The News - Friday, 18 July 2025

BBC News

Obvious Labour leadership wants me out, Diane Abbott tells BBC

MP Diane Abbott has been suspended by the Labour Party pending an investigation.

Chris Mason: Why Labour had little choice but to suspend Abbott again

Labour appearing consistent is core to Abbott's second suspension, writes the BBC's Chris Mason.

Child dies and 21 injured after school coach crash

The coach was bringing pupils back from a school trip when it overturned and slid down a bank.

British spies and SAS named in Afghan data breach

The personal details of spies and soldiers were included in a data leak that also named 19,000 Afghans.

Unique 1.5m year-old ice to be melted to unlock mystery

BBC News went inside -23C freezers to see the ice that could "revolutionise" our knowledge of climate change.

Trump orders officials to 'produce' more Epstein documents after mounting pressure

Trump's supporters and opponents alike have demanded more disclosures related to the disgraced financier.

Germany's Merz tells BBC Europe was free-riding on US

Merz was visiting the UK to boost defence ties with Germany, as part of a historic friendship treaty.

White House says Trump diagnosed with vein condition after questions about bruises

The president's press secretary says bruising on his hands is consistent with damage from frequent handshakes while taking aspirin.

Buy now, pay later checks will block some shoppers

Long-promised regulation of the sector will come into force next July, but lenders will have some flexibility.

Man who jumped from edge of space dies paragliding

The 56-year-old daredevil skydiver and helicopter pilot lost control of his paraglider in Italy.

The Papers: 'Starmer's new generation' and 'Abbott suspended'

Labour's move to lower the voting age in the UK dominates Friday's headlines.

Relentless immigration raids are changing California's way of life

A month since Donald Trump called in the National Guard, raids continue to spark violent protests - and fear.

Weekly quiz: Why is Kew Garden's Palm House closing?

How much attention did you pay to what's being going on in the world over the past seven days?

Watch: Why is Donald Trump asking Coca-Cola to change its recipe?

The US president says it's better to make the fizzy drink with cane sugar, but why might that be?

Which parties could benefit from lower voting age?

Young people are more likely to vote for left-wing parties - but how could this translate to a real election?

Almost 600 killed in south Syria violence, monitoring group says

The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights (SOHR) documented a significant outbreak of brutality in the killings that gripped Suweida province.

Slushies unsafe for children under seven, UK watchdog warns

Children under seven should not have the iced drink over health concerns about a chemical they contain, the FSA says.

Israel says it regrets deadly strike on Catholic Church in Gaza

PM Benjamin Netanyahu says Thursday's strike on the Holy Family Church in Gaza City was a "mistake".

UK's most powerful supercomputer comes online

The Isambard-AI supercomputer is made fully operational as the government unveils fresh AI plans.

Netflix boss says AI effects used in show for first time

Visual effects made using the technology has appeared in a Netflix original show for the first time.

Former HSBC trader has fraud conviction overturned

Mark Johnson, 59, has fought to establish his innocence ever since he was convicted of fraud in 2017.

'I'm 16 and live entirely like it's the 1940s'

Lincoln dresses entirely in clothes from the era and works in a 1940s tea room.

Man accused of airport assault 'didn't know' he hit female PCs

Mohammed Amaaz tells jurors he was acting in self-defence when he struck out at three officers.

Police drop investigation into Kneecap's Glastonbury performance

Police said there was "insufficient evidence" for a "realistic prospect of conviction of any offence".

More than 30 poisoned after suspected fake Botox

Health security body UKSHA urges vigilance after 38 cases of botulism recorded in the east and north-east of England.

Serious pollution incidents by water companies up 60%

Last year saw record levels of pollution incidents in England, such as the release of untreated sewage, the Environment Agency says.

UK's asylum hotel bill down 30%, government says

The Home Office's annual accounts show £2.1bn was spent on hotel accommodation in the year to March 2025.

UN says it has credible reports of summary executions during Syria fighting

The UN human rights chief says those responsible for violations and abuses "must be held to account.

Tribunal hears trans doctor sobbed while reporting nurse

The Sandie Peggie tribunal hears evidence about the day the nurse challenged Dr Beth Upton over use of a female changing room.

Kill Russian soldiers, win points: Is Ukraine's new drone scheme gamifying war?

The scheme allows Ukrainian troops to trade videos of confirmed kills on the battlefield for prizes.

Germany's Merz tells BBC Europe was free-riding on US

Merz was visiting the UK to boost defence ties with Germany, as part of a historic friendship treaty.

'There were bodies everywhere': Druze residents describe 'bloodbath' in Syrian city Suweida

One woman tells the BBC she cowered in her home waiting for gunmen to enter and "decide whether we should live or die".

What is Trump's vein condition and how serious is it?

The US president has been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, according to the White House.

Trusting The Salt Path author was our biggest mistake, family says

A family who claim The Salt Path author stole thousands from their business say trusting her was a big mistake.

Court orders former Brazilian president Bolsonaro to wear ankle tag

A court in Brazil also bars the ex-president from using social media and put him under 24-hour surveillance.

UK sanctions Russian spies for malicious activity

Three Russian intelligence units and 18 officers have been sanctioned, the Foreign Office says.

My focus was on saving lives after Afghan data breach, Shapps says

The former defence secretary says erring on the side of caution was "entirely justified" after the 2022 breach.

Doctor and husband jailed for selling stolen PPE on eBay

Dr Attiya Sheikh and her husband Omer Sheikh made almost £8,000 during the Covid pandemic in 2020.

Officers attacked at asylum seeker hotel protest, say police

The hotel, which is used to house asylum seekers, is damaged and police vehicles are targeted.

Unique 1.5m year-old ice to be melted to unlock mystery

BBC News went inside -23C freezers to see the ice that could "revolutionise" our knowledge of climate change.

Bournemouth Echo

Jet2 axes six planned routes from Bournemouth Airport

Jet2 axes six planned routes from Bournemouth Airport

Teenager celebrates turning 18 by scaling mountain twice in one day

Jamie Haadensen has raised over £1,000 to provide meals for children in Boscombe thanks to his hard work and determination.

'Kneecap should be banned from coming to Bournemouth'

Kneecap should be banned.

12-year-old boy heading to British Transplant Games

A 12-year-old boy from Ferndown is heading British Transplant Games for the third time later this month.

Poole Museum to welcome visitors after £10m investment

Poole Museum is preparing to welcome visitors as part of their phased reopening following a £10m investment.

Christchurch business welcomes new business development managers

The 130-strong firm has welcomed experienced industry professionals Chris Evans and Edith Gil as business development managers under strategic growth plans.

Greener future on way for BCP as it is crowned the UK's first 'nature town'

A greener future is on the way for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole as the area is named the UK’s first official Nature Towns.

'It's a proud moment': BCP firm wins top local award

Whitefox Chartered Surveyors has been awarded Gold in the Independent Business Award category at the BCP Gold Local Business Awards.

Heart club receives hundreds of pounds from donations

Bournemouth Rotary has recently donated hundreds of pounds to Bournemouth Heart Club.

Council receives award praising green spaces in Swanage

Swanage Town Council has been awarded the Green Flag Award, which praises their green spaces.

Poole arts centre announces packed programme of live entertainment

Bonnie Schwarz, a member of rising UK indie-folk band Good Habits, will also perform at the Lighthouse.

Bournemouth Water invests £200m in plastic pollution push

The announcement comes as part of the company’s support for Plastic Free July, a movement aimed at reducing plastic waste.

Bournemouth bus operator shows support for theatre school

Morebus has decided to show their support ahead of Big Little's Broadway Showtunes.

Dorset countryside spot named one of the UK's top picnic locations

The 11th-century fortress, with its picturesque setting amid rolling hills and woodlands, garnered 103,000 hashtags.

Nationwide rescue mission launched to save UK butterfly population

Join Butterfly Conservation’s 2025 Big Butterfly Count from 18 July to help save UK butterflies. Take part, submit sightings, and support vital wildlife conservation.

Church to host event to celebrate completion of three-year garden project

The church is hoping this event is the first of many to be held in the new space.

Heavy rain and thunderstorms expected in Bournemouth

The warning is in place from 9pm on Friday, July 18, until 6pm on Saturday, July 19.

'We feel like we've won the lottery': charity receives £20k funding boost

The #Willdoes charity was awarded £20,000 from the National Lottery Grant which it will use to keep its bus on the road to support the people of Dorset.

Steve Backshall's Deadly Live announces second Bournemouth show

Two action packed Deadly Live! shows hosted by Steve Blackshall are coming to the BIC in October.

Hit West End comedy starring Corrie star to come to Poole

The critically acclaimed West End comedy 'GLORIOUS!' is coming to Poole Lighthouse next year.

HR company celebrates ten years in business

Ringwood-based HR company, View HR, is celebrating ten years in business.

Prolific shoplifter banned from Tesco, Sainsbury's, Co-op, Iceland and more

A prolific shoplifter has been banned from dozens of stores and jailed.

Poundland store in Poole to close next month

Poundland has confirmed the Poole store is one of 25 stores that will close its doors across the country to in August.

Door surround stolen from independent shop in broad daylight

An independent shop was damaged in broad daylight and a door was stolen valued at around £1000.

Former solicitor cleared of raping woman

Former solicitor Christopher Rickard has been cleared of rape charges following a trial

Dorset Police ramp up patrols for summer safety campaign

There will be an increased police presence in busy areas across Dorset over the next two months as part of the Good, Safe Summer campaign.

'Much-loved' country pub set to reopen after 'stunning' refurb

The Willett Arms, a 'much-loved' country pub near Wimborne is set to reopen following a 'substantial refurbishment'.

Motorcyclist taken to hospital with 'serious injuries' after crash

A motorcyclist was taken to hospital with 'serious injuries' after a crash in Bournemouth.

Water safety welcomed by MP and mother after son’s tragic drowning

This announcement comes nearly a month after Darren Paffey led a Backbench Debate in Parliament.

Coroner appeals for next of kin for man found dead at home

The coroner is appealing for the public's help to find the next of kin for a man who died at home.

Call to back Dorset-made products as Lib Dem leader visits Lush factory

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has urged the Government to support a campaign promoting Dorset-made goods during a visit to a cosmetics factory in Poole.

Dorset restaurant named among Britain's best local dining spots

A west Dorset restaurant has once again been named as one of Britain’s best local dining spots

Orangutans enjoy ice lollies in the sun at rescue centre

Adorable pictures of orangutans cooling off with some ice lollies have been released by a rescue centre.

Thunderstorm warning for BCP is lifted by Met Office

A thunderstorm warning issued for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole has been lifted.

Climber rescued from Swanage cliffs

A climber was rescued from cliffs near Anvil Point lighthouse.

Listed fort takes out injunction after 'urban explorers' cause damage

The listed 19-century Spitbank Fort has been placed under legal protection after "repeated trespasses by so-called urban explorers".

'Monorail hope is just pie in the sky'

AH YES - 10mph speed limits, Dutch cycling utopias, pedestrian-only zones and - of course - a monorail to Swanage.

REVIEW: Broadway Showtunes, Bournemouth Pavilion

BIGLITTLE Theatre School describes itself as "a place where young people find their voice".

Coroner seeks assistance after man dies at home

A next of kin appeal has been issued for 78-year-old Terrance Brown.

Man arrested following string of burglaries

A man from Bournemouth has been arrested following a string of burglaries in East Dorset.

31 restaurants and cafes where kids eat free or for £1 in the school holidays

As the summer holidays get more expensive than ever for families, here's 31 venues and deals where kids eat free, or for £1 each

Best supermarket school uniform deals from Aldi, M&S, Morrisons and Tesco

Parents now spend £108.59 on back to school uniform, bags and shoes, per child, per year. Here's how to cut your bills.

How to keep flying ants out of your home this summer

These are three ways you can keep flying ants out of your home this summer.

Parents spending hundreds to keep children occupied for summer holidays

Are we there yet? Parents ‘snap up items to keep children occupied on journeys’ as summer holidays stretch ahead

Formula 1

Ask an F1 driver with Haas racer Esteban Ocon

He’s a race winner, a Haas driver and at 1.88 metres he lays claim to being the tallest person on the F1 grid. Esteban Ocon joins F1 Explains to answer the latest batch of listener questions.

Wolff defends Vasseur after recent scrutiny at Ferrari

Toto Wolff has given his backing to Fred Vasseur following recent scrutiny over the Frenchman’s position at Ferrari, with Wolff stating that the squad “won’t get anybody better” as their team boss.

Cowell on Newey’s Aston Martin impact

Aston Martin Team Principal Andy Cowell discusses Adrian Newey, working with Honda and looking ahead to 2026 with F1 Correspondent Lawrence Barretto.

Windows Central

Is Grounded 2 on Xbox Game Pass? — Here's what we know

Obsidian Entertainment's Grounded 2 — the sequel to its 'Honey, I Shrunk the Kids!' inspired survival game — is almost here. But is it on Xbox Game Pass?

The massive Civilization 6 Platinum bundle is FREE for a limited time — here's how to get it

Civilization 6, two expansions, and six civilization scenario packs are included in this bundle, and you'd normally pay about $80. It's now free on Epic Games for a limited time.

Watch Blizzard's insane China drone show for World of Warcraft's 20thanniversary — Blizzard also announces a crazy, China-exclusive "Raid Rush" server that I wish the rest of the world could play

Social media has spotted footage of China hosting an epic drone show in honor of World of Warcraft's 20th anniversary. Around the same time, NetEase, the main operator for World of Warcraft in China, hosted a livestream showcasing new gameplay info for Chinese players and for the world at large.

Here are 5 good *current* Microsoft products that have become stagnant — or worse — abandoned

Microsoft's product graveyard is calling. Here are 5 products that may not be long for this world, if their lack of updates is any indication.

Minecraft lets you get the Lava Chicken song in-game — but it's absurdly rare

Minecraft adds the Lava Chicken song as a rare music disc drop straight from the movie, but tough to find in Survival.

Oblivion Remastered and Metal Gear Solid Delta co-developer Virtuos faces layoffs — with 270 workers cut

Virtuos, a company that's worked on games like The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered and Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, is hit with layoffs.

Steam takes down tons of porn games, cracks down on "certain kinds of adult-only content" — here's why, and its new policy

Porn games have been on Steam for years now, but many just got taken down from the platform after a recent policy change. Here's Valve's new rule.

AMD's budget Ryzen AI 5 330 processor will introduce a wave of ultra-affordable Copilot+ PCs with its mobile 50 TOPS NPU

AMD's Ryzen AI 5 330 mobile processor could see x86-64 Copilot+ PCs challenging Qualcomm's ultra-affordable ARM64 Snapdragon X equivalents for the budget crown.

Remedy offers update on 'FBC: Firebreak,' details coming improvements — "We’ve seen many players come into the game and leave within the first hour."

Remedy's multiplayer Left 4 Dead-like 'FBC: Firebreak' had tons of promise, but it hasn't blown up quite as the Control and Alan Wake developer might've liked. But that doesn't mean the team is giving up.

Microsoft kills Movies & TV storefront on Windows and Xbox — here's what will happen to your purchased media

After 12 years, Microsoft is shutting down its storefront that let Windows and Xbox users buy or rent Movies & TV shows natively on the platform.

A massive discount turns this vanilla laptop into an affordable AI PC sundae — save $370 on HP’s 2-in-1 Copilot+ PC

HP’s OmniBook X Flip 16 is now just $529.99 — a 16-inch touchscreen AI PC with AMD Ryzen AI and a 2K screen.

Top 6 new features that landed on the Windows 11 Insider Program during the first half of July 2025

Here's a breakdown of Windows 11 builds 27898, 26200.5702, and others with QMR, Adaptive Energy Saver, passkey third-party providers, and other improvements.

Razer has made one of the most insane wireless gaming mice EVER — even if it won't be my next mouse

I've been using the Razer DeathAdder V4 Pro wireless gaming mouse, and it's truly insane across the board. It's a high-performance champion, but not my choice.

4 features on Windows 11 exclusive to Europe that Microsoft should make global

Windows 11 features, such as uninstalling Edge, are currently only available in Europe, but they should be available globally.

Razer Core X V2 vs. Razer Core X V1 — There's only one eGPU you want in 2025

External GPUs are handy when it comes to turning a standard laptop into a gaming monster, and Razer's new Core X V2 succeeds the original Core X and Core X Chroma.

My favorite RTS castle builder from 2002 just got a brilliant remaster — and it's only $16 on PC for a limited time

Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition has only been out for a few days, but I've already logged heavy hours. As far as remakes go, this is one of the best.

Elon Musk teasing a Grok male companion inspired by "50 Shades of Grey" — beating Microsoft's AI CEO at his own game

xAI recently launched Grok 4, and Elon Musk says the tool is getting a new male companion with Twilight and 50 Shades of Grey traits.

Elon Musk says we're in the "intelligence big bang" — after warning that a power crunch could kill the AI revolution this year

Elon Musk recently claimed that we're at the beginning of an immense explosion of intelligence, citing the importance of safe and truth-seeking AI.

OpenAI introduces "ChatGPT agent" as the ultimate jack of all AI trades — with its own computer to check out your to-do list

OpenAI just launched ChatGPT agent to perform a wide range of computer-based tasks for users, including running code and creating slideshows and presentations.

Laffgaff

What outlaw was killed at age 21 by Sheriff Pat Garrett?

Billy the Kid.