Newlywed wife of US soldier freed by ICE after detention at military base

Courtesy of the family of Matthew Blank US Army Staff Sgt Matthew Blank wears his army uniform as he hugs his wife Annie Ramos in her white strapless wedding gown. Courtesy of the family of Matthew Blank
US Army Staff Sgt Matthew Blank with his wife Annie Ramos

A US soldier's wife who was detained by immigration agents at the military base where he is stationed - just days after their wedding - has been released.

Annie Ramos, 22, an undocumented immigrant who came to the US as a toddler, was arrested on 2 April and spent five days at a detention centre alongside hundreds facing deportation under the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

Immigration officials described

Continue reading...

Indian migrant workers hit by cooking gas shortages are leaving cities

Abhishek Dey/BBC Shakuntala Devi (left), wearing a white saree with floral and dotted patterns; Shakiba Bibi (centre), who has draped a black stole around her face and shoulders; and Vibha Yadav (right), wearing a turquoise and green stole over a brown kurta stand next to each other outside their residence at a slum in Delhi's Mayapuri neighbourhood on 2 April 2026. The three of them - all domestic helpers - are neighbours who have been unsuccessfully trying to buy cooking gas cylinders for three weeks. Abhishek Dey/BBC
(From left) Shakuntala Devi, Shakiba Bibi and Vibha Yadav say they have been trying to find gas cylinders for weeks

Every morning, Shakuntala Devi and Shakiba Bibi - neighbours at a slum in India's capital Delhi - leave their homes, walking from one shop to another in search of a cooking gas cylinder.

For three weeks now, they have returned empty handed.

"If it continues like this for a few more days, we will run out of gas in our kitchens

Continue reading...

What the US military could do if Iran fails to meet Trump's ultimatum

Watch: Americans react to Trump's 'a whole civilisation will die tonight' warning

The clock is ticking on President Donald Trump's threat to wipe out much of Iran's civilian infrastructure if the country doesn't strike a deal by Tuesday evening in the US.

But Trump has backed himself into a corner with threats that the US military can't feasibly carry out in one fell swoop, military experts and analysts told the BBC. And they warn that a new round of attacks, no matter how

ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH/EPA/Shutterstock Smoke rises in the mountains in the distance as we look at building tops from far away in Iran as well as a metal tower.

Iranians form human chains at bridges and power plants

Tehran had urged people to gather outside potential US and Israeli targets after Donald Trump threatened to attack civilian infrastructure.

French couple leave Iran after more than three years in jail

Getty Images Pictures of Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris are tied to railings. Getty Images
Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris were detained in May 2022

A French couple who spent more than three years in an Iranian prison on espionage charges are on their way home, French President Emmanuel Macron says.

Cecile Kohler, 41, and Jacques Paris, 72, were arrested during a tourist trip in May 2022 on spying charges that France said were baseless, and held in Tehran's notorious Evin prison.

They were freed in November and had been under house


Wireless Festival cancelled after Kanye West blocked from coming to UK

Reuters Kanye West performs with U2 during a surprise concert in support of World AIDS Day in Times Square in New York Reuters

This summer's Wireless Festival has been cancelled after headliner Kanye West was blocked from coming to the UK.

The government refused permission for West, now known as Ye, to travel to the UK after backlash to his planned set at the London festival this summer.

For the last several years, West has caused outrage for a string of antisemitic, racist and pro-Nazi comments.

In a statement, Wireless Festival said it was cancelled and refunds would be issued to all ticket holders. It added that "multiple

Continue reading...

US journalist Shelly Kittleson to be released after kidnap in Iraq, militia says

Getty Images Shelly Kittleson, who has long dark blonde hair and wears a blue dress with a turquiose cardigan, sits on a plastic chair in the sun in a Baghdad street Getty Images

A US freelance journalist who was kidnapped in the Iraqi capital Baghdad a week ago is to be released, an Iran-backed militia says.

Kataib Hezbollah said on Tuesday it would release Shelly Kittleson, who was taken on 31 March, on the condition that she leave Iraq immediately.

Abu Mujahid al-Assaf, a security official in the group, said in a statement: "In recognition of the national stances of the outgoing prime minister, we have decided to release the American defendant Shelly


Tracking recent US-Israeli strikes on Iranian infrastructure

BBC Smoke rises from a strike on the B1 Bridge in Iran. The photo is imposed over the BBC Verify colours and branding. BBC

President Donald Trump has pledged to target infrastructure across Iran unless the country reaches an "acceptable" deal to end the war with the US and Israel by Tuesday night.

Promising to bomb the country "back to the Stone Ages", Trump said US forces would target bridges and power plants across Iran. He also posted to social media on Tuesday that a "whole civilization will die tonight" if an agreement is not struck.

There has been a spate of attacks on infrastructure critical to ordinary Iranians since the conflict began

Continue reading...

Has Artemis II shown we can land on the Moon again?

NASA The blue Earth rising above the brownish grey surface NASA
Nasa has released stunning images from the mission, including our world setting below the lunar surface

Nasa's Artemis II mission has passed every major test since its launch on 1 April, with its rocket, spacecraft and crew performing better than engineers had dared to hope for.

The mission's first six days have shown that the Orion capsule works as designed with people on board for the first time - something no simulator could prove.

Perhaps its greatest achievement, though, is through the actions of the Artemis crew,

Continue reading...

Bahamas police search for US woman who reportedly fell off boat

Getty Images Color satellite image of the Bahamas in the West Indies. Getty Images
A satellite image of the Bahamas in the West Indies

Police in the Bahamas are searching for an American woman who disappeared after reportedly falling overboard from a small boat while on a holiday with her husband.

Her husband told authorities that she went missing on Saturday at about 19:30 local time (00:30 BST) after falling out of an 8ft (2.4m) hard-bottom dinghy and being swept out to sea by strong currents.

The woman'