A Russian drone strike has hit port and industrial facilities in the south of Ukraine’s Odesa region on the Black Sea, starting fires, authorities say. A grain silo was damaged, according to regional head Oleh Kiper, who gave no further details. Emergencies services personnel have been deployed. There have been no reports of any casualties.…

An Italian police dog named ‘Elio’ has thwarted a cash smuggling attempt by sniffing out over €1,075,600 (£925,000) stashed in two suitcases while on patrol at a bus station near Florence. Authorities said the owner of the bags was a Chinese national residing in Italy, and a formal investigation has been launched.

UK MOD By James Landale Diplomatic correspondent Thousands of women in Africa will die in pregnancy and childbirth as a result of cuts to the UK’s overseas aid budget, ministers have been warned. According to an internal assessment by civil servants, almost 200,000 more women will also face unsafe abortions. Their report reveals the impact…

EPA-EFE By Alys Davies & Thomas Mackintosh BBC News Pop star Lizzo is being sued by three of her former dancers over claims including sexual harassment and a hostile work environment. The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday, includes accusations of sexual, religious and racial harassment, discrimination, assault and false imprisonment. Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle…

Nayib Bukeler Soldiers and police in El Salvador have surrounded the entire central Cabanas department as part of President Nayib Bukele’s ongoing war against gangs. “Since this morning, 7,000 soldiers and 1,000 police officers have established a security fence,” Mr Bukele posted. The aim is to stop gang members leaving and to break their supply…

Getty Images By Bernd Debusmann Jr Reporting from Carrizo Springs, Texas As the sun rose over the aging water tower that stands over the quiet town of Carrizo Springs, Texas – population 5,000 – so did the temperature. By mid-morning, the town was sweltering. Parked cars quickly became unbearable, and the streets were largely devoid…

By Yusuf Akinpelu BBC News, Lagos President Bola Tinubu, who is at the helm of regional superpower Nigeria, regards the coup across the border in Niger as a litmus test for democracy in West Africa. Having assumed the chairmanship of regional bloc Ecowas a mere three weeks ago, he was confronted with a major foreign…

Extinct megalodon sharks were the top marine predators of their day and arguably more terrifying than anything Hollywood has dreamed up. The giant shark is back. Five years after The Meg, in which action star Jason Statham battled a huge prehistoric shark, the follow-up Meg 2: The Trench is upon us. Once again, Statham will…

Harriet Hastings is the co-founder of Biscuiteers, a gifting retailer specialising in hand-iced biscuits. We visited the company’s ‘Ministry of Biscuits’ where Harriet shares her business advice for our CEO Secrets series. Produced by Samantha Everett & Larissa Kennelly

Getty Images By Chris Vallance Technology reporter, BBC News The firm that owns Twitter, now called X, is suing an anti-hate organisation whose research criticised the platform. X Corp has accused the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), which has offices in the US and the UK, of “unlawful acts” to “improperly gain access” to…