Vultures are disappearing in Nigeria - but the 'Vulture King' is fighting to reverse the trend

Nigeria has become a major hub for the illegal trade of vultures, conservationists say, partly because of its biodiversity and porous borders.

"We are doing everything possible to make sure that the smuggling of items, including vultures, including donkeys, and other species outside the country is suppressed to the barest minimum," insists Abdullahi Maiwada, a spokesman for the Nigerian Customs Service.

He says customs officials have carried out seizures of protected wildlife and supported prosecutions linked to illegal trafficking.

It is an example of how Nigeria is trying


Travis Kelce shares first details from his wedding to Taylor Swift - 'Best night of my life'

American football player Travis Kelce has reflected on his wedding to Taylor Swift, telling US media that their New York nuptials were "the best night of my life".

Kelce and Swift tied the knot on 3 July at New York's Madison Square Garden in a star-studded event that was largely kept private.

Few details from the ceremony have been shared publicly and Kelce's comments on Wednesday mark the first he's shared since the couple were wed by comedic actor Adam Sandler.

"It was kind of


Why Japanese firms are being so slow to use AI

However, critics argue that at each of these businesses only a tiny proportion of staff are actually using the AI, and that those who do so are only using it to a very limited extent.

Prof Yasushi Ogasawara, an expert on Japan's social system and technology at Meiji University, says there aren't enough tech-savvy people in the workforce.

"Although the Japanese like playing with gadgets such as smartphones, digital literacy is low here," he says.

This is highlighted by one report earlier this


Why are 'human fridges' being sold in Japan?

Japan is facing worsening summer heat. In the past two months more than 53,000 people have been treated for heatstroke, with 79 reported deaths.

Now, the Do Hiemon - which roughly translates to "The Cooling Box" - is being rolled out in public spaces and sold to businesses. A unit costs 1.5m¥ each ($9,407; £6,973). The company's CEO Testsuya Nakayama told the BBC the design was inspired


Three men will be executed on the same day as death penalties rise in US

Anthony Darrell Hines, 66, who has maintained his innocence for four years and is bedridden, is scheduled to be executed in Tennessee on Thursday under the same protocol that failed twelve weeks ago with Carruthers.

In Alabama, Jeremy Williams, convicted for the rape and murder of a 5-year-old girl in 2021, could be the southern state's first execution of 2026. Williams, who has dismissed his attorneys and has volunteered to be put to death, is slated to


Trump says White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt to leave post

Leavitt welcomed her second child, a baby girl, with husband Nicholas Riccio in May. She also has a two-year-old son. She returned to work from maternity leave last month.

She wrote on X following the president's announcement that her job has been "the honor and adventure of a lifetime".

"Being a mother and welcoming a new baby while working in one of the most demanding jobs in the world has been the most rewarding yet challenging season of my life, to say the least


Under strain, Australia's world-leading disability support faces major restructure

When the NDIS started, it was estimated it would cost about $22bn a year, with about 475,000 participants. But this financial year it has ballooned to $54bn and the scheme now supports more than 700,000 people. Those figures are expected to keep growing, which is why the government is proposing a massive reset.

"It has grown too big too fast," says Hannah Orban, Senior Associate at the Grattan Institute and co-


US immigration officers to be equipped with gloves that deliver electric shocks

The GLOVE manual states that the device must come in contact with a subject's skin but will function through thin clothing layers when wet.

It says users should undergo training and be recertified every two years and also asks users to take into consideration their experience and comfort level with the technology, the intended subject's actions and behaviour when interacting with officers, and the risk/benefit associated with "any level of given force".

"It is not intended to compete with or replace any existing tool but to supplement


Major Russian grain export terminals hit in Ukraine Black Sea port attack

A "massive" Ukrainian drone and missile strike on Russia's port of Novorossiysk has damaged two major grain export terminals and hit the last big Russian naval base on the Black Sea, reports say.

Three people, including an eight-year-old child, were killed and another 24 injured in the overnight attack, local officials said.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv had launched rockets, jet and naval drones in a "unique operation" to strike the Russian base, although he did not mention


Thousands of Canadians call for US ambassador's expulsion

More than 60,000 Canadians have signed a petition calling for the US ambassador in Ottawa to be expelled for undermining diplomatic relations between the two neighbours.

The online petition accuses Pete Hoekstra of "making repeated interventions in Canadian political discourse" and of having "normalised the Trump administration's threats to annex Canada as the '51st state'" of the US.

In a statement to the BBC, the US embassy said it was aware of the petition but declined to comment further.

Canada and