the chancellor refused to commit to cutting fuel duty or VAT on petrol, saying she had to be "careful" with promises to lower prices for everyone because it risked pushing up inflation, interest rates and taxes in the future.

She added that the best way to bring prices down for people was for the conflict to come to an end and for the Strait of Hormuz to reopen. The Strait is a key waterway that usually carries a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas but has been effectively closed since the war began.

"That is why Keir Starmer is absolutely right to not get us dragged into a war that we didn't start because of the impact it has on people here at home," she said.

The Conservatives have called on the government to remove VAT from household energy bills for the next three years to help ease the cost of living.

Reform UK has also promised to scrap VAT and green levies on household energy bills if the party were to win power.

The Liberal Democrats have said they would cut household energy bills by changing how new renewable projects are paid for, in order to break the link between gas prices and energy costs.

The Green Party has said ministers should guarantee bills will not rise in July, when the price cap is updated, with the costs funded by hiking taxes on capital gains, and tightening an existing tax on energy firms' profits.

Plaid Cymru has also called for broader direct support for households when bills rise above the current price cap. It also supports long-term investment in renewables to break the link between electricity and gas prices.

The SNP argues that Holyrood should control energy policy and claims that independence is the best route to lowering Scotland's energy bills.

"People going up to the Moon is kind of cool," eight-year-old Isiah says.

He is among the 400,000 people expected to cram the causeways, beaches and motel balconies of Florida's Space Coast for the launch attempt of Artemis II tonight.

They will watch as four astronauts blast into space in the hope of flying around the Moon and potentially travelling further from Earth than anyone has ever been before.

Nasa's 10-day test flight will not land on the Moon. However, the crew may witness views of the lunar landscapes that have never been seen by human eyes.

Amanda Garcia has travelled more than 1,000 miles from New Mexico to witness the launch. "I'm pretty excited about it," she tells us.

"I came out here to see it, and I heard it's gonna be a great show. A lot of people are going to be here."

Beyond the Kennedy Space Centre launch site, along the lagoon and beaches of Titusville and Cocoa Beach, bars are advertising "moonshots" and hotels are warning guests to expect long delays getting to and from viewing spots.

Local officials talk of a "historic influx" of tourists and an economic impact of around $160m (£121m), putting traffic plans in place for a night when the highway lights will compete with the glow of floodlit launch towers as well as camper van barbecues.

A mile or so from the pads where Artemis II will light up the sky, Brenda Mulberry, owner of Space Shirts, has been selling Nasa T-shirts and souvenirs for 40 years.

In her small shop on Merritt Island, racks of orange, blue and black T-shirts depict hand drawn rockets, mission patches and moonscapes, ready for the crowds who arrive on regular launch days. But this launch is different, she tells us. "We've wanted to go back to the Moon since the '70s. People are excited. People are beyond excited," she said.

Brenda says she has stocked up for the biggest surge of customers she has ever seen.

"I want to have the first T-shirt shop on the Moon," she says. "Because if you've been there, you get the T-shirt, right?" she adds, laughing.

Future Artemis missions plan to land humans on the Moon for the first time since 1972. But this time, the goal is to build a permanent Moon base to exploit its natural resources and provide a springboard for an attempt to reach Mars.

Artemis II's mission commander, Reid Wiseman, said he hoped the effort to return to the Moon would inspire a new generation.

"In our lifetime, we've looked at the Moon knowing that people had been there. And now in the Artemis generation, kids will walk out and look at the Moon going, we are there. We are there now, and we are going further into our solar system."

Tonight, all attention will turn to Launch Pad 39B - the same historic stretch of concrete from which the US Apollo programme first landed men on the Moon in 1969. Standing on the pad is Nasa's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.

At 98m (321ft) tall, the white and orange giant is the heaviest rocket the agency has ever launched. At its top sits Orion, a capsule about the size of a small van, where the four astronauts will spend the next 10 days in close proximity. It will be the first time the capsule has been put through its paces with a human crew on board.

If all goes to schedule, the rocket will launch between 18:24-20:24 local time (23:24-01:24 BST) on Wednesday.

The astronauts who will strap into Orion about four hours before launch have spent years training together.

Up front, on the left hand side will be Wiseman, the Artemis II commander, while pilot Victor Glover will sit beside him. Behind them will be Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, a Canadian fighter pilot turned astronaut. This will be his first trip into space.

After reaching orbit, Orion spends its first day in high Earth orbit practising manual flying and testing life support before shaping its path towards the Moon.

On Day 2, a long trans-lunar injection burn puts the spacecraft onto a free return trajectory that would naturally loop it around the Moon and back to Earth, with small correction burns fine tuning the course.

Each day of the mission involves different tests and challenges for the crew.

Day 6 stands out because Orion is due to fly around the far side of the moon. All radio contact will be lost for about 40 minutes, meaning flight controllers won't know what is happening on board.

Orion will be travelling about 4,000–6,000 miles above the Moon's surface and may slightly exceed Apollo 13's record distance of about 250,000 miles (400,000km) from Earth, depending on the exact trajectory.

In the days that follow, Orion will be pulled naturally back towards Earth by the same free return trajectory that sent it out, with small course adjustment burns ensuring the capsule hits the atmosphere at just the right angle.

On the final day, the crew will strap in for the most brutal part of the trip: re-entry into Earth's atmosphere at about 25,000mph (40,000 km/h), when Orion's heat shield must again face temperatures hot enough to char rock.

After the first uncrewed test flight, Artemis I, engineers found that chunks of the heat shield's coating had cracked and broken away during a two‑stage "skip" re‑entry manoeuvre. This saw the capsule dip into the upper atmosphere, briefly climb again, then plunge back in so as to best cope with the heat, G-forces and splashdown accuracy needed.

For Artemis II they are keeping this two‑step re-entry, but changing the angle and timing so Orion spends less time in the initial, gentler dip. Modelling suggests this should reduce the heating and loads that caused extra charring, but this will be the first time the revised descent is flown with a crew.

If Artemis II is a success, the next time the Space Coast fills up like this it will be for another test flight – another step closer to people actually walking on the Moon again, half a century after the last footprints were made.

And somewhere between the marsh grass and the launch pads, there will almost certainly be someone wearing one of Brenda Mulberry's shirts, already dreaming of the day when her logo appears not just on Florida cotton, but in a photograph taken on the Moon.

Rapper Megan Thee Stallion had to be taken to hospital mid-way through her performance of Moulin Rouge! The Musical, in New York on Tuesday night, her representative has confirmed.

"Megan started feeling very ill and was promptly transported to a local hospital, where her symptoms are currently being evaluated," the spokesperson told US media outlets.

"We will share additional updates as more information becomes available."

The musician, 31, is performing as Zidler – the show's eccentric master of ceremonies – marking her highly anticipated Broadway debut.

Her hair stylist, Kellon Deryck, wrote on X: "Everyone say a prayer for Megan, we are all at the hospital."

Megan Thee Stallion, whose real name is Megan Pete, is scheduled to play Zidler until 17 May, the Moulin Rouge website says. Ahead of her premiere, she expressed excitement for briefly substituting concerts with theatre performances.

'HOTTIES IM ON BROADWAY!!" she wrote on social media after her first performance on 24 March, referencing her fanbase, called the "hotties".

Megan Thee Stallion is best-known for hits including Savage, WAP and Body.

In 2021, she won three Grammy awards for Best Rap Song, Best New Artist and Best Rap Performance. The following year she was nominated for Album of the Year.

Harold Zidler was first played by Danny Burstein in the original Broadway cast of Moulin Rouge, and won a coveted Tony award in 2020 for it. More recently, celebrity drag artist Bob the Drag Queen played Zidler in the musical for eight weeks earlier this year.

The BBC has contacted Megan Thee Stallion's team for comment.

Nasa's target of a March launch for the first crewed mission around the Moon in more than 50 years has been delayed after a fault was detected.

Nasa had set a target of 6 March, but 24 hours later said the newly discovered fault made a March launch "out of consideration".

The Artemis II mission, which will last about 10 days, could take its astronauts further into space than anyone has been before.

It aims to set the stage for an eventual human landing on the lunar surface for the first time since the Apollo missions of the 1960s and 70s.

When will Artemis II launch?

With a March launch no longer being considered, the next possible dates are April 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6.

A potential February launch was ruled out after a pre‑flight test - known as a wet dress rehearsal - was cut short when hydrogen rocket fuel leaked from an umbilical connection linking the launch tower to the rocket.

Beyond resolving the technical issues, mission planners also have to wait until the Moon is in the right part of its orbit, so launch windows are timed accordingly.

In practice, this creates a pattern of roughly one week at the start of each month when the rocket can be pointed in the right direction, followed by about three weeks with no launch opportunities.

Who are the Artemis II crew?

Artemis II's crew of four is made up of Nasa commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialist Christina Koch. A second mission specialist, Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency, will also be on board.

Wiseman is a US Navy veteran of 27 years. A pilot and engineer, he lives in Baltimore, Maryland. He was selected as an astronaut by Nasa in 2009 and served as Flight Engineer aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for Expedition 41 in 2014.

Glover was selected as a Nasa astronaut in 2013. He previously served as the pilot of SpaceX Crew-1 and holds three master's degrees. He was born in California and is married with four children.

Koch grew up in Michigan and became an astronaut in 2013. She worked on the International Space Station in 2019, setting a record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman. She also participated in the first all-female spacewalk.

Hansen joined the Canadian Space Agency in 2009 after a career as a fighter pilot. He became the first Canadian to lead astronaut training at Nasa's Johnson Space Centre and will be the first Canadian to go to the Moon.

What will the Artemis crew do during the Moon mission?

The mission involves the first crewed flight of Nasa's gigantic Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion space capsule.

Once they are safely in orbit, the astronauts will test how the Orion handles. This will involve manually flying the capsule in Earth orbit to practise steering and lining up the spacecraft for future Moon landings.

They will then head out to a point thousands of kilometres beyond the Moon to check Orion's life‑support, propulsion, power and navigation systems.

The crew will also act as medical test subjects, sending back data and imagery from deep space.

They will work in a small cabin in weightlessness. Radiation levels will be higher than on the ISS, which is in low‑Earth orbit, but still safe.

On return to Earth, the astronauts will experience a bumpy return through the atmosphere and a splashdown off the west coast of the US, in the Pacific.

Will Artemis II land on the Moon?

No. This mission is to lay the ground for a lunar landing by astronauts in the Artemis III mission.

Nasa says the launch of Artemis III will take place by 2028. But experts believe that is a very ambitious timeline.

The final choice of a spacecraft to take the crew down to the lunar surface has not yet been made. It will either be SpaceX's Starship lander or a craft designed by Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin.

New spacesuits made by US company Axiom are also not ready.

When Artemis III finally flies, the astronauts will be heading to the Moon's south pole.

After this, the aim is to have a sustained human presence on the Moon.

Artemis IV and V will begin building Gateway, a small space station circling the Moon. That will be followed by more Moon landings, extra sections being added to Gateway, and new robotic rovers operating on the surface.

More countries will be involved in keeping people living and working on and around the Moon for longer periods.

When was the last Moon mission?

The last crewed Moon mission was Apollo 17, which landed in December 1972 and returned to Earth later that month.

In all, 24 astronauts have travelled to the Moon and 12 of them have walked on its surface, all during the Apollo programme. Of the 24 to have been to the Moon, just five are still alive.

America first went in the 1960s, primarily to beat the Soviet Union to assert its geopolitical and technological dominance. Once that goal was achieved, political enthusiasm and public interest ebbed, as did the money for future Moonshots.

The Artemis programme grew out of a desire to return humans to the Moon, but this time for a longer-term presence built around new technology and commercial partnerships.

Do other countries plan to send astronauts to the Moon?

Several other countries have ambitions to put people on the Moon in the 2030s.​

European astronauts are set to join later Artemis missions and Japan has also secured seats.

China is building its own craft, targeting a first landing near the Moon's south pole by 2030.

Russia continues to talk about flying cosmonauts to the surface and building a small base sometime between about 2030 and 2035. However, sanctions, funding pressures and technical setbacks mean its timetable is highly optimistic.

India has also expressed ambitions to one day see its own astronauts walking on the Moon.

Following the success of Chandrayaan 3's landing near the lunar south pole in August 2023, India's space agency set out a goal of sending astronauts to the Moon by about 2040. This would be part of a push to move its human spaceflight programme beyond low Earth orbit.

Additional reporting by Kevin Church and Emily Selvadurai.

Four astronauts are about to become the most closely watched crew since Apollo.

They will be the first to orbit the moon for more than 50 years, testing the path back for the next generation.

The crew includes three Nasa astronauts - Commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch - along with Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency.

Not only are they accomplished pilots, engineers and scientists, they are also spouses and parents balancing a heroic adventure against the risks they and their loved ones will face.

Here's what we know about them.

Reid Wiseman - Commander

Reid Wiseman is a US Navy test pilot turned astronaut, who spent six months on the International Space Station in 2014 as a flight engineer on Expedition 40. Wiseman says he has a lifelong love of flying, but on the ground he's afraid of heights.

He will command Artemis II in what is the second flight of the Orion spacecraft, and the first to carry people around the Moon in more than 50 years.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Wiseman lost his wife to cancer in 2020 and has raised their two teenage daughters alone. He describes being a single parent as his "greatest challenge and the most rewarding phase" of his life.

He has not shielded his children from the realities of risk, however. While out on a walk with them, he said: "Here's where the will is, here's where the trust documents are, and if anything happens to me, here's what's going to happen to you… That's part of this life."

He says he wishes more families had that conversation – because "you never know what the next day is going to bring".

Although he carries the title of commander, he is careful not to make Artemis II sound like his mission alone.

"When I look at Victor, Christina and Jeremy, they want to go do this mission, they are keenly driven, they are humble to a fault. It is so cool to be around them," he says, hoping that in decades to come their flight will be seen as a "tiny step" towards people living on the Moon and, eventually, walking on Mars.

For the personal item Nasa allows astronauts to take up with them, Wiseman plans to take a small notepad so that he can jot down his thoughts during the mission.

Christina Koch - Mission specialist

Christina Koch is an engineer and physicist who became an astronaut in 2013 and went on to set the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, spending 328 days aboard the International Space Station in 2019. During that mission she also took part in the first all-female spacewalk.

Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and raised in North Carolina, she will become the first woman to travel to the Moon.

Her journey to Artemis II began with a photograph. As a child she kept a poster of the Earth rising above the lunar surface – Bill Anders' famous Earthrise picture from Apollo 8 – on her bedroom wall, and decided she wanted to become an astronaut when she learnt that a human, not an automatic camera, had squeezed the shutter.

"The fact that it was a human behind that lens made that picture so much more profound and changed the way we thought of our own home," she says. "The Moon was not just a symbol for thinking about our place in the Universe, it is a beacon for science and understanding where we came from."

Koch has spent more than 25 years around Apollo veterans through a scholarship foundation and Nasa remembrance events, and says that what the former astronauts have really taught her is camaraderie.

Koch is taking handwritten notes from people close to her for her personal item, which she has described as a "tactile connection" to loved ones back on Earth.

At home, spaceflight is a running conversation with her husband. She says he's inquisitive about "what the big milestones are, what the risky parts are, when he can sigh a sigh of relief, when he needs to be glued to the TV".

One of the more prosaic preparations has been to persuade him that Artemis is not like her ISS mission - there will be no casual phone calls from orbit, no quick check-ins to locate a missing item in a cupboard. "He's not going to be able to ring me and ask where something is in the house," she laughs. "He's going to have to find it."

Jeremy Hansen - Mission specialist

Jeremy Hansen is a former Royal Canadian Air Force fighter pilot and physicist who joined the Canadian Space Agency in 2009. Although he has never flown in space before, he has played a key role in training new astronauts at Nasa's Johnson Space Centre, becoming the first Canadian to lead that work.

He is married with three children and enjoys sailing, rock climbing and mountain biking.

Like Koch, Hansen traces his fascination with space back to Apollo 8. Growing up in rural Canada, he turned his treehouse into an imaginary spaceship after seeing a photograph of Buzz Aldrin standing on the lunar surface.

The risks the Apollo astronauts took has shaped how he talks to his own family about Artemis II. Over the Christmas holidays they watched footage of the uncrewed Artemis I launch together so he could warn them that, when the main engines light, it can briefly look and sound like the rocket is exploding – and reassure them that this is normal.

He has told them, too, that when they hear engineers on the loop discussing "worst case scenarios" or unusual sensor readings, it will often sound scarier than it is; it is simply how teams probe the edges of safety on a first crewed flight.

If all goes to plan, Hansen will become the first non-American to travel to the Moon – a milestone he sees as a sign of how far international cooperation in space has come since Apollo. "The Artemis missions have set such an ambitious goal for humanity that… nations around the globe are coming together," he says.

Hansen will carry four Moon-shaped pendants for his wife and three children, engraved with the phrase "Moon and back" and set with their birthstones. The Canadian will also be taking maple syrup and maple cookies on his lunar voyage.

Victor J Glover - Pilot

Victor Glover is a former US Navy fighter pilot and test pilot who was selected as a Nasa astronaut in 2013. He served as pilot of Nasa's SpaceX Crew 1 mission and spent nearly six months on the International Space Station as part of Expedition 64. Born in Pomona, California, he is married with four children and is set to become the first black person to travel to the Moon.

Those who know him say he is the most charismatic of the quartet and the most sharply dressed, with designer brown leather boots that somehow look good even with an orange flight suit. His call sign, "IKE", is reputedly short for "I Know Everything", a nod to his three master's degrees in flight test engineering, systems engineering and military operational art and science.

At a red carpet event in 2023, in New York, he looked every inch the modern astronaut celebrity, alongside his wife Dionna.

Preparing for Artemis II, Glover has been working through original Gemini and Apollo journal papers from the 1960s, hunting for engineering and piloting lessons that might still apply. Between the graphs and equations, he says, you glimpse the people behind the missions; what their families were going through, what they knew and did not yet know as they pushed into the unknown.

"Pushing ourselves to explore is core to who we are," he says. "It is part of being human… We go out to explore, to learn where we are, why we are, understanding the big questions about our place in the universe."

Glover has said he will take with him a Bible, his wedding rings and family heirlooms, along with a collection of inspirational quotations compiled by Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart.

In a Nasa video, each of the astronauts distil the mission into a single phrase. "We are ready," says Koch; "We are going," adds Hansen; "To the Moon," says Glover. Wiseman, completes the sentence: "For all humanity!"