NEWS

Iraq wedding fire: How the blaze unfolded By Ethar Shalaby BBC Arabic Nearly 100 people have been killed and many more injured in a blaze at a wedding celebration in Qaraqosh in northern Iraq. Eyewitnesses have described to the BBC scenes of horror and panic as the fire took hold. Nineteen-year-old Ghaly Nassim was only a few metres away from ...

Zoleka Mandela was interviewed as part of the BBC’s 100 Women series in 2016 By Wycliffe Muia BBC News  Zoleka Mandela, granddaughter of South Africa’s first democratically elected President Nelson Mandela, has died of cancer at the age of 43. She passed away on Monday evening surrounded by friends and family, a spokesperson said. In recent years, Ms Mandela had ...

Watch: Why asteroid Bennu samples are so important… in 83 seconds By Jonathan Amos, science correspondent  in Dugway, Utah Dusty samples from the “most dangerous known rock in the Solar System” have been brought to Earth. The American space agency Nasa landed the materials in a capsule that came down in the West Desert of Utah state. The samples had ...

Image caption, María Blanco Rayo’s daughter was one of the girls affected By Guy Hedgecoe BBC News, Almendralejo A sleepy town in southern Spain is in shock after it emerged that AI-generated naked images of young local girls had been circulating on social media without their knowledge. The pictures were created using photos of the targeted girls fully clothed, many of ...

Image caption, Police say more than 90 children suffered “serious pains” after consuming the muffins By Gabriela Pomeroy & Nomsa Maseko BBC News, London & Johannesburg Two men face multiple charges of attempted murder in South Africa after around 90 children fell ill from eating drug-laced muffins. Officials said the children bought the muffins from a street vendor on their way ...

Image caption, Doctors say Theo, two, has a virus which is attacking his brain By Jordan see Davies & Catriona Aitken BBC News A two-year-old boy who is being treated in hospital in Portugal is unable to return to Wales for medical help. Theo Jones from Maesteg, Bridgend county, has a virus attacking his brain but cannot be flown to hospital ...

By Wedaeli Chibelushi BBC News A student has cycled 4,000km (2,500 miles) across West Africa, enduring arrests and blazing heat, for a spot at his dream university. Mamadou Safayou Barry set off from Guinea for Egypt’s prestigious Al-Azhar in May, hoping he would be accepted. The 25-year-old cycled for four months through countries wracked by Islamist militants and coups. He ...

Image caption, Nicholas Dominici was due to turn two in November By Max Matza BBC News The fentanyl that killed a one-year-old child at a nursery in New York City was hidden in the nap room under a mat as he slept, police say. Nicholas Dominici, who had been at the nursery for just a week, died of a suspected drug ...

By Mariko Oi Major Japanese brands are cutting ties with the country’s biggest talent agency after it was engulfed by a sexual abuse scandal. Firms including Nissan, Asahi and Suntory say they will not renew any contracts with Johnny and Associates. Toyota, which previously had a contract with one of its top stars, told the BBC it had no plans ...

By Ayanda Charlie in Johannesburg & Tamasin Ford in London BBC Africa Eye South African anti-migrant group Operation Dudula has become notorious for raiding businesses belonging to foreign nationals and forcing shops to close. BBC Africa Eye has gained rare access to members of the country’s most-prominent anti-migrant street movement. In a school kitchen in Kwa Thema, a township east ...