Reuters By Thomas Mackintosh BBC News The government of Alberta has pulled its support for a bid to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games due to rising costs. A joint bid was being considered by the Canadian province, centred around the cities of Edmonton and Calgary. Tourism Minister Joseph Schow said the bill was estimated at…

Infozahyst By Abdujalil Abdurasulov BBC News, Kyiv In the early days of the invasion of Ukraine, experts were surprised at how poorly the Russian army’s electronic warfare units performed. But nearly 18 months later they are causing significant problems for Ukraine’s counter-offensive. “Use single rounds,” whispers a Ukrainian soldier hiding behind a wall near the…

Reuters By Kelly Ng & Benny Lu Singapore and Hong Kong Taiwan’s new sexual harassment laws are being seen a first step in addressing its MeToo reckoning, but activists say they still fall short in several areas. The ruling Democratic Progressive Party raced to toughen laws after it was hit by a wave of sexual…

Florida Fish & Wildlife By Max Matza BBC News In the decade since Florida launched its first public contest to kill Burmese pythons, thousands of people from all over the US and around the world have staked their hopes on killing as many of the massive serpents as they can. Jake Waleri, 22, has one…

GSK By Naomi Grimley Health Correspondent Scientists have found a naturally occurring strain of bacteria which can help stop the transmission of malaria from mosquitoes to humans. They found it by chance, after a colony of mosquitoes in one experiment did not develop the malaria parasite. The researchers say the bacteria could be a new…

Getty Images By Kim Chakanetsa BBC World Service On the day Beirut stood still, the city was covered in glass. Joelle Azar remembers being surrounded by it. “The glass was flying everywhere,” she says. Shards of it ripped from car, shop and apartment building windows and scattered across the city as the port blast tore…

Heatwaves across southern Europe have brought devastating wildfires to the region. How is the Mediterranean’s vegetation likely to recover and adapt as climate change increases the risk of these blazes? The contrast is stark – where vast swathes of land were once rich with life, they are blackened and smouldering ruins, decimated by fire. In…

As hip-hop turns 50, Arwa Haider traces the verbal pioneers who forged a path long before 1973, from jazz “hep cat” Slim Gaillard to “dirty blues” singer Lucille Bogan. Hip-hop is a culture, and rap flourishes from a far-ranging lineage. There will always be hot debate about the first rap record – 1979 gave rise…

EPA Niger’s ousted leader has urged the US and “entire international community” to help “restore… constitutional order” after last week’s coup. In an opinion piece in the Washington Post, President Mohamed Bazoum said he was writing “as a hostage”. Unrest has erupted in the west African state since he was overthrown. On Thursday, the coup…

In one unusual outback town, everything is subterranean – from churches to campsites. As the world heads for 2.7C (4.9F) of global warming, should we be heading underground? On the long road towards central Australia, as you travel 848km (527 miles) north from Adelaide’s coastal plains, is a scattering of enigmatic sand-pyramids. Around them, the…