Faisal Islam: Trump's tariff plans could spark global economic shock

The resumption of the global trade war by Donald Trump comes after a period of relative calm.

But the US president's threat of a 50% tariff on all goods from the European Union in a week's time suggests the trade war tensions were merely on hold.

They have now resumed in earnest, alongside market uncertainty, and social media diplomacy.

It indicates significant volatility in the coming weeks, ahead of a crucial G7 summit in Canada next month.

The crux of what is happening right now is that after the US opted to row back on its trade-stopping tariff conflict with China, most of the rest of the world, especially key US allies, slowed up on their own negotiations with the US. Allies would not expect to be treated worse by the US than China.

Friday's intervention by President Trump is much worse that what was considered the worst-case scenario - a 20% tariff rate on the EU in early July at the end of the 90-day pause.

As his Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent openly admitted, these threats are designed to "light a fire" under such stalled talks.

Many in the EU, and other countries such as Japan, believe the US administration is bluffing, and that it backed down against China in the face of rising inflation and market volatility, and will inevitably do so again.

So the scene is now set for an impasse or perhaps the EU to reinstate its own paused retaliation, while the rest of the world, apart from China and the UK, watches on.

The UK's trade deals with both sides insulate the British economy to some extent, but full resumption of a transatlantic tariff war would cause a trade shock that would be difficult to escape.

Robbery gang guilty of Kim Kardashian heist in Paris

1 hour ago Share Save Kathryn Armstrong and James Gregory BBC News Share Save

AFP Kim Kardashian took the stand for five hours in court in Paris last week

Eight people have been found guilty after US reality TV star Kim Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint of millions of dollars' worth of jewellery in Paris nearly a decade ago. The four who took part in the heist were given sentences of up to eight years, mostly suspended, and they will not return to prison because of time served. Two people were acquitted. Nine men and one woman were accused of carrying out or aiding the armed burglary of $10m (£7.55m) worth of jewellery, including a diamond engagement ring, during Paris Fashion Week in 2016. "The crime was the most terrifying experience of my life, leaving a lasting impact on me and my family," Kardashian said in a statement after the verdicts.

"While I'll never forget what happened, I believe in the power of growth and accountability and pray for healing for all." Kardashian's lawyers said in a statement she "looks forward to putting this tragic episode behind her, as she continues working to improve the criminal justice system on behalf of victims, the innocent and the incarcerated seeking to redeem themselves". On the night between 3 and 4 October 2016, as Kardashian was in her room at the Hotel de Pourtales in central Paris, a gang of men made their way into the building. DNA evidence for Aomar Ait Khedache, 69, and Yunice Abbas, 71, placed them at the scene of the crime, and the two have admitted their involvement. Khedache, who is now disabled, deaf and mute, was sentenced to eight years in prison on Friday, five of which were suspended. Due to time already served, he will not return to prison - like all the others convicted. Abbas, who has Parkinson's disease and recently underwent heart surgery, was sentenced to seven years jail with five suspended, alongside Didier Dubreucq. The fourth member of the robbery gang, Marc-Alexandre Boyer, 35, was given the same sentence. With most of those convicted now in their 60s and 70s, the group has been dubbed the "Grandpa robbers" by French media. But since the beginning of the trial in April, both prosecutors and civil parties have vigorously pushed back against notions the robbers were harmless. Prosecutor general Anne-Dominique Merville had urged the jury not to be swayed by their age and health conditions, describing the defendants as "seasoned robbers" when they carried out the heist. But the sentences handed out on Friday were much lower than prosecutors were seeking. "The sentences are quite lenient; I understand that you understand that you have caused harm," Judge David De Pas told the defendants as he delivered the verdicts. He said that "the state of health of the main protagonists ethically prohibits incarcerating anyone". He added: "It would have been unjust to take you to prison this evening." Kardashian told the court earlier this month that she forgave Khedache after receiving a letter of apology from him. "I do appreciate the letter for sure. I do appreciate it, I forgive you," she said.

What happened during the heist?

Seventeen injured in Hamburg knife attack as woman arrested

2 hours ago Share Save Sofia Ferreira Santos BBC News Share Save

Reuters

Several people have suffered life-threatening injuries in a knife attack at the main railway station in the German city of Hamburg, police have said. The city's fire department said 17 people were injured in the attack, while police said they did not yet have a valid figure for the number of victims. Hamburg Police said officers arrested a 39-year-old German woman at the scene as they carried out a major operation. The attack took place at the city's Central Station at about 18:00 local time (16:00 GMT) on Friday.

A spokesman for the Hamburg fire department told AFP news agency 17 people had been injured and that some of the injuries were life-threatening. In a post on X, Hamburg Police said several people who were hurt had sustained life-threatening injuries. Speaking to the press outside the station, police said they believe the suspect acted alone and did not have a "political motive". Rather, they believe she may have been "in a state of mental distress," Florian Abbenseth, a police spokesperson, told reporters. The attack happened between platforms 13 and 14 - which are accessible via a busy main road - while a train was on one of the platforms. Some of the victims were treated inside trains, according to reports. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the attack was "shocking" and thanked the emergency services on the ground for "their rapid assistance".

RENE SCHRODER/NEWS5/AFP via Getty Images

Indian IT giant investigates link to M&S cyber-attack

4 hours ago Share Save Graham Fraser Technology Reporter Share Save

Getty Images

An Indian IT company is conducting an internal investigation to determine whether it was the gateway for the cyber-attack on Marks & Spencer, BBC News understands. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has provided services to M&S for more than a decade. Earlier this week, M&S said the hackers who had brought huge disruption to the retailer had managed to gain access to their systems via a "third party" - a company working alongside it - rather than accessing those systems directly. M&S and TCS have both declined to comment.

The FT, which first reported the story, cited people close to the investigation who said it was hoped the inquiry would be concluded by the end of the month. It is not clear when TCS launched its investigation. Customers have not been able to buy items on the M&S website since the end of April. It said earlier this week that online services should see a gradual return to normal over the coming weeks, but some level of disruption would continue until July. M&S estimates that the cyber-attack will hit this year's profits by around £300m. Police are focusing on a notorious group of English-speaking hackers, known as Scattered Spider, the BBC has learned.

Tom Grennan lights up Liverpool for Radio 1's Big Weekend

2 hours ago Share Save Manish Pandey BBC Newsbeat Reporting from Radio 1's Big Weekend in Liverpool Share Save

PA Media Tom Grennan closed out the Friday at Radio 1 Big Weekend

Friday headline act Tom Grennan entertained the Radio 1 Big Weekend crowd in Liverpool with a power-packed performance which included surprise guests. Fans were on their feet, jumping around in the rain, after being treated to appearances by Ella Henderson, YouTuber KSI, Merseyside's own Mel C, and The Zutons. Grennan followed The Wombats, Natasha Bedingfield, James Hype and Biffy Clyro who also performed on the Main Stage at Sefton Park. Speaking to BBC Newsbeat ahead of his set, the Higher singer described "headlining the biggest weekend of the summer" as "pretty crazy".

"It's been such a mad journey." And on the collaboration with Mel C, he described her as "a superstar". "I've been friends with Mel for a while now. "And I just felt like we should do something special - thank God she said yes!"

PA Mel C (left) was a surprise act brought onto the stage

For the second year running, Natasha Bedingfield made an appearance at Big Weekend during a day which started with sunshine over Sefton Park. Unlike last year when she was a guest during Ella Henderson's performance, this year she had her own Main Stage slot which included crowd-pleasing tunes such as Unwritten and These Words.

PA Media Natasha Bedingfield wowed fans with hits including Unwritten

After her performance, she told Newsbeat it "felt amazing". "I just felt really relaxed up there. Like it's nice to be home. "There's so much joy happening with my songs, it's ridiculous. "I can't even handle how much people are loving [it], I don't even know what to do with it."

James Hype, known for hits such as Ferrari, Drums, More Than Friends, told Newsbeat before his set that it was "a really special day" because his mum and sister were in attendance. The DJ and record producer also debuted a new project, Sync, at Big Weekend, which he called: "A visual experience where all the screens and lights are controlled by the decks in real time." Hometown heroes The Wombats, who were the first artists on the Main Stage on Friday received some of the biggest cheers of the day. "Music is in people's blood here," they told Newsbeat after their performance. "Everyone's up for a good time, up for the music. This is where it all began for us, so it's a really special moment." There were performances across the different stages on offer, including the New Music Stage, from the likes of Barry Can't Swim, Jazzy, Prospa, Katy B and Nia Archives. More than 100,000 fans are expected to attend Big Weekend in Liverpool, which will have about 100 acts performing across four stages. The rest of the weekend will see Sam Fender headline on Saturday and Mumford & Sons on Sunday. Tom Odell, Sugababes, Myles Smith and Wolf Alice will be playing the Main Stage on Saturday. Tate McRae, Lola Young, Jorja Smith, Wet Leg and HAIM will also hit the Main Stage on the final day of the festival.

As Israel faces diplomatic 'tsunami', Trump is staying quiet

5 hours ago Share Save Paul Adams BBC diplomatic correspondent Share Save

Reuters

A headline in Israel's liberal daily Ha'aretz this week put it starkly: "Diplomatic tsunami nears," it warned, "as Europe begins to act against Israel's 'complete madness' in Gaza." This week's diplomatic assault has taken many forms, not all of them foreseen. From concerted international condemnation of Israel's actions in Gaza, to the shocking murder of two young Israeli embassy staff members in Washington, this has been, to put it mildly, a tumultuous week for the Jewish state. The waves started crashing on Israel's shores on Monday evening, when Britain, France and Canada issued a joint statement condemning its "egregious" actions in Gaza.

All three warned of the possibility of "further concrete actions" if Israel continued its renewed military offensive and failed to lift restrictions on humanitarian aid. They also threatened "targeted sanctions" in response to Israel's settlement activity in the occupied West Bank. A statement from 24 donor nations followed, condemning a new, Israeli-backed aid delivery model for Gaza. But that was just the start. On Tuesday, Britain suspended trade talks with Israel and said a 2023 road map for future cooperation was being reviewed. A fresh round of sanctions was imposed on Jewish settlers, including Daniela Weiss, a prominent figure who featured in Louis Theroux's recent documentary, The Settlers. Israel's ambassador in London, Tzipi Hotovely, was summoned to the Foreign Office, a move generally reserved for the representatives of countries like Russia and Iran. To make matters worse for Israel, the EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said a "strong majority" of the bloc's members favoured reviewing the 25-year-old Association Agreement with Israel.

'Enough is enough'

The reasons for this flurry of diplomatic condemnation seemed clear enough. Evidence that Gaza was closer to mass starvation than at any time since the war began, following Hamas's attack in October 2023, was sending ripples of horror across the world. Israel's military offensive, and the rhetoric surrounding it, suggested that conditions in the stricken territory were about to deteriorate once more. Addressing MPs on Tuesday, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy singled out the words of Israel's hardline Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who had spoken of "cleansing" Gaza, "destroying what's left" and relocating the civilian population to third countries. "We must call this what it is," Lammy said. "It's extremism. It is dangerous. It is repellent. It is monstrous. And I condemn it in the strongest possible terms." Smotrich is not a decision-maker when it comes to conduct of the war in Gaza. Before now, his incendiary remarks might have been set to one side. But those days appear to be over. Rightly or wrongly, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seen as in thrall to his far-right colleagues. Critics accuse him of relentlessly pursuing a war, without regard for the lives of Palestinian civilians or the remaining Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza. Countries that have long supported Israel's right to defend itself are beginning to say "enough is enough."

This week was clearly a significant moment for Britain's Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, a staunch defender of Israel (he once said "I support Zionism without qualification") who faced strong criticism from within the Labour Party for his reluctance last year to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. On Tuesday, Sir Keir said the suffering of innocent children in Gaza was "utterly intolerable". In the face of this unusually concerted action from some of his country's strongest allies, Netanyahu reacted furiously, suggesting Britain, France and Canada were guilty of supporting Hamas. "When mass murderers, rapists, baby killers and kidnappers thank you, you're on the wrong side of justice," he posted on X. "You're on the wrong side of humanity and you're on the wrong side of history."

Keir Starmer said that children's suffering in Gaza was "utterly intolerable"

Chaos spreads as desperate Gazans wait for food to arrive

2 hours ago Share Save Rushdie Abualouf Gaza correspondent Alice Cuddy Reporting from Jerusalem Mallory Moench BBC News Share Save

EPA

The limited amount of food that trickled into Gaza after an Israeli blockade was partly lifted has sparked chaotic scenes, as hunger continues to spread. Bakeries distributing food were overwhelmed by crowds and forced to close on Thursday, and armed looters attacked an aid convoy overnight - sparking a firefight with Hamas security officials who, witnesses say, were then targeted by an Israeli drone strike. The incident in central Gaza, recounted to BBC News by eyewitnesses, local journalists and Hamas officials, underscores the deteriorating security situation in Gaza, where governance has collapsed and lawlessness has spread. A convoy of 20 trucks, co-ordinated by the World Food Programme (WFP) and carrying flour, was en route from the Kerem Shalom crossing to a WFP warehouse in the city of Deir al-Balah. It was being escorted by six Hamas security officers when it was ambushed by five unidentified gunmen, who fired at the tyres of the vehicles and tried to seize the cargo. The Hamas security team engaged the attackers in a brief firefight, witnesses told BBC News. Shortly after the clash began, Israeli drones targeted the Hamas unit with four missiles, killing six officers and wounding others.

EPA

Hamas issued a statement condemning the attack as "a horrific massacre" and accused Israel of deliberately targeting personnel tasked with protecting humanitarian aid. In a statement, the IDF said one of its aircraft identified "several gunmen, including Hamas terrorists", near humanitarian aid trucks in central Gaza and "struck the gunmen following the identification". The IDF said it would make "all efforts possible to ensure that the humanitarian aid does not reach the hands of terrorist organizations". A small amount of food has been allowed to cross into Gaza this week: around 130 lorries carrying aid have crossed the border in the last three days, after an 11-week blockade was partly lifted by the IDF. The UN says 500 to 600 trucks of supplies a day are needed in Gaza. LIVE: Gazans tell BBC more aid needed as Israel eases blockade International agencies, including the UN and the WFP, have repeatedly warned that the growing insecurity is hampering the delivery of desperately needed food and medical supplies to the population - the majority of whom are displaced. Israel says the blockade was intended to put pressure on Hamas to release the hostages still held in Gaza. Israel has also accused Hamas of stealing supplies, which the group has denied. The WFP said 15 of its aid trucks were looted overnight on Thursday, and that "hunger, desperation and anxiety over whether more food aid is coming is contributing to rising insecurity". The organisation called on Israel to help ensure the safe passage of supplies. Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, an agency that supports Palestinian refugees, wrote on X that no one should be "surprised let alone shocked" that aid had been looted because the "people of Gaza have been starved [and] deprived of the basics including water and medicines for more than 11 weeks". Earlier on Thursday, angry and hungry Palestinians crowded outside bakeries in Gaza in a desperate attempt to obtain bread, but the situation quickly descended into chaos, forcing distribution to halt. It forced most bakeries to suspend operations, citing a lack of security. Many residents across Gaza voiced growing frustration over the aid distribution method and criticised the WFP, which oversees food deliveries. Some called for an immediate shift from distributing baked bread to handing out flour directly at a rate of one sack per family. Locals argue that distributing flour would allow families to bake at home or in tents - which, they say, would be safer than waiting at the overcrowded aid centres.

EPA

Palestinians on the ground have told of the deepening humanitarian crisis and the collapse of basic services facing people living among the fighting or forced from their homes, as the IDF continues to ramp up its military operations against Hamas. From a displacement camp in southern Gaza's al-Mawasi, Abd al-Fatah Hussein told BBC News over WhatsApp that the situation is getting worse due to the number of people in the area. The father-of-two said there is "no room" in al-Mawasi, where people ordered by the Israeli military to leave their homes are being told to go for safety. "There is no electricity, no food, insufficient portable water, and no available medicine," he said. "The repeated air strikes, especially during the night, add to the suffering." He described the aid trucks coming in as a "drop in the ocean of Gaza's needs". When he announced some supplies would finally be allowed into the strip earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said only a "basic amount" would be able to cross. Humanitarian organisations have warned the amount of food entering Gaza in recent days is not close to what is needed to feed the 2.1 million people living there, while the UN has said about 500 lorries entered the territory on average every day before the war. Widespread famine, humanitarian groups have warned, looms over Gaza. Secretary-General António Guterres said 400 trucks had been cleared to enter Gaza this week, but supplies from just 115 had been collected. He said nothing had "reached the besieged north" so far. While some flour, baby food and medical supplies had made it into Gaza, and some bakeries in the south had begun operating again, Guterres said that amounted to a "teaspoon of aid when a flood of assistance is required". "The supplies – 160,000 pallets, enough to fill nearly 9,000 trucks – are waiting," he added. Rida, a midwife with charity Project HOPE in Deir al-Balah, said women come to her clinic suffering from fainting, having sought medical help without eating breakfast. Many of them eat only one meal a day and subsist on high energy biscuits given by the charity, she said.

Project HOPE

Billy Joel cancels tour after brain condition diagnosis

The star has been "advised to refrain from performing during this recovery period"

After being told by doctors to stop performing live, he has called off 17 dates in 2025 and 2026, including stadium shows at Murrayfield in Edinburgh and Anfield in Liverpool next summer.

He has Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH), which is caused by a build-up of fluid in the brain and causes problems with his hearing, vision and balance.

The 76-year-old singer-songwriter - known for classic hits like Piano Man, Uptown Girl and We Didn't Start the Fire - is receiving "excellent care" and is "fully committed to prioritising his health", a statement said.

Billy Joel has cancelled all forthcoming tour dates after being diagnosed with a rare brain condition.

"I'm sincerely sorry to disappoint our audience, and thank you for understanding," he said.

A statement issued on his behalf said Joel's condition "has been exacerbated by recent concert performances, leading to problems with hearing, vision and balance".

It continued: "Under his doctor's instructions, Billy is undergoing specific physical therapy and has been advised to refrain from performing during this recovery period.

"Billy is thankful for the excellent care he is receiving and is fully committed to prioritising his health.

"He is grateful for the support from fans during this time and looks forward to the day when he can once again take the stage."

NPH is described by the NHS as an uncommon and poorly understood condition that most often affects people over the age of 60.

As well as the two UK dates, he had been due to perform in the US and Canada between this July and July 2026.

He had previously postponed shows in March because of a "medical condition", which was not specified at the time, "to allow him to recover from recent surgery and to undergo physical therapy".

Joel has regularly been on tour in recent years, and ended a record-breaking decade-long monthly residency at Madison Square Garden in New York last year.

He has been nominated for 23 Grammy Awards, winning five times, and was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1999.

Watch officer of ship that crashed into garden fell asleep, police say

6 hours ago Share Save Sofia Ferreira Santos BBC News Share Save

NTB/Jan Langhaugvia via Reuters The huge ship crashed into a local resident's front garden on Thursday

The watch officer of a large container ship that ran aground and crashed into a garden in Norway has told police he was asleep at the time of the incident. Investigators said the man, a Ukrainian national in his thirties, admitted to falling asleep while on duty on his own. He has been charged with negligent navigation and police are also investigating whether rules regarding working and rest hours were adhered to on board the vessel. The 135m-ship (443ft) missed a house by metres when it ran aground on Thursday morning in Byneset, near Trondheim, central Norway. Efforts to refloat it have been unsuccessful so far.

"The individual charged was the officer on watch at the time of the incident," the prosecutor in Trøndelag Police District said in a press statement. "During questioning, he stated that he fell asleep while on duty alone, which led to the vessel running aground," Kjetil Bruland Sørensen added.

EPA

Local media reported that the man was in charge of steering the ship but failed to change course when entering the Trondheim Fjord. No one was injured in the incident. The Cypriot-flagged cargo ship, the NCL Salten, had 16 people on board and was travelling south-west through the Trondheim Fjord to Orkanger when it veered off course. Logistics company NCL, which chartered the ship, said this was a "serious incident" and it was grateful no one was harmed. "This remains an ongoing rescue operation and our highest priority is to ensure a safe and secure salvage operation," the company's statement said, adding that it was assisting police with their investigation.

EPA

Johan Helberg, who owns the property the ship nearly crashed into, described the moment he looked out of his window and saw it in his front garden. "I had to bend my neck to see the top of it. It was so unreal," he said in an interview with the Guardian. Mr Helberg said he was "astonished" to see the ship in front of his house and that it was "five metres" away from entering his bedroom. "It's a very bulky new neighbour but it will soon go away," he told Norwegian television channel TV2. He was alerted to the commotion by a panicked neighbour who heard the sound of the ship and watched as it headed straight for shore. The neighbour's son said the experience was "terrifying" and his father screamed when he saw the ship. "I didn't know if I was dreaming because it was five in the morning and it was so surreal," Bard Jorgensen told the BBC World Service's Newshour programme. It seemed like the vessel was going to "directly" hit the house, Mr Jorgensen said, adding that he was relieved to know his neighbour was unharmed. According to reports, the ship had previously run aground in 2023 but crew managed to free it using its own power.

Legendary photographer Sebastião Salgado dies at 81

5 hours ago Share Save Ian Youngs Culture reporter Emma Lynch Picture editor Share Save

Getty Images Salgado dedicated himself to photographing nature and indigenous life in his later years

Sebastião Salgado, regarded as one of the world's greatest documentary photographers, has died at the age of 81. The Brazil-born photographer was known for his dramatic and unflinching black-and-white images of hardship, conflict and natural beauty, captured in 130 countries over 55 years. His hard-hitting photos chronicled major global events such as the Rwanda genocide in 1994, burning oilfields at the end of the Gulf War in 1991, and the famine in the Sahel region of Africa in 1984. "His lens revealed the world and its contradictions; his life, the power of transformative action," said a statement from Instituto Terra, the environmental organisation he founded with his wife, Lélia Wanick Salgado.

Getty Images Salgado received the Sony World Photography Awards' Outstanding Contribution to Photography in 2024

Some of his most striking pictures were taken in his home country, including epic photos of thousands of desperate figures working in open-cast gold mines and striking images of the indigenous people of the Amazon. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva paid tribute, describing Salgado as "one of the best... photographers the world has given us". Salgado's final major project, Amazônia, spotlighted the rainforest's beauty and fragility.

Philip Reynaers/Photonews/Getty Images

A lifelong advocate for the Amazon's indigenous people, Salgado documented the daily lives of a dozen of the tribes scattered throughout the rainforest - from hunting and fishing expeditions, to dances and rituals. He spent seven years on an ambitious photographic journey, exploring the remote reaches of the Amazon rainforest and documenting its inhabitants. The project culminated in an exhibition showcasing over 200 black-and-white images, offering a poignant glimpse into the region's landscapes and communities. The Amazônia exhibition was displayed at the Science Museum in London and the the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester in 2021 and 2022.

BENJAMIN CREMEL/AFP via Getty Images

"Sometimes I ask myself, "Sebastião, was it really you that went to all these places?"' he said to an interviewer last year. "Was it really me that spent years travelling to 130 different countries, who went deep inside the forests, into oil fields and mines? "Boy, it really is me who did this. I'm probably one of the photographers who's created the most work in the history of photography."

YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images) Salgado and his wife Lelia Wanick Salgado, walk around his exhibition Genesis on display in Rio de Janeiro's Botanic Garden

Born in 1944, Salgado left a career in economics to start as a photographer in 1973. He worked on international assignments for a variety of photography agencies before forming his own, Amazonas Images, with Lélia in 1994. He received the Sony World Photography Awards' Outstanding Contribution to Photography in 2024. Other accolades included the Prince of Asturias Award and recognition as a Unicef Goodwill Ambassador.

ALESSANDRO DI MARCO/EPA-EFE A visitor views images from Genesis - a collection of photographic essays that look at the landscape, wildlife and human communities

Jittery Labour MPs divided over benefits cuts

7 hours ago Share Save Joshua Nevett Political reporter Share Save

EPA

This week, Sir Keir Starmer and his ministers redoubled their efforts to win over Labour MPs minded to join what could be the biggest rebellion yet against his government. Dozens of Labour MPs have raised concerns about benefits cuts worth £5bn a year by 2030 and their potential impact on disabled people. The reforms to disability benefits have divided the party and left many pondering: what is Labour for, exactly? A "Labour cause" is how Sir Keir described the package of welfare reforms, at a meeting of his MPs on Monday. Next month, those MPs will have to decide whether that's a cause worth getting behind, when the benefits changes are voted on in Parliament for the first time. As ministers come under pressure to water down their welfare plans, Labour MPs with different perspectives told the BBC where they stand.

Conflicting values

For critics, the prospect of a Labour government taking away social security payments from some sick and disabled people is at best unpalatable and at worst unconscionable. It wasn't that long ago that one of the party's main focuses was opposing what it saw as the austerity spending cuts of the Conservative government, when the now-exiled Jeremy Corbyn was Labour leader. While Corbyn's leadership is long gone, that strain of thought lives on in the party - and it's in evidence among Labour MPs elected for the first time last year. Neil Duncan-Jordan, the MP for Poole, is one of those newbies. He and about 40 other Labour MPs signed a letter warning the welfare changes were "impossible to support" without a "change of direction". "No Labour MP comes into Parliament to make poor people poorer," he said. What concerns him most are proposals to make it harder for disabled people with less severe conditions to claim personal independence payment (Pip). The welfare package as a whole could push an extra 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, into relative poverty, according to the government's impact assessment. But ministers have stressed the figures do not factor in the government's plans to spend £1bn on helping the long-term sick and disabled back into work, or its efforts to reduce poverty. "What I think everyone accepts is that assisting people back to work who can work is a positive thing," Duncan-Jordan said. "But saying that you go to work or we cut your benefit, is not the way to do it and I don't think it's a Labour way either." And yet the "Labour way" is open to interpretation.

Neil Duncan-Jordan wants ministers to pause their welfare reforms

For Alex Ballinger, who was elected as Labour MP for Halesowen last year, his party is about "increasing opportunities for the most vulnerable people in society". "We're about improving life outcomes and being ambitious for those people who maybe need a bit more encouragement," he said. "I think all those are things that could chime with Labour values." He said the most important aspect of the welfare reforms was the support for disabled people who want to work. It includes giving disabled people the right to try work without the risk of losing their welfare entitlements. Ministers hope these efforts will boost employment among benefits recipients, at a time when 2.8 million people are economically inactive due to long-term sickness. If nothing changes, the health and disability benefits bill is forecast to reach £70bn a year by the end of the decade, a level of spending the government says is "unsustainable". "The country shouldn't be in a situation where we're paying that much at the same time as having millions of young people out of education and training," Ballinger said. "I think these reforms are a good balance."

Alex Ballinger said he would be voting for the package of benefits reforms

Although their party is split on welfare, some MPs have something in common. Ballinger and Duncan-Jordan are two of 194 Labour MPs who have majorities smaller than the number of Pip claimants in their constituencies. The welfare changes will not affect everyone on Pip and the number of recipients in each constituency could change by the next general election. But disability campaigners have picked up on this and are writing to these MPs urging them to vote against the government's welfare reforms. That vote is due in June, when the government will try to pass a new law to make changes to welfare payments.

Holding firm

Kangaroo 'tries to drown' man in Australian floodwaters

The kangaroo is suspected to have been trapped by rising waters (stock image)

She suspects the "very distressed" kangaroo had become trapped in the area following the record flooding that hit New South Wales this week, leaving five people dead.

Kristy Lees, who watched the battle unfold in her rear-view mirror, told the BBC: "It's not every day a big, male kangaroo decides to take you on... Even in Australia, you do not expect to see it."

Don James is said to have found himself fighting for his life as the marsupial held him down in floodwaters which had pooled on the side of the road near Port Macquarie - only escaping after the animal appeared to become spooked.

A "really muscly" kangaroo "tried to drown" a man in Australia, after the two got into a punch-up.

Ms Lees was first alerted to the kangaroo's presence as she drove down to check the water levels in Port Macquarie's North Shore with her husband, at about 09:00 local time on Friday (23:00 GMT on Thursday).

Two men - one of whom was later identified as Don James by Australian news network ABC - warned them that there was a "really big" kangaroo just around the next parked car.

And sure enough, there was the kangaroo - "as big as the car" it was standing next to.

The next thing Ms Lees knew, the kangaroo had launched towards her car, which she had slowed to a crawl so as not to startle the animal, and started to attack it.

But as he moved round to her side of the car, the kangaroo appeared to spot another target: Mr James, who was still walking away up the road.

The kangaroo gave chase.

"They literally got into a boxing match," Kristy said. "I'm looking in the rear-view mirror and they are throwing punches."

Mr James then ran backwards before tripping and falling into a patch of floodwater by the side of the road.

The next thing Kristy knew, the "kangaroo was holding him down".

"The kangaroo tried to drown the man," she said. "I realised what was happening and told my husband [who couldn't see the fight from his seat] to get out the car and help."

But then the kangaroo appears to have been spooked - perhaps by the approaching car driven by Mr James's friend - allowing him to escape down towards Ms Lees, who has since tried to warn as many neighbours as possible.

"The kangaroo was trying to drown me," he told Ms Lees, who was able to say she had seen it all.

"I just remember being under water and kicking and screaming and carrying on," Mr James later told ABC.

It was, he said, "pretty traumatic for a while there".

Kangaroos have been known to appear to attempt to drown their foes - although these are usually animals the size of dogs.

Kangaroo ecologist Graeme Coulson, from the University of Melbourne, revealed to ABC that his neighbour had lost two dogs that way.

"There's a very strong instinct - kangaroos will go to water if they're threatened by a predator," he told the news network.

However, he said, the behaviour is likely more about protecting themselves than drowning their foe.

That is unlikely to make Mr James feel any better about Friday morning's altercation - especially as he told Ms Lees that just 12 months ago he had fended off another attack, that time by a great white shark.

"I feel like they're trying to kill me, all these animals," he reportedly said.

The BBC has attempted to contact Mr James for comment.

Mastermind winner finds romance with rival finalist

2 hours ago Share Save Gavin Kermack BBC News, West Midlands Mary Rhodes BBC Midlands Today Share Save

John Robinson/Claire Reynolds Rivalry turned to romance after John Robinson and Claire Reynolds met on the set of the Mastermind final

Becoming the BBC's Mastermind champion is something even the most ardent quiz fanatic can only dream of. But the man who won this year's final walked away from the competition with a lot more than the coveted trophy - after he and the woman he pipped to the post became an item. Love blossomed on set for John Robinson and Claire Reynolds, both from Birmingham, as the pair bonded over their shared love of quizzes. "They say opposites attract," said Mr Robinson. "But I think in this case, very similar personalities are attracted."

John Robinson/Claire Reynolds Mr Robinson beat Ms Reynolds in the final - but only just

Mr Robinson, an English teacher in Kings Heath who previously took home £500,000 following an appearance on ITV's Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, won with a total of 30 points - just one more than Ms Reynolds' total of 29. "I have forgiven him now, just about," said Ms Reynolds, who is originally from Kingstanding but now lives in Stratford-upon-Avon. During the final, though, Mr Robinson's thoughts were anywhere but love. "It is very nerve-wracking indeed," he told BBC Midlands today. "Especially with the studio lights, and pitch black around you, and the spotlight, it can be quite intimidating. "But I thought, I'm just going to stare straight ahead at Clive [Myrie, the presenter], focus on him, and and try and block out everything else around me. "And somehow it worked."

Mr Robinson said sitting in the famous black chair was quite nerve-wracking

In fact, it was only after the finalists were able to put all thought of specialist subjects - for Mr Robinson, the Empire State Building; for Ms Reynolds, the early 20th century German mathematician Emmy Noether - out of their minds, that romance had a chance to bloom. "During the actual filming of the final [in Belfast], there's not an awful lot of time to actually talk," said Ms Reynolds. "We did have a little chat, we said hello and said good luck. "But we spent more time chatting on the flight back to Birmingham afterwards."

John Robinson/Claire Reynolds Now that their Mastermind performances have gone public, the couple say they might have to avoid pub quizzes for a bit

Despite only missing out on first place by a single point, Ms Reynolds is adamant that the trophy is not for them to share: "No, no. I didn't win it so absolutely not." "You can reapply to go back on a future series," added Mr Robinson. "So it might be that she goes back on in a few years and gets one of her own." Now back home, surely the Mastermind champion and runner-up are destined to become the pub quiz power couple of the West Midlands? "We've been to a couple," said Mr Robinson, "but before anyone knew about our Mastermind experience. They went... rather well, shall we say? "But I'm not sure we can go back to any now."

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Judge temporarily blocks Trump plan to stop Harvard enrolling foreign students

19 minutes ago Share Save Mike Wendling and John Sudworth from Chicago and Cambridge Share Save

Reuter

A judge has issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration's plan to strip Harvard University of its ability to enrol foreign students. The ruling came after Harvard filed a lawsuit - the latest escalation of a dispute between the White House and one of America's most prestigious institutions. The university said the administration's decision on Thursday to bar international students was a "blatant violation" of the law and free speech rights. The Trump administration says Harvard has not done enough to fight antisemitism, and change its hiring and admissions practices – allegations that the university has strongly denied.

US District Judge Allison Burroughs issued a temporary restraining order in a short ruling issued on Friday. The order pauses a move that the Department of Homeland Security made on Thursday to revoke Harvard's access to the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) - a government database that manages foreign students. The next hearing will occur on 29 May in Boston. "With the stroke of a pen, the government has sought to erase a quarter of Harvard's student body, international students who contribute significantly to the University and its mission," Harvard argued in the lawsuit. "We condemn this unlawful and unwarranted action," Harvard President Alan Garber said in a letter. 'We did not sign up for this': Harvard's foreign students are stuck and scared "The revocation continues a series of government actions to retaliate against Harvard for our refusal to surrender our academic independence and to submit to the federal government's illegal assertion of control over our curriculum, our faculty, and our student body," he wrote. In response, White House deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson said: "If only Harvard cared this much about ending the scourge of anti-American, anti-Semitic, pro-terrorist agitators on their campus they wouldn't be in this situation to begin with. After the restraining order was issued, Ms Jackson accused the judge in the case of having a "liberal agenda". "These unelected judges have no right to stop the Trump Administration from exercising their rightful control over immigration policy and national security policy," she said.

Graduation in the shadow of uncertainty

It was quiet at Harvard on Friday. Classes have finished for the year and preparations are being made for commencements. Gazebos were going up on the quad as students rented their gowns and collected tickets for family members. For those graduating, it should be a week of celebration. But for foreign students hoping to remain in the US, it's been a 24-hour whirlwind. Cormac Savage from Downpatrick in Co Down Northern Ireland is six days away from graduating with a degree in government and languages. He's taking a job in Brussels, partly because of the uncertainty in the US: "You know that you're fine if you're still legally in the United States for the next 90 days, but you don't know that you can come back and finish your degree," he said on Friday. "You don't know if you can stay and work in the US if you're about to graduate. The order also complicates plans for students still enroled, like Rohan Battula, a junior from the UK who will rely on his visa to work in New York in June. "I was worried if I went home I wouldn't get to come back," he told BBC, so he opted to stay on campus. Mr Battula felt relieved after Judge Burroughs issued her order. But the uncertainty took a toll. "It's surreal to think that even for some period of time youre unlawfully staying in a country, just because you've been to university there," he said.

Student dreams left in limbo

There are around 6,800 international students at Harvard, who make up more than 27% of its enrolled students this year. Around a fifth of them are from China, with significant numbers from Canada, India, South Korea and the UK. Among the international students currently enrolled is the future queen of Belgium, 23-year-old Princess Elisabeth. Leo Ackerman was set to study education and entrepreneurship at Harvard beginning in August, fulfilling a "dream". "I was really excited, and I'm still really excited if I manage to go there," Mr Ackerman said. "Having it taken away feels like a really sad moment for a lot of people." Eliminating foreign students would take a large bite out of Harvard's finances. Experts say international students are more likely to pay full tuition, essentially subsidising aid for American students. Undergraduate tuition - not including fees, housing, books, food or health insurance - will reach $59,320 (£43,850) in the coming academic year, according to the university. The total cost of a year at Harvard before any financial aid is usually significantly more than $100,000. Isaac Bangura, a public administration student from Sierra Leone, moved to Harvard with his wife and two young daughters after surviving a civil war. "Since yesterday, my kids has been asking, 'Daddy, I understand they are coming to return us home again.' They are referring to deportation," he said. He said he has to be strong for them and has faith. "I know the American people are always, whenever they are into issues, they will find ways of resolving it," he said.

The government vs. an ultra-elite university

In addition to Harvard, the Trump administration has taken aim at other elite institutions, not only arguing that they should do more to clamp down on pro-Palestinian activists but also claiming they discriminate against conservative viewpoints. On Friday, speaking from the Oval Office, President Donald Trump said, "Harvard is going to have to change its ways" and suggested he is considering measures against more universities. In April, the White House froze $2.2bn (£1.7bn) in federal funding to Harvard, and Trump has threatened to remove the university's tax-exempt status, a standard designation for US educational institutions. The funding freeze prompted an earlier Harvard lawsuit, also asking the courts to stop the administration's actions. Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond in Virginia, said the federal courts in Massachusetts and New England, where the initial stages of the case will play out, have consistently ruled against the Trump administration. But the outcome may less predictable at the US Supreme Court, where Harvard's case may end up. "These are tough issues for Harvard, but they have the resources and they seem to have the will to fight," Mr Tobias said. Harvard leaders have made concessions to the White House - including dismissing the leaders of its Center for Middle Eastern Studies, who had come under fire for failing to represent Israeli perspectives. Still, it also enlisted several high-profile Republican lawyers, including Robert Hur, a former special counsel who investigated Joe Biden's retention of classified documents. Foreign students currently attending Harvard have expressed worries that the row could force them to transfer to another university or return home. Being logged on the SEVP system is a requirement for student visas and, if Harvard is blocked from the database, students could be found in violation and potentially face deportation. Several British students enrolled at Harvard, who spoke to the BBC on condition of anonymity out of fear of immigration authorities, worried their US education could be cut short. "I definitely think freedom of speech is a problem on campus, but it's being actively worked on... it was an absolute shock when yesterday's announcement happened," said one student "There's a lot of anger, people feeling like we're being used as pawns in a game." With reporting from Kayla Epstein in New York, Bernd Debusmann at the White House and the BBC's User Generated Content team

Watch: 'It's not right' - Students react to Trump freezing Harvard's federal funding

Government delays publication of child poverty strategy

Speaking to the Mirror, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said: "We will publish that strategy and set out how we will pay for it and you will, I'm afraid, have to wait."

The BBC has been told the strategy could be set out in the autumn in time for the Budget, allowing ministers to say how any policy changes would be paid for.

The Child Poverty Taskforce is still working on the strategy and has been considering, among other measures, whether to scrap the two-child benefit cap, a move some Labour MPs have long been calling for.

The government's child poverty strategy, which had been due for publication in the spring, has been delayed.

A senior No 10 source said the government was not waiting to take action to tackle child poverty, pointing to the roll out of free breakfast clubs, benefits uprating and the rise in the minimum wage.

The delay, which was first reported by the Guardian newspaper, was branded "disgraceful" by the SNP.

The party's work and pensions spokeswoman Kirsty Blackman accused Labour of being "more interested in imitating Nigel Farage than tackling the scourge of child poverty, which has risen to record levels on Keir Starmer's watch".

Dan Paskins, director of policy at Save the Children UK, said: "Every month that goes by while Keir Starmer does not scrap the cruel two-child limit means thousands of children are plunged into poverty."

However, Helen Barnard, director of policy at the Trussell Trust charity said the delay "may be good news".

In a social media post, she said: "Better a delayed child poverty strategy with measures to really protect children from hunger and hardship, than one hitting the deadline but falling short on substance."

The Child Poverty Taskforce - which is being co-chaired by Kendall and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson - was launched last July.

It came at a time when the prime minister was coming under pressure from the SNP and some of his own MPs to scrap the two-child benefit cap.

The policy - which prevents most families from claiming means-tested benefits for any third or additional children born after April 2017 - was introduced in 2017 by the then-Conservative government and is estimated to affect 1.5 million families.

On coming into government last year, Labour ministers argued that they did not have the resources to lift the cap.

At the time, Sir Keir Starmer said there was no single policy that could solve a complex problem.

"The point of the taskforce is to devise a strategy, as we did when last in government, to drive these numbers down," he told the House of Commons.

Seven Labour MPs were suspended from the parliamentary party for voting against the government on an amendment to scrap the cap. Four of these were readmitted in February but the remainder continue to sit as independent MPs.

Hectic two weeks leaves Russia confident - and peace in Ukraine feeling no closer

33 minutes ago Share Save Steve Rosenberg Russia editor Share Save

PAVEL BEDNYAKOV/POOL/AFP via Getty

It's 2:30am. Inside the Kremlin walls I'm wandering alone through the vast grounds trying - and failing - to find my way out. I spot a checkpoint, approach and show my passport. "Nyet vykhoda!" ["No exit!"] replies the guard. He points in the opposite direction. I walk back and, eventually, come to another checkpoint. "No way out!" says the sentry. I'm lost. Inside the Kremlin. In the dead of night. It's like being in a John le Carré novel.

It's been quite an evening. I arrived at 5pm. Along with a small group of journalists, I'd been invited to "an event with President Putin". What kind of event? To begin with the Kremlin wouldn't say. Eventually we were told Vladimir Putin would be taking questions. Eight hours later, the president strode into the Malachite Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace and sat at a desk. But there'd been a change of plan. No press conference. No questions. Instead, live on Russian TV, Putin delivered a statement in which he proposed direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul. Event over, I walk out of the Kremlin Palace but take a wrong turn. Finally, I locate the correct exit and, bleary-eyed, take a taxi home. This was the start of what has turned out to be a real rollercoaster of a fortnight. What began with a late-night Kremlin statement continued with peace talks in Turkey and then a two-hour telephone call between Putin and Donald Trump. But, at the end of it, are we any closer to peace in Ukraine? It doesn't feel like it.

Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images Trump has, in the past, referenced his "very close relationship" with Putin, but more recently wondered if he is "just tapping me along" on peace talks

Although there is talk about more talks, and of а possible future "memorandum" on a "possible future peace", it all sounds rather vague. For now, the fighting goes on. Russia is still refusing to sign up to an unconditional comprehensive ceasefire. It has no intention of returning any of the Ukrainian land it has seized, occupied and claims to have annexed. On the contrary: it's pushing for more. Right now, the Ukraine peace process resembles being lost in the Kremlin late at night. It's hard to see the exit.

The Kremlin side-step

And yet the past two weeks have revealed a lot. First, how Russia neutralises potential threats and pressure points. Kremlin critics would put this another way: how Russia plays for time. On 10 May (a few hours before I got lost in the Kremlin), after a phone call with Donald Trump, European leaders had issued an ultimatum to President Putin: agree to an unconditional long-term ceasefire in Ukraine in two days or face crushing new sanctions. Since March the Trump administration has been calling on Russia and Ukraine to accept a 30-day comprehensive ceasefire. Kyiv agreed. Moscow hasn't. The Kremlin leader sidestepped the European ultimatum with his counter proposal of direct talks in Turkey. The idea was greeted with scepticism in Ukraine and across Europe. But it was enough to placate Trump and convince him Russia was serious about wanting peace. He was all for the talks. "Crushing" new sanctions were delayed. Ahead of the Istanbul meeting on 16 May, President Trump gave the impression that Vladimir Putin might attend. The Kremlin leader did not, sending instead a comparatively low-level delegation that once more rejected the idea of a long-term ceasefire. But, again, the modest results of the talks were sufficient to persuade the US president that progress was being made. Then came the Trump-Putin phone call on 19 May. By the end of it, Russia had still not agreed to an immediate comprehensive cessation of hostilities. Instead, according to President Trump, "Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War". But Moscow is already casting doubt on whether it would sign any future peace treaty with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. For a year now the Russian authorities have been attempting to delegitimise Ukraine's president since the expiry of his presidential term. However, Ukraine's Constitution prohibits the holding of elections in wartime. And the reason for martial law in Ukraine is Russia's invasion. "Would Russia sit down and sign a peace agreement with President Zelensky?" I asked Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday. "You're putting the cart before the horse," Mr Lavrov replied. "First we need to have a deal. When it's agreed, then we will decide. But, as President Putin has said many times, President Zelensky does not have legitimacy… Probably the best option would be new elections…"

Watch: Steve Rosenberg asks Sergei Lavrov: Is Russia ready to sign deal with Zelensky?

Confident Russia

The Russian media has concluded that, after two weeks of diplomacy, Moscow has strengthened its hand. "Russia has won the latest round of global poker," declared the Izvestia newspaper last week. "Donald Trump's stance couldn't be more advantageous to Moscow," wrote Kommersant. "In effect he backed Russia's position of 'Talks first, ceasefire later' and refused to strengthen sanctions against Russia." A social scientist told Kommersant: "Donald Trump, at least for now, is our ideological partner on certain issues. His views are much closer to Russia's than to Europe's." And the ultra pro-Kremlin Komsomolskaya Pravda had this message for European leaders: "You were warned. Don't wave threats and ultimatums in the face of the bear. Don't try to impose conditions in talks that have nothing to do with you. "Just sit in the lobby and breathe in the smell of the new world order." Moscow's confidence is also fuelled by the belief that, in Ukraine, it holds the initiative on the battlefield.

Reluctant Trump

Back in 2023 Donald Trump had promised that, if he won the presidency, "we will have the horrible war between Russia and Ukraine settled… I'll get them both. I know Zelensky, I know Putin. It'll be done within 24 hours, you watch". Trump has been in the Oval Office for more than four months now, but the "horrible war" goes on. On rare occasions, he has publicly rebuked the Kremlin and threatened further sanctions. Last month he said: "…there was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days. It makes me think that maybe he doesn't want to stop the war, he's just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through 'Banking' or 'Secondary Sanctions?'" But there's been no follow-through. The US president appears reluctant to ratchet up the pressure on the Kremlin, instead signalling to Moscow that he's keen to reboot US-Russia relations.

Office of the President of Ukraine via Getty Images Trump and Zelensky spoke face-to-face on the sideline of Pope Francis's funeral at the Vatican in April

Tensions rise as superpowers scrap for a piece of the Arctic

1 hour ago Share Save Katya Adler Europe editor Reporting from Northern Norway and Svalbard Share Save

BBC

As soon as Magnus Mæland became mayor of a small town on Norway's northern tip in late 2023, three delegations from China came knocking on his door. "It's because they want to be a polar superpower," he tells me. China might not instinctively spring to mind when you think about the Arctic - but it's determined to be a big Arctic player. It's been vying to buy real estate, get involved in infrastructure projects and hopes to establish a permanent regional presence. China already describes itself as a "near-Arctic state", even though its northernmost regional capital Harbin is on roughly the same latitude as Venice, Italy. But the Arctic is fast becoming one of the most hotly-contested parts of the world. Beijing faces stiff competition from Russia, China, Europe, India and the US. The race for the Arctic is on.

Climate scientists say the Arctic is warming four times faster than anywhere else. This impacts ecosystems, wildlife and local populations. The Arctic is enormous, encompassing 4% of the globe. But global powers see a new world of opportunities opening up in the Arctic on the back of environmental changes. The melting ice in the Arctic makes it easier to access the region's incredible natural resources - critical minerals, oil, and gas - around 30% of untapped natural gas is said to be found in the Arctic. And it's opening up possibilities for new maritime trade routes, drastically reducing travel time between Asia and Europe. In the export business, time is money.

Kirkenes hopes to be the first European stop for Chinese cargo ships in the future, but is wary of allowing Beijing too much influence in the port

When I visit, the port of Kirkenes looks pretty ghostly. Inside the Arctic Circle, at the northernmost point of mainland Norway, the former mining town is a gritty contrast with the picture-postcard, snow-covered mountains and fjords that surround it. There are shuttered shops and abandoned warehouses, riddled with broken windows. The town feels forgotten and left behind. So you can imagine the appeal of the possibility of becoming the first European port of call for masses of container ships from Asia, depending on how fast the polar ice continues to melt. The town's port director, Terje Jørgensen, plans to build a brand new international port. His eyes light up when he talks about becoming the Singapore of Europe's High North. "What we're trying to build here in Kirkenes is a trans-shipment port where three continents meet: North America, Europe and Asia. We'll take the goods ashore and reload onto other vessels [for further export]. We don't need to sell any land to anyone. Not to a UK company, not a Chinese company. New laws in Norway prohibit the transfer of property or businesses, if the sale could harm "Norwegian security interests", he says. What they're waiting for, he adds, are clear guidelines from the government about what kind of critical infrastructure this might cover. Mayor Mæland certainly seems wary of China's intentions. "We want a relationship with China, but we don't want to be dependent on China," he tells me. "Europe has to ask itself 'How dependent do you want to be on totalitarian and authoritarian regimes?'" China's purchase-your-way-into-the-Arctic approach is beginning to be rejected across the European Arctic. Recent attempts by Beijing to buy into seaports in Norway and Sweden and an airport in Greenland, for example, were rebuffed. This is pushing polar-hungry China - the biggest emerging superpower in the world - into the arms of the Arctic's largest player, Russia.

The border town of Kirkenes has felt the economic impact of the war in Ukraine, with Russian visitors disappearing and cross-border trade almost gone

Russia controls a whopping half of the Arctic shoreline - and it's been hoovering up Chinese investments. The two countries cooperate militarily in the Arctic too. China's coastguard entered the Arctic for the first time in October, in a joint patrol with Russian forces. The two countries had staged joint military exercises here the month earlier. In July, long-range bombers from both countries provocatively patrolled the Arctic Ocean near Alaska in the United States. It's as if Beijing and Moscow are looking over at Nato, which has stepped up its exercises in the Arctic, and are saying: We can do this too. Every country bordering the Arctic is a member of Nato except Russia. Finland and Sweden joined after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Andreas Østhagen, a senior fellow at the independent Fridtjof Nansen Institute, describes the Arctic as "low-hanging fruit" for Russian-Chinese collaboration. "Russia needs investments and commercial actors who are interested in developing the Arctic - LNG [liquefied natural gas] resources, oil resources, or developing a northern sea route as a shipping lane. "China is that market. The two countries are looking for ways to expand their political, economic, even military cooperation." But China is keen not to align itself too closely with Russia. It wants to avoid Western sanctions and to continue doing business with Western powers, inside and outside the Arctic. Russia has reservations too. "Be careful not to overrate the Russia-China relationship," says Mr Østhagen. "Russia remains wary of letting China too deep into its Arctic." Moscow relies heavily on its natural resources there. And it's courting other Arctic investors too, including the US, according to reports.

The view across the Pasvik River to Russia, marked by a yellow border post on the largely unguarded Norwegian side

Russia also relies on its Arctic to store strategic weapons - mainly on its Kola peninsula, which bristles with nuclear capabilities and is home to its legendary Northern Fleet. Back in Norway, Kirkenes residents live under that shadow of the Russian Bear next door. They always have. The border with Russia is a 10 minutes drive away by car. And Kola peninsula feels uncomfortably close. In Cold War times, the town became known as a nest of spies - a frontline between the West and the Soviet Union. Norway believes Russia is using its Arctic to train new recruits to fight, and to fly bombers from, to attack Ukraine. Though not directly at war with Russia, Norway, and specifically the north of the country along its roughly 200km long land border, feels under attack. "We see it here locally," says Col Jørn Kviller, speaking to me by the clear waters of the Pasvik River that separates Norway and Russia. Just in front of us are Norway's bright yellow, and Russia's red and green, border posts. Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, there have been increasingly frequent incidents of GPS jamming that have even caused commercial pilots to change navigation systems. Cases of espionage by the border - "everything from signals intelligence to agents being sent to Norway" - have shot up, Col Kviller tells me. Norway and its Nato allies are also on the alert for Russian spy submarines and other vessels in the Arctic.

Watch: Deep inside a Norwegian mountain, Nato allies train for Arctic war

I get to see how Norway monitors this threat, after we get high security clearance to enter the country's Cold War-era joint military command. It's deep inside a quartz mountain in Bodø, within the Arctic Circle. We find a labyrinth of tunnels and surveillance rooms where Norway gathers real-time intelligence from land, air and sea, focused on suspicious-looking vessels in and near its Arctic waters. Everything is shared in real-time with Nato allies. Crucially, any Russian vessel wanting to enter Europe has to pass through Norwegian waters first. Agents in the mountain HQ are on the lookout for signs of espionage and sabotage around what officials call underwater "critical infrastructure" as part of the Kremlin's hybrid warfare against the West. Targets include undersea communications cables - connecting continents and permitting trillions of dollars' worth of financial transactions a day - and also oil and gas pipelines. Norway is a major supplier of natural gas to Europe, including the UK, especially since sanctions were imposed on Russian exports following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Moscow has been modernising its military capabilities in the Arctic. It has a serious fleet of spy and nuclear submarines. If they pass undetected, they could potentially target missiles at capitals across Europe and also threaten the US.

Intelligence officers monitor Russian movements in Arctic waters from the military headquarters inside a mountain

Norwegian military commanders still hold a weekly contact call with their opposite numbers in Moscow.

US President Donald Trump has told Europe it must do more for its own defence, but inside the Arctic, there is a "great overlap of interests", says the chief of the Norwegian joint headquarters Vice Adm Rune Andersen. "This is also about US homeland defence… The Russian concentration of nuclear weapons, the capabilities that Russia is deploying are not only aimed at Europe, but also at the US," he says. Vice Adm Andersen doesn't believe any party is courting open conflict in the Arctic but with global tensions rising elsewhere, such as over Ukraine, the potential for spillover in the Arctic is there. The vice admiral's team schedules a routine call to Russia's Northern Fleet every Wednesday afternoon -to keep communication channels open, they say. Just in case.

Conscripts watch other NATO warships from on board the Norwegian frigate Otto Sverdrup

Vice Adm Rune Andersen told the BBC that Nato allies were now providing a more robust deterrent against Russia in the Arctic

Conscripts and officers taking part in a live firing drill on board the Otto Sverdrup

If you leave Kirkenes and head towards the North Pole, you come across the magnificent Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard at about the half-way mark. It's home to ice floes, glaciers and more polar bears than people. Svalbard is at the heart of the scramble between global powers for Arctic resources. While Norwegian, the archipelago is governed by a treaty allowing people from all countries that signed it to work there visa-free. Most are employed in mines, tourism and scientific research. That may sound harmonious, but since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine there's been a noticeable flexing of nationalist muscles in some communities here. They include military parades by the Russian settlement to mark their commemorations for the end of World War Two, the flying of a Soviet flag over Russian infrastructure, and growing suspicion that the Chinese have made their Svalbard research station dual-purpose - for military espionage. Regardless of whether or not that's true, local mayor Terje Aunevik says it would be naïve to suggest there was no intelligence-gathering going on in the different countries' research centres. "Of course there is... I think the world has been gripped by Arctic fomo [fear of missing out]." The day I arrive in Svalbard, it's Norway's national day. The streets are thronging with a snaking parade of mums, dads and children from the local school, clad in Norwegian national dress. Longyearbyen is the northernmost town in the world. Bright sunshine glints off the Arctic waters below the main street, and the flat-topped, snow and ice-covered mountains all around. Everywhere I look, I see shop windows, prams and women's hairdos festooned with blue, white and red Norwegian flags. Perhaps I imagined it, but among all the cheeriness, it felt like there was another, unspoken sentiment that day, a reminder: 'Svalbard belongs to us!' The rising mood of national rivalries in the Arctic is not without consequences.

People in Svalbard celebrate Norway's national day in the country's national dress

Svalbard is at the heart of the scramble between global powers for Arctic resources

Realistically, this was always likely to be a week of few answers for England.

No matter the runs scored by Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope, or the wickets taken by Shoaib Bashir, they come with the caveat of the opposition. That is not meant to be disrespectful to Zimbabwe, but the tourists simply do not compare to the upcoming challenges of India and Australia.

And while England will feel they are ticking the boxes at Trent Bridge: runs for the top order, overs for Bashir, a return for Josh Tongue and a look at Sam Cook, by far the most important fact-finding surrounded captain Ben Stokes and his surgically repaired hamstring.

As the Test meandered on a sunny Friday afternoon in Nottingham, Bashir's bashed finger meant Stokes had to spring into action. The rest was exhilarating.

The captain, playing for the first time this year, may not have employed himself. As Bashir entered the 13th over of his spell, it looked like Stokes' stubbornness to bowl the off-spinner into rhythm.

A dropped catch off his own bowling left Bashir with a gash on his right hand and the need to temporarily to leave the field. An over to complete, Stokes removed his cap and proceeded to give England 20 deliveries of hope for the year ahead.

Even when he is out of the game, Stokes is English cricket's biggest draw. As he went through his rehab, there was the 'will he-won't he' over the white-ball captaincy. Eventually, it was decided Superman needs time off wearing the cape.

The build-up to this Test was dominated by Stokes, first by the revelation he has been teetotal since the beginning of the year, which may or may not have something to do with his investment in a non-alcoholic drinks company.

Then, on Wednesday, came his "put two and two together" answer to a question about Jacob Bethell. It seemed unusually honest for Stokes to make such a strong hint that Bethell would make an immediate return to the Test team, but everyone in the room took that to be what the captain meant.

Later in the evening came clarification from England that Stokes was actually referring to Bethell's place in the squad. At a time when Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum have asked their team to be careful about the messages they give in public, it was the captain who put his foot in it.

Scott McTominay was already a hero at Napoli after a season plundering goals - but as he collapsed to the ground in tears of joy after helping them to the Serie A title, he cemented his place as a legend of the club.

McTominay hooked in a fine acrobatic volley - his 12th goal of the season - to give Napoli the lead against Cagliari, before former Manchester United team-mate Romelu Lukaku made the game safe with a second.

That home win ensured they held off Champions League finalists Inter Milan to claim their fourth Serie A title.

As soon after the final whistle went, the Scotland midfielder was named Serie A's Most Valuable Player (MVP) for 2024-25.

"I'm lost for words. It's incredible you know, the sacrifice that every single player in the group has put forward to the cause," said McTominay after the game.

"And the people deserve it because they've been behind us from day one, and for me to come and experience this is a dream."

Leaving United - the club where he had spent nearly all his life - for a new country last summer was a brave move. It now looks an inspired decision.

There have been tattoos, flags, cakes and even a shrine of McTominay. Fans wearing kilts too. Naples is a city that treats their heroes like gods - most notably Diego Maradona.

BBC Sport looks at how McTominay carved his name in Napoli folkore.

Liverpool have made initial contact with Bayer Leverkusen over a move for attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz.

The Germany playmaker is emerging as a primary target for Arne Slot as the Premier League champions already begin planning for next season.

Liverpool are set to sign Jeremie Frimpong from Leverkusen and the Anfield club registered their desire to sign 22-year-old Wirtz during those discussions.

Formal negotiations are still to get under way but that is expected to happen in due course for a player that is valued by the Bundesliga club at more than £120m.

It remains to be seen whether Liverpool would be willing to pay that sort of fee, which would eclipse the British transfer record fee of £107m Chelsea agreed with Benfica for Enzo Fernandez in 2023.

However, Liverpool have received encouragement that Wirtz is keen to join them, amid reports in Germany he prefers a move to Anfield over Bayern Munich.

England took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the T20 series with a dominant nine-wicket thrashing of West Indies at Hove.

Chasing just 82 to win, England reached their target off 9.2 overs with new captain Nat Sciver-Brunt unbeaten on 55 from 31 balls and Sophia Dunkley scoring 24 not out.

Danni Wyatt-Hodge fell to the first ball of the innings, the only bright spark in another dismal display from the tourists and another completely one-sided contest.

West Indies slipped to 29-4 before eventually crawling to 81-9 as they had no answers to England's impressive discipline and aggression with the ball.

Seamer Em Arlott, in just her second international outing, finished with 3-14, including the key breakthroughs of Windies skipper Hayley Matthews for six and veteran batter Stafanie Taylor for a duck.

Pace bowler Lauren Bell took 3-28 and spinner Charlie Dean bowled a miserly spell of 2-12 from her four overs.

Shemaine Campbelle and Shabika Gajnabi were the only two West Indies batters to reach double figures, scoring 26 and 22 respectively, and only eight boundaries were scored in their entire innings, which also included 74 dot balls.

The third and final T20 takes place at Chelmsford on Monday.

Former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp says he turned off his television when he heard supporters booing Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The 26-year-old defender is leaving the club at the end of the season and is expected to join Real Madrid.

Alexander-Arnold arrived at the club aged six and was a key component in Liverpool's success under German Klopp, which included a first league title in 30 years in 2019-20.

However after announcing his decision to not sign a new contract, some fans turned against the player and some booed him when he came off the substitutes bench against Arsenal earlier this month.

Speaking at a fundraising event for the LFC Foundation on Friday, where he brought along a signed Alexander-Arnold shirt to auction, the ex-manager said supporters were "wrong" to boo and launched a passionate defence of the England full-back.

"I don't want to tell you what you have to think. I can tell you what you think is wrong," Klopp said.

"I don't tell you you should not be angry, you should not be disappointed, I tell you don't forget. This club doesn't forget.

"I watched the game when he came on and I heard the booing. I switched the telly [television] off. Honestly, I could not have been more disappointed at this moment."

And he highlighted the Liverpool-born player's commitment to the club during Klopp's spell as manager.

"I was there. I can tell you, this boy he gave absolutely everything," he said.

Bath clinched their first European title in 17 years with a commanding display against Lyon in the Challenge Cup final in Cardiff's Principality Stadium.

The Premiership league leaders survived first-half ill-discipline - with two players being shown a yellow card - to take a 17-5 lead through Tom Dunn and Max Ojomoh tries.

Beno Obano then scored their third before captain Ben Spencer dived under the posts to seal the victory.

Navit Niniashvili and Arno Botha scored the only points for Top14 side Lyon, who went into the match as the in-form team in the competition but who were outplayed across much of the field.

The game marks the start of what could be an era-defining three weeks for Bath, who remain on course for a historic treble this season.

They won the Premiership Rugby Cup in February and are heavy favourites to win the Premiership title for the first time since 1996 after securing top spot with three rounds of games to go to cruise into the play-off semi-finals.

Brian Bennett hit the fastest Test century by a Zimbabwe batter but England remain on course for victory in the one-off Test, after making the tourists follow-on on day two at Trent Bridge.

READ MORE: Stokes and Bennett shine before Zimbabwe follow on

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