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BBC News
16-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Southwold divided over calls for beach ban for dogs to be eased
The debate over when dogs are allowed on Suffolk's beaches has been long 2017, dogs have been banned from certain beaches between May and October every in Southwold, dogs are banned from the main stretches of beach for an extra month - starting on 1 has prompted a petition by Southwold resident Jenny Cook, who wants the town's restrictions to be the same length as the Suffolk Council bosses are expected to debate the issue later, but what do beachgoers and dogwalkers in Southwold feel about this? 'The rules should be the same' Deborah Carrington is a dog owner and would like to see the rules relaxed."In fairness to Southwold I think there is a decent amount of beach available to dogs, but if they could extend the season that would be great."And the 68-year-old does understand it can be difficult for people with children."I understand if you are a family with young children then loads of dogs on the beaches is not always for the best," she said."But dog owners are usually quite responsible. It makes sense to me to follow the same rules as the rest of East Suffolk." Nessa and Martin Howen, 56 and 58 respectively, are on holiday in the area and said they understood why the ban was in place but would like to see it Howen said: "I do understand, not everyone is a responsible dog owner and they don't always pick up after themselves, which is why there is only certain beaches dogs can use."Mr Howen added: "It would be nice if the dogs were allowed on the beaches all year round because you get to a point where everyone is on the designated beaches and then the other beaches are empty."So the extra month would do us really." 'Some children are frightened of dogs' Julie Lucas, 57, meanwhile, said: "If I had young children and they were playing on the beach, I wouldn't want dogs on that beach. "There's a lot of dogs that are very friendly but there's also other dogs that aren't, and there's kids that love dogs and there's kids that are really frightened of them."I think Southwold has a really good status quo." Steven Janes, 63, is a dog owner himself but does not believe the ban should be shortened."Some people are not very responsible with what their dogs do on the beach and that spoils it for everybody," he told the BBC."My dog is very well behaved but I wouldn't completely trust him if people came too close."So, it's only fair that people can have their beach to themselves and we can go up the other end if we need to." 'It's a fair compromise' Councillor Sally Noble, portfolio holder for environment at East Suffolk Council, said the current ban was first discussed in 2017, and a number of residents actually wanted "an outright ban on dogs all year round"."So this was a compromise really, to have the ban from 1 April, because the beach is very well used at Easter," she added."Unfortunately there are a lot of dog owners who are not responsible and while you can pick up dog mess off the beach it's very hard to stop them from urinating on it."We know some people are frustrated by this and we are listening, but we have no intention of a complete ban." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Time of India
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Trump says he is 'disappointed but not done' with Putin, BBC reports
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel U.S. President Donald Trump said he was disappointed but not done with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a BBC interview published on Tuesday, hours after Trump announced new weapons for Ukraine and threatened Russia with sanctions."I'm disappointed in him (Putin), but I'm not done with him. But I'm disappointed in him," Trump told BBC."We'll have a great conversation. I'll say: 'That's good, I'll think we're close to getting it done,' and then he'll knock down a building in Kyiv," the president announced new weapons for Ukraine on Monday, and threatened sanctions on buyers of Russian exports unless Russia agrees a peace deal, a major policy shift brought on by frustration with Moscow's ongoing attacks on its White House did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment.
NDTV
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- NDTV
Akon's $6 Billion 'Wakanda' City Dream In Senegal Collapses. Here's What Went Wrong
Singer Akon's ambitious plan to build a $6 billion futuristic city in Senegal, known as Akon City, has reportedly been abandoned in favour of a more practical development, according to BBC. Announced in 2018 as a tech-driven, eco-friendly utopia for the global Black community with its own cryptocurrency, Akoin, the city featured Wakanda-like skyscrapers and bold promises. Despite land being purchased and funding claimed in 2020, progress stalled, and focus has now shifted to a more achievable alternative. According to BBC, initial designs for Akon City, with its boldly curvaceous skyscrapers, were compared by commentators to the awe-inspiring fictional city of Wakanda in Marvel's Black Panther films and comic books. But after five years of setbacks, the 800-hectare site in Mbodiene - about 100km (60 miles) south of the capital, Dakar - remains mostly empty. The only structure is an incomplete reception building. There are no roads, no housing, no power grid. "We were promised jobs and development," one local resident told the BBC."Instead, nothing has changed." Meanwhile the star's Akoin cryptocurrency has struggled to repay its investors over the years, with Akon himself conceding: "It wasn't being managed properly - I take full responsibility for that." The city is surrounded by barren land with no roads, housing or a power grid. Plans for phase one - that were due to be completed by the end of 2023 - included a hospital, shopping mall, school, police station, a waste centre and a solar plant. Sitting on Senegal's Atlantic Coast, Akon's high-tech, eco-friendly city was supposed to run entirely on renewable energy. But despite Akon's insistence in a 2022 BBC interview that the project was "100,000% moving", no significant construction followed the initial launch ceremony.
Saudi Gazette
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
Left-wing Democrat stuns former governor in NY mayor primary
NEW YORK CITY — Andrew Cuomo has conceded in the New York City mayoral Democratic primary to state assemblyman Zohran Mamdani in a stunning political upset. Cuomo, the state's former governor, was attempting to pull off a political comeback after resigning from office in 2021 amid a sexual harassment scandal. In a speech to supporters, Cuomo said Mamdani - a 33-year-old democratic socialist - had "won" the primary race and that "we are going to take a look and make some decisions". "Tonight is his night," Cuomo, 67, said. If elected, Mamdani would be the first Muslim and Indian American to lead the nation's largest city. The primary in staunchly liberal New York is likely to determine who becomes mayor in November's election. The contest was being watched as a litmus test for the Democratic Party as it seeks to hone its messaging after election losses last November that saw President Donald Trump's Republicans win the White House and both chambers in on Tuesday night showed Mamdani with a commanding lead, but falling short of the 50% threshold needed to win concession was unexpected because counting looks likely to continue next week under the ranked choice system, which allowed New Yorkers to pick up to five candidates in order of former governor's loss marks the "biggest upset in modern NYC history," Trip Yang, a political strategist, told the BBC."A massive win for Zohran Mamdani that shows that when Donald Trump is President, New York Democrats want to see their leaders fight with enthusiasm and courage, and that's what Zohran showed voters."In an interview with the New York Times, Cuomo said he was still examining whether he would run in the general election in November on the independent line."I said he won the primary election," Cuomo told the outlet. "I said I wanted to look at the numbers and the ranked-choice voting to decide about what to do in the future, because I'm also on an independent line."Cuomo was seen as a moderate and the establishment favourite, known across the country after his governorship during the Covid is a millennial outsider who was fairly unknown until in Uganda, his family moved to New York City when he was seven. He has posted one campaign video entirely in Urdu and mixed in Bollywood film clips. In another, he speaks strong support of Palestinians and criticism of Israel put him at odds with most of the Democratic went viral during his campaign for videos where he questioned NYC voters who swung for Trump in the November asked what issues led them to cast their ballots for the Republican president and what it would take for them to swing platform includes free public buses, universal childcare, freezing rent in subsidised units, and city-run grocery stores - all paid for by new taxes on the rich."This is a city where one in four of its people are living in poverty, a city where 500,000 kids go to sleep hungry every night," he told the BBC at a recent event."And ultimately, it's a city that is in danger of losing that which it makes it so special."Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders, also democratic socialists, endorsed Mamdani during his campaign. — BBC
BBC News
17-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Britons stranded in Israel as Iranian strikes continue
Thousands of Britons are stranded in Israel and unable to leave, as Iran and Israel continue to attack each other in an intensifying conflict that has been ongoing for Israeli airspace is closed until further notice and all flights have been grounded, with no sign of an imminent pause in has launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel over the past few days in retaliation for Israeli strikes on its military infrastructure on to the BBC, British nationals spoke of sleepless nights punctuated by the wail of sirens, constant trips back and forth to bomb shelters and the uncertainty of not knowing when they will be able to get home. Many of those stranded are pressing for the UK government to do more to help them, but the BBC understands that, at this stage, there are no plans for an UK government has advised against all travel to Israel and told British citizens in the country to follow local Claydon, 41, a teacher from Hertfordshire, flew to Israel last Wednesday for what was supposed to be a three-day trip to attend her cousin's now finds herself trapped in Herzliya on Israel's central coast with her 81-year-old mother, as missiles fly hours after they returned from the wedding last Thursday evening, "we heard sirens and had to go to the bomb shelter," she told the BBC."It was a trip of two halves: from elation to fear."Every night since, Ms Claydon says she has been woken multiple times by alarms warning of incoming missiles and a count-down to get to a shelter. They are lucky, she says, as their hotel has a well-equipped shelter but "it's scary and a lot of people are panicky"."I'm staying positive because my mum's here with me," the mother-of-three says. "But it's horrible. I don't want to be here anymore. I don't want to be woken up three times a night thinking I might be hit by a missile. I want to get home to my job and my kids." At least 24 people have been killed in Israel since Friday, according to the Israeli prime minister's office. Iran's health ministry said that as of Sunday, Israeli strikes had killed more than 200 people across the hostilities entered the fifth day on Tuesday, both countries vowed further Aviv's main international airport was shuttered on Friday and will not open until further notice, authorities have said. All flights to and from Israel have been suspended and thousands 40,000 tourists are stuck in the country, Israel's Ministry of Tourism has said. Among them are those who travelled to Tel Aviv for its annual Pride parade, which had been due to take place on Friday but was cancelled after hostilities broke people are considering leaving Israel via land crossings to neighbouring Jordan or Egypt and getting flights from Tuesday, Ms Claydon, along with a group of tourists from other countries, began a long journey by car to the border with Egypt where she plans to travel to Sharm El-Sheik and fly said it is "too risky" to bring her mother, who will stay with her brother in a neighbouring to the BBC ahead of the journey, Ms Claydon said she was "terrified". "It's a very unstable, uncertain situation, not knowing am I safer to go or am I safer to stay? Neither is safe. You don't know when the airport's going to open. Could be days, could be weeks." For some Britons, travelling by land is an Lyons-Singer, 43, arrived in Jaffa last Tuesday to care for her father, after he was hospitalised while on holiday in Israel with her mother. A few hours after he was discharged following a heart procedure, "war broke out," she mother-of-three, from London, said the situation was a strain on her elderly parents, particularly when her father, who is in his eighties, should be recuperating."We hear the explosions outside," she told the BBC. "Some of them sound really close. There's been direct hits within a couple of kilometres of us both over the past two nights." She added that it is "stifling hot" in the Lyons-Singer is desperate to get home to her children and her father requires further treatment in the UK, but making the hours-long journey to the border isn't feasible in his current has called on the UK Government to better support British citizens to return home. "There's no guidance other than a warning not to travel to Israel," she says."They could be offering secure travel to Egypt or reassuring us that once the airspace opens, they will provide evacuation routes, but they haven't offered us any help at all."My fear is that even once the airspace opens, commercial flights may not immediately start again." Follow live updates on this storyWhat are Trump's options as tensions escalate?'Don't let beautiful Tehran become Gaza': Iranians tell of shock and confusionLyse Doucet: Where is Israel's operation heading? Howard Youngerwood, 79, from London, travelled to Israel earlier this month for his granddaughter's Bar Mitzvah. The Jewish coming-of-age ceremony was cut short when hostilities erupted and they were ordered to evacuate the kibbutz near Jerusalem."We are exhausted," he said. "We spend a lot of time - hobbling in my case - getting to the shelters. It is taking a toll, especially when you hear of the casualties."The retired judge, who has several ailments, including mobility issues, is unable to attempt a land crossing and doesn't consider it a safe option. Angus Edy, 52, who is stuck in Tel Aviv with his 22-year-old son, Samuel, said the situation was "horrendous" and the "lack of care" shown by the UK government towards stranded Brits "shocking".Since their flight was cancelled on Friday, they have been in and out of shelters. On Monday, after they felt the reverberation of a massive explosion from their shelter at the Gymnasia Isrotel, opposite the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, the hotel announced that it was closing and said they should seek a shelter further underground."It seems like the situation is getting more and more and more difficult," he said. Mr Edy added that they had been phoning the British Consulate every day who had advised them to register for email alerts. "We even went to the Embassy in person [on Monday] and they wouldn't even speak to us. It's just shocking the lack of care." The Foreign Office (FCDO) has advised against all travel to Israel due to a "fast-moving situation that poses significant risks" which has "the potential to deteriorate further, quickly and without warning". Official advice also advises against all travel to Iran. Tourists from other nations are also stranded. The BBC spoke to the Joyner family, from the US, on Sunday, who were among those wrangling with when and how to attempt to has said it will begin evacuating around 200 of its citizens in the coming Monday, deputy foreign minister Henryka Moscicka-Dendys said those "stuck as tourists" would leave via Jordan's capital Amman and then fly to the German foreign ministry has called on nationals in both Iran and Israel to enter their contact details in an online emergency system. About 4,000 have done so in Israel and about 1,000 in Iran. A spokesperson said there were no current evacuation plans from either other nations have evacuated its citizens - on Tuesday morning, a Czech government plane landed in Prague carrying 66 people from Israel, the defence minister 100,000 Israelis are estimated to be abroad and unable to return to Israel. Authorities have advised Israelis not to attempt land crossings due to security risks and await safer travel options.
