Ghana demands compensation for slavery in landmark UN vote

Universal Images Group via Getty Images A black and white sketch of three slaves being restrained Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Around 12-15 million Africans were captured during the slave trade

Slavery was the "most horrendous crime that took place in the history of mankind", Ghana's foreign minister has told the BBC ahead of a landmark vote at the UN General Assembly.

Member states are set to vote on a resolution - led by Ghana - to recognise the transatlantic slave trade as "the gravest crime against humanity".

The proposal urges UN member states to consider apologising for the slave trade and

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'Fearless' Mel Schilling remembered by Married at First Sight co-star

Getty Images Mel Schilling Getty Images
Mel Schilling was diagnosed with cancer in late 2023

Mel Schilling's Married At First Sight UK co-star Paul C Brunson has shared an emotional tribute to his "fearless", "tough" and "deeply loved" late friend and colleague.

Schilling, who starred on the reality TV show in her home country Australia and the UK, , two years after being diagnosed with cancer.

E4 also read out a statement before the Australian edition of the show was broadcast in the UK on

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Marcos promises 'flow of oil' as Philippines declares energy emergency

Suranjana Tewari , Asia business correspondent, Manila ,

Joel Guinto and

Jessica Rawnsley

Watch: An energy emergency has been declared in the Philippines - how are people reacting?

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos says he is working to secure new sources of oil after he placed the country under a state of national energy emergency in response to the war in Iran.

Marcos told Filipinos in a televised address that the government would procure one million barrels of oil to add to the current stock, which is good for 45 days.

"We will

Getty Images A man fills up a motorbike engine with fuel as vehicles wait in queue at a petrol station

Shock as dozens of bodies, mostly infants, discovered in Kenya mass grave

Basillioh Rukanga Nairobi

AFP via Getty Images Shovels are on the ground at the mass-grave site in Shakahola, outside the coastal town of Malindi, on April 25, 2023 AFP via Getty Images
Some of the bodies appear to have come from nearby hospitals and mortuaries (file photo)

About 32 bodies, mostly children, have been dug up from a mass grave in the western Kenyan town of Kericho as investigations continue into the shocking discovery.

The exhumation was done after the police obtained a court order to retrieve 14 bodies that were initially believed to have been buried at the site.

Government pathologist Richard Njoroge told journalists on Tuesday evening that what they found

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Graffiti conviction for Australian woman who stuck googly eyes on sculpture

Facebook/Amelia Vanderhorst Large blue animal sculpture with a long nose and two googly eyes Facebook/Amelia Vanderhorst
Amelia Vanderhorst stuck googly eyes on the sculpture after consuming MDMA and vodka last September

A 20-year-old woman has been convicted on a graffiti charge for sticking googly eyes on a famous sculpture in South Australia.

Amelia Vanderhorst pleaded guilty to the charge at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court on Tuesday. She was ordered to pay A$2,000 ($1,394; £1,040) as compensation and complete 60 hours of

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In pictures: Playful lynx snatches top prize in photo competition

Maddie Molloy BBC Climate & Science reporter

Josef Stefan / Wildlife Photographer of the Year A lynx stands upright on its hind legs on a dirt path, one paw raised as it bats a small rodent into the air. The background is softly blurred, focusing attention on the mid-action moment. Josef Stefan / Wildlife Photographer of the Year
The image Flying Rodent from Josef Stefan, Austria, won the public's hearts and snatched the top prize

A young Iberian lynx caught mid play has won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year People's Choice Award 2026.

The striking image, titled Flying Rodent, was taken by Austrian photographer Josef Stefan during a two-week stay in Torre de Juan Abad, in Spain's Ciudad Real province.

He had spent several

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Has banning phones improved performance at Dutch schools?

BBC A brunette woman with a bob smiles at the camera in front of a classroom of teenagers. She is smiling and wearing a grey jumper. There are about a dozen children in the class BBC
Teacher Ida Peters says there has been a tangible difference in her students' behaviour since phones were banned

Two years ago, Dutch schools banned smartphones to reduce distractions, enhance student concentration, and encourage better academic performance. Since then, mobile phones, smartwatches and tablets have been exiled from classrooms, corridors and canteens in schools across the Netherlands.

Now the Dutch government wants to go further, pushing to restrict social media for under‑16s and calling for an EU‑wide 15+ age limit for apps

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'He liked the fear in our eyes', Epstein survivors tell BBC

From left to right: Jena-Lisa Jones, Wendy Pesante, Victoria Derbyshire, Joanna Harrison, Chauntae Davies and Lisa Phillips

Warning: This story contains graphic sexual descriptions

Joanna Harrison never wanted to speak about the abuse she faced at the hands of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Like many survivors, she says Epstein's assault filled her with shame and embarrassment. But after her name was unintentionally made public in the release of millions of files by the US government, she told BBC Newsnight's Victoria Derbyshire she felt

Chauntae Davies A woman, Ghislane Maxwell, with a short haircut smiles and stands behind a white podium to her left a man, Kevin Spacey, has a cell phone on his right ear. He is wearing a navy shirt and blue jeans.
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'Major player' in alleged mistaken identity kidnap of Sydney grandfather charged

NSW Police An elderly man with grey hair and wearing a dark blue jumper smiles at the camera NSW Police
Police say Chris Baghsarian, 85, was kidnapped by mistake

A "major player" in the alleged kidnap and murder of an 85-year-old grandfather in Sydney last month has been arrested and charged with murder, police have said.

Widower Chris Baghsarian, 85, was taken from his home in North Ryde on 13 February, in what police say was a case of mistaken identity. His body was found almost two weeks later near a golf course.

Two men


OpenAI ends Disney partnership as it closes Sora video-making app

Osmond Chia Business reporter

OpenAI Two woolly mammoths walking towards the camera in a snow-covered landscape OpenAI
AI-generated mammoths rendered by OpenAI's Sora, which launched in 2024

OpenAI has shut down its artificial intelligence (AI) video-generation app Sora less than two years after its launch made headlines for creating realistic clips based on simple prompts.

OpenAI told the BBC on Wednesday that it has discontinued Sora so that it can focus on other developments, such as robotics "that will help people solve real-world, physical tasks."

A spokesperson for The Walt Disney Company