Speaking about the impact the abuse had on her, Carter said: “It makes you feel really small. It makes you feel like you’re not important, that you’re not valuable.
“It makes you second guess everything that you do – it’s not a nice place to be. It doesn’t make me feel confident going back on to the pitch. My family was so devastated by it as well and so sad.”
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said during the tournament that the governing body had referred the “abhorrent” abuse to UK police.
Carter stepped back from social media following the abuse, though she said the support received from the England fans “meant everything”.
The England team decided to stop taking the knee before matches, with manager Sarina Wiegman saying the impact of the anti-racism gesture was “not good enough”.
Carter said the psychological impact of the abuse she suffered made her feel “scared” when Wiegman told her she had been selected to play in the final.
“That’s the first time I’ve ever been scared – too scared to play,” she added.
“I think it was a mixture of such a big game, but then on top of that [I was] scared of whatever abuse might come with it, whether it’s football based or whether it was going to be the racial abuse that was going to come with it because I did something wrong.”
Barcelona’s domination of Real Madrid last season resulted in Los Blancos bringing an end to Carlo Ancelotti’s second tenure – even though he had delivered a league and European double a year previous.
Rumours rumbled for most of the season, after a low-key start at home and abroad, that former Real midfielder Xabi Alonso would be making the switch from Bayer Leverkusen to replace Ancelotti.
All seemed well for a dignified departure for the Italian, club football’s most decorated manager, who now will lead the record World Cup winners into next year’s 2026 edition.
For the perfectly written script to continue, however, Alonso will need to make a strong start on all fronts. Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at the new La Liga season.
When does the La Liga season begin?
The first match of the new Spanish campaign is on Friday, August 15 and sees Girona, who finished only a point above the relegation zone last season, entertain a Rayo Vallecano side that claimed ninth spot in La Liga last year.
Girona were the league’s surprise package two seasons ago when they finished third – only four points behind Barcelona.
Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal, third from right, and Marc-Andre ter Stegen lift the trophy after winning La Liga [Albert Gea/File Photo/Reuters]
When are Barcelona and Real Madrid’s first La Liga fixtures?
Barcelona kick off their La Liga defence on Saturday, August 16, when they make the trip to Mallorca.
Real Madrid are not in action until Tuesday, August 19, when they complete the first round of Spanish top-flight fixtures with a trip to Espanyol.
What transfers have Real Madrid and Barcelona made?
It has been a quiet transfer window for Barcelona, whose finances had been heavily in the spotlight last year with La Liga rules limiting spending on wages and transfers – complicating the registration of Dani Olmo.
The Spanish international arrived from RB Leipzig in Germany for a fee of $62.5m in the summer of 2024, but was nearly forced into a free transfer away from the Catalan club due to their dire financial situation.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, have been quick to bolster a defence that has been hampered by injury and suspension throughout last season.
Trent Alexander-Arnold was a much-heralded arrival at a snip from Liverpool for $11.3m. Little expense was spared, however, in the capture of Spanish defensive duo Alvaro Carreras from Benfica for $57.7m and Dean Huijsen for $67m from Bournemouth.
Real Madrid’s Trent Alexander-Arnold moved from Liverpool in time to play at the FIFA Club World Cup [Hannah Mckay/Reuters]
What were the results between Barcelona and Real Madrid last season?
Barcelona won all four El Clasico matches between the football clubs last season, including the decisive La Liga clash, a May 11 meeting in Catalonia. The 4-3 win all but sealed the title for Barca, and also ended any thought that Ancelotti may stay on as manager of Real.
A 4-0 demolition of Real in Madrid on October 26 kicked off the derbies last season, the first major warning signs that Los Blancos may have a turbulent ride ahead.
Where will the spotlight focus on Barcelona and Real Madrid?
The lack of any major additions to Barcelona’s title-winning squad will throw doubt on whether manager Hansi Flick will be able to push the players to go again without further competition for places.
An early-season injury to Robert Lewandowski may mean an early opportunity for Rashford to make his mark in attack alongside Lamine Yamal and Raphinha. The England international has many questions himself to answer following his demise from his status as the star of Old Trafford.
Ferran Torres, the 25-year-old Spanish international, will also be a candidate to start in the place of Lewandowski in the early-season games.
With the resolution of Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s dispute, both the backlines and midfield appear well-resourced for Barca. Flick’s side will be fully expected to put up a stern defence of their La Liga title and to go all the way in the Champions League, a competition they were heavily favourites to win last season until their shock semifinal elimination by Inter Milan.
Barcelona’s Marcus Rashford acknowledges fans before a match against Como [Bruna Casas/Reuters]
Real Madrid will have to cope with the loss of Luka Modric in midfield, only a year after the retirement of Toni Kroos – an absence believed to have heavily contributed to Real’s demise last season.
The link-up between the front three of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo was another area of concern for Real. Indeed, so much so that it affected the role of Jude Bellingham, who was forced to sit deeper in midfield following the arrival of the former.
Mbappe eventually silenced the critics. The French international’s tally of 40 goals in all competitions surpassed that of Cristiano Ronaldo in his first season with Madrid.
Nonetheless, the link-up between an attack and midfield, which is now missing both of its mainstays for more than a decade, will be the major problem for Alonso to solve.
Can Atletico Madrid challenge Real and Barcelona?
Atletico finished 14 points off top spot last season, but had offered hope at one stage, with a 15-game winning streak, that glory was on the cards.
Diego Simeone’s side finished sixth in the League Phase of the Champions League, but were eventually eliminated by Real, who themselves had to reach the knockout stage via playoffs. They did also have a disappointing group-stage exit at the Club World Cup, including a 4-0 defeat by Paris Saint-Germain.
Simeone’s side are always based on a solid defence, and the permanent capture of Clement Lenglet following his loan from Barcelona last season ensures that is likely to continue.
An already formidable forward line is boosted by the arrival of Thiago Almada from Botafogo, for an undisclosed fee, following a season-long loan at Lyon last season.
Alongside fellow countryman Julian Alvarez, France and Atletico legend Antoine Griezmann, and Giuliano Simeone, the son of the manager, Almada could well sprinkle the magic needed to elevate Atletico to the top of the pile.
Atletico Madrid’s Thiago Almada, centre, in action in pre-season against Newcastle United [Lee Smith/Reuters]
US President Donald Trump signed an extension just before midnight in Beijing, when a pause on tariffs was set to expire.
United States President Donald Trump has signed an executive order extending the China tariff deadline for another 90 days.
The extension came only hours before midnight in Beijing, when the 90 day pause was set to expire, CNBC reported on Monday, citing a White House official.
The White House did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.
Earlier on Monday, Trump said he has been “dealing very nicely with China” as Beijing said it was seeking positive outcomes.
If the deadline had passed, duties on Chinese goods would have returned to where they were in April at 145 percent, further fuelling tensions between the world’s two largest trading partners.
While the US and China slapped escalating tariffs on each other’s products this year, reaching prohibitive triple-digit levels and snarling global trade, both countries in May agreed to temporarily lower tariffs at a meeting between negotiators in Geneva, Switzerland.
But the pause comes as negotiations still loom. Asked about the deadline on Monday, Trump said: “We’ll see what happens. They’ve been dealing quite nicely. The relationship is very good with [China’s] President Xi [Jinping] and myself.”
“We hope that the US will work with China to follow the important consensus reached during the phone call between the two heads of state,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian in a statement.
He added that Beijing also hopes Washington will “strive for positive outcomes on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit”.
In June, key economic officials convened in London as disagreements emerged and US officials accused their counterparts of violating the pact. Policymakers again met in Stockholm last month.
Even as both countries appeared to be seeking to push back the reinstatement of duties, US trade envoy Jamieson Greer said last month that Trump will have the “final call” on any such extension.
Ongoing negotiations
Kelly Ann Shaw, a senior White House trade official during Trump’s first term and now with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, said she expected Trump to extend the 90-day “tariff detente” for another 90 days later on Monday.
“It wouldn’t be a Trump-style negotiation if it didn’t go right down to the wire,” she said.
“The whole reason for the 90-day pause in the first place was to lay the groundwork for broader negotiations, and there’s been a lot of noise about everything from soybeans to export controls to excess capacity over the weekend,” she said.
Ryan Majerus, a former US trade official now with the King & Spalding law firm, welcomed the news.
“This will undoubtedly lower anxiety on both sides as talks continue, and as the US and China work toward a framework deal in the fall. I’m certain investment commitments will factor into any potential deal, and the extension gives them more time to try and work through some of the longstanding trade concerns,” he said.
Since returning to the presidency in January, Trump has slapped a 10-percent “reciprocal” tariff on almost all trading partners, aimed at addressing trade practices Washington deemed unfair.
Markets are relatively flat on the news of extension. The Nasdaq is down by 0.07 percent, the S&P 500 is down 0.08 percent. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down by about 0.4 percent at 3:30pm in New York (19:30 GMT).
The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned Israel’s assassination of five Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza. Guterres is demanding an independent investigation into the killings, his spokesperson said on Monday.
“They can’t just go all foreign and bring in a host of Kiwis and South Africans, so they’re going to make sure that they’re clever,” says Noon.
“I think they’re conscious of trying to get enough quality guys to get through the season, but with a view that actually there’s a long-term project. With a bit more time and patience they can get the guys they want, as opposed to who is available.”
Red Bull’s entry into the Prem marks the end of a year-long search for a buyer for Newcastle.
Early last autumn, long-time club owner Semore Kurdi brought in A&W Capital, specialists in the sale of sports teams, to find someone to take the club on.
It was a pressing concern not just for Kurdi, who has put many millions of his own money into the club since becoming owner in 2011, or Newcastle, but the league as a whole.
After the demise of Worcester Warriors, Wasps and London Irish, another club going under would have reduced the Prem to nine clubs. Each round would involve only four fixtures and the gate receipts and product for broadcasters and sponsors would shrink.
The situation was so stark that earlier this year Sky News reported, external the other Premiership clubs, along with CVC Partners who part-own the league, were prepared to loan Newcastle £4m to keep them upright.
Red Bull’s investment is a vastly preferable option for all involved.
Newcastle’s dire circumstances and Kurdi’s desire to see the club in good hands meant Red Bull could cut a deal with little initial cost beyond taking on responsibility for the club’s £39m debts.
Prem Rugby has been understandably eager to facilitate an acquisition that solves a short-term problem and fits long-term goals.
It also hopes to switch to a franchise model, perhaps as soon as 2026-27, doing away with on-pitch relegation. Such a move would reduce the risk of investing in distressed assets such as Newcastle, something that can spook potential owners.
Even the plan to rename Newcastle Falcons as Newcastle Red Bulls was simple and supported.
Red Bull ran into stiff opposition from the German football federation over their renaming of RB Leipzig in 2009. The RB officially stands for RasenBallsport, rather than the energy drink that bankrolled the team’s rise up the leagues, as a concession to officialdom.
English rugby, which has seen plenty of rebrands and title sponsors since the dawn of professionalism, has no such qualms.
Spain’s football federation has approved a request for Villarreal’s home La Liga game with Barcelona to move to Miami.
The Spanish league is closer to playing a regular-season game in the United States.
The Spanish football federation on Monday approved a request for the match between Villarreal and Barcelona to be played in Miami, Florida on December 20.
The federation will now seek approval from football’s governing bodies UEFA and FIFA.
The 17th-round match in La Liga would be played at the Hard Rock Stadium, the home stadium of former Barcelona star Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami.
The league first tried to stage a match in the US in 2018, but the idea was dismissed after criticism from some players, fans and clubs. Its subsequent attempts to play there also failed.
Staging a match abroad has been part of the league’s goal of promoting football and its brand in other countries. The league is in a long-term partnership with sports and entertainment group Relevent Sports, which is part of Stephen Ross’s portfolio of companies including the Hard Rock Stadium, the Miami Dolphins, Formula One’s Miami Grand Prix, and the Miami Open tennis tournament.
FIFA moved last year towards ending decades of football tradition by ordering a review of its policy that blocks domestic league games being played in other countries.
Fans are likely to object to their teams’ home matches potentially being moved thousands of miles (and kilometres) away, though it has become routine for US pro sports leagues to stage games in Europe, Asia and South America that help build their brands and fan bases.
US President Donald Trump said last week that Intel’s CEO Lip-Bu Tan was ‘highly conflicted’ because of his ties to Chinese firms.
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan is due to visit the White House after United States President Donald Trump last week called for his removal.
The executive of the tech giant was set to meet the president on Monday, a source familiar with the matter told the Reuters news agency.
Neither Intel nor the White House immediately responded to requests for comment.
Tan is expected to have an extensive conversation with Trump while looking to explain his personal and professional background, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), which broke the news on Sunday, adding that he could propose ways Intel and the US government could work together, the paper said.
Tan hopes to win Trump’s approval by showing his commitment to the US and guaranteeing the importance of keeping Intel’s manufacturing capabilities as a national security issue, the WSJ added.
Last week, Trump demanded the immediate resignation of Tan, calling him “highly conflicted” due to his ties to Chinese firms, comments that raised doubts about Tan’s plans to turn around the struggling US chip icon.
It was a rare instance of a US president publicly calling for a CEO’s ouster, and sparked debate among investors.
Tan said he shared the president’s commitment to advancing US national and economic security.
Reuters reported exclusively in April that Tan invested at least $200m in hundreds of Chinese advanced manufacturing and chip firms, some of which were linked to the Chinese military.
Tan, a Malaysian-born Chinese American business executive, was also the CEO of Cadence Design from 2008 through December 2021, during which time the chip design software maker sold products to a Chinese military university believed to be involved in simulating nuclear explosions.
Last month, Cadence agreed to plead guilty and pay more than $140m to resolve the US charges over the sales.
Intel’s stock surged ahead of the meeting. The company, which trades under the ticker INTC, is up more than 7.5 percent for the day as of noon in New York (16:00 GMT).
Fires threaten a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Spain as temperatures hit new records.
A new heatwave has gripped parts of Europe, sending temperatures up to 43 degrees Celsius (109.4 degrees Fahrenheit), with wildfires wreaking havoc and forcing evacuations as the impact of global warming is keenly felt on the continent.
Firefighters in northwestern Spain struggled on Monday to contain a wildfire that damaged an ancient Roman mining site and forced hundreds of residents to flee.
Regional Environment Minister Juan Carlos Suarez-Quinones said the firefighting effort near the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Las Medulas faced “many difficulties” due to high temperatures and winds of up to 40 kilometres per hour (25 miles per hour).
Extreme heat and strong winds caused “fire whirls”. “This occurs when temperatures reach around 40 degrees Celsius [104F] in a very confined valley and then suddenly [the fire] enters a more open and oxygenated area,” Suarez-Quinones said.
Four people, including two firefighters, have suffered minor injuries, he added. “We will not allow people to return until safety in their communities is absolutely guaranteed,” Suarez-Quinones told reporters, estimating that about 700 people remained displaced.
Authorities said damage to the Roman gold-mining area famed for its striking red landscape in northwestern Spain will be assessed once the fire is fully under control.
In the northern part of neighbouring Portugal, nearly 700 firefighters were battling a blaze that started on Saturday in Trancoso, about 350km (200 miles) northeast of Lisbon.
The French national weather authority, Meteo-France, placed 12 departments on red alert, the country’s highest heat warning, anticipating exceptional heat stretching from the Atlantic coast to the Mediterranean plains.
“Don’t be fooled. This isn’t normal, ‘it’s summer.’ It’s not normal. It’s a nightmare,” agricultural climatologist Serge Zaka told BFMTV. The red alert in France has been issued only eight times since it was created in 2004 after a deadly summer the year before.
Three major fires also blazed along the borders with Greece and Turkiye, including one near Strumyani that reignited after three weeks.
In Bulgaria, temperatures were expected to exceed 40C (104F) on Monday with maximum fire danger alerts in place.
Nearly 200 fires have been reported. Most have been brought under control, localised and extinguished, but the situation remains “very challenging”, said Alexander Dzhartov, head of Bulgaria’s national fire safety unit.
Hungary on Sunday recorded a new national high of 39.9C (104F) in the southeast, breaking a record set in 1948. Budapest also recorded a city record at 38.7C (101.6F).
Wildfires destroyed several homes in Albania as firefighters battled blazes in sweltering conditions on Monday. According to Albania’s Ministry of Defence, firefighters and soldiers subdued most of the close to 40 fires that flared up within 24 hours but more than a dozen were still active.
In Croatia, about 150 firefighters spent the night defending homes from a blaze near the port city of Split.
A 16-year-old girl and two boys, aged 14 and 15, have been arrested by Kent Police
Three children have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man was found dead in Leysdown-on-Sea on the Isle of Sheppey.
Officers and an air ambulance were called to Warden Bay Road shortly after 19:00 BST on Sunday, following reports of an altercation and a man being assaulted, Kent Police said.
The man, aged in his 40s, sustained serious injuries and was confirmed dead at the scene. His next of kin have been informed, the force added.
A 16-year-old girl and two boys, aged 14 and 15, remain in police custody, pending further inquiries, a police spokesperson said.
PA Media
The area is just off the north Kent coast and is a popular location for beachgoers
A police cordon has been set up in a large clearing behind the beach, in front of a caravan park.
A public footpath to the beach has also been cordoned off by police.
An officer was seen standing guard at a fenced off area of land near the beach on Monday.
Specialist officers brought a police dog to the crime scene as they continued their search for evidence.
UKNIP
Police appealed for any witnesses or anyone with information to get in touch
One eyewitness, who was on holiday in the area, told the BBC that there were about 100 bystanders as police arrived at the scene on Sunday night.
He said: “I saw the helicopter landing and a lot of police personnel trying to resuscitate someone.
“That was about 19:30 on Sunday and now it is a crime scene.”
Letitia Etherington
South East Coast Ambulance Service confirmed it had also been called to the scene
Anton Jasnu, who owns a shop in the area, told the BBC he ran out from his shop when he saw someone receiving CPR on the beach of Leysdown-on-Sea, which has a population of just under 1,000 people.
South East Coast Ambulance Service confirmed it had also been called to the scene.
Kent Police appealed for any witnesses or anyone with information to get in touch.
The five Al Jazeera staff members assassinated by Israeli forces are just the latest journalists to be killed in Gaza, where rights campaigners say Israel is conducting a murderous campaign to conceal the truth.
Presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe was shot in Bogota on June 7 during a rally and underwent multiple surgeries before his death.
Colombian presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe, who had been fighting for his life since he was shot in June during a campaign event, has died, according to his family.
Uribe, a 39-year-old senator and a potential presidential candidate from the right-wing opposition, was shot in Bogota on June 7 during a rally and underwent multiple surgeries before his death.
“I ask God to show me the way to learn to live without you,” his wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, wrote on social media. “Rest in peace, love of my life, I will take care of our children.”
Uribe enjoyed a rapid political rise, becoming a recognised lawmaker for the Democratic Centre party. He was seeking to run in the 2026 presidential election.
A 15-year-old boy was arrested at the scene with a “9mm Glock-type firearm” and has pleaded not guilty after being formally charged on June 10 with attempted murder, the prosecutor’s office said.
More foreign criminals will be deported before their appeals against their removal are heard as the Home Office adds 15 new countries to its “deport now, appeal later” scheme.
The policy allows the government to send foreigners who commit crimes in the UK back to their home countries before they can appeal against the decision.
The scheme’s new countries, including Canada, India and Australia, bring the total to 23 – nearly three times more than the original eight, with the Home Office saying more could follow in the future.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper says expansion of the scheme is to prevent foreign criminals from “exploiting our immigration system” and “fast-track” their removals.
Foreign nationals who have had their claim refused will be expelled from the UK and can take part in their appeal hearings from their home countries via video link.
The other countries added to the scheme are:
Angola
Botswana
Brunei
Bulgaria
Guyana
Indonesia
Kenya
Latvia
Lebanon
Malaysia
Uganda
Zambia
Cooper said previously that offenders were able to remain in the UK “for months or even years” while their cases worked through the appeals system.
“That has to end. Those who commit crimes in our country cannot be allowed to manipulate the system, which is why we are restoring control and sending a clear message that our laws must be respected and will be enforced,” she added.
Ministers argue that increasing deportations will ease the overcrowding crisis in prisons.
Prisons in England and Wales are facing significant capacity challenges, with occupancy levels nearing 100%.
There were 774 prisoners from the 15 new countries covered by “deport now, appeal later”, according to Ministry of Justice figures from the end of June.
Of the new countries, only Indians are in the most numerous nationalities among current prisoners.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy welcomed the decision and said the UK was working to increase the number of other countries where foreign criminals can be returned.
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, welcomed the move, adding: “But even with this U-turn, only the Conservative Party is committed to deporting all foreign criminals.
“Until Keir Starmer either commits to deporting all foreign criminals or stops rolling out the red carpet for migrants the world over, this problem is not going away.”
The move comes after the justice secretary announced on Sunday new plans to deport foreign criminals immediately after they have received a custodial sentence.
Under the proposals for England and Wales, those who are given fixed-term sentences could be deported straight away and would be barred from re-entering the UK.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said that foreign criminals would be sent “packing” if they “abuse our hospitality and break our laws”.
The new powers – which require Parliament’s approval – would save taxpayers money and increase publish safety, the government said.
However, shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick warned that some countries may refuse to take in those who are deported.
He suggested Sir Keir Starmer should “suspend visas and foreign aid” in the event that countries don’t take back their nationals.
According to the government, foreign offenders make up around 12% percent of the prison population, with prison places costing £54,000 a year on average.
It’s 1:00 p.m., and the sun in Maiduguri, North East Nigeria, scorches without mercy – too hot to stand still and too bright to keep eyes open. Under the blistering heat, however, children clutch their bowls tightly, roaming the streets for food.
When it rains, they shiver violently, teeth clattering loud enough to be heard from several feet away, their stomachs rumbling, their eyes scanning for anything edible. With bleeding heels and limps from split soles, their skin looks cracked during the harmattan. They often wander around, drifting through dumpsites with empty bowls or plastic bags clutched to their sides.
At fast food joints, they watch others eat, swatting flies from their eyes and the corners of their mouths, waiting for crumbs or spilt leftovers. By nightfall, they curl under bridges or behind kiosks, sleeping beneath shop awnings, or wherever a patch of shadow might pass for shelter.
They survive on dumpsites and gutters, scavenging for scraps, stretching out their palms to uninterested pedestrians, and knocking on car windows with quiet pleas. Some chant, some mumble, and some say nothing at all. It rarely makes a difference; most of the time, no one listens.
HumAngle has spoken to scores of children uprooted and shaped by the Boko Haram insurgency in the northeastern region. Broken and disadvantaged, many of these children say they resort to scavenging at dumpsites to survive, searching through refuse to feed themselves and support their families.
A boy scavenging on top of a moving dump truck in Maiduguri, Borno state. Photo: Abubakar Muktar Abba/HumAngle.
Twelve-year-old Ibrahim Ali, one of the scavenging boys HumAngle interviewed, returns with some metal scraps from a day-long exploration. “I always look for metal scraps that I can sell to support my family,” Ibrahim said. “On a good day, I find three to four kilos of metal that I sell for ₦300 per kilo. But on normal days, I get less than that. Sometimes I may end up without getting any scraps worth selling.”
The Boko Haram conflict unravelled the social safety net entirely. It swelled the ranks of the homeless, turned children into scavengers, and broke the links between family, education, and protection. When two cases of child abuse surfaced recently in the media, the public had a rare glimpse into the routine violence many children silently endure. The first involved a schoolgirl caught plucking mangoes, who was beaten with fists and kicks by the tree’s owner. The second was a video that emerged from a Tsangaya school: a boy stripped shirtless, doused with water, sand poured over him, and lashed mercilessly by his teacher.
The backlash was swift. The teacher was arrested. The state awarded the boy a scholarship. There was outrage. There were hashtags. However, the troubles facing children caught up in war zones are far more disturbing; the future of many of them is held to ransom by terrorists, ruining lives and properties in the suburbs of Borno state.
Bama, for instance, was once a bustling commercial hub, a critical trade link for merchants from Cameroon and neighbouring Nigerian states. But in 2014, it became the first major town to fall to Boko Haram. What followed was the collapse of life as it had once been. When the military reclaimed the town, a deepening humanitarian crisis emerged. Today in Bama, children roam the streets. Many have no idea where their parents are or what it means to be cared for.
Students sitting under the shade at the GDSS IDP camp, Bama, during class hours. Photo: Abubakar Muktar Abba/HumAngle.
These gaps in protection are realities carved into the lives of children like Adamu and Bala, who are forced to navigate survival without the support of family.
Adamu is just 10 years old, yet he carries himself with the hollowed, guarded manner of someone much older. He lives alone in a displacement camp in Bama, a place originally meant to provide safety, but where no one takes responsibility for him. “I don’t know who my parents are,” he said quietly, avoiding eye contact. “I just sleep anywhere in the camp. Sometimes near the fence, or by the market sheds.”
A class at the GDSS IDP camp, Bama. Photo: Abubakar Muktar Abba/HumAngle.
At sunrise, he sets out for Bama town, wandering in search of food. “In the morning, I go to town to beg. That’s how I survive,” he said.
In Konduga, 12-year-old Bala lives a different but equally difficult life. He shares a shelter in the IDP camp with his mother and two younger brothers, but the conditions are dire. “We don’t have food,” he said. “I beg on the streets to eat.” His father disappeared years ago, and Bala doesn’t know whether he’s alive or dead. Now, as the oldest child, he bears a responsibility far beyond his age, providing for his family.
Both boys are among the estimated 2.6 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Borno, more than half of whom are children. Despite the scale of the need, investment in education remains limited. Between 2020 and 2023, the Education Cannot Wait (ECW) initiative allocated US$20.1 million to support nearly 2.9 million children across Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe. In 2024, it pledged another US$15 million to reach over 130,000 more.
Children begging in the streets of Jere Borno state. Photo: Abubakar Muktar Abba/HumAngle.
“We cannot talk about algebra when they haven’t eaten,” said Mohammad Bunu, an educationist working with displaced and vulnerable children in northeastern Nigeria. The real crisis isn’t infrastructure; it’s the disconnect between formal education models and the survival realities of children in camps and communities, he said.
Bunu calls for a shift toward community-based education that combines basic literacy with vocational training, such as carpentry, tailoring, agriculture, and technology. “They need a path beyond begging or just attending school. Reintegration isn’t only for ex-combatants. We must invest in skills that restore dignity.
A boy scavenging for metal scraps with a magnet. Photo: Abubakar Muktar Abba/HumAngle
Longkat Enock, a clinical psychologist, adds that education must have structured emotional support. “You can’t heal a broken society if you ignore its broken children,” he warned. “They’ve seen killings, starvation and abandonment, yet no one asks how they feel.”
Longkat advocates for trained counsellors, safe spaces, and mentorship. “If we keep acting like food and books alone are enough, we’ll be here again in ten years, facing even more shattered futures.”
“We’re not just talking about children missing school, we’re talking about children missing entire stages of development,” said Bunu. “In many of these camps, there’s no structure, no routine, no trained teachers. It’s impossible to talk about rebuilding a society without rebuilding its education system first.”
The coordinators of a makeshift displacement camp at the Government Day Science Secondary School (GDSSS) in Bama say they host over 109,000 people, including more than 64,000 children.
When HumAngle visited the GDSSS school within the camp, the classrooms were empty, and only five teachers were present. “We don’t have more than 50 pupils attending class regularly,” one teacher said.
“When these boys grow up without any care, what will they turn into?” asked Bulama Abdu, a community elder in Bama. “We suffered from one generation of angry boys with guns. Are we raising another?”
“Conflict doesn’t end by hosting displaced people at camps or even back to their communities. If children are left without education, stability, or guidance, the trauma festers. They become vulnerable to criminality, violence, even new forms of extremism,” Enock added.
This concern is similar in post-conflict zones. In South Sudan, neglected war-affected youth became prime targets for militia recruitment. In post-war Liberia, years of childhood abandonment fed into cycles of urban violence. The Nigerian government has refused to articulate a long-term reintegration and education policy specifically targeting children displaced or affected by the Boko Haram conflict.
Reintegration efforts in the northeastern region largely prioritise ex-combatants, neglecting civilian victims and displaced children. Education-in-emergencies programs, such as learning centres for orphans, remain donor-dependent and limited in scale. Just 27 per cent of school-aged children in humanitarian response plans have received adequate education support, leaving the vast majority without access.
Health educators note that many Nigerians resist birth control on religious grounds. One family-planning counsellor explained that when the term for “family planning” (literally “limiting birth”) was introduced in Hausa (“Kaiyadde Iyali”), people instantly objected, asking, “Who are you to limit birth?”. They cite Qur’anic teaching that “Allah will provide for all children.” Many of them see large families as divinely ordained and avoid family planning on faith-based grounds.
Traditional socioeconomics also favour big families. In rural northern society, women live mostly at home and rely on children for chores and farm work. Children thus serve as household labour and social security. Having many sons or daughters brings status and assistance.
When HumAngle randomly spoke to some young persons in Maiduguri, the sentiment was nearly unanimous: family planning is perceived as a Western concept, alien to their values. Most respondents said they desired at least eight children, with several aiming for ten or more. “It is God who takes care of children,” said one of the young men. “Every child comes with their destiny. If he makes it, he will make it. If not, nothing the parents do will change that.”
For 27-year-old Adamu Ali, fathering ten children is part of his plan. “At least five of them will grow up to look after me when I’m old,” he said with conviction. His rationale is not uncommon in most northern communities where the collapse of formal social safety nets has reinforced the reliance on children as a form of long-term security.
UNICEF reports that Borno has one of Nigeria’s highest out-of-school rates, as roughly 1.8 million children lack access to schooling. A study found that conflict-affected women showed increased preference for larger families, viewing “more children as a coping strategy amid insecurity, seeking enhanced social and economic security, or replacing lost members during the conflict”.
In other words, families often cling to the belief that God will provide for any children they have, even when resources vanish. Humanitarian workers and relatives thus become the de facto caregivers for these unplanned generations, as villagers insist on growing their families in the hope of divine provision.
The ongoing boko haram conflict has shattered traditional support systems. Where once extended families or religious communities would help raise children, displacement and poverty have made that impossible.
“We don’t plan children,” said Hajja Fatima, a 45-year-old widow in Maiduguri raising six children alone. “That is God’s work. If he gives, you take.”
An outpouring of grief and condemnation has followed the Israeli assassination of five Al Jazeera staff in Gaza, including prominent correspondent Anas al-Sharif.
The drone attack late on Sunday hit a tent for journalists positioned outside the main gate of Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital, killing seven people. Among the dead were Al Jazeera correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Moamen Aliwa and Mohammed Noufal.
Just hours earlier, al-Sharif, 28, had posted on X about Israel’s “intense, concentrated bombardment” on eastern and southern Gaza City. Known for his fearless reporting from northern Gaza, he had become one of the most recognisable voices documenting the ongoing Israeli genocide in the enclave.
Al Jazeera Media Network has condemned what it called a “targeted assassination” of its journalists.
Below are a few of the responses to the killing of Al Jazeera staff:
Palestine
The Palestinian mission to the United Nations accused Israel of “deliberately assassinating” al-Sharif and Qreiqeh, describing them as among the “last remaining journalists” in Gaza.
“They have systematically and dutifully exposed and documented Israel’s genocide and starvation,” the mission said on X. “As Israel continues to ethnically cleanse Gaza, its enemy remains the truth: the brave journalists exposing its heinous crimes.”
Iran
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei has called on the world to hold Israel to account after the killing of the five Al Jazeera staff.
“A press badge is no shield against genocidal war criminals who fear the world witnessing their atrocities,” said Baghaei, accusing Israel of assassinating the journalists “in cold blood”.
“Strong condemnation is the bare minimum for any decent human being, but the world must act immediately to stop this harrowing genocide and hold the criminals accountable,” he added.
“Indifference and inaction are complicity in Israel’s crimes.”
United Nations
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, offered condolences to “the Al Jazeera family” and called for an investigation.
“We have always been very clear in condemning all killings of journalists,” Dujarric said. “In Gaza, and everywhere, media workers should be able to carry out their work freely and without harassment, intimidation or fear of being targeted.”
Al Jazeera correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh [Al Jazeera]
Al Jazeera Media Network has condemned “in the strongest terms” the killing of its journalists in a targeted assassination by Israeli forces.
In a statement, the network said the Israeli military “admitted to their crimes” and deliberately directed the attack at the journalists’ location. It called the assassination “another blatant and premeditated attack on press freedom”.
The strike came amid what Al Jazeera described as the “catastrophic consequences” of Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza, including mass civilian deaths, forced starvation, and the destruction of entire communities.
The network called the killing of al-Sharif, one of Gaza’s most prominent reporters, and his colleagues “a desperate attempt to silence the voices exposing the impending seizure and occupation of Gaza”.
Mohammed Noufal [Al Jazeera]
Committee to Protect Journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says it is “appalled” by Israel’s killing of Al Jazeera journalists.
“Israel’s pattern of labeling journalists as militants without providing credible evidence raises serious questions about its intent and respect for press freedom,” said the CPJ’s regional director, Sara Qudah.
“Those responsible for these killings must be held accountable,” Qudah added.
Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of the CPJ, recalled how Israel accused al-Sharif and others of being “terrorists” last October without evidence.
“We warned back then that this felt to us like a precursor to justify assassination,” she told Al Jazeera. “This is part of a pattern … going back decades, in which it kills journalists.”
Ibrahim Zaher [Al Jazeera]
Amnesty International
Amnesty International condemned the strike as a war crime under international law and remembered al-Sharif as a “brave and extraordinary” reporter.
In 2024, al-Sharif was awarded Amnesty International Australia’s Human Rights Defender Award for his resilience and commitment to press freedom.
“We at Amnesty International are devastated and heartbroken,” said Mohamed Duar, Amnesty International Australia’s spokesperson on the occupied Palestinian territory. “Anas dedicated his life to standing before the camera, exposing Israel’s atrocities against Palestinians, and documenting the truth so the world could bear witness.
“The courageous and brave journalists who have been reporting since the genocide began have been operating in the most dangerous conditions on Earth. At great risk to their lives, they have remained to show the world the war crimes being committed by Israel against almost two million Palestinian women, men and children,” he added.
Moamen Aliwa [Al Jazeera]
National Press Club
Mike Balsamo, president of the US-based National Press Club, said the killing of journalists is “a loss felt far beyond one newsroom” and urged a “thorough and transparent” investigation.
“Journalists must be able to work without being targeted or killed,” Balsamo said. “All parties in conflict zones must honour their obligations under international law to protect reporters and ensure they can carry out their work safely.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has condemned Israel’s killing of five Al Jazeera journalists and called on US and international media workers to “stand in solidarity” with their Palestinian colleagues.
“Israel’s ongoing campaign of targeted assassinations of Palestinian journalists is a war crime, plain and simple,” CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said in a statement.
“The murder of these Al Jazeera journalists is not an accident or collateral damage – it is part of a consistent, documented policy of silencing media voices and hiding the truth of the genocide being carried out by Israel in Gaza,” Awad said.
(Al Jazeera)
Since October 2023, Israel has killed 269 journalists in Gaza, in the deadliest conflict ever recorded for reporters.
Trade experts express concern about reported deal linking exports controls to monetary payments.
Nvidia and AMD have agreed to give the United States government a share of revenues from chip sales in China as part of a deal to secure export licences for their products, US media have reported.
Under the agreement reached with US President Donald Trump’s administration, Nvidia will share 15 percent of revenues from sales of its H20 AI chip, while AMD will pay the same percentage of MI308 chip revenues, multiple outlets reported on Sunday.
The unorthodox agreement, which has no known precedent, comes after the Trump administration last month agreed to reverse a ban on the sale of Nvidia’s H20 chips to China.
The Financial Times, which first reported the news, said the Trump administration had yet to decide how it would use the collected revenues.
AMD did not respond to a request for comment.
Nvidia neither confirmed nor denied the deal, but said it follows US government rules for doing business in overseas markets.
“While we haven’t shipped H20 to China for months, we hope export control rules will let America compete in China and worldwide,” a company spokesperson said.
“America cannot repeat 5G and lose telecommunication leadership. America’s AI tech stack can be the world’s standard if we race.”
Following reports of the deal, which was confirmed by The New York Times, Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal and the BBC, trade experts expressed concern about the implications of linking controls on sensitive technology to monetary payments.
Christopher Padilla, the former head of the US Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration, called the agreement “astonishing”.
“If the Trump administration is allowing companies to buy their way past export controls imposed to protect US national security, we are in very dangerous waters,” Padilla said in a post on LinkedIn.
“A mix of bribery and blackmail that is certainly unprecedented and possibly illegal.”
Peter Harrell, a nonresident fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said the deal set a worrying precedent.
“The Chinese would pay a lot for F35s and advanced US military technology, too,” Harrell said in a post on X.
“Regardless of whether you think Nvidia should be able to sell H20s in China, charging a fee in exchange for relaxing national security export controls is a terrible precedent.”
Australia will recognise a Palestinian state in September, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced.
Albanese said on Monday that his government would formally announce the move when the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meets in New York.
“A two-state solution is humanity’s best hope to break the cycle of violence in the Middle East and to bring an end to the conflict, suffering and starvation in Gaza,” Albanese said at a news conference in Canberra.
Australia’s announcement comes as Canada, France and the United Kingdom are preparing to formally recognise Palestine at the meeting next month, joining the vast majority of UN member states.
It also comes about a week after hundreds of thousands of Australians marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge to protest Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip.
Speaking a day after the protest, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that “there is a risk there will be no Palestine left to recognise.”
“In relation to recognition, I’ve said for over a year now, it’s a matter of when, not if,” Wong added.
The opposition Liberal Party criticised the move, saying it put Australia at odds with the United States, its closest ally, and reversed a bipartisan consensus that there should be no recognition while Hamas remains in control of Gaza.
“Despite his words today, the reality is Anthony Albanese has committed Australia to recognising Palestine while hostages remain in tunnels under Gaza and with Hamas still in control of the population of Gaza. Nothing he has said today changes that fact,” Liberal Party leader Sussan Ley said in a statement.
“Recognising a Palestinian state prior to a return of the hostages and defeat of Hamas, as the Government has today, risks delivering Hamas one of its strategic objectives of the horrific terrorism of October 7.”
The Australian Greens, the fourth-largest party in parliament, welcomed the move to recognise Palestine, but said the announcement did not meet the “overwhelming calls from the Australian public for the government to take material action”.
“Millions of Australians have taken to the streets, including 300,000 last weekend in Sydney alone, calling for sanctions and an end to the arms trade with Israel. The Albanese Government is still ignoring this call,” Senator David Shoebridge, the party’s spokesperson on foreign affairs, said in a statement.
The Australian Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) also criticised the announcement, describing it as a “political fig leaf, letting Israel’s genocide and apartheid continue unchallenged, and distracting from Australia’s complicity in Israeli war crimes via ongoing weapons and components trade”.
“Palestinian rights are not a gift to be granted by Western states. They are not dependent on negotiation with, or the behaviour or approval of their colonial oppressors,” APAN said in a statement.
According to Albanese, Australia’s decision to recognise Palestinians’ right to their own state will be “predicated on the commitments Australia has received from the Palestinian Authority (PA)”.
These “detailed and significant commitments” include the PA reaffirming it “recognises Israel’s right to exist in peace and security” and committing to “demilitarise and to hold general elections”, Albanese said while announcing the decision.
The PA is a governing body that has overseen parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank since the mid-90s.
It has not held parliamentary elections since 2006 and has been criticised by some Palestinians for helping Israel to keep tight control over residents in the West Bank.
Albanese said the commitments secured by Australia were “an opportunity to deliver self-determination for the people of Palestine in a way that isolates Hamas, disarms it and drives it out of the region once and for all”.
Hamas has been in power in the Gaza Strip since 2007, when it fought a brief war against forces loyal to PA President Mahmoud Abbas.
New Zealand to decide on recognition next month
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters said on Monday that his country’s cabinet will make a formal decision on Palestinian statehood in September.
“Some of New Zealand’s close partners have opted to recognise a Palestinian state, and some have not,” Peters said in a statement.
“Ultimately, New Zealand has an independent foreign policy, and on this issue, we intend to weigh up the issue carefully and then act according to New Zealand’s principles, values and national interest.”
Peters said that while New Zealand has for some time considered the recognition of a Palestinian state a “matter of when, not if”, the issue is not “straightforward” or “clear-cut”.
“There are a broad range of strongly held views within our Government, Parliament and indeed New Zealand society over the question of recognition of a Palestinian state,” he said.
“It is only right that this complicated issue be approached calmly, cautiously and judiciously. Over the next month, we look forward to canvassing this broad range of views before taking a proposal to Cabinet.”
Of the UN’s 193 member states, 147 already recognise Palestinian statehood, representing some three-quarters of the world’s countries and the vast majority of its population.
Under its 1947 plan to partition Palestine, the UNGA said it would grant 45 percent of the land to an Arab state, though this never eventuated.
The announcements by Australia and New Zealand on Monday came hours after an Israeli attack killed five Al Jazeera staff members in Gaza City, and as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to threaten a full-scale invasion of the city in the north of the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 61,430 people, according to Gaza’s health authorities.
Close to 200 people, including 96 children, have died from starvation under Israel’s punishing siege, according to health authorities.
South Korea’s military has shrunk to about 450,000 people – a decline of 20% over the last six years, according to a defence ministry report released by a ruling party lawmaker on Sunday.
Authorities say the main reason behind the decline is the country’s dismal birth rate, which at 0.75 babies per woman is the world’s lowest.
South Korea retains compulsory military service mainly because the country is still technically at war with its nuclear-armed neighbour North Korea.
A study published by South Korean researchers in July had suggested that the country would need at least 500,000 soldiers to defend against an attack from the North, which is believed to have 1.3 million active-duty members.
The difference in military sizes put South Korea in a “structurally difficult position to succeed in defence”, the study said.
It also noted that South Korea needed “decisive action at the national level” to maintain at least 500,000 troops.
The number of divisions in South Korea’s military has dropped from 59 to 42 since 2006 – with units having either disbanded or merged with one another – according to the defence ministry report sent to Democratic Party lawmaker Choo Mi-ae, who made it public on Sunday.
South Korea has been increasing its defence budget in response to rising geopolitical tensions in the region. Its defence budget for 2025 stands at more than 60 trillion won ($43bn; £32bn) – more than North Korea’s GDP.
In South Korea, all able-bodied men are required to serve 18 months of military service, although rare exceptions are made – and deferments are sometimes granted.
Military service is unpopular with many men in the country, with some critics arguing that the system disrupts the careers of young men. The debate surrounding the issue has also become inextricably linked to conversations around gender equality.
Some conservatives have argued that female citizens should also be conscripted amid the country’s looming demographic crisis.
The country has repeatedly broken its own record for having the world’s lowest birth rate: 0.98 babies per woman in 2018, 0.84 in 2020, 0.72 in 2023 and 0.75 in 2024. If this trend continues, experts warn the country’s population of 50 million could halve in 60 years.
When it comes to the Lucy Letby case, there are two parallel universes. In one, the question of her guilt is settled. She is a monster who murdered seven babies and attempted to murder seven more while she was a nurse at the Countess of Chester Hospital between 2015 and 2016.
In the other universe, Letby is the victim of a flawed criminal justice system in which unreliable medical evidence was used to condemn and imprison an innocent woman.
This is what Letby’s barrister Mark McDonald argues. He says he has the backing of a panel of the best experts in the world who say there is no evidence any babies were deliberately harmed.
These extremes are both disturbing and bewildering. One of them is wrong – but which? Who should we believe?
An alternative version of events
The families of the infants say there is no doubt. Letby was convicted after a 10-month trial by a jury that had considered a vast range of evidence. They say Letby’s defenders are picking on small bits of evidence out of context and that the constant questioning of her guilt is deeply distressing.
I have spent almost three years investigating the Letby case – in that time I have made three Panorama documentaries and cowritten a book on the subject. Yet, if true, the new evidence, presented by Mark McDonald in a series of high-profile press conferences and media releases, is shocking.
According to his experts, the prosecution expert medical case is unreliable.
Mark McDonald has not released the panel’s full reports, which are currently with the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), the body he needs to persuade to reopen Letby’s case, but he has released summaries of the panel’s findings.
Panorama
Barrister Mark McDonald says his panel of leading experts found no evidence that any babies were deliberately harmed
Letby was found guilty of 15 counts of murder and attempted murder, and the jury in her original trial reached unanimous verdicts on three of those cases. That is a good indication of where the strongest medical evidence might lie.
To get a sense of the imperfections woven through both the prosecution and the defence arguments, it’s worth looking at one of those cases in which the guilty verdict was unanimous: that of Baby O.
What really happened to Baby O?
Baby O was born in June 2016, one of triplet brothers. At Letby’s trial, the jury was told that his death was in part the result of liver injuries, which the prosecution pathologist described as impact-type injuries – similar to those in a car accident.
As in other cases for which Letby was convicted, the prosecution said circumstantial evidence also tied her to the crime.
However, a paediatric pathologist who was not involved in the case but has seen Baby O’s post-mortem report, says it was “unlikely” Baby O’s liver injuries were caused by impact – as the prosecution claims.
“You can’t completely rule out the possibility,” says the pathologist, who does not want to be identified. “But in my view, the location of the injuries and the condition of the liver tissue itself don’t fit with that explanation.”
Which raises the obvious question – if the prosecution were wrong about Baby O’s liver injuries, then why did he die?
Questions around air embolism
Letby was accused of injecting air into the blood of Baby O as well as that of other babies. This, the prosecution said, caused an air bubble and a blockage in the circulation known as air embolism.
During the trial the prosecution pointed to several pieces of evidence to make their case, including a 1989 academic study of air embolism in pre-term babies, which noted skin discolouration as one possible feature of it.
Prosecutors argued that these same skin colour changes were observed in several babies in the Letby case.
Reuters
In many aspects of the Letby case, the answer is not clear-cut
However, Dr Shoo Lee, a Canadian neonatologist and one of the authors of that 1989 study, is now part of Letby’s team of defence experts working with Mark McDonald. He argues that his study was misused.
He says skin discolouration has not featured in any reported cases of air embolism in babies where the air has entered the circulation via a vein – which is what the prosecution alleged happened in the Letby case.
In other words, the prosecution was wrong to use skin discolouration as evidence of air embolism.
It sounds significant. But is it enough to defeat the air embolism allegations?
As with many aspects of the Letby case, the answer is not clear-cut.
The prosecution did not rely on skin discolouration alone to make their case for air embolism. And although there have not been any reported cases of skin discolouration in babies where air has entered the circulation via a vein, some critics have argued that the number of reported air embolism cases is small and that the theory is still possible.
Andy Rain/ EPA – EFE/REX/Shutterstock
Professor Neena Modi believes there is some postmortem evidence of air embolism but this is likely to have occurred during resuscitation (pictured far left, with Professor Shoo Lee far right)
To muddy the waters further, another of Mark McDonald’s panel of experts has said that in fact there was post-mortem evidence of air embolism in the babies.
“We know these babies suffered air embolism because of the post-mortem imaging in some of them,” says Neena Modi, a professor of neonatal medicine.
She believes this is highly likely to have occurred during resuscitation, and that there are much more plausible explanations for the collapses and deaths of the babies in the Letby case than air embolism.
The air embolism theory, she said, was “highly speculative”. But her remarks show the debate is far from settled.
The needle theory: another explanation?
There has been another explanation for Baby O’s death.
In December 2024, Mark McDonald called a press conference in which one of his experts, Dr Richard Taylor, claimed that a doctor had accidentally pierced the baby’s liver with a needle during resuscitation. This, he argued, had led to the baby’s death.
Dr Taylor added: “I think the doctor knows who they are. I have to say from a personal point of view that if this had happened to me, I’d be unable to sleep at night knowing that what I had done had led to the death of a baby, and now there is a nurse in jail, convicted of murder.”
The doctor accused of causing the baby’s death was subsequently identified as Stephen Brearey – one of Letby’s principal accusers at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
Mr Brearey says: “Given the ongoing investigations and inquiries, and to respect the confidentiality of those involved, I will not be making any further comment at this time.”
Julia Quenzler / BBC
The needle theory was examined at length during Lucy Letby’s trial
It was a bombshell claim. But does the evidence support it?
One indication that the needle theory might be shaky was that Dr Taylor, by his own admission, had not seen Baby O’s medical notes and was relying on a report that had been written by two other experts.
Another obvious problem with the needle theory is that it had already been examined at length during Letby’s trial.
The prosecution pathologist concluded that there was no evidence that a needle had pierced Baby O’s liver while he was alive and the paediatric pathologist we spoke to agrees.
They told us: “These injuries weren’t caused by a needle. They were in different parts of the liver and there was no sign of any needle injury on the liver.”
Even if the needle had penetrated the baby’s liver, it cannot explain why Baby O collapsed in the first place or why he died – the needle was inserted after the baby’s final and fatal collapse towards the end of the resuscitation.
When asked if he still stood by his comments about the doctor’s needle, Dr Taylor told us that while the needle may not have been the primary cause of death, his “opinion has not substantially changed”.
He said the “needle probably penetrated the liver” of Baby O, and “probably accelerated his demise”.
Lack of consensus among the experts
The question of where this leaves the case presented by Mark McDonald’s panel of experts when it comes to the needle theory is a difficult one to answer.
It would appear that among Letby’s defenders, there is not consensus.
Consultant neonatologist Dr Neil Aiton is one of the authors of the original report on which Dr Taylor based his comments. Dr Aiton says that he has examined the evidence independently and has concluded that Baby O’s liver injuries were caused by inappropriate resuscitation attempts, including hyperinflation of the baby’s lungs.
However, he also says it was “pretty clear” a needle had punctured the liver during resuscitation.
When Dr Aiton was told that other experts, including the paediatric pathologist who spoke to the BBC, have examined the case of Baby O and said that it is implausible to conclude this happened, he said that there were two possibilities. Either the liver ruptured because of a needle or it ruptured spontaneously.
Dr Aiton’s position appears to be that poor resuscitation caused the baby’s liver injuries and whether it was a needle or not is “not important”.
That is a contrast from what Dr Taylor said in that December press conference. And critics say Dr Aiton’s account still does not explain why Baby O collapsed in the first place and why he needed such desperate resuscitation.
A summary report from Letby’s expert panel appears to back further away from the needle theory. It says a needle “may have” punctured the liver.
Other experts, including the paediatric pathologist, said that Dr Aiton’s observation of hyper-inflated lungs would not explain Baby O’s liver injuries.
Once again, the case illustrates how difficult it is to distinguish between plausible and implausible claims.
The debate around birth trauma
Since that press conference, other experts working for Letby’s defence team have put forward another theory for Baby O’s death. They say his liver injuries were the result of traumatic delivery at the time of birth.
Professor Modi says this was a “highly plausible cause”.
But that has been contested from a surprising direction. Dr Mike Hall, a neonatologist, was Lucy Letby’s original defence expert and attended court throughout her trial.
He has been a staunch critic of her conviction, arguing her trial wasn’t fair and that there is no definitive medical evidence that babies were deliberately harmed.
Panorama
Dr Mike Hall, Letby’s original defence expert, says there is no record of a traumatic delivery in Baby O’s medical notes
However, Dr Hall’s view is that evidence for the birth trauma theory is simply not there. He notes that Baby O was born in good condition by caesarean section and there is no record of a traumatic delivery in the baby’s medical notes.
“There’s still no evidence that anyone did anything deliberately to harm Baby O,” he adds. “However, something was going on with Baby O, which we haven’t explained.
“We don’t know what the cause of this is. But that doesn’t mean that we therefore have to pretend that we know.”
The insulin evidence
For the jury, Baby O was one of the clearest cases that proved Letby was a killer. And yet there appears to be flawed expert evidence on both sides.
There were two other cases where the jury returned unanimous verdicts – the cases of Babies F and L.
The prosecution argued that both babies had been poisoned with insulin and highlighted blood tests that it said were clear evidence of this. For the prosecution, the insulin cases proved that someone at the Countess of Chester Hospital was harming babies.
Letby’s defence have, meanwhile, marshalled numerous arguments against the insulin theory. One is that the blood test used – an immunoassay – is inaccurate and should have been verified. But even Letby’s experts accept the test is accurate around 98% of the time.
Another argument is that premature babies can process insulin differently and that the blood test results are “within the expected range for pre-term infants”. But the medical specialists we’ve spoken to are baffled by this claim and say it goes against mainstream scientific understanding.
PA
For the jury, Baby O was one of the clearest cases that proved Letby was a killer
Of course, mainstream opinion can be wrong. But it is difficult to tell because Letby’s defence team have not shared the scientific evidence.
One of the experts behind the report – a mechanical engineer who carries out biomedical research – clarified that his analysis says the blood test results were “not uncommon”. However, Letby’s defence declined to show the BBC the published studies that support this claim.
Once again, the claims of both the prosecution and defence are not clear-cut.
Ultimately, the question of whether Letby’s case should be re-examined by the Court of Appeal now lies with CCRC. They have the task of studying Mark McDonald’s expert reports.
If he is successful and Lucy Letby’s case is referred back to the Court of Appeal – that is ultimately where the expert evidence on both sides will face a true reckoning.
Lead image credit: Cheshire Constabulary, PA
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Elon Musk’s electric car and energy company Tesla has applied for a licence to supply electricity to British homes.
If approved by the energy watchdog Ofgem, it would allow Tesla to take on the big firms that dominate the UK energy market to provide electricity to households and businesses in England, Scotland and Wales as soon as next year.
Tesla, which is best known as one of the world’s biggest makers of electric vehicles (EV), also has a solar energy and battery storage business.
Tesla did not immediately reply to a BBC request for comment.
Ofgem can take up to nine months to process applications for energy supply licences.
Tesla Electric already operates a power supplier in Texas that allows owners of its EVs to charge their cars cheaply and pays them for feeding surplus electricity back to the grid.
The application, which was signed by Andrew Payne who runs Tesla’s European energy operations, was filed late last month.
Tesla has sold more than a quarter of a million EVs and tens of thousands of home storage batteries in the UK, which could help it gain access to a sizeable customer base for an electricity supply business.
The Ofgem licence application comes as Tesla’s EV sales have fallen across Europe in recent months.
In July, UK car registrations of Teslas fell by almost 60% and by more 55% in Germany, industry data showed.
That took the firm’s sales decline in the month to 45% in 10 key European markets.
Tesla has faced tough competition from rival EV makers, especially China’s BYD.
Musk has also been criticised for his relationship with US President Donald Trump, although the two have now very publicly fallen out.
His involvement in right-wing politics in the UK, Germany and Italy, meanwhile, has drawn ire from some of Tesla’s customers.
