BBC News

Flu season has hit the UK a month earlier than normal this year, with experts warning there appears to be a more severe strain of the virus - mutated H3N2 - circulating.

Over two days, the BBC was given access to a hospital to witness first-hand how it is coping with an early surge of winter bug cases.

Staff at Leicester Royal Infirmary say increasing numbers of people coming to hospital with the flu and other winter bugs - together with existing pressures - are hitting the hospital hard.

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A BBC investigation has found that endangered species are being openly sold on Facebook.

Among the listings were a live tiger in a cage, bred for its body parts, hundreds of dried shark fins, and live pangolins.

Meta says it does not allow the sale of endangered species, and removes this content when it becomes aware of it.

We speak to our investigations correspondent, Angus Crawford.

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In Marseille, locals talk of a state of panic and terror gripping the city.

Rival drug gangs are now using automatic weapons in their turf wars - and using teenagers too. The number of children involved has risen sixfold in recent years.

Many are forced into debt, beaten and threatened. The city’s prosecutor called it a kind of slavery.

Among the latest gang-related deaths, a fifteen year old boy was shot in the head and set on fire.

French police are carrying out what they call “bombardments” of certain areas, trying to drive the dealers out.

But the trade is being amplified on social media – where drugs and gang jobs are routinely advertised.

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Endangered species, including tiger body parts, shark fins and pangolin scales, are being offered for sale on Facebook, BBC News has found.

One user posted videos of a tiger in a cage that was for sale as well as pictures of tiger bones and teeth, while another included two live tiger cubs in a box.

Meta, which owns Facebook, says it does not allow the sale of endangered species and removes such content.

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Have you had the flu or are you concerned around the latest surge in cases?

Flu cases have jumped sharply in England as the NHS faces its "worst-case scenario".

We're answering your questions live.

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Australia's social media ban on U16s, the first of its kind in the world, has come into effect.

We're answering the questions you've got about the ban.

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Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who has been in hiding for months, has told the BBC that she knows "exactly the risks" she's taking by travelling to Norway to collect her Nobel Peace Prize.

Machado appeared in Oslo in the middle of the night - the first time she has been seen in public since January.

She was barred from running in last year's presidential elections, in which President Nicolás Maduro won a third six-year term in office. The vote was widely dismissed on the international stage as neither free nor fair, and many nations view his rule as illegitimate.

In an exclusive interview with the BBC's Lucy Hockings, she said: "Of course I'm going back [to Venezuela]. I know exactly the risks I'm taking."

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In 2023, Giulia Tramontano was murdered by her partner in Milan, Italy. She was seven months pregnant at the time of her death.

137 women and girls around the world are killed by an intimate partner or family member every day. That’s according to the most recent data from the United Nations.

In an effort to curb violence against women, Italy has now become the latest country to adopt a specific law around the murder of a woman – on account of her gender.

Last month, the Italian parliament voted unanimously to introduce this term “femicide” into the country’s legal code.

Now, there’s ample debate about whether this new law will actually change the reality for women – or whether it’s purely symbolic.

Giulia's sister, Chiara Tramontano, speaks to Asma Khalid from the Global Story Podcast.

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Chapters:

00:00 What is 'femicide'?

02:07 Who was Giulia Tremontado

03:17 Who was Giulia's partner?

05:30 Giulia's goes missing

08:00 Giulia's body is found

10:10 The trial

13:00 The femicide law

14:00 The need for education

16:15 A message to my niece

18:50 A turning point for women

An average of 2,660 patients per day were in hospital with flu in England last week – the highest ever for this time of year.

"This unprecedented wave of super flu is leaving the NHS facing a worse-case scenario for this time of year," NHS national medical director Professor Meghana Pandit said.

NHS England said there are now enough flu patients to fill more than three whole hospital trusts.

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Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who has been in hiding for months, has told the BBC that she knows "exactly the risks" she's taking by travelling to Norway to collect her Nobel Peace Prize.

Machado appeared in Oslo in the middle of the night, waving from the balcony of a hotel.

It was the first time she has been seen in public since January.

She made the covert journey despite a travel ban and a threat from the Venezuelan government that she would be labelled as a fugitive.

In an emotional moment, Machado waved to cheering supporters who had gathered outside the Norwegian capital's Grand Hotel, blowing them kisses and singing with them.

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