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  • ‘The record will fall’ – Werro takes aim at 43-year-old 800m mark

    ‘The record will fall’ – Werro takes aim at 43-year-old 800m mark

    Ahead of Thursday’s Diamond League stop in Zurich, 22-year-old reigning European 800m champion Audrey Werro has expressed quiet confidence that she will eventually break one of track and field’s longest-standing and most hotly debated world records.

    The mark in question, 1 minute 53.28 seconds, was set by former Czechoslovakia runner Jarmila Kratochvilova back at the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki, where she also claimed the 400m gold to secure a historic double. That time has stood unbroken for 41 years, a rarity in elite athletics that has fueled decades of speculation. While Czechoslovakia ran a state-sponsored systematic doping program throughout the era Kratochvilova competed, the runner has never tested positive for performance-enhancing substances and has repeatedly denied all allegations of cheating.

    Werro’s rapid rise up the all-time rankings has put the historic record within striking distance. The young Swiss runner clocked 1:53.80 at a meet in Paris this past June, a personal best that pushed her to third on the women’s 800m all-time world list and just 0.52 seconds off Kratochvilova’s 1983 mark. This season alone, Werro has notched three of the 10 fastest women’s 800m times in recorded history, and has improved her personal best in eight consecutive competitive seasons, a streak of consistent improvement unmatched by any elite middle-distance runner of her generation. Earlier this month, she upset British Olympic gold medalist Keely Hodgkinson to take the European title in Birmingham, defying home crowd expectations to claim the top spot on the podium.

    Werro attributed her explosive breakout to a major lifestyle shift: she completed her university studies one year ahead of schedule, clearing her schedule to devote all her energy to professional training, competition and recovery. “Now I’m just focused on athletics and I just have more time for the competition, the training, the recovery, everything,” she explained, adding that two years of targeted work on mental toughness has also paid major dividends this season. Her iconic post-race celebration – mimicking the outstretched claws of a lion – traces back to childhood, when her father told her she raced too timidly and encouraged her to channel a lion’s ferocity on the track.

    As the elite field prepares for the Zurich 800m, top contenders have gathered for the final Diamond League race before the series final in Brussels on September 4-5. Hodgkinson, one of Werro’s top rivals, has withdrawn from the meet, opening the door for other top middle-distance stars to challenge for the win. Dutch star Femke Bol, who already holds the 400m hurdles world title won at the 2025 Tokyo World Championships, will line up against Werro in what is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated races of the 2025 outdoor season. Bol only transitioned to the 800m distance this season, but has already defied all expectations: she finished just 0.08 seconds behind Werro in Lausanne last week, and took bronze at the European Championships in Birmingham. “I didn’t expect to be this fast already – to run a national record already – so it has been very nice to surprise myself with my level,” Bol said of her rapid adaptation to the longer distance. With Hodgkinson out, Great Britain will be represented solely by Georgia Hunter-Bell, the 2024 World Championships silver medalist who has already claimed national and Commonwealth titles over 800m this season.

    The Zurich Diamond League will run from 19:00 to 21:00 BST on August 27, with the women’s 800m set to start at 20:41 BST. UK viewers can catch the race live on BBC Three, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.

  • King Charles III to visit the Bahamas, Guyana, and Antigua and Barbuda this autumn

    King Charles III to visit the Bahamas, Guyana, and Antigua and Barbuda this autumn

    LONDON – Britain’s King Charles III is set to embark on a high-profile autumn tour of three Caribbean nations this October and November, ahead of his attendance at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) scheduled to open on November 1 in St. John’s, the capital of Antigua and Barbuda. Buckingham Palace has confirmed the royal trip will kick off on October 27 in the Bahamas, one of 14 sovereign nations outside the United Kingdom that still recognizes Charles as their ceremonial head of state.

    Following his stop in the Bahamas, the monarch will travel onward to the South American nation of Guyana for an official state visit. The trip coincides with a key milestone: 2026 marks six decades of formal bilateral relations between the United Kingdom and Guyana, a former British colony on the continent’s northern coast. Guyana first gained self-governing dominion status within the Commonwealth in 1966, before transitioning to a fully independent republic in 1970, while retaining its membership in the association.

    As the ceremonial head of the Commonwealth, Charles oversees a bloc of 56 independent nations that share largely historical ties to the former British Empire. The organization spans every major continent, counting global economic heavyweights such as Australia, Canada, and India among its ranks, alongside dozens of small island and developing states including the South Pacific’s Tuvalu and the three Caribbean destinations on the king’s upcoming itinerary.

    CHOGM, the association’s flagship gathering, is convened every two years to bring together heads of government from across member states. Attendees use the summit to negotiate joint responses to shared cross-border challenges, deepen economic and political cooperation between member nations, and advance collective initiatives to drive sustainable development across the bloc’s mostly low and middle-income member countries.

  • Italy latest nation to pull support for Infantino’s reelection as FIFA president

    Italy latest nation to pull support for Infantino’s reelection as FIFA president

    ROME – The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) has become the latest high-profile national governing body to pull its backing for embattled FIFA President Gianni Infantino, deepening the crisis facing the incumbent ahead of March’s presidential election in Morocco.

    In an official statement released Wednesday, FIGC confirmed it would not support Infantino’s re-election bid, citing recent controversial moves led by the FIFA chief related to global football governance and the future expansion of top international competitions. The move aligns Italy with a growing bloc of European football authorities that have publicly turned against Infantino in recent weeks, following growing backlash over his policy proposals.

    The mounting pressure on Infantino stems from a now-scrapped plan to sell private equity stakes in the FIFA World Cup, football’s most watched and commercially valuable global tournament. That proposal drew fierce condemnation from across the sport: three of FIFA’s six continental confederations have formally accused Infantino of deception, while European football’s governing body UEFA threatened to organize a full boycott of FIFA-run international competitions if the plan moved forward.

    FIGC President Giovanni Malagò emphasized the federation’s alignment with European football’s shared vision for the sport’s future in the statement. “We will continue to work alongside UEFA and the other European federations to promote a vision of soccer based on merit, solidarity, sustainability, and the centrality of fans,” Malagò said. “We identify with a model of dialogue, listening, and shared responsibility that has, until now, allowed soccer to grow, innovate and at the same time defend its founding principles.”

    Italy’s withdrawal of support follows a wave of opposition that emerged earlier this month, when the football federations of England, Wales and Northern Ireland all pulled their backing for Infantino. Norway has gone even further, calling explicitly for Infantino to resign from his post. A coalition of six Nordic nations – Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland and the Faeroe Islands – has also released a joint statement confirming they have “lost confidence” in Infantino’s leadership.

    Infantino has held the role of FIFA president since 2016, and prior to the recent backlash over the private equity proposal, he was widely expected to secure a third term unopposed when delegates gather for the election in Morocco next March. FIFA has set a November 18 deadline for any potential challengers to submit their nominations for the presidency.

    While opposition has grown sharply across European football, Infantino still retains public backing from a number of FIFA’s 211 member associations. That includes Morocco, the co-host of the 2030 World Cup and host of next year’s presidential election, as well as Qatar, where Infantino resided before the country hosted the 2022 men’s World Cup. Lebanon also granted Infantino honorary citizenship earlier this year and has reaffirmed its support. Saudi Arabia, the host of the 2034 World Cup which has close political ties to the FIFA president, has so far declined to issue a public statement of backing.

  • Invasive green crabs are bad for the environment so New Englanders are starting to eat more of them

    Invasive green crabs are bad for the environment so New Englanders are starting to eat more of them

    YORK, Maine — On a June morning in 2026, when the thin coastal fog finally lifted from Maine’s York River, former marine science teacher Mike Masi and two interns leaned over a wooden dock, sorting through a teeming mound of one of the Northeast’s most destructive invasive species: the European green crab. Their goal? Separate out the crabs on the cusp of molting their hard outer shells to sell as a premium menu item to high-end restaurants across New England.

    Green crabs (Carcinus maenas) first arrived on North America’s East Coast hundreds of years ago, hitching a ride in the ballast water of transatlantic trade ships from their native European waters. Today, their population along the New England coast numbers in the tens of millions, and climate change-fueled ocean warming has supercharged their spread: warmer winters allow more crabs to survive the cold season, and their extreme adaptability lets them thrive in nearly every coastal habitat. A single female green crab can release up to 185,000 eggs once or twice annually, helping the species outcompete native Atlantic rock crabs and juvenile lobsters, destroy critical eelgrass beds, erode salt marsh banks, and decimate native shellfish populations. The invasion costs the region’s commercial shellfish industry tens of millions of dollars every year, as green crabs prey on commercially valuable mussels, oysters, and soft-shell clams. Maine state data shows soft-shell clam landings have plummeted from more than 7.8 million pounds of meat in 1978 to just 1.3 million pounds in 2025, a decline veteran clam fisherman Chad Coffin attributes directly to the green crab takeover.

    Now classified as one of the world’s most successful invasive species, green crabs have spread far beyond the East Coast: they have established populations along the U.S. West Coast, reached Alaska, and invaded coastal ecosystems across South Africa, Japan, Argentina, and Australia. “They’re really pretty resilient little guys,” explained Carolyn Tepolt, an evolutionary biologist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution who has studied green crabs for 20 years. “Their adaptability is why we use them to research what allows some species to thrive in new, changing environments.”

    To combat the invasion, a growing grassroots movement across New England is taking an unconventional approach: turning the invasive pest into a profitable commercial product, encouraging targeted harvesting to reduce population numbers while creating new revenue streams for local fisheries. Masi, whose company shell+claw is the only commercial enterprise focused on cultivating soft-shell green crabs, says the model turns a universally hated pest into an asset. The economics already make sense for soft-shell pre-molt crabs: Masi can sell each for $3 at market, compared to just 8 cents for a hard-shell green crab. Beyond profit, harvesting the crabs directly helps restore balance to damaged coastal ecosystems.

    Masi is far from alone in this effort. Other producers across the region have developed green crab-based products including pet treats, fish sauce, and even a specialty green crab whiskey released in New Hampshire. Consumer interest is also growing: the number of New England restaurants offering green crab dishes has increased more than 10-fold since 2021, with many establishments hosting special “green crab weeks” during the two-month soft-shell molting season. Chefs praise the species’ richer, deeper flavor compared to more common commercial crabs. “King, stone, and Jonah crabs all have that mild, sweet light crab flavor,” said Tracy Chang, owner and chef of Cambridge, Massachusetts tapas restaurant PAGU, which serves green crab laksa and tempura soft-shell green crab bao. “Green crab has this really rich, deep, luscious crab flavor that’s far more potent.” Many diners have embraced the product too: physician and author William Li called his first green crab bao “spectacular, filled with flavor, easy to eat, and very tasty.”

    Despite this growing momentum, large-scale commercial green crab harvesting remains out of reach for most New England fishermen. The current grassroots campaign has had only minimal impact on overall green crab populations, held back by a lack of processing infrastructure, distribution networks, and government support. There is not even sufficient research to confirm what a sustainable commercial harvest level would be, though experts agree the current catch is a tiny fraction of what the region’s massive green crab population could support. A major barrier is distribution: fishermen in northern Maine near the Canadian border report they can catch unlimited numbers of green crabs, but lack affordable transportation to move the catch to major consumer markets in Boston, New Bedford, and New York City.

    A handful of states have taken small regulatory steps to lower barriers for green crab fisheries: Rhode Island offers green crab fishing licenses for just $10, Connecticut removed extra permitting requirements for selling green crabs to restaurants, and Maine has streamlined market access. Only Massachusetts offers direct financial incentives, paying fishermen 40 cents per pound in addition to market revenue, totaling just over $100,000 per year. That level of support stands in stark contrast to Washington state, which declared a state of emergency over green crab invasions in 2022 and plans to spend more than $38 million in state and federal funds through 2027 to eradicate the species. To date in 2026, nearly 2 million green crabs have been caught in Washington, most processed into organic fertilizer. Coastal tribal nations there also use caught crabs for compost, as they work to protect native treaty-protected fisheries from the same devastating impacts seen on the East Coast. “We’ve got treaty-protected fisheries at risk and critical habitats that are used by all sorts of native species,” said Raquel Crosier, deputy director of Washington state’s Fish Program. “We’re really worried that we’ll start to see those types of effects that they saw on the East Coast if we let the population get established.”

    Back on the York River, Masi’s operation remains small and labor-intensive. His crew sorts through thousands of wild-caught crabs by hand to identify pre-molt individuals, which are then held in submerged floating cages until they shed their shells. Since launching his business five years ago, Masi has grown annual revenue to as much as $20,000, still roughly the size of a part-time hobby. He draws inspiration from Venice, where green crabs are a native delicacy caught and sold by generations of family fishermen, and remains cautiously optimistic about the future of the New England green crab market. “I am cautiously optimistic about the potential for green crabs,” he said. “We are one breakthrough from making this a profitable business.”

    This coverage of climate and invasive species issues is supported by private foundation funding, with The Associated Press maintaining full editorial control over all content.

  • The Kremlin says the CIA director held talks in Moscow with his intelligence counterparts

    The Kremlin says the CIA director held talks in Moscow with his intelligence counterparts

    In a rare and closely guarded development that has drawn international attention, the Kremlin confirmed Wednesday that CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow for closed-door talks with senior Russian intelligence officials — a meeting that comes at a moment of unprecedented tension between Washington and Moscow over Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

    Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Ratcliffe did not hold a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, though the country’s leader was promptly briefed on the intelligence-level discussions. “Of course, President Putin is immediately informed of everything,” Peskov added, declining to disclose any details about the topics covered in the closed talks. Both the CIA and the White House have declined to issue any formal comment on the visit to date.

    Independent confirmation of the trip emerged earlier, when Russian state news outlets reported that a U.S. military aircraft touched down at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport on Tuesday, departing the same day after a short stay. A senior Ukrainian official, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking publicly about diplomatic matters, confirmed that Washington notified Kyiv ahead of the U.S. delegation’s trip to the Russian capital and requested a temporary suspension of Ukrainian long-range strikes on specific regions until the delegation departed. The request exclusively applied to Moscow, St. Petersburg and parts of northern Russia, the official added, noting that strikes on other areas of Russian territory continued as planned during the visit.

    The visit was first reported by CBS News, and experts note that such high-level, in-person intelligence meetings between the two nuclear powers are extremely uncommon. Peskov acknowledged that even amid sharply deteriorated relations, low-key contacts between the two countries’ intelligence communities carry some inherent value. “Contacts between intelligence agencies are, in and of themselves, a positive phenomenon, a positive process,” he said, but quickly stressed that the broader bilateral relationship between Russia and the United States remains mired in a “profound crisis.” When asked what long-term impact Ratcliffe’s visit could have on bilateral ties, Peskov noted it is still “too early to say.”

    Andrei Soldatov, an independent analyst specializing in Russian security services, told the AP that high-level visits of this kind do not “happen every year.” He explained that formal communication channels between Moscow and Washington have remained intact since the 1980s, designed explicitly to facilitate dialogue when critical threats to American or Russian citizens emerge, or other urgent national security matters require direct discussion. This is not the first high-level intelligence meeting between the two powers in recent years: in 2021, months before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, then-CIA Director William Burns met Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of Putin’s Security Council, in Moscow. Burns later held talks with Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia’s foreign intelligence service, in Turkey in November 2022, where he delivered a formal U.S. warning against any deployment of nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

    Soldatov explained that, given the lack of public details about Tuesday’s discussion, such meetings are only convened when a pressing national security matter aligned with “American national interests” is on the table. Current geopolitical context suggests the talks likely touched on evolving tensions in the Middle East, where Russia maintains complex diplomatic relationships with both Iran and Israel. Since the outbreak of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, Moscow has positioned itself as a potential mediator between the warring parties, even as it deepens its own strategic partnership with Tehran.

    Relations between Russia and the U.S. plunged to Cold War-era lows immediately after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Tensions briefly softened following the return of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency, as Trump made a campaign promise to end the Ukraine war quickly, held multiple phone calls with Putin, and even hosted the Russian leader for talks in Alaska one year ago. Those early peace negotiation efforts have since stalled, however, as U.S. foreign policy focus has shifted to its conflict with Iran, and both Moscow and Kyiv have ramped up long-range strikes on each other’s territory. Putin has repeatedly rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s call for an immediate temporary ceasefire, arguing that Russia will only accept a long-term comprehensive settlement to end the conflict.

    Moscow and Tehran formalized their deepening alignment in January 2025, when the two countries signed a landmark comprehensive strategic partnership treaty. The agreement followed years of growing military cooperation: after Russia launched its Ukraine invasion, Iran provided Moscow with Shahed combat drones, and later permitted domestic production of the systems in Russia. Despite its close ties to Tehran, Russia has maintained long-standing friendly relations with Israel, leaving Moscow to navigate a complex and often challenging balancing act in the region.

    In March, the AP reported that U.S. intelligence assessments found Russia had shared intelligence with Iran that could be used to target American warships, aircraft and other military assets in the Middle East, according to two unnamed U.S. officials. The officials cautioned that U.S. intelligence has not found evidence that Russian officials are directing Iranian actions or telling Tehran how to use the shared information. When asked at the time whether Russia would expand beyond political support for Iran to provide direct military assistance, Peskov said Moscow had not received any such request from Tehran, and declined to comment on whether any military or intelligence sharing had already taken place.

    Soldatov said the most likely agenda for Ratcliffe’s secret Moscow meeting includes discussions of protecting U.S. military personnel, bases and facilities in the Middle East that have been targeted by Iranian forces. It is also possible that the U.S. delegation traveled to Moscow to push Russian leaders to reconsider their growing intelligence and military cooperation with Tehran, he added.

  • Inquest opens into death of ex-Cambridge University professor Jason Arday

    Inquest opens into death of ex-Cambridge University professor Jason Arday

    LONDON — A formal coroner’s inquest has launched into the sudden passing of 41-year-old Jason Arday, a trailblazing Cambridge University professor who resigned his post last month amid intense public scrutiny over alleged academic misconduct and inflated personal achievement claims.

    Arday, who made history in 2023 as Cambridge University’s youngest Black professor, was found dead at a residential address in south London on August 13, just eight days after stepping down from his role as Professor of Sociology of Education. The first short preliminary hearing for the inquest was held this Wednesday at London Inner South Coroner’s Court, a standard procedure for any death in the United Kingdom marked by unclear circumstances.

    Senior Corer Dr. Julian Morris told the court that available documentation leads him to classify Arday’s death as unnatural, 12 days after it occurred. “It therefore follows that I must open an investigation,” Morris confirmed. While law enforcement have labeled the death unexpected, they have stressed there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the passing.

    The controversy that preceded Arday’s resignation and death began when Nathan Cofnas, a former Cambridge philosophy researcher, first raised public questions about Arday’s academic credentials last month. Cofnas, who left Cambridge after his sharp criticism of diversity, equity and inclusion programs triggered widespread campus protests, has previously claimed that in a purely merit-based system, Black people would be almost entirely excluded from high-profile positions outside of sports and entertainment. Last week, Cofnas was suspended from his current academic post at Ghent University in Belgium, though the suspension has not been officially linked to the Arday controversy.

    Following Cofnas’ initial accusations, UK news outlets published reports claiming that more than 100 passages from Arday’s 2015 doctoral dissertation matched verbatim or nearly verbatim content from an earlier academic paper written by another researcher. Beyond the plagiarism claims, public scrutiny extended to a series of personal claims Arday had made throughout his career. These included assertions that he had raised £5.5 million ($7.5 million) for charity through extreme endurance feats, such as running 30 marathons in 35 days and 600 miles in six days. Arday later amended these fundraising and achievement claims. Critics also questioned his widely shared personal narrative of overcoming severe developmental delays that left him non-verbal until age 11; Arday stated he received an autism diagnosis in childhood and remained unable to read or write until he turned 18.

    Before his resignation on August 5, Arday publicly denied all allegations of intentional plagiarism, though he acknowledged that he had made minor errors in citation and sourcing when completing his doctorate.

    News of Arday’s death sparked an immediate wave of mourning across academic and social circles. A community fundraiser launched in his memory has already raised close to £225,000 ($305,000) from more than 7,900 individual donors. All funds raised are designated to support Arday’s family with living and financial costs, as well as cover funeral and memorial service expenses.

    The formal opening of the inquest comes just one day before the UK publication of Arday’s memoir, *Great and Unfortunate Things*, by publisher Simon & Schuster. The book, which was released in the United States earlier this August, chronicles Arday’s personal life story: from growing up as an autistic, non-verbal child who remained illiterate until his late teens, to breaking barriers as the youngest Black professor in Cambridge’s centuries-long history.

  • Zelenskyy awards Elon Musk Ukraine’s Order of Freedom for Starlink role

    Zelenskyy awards Elon Musk Ukraine’s Order of Freedom for Starlink role

    In a formal presidential decree announced Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy bestowed the Order of Freedom — one of Ukraine’s most prestigious state honors — on billionaire entrepreneur and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, citing his extraordinary personal contributions to safeguarding Ukrainian human life and national freedom, and deepening bilateral cooperation between Kyiv and Washington.

    Musk’s emergence as one of the most consequential and polarizing private figures in Ukraine’s two-year full-scale war against Russian invasion traces directly to his pivotal decision to deploy SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet network across Ukrainian territory. What began as an emergency connectivity solution has grown into an irreplaceable communications lifeline for both frontline Ukrainian troops and civilian populations across the country, filling critical gaps left after Russia’s widespread attacks on Ukraine’s ground-based telecommunications infrastructure.

    Today, Starlink is fully integrated into nearly every layer of Ukraine’s military operations. Frontline commanders and infantry rely on the satellite network to coordinate troop movements and share real-time battlefield intelligence, while Ukrainian drone operators use Starlink’s stable connectivity to maintain control of long-range attack drones, guiding them to targets deep behind enemy lines. Military analysts widely credit Starlink’s support as a core factor behind the unexpected success of Ukraine’s mid-range drone campaign launched earlier this year, which caught Russian logistics units off guard and disrupted critical supply lines for Moscow’s invading forces.

    Even as Musk’s technology delivers tangible battlefield gains for Kyiv, the tech entrepreneur’s unilateral control over Starlink’s operating parameters has made him both an indispensable partner and a potential source of strategic vulnerability for Ukraine. Currently, Starlink services are disabled across all Russian territory, a restriction that blocks Ukrainian forces from maintaining connectivity when guiding long-range drone strikes targeting Russian military and energy infrastructure deep inside Russia. Zelenskyy has publicly pushed Musk to reverse this policy, and has even sought diplomatic backing from the U.S. government to pressure SpaceX to adjust its terms of use. Musk has repeatedly pushed back on this request, warning that enabling Starlink use inside Russia would amount to a dangerous escalation of the conflict.

    Beyond the battlefield, Musk’s outsized influence has already spilled over into Ukrainian domestic politics, contributing to a high-profile government shake-up earlier this year. Last week, Zelenskyy confirmed that miscommunication around SpaceX’s position on Starlink use inside Russia played a role in the dismissal of former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who served as Kyiv’s primary liaison with Musk and SpaceX. According to Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry incorrectly conveyed that SpaceX had approved expanded Starlink use, leading to an awkward confrontation with former U.S. President Donald Trump, who accused Zelenskyy of misleading him. While Zelenskyy stopped short of accusing Fedorov of intentional misinformation, he confirmed the incident was a contributing factor to Fedorov’s ouster as part of a broader cabinet reshuffle in July.

    SpaceX also took a step earlier this year that aligned with Kyiv’s strategic goals, when the company blocked unauthorized Starlink terminals being operated by Russian forces in occupied Ukrainian territory, a move that further strengthened Ukraine’s battlefield position. That action, paired with the provision of civilian and military connectivity within Ukraine, has helped reinforce the positive ties between Kyiv and Musk that Zelenskyy sought to recognize with this week’s honor. As of Wednesday, Musk had not issued any public comment in response to the award.

  • CIA chief met Russian intelligence services but not Putin, Kremlin says

    CIA chief met Russian intelligence services but not Putin, Kremlin says

    In a highly unusual, off-the-schedule stop that has drawn international attention, CIA Director John Ratcliffe has held direct contacts with Russian intelligence service representatives during a secret visit to Moscow, the Kremlin has officially confirmed. The top U.S. intelligence leader arrived in the Russian capital on Tuesday for what remains one of the highest-profile trips by a senior American official to Russia since the start of Donald Trump’s second presidential term.

    Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov shared limited details with reporters during his regular daily press briefing, confirming that while Ratcliffe held talks with Russian intelligence counterparts, no meeting was scheduled or held with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Naturally, President Putin is briefed immediately about everything,” Peskov added, responding to questions from Russian state outlet Rossiyskaya Gazeta regarding the level of the talks and Putin’s awareness of the meeting. When pressed by BBC Russia Editor Steve Rosenberg for details on the agenda of the closed-door discussions, Peskov declined to share further information.

    Peskov noted that it remains far too early to assess what long-term influence this high-level contact will have on the process of mending U.S.-Russia relations, which have been mired in a deep crisis since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Even so, he characterized ongoing dialogue between the two countries’ intelligence agencies as a constructive development. “Contacts between intelligence agencies are a positive phenomenon, a positive process,” he said, adding that such backchannel talks often continue “even during the most difficult moments” in bilateral ties.

    This visit marks a rare instance of in-person high-level dialogue between American and Russian officials in recent years. The last time a sitting CIA director traveled to Moscow was November 2021, when then-director William Burns delivered a direct warning to Russian leadership against launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Just weeks after that meeting, the Kremlin moved forward with its military operation, prompting sweeping international sanctions against Russia and a complete breakdown in U.S.-Russia relations.

    The most recent high-level diplomatic encounter between the U.S. and Russian leadership came last year, when Trump and Putin held a long-awaited summit in Alaska. However, that meeting failed to produce any major breakthrough in bilateral ties or de-escalate the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Subsequent U.S.-brokered peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow have since stalled, leaving little progress toward a negotiated ceasefire.

    A senior Ukrainian official told CBS that U.S. authorities notified Kyiv ahead of Ratcliffe’s trip that a senior American delegation would be traveling to Moscow, and formally requested that Ukraine suspend cross-border strikes targeting Russian positions until the delegation had safely exited Russian territory. The request itself underscores the sensitivity of the unannounced visit, analysts say.

    John Foreman, who served as British military attaché to Moscow between 2019 and 2022, told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme that the unannounced, short-notice nature of the trip signals that the U.S. is addressing a matter of significant urgency. “The Americans don’t normally send such a high ranking official to Moscow unannounced at short notice unless something is up,” Foreman said.

    As of Wednesday, BBC News has reached out to the CIA, the White House, and the Pentagon for comment on the visit and the details of the talks, with no formal response issued as of publication.

  • Butter me up: Paris gets its first boutique devoted to France’s favorite fat

    Butter me up: Paris gets its first boutique devoted to France’s favorite fat

    A one-of-a-kind retail concept has touched down in central Paris, just steps from the iconic Eiffel Tower: Le Butter Shop, the French capital’s first boutique exclusively dedicated to all things butter, opened its doors to the public last month. Founded by 34-year-old entrepreneur Erwan Leo, who also operates a local wine-tasting business, the small shop curates 30 distinct butter varieties sourced entirely from small, family-owned dairy producers across Brittany, the Loire Valley and northern France’s prime dairy regions.

    France’s long and complicated relationship with butter has long presented a curious paradox to outside observers. Official data from France’s agriculture ministry puts national annual per capita butter consumption at roughly 8 kilograms, or 18 pounds — one of the highest rates in the world. Yet despite this enthusiasm for the rich dairy staple, France’s obesity rate sits at just 14%, well below the 19% average for developed member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Leo says the answer to this contradiction is simple, and rooted in Parisian cultural tradition: moderate consumption paired with an active, walk-centric lifestyle. “We don’t go beyond four tartines a day,” he notes, explaining that mastering the use of butter, rather than overindulging in it, is the core of French culinary culture. “The Italians choose olive oil, we choose butter. We learn how to master it.”

    Unlike the limited selection of plain sweet, lightly salted and fully salted butter found at most neighborhood French supermarkets, Le Butter Shop reimagines butter as a versatile, flavor-forward tasting experience. Customers sample spoonfuls of each variety before purchasing any amount, from a 10-gram tasting pat to a full 2.2-pound block. Beyond classic plain butter varieties, the boutique offers infused flavors ranging from savory options including shallot, cracked pepper, seaweed, wild garlic, fine herbs and lemon-green pepper to sweet variations such as vanilla, raspberry, strawberry and chocolate. Leo frames the tasting experience similar to wine appreciation: “You have to grab your spoon, you put it on your palate, on your tongue, it has to melt a little bit, and then the flavors are going to start coming one by one. The goal isn’t to overconsume — it’s to make the whole meal better, just like wine does.” Most first-time customers are shocked by the range of flavors, he says: “Most people don’t expect to like a raspberry butter or to like chocolate butter. And when they try it, this is where they’re just like, ‘Oh wow, OK.’”

    The shop’s unique premise has quickly drawn attention from both locals and international visitors, many of whom plan their trips around a stop at the boutique. Two tourists from Dublin, a country famous for its own rich golden butter, traveled to the shop specifically after seeing it featured in social media videos back home. “We came here just to taste the butter,” explained Salman Bin Ehsan, who visited alongside fellow traveler Mehreen Himayat. A local Parisian resident, Alexandra Incolano, visited the boutique with a very specific celebratory goal: she is getting married at the end of the week and planned to add curated Le Butter Shop selections as a surprise accompaniment to her wedding’s cheese centerpiece for guests. Even professional food industry workers have made a point to visit: Estonian chef Aleksandr Balaban, who works in Norway where salted butter is a local favorite, stopped by to sample renowned French butter firsthand and bring back a selection for a friend.

    Butter has deep cultural and historical roots across northern and western France, particularly in Brittany. Before modern refrigeration, salt was used to preserve butter, and Brittany’s historic exemption from the gabelle — France’s centuries-old salt tax — allowed the region to keep its traditional salted butter recipe intact even as much of the rest of the country shifted to unsalted varieties. That culinary legacy endures today in iconic Breton dishes including crêpes, salted caramel and kouign-amann, the buttery layered cake whose name translates directly to “butter cake” in the local Breton language.

    All of the butters sold at Le Butter Shop are churned from higher-fat milk sourced from selected dairy herds, with Leo noting that an extra 2 to 3 percentage points of milk fat makes a dramatic difference in richness and flavor. Fueled by viral social media attention, the tiny boutique has drawn large crowds since opening its doors, with Leo hiring four additional staff to keep up with demand. “From day one, it’s been crazy,” he said. “Most people come in with wanting to try one or two butters, they end up trying 25 butters because they’re just so curious.” Looking ahead, Leo plans to expand the shop’s flavor lineup, with a croissant-infused butter already in development and violet-flavored butter under consideration. For the founder, the possibilities for specialty butter are endless: “This is limitless,” he said.

  • German airport worker dies of malaria after ‘mosquito arrives on plane’

    German airport worker dies of malaria after ‘mosquito arrives on plane’

    A rare local malaria outbreak at Germany’s busiest travel hub, Frankfurt Airport, has claimed the life of one employee and left five others infected with the mosquito-borne disease, public health and airport authorities have confirmed.

    German public health officials trace the origin of the disease-carrying mosquitoes to incoming air travel, saying the insects likely hitched a ride on commercial aircraft arriving from malaria-endemic regions. Fraport, the public company that operates Frankfurt Airport, announced Tuesday that the five remaining infected staff members are currently receiving targeted medical care for their infections.

    In a statement shared with the BBC, a Fraport spokesperson confirmed the fatality: “Sadly, we must confirm that one employee has died as a result of the infection.” The operator has since rolled out broad awareness campaigns for all on-site workers, advising anyone who develops malaria symptoms to seek immediate medical attention from a licensed provider. To contain the spread and identify the exact origin and species of the mosquitoes, authorities have deployed dozens of insect traps across airport grounds, with captured specimens set for laboratory analysis.

    The outbreak was first flagged to the public in July, when four cases were initially reported. Germany’s leading public health research and disease control body, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), later confirmed the four initial cases developed symptoms between July 4 and July 6, reiterating the assessment that infected mosquitoes arrived via aircraft. The institute notes that locally transmitted malaria at a German airport is an extremely rare event: nearly all malaria cases recorded in Germany occur in international travelers who picked up the parasite in high-risk tropical regions.

    In its epidemiological bulletin, the RKI warned that the absence of a recent international travel history among affected workers in this outbreak can lead to critical delays in diagnosis, which in turn raises the risk of severe, life-threatening progression of the disease. The institute also added that the last recorded case of airport-transmitted malaria in Germany occurred in 2023, also at Frankfurt Airport.

    The BBC has reached out to the Frankfurt Public Health Department, which is leading the ongoing investigation into the outbreak, for additional comment on containment efforts and new case tracking.

    According to the World Health Organization (WHO), malaria is a parasitic infection spread exclusively through the bite of specific Anopheles mosquito species, and it is most prevalent in tropical and subtropical climate zones. While the infection is both fully preventable and curable with appropriate medical intervention, it ranges in severity from mild, flu-like symptoms to fatal complications, and cannot spread directly from person to person.