Author: BBC

3 hours agoBy Vitaly Shevchenko, BBC Monitoring Russia EditorNATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFPAnna Bazhutova was jailed for five and a half years for spreading “fake information” on the Russian armyDissent is not tolerated in Vladimir Putin’s Russia. For years Kremlin critics have faced a host of laws which could be used against them, and since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine that toolbox of measures has swelled in size.The laws target basic rights such as freedom of speech and freedom of assembly – even though they are enshrined in Russia’s constitution.The repressive nature of the punishments, often disproportionate to the offence, harks back to the methods…

1 hour agoBy Nick Beake, Europe correspondentEPAIf you can elbow your way onto one of Majorca’s sunspots this summer, you will witness two unstoppable forces.The first, as old as time, the tide of the Balearic Sea, methodically erasing the day’s lovingly crafted sandcastles.The second, a more modern phenomenon, the tsunami of tourism threatening to consume all in its path.Every inch of beach is taken. Finding a parking space is like striking gold. If you leave your sunbed for too long, your possessions are unceremoniously turfed to make space for the long queue of would-be usurpers.All these are the signs of a bonanza…

57 minutes agoBy Alan Haslam, @Al_Haslam, Journalist, Longform InvestigationsBBCWill Mellor played a leading role in ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post OfficeThe night before Will Mellor was offered a part in a TV drama about a scandal at the Post Office, he was thinking about giving up acting altogether.He had been a familiar face on British screens for decades, but work had started to dry up.However, the next day his agent called to offer him the role of former sub-postmaster Lee Castleton in ITV’s Mr Bates vs the Post Office.He soon realised it was more important than any part he had played…

58 minutes agoBy Flora Drury, BBC NewsGetty ImagesWhen it comes to planning a holiday, Afghanistan is not at the top of most people’s must-visit lists.Decades of conflict mean that few tourists dared step foot in the Central Asian nation since its heyday as part of the hippie trail in the 1970s. And the future of whatever tourism industry had survived was thrust into further uncertainty by the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.But a quick scroll through social media suggests that not only has tourism survived, it has – in its own, extraordinarily niche way – boomed.“Five reasons why Afghanistan should be…

1 hour agoBy Lucy Clarke-Billings, BBC News BBCFree coffee perks are becoming few and far betweenWe all love a good deal. Especially on our daily coffee which, in some places, is closer to £4 a cup nowadays than £3.High street coffee shops enjoy offering us a deal too – especially if we buy into their loyalty models, which until recently seemed nearly as attractive as a silky smooth latte.And yet almost four years after launching its wildly popular subscription, Pret A Manger has become the latest coffee chain to ditch it in favour of a less generous scheme.Under the current system, subscribers…

France has recalled a line of Olympic-branded water bottles for children, a week before the Games’ opening ceremony in Paris. The reusable bottles contain excessive levels of a chemical, Bisphenol A, says the official consumer recall agency, Rappel Conso. The white flasks stamped with the Olympic rings and the Paris 2024 mascot, or the flame, were issued in August last year and sold until June.The authorities have urged people to return the bottles to the stores they bought them from.Bisphenol A – which has been widely used in making food containers – has been the subject of ongoing assessments about…

Israel has launched air strikes on the Houthi movement in Yemen, a day after a drone launched by the group hit Tel Aviv.Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said his country aimed to send a message to the group.”The fire that is currently burning in Hodeidah, is seen across the Middle East and the significance is clear,” he said.Houthi official Mohammed Abdulsalam reported a “brutal Israel aggression against Yemen”.He said the strikes were aimed at pressuring the Houthis to stop supporting the Palestinians in Gaza, something he said would not happen.It is the first time Israel has responded directly to what it…

Thousands of people have gathered for Donald Trump’s first rally in public since a gunman shot him in the ear last week in an attempted assassination in Pennsylvania.Trump is scheduled to address a crowd in Grand Rapids, Michigan, around 17:00 EST (22:00 BST) on Saturday, but people had already lined up for the rally in the morning hours. A queue stretched for about three miles (4.8km) outside the Van Del Arena after the doors opened around 13:00 EST. A little more than two hours before Trump and his new running mate JD Vance were set to take the stage, the…

Adidas has dropped the supermodel Bella Hadid, who is half Palestinian, from an advertising campaign for retro shoes referencing the 1972 Munich Olympics.Israel had criticised the choice of Ms Hadid. It accused her of hostility to Israel and noted that 11 Israeli athletes had been killed by Palestinian attackers at the Munich Games.Adidas subsequently apologised and said it would “revise” its campaign.Ms Hadid has been a vocal supporter of the Palestinians and earlier this year donated money to support relief efforts for the war in Gaza.BBC News has contacted Hadid’s representatives for comment.The German sportswear company had chosen Hadid to…

Microsoft says it estimates that 8.5m computers around the world were disabled by the global IT outage.It’s the first time that a number has been put on the incident, which is still causing problems around the world.The glitch came from a cyber security company called CrowdStrike which sent out a corrupted software update to its huge number of customers.Microsoft, which is helping customers recover said in a blog post: “we currently estimate that CrowdStrike’s update affected 8.5 million Windows devices.”The post by David Weston, vice-president, enterprise and OS at the firm, says this number is less than 1% of all…