Heatwave spreads to Scotland and Northern Ireland

25 minutes ago Share Save Nikki Berry BBC Weather Yang Tian BBC News Share Save

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Northern Ireland and Scotland will see temperatures soar as the UK's third heatwave of the year spreads across the country. Scotland is likely to see its warmest day of the year with temperatures of up to 31C. Northern Ireland could potentially the mercury rise above 29.5C - the highest recorded temperature so far this year. For England and Wales, temperatures are expected to be widely in the high 20s to low 30s with the south-west Midlands and south-east Wales predicted to see the hottest temperatures. However, for eastern parts of England, an easterly breeze will bring slightly cooler temperatures though most areas will still meet heatwave thresholds.

On Friday, Astwood Bank in the West Midlands recorded the highest temperature of 34.7C. Amber heat health alerts for southern England, the Midlands, and East Anglia will remain in place until Monday, the UK Health Security Agency said. Less severe yellow warnings remain in place for northern England, while Scotland and Northern Ireland face warnings of wildfires on Saturday and Sunday. Yellow weather alerts are issued during periods that are only likely to affect those who are particularly vulnerable, such as the elderly, and those with existing health conditions. Amber alerts are issued in situations that could put the whole population at risk. For the thousands expected to attend the Wimbledon finals this weekend, temperatures in south-west London will remain high on Saturday and are expected to reach 30C, possibly 32C in some areas, according the Met Office. Sunday will see a slight dip to 29C in daytime highs, but the heat will remain with a chance of some places around London seeing 30C or above.

Getty Images World number one Aryna Sabalenka said conditions were "super hot" during her semi-final on Thursday

This year, Wimbledon has faced some of the hottest temperatures in its 148-year history and has a heat rule in place for all singles matches. The men's singles semi-final on Friday between Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz was stopped twice in less than five minutes due to fans in the crowd requiring medical attention. Temperatures on Centre Court reached a sweltering 32C on Friday. Tournament organisers have added more free water refill points on the grounds and increased reminders for fans to take sun precautions and seek shade.

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Why cockpit audio deepens the mystery of Air India crash

1 hour ago Share Save Soutik Biswas • @soutikBBC India correspondent Share Save

Air India plane descending moments before crash

Investigators have uncovered a chilling discovery in the preliminary investigation into the Air India Flight 171 crash which killed 260 people in June. Just seconds after takeoff, both the 12-year-old Boeing 787 Dreamliner's fuel-control switches abruptly moved to the "cut-off" position, starving the engines of fuel and triggering total power loss. Switching to "cut-off" is a move typically done only after landing. The cockpit voice recording captures one pilot asking the other why he "did the cut-off", to which the person replies that he didn't. The recording doesn't clarify who said what. At the time of takeoff, the co-pilot was flying the aircraft while the captain was monitoring. The switches were returned to their normal inflight position, triggering automatic engine relight. At the time of the crash, one engine was regaining thrust while the other had relit but had not yet recovered power. Air India Flight 171 was airborne for less than 40 seconds before crashing into a crowded neighbourhood in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad, marking one of India's most baffling aviation disasters. Investigators are probing the wreckage and cockpit recorders to understand what went wrong just after takeoff. The Air India flight climbed to 625 feet in clear weather before losing location data 50 seconds in, per Flightradar24. Saturday's 15-page report offers early insights. The investigation - led by Indian authorities, with experts from Boeing, GE, Air India and Indian regulators, alongside participants from the US National Transportation Safety Board and the UK - also raises a number of questions. Investigators say the lever-lock fuel switches are designed to prevent accidental activation - they must be pulled up to unlock before flipping, a safety feature dating back to the 1950s. Built to exacting standards, they're highly reliable. Protective guard brackets further shield them from accidental bumps. "It would be almost impossible to pull both switches with a single movement of one hand, and this makes accidental deployment unlikely," a Canada-based air accidents investigator, who wanted to remain unnamed, told the BBC. That's what makes the Air India case stand out.

"It does beg the question: why did the pilot, any pilot, actually push the switches to the off position," Shawn Pruchnicki, a former airline accident investigator and aviation expert at Ohio State University, said. "Was it intentional, or the result of confusion? That seems unlikely, as the pilots reported nothing unusual. In many cockpit emergencies, pilots may press the wrong buttons or make incorrect selections - but there was no indication of such a situation here, nor any discussion suggesting that the fuel switches were selected by mistake. This kind of error doesn't typically happen without some evident issue," he told the BBC.

Getty Images Air India Flight 171 crashed into a crowded neighbourhood in Ahmedabad

Peter Goelz, a former managing director of the US's NTSB, echoed a similar sentiment: "The finding is very disturbing - that a pilot has shut off the fuel switch within seconds of flying." "There's likely much more on the cockpit voice recorder than what's been shared. A lone remark like 'why did you cut off the switches' isn't enough," he said. "The new details suggest someone in the cockpit shut those valves. The question is, who, and why? Both switches were turned off and then restarted within seconds. The voice recorder will reveal more: was the flying pilot trying to restart the engines, or the monitoring one?" Investigators believe the cockpit voice recorder - with audio from pilot mics, radio calls and ambient cockpit sounds - holds the key to this puzzle. "They haven't identified the voices yet, which is crucial. Typically, when the voice recorder is reviewed, people familiar with the pilots are present to help match voices. As of now, we still don't know which pilot turned the switches off and back on," said Mr Goelz. In short, investigators say what's needed is clear voice identification, a full cockpit transcript with labelled speakers, and a thorough review of all communications from the moment the plane was pushed back from the gate to the time it crashed. They also say this underscores the need for cockpit video recorders, as recommended by the NTSB. An over-the-shoulder view would show whose hand was on the cut-off switch. Before boarding Flight 171, both pilots and crew passed breathalyser tests and were cleared fit to fly, the report says. The pilots, based in Mumbai, had arrived in Ahmedabad the day before the flight and had adequate rest. But investigators are also zeroing in on what they describe is an interesting point in the report. It says in December 2018, the US Federal Aviation Administration issued a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) highlighting that some Boeing 737 fuel control switches were installed with the locking feature disengaged. While the issue was noted, it wasn't deemed an unsafe condition requiring an Airworthiness Directive (AD) - a legally enforceable regulation to correct unsafe conditions in a product. The same switch design is used in Boeing 787-8 aircraft, including Air India's VT-ANB which crashed. As the SAIB was advisory, Air India did not perform the recommended inspections.

Bloomberg via Getty Images A cockpit of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, operated by Air India at an air show in India

Gaza ceasefire talks on verge of collapse, Palestinian officials say

14 minutes ago Share Save Rushdi Abualouf Gaza correspondent Reporting from Cairo Share Save

Reuters Gaza has been devastated by 21 months of war between Israel and Hamas

Negotiations between Israel and Hamas in Qatar on a new Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal are on the brink of collapse, according to Palestinian officials familiar with the details of the discussions. One senior official told the BBC that Israel had "bought time" during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington this week and deliberately stalled the process by sending a delegation to Doha with no real authority to make decisions on key points of contention. They include the withdrawal of Israeli troops and humanitarian aid distribution. Before he left the US on Thursday, Netanyahu had maintained a positive tone, saying he hoped to complete an agreement "in a few days".

He said the proposed deal would see Hamas release half of the 20 living hostages it is still holding and just over half of the 30 dead hostages during a truce lasting 60 days.

Since last Sunday, Israeli and Hamas negotiators have attended eight rounds of indirect "proximity" talks in separate buildings in Doha. They have been facilitated by Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani and senior Egyptian intelligence officials, and attended by US envoy Brett McGurk. The mediators have relayed dozens of verbal and written messages between the Hamas and Israeli delegation, which has included military, security and political officials. But on Friday night, Palestinian officials familiar with the negotiations told the BBC they were on the verge of collapse, with the two sides deeply divided on several contentious issues. They said the most recent discussions had focused on two of those issues: the mechanism for delivering humanitarian aid in Gaza and the extent of the Israeli military withdrawal. Hamas has insisted that humanitarian assistance must enter Gaza and be distributed via United Nations agencies and international relief organisations. Israel, on the other hand, is pushing for aid distribution via the controversial Israeli- and US-backed mechanism run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). According to mediators involved in the process, there has been some limited progress on bridging the divide over this issue. However, no formal agreement has been reached. The second major sticking point is over the extent of the Israeli withdrawal. During the fifth round of talks, Israeli negotiators reportedly handed mediators a written message stating that Israel would maintain a limited "buffer zone" inside Gaza that was between 1km and 1.5km (0.6-0.9 miles) deep. Hamas, according to a Palestinian official who attended at least two of the rounds of talks, viewed this proposal as a possible starting point for compromise. However, when Hamas requested and received a map outlining Israel's proposed withdrawal zones, the document contradicted the earlier message, showing far deeper military positions. The map was said to indicate buffer zones that were up to 3km deep in certain areas and confirmed a continued Israeli presence in vast swathes of territory. They covered all of the southern city of Rafah, 85% of the village of Khuzaa east of Khan Younis, substantial parts of the northern towns of Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun, and eastern neighbourhoods of Gaza City, such as Tuffah, Shejaiya and Zeitoun.