Plus: At least 150 people feared to have been killed in Sudan massacre, and the DJ who taught Kenya about endometriosis ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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| Hello. Today we're covering the European elections, which have started in a few EU member states. My colleagues across the continent explain what's at stake. With UK political parties divided over the government’s controversial plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, the BBC has travelled to the African state to speak to four of the migrants already there - albeit under a separate agreement. Finally, we meet a woman who took up three part-time jobs to afford Taylor Swift tickets. | |
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TOP OF THE AGENDA | Twenty-seven nations vote for their common future |  | The European Parliament is the only EU institution directly elected by voters across 27 countries. Credit: AFP | European elections are under way, with voters from 27 countries casting their ballots over four days to make up the European Union's parliament. The Netherlands kicked things off on Thursday, with exit polls suggesting a tight race between a left-green alliance and the party of anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders. Although the political picture can vary greatly between countries, the Dutch exit polls hint at an expected surge of right-wing and far-right parties across the continent. A growing number of young voters are turning to these parties, which are generally hostile to the EU in its current form, writes our reporter in Brussels Sofia Bettiza. This comes in stark contrast to the 2019 elections, when first-time voters backed green parties en masse. In France, Hugh Schofield says the main point of suspense will be the margin of victory of the far-right National Rally, led by 28-year-old Jordan Bardella.
- Centre-left struggles: Only four EU member states currently have centre-left or left-wing parties in government. There have been few rays of hope for them amid a difficult campaign.
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WORLD HEADLINES | - In Sudan: At least 150 people, including 35 children, are feared to have been killed in a massacre in a village in the centre of the country, blamed on the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary group fighting the army.
| - Israel-Gaza war: The US has told Israel it must be fully "transparent" over an air strike that reportedly killed at least 35 people at a central Gaza school packed with displaced people on Thursday morning.
| - Extreme heat: Sweltering temperatures have sent 11 people to hospital in Arizona, where thousands waited to enter a campaign rally with former President Donald Trump.
| - Life of a stargazer: Greg Quicke, an Australian astronomer and science communicator known as "Space Gandalf" has died aged 62.
| - Adult entertainment: The world first "cyber brothel" will open in Berlin this month, allowing people to spend an hour with an AI sex doll - but the merger of artificial intelligence and the sex industry is setting off alarm bells.
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| Refugees sent to Rwanda talk to BBC | Four Sri Lankan Tamil migrants were transferred by UK authorities to Rwanda from Diego Garcia, a remote British territory in the Indian Ocean. The three men and one woman, who the UN says are entitled to protection, were moved for medical care – under a separate agreement to the UK government’s plan for asylum seekers. A year on and housed in flats, they say they feel isolated and unsafe. A Rwandan official defended the health system and said the safety fears were not shared. |
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| | Alice Cuddy and Swaminathan Natarajan, BBC News |
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| | All four members of the group say they have faced harassment and unwanted sexual advances on the street in Rwanda. They say they are, in effect, “self-imprisoned” - too scared to go out - while they wait for the UK to find somewhere permanent for them to live. They said they had been victims of torture and sexual violence in their home countries - some because of past links with the Tamil Tiger rebels. “We don’t go outside. We’re always scared,” 23-year-old Lakshani told us when we visited her. “I don’t have any women here. No friends.” |
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| | - What is Diego Garcia? The secretive UK-US military base in the middle of the Indian Ocean is now home to a camp that at one point hosted at least 150 migrants, with some saying the island "turned out to be a hell".
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BEYOND THE HEADLINES | The woman who taught Kenya about endometriosis |
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| |  | It took 17 years for the radio host to get a proper diagnosis for endometriosis. Credit: Jahmby Koikai | A Kenyan reggae radio DJ known as Jahmby Koikai, who has spent most of her career raising awareness about endometriosis, has died aged 38 from an extreme case of the debilitating condition. The menstrual disorder often remains ignored, and it's possible that most people in Kenya got to know of endometriosis because of her, writes Basillioh Rukanga. |
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SOMETHING DIFFERENT | Unexpected similarities | Scientists hope studying Long Concussion could offer new insights into Long Covid. | |
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And finally... | From the woman who took on three part-time jobs to afford the tickets, to a teenager who spent hours creating her look for the night, this is how Taylor Swift's fans are preparing for the start of the UK leg of her Eras tour. | |
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