BBC News

Governments around the world are wrestling with how to keep young people safe online.

In the UK, an outright ban on social media for under-16s is being considered - similar to the policy introduced in Australia at the beginning of the year.

At 4.30pm on Wednesday 22 April, BBC News is hosting a special live programme with 30 young people, aged between 12 and 18 years old to hear what they think about a possible ban.

The teenagers from Greater Manchester will speak directly about how the proposed ban could impact their lives, education, friendships, and online identity.

Co-hosted by BBC News' Pria Rai, De-Graft Mensah, and Kirsty Grant, everything will be discussed from doom scrolling to disinformation, creativity to community, and they will hear from not only the young people in the room but also those joining the stream.

#SocialMediaBan #UKSchools #BBCNews

Iran has attacked three cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian reports, after US President Donald Trump said he was extending the US-Iran ceasefire.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it has seized two of the three ships, and is escorting them to the Iranian coast.

Trump said last night he was extending the ceasefire, while also maintaining the US blockade of Iranian ports, which is designed to put pressure on Iran before talks with the US in Pakistan.

But the status of those talks is unclear - US Vice-President JD Vance did not depart for Pakistan as expected on Tuesday.

The BBC's chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet is reporting from Tehran on condition that none of her material is used on the BBC's Persian Service. These restrictions apply to all international media organisations operating in Iran.

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In 2024, reports emerged of a highly sophisticated cyber espionage campaign against US telecoms companies, which some analysts believe went all the way up to the Chinese government.

The group behind this campaign would later be codenamed Salt Typhoon, and it is believed to have quietly infiltrated critical US telecoms infrastructure in order to collect private information on influential Americans – including Donald Trump.

In the process, it may have also swept up data from millions of ordinary Americans. The Chinese government has denied responsibility for Salt Typhoon.

We speak to former Deputy National Security Adviser Anne Neuberger, who was working inside the White House for Joe Biden when the attacks were first uncovered.

We also speak to BBC cyber correspondent Joe Tidy about how this hack unfolded – and what it reveals about who may be winning the cyber war.

New episodes of The Global Story are released daily. If you’re in the UK, listen on BBC Sounds. If you live outside the UK, listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

Listen to the podcast here: https://app.magellan.ai/listen_links/the-global-story-ytl

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Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

01:12 When did the cyber attack happen?

03:00 Which companies were targeted?

04:00 The links to the Chinese government

06:12 What did the hackers get?

08:35 What did the President say when he found out?

12:10 What are the consequences of the cyber hack?

14:23 What were the 'Salt Typhoon' attacks?

16:00 How significant was Salt Typhoon?

22:30 Which country has the upper hand in cyber surveillance?

A network of Colombian mercenaries backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) provided critical support to Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) enabling it to capture the western city of el-Fasher last year, a new report said.

The investigation, by security analysis organisation the Conflict Insights Group (CIG), used data obtained from tracking the mobile phones of the Colombian fighters.

The UAE has long denied supporting the RSF, which has been fighting Sudan's regular army for three years.

El-Fasher's fall was one of the most brutal chapters of the conflict, which has led to the world's worst humanitarian crisis with tens of thousands killed and millions forced from their homes.

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US President Donald Trump said he will extend the ceasefire with Iran until talks between the two countries have progressed.

He also said the blockade of Iranian ports will also continue until Tehran presents a "unified proposal”.

The status of the US-Iran talks had been unclear with the current ceasefire previously due to expire this week.

The BBC's chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet is reporting from Tehran on condition that none of her material is used on the BBC's Persian Service. These restrictions apply to all international media organisations operating in Iran.

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Today, Olly Robbins the sacked former Foreign Office chief, says number 10 had a “dismissive” attitude to the vetting of Lord Mandelson.

Robbins told MPs when he took over the role there was "already a very very strong expectation" from No 10 that Mandelson "needed to be in post and in America as quickly as possible". Downing Street has denied showing a "dismissive" approach to the vetting, and says Robbins made an "error of judgement".

So where does this leave the Prime Minister? Adam and Chris discuss.

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00:00 It's Chris's birthday!

01:40 Who is Sir Olly Robbins?

03:36 What did he say today?

09:13 How much pressure was being put on the foreign office?

15:48 What evidence is there?

21:29 The revelation about Matthew Doyle

26:22 What happened at today's debate in parliament?

Donald Trump has said he will extend the ceasefire with Iran, which was due to end shortly, until talks between the two countries have progressed. The US President said the naval blockade of Iran’s ports would continue.

Mr Trump said he was agreeing to the ceasefire extension at the the request of Pakistan, which has been mediating between the US and Iran. He wrote on social media: "Based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so ... we have been asked to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal.".

The ceasefire extension followed suggestions that the US and Iran would resume peace talks in Pakistan shortly. However the status of those talks remains unclear.

Reeta Chakrababarti presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Sarah Smith in Washington and Lyse Doucet in Tehran.

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Iran remains undecided on sending a delegation to travel to Pakistan for a new round of talks with the US, a foreign ministry spokesperson told the BBC.

The country's foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei expressed concern regarding the US's naval blockade of its ports and said the negotiating party had shown a "lack of seriousness, lack of good faith".

The status of the US-Iran talks had been unclear with the current ceasefire previously due to expire this week.

US Vice President JD Vance did not depart for Islamabad as expected on Tuesday, remaining in Washington.

The BBC's chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet is reporting from Tehran on condition that none of her material is used on the BBC's Persian Service. These restrictions apply to all international media organisations operating in Iran.

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The UK prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, is under intense scrutiny over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US, in 2024. Lord Mandelson - a veteran member of the Labour party - was dismissed after less than a year in the job, over his ties to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Lord Mandelson has denied any wrongdoing.

On Monday, Keir Starmer was heckled by members of parliament, as he accused officials in the Foreign Office of deliberately withholding the fact that Lord Mandelson had initially failed his security vetting. On Tuesday, Sir Olly Robbins - who was sacked as the top senior civil servant at the Foreign Office last week - said his department faced "constant pressure" from the prime minister's office, to formally approve Mandelson's appointment.

Opposition figures, including the Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch, have called for Prime Minister Starmer to resign.

The BBC's UK political correspondent Rob Watson tells us that there is a growing consensus in Westminster that Mr Starmer will not lead the Labour party into the next general election.

New episodes of the Global News Podcast are published twice a day. You can listen here: https://link.mgln.ai/GNP-YT

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The ceasefire between the US and Iran is due to end on Wednesday. US media reports that Vice-President JD Vance will travel to Pakistan to hold further peace talks with Iranian officials.

Sources told CNN that a second round of talks between the US and Iranian delegations is currently planned for Wednesday.

However Tehran hasn’t confirmed it will send a delegation for talks in Islamabad.

We speak to the BBC’s Pakistan correspondent, Carrie Davies, to ask how the country became a trusted intermediary between the parties in this conflict, and whether it can use this moment to increase its influence on the world stage.

New episodes of The Global Story are released daily. If you’re in the UK, listen on BBC Sounds. If you live outside the UK, listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

LINK: https://app.magellan.ai/listen_links/the-global-story-ytl

Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews

For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news

#US #Iran #bbcnews

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

02:01 How did Pakistan emerge as the host for peace talks?

05:25 Who does President Trump trust?

08:35 Pakistan takes centre stage in US-Iran peace talks

09:35 The US-Iran ceasefire

16:00 The importance of sectarianism in the US-Iran conflict

19:50 Why does the US trust Pakistan?

22:22 What does Pakistan have to gain from this?