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Hello, this is the BBC News with Fiona MacDonald.
The Iranian director, Jafar Panâhi, has urged Iranians to set aside their differences. After he won the prestigious Palme d'Or at Cannes for his film, "It Was Just an Accident." In his acceptance speech, Panahi said the country's freedom was the most important thing. "No one should dare to tell us what clothes we should wear," he said, "or what we should do." "This award isn't really about me. It's for all the filmmakers who are unable to work. But we hope that everyone will be able to do so after this award and find a way to work and make films." Mr. Panâhi, who served time in jail before leaving Iran in 2023, vowed to return to his home country, saying he was not at all scared. The head of the regional administration in the Ukrainian city of Kupyansk says 90% of the town has been damaged or destroyed. Andriy Besedin said the security situation was critical. Ali McConnell reports. Mr. Besedin says Kupyansk is coming under constant attack as Russia tries to break through to capture the city. Kupyansk lies about 50 kilometers from the Russian border. It's a major transport hub on the Oskil River. Last month, Ukraine's military said Russian troops were intensifying efforts to regain territory on the river's west bank to support a broader offensive in the Kharkiv region. Russia originally took the city at the start of its full-scale invasion in 2022, but it was recaptured by Ukraine later the same year. Another night of drone attacks has been reported in both Kyiv and Moscow. Officials in the Ukrainian capital said around a dozen enemy drones had reached Kyiv's airspace with more expected. There have been reports of explosions in the city. Meanwhile, Russia's defense ministry said its air defenses had destroyed almost 100 Ukrainian drones, mostly in central and southern regions, as well as in the capital. An earlier massive Russian attack on Kyiv overnight into Saturday wounded at least 15 people. President Trump has told graduates at America's elite military academy their jobs are to win wars, not to transform foreign cultures. Speaking at the annual West Point commencement, Mr. Trump criticized his predecessors who he said had conducted ideological experiments on U.S. soldiers. Our North America correspondent Jake Kwon is in Washington. What we saw today, it really reveals Mr. Trump's relationship to the military, where he sees his mission as making the military strong again by purging the military of these diversity, DEI, woke ideology. As soon as he was in the office in January, he signed an executive order within days which purged the military of any transgender people and shut down any social clubs that were based on the racial identity or gender identity. This is the BBC News. The Ecuadorian president, Daniel Noboa, has been sworn in for a second term following his victory in last month's election. Speaking after the ceremony, Mr. Noboa vowed to save the South American country by continuing his self-described war on drug traffickers and criminal gangs. The 37-year-old, Ecuador's youngest ever president, has made tackling soaring levels of violence, one of his key priorities since coming to power in 2023. Critics have described some of his policies as authoritarian, but many have proved popular with voters. An Israeli woman who was held hostage in Gaza has told a rally in Tel Aviv that airstrikes were the thing she feared most while in captivity. Naama Levy was one of five female surveillance soldiers abducted during the October 7 attack led by Hamas. She said that every time there were explosions, she was convinced she would die. The Ferrari driven by the Formula One driver, Michael Schumacher, during his victories at the 2001 Monaco and Hungarian Grand Prix, has sold at auction for just over $18 million. Ed Horton has the details. The chassis is among the most special and sought-after Grand Prix Ferraris ever made, with Schumacher driving it to the fourth of his record seven Drivers' World Championship crowns. It was also the car that Schumacher used to score his fifth and final Monaco Grand Prix victory. The auction took place at F1's Paddock Club that overlooks Monaco's famous harbor, fetching $18.17 million. The world record for a Formula One car is more than $52 million, paid earlier this year for a mid-1950s Mercedes, once driven by F1 greats Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss. In football, Arsenal have won the Women's Champions League, beating the holders Barcelona 1-0 at the final in Lisbon. The result was a shock for Barcelona, who were going for a third straight title. BBC News. |