Plus: Drone strikes in Russia, and Burger King defends the size of its Whopper
| | | | | | | In the last hour, Hurricane Idalia has strengthened to Category 4 – we’ll bring you up to speed on what’s happening in Florida. The UK’s foreign secretary has been defending the government’s approach to China, and has graffiti artist Banksy been making mischief with a traffic cone? We have the story. |
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| | | | Top of the agenda | | Destruction predicted as hurricane nears | | | | Evacuation orders are in place in 28 of Florida's 67 counties. Credit: EPA |
| | “Catastrophic damage” is expected when Hurricane Idalia makes landfall in Florida in the coming hours, US authorities say. More than 5,500 National Guardsmen have been mobilised to help the emergency response, while up to 40,000 utility workers are on standby to tackle power cuts. Coastal areas could be deluged by a storm surge of up to 10-15ft (3-5m). Idalia has been upgraded to Category 4, meaning maximum sustained winds of 130mph (215 km/h) are likely - see the hurricane's predicted path. It’s more than 170 years since a hurricane of this force affected the area, prompting concerns over potentially life-threatening conditions. As Jamie Rhome, of the National Hurricane Centre, put it: “For some communities this is probably going to be worse than they're envisioning, because so few people understand the power of a major hurricane." | | | | |
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| | | | | | World headlines | | • | Drone war: Russia says there have been several drone strikes on its territory, with two military transport planes reported damaged at an airport in the city of Pskov. Meanwhile, on the front line, Quentin Sommerville is in a Ukrainian armoured car as it comes under fire from sophisticated Russian drones. Read his dramatic report. | | • | A real Whopper? Burger King has been told it must defend a US lawsuit over claims its menus show a meatier patty and filling "overflowing the bun", to make its Whopper burger look 35% larger than those served. The chain says the claims are false. | | • | Another coup: Army officers in Gabon have appeared on TV to say they have seized power and are annulling the results of Saturday's disputed election, which saw the re-election of President Ali Bongo - whose family have ruled for 53 years. Get the latest. | | • | China relations: MPs have criticised the UK government's "incoherent" approach to Beijing. But, after meeting the vice president, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly told our China correspondent Stephen McDonell it wouldn't be "credible" to disengage. | | • | Meanwhile, in Delhi: Days after India and China agreed to de-escalate tensions, there’s anger over a new map released by the Beijing government that reportedly lays claim to the north-eastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh and the disputed Aksai Chin plateau. |
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| | | | AT THE SCENE | | | Armenian border |
| | Fainting in the bread queue | | For nearly nine months, the Lachin Corridor – the only route connecting 120,000 ethnic Armenians living in Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh region with the Republic of Armenia – has been blocked by Azerbaijani authorities. | | | | Rayhan Demytrie, BBC South Caucasus correspondent |
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| | Eighteen-year old Hayk is standing on the balcony of a modest hotel in Goris, on the Armenian side of the border with Azerbaijan, speaking to his mother on a video call. "No eggs, no sugar, there are no sweets at all, bread is being rationed, got up at 04:00 the other day to stand in the queue," says his mother, speaking from the Karabakh town of Martakert. No independent media have been able to reach the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave. Photos and videos of empty shops have been circulating on social media. "People are fainting in the bread queues," local journalist Irina Hayrapetyan says in a recorded voice message. |
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| | Beyond the headlines | | How Netflix plans to win over gamers | | | | Netflix plans to connect programmes and games from its "universes", like this game version of The Queen's Gambit. Credit: Netflix |
| | Think Netflix and blockbuster series Squid Game, Bridgerton or Stranger Things might spring to mind. But you might soon be selecting video games on your TV screen. Our gaming correspondent Steffan Powell explains its approach. | | | | |
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| | | | Something different | | All that glitters | | The enduring appeal of sequins - and why they are so exhilarating to wear. | | |
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| | | | And finally... | | It's a game the people of Glasgow have been enjoying for years - placing a traffic cone on the head of a statue of the Duke of Wellington. As quickly as authorities remove them, another one takes its place. Now, there's speculation Banksy has got in on the act, after the elusive artist's exhibition in the city. Take a look at the cone with a difference that sparked the rumours. |
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