BBC News

In South Korea, Buddhist temples are hosting special dating retreats to boost the nation’s birth rate.

The bi-monthly matchmaking retreats started in 2023, when the country recorded the lowest birthrate in the world.

Today, the country’s births are bouncing back and the interest among young people in dating and marriage is soaring.

BBC Seoul Correspondent Jake Kwon headed into the secluded mountainside temple to meet the singles looking for love.

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00:00 - Introduction

00:40 - About the temple

01:19 - Meeting the participants

01:59 - Talent show

3:55 - Roses are handed out

4:52 - South Korea birth rates

7:17 - Success story

5:45 - Night time

6:36 - Next morning

7:03 - Results

US President Donald Trump has posted on social media that the US has agreed to a request from Tehran to continue talks, but the ceasefire is over.

After 48 hours of hostilities earlier this week, there's been no new strikes as of Friday, but Trump's warning shows the situation remains volatile.

Shipping traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuz has once again slowed to a trickle, and this week's hostilities means that the United Nations has suspended its plan to evacuate trapped vessels in the Strait.

Meanwhile, in Iran six days of public mourning has ended with the burial of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

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A 26-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder following the death of Ann Widdecombe.

Devon and Cornwall Police say a white British male is in custody after the 78-year-old was found at her home on Thursday with serious injuries.

The incident is not being treated as terrorism and police say there is "no information" to suggest it was politically motivated.

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The renewed strikes between the US and Iran this week have put Gulf countries back in the firing line.

The latest escalation was sparked when Iran's Islamic Revoluationary Guard (IRGC) targeted three commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz - including Saudi and Qatar-owned oil and gas tankers.

The US retaliated with dozens of strikes on Iran. Tehran now says it has responded by targeting US-linked sites in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan and Iraq.

So what do the Gulf's leaders make of this escalation? What role was set out for them in the Memorandum of Understanding anounced by President Donald Trump last month? And how could it the continuing uncertainty caused by the US-Israel war with Iran affect regional alliances with Washington?

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The US and Iran have launched new strikes against one another throughout this week.

Meanwhile, the coffin of Ali Khamenei, Iran’s former supreme leader killed by Israel in February, has been on a procession tour this week of holy sites in Iraq and Iran.

Huge crowds gathered wherever it went, the coffin was passed over a sea of hands, and three of Khamenei’s sons wept over the coffin in Tehran.

US President Donald Trump says he’s “number one on the kill list for Iran”.

The peace between the US and Iran is fragile, at best. At worst, it could be over.

We speak to Parham Ghobadi, from the BBC’s Persian Service.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

02:00 Why was there a delay with Ali Khamenei’s funeral?

03:52 Who is actually in charge in Iran?

06:52 How did the funeral procession proceed safely?

08:19 Is there still a ceasefire in place?

10:09 Breaking down the ‘memoradum of understanding’

11:40 What’s happening with the Strait of Hormuz?

13:40 What happens next with negotiations?

14:40 What has President Trump said?

18:00 The Iranian threats to President Trump’s life

20:06 What are the barriers to peace?

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The Bayeux Tapestry has arrived in the UK, for the first time since it is believed to have been created here nearly 1,000 years ago.

At 02:50 BST, chaperoned from a secret location in northern France by a police guard, it was driven into a loading bay at the British Museum, which will put it on display in September.

The 70m-long 11th Century embroidery depicts in 58 scenes events leading up to the Battle of Hastings and Norman Conquest of England in 1066 - the moment that changed the country forever.

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The US and Iran again traded strikes in exchanges that continued into Thursday, as observers reported a "dramatic" drop in the number of ships travelling through the Strait of Hormuz.

The US says it hit 90 military targets, some near the Strait. Iran says 14 people have been killed in the past two days.

State media also reported that targets near the Bushehr nuclear power plant were hit, citing the deputy governor of the province. The US has not commented on the latest strikes.

Iran said it targeted US assets in Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar in response. Later on Thursday, Tehran launched more strikes on sites in Kuwait, Jordan and Iraq, state-linked media reported.

Separately, huge crowds gathered as Iran's late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was buried after six days of funeral events.

The "body of the martyred leader of the Islamic Revolution was buried in the memorial hall of the shrine of Imam Reza," state broadcaster IRIB reported, according to AFP.

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Iran has launched fresh strikes on US targets today, following a second night of strikes between the two countries last night.

The fragile ceasefire between the two countries was ruptured earlier this week when the US accused Iran of targeting commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

The US military says it struck around 90 Iranian targets on Wednesday night, and more than 80 the night before.

Sirens sounded in Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Iraq as a result of the Iranian drone and missile strikes.

Meanwhile, the final day of public mourning for Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has taken place while strikes have been exchanged. Huge crowds have gathered for his burial this evening.

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A Palestinian aid worker who organised Gaza's World Cup screenings was killed in an Israeli strike just before Egypt played Argentina on Tuesday.

Mohammed al-Wahidi spent years supporting families in Gaza, working as the director of the Egyptian Committee in Gaza.

About an hour before the game began, an Israeli missile struck the taxi he was travelling in.

He was killed alongside two brothers aged eight and 10, who were walking home after playing football, and another man who was caught nearby.

The Israeli military’s response is that Mohammed al-Wahidi was not the intended target - and that the strike was aimed at a Hamas militant. It says it is reviewing what happened and regrets harm to civilians.

Mohammed’s family says he will be remembered for helping people, supporting families in need and bringing his community together.

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The US has launched dozens of strikes on Iran, after President Donald Trump declared their ceasefire over, and called Tehran's leadership "scum". Iran vowed to respond "fearlessly" to Mr Trump's "vulgarity", and has targeted US military sites across the Gulf region.

Washington says this flare-up in violence began when Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired on commercial ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz via a route not approved by Tehran.

We ask Parham Ghobadi of the BBC's Persian service why Iran's leaders were willing to jeopardise the ceasefire, and what their strategy is now, amid increasing fears of a return to all-out war.

Plus, we look at the week-long funeral ceremonies for the late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during which some Iranian officials called for Mr Trump to be killed.

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

And you can find more of our YouTube episodes here: https://bbc.in/GlobalNewsPodcast

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00:00 Introduction

00:29 Why did Iran fire on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz?

01:39 Routes through the Strait of Hormuz

02:53 Is Iran over-playing its hand?

04:03 Ayatollah Khamenei’s funeral

06:16 Is the US-Iran ceasefire over?

07:14 How do Iranian civilians feel about the war?

08:13 Iran’s economic pressure