BBC News

The US Department of Health and Human Services plans to cancel $500m (£376m) in funding for mRNA vaccines being developed to counter viruses that cause diseases such as the flu and Covid-19.

That will impact 22 projects being led by major pharmaceutical companies.

Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, a vaccine sceptic, announced he was pulling the funding over claims that "mRNA technology poses more risks than benefits for these respiratory viruses".

Doctors and health experts have criticised Kennedy's longstanding questioning of the safety and efficacy of vaccines and his views on health policies.

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Twenty people have been killed and more than 30 injured in central Gaza after four trucks overturned on a crowd, the Hamas-run civil defence agency says.

Crowds rushed to the vehicles on a road south east of Deir al-Balah on Tuesday evening. They climbed on top of the trucks, causing the drivers to lose control, local journalists told the BBC.

The area was under Israeli military control and the roads were rugged and dangerous, civil defence agency spokesman Mahmoud Basal said.

The private transport association now operating in Gaza said that 26 commercial trucks entered the territory on Tuesday.

Israel announced that is would start to allow the gradual entry of goods into Gaza via the private sector to "increase the volume of aid" entering the enclave while reducing reliance on the UN.

The BBC has contacted the Israeli ministry of defence for comment.

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The Kremlin has issued a vague statement after talks between US envoy Steve Witkoff and Russia's Vladimir Putin, saying that the two sides had exchanged "signals" as part of "constructive" talks.

The talks in Moscow comes days before Donald Trump's deadline to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine.

Foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said Russia and the US had discussed the possibility of strategic cooperation - but refused to share more until Witkoff had briefed the US president.

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A meeting between US envoy Steve Witkoff and Russia's Vladimir Putin is under way at the Kremlin, Russian media has said.

Witkoff arrived in Moscow on Wednesday as President Donald Trump's deadline for Russia to agree a ceasefire in Ukraine looms.

The US president has said Russia could face hefty sanctions or see secondary sanctions imposed against all those who trade with it if it doesn't take steps to end the "horrible war" with Ukraine.

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A silent prayer was held in Japan on Wednesday morning as it marked 80 years since the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima.

Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba attended the ceremony on Wednesday, along with officials from around the world and the city's mayor Kazumi Matsui.

World War Two ended with Japan's surrender after the dropping of the bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The bombs killed more than 200,000 people - some from the immediate blast and others from radiation sickness and burns.

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Today, Newscast was recorded at the Edinburgh Fringe in front of a live audience.

Adam was joined by Americast’s Sarah Smith and friend of the podcast James Cook to discuss all things Trump. They chat about what it’s like being part of the President’s press pack, why Sydney Sweeney’s jeans are so controversial, plus what last week’s Truth Social posts about nuclear submarines were all about.

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A top UN official has warned there would be "catastrophic consequences" if Israel expands its military operations in Gaza, after reports Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing for total reoccupation.

Assistant Secretary General Miroslav Jenča told the UN Security Council such a move would be "deeply alarming", and could endanger the lives of more Palestinians, as well as Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

It has been suggested that the plan could be a negotiating tactic to pressure Hamas after a recent breakdown of ceasefire talks or an attempt to shore up support from Netanyahu's far-right coalition partners.

Israel has been facing mounting international pressure over the war in Gaza, where experts say that famine is unfolding.

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A BBC investigation has exposed the French and UK operations of a powerful and violent smuggling gang taking people across the English Channel in small boats.

A reporter, posing as a migrant wanting to cross, helped us gain unprecedented access to the smugglers' notorious forest hideout in northern France - an area plagued by armed battles between rival gangs.

Multiple sources have described how gang leaders, who keep one step ahead of the authorities by changing mobile phone numbers and the gang's name, subjected their henchmen and migrants to violent beatings.

As of 30 July, more than 25,000 people had crossed the Channel in small boats in 2025 - about 49% higher than at the same point in 2024.

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Rescuers are looking for dozens of people who are feared to be trapped after a massive cloudburst triggered heavy rains and flash floods in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand.

A cloudburst is an extreme, sudden downpour of rain over a small area in a short period of time, often leading to flash floods.

It took place at around 13:30 local time when a large amount of water came down, swelling the Kheerganga river and sending tonnes of muddy waters gushing downwards on the hilly terrain, covering roads, buildings and shops in Dharali.

Teams, including army and paramilitaries, have reached Dharali village in Uttarkashi district, which is believed to have borne the brunt of the floods.

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OceanGate had "critically flawed" safety practices and a toxic workplace culture, a damning report into the fatal Titan sub disaster has found.

OceanGate's submersible experienced a catastrophic failure 90 minutes into a dive to the wreckage of the Titanic in June 2023.

The US Coast Guard said the company "leveraged intimidation tactics... to evade regulatory scrutiny" and "completely" ignored vital inspections.

Chief executive Stockton Rush showed "negligence that contributed to the deaths", the report said, adding he may have been subject to criminal liability had he survived.

All five people on board died instantaneously after being subject to 4,930 pounds per square inch of water pressure, the report says.

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