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The BBC breached its own editorial standards by broadcasting a racial slur during the BAFTA awards ceremony, an internal probe found Wednesday.

The finding follows a "fast-tracked" investigation ordered by former Director-General Tim Davie into the "serious mistake" that saw the racist slur aired during the event in late February.

Tourette's sufferer John Davidson, who inspired one of the winning films, later said he was "deeply mortified" after shouting the N-word at the London film and television awards ceremony, which he said was caused by an "involuntary tic".

According to the investigation report, there was a "lack of clarity" among staff handling the broadcast, which was aired slightly later than the start of the ceremony, about whether the N-word was audible on the recording.

"This resulted in there being a delay before a decision was taken to remove the recording from iPlayer," it said, adding this did not happen until around 9:30am the following day.

"This delay was a serious mistake, because there could be no certainty that the word would be inaudible to all viewers," it added.

The incident was the latest in a string of controversies to hit the BBC.

In June 2025 during the BBC's Glastonbury festival coverage, staff failed to pull a livestream of a performance by Bob Vylan after the punk-rap duo's frontman led the crowds in an anti-Israel chant.

The BBC later apologised and said it would no longer live-broadcast musical performances it deemed to be "high risk".

In another damaging episode, Davie left the BBC last week after resigning in November over the editing of a documentary about US President Donald Trump.

The president has filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC over the edit for its flagship current affairs programme "Panorama".

Trump alleges the editing of his January 6, 2021 speech made it appear that he had explicitly urged supporters to attack the Capitol, where lawmakers were certifying Democrat Joe Biden's 2020 election victory.

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Nearly 70 young Thai men sat on flimsy plastic chairs, faces tense as they waited to draw their fate from a jar -- an annual ritual deciding whether they will serve in the military.

The conscription lottery, held across Thailand each April, has taken on added weight this year following several rounds of border clashes with Cambodia that killed dozens of soldiers and civilians on both sides.

A fragile ceasefire has held since December, but tensions persist along parts of the two countries' disputed 800-kilometre frontier.

At a temple on the outskirts of Bangkok on Tuesday, nervous chatter rippled through the crowd of potential recruits, as family members hovered nearby, watching uniformed soldiers oversee the draw.

One by one, the men aged between 18 and 29 stepped forward to pick a card from a jar placed before them.

The outcome can only go two ways: a black card means exemption from military service, while red signals conscription.

Among the first to draw a black card, Jessada Charoenkhao, 21, threw his arms joyfully into the air after learning he would not be drafted.

"I just want to live like a normal young person and be free," he told AFP.

Military service might benefit others by instilling discipline, he added, "but it's just not for me".

- Nationalism and career options -

For the capital's Bang Sue district alone, the military required 36 recruits across the army, navy and air force during this year's enlistment period, a military official told AFP -- a figure that fluctuates every year depending on needs.

Fifteen had already volunteered, leaving 21 places to be filled by lottery among the 68 eligible men present.

Nationwide, nearly 30,000 men have volunteered for military service this year, a jump of almost 50 percent from 2024, according to the army.

Some observers attribute the increase to rising nationalism following last year's clashes with Cambodia as well as limited job prospects.

"The rise of nationalism in Thailand could be a factor, while a career in the military may be seen as stable when economic opportunities are uncertain," political analyst Yuttaporn Issarachai told AFP.

Those conscripted serve for two years, though university graduates may serve a reduced term of one year, and volunteers serve for six months.

They receive a monthly salary of about 11,000 baht ($340) -- slightly above Thailand's minimum wage -- with food and accommodation provided.

Men who have not completed three years of compulsory military training in high school must report for the draw, though exemptions can be requested annually for personal reasons like illness and caring for family.

Before taking part, men must pass a physical examination, including meeting a minimum height requirement of 160 centimetres (five feet three inches).

One military staff member measured a topless man's chest with a tape measure, while another checked a recruit's height using a wooden measuring stick.

- 'Honourable' -

Some families arrived in the early morning, watching from the sidelines and waiting hours for the moment of truth.

Taweepong Boonliang, a motorbike delivery driver, stood with shaking knees as he waited for his 21-year-old nephew's turn.

"He doesn't want to join (the military) because he has to work and take care of his partner," Taweepong said.

The uncle added that he favoured a voluntary military system and increased benefits for soldiers, since "many people now want to join the military".

Some men who drew red cards slumped in visible disappointment, covering their faces, while one shouted in frustration. Others accepted their fate with quiet composure.

Chakrit Kaewkum, a 21-year-old working part-time at a supermarket, remained steady as he stepped forward to register after drawing a red card.

"I am OK with either outcome -- I leave it to fate. It's not that difficult as it's only two years," he told AFP.

His mother Sawang Jaithum looked on with pride.

"For a man in Thailand," she said, "I think it's honourable."

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Tens of thousands of intimate images of women have been traded without the subjects' consent in Telegram groups and channels, researchers said Wednesday, calling for the platform to combat the practice.

Campaign group AI Forensics said it found almost 25,000 active users in a six-week study of Spanish and Italian groups who were sharing images such as unclothed women, often exchanged for cash.

The researchers tracked more than 80,000 files shared across 16 Telegram channels between December 2025 and February 2026.

Almost 75 percent of them were photos, with 25 percent video files and one percent audio recordings.

The files were "mostly sexually explicit," AI Forensics told AFP, with some including images of teenage girls.

Some of the pictures and videos were real images, while others were "deepfakes" generated with AI tools.

The study's authors also found that participants in the Telegram groups were engaged in practices including "doxxing" -- revealing personal information -- or coordinated harassment campaigns.

Some members called for the women depicted to be raped, or discussed sexual images of children.

Many of the images being shared in the groups came from other platforms including TikTok, Instagram or Snapchat.

"Social media platforms or other messaging apps function as sources of raw material, while Telegram appears to serve as a hub for the organisation, amplification, and circulation of abusive content," the authors wrote.

They criticised Telegram for its failure to prevent the groups persisting on its platform.

"During the observation period, several groups were shut down by Telegram only to reopen under the same names just a few hours later, suggesting that Telegram's moderation mechanisms are insufficient," the authors said.

"All the groups were active" at the time of writing the report, AI Forensics told AFP.

They highlighted that Telegram combines privacy features such as end-to-end encryption, in which only the sender and addressee of messages can read them, with mass distribution capabilities -- including the ability for channel operators to charge subscriptions or one-off fees to access their content.

This was "shaping the conditions under which abusive behaviour can develop with a relatively high sense of security and impunity," the authors said.

AI Forensics called on the European Union to classify Telegram as a "very large online platform" (VLOP), which would subject it to stricter oversight under the Digital Services Act (DSA).

Telegram told AFP that "sharing non-consensual intimate images, including pornographic deepfakes, is strictly forbidden by Telegram's terms of use".

It said its "moderation systems are more effective to prevent mass distribution of harmful content than those of the currently designated VLOPs".

The platform's co-founder, Russian-born Pavel Durov, was arrested in France in 2024 and is under formal investigation by French authorities.

He has denied allegations of complicity in running an online platform that allowed illicit transactions, images of child sex abuse and other illegal content.

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Indian action movie "Dhurandhar: The Revenge" has swept domestic box-office records as the highest-earning Bollywood Hindi-language film, its producers said Wednesday, and is vying for other top spots.

Beloved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the high-octane and violent movie is the second chapter in the tale of an undercover Indian intelligence agent in arch-enemy Pakistan.

Decried as chest-thumping nationalism by critics, it has been lapped up by its many fans.

It is the first Hindi film -- and only the third Indian movie -- to cross the landmark 10 billion-rupee ($108 million) mark in domestic takings, achieving the feat after 18 days.

It has also become the the highest-grossing Indian film in North America, the first to exceed $25 million in takings.

"Dhurandhar has become a massive cinematic phenomenon," said veteran film distributor Raj Bansal. "I have been in the film business for about four decades now, and the frenzy for this film has amazed me."

Starring Ranveer Singh and directed by Aditya Dhar, the sequel to the 2025 blockbuster "Dhurandhar" -- shot simultaneously -- jumped to box-office success since its March 19 release.

The nearly four-hour long film has grossed over 160 billion rupees worldwide, according to its film producer Jio Studios.

- 'Hooting and screaming' -

Heavily-muscled star Singh has been a particular draw, with Bansal describing wild scenes in the cinema as the long-haired action hero battles his enemies on screen.

"Middle-aged women watched the first day, first show, despite knowing about hardcore violence and brutal action in it," he said.

"There is a lot of hooting and screaming in theatres."

French President Emmanuel Macron used the film's title track in a social media video during his India visit. 

But in domestic takings it remains third behind two Telugu-language hits -- the 2017 epic "Baahubali 2: The Conclusion" and 2024 action drama "Pushpa 2: The Rule".

It remains well behind the highest-grossing Indian film of all time, the 2016 Hindi-language wrestling drama "Dangal", which enjoyed enormous popularity in neighbouring China, pushing its worldwide earnings above 200 billion rupees.

But while the film continues a strong run, maintaining high daily numbers into its third week, trade analysts suggest it will not overtake "Dangal", "Baahubali 2" or "Pushpa 2".

Still, some producers have pushed their film releases to wait for the box office queues for "Dhurandhar" to die down.

"Nobody is daring to face the film," said Bansal.

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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran on Wednesday but said US President Donald Trump's threat to destroy Iran's civilian infrastructure had not been "appropriate".

Trump had warned that "a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again" if Iran failed to meet his deadline for a deal.

Asked about the comments on Sky News Australia, Albanese said: "I don't think it's appropriate to use language such as that from the president of the United States, and I think it will cause some concern."

But he welcomed news that the United States and Iran had agreed to a ceasefire, barely an hour before Trump's deadline expired.

"What we have called for is a de-escalation, and that is what has occurred, and that's a good thing," the Australian leader said.

"This is positive news. We've been calling for a de-escalation for some time. We want to see a resolution of the conflict."

Tehran said it would temporarily reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz and cast the ceasefire as a victory after more than a month of attacks by the United States and Israel.

Iran has effectively closed the strait since US-Israeli strikes on February 28 sparked a larger regional conflict, causing global oil and gas prices to soar.

Speaking to national broadcaster ABC, Australia's top diplomat Penny Wong also condemned Trump's remarks.

"I don't think anyone should be threatening the destruction of a civilisation," she said.

Australia, reliant on imported fuel and holding roughly 39 days' supply of petrol, has been hit hard by the global impact of the war.

"The damage that is happening to the global economy, to global energy markets, means that the world does need this ceasefire to hold," Wong said.

She also rejected the Israeli government's claims the ceasefire did not apply to Lebanon, where Israel's attacks in recent weeks have killed more than 1,500 people and displaced over a million, according to Lebanese authorities.

"The world expects the ceasefire to apply to the region," Wong said.

Having initially backed US-Israeli strikes on Iran, Albanese said last week the original aims of the war had been met and it was not clear what more remained to be achieved.

Canberra has sought to soften the impact of soaring prices by cutting petrol taxes.

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Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez vowed on Tuesday to "monitor" the application of an amnesty law aimed at freeing political prisoners jailed under former leader Nicolas Maduro.

The interim leader said she would keep an eye on the amnesty law in order to address the opposition's "extremism," which she said was inciting "conflict" in the country.

The law was passed in February by Rodriguez under pressure from Washington, after US forces captured Maduro and took him to New York to face drug trafficking charges that he denies.

One of the most significant reforms championed by Rodriguez, it aims to turn the page on nearly three decades of state repression, but has been criticised by human rights organizations as being selectively applied.

"More than 8,000 people have benefited" from amnesty, Rodriguez said in a televised speech.

"Don't think that we don't know" that "people who have benefited and continue to benefit from this amnesty law... are currently fomenting conflict," Rodriguez said in her address at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas.

"It is therefore important that we monitor the implementation of the amnesty law."

"I'm not excluding anyone. I am simply saying that we need to monitor the situation to ensure that the opportunity we're providing to address extremism and radicalism can truly, truly help resolve these issues and secure the future," she added.

Around 700 political prisoners have been freed under the law, but between 500 and 700 remain behind bars, according to humans right organizations. Some groups say the law is being unfairly applied by judges accused of supporting the government.

The law excludes those accused of involvement in alleged coups and assassination attempts. 

Opposition figures such as activist Javier Tarazona, one of the country's most prominent dissidents, and Perkins Rocha, legal advisor to Nobel Peace Prize laureate and longtime opposition figure Maria Corina Machado, have been excluded from its scope.

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© Agence France-Presse

Azeez Akanni hopped on a yellow bus heading for the central business district on Lagos Island, beads of sweat rolling down his neck and arms. 

The 32-year-old clothier regularly navigates chaotic traffic to deliver luxury clothes and footwear to customers across the megacity of Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital. 

But his and millions of others' commutes have been snarled by brutal temperatures as Africa's most populous country fights a heatwave. 

Adding to the pain, a spike in fuel prices from the Iran war has sent costs for air conditioning and back-up generators shooting up alongside the mercury.

"The sun is too hot," Akanni told AFP, wedged between two equally sweaty passengers.

High temperatures are nothing new in the west African nation, perched just above the equator. 

But according to the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), things are getting worse: it warned in a 2025 report that in the decade from 2016-2025, nine out of the 10 years were "among the 12 warmest on record".

Last week, UK-based Korean DJ JinseoulMusic, who is currently touring Nigeria, shared her struggles in a post on Instagram to her more than 430,000 followers. 

"Surviving Nigerian heat with no light," she wrote, using the colloquial term for electricity. "Heat woke me up in the middle of the night."

Analysts blame the rising temperatures in Lagos on climate change, its coastal location, dense population, limited greenery and heavy traffic. 

The constant use of generators compounds the issue, as the petrol-guzzling machines release heat and greenhouse gases.

Public transport meanwhile is shambolic, with most commercial vehicles dilapidated and lacking working air conditioning. 

Temperatures peaked in Lagos at 35C at the end of March, according to NiMet.

They reached 38C in the capital Abuja, while Sokoto in the northwest hit 44C, with NiMet describing the conditions as "unhealthy".

- Rising fuel prices -

Nigeria's unique economic situation as Africa's fourth-largest economy, but with a dilapidated power grid much less stable than some of its poorer neighbours, has led to the widespread use of private generators, at least among those who can afford them.

That number may be dwindling as fuel prices soar due to the Iran war.

"I no longer use it because of the hike in price," Emmanuel Chinonso, 40, a ride-share driver in Abuja, told AFP.

When the grid goes out on a sweltering night, so does his fan, he said.

Like elsewhere in the country, gasoline prices have nearly doubled in the capital, from around 850 naira per litre to more than 1,300 -- a record high in a country where petrol sold for around 195 naira at the start of 2023. 

Many drivers, like Chinonso, keep their car air conditioning off to conserve fuel -- and "plead" for a tip from customers in return for switching it on.

"If you explain to them, some of them are very understanding and kind," he said.

- Health warnings -

Despite humid air thick with dust and vehicle fumes, and engines idling as vehicles waited for passengers on a recent Wednesday, thousands of Lagos traders continued to display their goods under direct sunlight, despite warnings against prolonged exposure. 

Hawkers balancing basins of iced fizzy drinks moved through traffic, offering quick relief to commuters.

With the cost of living on the rise following years of high inflation, many traders exposed to the sun and polluted air are more concerned about putting food on the table than air quality. 

"The weather is not good," Aminat Jimoh told AFP as he fried tofu by a cluttered roadside. "But we have to endure because we cannot eat if we don't come here."

The heatwave could also worsen Nigeria's malaria burden. According to the World Health Organization, climate change -- through increased rainfall, temperatures and humidity -- can in some cases accelerate malaria transmission by enabling mosquitoes to breed faster.

Nigeria recorded about a quarter of the world's malaria cases and 30 percent of global deaths in 2024, according to the WHO.

The approaching rainy season offers some relief as storms tamp down temperatures.

But it will also bring its own challenges, such as flooding.

"I know that rain has its own problem but I can't wait for this heat to go," Akanni said. 

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A Thai court has fined a man $300 after he broke into the enclosure of Moo Deng, an endangered baby pygmy hippo and internet sensation, the zoo director said Wednesday.

Moo Deng -- whose name translates as "bouncy pork" -- has gained global attention thanks to social media videos showing her adorable antics, drawing tens of thousands of visitors and boosting zoo ticket sales.

Last month, a Thai man unlawfully entered Moo Deng's pen, which also houses her mother, at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo about a two-hour drive from the capital Bangkok.

Footage of the close encounter released by local media showed a man inside the enclosure and recording Moo Deng with a tablet.

Khao Kheow Open Zoo said at the time that Moo Deng was unharmed but "slightly startled", and it would pursue legal action against the intruder.

On Wednesday, zoo director Narongwit Chodchoy told AFP that a state prosecutor had informed him that the man was found guilty by a local court after his confession and fined 10,000 baht ($300).

AFP could not immediately reach a court official for comment.

"The decision shows that no one can violate animals' rights, no matter whether they are in an enclosure or in the wild," Narongwit said.

Since the incident in March, he said no similar security breaches had occurred and the zoo had increased security patrols to deter would-be intruders.

"We train staff on what to do if any animals escape, but from now on, we will have to train them on what to do if there are any intruders," Narongwit said.

"We learned from this lesson and will not allow it to happen again -- not to Moo Deng and not to other animals in the zoo."

The pygmy hippo calf, which marked its first birthday in July, has inspired merchandise and memes since first going viral online in 2024.

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During their historic lunar flyby, astronauts on NASA's Artemis II mission witnessed meteorites striking the rugged surface of the Moon, a sight that has piqued scientists' curiosity.

"That was definitely impact flashes on the moon. And Jeremy (Hansen) just saw another one," mission commander Reid Wiseman reported on Monday while flying around the Moon -- the first such journey by humans in more than half a century.

"Amazed," replied Kelsey Young, the mission's lunar science lead, as she followed the spacecraft from more than 250,000 miles (400,000 kilometers) away on Earth.

"I don't know if I expected to have the crew see any on this mission, so you probably saw the surprise and shock on my face," she said, recounting the strikes at a press briefing the next day.

Among NASA's team in Houston, there were "audible screams of delight" from scientists when the crew described flashes of light caused by meteorite impact, Young said.

The phenomenon is "something that we have not witnessed often," the mission's backup astronaut Jenni Gibbons told AFP.

"They were really high priority science for us, so the fact that they saw four or five was just outstanding."

- 'No doubt' -

As the astronauts hurtled towards home, NASA asked them on Tuesday about the meteorite strikes they saw during their nearly seven-hour observation period.

"Were they prolonged? And did you notice any color?" Young asked.

"It's a pinprick of light," replied Canadian crew member Hansen. "I would suspect there were a lot more of them."

"I would say they were a millisecond, like the fastest a camera shutter can open and close," added Wiseman, who said the flashes were "white to bluish white."

"To me there was no doubt we were seeing it, and we were all seeing it," he added.

According to NASA's tally, the team -- which broke the record for the furthest distance from Earth during their flyby -- reported a total of six meteorite impacts on the lunar surface.

Ground crews are now working to match these observations with data from a satellite orbiting the Moon, said Young, adding that the majority of the sightings took place during a solar eclipse, when the Moon passed in front of the Sun.

- 'Challenge' -

"I'm personally... surprised they would see that many, although they (had) been trained to look for them," said Bruce Betts, chief scientist at the Planetary Society.

According to Betts, the descriptions will allow scientists to "get some idea of the frequency of impact" as well as the size of the projectiles.

One question was what size an object needed to be to create a flash visible to the astronauts, Betts said.

"It's not a piece of dust, but it's not a meter-size boulder, either."

The observations raise questions and show that the "daily flux of meteors should be monitored more closely in the future before a lunar base is established," said Peter Schultz, Professor Emeritus of Geological Sciences at Brown University.

On Earth, smaller objects "burn up high in the... atmosphere due to friction" before they reach the ground, noted Betts, which is not the case on Earth's natural satellite.

"There is more of a challenge on the Moon," he said.

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India is considering releasing snakes and crocodiles along its frontier with Bangladesh, the Border Security Force said Wednesday, as New Delhi seeks to stave off unauthorised crossings.

Bangladesh is almost entirely encircled by India and the border stretches for more than 4,000 kilometres (2,485 miles), large parts of which are unfenced across delta regions where Himalayan rivers wind toward the sea.

Senior Border Security Force officer Manoj Barnwal told AFP that "the use of reptiles" was discussed in a February meeting with the Home Ministry.

"We have been asked to explore the feasibility of deploying reptiles such as snakes or crocodiles in vulnerable riverine gaps," said Barnwal, deputy inspector general of the paramilitary force based in Kolkata, near the border with Bangladesh.

"The plan revolves around leveraging natural deterrents like crocodiles and snakes in flood-prone zones, along the unfenced area where traditional fencings are either ineffective or not possible," he added.

The border between India and Bangladesh cuts through the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest.

"It's an innovative move, but there are several challenges and it raises safety concerns," Barnawl said. "How do we procure the reptiles? What impact might it have on the people in the villages sitting along the riverine border?"

"We have asked our field units to study the feasibility of the approach and send the report as soon as possible," he added.

Relations between New Delhi and Dhaka soured after a 2024 revolution in Dhaka ended the autocratic rule of the then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India.

Bangladesh's Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman is in New Delhi on Wednesday -- the most senior envoy from Dhaka to visit since the 2024 uprising -- in a bid to rebuild frosty diplomatic relations.

India has constructed border fencing stretching hundreds of kilometres (miles), and arrested scores of Bangladeshis attempting to cross the frontier in the wake of Hasina's overthrow.

The Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has long taken a hardline stance on immigration, particularly from neighbouring Muslim-majority Bangladesh.

Top Indian officials have referred to migrants as "termites" and "infiltrators".

Rights groups have accused India of also pushing hundreds of Bengali-speaking Muslims into Bangladesh without due process.

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