Increased shipping costs driven by the conflict in Iran will be passed on to consumers, the boss of the world's second biggest shipping company has said. "We have traditional contracting mechanisms that pass on this fuel fluctuation, whether they go up or they go down, onto the customers," Vincent Clerc, …

11 hours ago Alice CuddySenior international reporter, Beirut It was about 01:30 in the morning when a loud explosion tore through the Raouche neighbourhood in the heart of the Lebanese capital Beirut. The Israeli strike on the four-star Ramada Plaza hotel marked the first time in this war that Israel's …

2 hours ago Katy Watson ,Australia correspondentand Simon Atkinson ,Reporting from the Gold Coast The first hint something was up, was when we spotted a small group of Iranian footballers in the hotel lobby. We counted at least three players, wearing black headscarves and dressed in the team's grey shirts, …

3 hours ago Aleks Phillips HMS Dragon has begun its journey to the eastern Mediterranean to join the UK's defensive operations in the region. The Type 45 destroyer left its dock in Portsmouth on Tuesday afternoon, having only recently come out of maintenance. It will be the UK's first and …

6 hours ago Georgina RannardScience reporter Hedgehogs may be communicating with more than just snuffles, grunts and snorts, according to scientists who have discovered the animal's hearing range. The creatures hear sounds at a much higher frequency than humans, meaning they could be signalling to each other with noises that …

The government's inquiry into grooming gangs "must look specifically at London as part of its local investigations", according to a group of MPs. In a letter seen by the BBC, eight Conservative MPs and three London Assembly members are demanding "urgent action" from Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Mayor of …

British wildlife will replace historical characters on the next series of Bank of England banknotes - and the public will get their say on which animals and birds will appear. Images of wildlife would be difficult to counterfeit, while also allowing for a celebration of nature across the country, the …

Dozens of hereditary peers are set to lose their seats in the House of Lords, after the passage of a bill that will end a parliamentary role dating back hundreds of years. Peers passed the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill after ministers offered a compromise to end a long-running …

The Duchess of Sussex will headline a women-only weekend retreat in Sydney, Australia in April this year, with tickets starting at A$2,699 ($1,900; £1,400) per person. The three-day event will be during Meghan and the Duke of Sussex's visit to Australia next month, seven years after their first visit in …

6 hours ago Jim Connolly When Louise Burns noticed that her dog Bow was breathing oddly in October 2023, she took the Boston terrier straight to the vet. Louise recalls being told that Bow's airway was swollen - Bow was given a tracheostomy and then a further operation to help …