Getty Images Madonna has thanked her family and friends for their support after she was hospitalised with a serious bacterial infection last month. The singer shared an update on social media saying she was lucky to be alive after her time in intensive care (ICU). “When the chips were down my children really showed up…

From its origins with the Phoenicians to Twitter’s rebrand, “x” is one of the English alphabet’s most powerful and alluring letters, writes Clare Thorp. As letters of the alphabet go, there is one that punches well above its weight. Out of a total of 308,000 entries in the Oxford English Dictionary, just 366 words begin…

Is the world of opera becoming more inclusive? A new documentary, featuring conductor Antonio Pappano, explores the mission to open up the art form to everyone. Conductor Sir Antonio Pappano is renowned for being a warm-hearted “people person”. But there’s one thing that makes his blood run cold: when he hears opera being accused of…

Allowing your baby to self-feed is claimed to help them broaden their palate and control their appetite, but does the evidence back that up – and is it safe? Picture an infant fed her first meal of solid food. If you live in a Western, industrialised country, one image might particularly come to mind: a…

Reuters By Soutik Biswas India correspondent Scholars have hailed India’s Supreme Court as the most powerful in the world – and not without reason. The 73-year-old court can nullify executive acts, parliamentary laws and amendments to the Constitution. It also has the power to initiate cases independently, appoint “friends of the court” to help it…

Joanna Mccall-Shaw By Faarea Masud Business reporter Online marketplace Etsy has come under fire from sellers for putting 75% of their takings on hold for 45 days. Hundreds of small business owners got an email from Etsy notifying them it was actioning its “reserve system”. Ceramics seller Rachel Collyer said Etsy was holding £899 of…

By Sam Judah BBC Newsnight and BBC Verify China is pressuring Uyghurs living abroad to spy on human rights campaigners by threatening families back home, researchers say. Refugees and activists tell the BBC intimidating tactics are tearing communities apart. “My dearest son,” said Alim’s mother as she flickered into view. “I didn’t think I’d see…

By Mohamed Osman BBC News Arabic While Kolthom was being gang-raped by four paramilitary fighters in Sudan’s war-hit Darfur region, she was also being racially abused. Warning: This article contains details some readers may find distressing. “They were very barbaric. They took turns raping me under the tree where I had gone to gather wood…

Sarah Merritt By Phil Shepka BBC News, Cambridgeshire Adam Merritt had a very close bond with his father Rob, who was also his carer after he was diagnosed with schizophrenia as a teenager. But in June last year, Adam called 999 to confess he had killed him. Adam’s sister says she is trying to move…

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra By Beth Rose BBC Access All Look at the BBC Proms poster this year and you’ll spot some classical big-hitters – the conductor Sir Simon Rattle and cello superstar Sheku Kanneh Mason. But look closer still and you’ll clock a suave French horn player…and his toes. Felix Klieser has been described as…