BBC News (World)

2022-11-09 21:01:16 Kherson Russian-appointed deputy governor Stremousov 'killed in car crash'

The Russian-installed deputy governor of Kherson, Kirill Stremousov, has been killed in a car crash, local officials and media say.

Mr Stremousov, 45, was appointed to his job two months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

He was one of the most prominent proponents of the Russian occupation and became known for aggressive statements on social media.

He was wanted for treason by the Ukrainian police.

Kherson's Russian-appointed governor Vladimir Saldo said his deputy had been killed, but Ukrainian officials have expressed scepticism about the reports, which cannot be independently verified. read more Open / Comment

2022-11-09 15:02:02 Key Democrat wins push US Congress battle to the wire

- Results are being declared in the US midterm elections, with control of Congress hanging in the balance
- Republicans are likely to take control of the House of Representatives, according to projections, but the Senate fight is on a knife-edge
- If Democrats lose control of either, Republicans will be able to block President Joe Biden's agenda
- Democrat John Fetterman, who suffered a stroke in May, defeated his Republican seat opponent Mehmet Oz to flip a key Senate seat in Pennsylvania
- But the results of several tight Senate races have yet to be called, and in Georgia, the race is likely to go to another vote in early December
- Former President Donald Trump, who is expected to announce he will run for president in 2024, has seen some of his endorsed candidates fail
- Meanwhile Florida's Republican governor Ron DeSantis has won a large victory to stay in office, setting him up for a potential 2024 presidential bid
- Pro-choice advocates are celebrating victories to enshrine abortion rights in Vermont, Michigan and California read more Open / Comment

2022-11-08 16:00:55 Iran International: TV channel says Iran threatened UK-based journalists

Two British-Iranian journalists for the UK-based Persian-language TV channel Iran International have been warned of a possible risk to their lives, a UK law enforcement source has confirmed.

Parent company Volant Media said the Metropolitan Police had notified the pair of a recent increase in "credible" threats from Iranian security forces.

It denounced the "escalation of a state-sponsored campaign to intimidate Iranian journalists working abroad".

Iranian authorities have not commented. read more Open / Comment

2022-11-08 09:00:02 US midterms: Millions of Americans to vote with Congress at stake

Millions of Americans will vote in the midterm elections on Tuesday, with the balance of power in Congress at stake.

The entire US House of Representatives, about a third of the Senate and key state governorships are up for grabs.

President Joe Biden, a Democrat, and ex-President Donald Trump, a Republican, made their closing arguments in duelling rallies.

Mr Biden's ability to pass laws will be stymied if Republicans take the House, as most projections expect.

Democrats currently control the White House and - by razor-thin margins - both chambers of Congress. read more Open / Comment

2022-11-07 17:00:44 Twitter will ban unlabelled parody accounts, says Elon Musk

Elon Musk says Twitter accounts engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying they are a parody will be permanently suspended.

Twitter previously issued a warning before suspending accounts, but there would now be no warning, he announced.

A number of accounts that changed their name to Elon Musk and mocked the billionaire have already been suspended or placed behind a warning sign.

Twitter's billionaire new owner took over the company late last month.

At the end of last week he laid off around half of the company's workforce.

He has also confirmed plans to allow users to buy blue-tick, verified status. read more Open / Comment

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2022-11-07 09:02:05 Twitter users jump to Mastodon - but what is it?

In the wake of Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter, some users have been seeking alternative platforms. One of the biggest beneficiaries has been Mastodon. But what is it?

The social network says it now has over 655,000 users - with over 230,000 having joined in the last week.

On the surface Mastodon looks like Twitter - account users write posts (called "toots"), which can be replied to, liked and re-posted, and they can follow each other.

Under the bonnet, though, it works in a different way.

That's one of the reasons it is attracting fresh users, but it has caused some confusion to new people signing up. read more Open / Comment

2022-11-06 16:02:23 Tanzanian Precision Air plane crashes into Lake Victoria

A Tanzanian passenger plane has crashed into Lake Victoria as it attempted to land in the lakeside town of Bukoba, killing at least three people.

The Precision Air flight was carrying 43 people, 26 of whom have been rescued and sent to hospital, an official said.

The two pilots survived the crash but remain trapped inside the cockpit and have been speaking to local officials.

Rescue workers and local fishermen are on the scene trying to rescue those still inside the aircraft. read more Open / Comment

2022-11-05 09:01:10 Twitter: Musk defends deep cuts to company's workforce

Twitter's new owner Elon Musk has defended sacking about half the company's workforce, saying he had "no choice" as Twitter was losing more than $4m (£3.5m) a day.

A tweet from Yoel Roth, Twitter's head of safety and integrity, referred to "approximately 50% cuts company-wide".

But Mr Musk said the social media giant's commitment to content moderation was "absolutely unchanged".

Mr Musk, the world's richest man, took over Twitter in a $44bn (£38.7bn) deal.

The billionaire insisted in his own tweet that all those losing their jobs were offered three months of severance pay, "which is 50% more than legally required". read more Open / Comment

2022-11-04 16:00:01 Iran security forces and state media cover up protester's death - source

Iranian security forces are working with state media to claim falsely that a killed protester was a loyalist Basij militiaman, BBC Persian has found.

Milad Ostad-Hashem, 37, was shot in the back with a live round in Tehran on 25 September, his death certificate says.

His family alleged that security forces fired it, a close source told the BBC.

However, security officials pressured them to go along with state media reports that he was a Basij member killed by "rioters", the source added.

"Security forces threatened to kill their [Milad's parents] two other sons and bury Milad's body secretly in a remote place if they did not co-operate," the source said. read more Open / Comment