Twenty killed in crowd surge at Gaza aid site, GHF aid group says

(File photo) There have been almost daily reports of deaths near the GHF's sites since it began operating at the end of May

The US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has said 20 people have been killed in what it called a "tragic incident" at one of its aid distribution centres in southern Gaza.

Nineteen were trampled to death and one was stabbed "amid a chaotic and dangerous surge" at the site in the Khan Younis area, a statement said. It added that it believed the surge was "driven by agitators in the crowd" who were affiliated to Hamas.

It was not immediately possible to verify the report.

However, officials at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis earlier said that more than 10 people were killed and others injured due to "suffocation" after the GHF's private security contractors closed an aid site.

Trans changing room row nurse cleared of misconduct as tribunal resumes

13 minutes ago Share Save James Cook • @BBCJamesCook Scotland Editor Share Save

PA Media Sandie Peggie complained about sharing changing facilities with a transgender doctor

A nurse who complained about sharing a changing room with a transgender doctor has been cleared of gross misconduct following disciplinary proceedings by NHS Fife, according to her lawyer. Sandie Peggie was suspended from her role last year after she objected to Dr Beth Upton, who is a transgender woman, using female facilities. According to a statement released by campaign group Sex Matters, the nurse has been cleared of allegations of misconduct, failures of patient care and misgendering Dr Upton. News of the decision came on the eve of the resumption of an employment tribunal raised by Ms Peggie against her employer.

The tribunal is due to resume in Dundee later. Ms Peggie claims her treatment was unlawful under the 2010 Equality Act and has brought a case against the health board and Dr Upton. NHS Fife and the doctor are defending their actions – at a cost to the public purse so far of at least £220,000 – arguing that they complied with NHS policy.

Ms Peggie, who has worked at NHS Fife for more than 30 years, told the tribunal she had felt uncomfortable around Dr Upton in a changing room at Kirkcaldy's Victoria Hospital on three occasions between August and December 2023. She said the issue came to a head on Christmas Eve when Dr Upton started to undress in front of her. Ms Peggie told the tribunal she had felt "embarrassed and intimidated". The pair then exchanged words - although the details of their conversation are disputed.

Dr Beth Upton made a bullying and harassment complaint to NHS Fife

After the exchange, Dr Upton complained to NHS Fife about Ms Peggie's behaviour and the nurse was suspended on 3 January 2024. In her evidence, Ms Peggie said she had "felt more shocked than anything" when she learned there was a complaint against her. The board has described Ms Peggie's case as "unnecessary and vexatious" while Dr Upton has accused the nurse of bullying and harassment. "I'm not interested in vengeance and I'm not interested in retribution – I'm interested in justice," the doctor told the tribunal. "Trans people are not predators by nature of being themselves."

PA Media Sandie Peggie raised issues with the changing room facilities at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy

The tribunal sat for 10 days in February and was then adjourned until now. The disciplinary hearing, which had also been scheduled for February, was postponed at the request of Ms Peggie's legal team. According to her lawyer Margaret Gribbon, the nurse was cleared of all allegations. In a statement released by Sex Matters, Ms Gribbon said: "Sandie is relieved and delighted that this 18-month long internal process has concluded and cleared her of all allegations." NHS Fife has been asked to comment on the disciplinary case.

Supreme court ruling

Adolescence star Owen Cooper becomes Emmys' youngest supporting actor nominee

Adolescence star Owen Cooper has made Emmys history by becoming one of the youngest ever to be nominated by the prestigious TV US television academy.

The 15-year-old British actor has bagged a nomination for best supporting actor in a limited/anthology series or TV movie. If he wins, Cooper will be the youngest male winner of an acting Emmy.

The teen will go up against his co-star Ashley Walters from the hit Netflix show, while two actresses from the critically-acclaimed series, Christine Tremarco and Erin Doherty, will compete in the equivalent supporting actress category.

The show's leading star, Stephen Graham, is up for best actor, while the four-parter about a 13-year-old boy accused of murdering a girl from his class, is also in the running for outstanding limited series. Jack Thorne, who created the drama with Graham, is nominated for a best writing prize.

While Adolescence has a respectable 13 nods, leading the pack is workplace satire Severance with 27 nominations, followed by Batman spin-off The Penguin (24), and black comedy drama The White Lotus (23).

Four stars from The White Lotus - Carrie Coon, Parker Posey, Natasha Rothwell and Aimee Lou Wood - face one another for the supporting actress in a drama series award.

Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary), Harrison Ford (Shrinking) and Jeremy Allen White (The Bear) are among the stars competing for the top acting prizes in the comedy categories.

Brunson is also up for a writing prize while this is a first Emmy nod for Ford, at the tender age of 83.

The Studio, The Bear, Abbott Elementary and Shrinking are among the contenders for best comedy series.

RuPaul has now became the most nominated reality host in Emmys history for his show RuPaul's Drag Race.

The actors and best TV shows will be honoured at the awards ceremony in Los Angeles on 14 September.

England have slipped to third in the World Test Championship standings after being docked two points for their slow over rate in the Test victory against India at Lord's.

Ben Stokes' side beat India by 22 runs during the third Test on Monday to take a 2-1 series lead.

However, England's slow over rate infuriated their opponents.

In a five-day Test, 90 overs are scheduled for each day and teams can be punished for failing to bowl 15 overs in an hour.

On day two of the Test when India closed 145-3, 72.3 overs were bowled - resulting in 15 overs being lost altogether from the match due to slow play.

Match referee Richie Richardson ruled that England, even with time allowances taken into account, were two overs short of the target.

Captain Stokes accepted the verdict, with the England team being docked 10% of their match fee as a result.

"In accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rate offences, players are fined five per cent of their match fee for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time," the ICC said in statement.

The docked points mean England have dropped from second to third in the World Test Championship standings, with Sri Lanka moving into second.

It is not the first time this year England have been punished for their slow over rate.

England were docked 22 points during the 2023-25 cycle.

Stokes argued his team were at a disadvantage due to their use of pace bowlers - who require longer run-ups.

The fourth Test between England and India begins at Lord's on 23 July.

Co-op boss confirms all 6.5m members had data stolen

Just now Share Save Joe Tidy Cyber correspondent, BBC World Service Imran Rahman-Jones Technology reporter Share Save

BBC Shirine Khoury-Haq spoke BBC Breakfast in her first public interview since the hack

The chief executive of Co-op has confirmed that all 6.5 million of its members had their data stolen in a cyber-attack on the retailer in April. "I'm devastated that information was taken. I'm also devastated by the impact that it took on our colleagues as well as they tried to contain all of this," Shirine Khoury-Haq told BBC Breakfast in her first public interview since the hack. "There was no financial data, no transaction data but it was names and addresses and contact information that was lost," she added. Ms Khoury-Haq said she would not step down from her role, but was "incredibly sorry" for the attack.

She said the hack was "personal" to her because of the impact it had on her colleagues. "Early on I met with our IT staff and they were in the midst of it. I will never forget the looks on their faces, trying to fight off these criminals," she said. Once the hackers had been removed from the systems, "they could not erase what they did so we could monitor every mouse click" and Co-op was able to send that information to authorities. But she added: "We know a lot of that information is out there anyway, but people will be worried and all members should be concerned." Co-op runs on a membership scheme, where members are paid a share of the profits of the co-operative. "It hurt my members, they took their data and it hurt our customers and that I do take personally," Ms Khoury-Haq said.

What happened in the cyber-attacks?

Co-op was one of three retailers, alongside Marks and Spencer (M&S) and Harrods who were victims of cyber-attacks in spring this year. Co-op announced on 30 April that it had been hacked, initially saying it would only have a "small impact" on its call centre and back office. But days later, after being contacted by the alleged hackers, BBC News revealed that customer and employee data had been accessed. Co-op then admitted the criminals had "accessed data relating to a significant number of our current and past members". BBC News later discovered from the alleged attackers that the company disconnected the internet from IT networks in the nick of time to stop the hackers from deploying ransomware and so causing even more disruption.

Trump says US attorney general should release any 'credible' information on Epstein

8 hours ago Share Save Nadine Yousif BBC News Share Save

Watch: Trump says Pam Bondi should release 'credible' Epstein files

US President Donald Trump has said Attorney General Pam Bondi should release "whatever she thinks is credible" on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as he faces a rare backlash from supporters after seeking to draw a line under the case. Bondi has been lambasted by some of Trump's political base after she said last week there was no evidence that Epstein kept a "client list" or was blackmailing powerful figures. At the weekend Trump urged supporters not to "waste time and energy" on the controversy. But allies of the president, including House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, are calling for "transparency". Epstein's 2019 death in a US prison while awaiting federal trial was ruled a suicide.

But many in Trump's Make America Great Again (Maga) movement have theorised that details of the well-connected convicted paedophile's crimes have been withheld in order to protect influential figures, or intelligence agencies. On Tuesday, Trump praised his attorney general's handling of the matter, saying: "She's handled it very well, and it's going to be up to her. Whatever she thinks is credible, she should release." When asked by a journalist if the attorney general had told Trump whether his name appeared in any of the records, he said: "No, no." Later on Tuesday, the president again called for the release of "credible" information, but he questioned the enduring fascination with the Epstein case, calling it "sordid but boring". "Only really bad people, including the fake news, want to keep something like this going," Trump said. Who was Jeffrey Epstein? Last week he vented frustration in the Oval Office about the fixation on Epstein and urged everyone to move on. But some Republican allies of the president are not letting go of the matter. In an interview on Tuesday with US conservative commentator Benny Johnson, Speaker Johnson said that he trusted President Trump and his team, and that the White House was privy to facts that he did not know. But he said Bondi "needs to come forward and explain it to everybody". "We should put everything out there and let the people decide," Johnson said in an interview. Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene told Benny Johnson in a separate interview on Tuesday: "I fully support transparency on this issue." She praised Bondi's work as attorney general, but said that leaders and elected officials should keep their promises to voters.

Getty Images Pam Bondi has said the memo released last week on Epstein by the Department of Justice "speaks for itself."

Another conservative Republican, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, said if more Epstein files were not released, a special counsel should be appointed to investigate the financier's crimes. Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana said the voters expect more accountability. "I think it's perfectly understandable that the American people would like to know who he [Epstein] trafficked those women to and why they weren't prosecuted," Kennedy told NBC News. But other influential Republicans – including Senator John Thune and congressman Jim Jordan – deferred to President Trump on the matter.

Bloomberg via Getty Images "We should put everything on the table and let the people decide," says Johnson

At an unrelated news conference on fentanyl on Tuesday, Bondi brushed aside questions about the controversy. "Nothing about Epstein," she told reporters. "I'm not going to talk about Epstein." She said last week's memo by the Department of Justice, jointly released with the FBI, declining to release any further files on Epstein and confirming his death by suicide, "speaks for itself". Bondi told Fox News in February that a list of Epstein clients was on her desk for review, before her spokesman said last week she had actually been referring to overall files in the case. The government's findings were made, according to the memo, after reviewing more than 300 gigabytes of data. On Tuesday, House Democratic lawmakers tried unsuccessfully to force a vote on releasing Epstein files. Republicans pointed out the administration of President Joe Biden, a Democrat, also had access to the files, but did not release them.

Southern Water issues hosepipe ban for 1m people

21 minutes ago Share Save Katie Waple BBC News Share Save

Getty Images The ban will come into force for residents across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight from Monday

Southern Water is the latest company to announce a hosepipe ban - affecting almost one million customers - due to prolonged dry weather. The move will come into force for residents across much of Hampshire and all of the Isle of Wight from 09:00 BST on Monday. It will ban the use of a hosepipe for activities such as watering the garden, washing the car or filling a paddling pool. Managing director Tim McMahon apologised to customers and said: "Only by working together can we make sure there's enough water to go around for customers and the environment."

Getty Images The River Itchen has been affected by the dry spells, Southern Water said

Announcing the temporary water restrictions, it called on customers to act immediately and avoid a "spike" in demand that could make the situation worse. The restrictions will apply to 791,000 customers in 336,000 properties in Hampshire as well as 144,000 customers in 75,000 properties on the Isle of Wight. The River Test and Itchen chalk streams supply most of the water in the area but are at "critically low levels" - down 24% on normal flows for this time of year, the company said. The Environment Agency also declared the Solent and South Downs were experiencing "prolonged dry weather". The water company was fined £90m in 2021 after raw sewage was discharged across Hampshire, West Sussex and Kent. Gary Carter, of the GMB trade union, said: "Southern Water loses more than 100 million litres of water through leaks every single day. "GMB members at Southern work their socks off but they're hamstrung by crumbling infrastructure and non-existent investment. "For Southern to now impose a hosepipe, while bills rocket, is shameless." Southern Water's figure for daily leakage is slightly lower, at 91 million litres. It said it fixed record numbers last year but would have to almost double its rate to hit a target set by Ofwat for 2030.

Several other water companies have already introduced hosepipe bans, including Thames Water, Yorkshire Water and South East Water. People found to be using a hosepipe during a ban can be fined up to £1,000. Mr McMahon said: "We have to respond to the widespread and prolonged dry weather affecting our region. "In our case, this means a hosepipe ban for our customers in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, to protect the health of our amazing chalk streams, which as one of the rarest habitats on earth has been compared to the Amazon Rainforest. "We must act now to support the wildlife that live there, including Atlantic salmon and southern damselfly."

He continued: "Our teams are working 24/7 to find and fix leaks faster than ever, using a wide range of innovative solutions like drones, sensors and even sniffer dogs, and are ensuring that our pipes, reservoirs and water supply works are working as efficiently as possible – but sadly this is not enough." Water Minister Emma Hardy said: "We face a growing water shortage in the next decade which is why we are pushing ahead with urgent water reforms. "Our Plan for Change includes £104 billion of private investment to build nine reservoirs and new pipes to cut leaks."

The Environment Agency declared drought in the West and East Midlands on Tuesday.

Yorkshire and north-west England are already in drought. Hosepipe bans are in force for customers of Yorkshire, South East Water and Thames Water with other companies warning of similar action if nothing significant changes to water supplies.

While rainfall could fall into the normal range for some over the next month, eastern and southern areas are more likely to stay drier than average.

In the UK during hotter, dry spells we often start to make comparisons to the historic drought of the summer of 1976, but it is not always that straightforward.

Teacher and parent held for breaking into school to steal exam papers

4 hours ago Share Save Kelly Ng BBC News Reporting from Singapore Share Save

Getty Images South Korea is notorious for its hyper-competitive education system

South Korea has arrested a high school teacher and a student's father who allegedly broke into a school late at night to steal exam papers. Their attempt took place at 01:20 local time on 4 July (18:20 GMT) at a school in Andong, a city southeast of Seoul, but was foiled when the school's security alarm went off. The teacher is facing charges for accepting bribes and trespassing, while the father has been accused of trespassing. A facilities manager at the school, who allegedly conspired with the duo, has also been arrested for allowing theft and unlawful entry into the school.