Labour’s Bev Craig, who won Thursday’s election, said she intends to keep Kate Green as deputy mayor for safer and stronger communities and has asked the city mayor of Salford, Paul Dennett, to continue as deputy mayor for Greater Manchester.

Ms Green has held her current post since 2023, spearheading the city-region’s work to ensure everyone feels safe within all communities of Greater Manchester.

Mr Dennett has served as deputy mayor since 2021 in addition to his role as city mayor of Salford, playing a key role in tackling inequality and building truly affordable homes across Greater Manchester.

Ms Craig said: “Over the past three years Kate has played a pivotal role in the ongoing transformation of Greater Manchester Police and Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service into two of the best performing services in the country.

“As deputy mayor for safer and stronger communities she’s been a powerful advocate for women and girls and has helped drive a stronger focus on prevention, supporting victims, and bringing partners together to drive down crime and antisocial behaviour.

“Paul brings huge experience, strong values, and a relentless focus on tackling inequality.

“As deputy mayor of Greater Manchester he has been at the forefront of our work to build more truly affordable housing and played an important part in our work to persuade government to devolve more powers to Greater Manchester.

“I’m so pleased that they have both agreed to continue in these roles and I look forward to working with them as we build a Greater Manchester that works for all of us.”

Ms Craig officially takes office on Monday, August 3, and said she will begin setting out her plans for tackling the cost-of-living and supporting young people.

Ms Green said: “I’m delighted to have been asked to stay in the best job I’ve ever had, and I’m looking forward to working with the new mayor to continue our mission to ensure people feel safe in their homes, on their streets, and in our communities.”

Mr Dennett said: “I am honoured and humbled to be asked by Mayor elect Bev Craig to continue as Deputy Mayor, and to serve alongside her and carry on with the job of delivering for the 3 million people who call our city region home. Our priority will always be to take the bold decisions that make life better for everyone – and I’m ready to roll up my sleeves once again and serve the people of Greater Manchester.”

Leny Yoro has suffered a mixed two years so far at Man Utd but the centre-back is ready to make his mark in the 2026/27 campaign.

It can be easy to forget that Leny Yoro is still only 20. A Lille debut at 16, a £50million signing at 18, pursued by Real Madrid, signed by Manchester United. His trajectory to the top looked unstoppable.

But over two years at Old Trafford, smooth progress has become a little bumpier. Injuries and the general chaos that has engulfed the club haven’t helped the French centre-back settle in. Signed by Erik ten Hag, he is already on a third manager at the club.

United pushed the boat out to beat Real to the signing of Yoro from Lille in 2024 and backed him to go to the very top, but his 66 appearances so far include just 30 Premier League starts across his two campaigns at the club.

Yoro picked up a metatarsal injury early in his first pre-season that kept him sidelined until December and he has been battling to make up for lost time ever since, but feels he is now ready to shine under Michael Carrick as United prepare to return to the Champions League.

“I have no excuses, but I had injuries, and like I say, I hope I’m not going to be injured this season, and I will show to everyone what I can do,” Yoro said after helping to win the Snapdragon Cup in Stockholm.

“I hope I’m not going to be injured this pre-season. That’s going to help me to improve as well and to be ready for the start of the season.

“I know I can do much, much better. I know my potential for sure, and I hope I’m going to do a really good, good season.”

Yoro has already made 139 senior career appearances, a hefty total for a young centre-back, but he knows he still has plenty more development to come.

“Sometimes people forget I’m still 20, still have to learn, still have to improve,” he said. “I know my potential. I know I can learn a lot, I can improve a lot, so I hope this season is going to be a big, big step for me as well.”

He has added to his trade in pre-season, starting all three fixtures so far at right-back in the absence of Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui.

But Yoro still sees his future in the heart of defence and he is ready to challenge Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez, Matthijs de Ligt and Ayden Heaven for a place in the side this season.

“I enjoy [playing right-back],” he said. “If I can help the team in this position, it’s good. I’ve played centre-back, but I enjoy playing this position.

Advertisement

“[But centre-back] is still my position. If I can be on the pitch, right-back or centre-back, if I can play, that’s the best for me.”

United finished third last season after an impressive end to the campaign under Carrick and Yoro is confident a challenge for the Premier League title isn’t beyond them this season.

“We’re Manchester United, so we have to think like that, and I know we have the potential to do it, so now we have to do it,” he said.

Countdown to Kickoff: The Ultimate 26/27 Sky Sports Bundle

Advertisement

This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more

Sky’s Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle includes at least 215 live Premier League clashes across the 2026/27 season with more than 1,400 live games across the EFL and beyond, plus F1, golf and darts.

Every subscription now comes with 135 channels alongside free subscriptions to HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu.

Morrisons has released three new flavours of chocolate bar that blend traditional sweets with some fan favourite treats, and one bar in particular has been given top marks online

Your new favourite chocolate bar could be sitting on the shelves at Morrisons. We all love a sweet treat from time to time, and for many of us, nothing beats a bar of chocolate.

Chocolate manufacturers regularly try to innovate and come up with new flavours to keep us interested in their products, and while some flavours fall flat, others become viral sensations. Morrisons has recently released three brand new flavours of chocolate, and at least one of them is already taking the internet by storm.

This comes after Morrison’s also recently innovated in the trolley department, becoming the first supermarket to launch AI-powered trolleys. The chocolate bars were shared on TikTok by food blogger Minstrel Munches, who showed off all three bars but only gave one a taste in her first video.

The flavours on offer blend traditional sweet flavours like biscuits and other classics with the smooth taste of milk chocolate – and at least one of them is definitely a winner.

What are the new Morrisons chocolate flavours?

Morrisons’ new chocolate flavours include: Custard Cream milk chocolate, Jaffa Orange milk chocolate, and Peanut Butter and Jelly milk chocolate. All three bars are chunky, with the filling being in creamy layers between the chocolate rather than just flavouring the chocolate itself.

In her video, the woman tried the custard cream flavour, which features a vanilla cream and biscuit crunch layer, covered in milk chocolate. Before tasting it, she said it “smells like custard creams”, and was blown away when she finally took a bite.

She said: “Wow. That is top tier. There’s actually biscuit pieces in there. In the custard cream … cream. That is elite. Good biscuit pieces, getting the custard cream flavour, that’s a 10 out of 10. Get down [to] Morrisons and give it a try.”

Commenters on her video were eager to try the new bars out for themselves, with many saying they “look insane” and that they can’t wait to get their hands on all three flavours.

One person said: “These look insane!! I really need to go have a look and try them out, soooo yummy looking!!”

Another added: “I will be smashing these.”

A third wrote: “I really want to try the custard cream bar!”

Each of the three new chocolate bars from Morrisons is priced at £2 for a 165g bar, and they are classified as “luxury chocolate” on the Morrisons website.

The Jaffa Orange bar is described as having a “zesty orange jelly layer”, while the peanut butter and jelly bar is described as having a “creamy, nutty, and fruity jelly layer”, and both are covered in milk chocolate.

All three bars are currently too new to have any reviews on the Morrisons website, but other social media posts have heaped praise on the bars, calling them “elite”.

A review of the Jaffa orange bar on Instagram rated it a 7.5 out of 10, claiming it was “good quality” but “very messy” if you intend on breaking it up into individual squares due to the jelly mixture inside.

The reviewer wrote: “Good quality thick chunks of milk chocolate with a gooey Jaffa orange sauce in each block. It’s got the combo of both Jaffa and orange. It’s not pure Jaffa. Very messy if you break through the squares, so break carefully.”

The chocolate news comes as Morrisons recently announced plans to offer a freebie to anyone in the UK between now and September. The free Kellogg’s breakfast offer is designed to help struggling families during the summer holidays while kids are out of school, but it can be claimed by anyone, as long as you visit a Morrisons with a cafe.

The deal was recently highlighted by ITV’s This Morning regular and money specialist Jordon Cox. In an Instagram post to remind families of the deal, he said: “If you’re struggling over the school summer holidays – head down to a Morrisons Café.

“Anyone can claim this, although the deal is focused on helping people who may be struggling to afford keeping the kids fed/entertained over the summer. So maybe only use it if you need it!”

To redeem the offer, ask for at the cafe till for a ‘Kellogg’s Breakfast’, and the staff will give you the items included in the deal for free. Alternatively, people can use touch-screen ordering kiosks in certain stores with those installed, as there will be a specific option for the free breakfast.

Just over a couple of weeks are left to get GTA VI for less

With a few months still left for Grand Theft Auto VI to launch on both the Xbox and PlayStation 5, players across both platforms can still get their hands on a pre-order copy. However, while many retailers are offering the game at an eye-watering price of around £69.99, there is a way players could save over £15 on their copy.

GTA VI is set to hit the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on November 19, after facing multiple delays throughout the past year. But, while many excited fans can pre-order the game right now from GAME for £69.99, a cashback deal could cut that cost significantly.

TopCashback is giving players the chance to grab the game for £54.15 instead, as long as they’re new to the cashback platform. This deal is available to shoppers regardless of whether they’re new or existing GAME customers.

READ MORE: Argos underbed storage box trio drops to £6.80 from £22 in clever deal stack

READ MORE: ‘Incredible’ £80 headphones that sound ‘better than Apple’ half price this week only

However, if customers are already signed up to TopCashback, then the deal being offered won’t be as lucrative. Instead, such shoppers can secure their copy of the game for £69.15 after cashback has been applied.

The current deal from TopCashback is only available for a limited time, with the platform stating that players can take advantage of it until August 17. GTA VI might be one of the most highly anticipated game launches of 2026, with the drip-fed amount of details offered by Rockstar only adding to the hype.

While there is still a lot of crucial information about the game to be released by the studio, we do know that it will be the first mainline 3D game in the series to feature a female protagonist. Lucia will appear in the game alongside her partner in crime, Jason, with early trailers of the game hinting at an adventure where something goes terribly wrong for the pair.

The game will be set in the iconic Vice City, which longtime fans of the franchise will remember fondly from previous titles. Physical pre-orders for GTA VI are also available from a wide variety of other retailers at different prices with, Amazon offering copies of the game at a reduced price, dropping from £69.99 to £667.95, while Very is offering its own copy for £69.99.

Shoppers should bear in mind, though, that Rockstar has confirmed that physical pre-orders of GTA VI will contain download codes, rather than the whole game itself being on the disc, meaning players will need an internet connection to download the full game.

If you can’t wait for GTA VI’s release, though, you could instead opt to play Saints Row Day One Edition on the PS5, which is available on Amazon for £12.90. As a franchise, Saints Row has often been likened to GTA’s quirky cousin, with this game offering similar themes of criminal drama and high-octane action.

Otherwise, you could instead opt to relive some classic memories with GTA V, which is currently reduced on Amazon or the PS5, dropping from £23.25 to £22.46. GTA V offers a large open world for players to enjoy while engaging in various missions and a story packed with twists and criminal drama.

In describing the game on its website, Rockstar Games highlighted that Jason and Lucia will “find themselves on the darkest side of the sunniest place in America, in the middle of a criminal conspiracy stretching across the state of Leonida — forced to rely on each other more than ever if they want to make it out alive”.

While it has been confirmed that the game will launch on the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, there has yet to be any confirmation dates for PC platforms and Nintendo Switch.

How to get GTA VI for £54.15 via TopCashback

• Sign up as a new member at Top Cashback for free via this link.
• Search for ‘GAME’ on the site, click through and buy the item normally.
• Get £15 cashback when you spend £15 or more on an item.
• The cashback will track to the TopCashback ‘Earnings page’ within seven days of your purchase.

Jeremy Clarkson has claimed that he’ll work between 15 and 20 hours a day on Diddly Squat in the summer – and yet, he doesn’t “actually get paid” for what he harvests.

The Clarkson’s Farm star, who originally bought his Cotswolds farm in 2008, began running it himself in 2019 and has since been vocal about the difficulties of making a profit as a farmer. Last month, he revealed that it’s become “impossible” to make money from growing food on the farm.

In his latest newspaper column, Clarkson shed more light on farm life, revealing that he’ll “work non-stop” on Diddly Squat in the summer and yet it’s still “cheaper to go on an expensive holiday”.

Writing in The Sun, he said that farms are not able to book a summer holiday as it’s “impossible” to know when the harvest will be. “This means the farmer is forced to stay at home for the summer, looking at Instagram pictures of all his non-farming friends as they frolic on boats and in bars in the sun-drenched Mediterranean..

“Sounds terrible, yes? Well it isn’t. Some jobs on the farm are unpleasant. Sexing rabbits is annoyingly difficult, and disposing of dead piglets is heartbreaking. But I’ve been harvesting all week, and this job is an absolute joy.”

He added that he wakes up at 4am to “work non-stop for 15 to 20 hours at a stretch” and while it’s “hot and dirty out there”, he can’t get enough of it.

“Finally, you turn off the engines and in the golden-hour silence that results, you crack open an ice cold bottle of beer and gulp at it as the sun goes down. I’ve drunk beers in many exotic and beautiful locations over the years, but none of them match the beer you treat yourself to after a hard day’s harvesting,” he said.

“The only slight fly in the ointment is that thanks to the hot summer and this Government’s strange hatred of farmers, you don’t actually get paid for the wheat and the barley you’ve harvested. In fact, I worked out this morning that it’d be cheaper to go on an expensive holiday.”

The Independent has contacted the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for comment.

Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day

New subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled.

Try for free

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

Last month, Clarkson called for action from the government on farming matters, revealing that he’s left 200 acres of his farm bare as it would be “impossible” to make money from it. “We knew that if we planted it with wheat or barley, we would definitely make a loss,” he said.

Since taking up farming, Clarkson has become actively engaged with agricultural policy; in May 2024, he challenged government planning reforms, advocating for farmers to convert agricultural buildings into homes and shops.

Meanwhile, in the last series of Clarkson’s Farm, viewers watched as the presenter protested against the government’s proposals to increase inheritance tax by 20 per cent on agricultural assets worth more than £1m. After the protests, the government increased the threshold from £1m to £2.5m.

The recent series also saw Clarkson reveal that he had been diagnosed with cancer. He shared on the show that his cancer was aggressive but had been caught at a “really early” stage, and later said that a post-treatment test two months ago found no indication of cancer.

Holidaymakers are staying away from campsites in France as ‘unprecedented’ wildfires rip through the country, while firefighters scrambled to protect a seaside town in Greece. 

A wildfire in France’s Provence region continued to spread last night as 1,300 firefighters were deployed to quell the flames. 

Some 2,500 people were still unable to return home. 

Campsites in south-west France are now deserted after holidaymakers avoid the area following weeks of fires. 

A campsite manager in Domaine de La Rive, near the town of Biscarrosse, told of how a recent evacuation has deterred more tourists from coming. 

Some 1,200 people were evacuated from the campsite in just 30 minutes.  

But now, while the site is usually booked out, Hadrien Folliot said his campsite was empty.    

Some 62 campsites were evacuated in the wildfire affected areas, France’s National Federation of Outdoor Lodging said. 

A firefighting helicopter drops water over a wildfire in the area of Porto Germeno, just 45 miles of Athens 

The most recent fire in Provence continued to spread despite emergency services fighting to keep it away from nearby towns. 

By the end of the week, authorities said a total of 4,500 hectares had been burnt.

Meanwhile, hundreds of firefighters battled wind-fuelled fires near a tourist hotspot in Greece – that is just 45 miles from Athens.

A huge wall of fire and smoke engulfed forests near Porto Germeno on the Gulf of Corinth, northwest of the capital. 

Authorities said strong winds made the fire spread more quickly and made it unpredictable for firefighters.  

‘The situation is extremely hard, especially today. We have really strong winds, gusts exceeding 73 kph (45 mph). The direction of the fire can’t be determined easily,’ doctor and firefighter Giorgos Doulas said.

New pictures show helicopters dropping water and fire retardants to try and stop the spread of the fire. 

Ilias Papadimitropoulos, 65, from Kryo Pigadi said: ‘Every summer we worry whether we will catch fire or not. 

‘We live and breathe with this anxiety. From what I see, things are very difficult.’ 

Hundreds of firefighters battled wind-fuelled fires near a tourist hotspot in Greece

Authorities said strong winds made the fire spread more quickly and made it unpredictable 

Earlier, more than 200 people from the town of Agios Vasileios had to be evacuated by sea. 

Around 500 people, mostly tourists, were left stranded after a fire broke out near Agios Vasileios in Viotia, central Greece, on Friday morning and rapidly spread in strong winds, local media reported. 

Footage showed residents and holidaymakers boarding boats as volunteers and rescue teams worked to remove those from the town.

Other videos showed how smoke swirled around in the air as people flocked to board vessels.

People there had previously been told by authorities to move inland before the fire reached the outskirts of the town, according to the BBC.

Wildfires have also affected the Peloponnese peninsula and the islands of Crete, Paros and Lesvos – popular tourist destinations. 

Europe has been ravaged by wildfires this summer after successive record-breaking heatwaves, leaving vast stretches of drought-parched vegetation primed to burn, and forcing hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes. 

In Italy, authorities put nearly all of its major cities on the highest ‘red’ alert for high temperatures as a new heatwave threatened to grip the country. 

Some 19 cities including Rome, Milan, Venice and Naples will now be on the alert as temperatures are set to hit the mid 30s C next week. 

Greek firefighters attempt to fight a huge wall of fire and smoke that has engulfed forests near Porto Germeno on the Gulf of Corinth, northwest of the capital

Advertisement

A helicopter drops water as a wildfire burns near the village Agios Nektarios, Greece

Successive heatwaves have created favourable conditions for wildfires across Europe and Britain.

A wildfire in Suffolk this week burnt 371 acres – equivalent to 210 football pitches and took hold near Britain’s biggest nuclear power station Sizewell B. 

High temperatures can also be unsafe and could be dangerous even to healthy and active people, not just the elderly, the very young or people with chronic illness. 

Austria recorded 395 heat-related deaths in June. Earlier this week, 2,877 people died from heat in Britain so far this year, while France reported 5,664 excess deaths in the country between June 17 and July 2. 

Germany’s health authority recorded around 9,800 deaths this year linked to high temperatures.  

By LILY JOBSON, SHOWBUSINESS REPORTER

Published: 11:26 BST, 2 August 2026 | Updated: 11:34 BST, 2 August 2026

Freddy Brazier’s ex Holly Swinburn has revealed she saved his dog Pablo from being put down after it attacked him and his grandmother Jackiey Budden.

The 21-year-old son of the late Jade Goody and Jeff Brazier received emergency hospital treatment after his dog Pablo ‘hooked onto his arm’ during an attack this month. 

The canine – a pocket bully breed – was seized by the police and faced being put down after the attack.

Holly, who shares four-month-old daughter Isla with Freddy, has now shared that her mum has found the dog a suitable home with her neighbour. 

Advertisement

She said: ‘He will have a good life. Jeff messaged me that Pablo was going to be put down if we didn’t find a suitable home for him.

‘I can’t have him because I have a baby. Mum managed to find him a new home with her neighbour.’

Freddy Brazier’s ex Holly Swinburn has revealed she saved his dog Pablo from being put down after it attacked him and his grandmother Jackiey Budden (pictured together in 2025)

Advertisement

The 21-year-old son of the late Jade Goody and Jeff Brazier received emergency hospital treatment after his dog Pablo (pictured) ‘hooked onto his arm’ during an attack this month

‘He has had his micro-chip changed so he officially belongs to a new owner. He is happy and healthy and will have a good life away from Freddy. I hope he never sees him again,’ she added to The Sun.

Holly previously claimed that the bulldog who attacked the TV star was ‘mistreated’.

She shared a photo of the pocket bully and wrote: ‘This is Pablo. I had to give him to someone as I was struggling with a baby and a dog, he has been mistreated there and attacked them to protect himself.

Advertisement

‘He’s the nicest dog and this is totally out of character for him. He wouldn’t hurt a fly.’

She continued: ‘Please if anyone has a good home for Pablo message me! I don’t want to see him being put down and I can’t look after him and a baby by myself :(.’

Holly did not name who had ‘mistreated’ the pet.   

The Daily Mail contacted Freddy’s representatives for comment.

Advertisement

Her statement came just a day after Freddy shared his devastation that his dog would potentially be taken away after leaving a hole in his arm as he declared ‘he’s like my son.’

Freddy told The Sun that he was mauled by the dog when he went to collect him from his grandmother Jackiey’s home.

Holly, who shares four-month-old daughter Isla with Freddy, has now shared that her mum has found the dog a suitable home with her neighbour 

Freddy’s grandmother Jackiey (seen) was also attacked by Pablo and her neighbours called the police days before he was mauled by the animal

Advertisement

Sharing details of the attack, he said: ‘I couldn’t feel anything in my right arm. But then I saw blood coming out of my tracksuit. I opened it to see a 3cm hole in my arm. It was terrifying.’

However, despite the ordeal, Freddy said he didn’t want to lose Pablo. 

He said: ‘I want my dog back, but my nan has told me that he can’t go back to her house, and my dad won’t have him at his house. 

‘I have never seen him as my dog – he’s like my son. He’s in police kennels and I’m probably not going to see my dog again.’

Advertisement

Jackiey was also attacked by Pablo and her neighbours called the police days before he was mauled by the animal.

He spent eight hours in hospital getting stitches after his dog savagely bit him at his nan’s London home.

‘Jackiey was injured while attempting to pull Pablo off of him. Freddy was shocked when it happened and was left in a lot of pain,’ reported The Sun.

It was later revealed that it is not the first time the bulldog has attacked with emergency services attending the scene to help last week. 

Advertisement

Police and the fire brigade were called on July 16 by a concerned neighbour who heard screams of agony as the dog gripped onto Jackiey, which left her needing medical treatment. 

Four days later Pablo attacked again leaving both Freddy and Jackiey injured and requiring hospital treatment. 

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas voters will decide Tuesday whether to elect state Supreme Court justices rather than have the governor appoint them, a push from conservatives who have chafed for years over court decisions they disagreed with on issues such as abortion, school funding and the death penalty.

If the constitutional amendment passes, supporters hope to elect at least four conservative, anti-abortion justices to the seven-member court by 2033.

Kansas is considering the change amid concerns that increasingly contentious and expensive judicial elections in other states are making their courts more partisan and less independent. Spending in a single state Supreme Court race in Wisconsin last year topped $100 million.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a term-limited Democrat who opposes the measure, said gerrymandering and dark money have put the Legislature out of step with the state and, “to think you can make the judicial branch a part of that dysfunctional system is frightening.”

Republicans have a long list of rulings they question

GOP lawmakers cite multiple rulings by Kansas courts over the past two decades as reasons for change.

Most recently, a district court judge earlier this month reinstated a three-day grace period for voters to return mail ballots after Election Day, which GOP lawmakers had eliminated. Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, seeking the Republican nomination for governor, called the decision “outrageous” and urged people to vote yes on the ballot question.

The same judge — a finalist to fill the most recent Supreme Court vacancy — blocked enforcement of a 2025 law banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors. Masterson described him as “radical.”

The list of rulings Republicans criticize also includes rulings on education funding back to 2004. Supreme Court decisions forced lawmakers to increase funding to comply with the state constitution.

“If we elect our Supreme Court, they won’t force you to spend money on schools,” Masterson said in remarks in November to a conservative group, the Marion County Patriots for Liberty, the Marion County Record reported.

Abortion remains a key issue on both sides

Electing state Supreme Court justices gained currency among Republicans after a 2022 public vote affirming the high court’s landmark 2019 decision that Kansas’ bill of rights guarantees bodily autonomy and access to abortion. Total spending by both sides has exceeded $12 million.

Legislators who worked to overturn the Supreme Court’s protections, including Masterson, helped write this year’s proposal.

Seven weeks after that 2022 vote, Attorney General Kris Kobach, then a GOP candidate for the office, told a Republican club in Wichita that electing justices would “slowly and quietly” put anti-abortion justices on the high court.

The vote-yes campaign’s biggest donor — providing $1.7 million toward the campaign’s $3.7 million in spending — is a Nashville-based nonprofit that supports Republican candidates, groups and causes. Kansans for Life, the state’s most influential anti-abortion group, has spent at least $87,000 over the past 11 days on mailers and texts.

Retirements and deaths allowed the term-limited Kelly to appoint four of the current justices. Recently, she picked a district court judge who blocked enforcement of longstanding abortion restrictions in 2023.

“We don’t have a good way to fight back,” said state Sen. Mike Thompson, a conservative Kansas City-area Republican, who backs the measure.

Five people have been found dead and 41 are missing after an Indonesian ferry carrying 271 people caught fire while at sea, officials say.

The captain of the ship reported the fire – off Madura island – as the vessel sailed from the country’s second-largest city, Surabaya in East Java, to Makassar in South Sulawesi, according to Basarnas, the National Search and Rescue Agency.

Footage played by local Indonesian news outlet iNews shows large numbers of people in life jackets on what appears to be a lifeboat.

Other clips show people climbing down from the ferry that has flames and plumes of smoke coming from the top of the vessel.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X, external to get the latest alerts.

The Alpine Club said a ground team would take the recovered bodies to a Japanese camp.

Prior to Purja’s death being announced, Pakistani officials said the bodies of three other climbers from his expedition – American Mallory Geis, Nadhira Ahmed Abdullah Al Harthy from Oman and Pur Bahadur Gurung from Nepal – had been recovered.

On Saturday, Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah said “the tragic death of six Nepalese and four other foreign climbers, including world record holder Nirmal Purja, in the Karakoram mountain range of Pakistan, has shocked us”.

“The history of their courage, dedication, and contributions will always remain inspiring,” the prime minister added.

In a statement, Purja’s older brother Kamal wrote: “It is with the heaviest heart that I share the devastating news that my beloved younger brother, Nirmal ‘Nimsdai’ Purja, and the other climbers are no longer with us.

“Although our hearts are broken, we are incredibly proud of you. Your legacy will live forever,” he added.

Prince William said he was “truly saddened to hear of the tragic death” of Purja, who he said “served with distinction” as a soldier before “becoming one of the greatest mountaineers”.

UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said in a post on X: “Incredibly sad to learn of the passing of Nirmal (Nims) Purja and those he was climbing with.

“He was an inspirational man who served in our Armed Forces for many years – and whose incredible mountaineering adventures are known the world over.”

Naila Kiani, a spokesperson for the Alpine Club of Pakistan which is involved in the rescue efforts, told BBC’s Newshour programme on Saturday that her organisation feared all members of the group were dead, and that Purja had led many expeditions she was on.

Praising his leadership skills, she described him as a “very experienced climber and fearless”.

Teams in Pakistan have been searching for the climbers on the world’s 12th-highest summit since Thursday’s avalanche on the 8,047m (26,400ft) peak in the Karakoram range.

The multinational climbing group was being led by Purja. Also known as Nims, he rose to prominence in 2019 when he climbed all 14 of the world’s mountains with peaks above 8,000m in 189 days – smashing the previous record by more than seven years.

He became widely known following a Netflix documentary chronicling his journey, 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible, released two years later.

At the time, he said: “It has been a gruelling but humbling six months, and I hope to have proven that anything is possible with some determination, self-belief and positivity.”

Purja served in the British military for 16 years, 10 of which were spent in the special forces, and he was awarded an MBE by the late Queen in 2018 for his achievement in extreme high-altitude mountaineering.

Purja, who lived with his wife and three-year-old daughter in Hampshire in southern England, said he was also the first Gurkha to climb Everest while serving in the British military.

In his last post on X, published on Monday, he said he had not intended to climb Broad Peak.

“Initially, the plan was to climb just G2,” Purja wrote, referring to Gasherbrum II, another peak in the Karakoram mountain range.

But right before he set off for Pakistan, he realised if he also managed to climb Broad Peak while he was there, he would have only one more mountain to conquer before becoming the “first person in history to climb all 14 eight-thousanders twice. Without oxygen.”

An eight-thousander is a mountain that rises more than 8,000m above sea level.

“This wasn’t planned,” Purja wrote. “But opportunities don’t scream: they whisper to those already working in silence.”

“Broad Peak, I ask for nothing but safe passage up and back down. I take zero mountains for granted,” he wrote.

Broad Peak is regarded as one of the more challenging mountains for climbers. The first successful ascent was in 1957, when an Austrian expedition reached the summit.

Since then, many more have climbed the mountain, but dozens have lost their lives.

One of Broad Peak’s deadliest years was 2013, when at least six fatalities were recorded.