This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. By Rachel Russell BBC News Tributes have flowed for the “radical and incredible” Sinéad O’Connor after the Irish singer’s death at 56. She had a voice that “cracked stone”, said English musician Alison Moyet, while British band…

Mattel By Annabelle Liang Business reporter Mattel is doubling down on its plans to expand “outside the toy aisle” after the smash hit Barbie movie. The comments come as the California-based firm said its sales fell by 12% for the three months to end of June. Mattel’s brands – including Barney, Hot Wheels and Polly…

Moose Campbell/BBC By Jonathan Beale Defence correspondent, southern Ukraine The general in charge of Ukraine’s stuttering offensive in the south says Russia has created multi-layered minefields and fortified defensive lines which were making it difficult for military equipment, including tanks and armoured vehicles supplied by the West, to move forward. “That is why most of…

Getty Images By Paul Melly Africa analyst When President Vladimir Putin opens the Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg on Thursday, the attendance cast list will be closely scrutinised – in Paris, Washington, London, and at United Nations headquarters in New York. But Africans will view the event quite differently. For Western foreign ministries fretting about…

Getty Images By Max Matza BBC News Three members of a Colorado family died while attempting to live “off the grid” in the Rocky Mountains, family members and investigators say. The emaciated remains of sisters Christine and Rebecca Vance and the latter’s 14-year old son, were found in a remote campsite this month. On Tuesday…

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. By Max Matza BBC News An Ohio policeman who released an attack dog on a black truck driver who was trying to surrender after a highway chase has been fired. Officials said that his actions “did not…

Bagas Wira Paksi By Adam Hancock BBC News, Singapore For almost a quarter of a century Indonesian football fan Bagas Wira Paksi has watched the fortunes of his favourite club wax and wane from thousands of kilometres away. But this weekend, he hopes to finally cheer his team on in person when Leicester City play…

By Mark Savage BBC Music Correspondent In 1990, Sinéad O’Connor scored a worldwide hit with Nothing Compares 2 U, a song of unspeakable loss and heartbreak. It was the defining moment of her career – one that thrust her unwillingly into the mainstream. But the story of the video, and how she came to record…

The International Energy Agency thinks peak oil use is in sight this decade as the world switches to renewables. What is driving this shift – and what is still standing in the way? The idea of “peak oil” – a peak in the amount of oil we can physically extract, followed by an irreversible decline…

Soldiers have gone on national TV in Niger and announced that they have carried out a coup. They said they had dissolved the constitution, suspended all institutions and closed the West African country’s borders. Niger President Mohamed Bazoum has been held by troops from the presidential guard since early on Wednesday. US Secretary of State…