told

WASHINGTON — President Trump said that Russian President Vladimir Putin told him “very strongly” in a phone call Wednesday that he will respond to Ukraine’s weekend drone attack on Russian airfields as the deadlock over the war drags on and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismisses Russia’s ceasefire proposal.

The U.S. president said in a social media post that his lengthy call with Putin “was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate Peace.”

It’s the first time Trump has weighed in on Ukraine’s daring attack inside Russia. The U.S. did not have advance notice of the operation, according to the White House, a point the president emphasized during the call with the Russian leader, according to Putin’s foreign affairs advisor.

The U.S. has led a recent diplomatic push to stop the full-scale invasion, which began Feb. 24, 2022.

Trump, in his social media post, did not say how he reacted to Putin’s promise to respond to Ukraine’s attack, but his post showed none of the frustration that Trump has expressed with his Russian counterpart in recent weeks over his prolonging of the war.

Yuri Ushakov, Putin’s foreign affairs advisor, said at a briefing that the two leaders characterized the call as “positive and quite productive,” and reaffirmed their readiness to stay in touch.

“I believe it was useful for Trump to hear our assessments of what happened,” Ushakov said, noting that the discussion of the attacks was one of the key points in the conversation. He didn’t respond to a question about what the Russian response to the attacks could be.

Trump repeatedly promised to end the war quickly and even said he would accomplish it before he was sworn in. But he lost patience with Putin in recent weeks, publicly pleading with him to stop fighting and even said late last month that the Russian leader “has gone absolutely CRAZY.”

Trump, however, has not committed to backing a bipartisan push to sanction Putin.

The call was Trump’s first known talk with Putin since May 19. They also discussed, according to Trump and Ushakov, Iran’s nuclear program and the possibility of Russia engaging in talks with Tehran as the U.S. pushes the Islamic Republic to abandon its rapidly advancing nuclear program.

It was unclear whether Trump also planned to speak with Zelensky. The White House did not respond to a message Wednesday afternoon.

Zelensky brushes off Russian plan and pushes for talks

The Ukrainian leader earlier Wednesday dismissed Russia’s ceasefire plan as “an ultimatum” and renewed his call for direct talks with Putin to break the stalemate over the war, which has dragged on for nearly 3½ years.

Putin, however, showed no willingness to meet with Zelensky, expressing anger Wednesday about what he said were Ukraine’s recent “terrorist acts” on Russian rail lines in the Kursk and Bryansk regions on the countries’ border.

“How can any such [summit] meetings be conducted in such circumstances? What shall we talk about?” Putin asked in a video call with top Russian officials.

Putin accused Ukraine of seeking a truce only to replenish its stockpiles of Western arms, recruit more soldiers and prepare new attacks such as those in Kursk and Bryansk.

Both sides exchanged memorandums setting out their conditions for a ceasefire for discussion at Monday’s direct peace talks between delegations in Istanbul, their second meeting in just over two weeks. Zelensky had challenged Putin to meet him in Turkey, but the Kremlin leader stayed away.

Russia and Ukraine have established red lines that make a quick deal unlikely, despite a U.S.-led international diplomatic push to stop the fighting. The Kremlin’s Istanbul proposal contained a list of demands that Kyiv and its Western allies see as nonstarters.

‘This document looks like spam’

Zelensky said that the second round of talks in Istanbul was no different from the first meeting on May 16. Zelensky described the latest negotiations in Istanbul as “a political performance” and “artificial diplomacy” designed to stall for time, delay sanctions and convince the United States that Russia is engaged in dialogue.

“The same ultimatums they voiced back then — now they just put them on paper…. Honestly, this document looks like spam. It’s spam meant to flood us and create the impression that they’re doing something,” Zelensky said in his first reaction to the Russian document.

The Ukrainian leader said that he sees little value in continuing talks at the current level. Defense Minister Rustem Umerov led the Ukrainian delegation in Istanbul, while Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Putin, headed the Russian team.

Zelensky said he wants a ceasefire with Russia before a possible summit meeting with Putin, possibly also including Trump, in an effort to remove obstacles to a peace settlement.

U.S. Defense secretary stays away

A second round of peace talks Monday between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul lasted just over an hour and made no progress on ending the war. They agreed only to swap thousands of their dead and seriously wounded troops.

A new prisoner exchange with Russia could take place over the weekend, Zelensky said.

In tandem with the talks, both sides have kept up offensive military actions along the roughly 620-mile front line and carried out deep strikes.

Ukraine’s Security Service gave more details Wednesday about its spectacular weekend drone strike on Russian air bases, which it claimed destroyed or damaged 41 Russian aircraft, including strategic bombers.

The agency released more video showing drones swooping under and over parked aircraft and featuring some planes burning. It also claimed the planes struck included A-50, Tu-95, Tu-22, Tu-160, An-12, and Il-78 aircraft, adding that the drones had highly automated capabilities and were partly piloted by an operator and partly by using artificial intelligence, which flew the drone along a planned route in the event it lost signal.

The drones were not fully autonomous and a “human is still choosing what target to hit,” said Caitlin Lee, a drone warfare expert at Rand, a think tank.

Ukraine’s security agency said it also set off an explosion Tuesday on the seabed beneath the Kerch Bridge, a vital transport link between Russia and illegally annexed Crimea, claiming it caused damage to the structure.

But Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that there was no damage.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday that its troops have taken control of another village in northern Ukraine’s Sumy region, on the border with Russia. Putin announced May 22 that Russian troops aim to create a buffer zone that might help prevent Ukrainian cross-border attacks. Since then, Russia’s Defense Ministry claims its forces have taken control of nine Sumy villages.

Arhirova and Price write for the Associated Press. Arhirova reported from Kyiv, Ukraine. Illia Novikov in Kyiv, Chris Megerian in Washington, Emma Burrows in London and Katie Marie Davies in Manchester, England, contributed to this report.

The virus has been detected at a number of holiday destinations and one government has issued an alert

The government in a UK holkiday hotspot has urged people to wear masks, wash their hands, get vaccinated and avoid activity that could spread Covid as a new variant sends cases rocketing, The World Health Organisation has issued a warning over the new variant, NB.1.8.1, which has seen cases soar in countries including Egypt, the Maldives and Thailand.

The new strain, which is said to be more infectious than previous variants, has also been found in the US and the UK. Now the government in Thailand has issued a warning after 257,280 cases of Covid and 52 deaths.

The latest outbreak has been worst in the capital Bangkok and in Chonburi Province. Deputy government spokesperson Anukool Pruksanusak said international travel and the oncoming rainy season, could accelerate the outbreaks and the Ministry of Public Health will monitor the situation closely.

Anukool said people should ‘limit activities that increase the risk of infection, wash their hands regularly, wear masks in crowded places, get booster vaccinations when due, and seek medical attention promptly if experiencing symptoms’

Cases of the virus have been surging since mid-February and are now at their highest rate since last June. The WHO says there are higher levels of Covid in 73 countries – including the Caribbean.

The WHO has designated the new strain NB.1.8.1 as a ‘variant under monitoring’ amid concern about the sharp rise in cases. By late April 2025, NB.1.8.1 comprised roughly 10.7% of all submitted sequences – up from just 2.5% four weeks before. It is already the dominant strain in Hong Kong and China. Lara Herrero Associate Professor and Research Leader in Virology and Infectious Disease, at Griffith University said thanks to multiple mutations the new strain ‘ may infect cells more efficiently than earlier strains’.

“But importantly, the WHO has not yet observed any evidence it causes more severe disease compared to other variants. Reports suggest symptoms of NB.1.8.1 should align closely with other Omicron subvariants.

“Common symptoms include sore throat, fatigue, fever, mild cough, muscle aches and nasal congestion. Gastrointestinal symptoms may also occur in some cases.”

The new strain is being found in large numbers in the Eastern Mediterranean, an area including the tourist destination of Egypt. It is also being found in South East Asia – including in Thailand and the Maldives.

The WHO said recent increases have also been observed in Cambodia, China, Hong Kong and Singapore.

The report reads: “WHO recommends that countries remain vigilant, adapt to evolving epidemiological trends, and leverage COVID-19 management strategies to strengthen systems for all respiratory disease threats. Member States should continue offering COVID-19 vaccines in line with WHO recommendations.

“Based on the current risk assessment of this event, WHO advises against imposing travel or trade restrictions.”

Tom Llamas first stepped into NBC’s Rockefeller Center headquarters in 2000 as a fresh-faced intern.

On Monday, he becomes part of television news history as the fifth anchor of “NBC Nightly News” and the first Latino journalist to helm a daily English-language network evening newscast (one of his mentors, Jose Diaz-Balart, handles the Saturday edition of “Nightly”).

Llamas, 45, takes over for Lester Holt, who will move full time to NBC’s “Dateline” after a 10-year run in the anchor chair. Llamas will remain the anchor of “Top Story,” a live, hourlong newscast on the network’s free streaming platform NBC News Now.

The son of Cuban immigrants, Llamas grew up in Miami, where he continues to have strong ties (pop superstar Gloria Estefan and “Sabado Gigante” host Don Francisco attended a party in Florida to celebrate his promotion). He lives in Westchester County, N.Y., with his wife, Jennifer, three children aged 12, nine and seven, and a dedicated room for his vinyl record collection built from a decade of crate-digging while traveling around the world on assignment.

He recently spoke with The Times about his new role.

You’ve known Lester Holt since you were a 21-year-old production assistant at NBC News. What advice did he give you for your new role?

He’s been married to this job. And so I asked him about that, because my kids have always known me as a network correspondent and a network anchor. But he told me, “Your life is going to change.” And he explained to me that everyone’s going to want a piece of you and there’s going to be a lot of demands, even more than you’ve ever experienced.

And he’s been right about that. He said, “You have to make the right decisions when it comes to your career and your family.” My wife and my kids have known that sometimes I’ll be at a little league game or I’ll be at a school play, and I have to run and jump on a plane because there’s breaking news. And they understand that their dad does that. But we always have conversations about it. And it’s tough.

Do your children watch “NBC Nightly News” and “Top Story”?

Oh yeah.

I had my 7-year-old explaining the election to his classmates. He was walking them through when President Biden stepped down and Kamala Harris took over the nomination. Sometimes it’s tough. They were watching that night during Hurricane Milton last summer when a transformer exploded over my head, and that is a little scary. There were some text messages and calls to me quickly.

Sometimes they watch a little too much and we have to turn it off. But they are very plugged-in; they know the world around them. It’s just the same way I was raised. We watched news in English and Spanish as far back as I can remember. Because my parents were always searching for news out of Cuba.

Tom Llamas reporting from Kyiv in March 2022.

(NBC News)

What are your early news viewing memories?

I can really remember any time Fidel Castro was going to be interviewed. It was always a major moment, right? I remember my parents watching the interview and then deciding if it was a fair interview or not and having an open conversation about that. So I’m hearing about conversations of fairness my entire life. And I see what it means and how viewers react to that.

Did that inspire you to go into the profession?

I don’t know if it was an inspiration as much as it was a testament of how important the news is. It’s just that my family relied on the news. They wanted to know what was happening in their home country. They wanted to know what was happening in America. And they listened, and they trust these people.

What made the powers that be decide that you should keep doing “Top Story” while doing “Nightly”?

It was actually my idea.

Right now, in this country, you’ve got to be everywhere. And I didn’t want to lose what we’ve established for three and a half years. We just got nominated for an Emmy up against amazing legacy shows like “Nightly News,” “ABC World News Tonight” and the “CBS Evening News.” To be in that circle with a streaming show that is three years old, that’s been one of the greatest achievements of my career. Because this was a startup. And a lot of people said we couldn’t do this, and we have.

President Trump basically declared war on diversity, equity and inclusion policies. [The Federal Communications Commission has called for an investigation into NBC’s parent firm Comcast for what it describes as “DEI discrimination.”] Has that muted the achievement of being the first Latino to anchor an English-speaking nightly newscast?

I don’t think I got this job because I’m Hispanic; I think I got this job because I’m the best person for the job. And I know that’s what NBC believes, too.

My life story is something I’m very proud of. [My parents] essentially came to this country with nothing. They had no money, they barely spoke the language, and this incredible country gave them a second chance. It gave them a new home. And they taught me hard work, but they also taught me to love this country. And I do, I think this is the greatest place in the world, hands down. To become the anchor of “Nightly News” tells me that the American dream is still very alive.

NBC’s Tom Llamas in Rome, covering the death of Pope Francis in April 2025.

(NBC News)

You’re from the streaming music generation, but you have a vinyl record collection. How did that happen?

Ten or 12 years ago, I went to my friend’s house in Los Angeles and he has a record player. I think he played “Sticky Fingers” from the Rolling Stones. We just chilled and we listened to the album. And I thought, “What a great experience.”

Then I realized the other fun part about records is just finding them and collecting them, and trying to get original pressings. I have Wilson Pickett records that were made in Spain. I have Beatles records where the liner notes and the album covers are in different languages. I have a room where I have them — it feels like you’re walking into a jukebox. It’s where I read the paper sometimes. It’s where I prepare for big election nights. I’ll be in there for hours. It’s how I relax.

What’s on your turntable at the moment?

I’m in a bit of a hard-bop phase, so I’m listening to a lot of Art Blakey, a lot of Cannonball Adderley. I’ve been trying to find great live albums. I picked up this great five-record set from Bruce Springsteen, the run he had in the late ’70s through the ’80s. And a great album, which I got turned on to, is Elvis Presley’s “From Elvis in Memphis.” He recorded that in 1969, when Jimi Hendrix was taking off and Woodstock was happening. And it’s just a very country Americana album with beautiful songs. It’s got the Memphis Boys backing him.

You have good taste in music.

I appreciate it.

On May 21, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa stunned the world by announcing that his government had officially granted refugee status to 48 million African Americans. The decision, made through an executive order titled “Addressing the Egregious Actions and Extensive Failures of the US Government”, was unveiled at a news conference held in the tranquil gardens of the Union Buildings in Pretoria.

Poised and deliberate, Ramaphosa framed the announcement as a necessary and humane response to what he called “the absolute mayhem” engulfing the United States. Flanked by Maya Johnson, president of the African American Civil Liberties Association, and her deputy Patrick Miller, Ramaphosa declared that South Africa could no longer ignore the plight of a people “systematically impoverished, criminalised, and decimated by successive US governments”.

Citing a dramatic deterioration in civil liberties under President Donald Trump’s second term, Ramaphosa specifically pointed to the administration’s barrage of executive orders dismantling affirmative action, gutting DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) initiatives, and permitting federal contractors to discriminate freely. These measures, he said, are calculated to “strip African Americans of dignity, rights, and livelihood – and to make America white again”.

“This is not policy,” Ramaphosa said, “this is persecution.”

President Trump’s 2024 campaign was unabashed in its calls to “defend the homeland” from what it framed as internal threats – a barely veiled dog whistle for the reassertion of white political dominance. True to his word, Trump has unleashed what critics are calling a rollback not just of civil rights, but of civilisation itself.

Ramaphosa noted that under the guise of restoring law and order, the federal government has instituted what amounts to an authoritarian crackdown on Black political dissent. Since Trump’s inauguration in January, he said, hundreds of African American activists have been detained by security forces – often on dubious charges – and interrogated under inhumane conditions.

While Ramaphosa focused on systemic oppression, Johnson sounded the alarm on what she bluntly described as “genocide”.

“Black Americans are being hunted,” she told reporters. “Night after night, day after day, African Americans across the country are being attacked by white Americans. These criminals claim they are ‘reclaiming’ America. Police departments, far from intervening, are actively supporting these mobs – providing logistical aid, shielding them from prosecution, and joining in the carnage.”

The African American Civil Liberties Association estimates that in the past six weeks alone, thousands of African Americans have been threatened, assaulted, disappeared, or killed, she said.

The crisis has not gone unnoticed by the remainder of the continent. Last week, the African Union convened an emergency summit to address the deteriorating situation in the US. In a rare unified statement, AU leaders condemned the US government’s actions and tasked President Ramaphosa with raising the issue before the United Nations.

Their mandate? Repatriate African Americans and offer refuge.

Ramaphosa confirmed that the first charter flights carrying refugees will arrive on African soil on May 25 – Africa Day.

“As the sun sets on this dark chapter of American history,” Ramaphosa said, “a new dawn is rising over Africa. We will not remain passive while a genocide unfolds in the United States.”

***

Of course, none of this has happened.

There was no statement on “Egregious Actions and Extensive Failures of the US Government” from South Africa. There was no news conference where an African leader highlighted the plight of his African brothers and sisters in the United States and offered them options.

There will be no refuge flights from Detroit to Pretoria.

Instead, after the US cut off aid to South Africa, repeated false accusations that a “white genocide” is taking place there and began welcoming Afrikaners as refugees, a pragmatic Ramaphosa paid a respectful visit to the White House on May 21.

During his visit, watched closely by the world media, he did not even mention the millions of African Americans facing discrimination, police violence and abuse under a president who is clearly determined to “Make America White Again” – let alone offer them refuge in Africa. Even when Trump insisted, without any basis in reality, that a genocide is being perpetrated against white people in his country, Ramaphosa did not bring up Washington’s long list of – very real, systemic, and seemingly accelerating – crimes against Black Americans.

He tried to remain polite and diplomatic, focusing not on the racist hostility of the American administration but on the important ties between the two nations.

Perhaps, in the real world, it is too much to ask an African leader to risk diplomatic fallout by defending Black lives abroad.

Perhaps it is easier to shake hands with a man who calls imaginary white suffering a “genocide” rather than to call out a real one unfolding on his watch.

In another world, Ramaphosa stood tall in Pretoria and told Trump`: “We will not accept your lies about our country – and we will not stay silent as you brutalise our kin in yours.”

In this one, he stood quietly in Washington – and did.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

The Government has ordered Airbnb to pull the listing in a bid to reduce the impact of tourism

Spain’s government has ordered Airbnb to block more than 65,000 holiday listings on its platform over rule violations. The Spanish consumer rights ministry said that many of the 65,935 Airbnb listings it had ordered to be withdrawn did not include their licence number or specify whether the owner was an individual or a company.

Others listed numbers did not match official records. Spain is grappling with a housing affordability crisis that has spurred government action against short-term rental companies.

In recent months, tens of thousands of Spaniards have taken to the streets in protest against rising housing and rental costs, which many say have been driven up by holiday rentals on platforms like Airbnb that have proliferated in cities like Madrid and Barcelona and many other popular tourist destinations.

Last year, Barcelona announced a plan to close down all of the 10,000 apartments licensed in the city as short-term rentals by 2028 to safeguard the housing supply for full-time residents.

Spain’s government said the first round of rentals affected by the order are located across the country, including in the capital Madrid, in Andalusia and also in Catalonia, whose capital is Barcelona.

The move comes as Steve Heapy, chief executive of airline and tour operator Jet2, said there is a “perception” among some people that overseas visitors are not welcome in Spain. Spanish residents in popular destinations have organised a number of demonstrations against tourism in recent years, with banners featuring messages such as “tourists go home”.

The impact of tourism on rental rates is a common theme at the protests. Speaking at an event at the Spanish embassy in London, Mr Heapy said: “We’ve had people ringing the call centre and going into travel agents, asking questions like ‘is Spain safe’, ‘are we still welcome in the resort’.”

He went on: “It is becoming a big issue unfortunately, and perception becomes truth.”

Mr Heapy said “unlicensed tourism” – such as people staying in private accommodation listed on Airbnb – is “causing a huge problem” and “needs to be controlled”. Issues such as uncertainty over visitor numbers, unpaid tourist taxes and properties that “could be death traps” are among the issues, he said.

“Unfortunately there’s been a massive explosion in unlicensed tourism properties.”

He went on: “Airbnb can be controlled. They don’t rule the world. They are an online platform that we can control and put legislation in place.”

Mr Heapy said if he was a politician he would introduce fines of “a quarter of a million euros” for Airbnb hosts found not to have the required licences or tax records. Manuel Butler, director of the Spanish Tourist Office in London, insisted it is “important to distinguish between specific local tensions and the broader national picture”.

He went on: “The vast majority of Spain remains enthusiastic in welcoming tourists. Where protests have occurred – in cities such as Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca and Santa Cruz – concerns stem from broader societal issues: housing pressures, rising costs of living, and environmental strain in high-density areas.”

He added: “Spain is taking concrete steps to address these issues – through legislation on short-term rentals, tourism taxes in certain regions, and more comprehensive destination management.”

Spain is the most popular overseas destination for people in the UK, with more than 18 million visits last year. Spain’s Secretary of State for Tourism Rosario Sanchez Grau said: “We are proud and grateful that Spain remains the number one holiday destination for UK visitors.

“It is our priority to protect and nurture this relationship for the future.”

When Los Angeles City Council members took up a plan to hike the wages of tourism workers this week, they received some carefully worded advice from city lawyers: Don’t vote on this yet.

Senior Assistant City Atty. Michael J. Dundas advised them on Wednesday — deep into their meeting — that his office had not yet conducted a final legal review of the flurry of last-minute changes they requested earlier in the day.

Dundas recommended that the council delay its vote for two days to comply with the Ralph M. Brown Act, the state’s open meeting law.

“We advise that the posted agenda for today’s meeting provides insufficient notice under the Brown Act for first consideration and adoption of an ordinance to increase the wages and health benefits for hotel and airport workers,” Dundas wrote.

The council pressed ahead anyway, voting 12-3 to increase the minimum wage of those workers to $30 per hour by 2028, despite objections from business groups, hotel owners and airport businesses.

Then, on Friday, the council conducted a do-over vote, taking up the rewritten wage measure at a special noon meeting — one called only the day before. The result was the same, with the measure passing again, 12-3.

Some in the hotel industry questioned why Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who runs the meetings, insisted on moving forward Wednesday, even after the lawyers’ warning.

Jackie Filla, president and chief executive of the Hotel Assn. of Los Angeles, said the decision to proceed Wednesday gave a political boost to Unite Here Local 11, which represents hotel workers. The union had already scheduled an election for Thursday for its members to vote on whether to increase their dues.

By approving the $30 per hour minimum wage on Wednesday, the council gave the union a potent selling point for the proposed dues increase, Filla said.

“It looks like it was in Unite Here’s financial interest to have that timing,” she said.

Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, who opposed the wage increases, was more blunt.

“It was clear that Marqueece intended to be as helpful as possible” to Unite Here Local 11, “even if it meant violating the Brown Act,” she said.

Harris-Dawson spokesperson Rhonda Mitchell declined to say why her boss pushed for a wage vote on Wednesday after receiving the legal advice about the Brown Act. That law requires local governments to take additional public comment if a legislative proposal has changed substantially during a meeting.

Mitchell, in a text message, said Harris-Dawson scheduled the new wage vote for Friday because of a mistake by city lawyers.

“The item was re-agendized because of a clerical error on the City Attorney’s part — and this is the correction,” she said.

Mitchell did not provide details on the error. However, the wording on the two meeting agendas is indeed different.

Wednesday’s agenda called for the council to ask city lawyers to “prepare and present” amendments to the wage laws. Friday’s agenda called for the council to “present and adopt” the proposed changes.

Maria Hernandez, a spokesperson for Unite Here Local 11, said in an email that her union does not control the City Council’s schedule. The union’s vote on higher dues involved not just its L.A. members but also thousands of workers in Orange County and Arizona, Hernandez said.

“The timing of LA City Council votes is not up to us (sadly!) — in fact we were expecting a vote more than a year ago — nor would the precise timing be salient to our members,” she said.

Hernandez said Unite Here Local 11 members voted “overwhelmingly” on Thursday to increase their dues, allowing the union to double the size of its strike fund and pay for “an army of organizers” for the next round of labor talks. She did not disclose the size of the dues increase.

Dundas’ memo, written on behalf of City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto, was submitted late in Wednesday’s deliberations, after council members requested a number of changes to the minimum wage ordinance. At one point, they took a recess so their lawyers could work on the changes.

By the time the lawyers emerged with the new language, Dundas’ memo was pinned to the public bulletin board in the council chamber, where spectators quickly snapped screenshots.

The BBC’s boss has reminded stars to follow the corporation’s rules and avoid damaging “mistakes”, after Gary Lineker attracted renewed criticism for his use of social media.

On Tuesday, the Match of the Day host deleted an Instagram story post he shared from the group Palestine Lobby, which said: “Zionism explained in two minutes” and featured an illustration of a rat.

A rat has historically been used as an antisemitic insult, referring to language used by Nazi Germany to characterise Jews. His representatives said he was not aware of the connection.

Asked whether the post had broken BBC guidelines, director general Tim Davie said: “The BBC’s reputation is held by everyone, and when someone makes a mistake, it costs us.”

He added: “I think we absolutely need people to be exemplars of the BBC values and follow our social media policy. It’s as simple as that.”

The Campaign Against Antisemitism said it was submitting a complaint to the BBC, adding that Lineker’s “continued association with the BBC is untenable”.

The charity posted on X: “Nothing to see here. Just Gary Lineker’s Instagram account sharing an anti-Israel video misrepresenting Zionism, complete with a rat emoji.”

A spokesperson for the Board of Deputies of British Jews said “the BBC should ask him to leave now rather than allowing him to dictate his own terms”.

“He has caused great offence with this video – particularly with his egregious use of a rat emoji to illustrate Zionists.”

Lineker’s agent said: “Whilst viewing and reposting a video, Gary did not notice a rodent emoticon added by the author of the post. Although if he had, he would not have made any connection. The repost has been removed.”

Zionism refers to the movement to create a Jewish state in the Middle East, roughly corresponding to the historical land of Israel, and thus support for the modern state of Israel.

The BBC, when asked on Tuesday if it had any comment on Lineker’s now-removed post, responded by referring to its guidance on personal use of social media.

The former England striker has attracted criticism before for his posts on social media in the past.

He was temporarily suspended from the BBC in March 2023 after an impartiality row over a post in which he said language used to promote a government asylum policy was “not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s”.

The BBC’s social media rules were then rewritten to say presenters of flagship programmes outside news and current affairs – including Match of the Day – have “a particular responsibility to respect the BBC’s impartiality, because of their profile on the BBC”.

In November 2024, Lineker announced his departure from Match of the Day, but he will remain with the BBC to front FA Cup and World Cup coverage.