The second-round match at Roland Garros took place amid searing heat

Paramedics were called to a second-round match at the French Open on Wednesday after a player collapsed amid “insane” temperatures.

Czech star Jakub Mensik went down after winning an epic five-set encounter against Mariano Navone under the Roland Garros sun, and required a wheelchair when leaving the court.

Mensik had been playing for four hours and 41 minutes, and dropped to the clay with severe cramp immediately after hitting the deciding point in a mammoth fifth-set tie-break that would ultimately hand him a 6-3 2-6 6-4 1-6 7-6 victory.

He could actually be seen clutching his thigh while serving for the winning point, but managed to get a decisive forehand away before going down.

Paramedics could be seen rushing to his aid to bring ice packs, which Mensik used as a pillow as he lay on the dirt.

Navone, clearly concerned, went over to check his opponent was okay before shaking hands, with Mensik up on his feet again five minutes later.

John McEnroe, on commentary duties could be heard saying: “Help him out. That is… Boy, oh boy.

“Somebody’s got to help him out,” he added.

“The match is over. Come on! Help this guy!”

Mensik, clearly still struggling, was then helped into a wheelchair, with an ice pack placed on his head as he eventually left the court.

“It’s insane to play in this weather and especially in front of the sun,” Mensik said afterwards.

“To be there for more than four-and-a-half hours, that’s just insane. Even with the breaks, you don’t have that much time.

“When I hit the last point, the last winner, the emotions went out and my body just turned off. I was not able to do anything.

“The ending says it all, but I’m just happy that I kept fighting.”

Players and spectators have had to contend with stifling conditions all week in Paris.

Temperatures have consistently hit the mid-30s, and some players have called on authorities to take action.

Novak Djokovic believes the French Open and other Grand Slams need to implement rules similar to those used at the Australian Open, where play is suspended on outside courts when temperatures reach a certain level.

Playing late at night, he says, could be a potential solution.

“Honestly, with Grand Slams it shouldn’t be an issue because we have so many courts,” he said. “We have lights. You have big courts. You can play the matches. You can reschedule them some to other courts and still have the crowd in the stadium and everything.

“Is it ideal to go over midnight? It’s not. But if you have certain days that you have extreme heat and conditions, then maybe that’s something to consider.”

After well-wishers pledged almost £200,000, Phoebe Clarke and her family were able to travel to Saudia Arabia for the life-saving operation after the NHS refused due to the chance of her condition returning

A loving aunt travelled more than 4,000 miles to save life of her cancer-hit niece after the NHS delivered a liver transplant knockback.

The parents of Phoebe Clarke, from Altrincham, Greater Manchester, were hit with the news that their daughter had rare hepatic angiosarcoma as she was diagnosed in February last year. Experts told them that the nine-year-old’s only chance of long term survival was a full liver replacement – but worse news was to come.

The NHS refused to perform the operation because the chances of her condition returning were considered too high. But an astounding crowdfunding campaign brought in almost £200,000 – and with her aunt Sarah Billington agreeing to be a donor, the family set off for Saudia Arabia.

Her parents Matt Clarke and Lindsey Billington insisted their child “she deserves a chance however slim that might be”. Hepatic angiosarcoma is an aggressive cancer that originates in the endothelial cells lining the blood vessels of the liver. It is described as highly invasive, and carries a poor prognosis.

Lindsey told the ManchesterEveningNews: “It was a success. Phoebe’s in a bit of pain but both the liver team and the Peadiatric Intensive Care Unit doctors are happy with her. She is off ventilation and has been asking for water and getting feisty because she is not allowed it.

“They advised us that she’d be ventilated and sedated for at least a day, maybe two, so she’s doing amazingly well. She punched us both in frustration”. She added: “Sarah as the donor has gone all Donald Trump on me and said the doctor’s said it’s the best liver they’d ever seen.”

Phoebe, who has a twin brother, Eric, has been treated at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Riyadh. The transplant saw a portion of Sarah’s healthy liver removed and transplanted into Phoebe – because the liver regenerates the donor’s liver will grow back to normal size in a few months.

Advertisement

In a video message, Erling Haaland, who is Manchester City fan Phoebe’s favourite player, said: “Hi Phoebe, Erling Haaland here. Stay strong, keep going, all the best.” The family has also received a message of support from former boxing champion, Frank Bruno.

Oncologists advocated a liver transplant. But none of the three NHS centres which could potentially do a live donor operation in Leeds, Kings London, and Birmingham, thought it would be appropriate.

In a message posted on social media Lindsey said: “Thank you to everyone who’s donated so far it means the world. Because of your generosity we’ve just arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The world leading experts in live liver transplants are based here. Because of all you amazing people we’ve been given this opportunity, we couldn’t have done it without every single one of you.”

Dr Magnus Harrison, Chief Medical Officer at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said: “I am deeply sorry for the distress that this decision has caused to Phoebe’s family. It is a truly awful situation for any family to be in, and my thoughts are with Phoebe and her family at this difficult time.

“The decision not to offer Phoebe a liver transplant was incredibly difficult and was made following an extensive clinical review in consultation with the other specialist centres in Birmingham and London. Unfortunately, all organisations agreed that a liver transplant would not be an appropriate treatment for Phoebe. A decision supported by NHS Blood and Transplant.”

Available for over a year

The Senate race for Texas could decide which party controls Congress in November’s midterm elections, and some Democrats think the state could be theirs for the first time since 1988.

It follows Tuesday’s Republican primary in Texas that ousted the state’s long-serving senator, John Cornyn, in favour of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a controversial figure who was backed by Donald Trump after the president accused Cornyn of disloyalty.

In today’s episode, Sarah and Anthony assess whether Trump’s backing for Ken Paxton reflects a growing disconnect between the president and his base, and why some Republicans are worried about his chances when facing up against the Democrat’s James Talarico in November.

HOSTS:
• Sarah Smith, North America Editor
• Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent

GET IN TOUCH:
• Join our online community: https://discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB
• Send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 9480
• Email Americast@bbc.co.uk
• Or use #Americast

This episode was made by Tom Gillett with Grace Reeve and Oscar Pearson. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The series producer is George Dabby. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

If you want to be notified every time we publish a new episode, please subscribe to us on BBC Sounds by hitting the subscribe button on the app.

You can now listen to Americast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say “Ask BBC Sounds to play Americast”. It works on most smart speakers.

US Election Unspun: Sign up for Anthony’s BBC newsletter: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68093155

Americast is part of the BBC News Podcasts family of podcasts. The team that makes Americast also makes lots of other podcasts, including Newscast. If you enjoy Americast (and if you’re reading this then you hopefully do), then we think that you will enjoy some of our other pods too. See links below.

Newscast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/p05299nl
Radical: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gg4k6r
The Global Story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/w13xtvsd

Programme WebsiteShow less

Passengers using the West Coast Main Line are being warned of disruption after signalling systems stopped working during thunderstorms overnight.

Network Rail said its teams urgently fixing blown fuses in the equipment at Weaver Junction near Runcorn which went offline early this morning. It’s where the West Coast Main Line connects to Liverpool and the North Wales coast. While the exact cause is being investigated, the damage is in line with a suspected lightning strike.

During the repairs, some services are being reduced, delayed or cancelled, with only one train an hour running between Crewe and Liverpool, calling at Runcorn and Liverpool South Parkway. For that reason, anyone travelling today (Thursday, May 28) is urged to check National Rail Enquiries (www.nationalrail.co.uk).

Ticket acceptance is in place with Northern and Transpennine Express between South Parkway and Lime Street, Avanti West Coast between Crewe and Liverpool and Merseyrail between Liverpool South Parkway and Liverpool Central

Chris Wright, Network Rail North West route director, said: “We’re sorry to passengers affected by this disruption caused by the stormy conditions overnight. Our specialist signalling and telecoms teams are working as fast as possible to fix the faults and get the railway fully back up and running. “I’d advise anyone travelling today to please check National Rail Enquiries or with their train operator for the latest travel information before they set off on their journey.”

During the Ashes, Ecclestone made headlines for refusing an interview with former team-mate turned broadcaster Alex Hartley, who was working for Australia’s Channel 7.

Hartley, who won the World Cup with England in 2017, had questioned England’s fitness levels after the team’s early exit from the T20 World Cup in 2024.

The team’s fitness was subject of debate for some time afterwards, but when Edwards was appointed as coach, she said that the players would be “held accountable” for their fitness standards and that it was a “non-negotiable”.

“[Those conversations] are quite annoying, because people outside the group don’t see what happens in training, they don’t see how hard the girls work,” Ecclestone said.

“I feel like people are very quick to judge. I don’t ever feel like we were unfit, I think that was unfair.

“But we did feel like we could have made some moves in that area, and we have done. As a group, we are ridiculously fit now. If anyone did want to judge that I would love for them to come into our environment for the day because it’s crazy how hard people work.”

Accusations of cosiness and complacency also followed the team after the defeat in Australia, and after so many years of individual success, Ecclestone became subject of criticism, but says she is now better equipped to handle the “highs and lows” of international sport.

Ecclestone insists that she will still be active on social media during England’s World Cup campaign, which begins against Sri Lanka, as the cricketers seek to emulate football’s Lionesses and rugby’s Red Roses with a home triumph.

England’s last World Cup win also came at home in 2017, but they have fallen short in global tournaments since, most recently losing to South Africa in last year’s 50-over semi-final.

Though Ecclestone and England are cautious of looking too far ahead, she is very honest about how much it would mean to win the trophy after such a difficult time.

“The group of girls around me, I wouldn’t be here without them, they’re so supportive of me.

“I’m quite open with them about how I’m feeling most of the time, so to lift a trophy with those girls and to share a moment like that with them, it’s something I could only dream of. It would be like a miracle ending.”

A final decision on whether the group will be leased the land will be made at the end of June

A church group has won a bid for a 999-year land leasehold in a new Cambridgeshire town. The Northstowe Church Network scored the highest out of two proposals in a bid for faith land, as run by South Cambridgeshire District Council.

The group will be recommended for a 999-year leasehold agreement at the council’s scrutiny and overview meeting on June 4, before a final decision is made at a cabinet meeting on June 23.

Councillor Dr Lisa Redrup, lead cabinet member for healthy communities for the council, said: “This is an important milestone for Northstowe as the new town continues to grow and develop.

“We’ve taken a thorough and transparent approach to assessing proposals, including public feedback, to ensure the best outcome for residents. Northstowe Church Network submitted the highest-scoring bid, and we are recommending them to take forward this first faith and community site.“

She continued: “Spaces like this play a vital role in bringing people together, supporting wellbeing, and fostering a strong sense of belonging. This is just the first opportunity of several, and we look forward to working with a range of groups as more sites come forward in future phases of Northstowe’s development.”

In 2020, the council adopted the Northstowe Faith and Community Land Allocation policy, providing a fair and transparent process for land allocation. In December 2024, the cabinet agreed to initiate a bidding round for the first parcel of land.

Alongside the Northstowe Church Network, the Hindu Samaj Northstowe submitted the other bid. The two proposals were assessed against the agreed policy and criteria by an eight‑member panel, including six District Council officers, alongside two external specialists.

The bids were also open for comment in a public survey. It received 440 responses, including 14 responses made on behalf of groups.

Councillor Natalie Warren-Green said: “Reaching this point is an important step for Northstowe, and I’d like to thank both groups who engaged with the process so thoughtfully.

“We recognise the time, effort and passion that goes into bids like these, and that this will be a disappointing outcome for those who were not selected. The panel followed a robust and fair assessment process, considering both expert input and community feedback.

“As Northstowe continues to grow, there will be further opportunities for faith and community groups in future phases, and we remain committed to supporting a diverse and inclusive range of spaces that bring people together.”

Cllr Hansraj added: “It’s great to see progress towards creating a dedicated faith and community space in Northstowe, which will play a vital role in bringing people together in this growing and diverse town.

“Places like this are so important for building connections, supporting one another, and creating a strong sense of belonging. Thank you to everyone involved in putting forward bids and contributing to the process – it really reflects the strength of community spirit here.”

This is the first of four opportunities for faith and community groups to secure land in Northstowe. In the future, there will be further land or floorspace within the town centre on phase two, plus two more opportunities within phase three.

The new community at Northstowe is planned as a new town of 10,000 homes. Currently around 1,700 homes are occupied.

Pride & Prejudice is coming to the grounds of Castle Howard this summer.

The special outdoor cinema screening, organised by Adventure Cinema, will take place on Sunday, July 19, running from 6.30pm until 10.15pm at the stately home north of York.

People should bring their own seating to settle in the grounds of the North Yorkshire historic estate for the adaptation of Jane Austen’s second published novel, starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen.

Recommended reads:

Police hunt this wanted York man after prison licence breach- have you seen him?

‘It got a bit strange’ – patient’s shock encounter with King at York Hospital

Old York photos capture some of city’s hottest moments

Food & Drink Awards see surge in entries as Yorkshire Mark backs event

The romantic classic features the Bennet family and follows one of the daughters, Elizabeth Bennet, as she navigates social expectations, family pressures, and her initially misjudged relationship with the wealthy, reserved Fitzwilliam Darcy.

The event is open to all ages, with children required to be accompanied by an adult. Under twos can attend for free.

A range of ticket options is available. Standard tickets for under 12s are priced at £10.92, while premium tickets, costing £25.48, include a luxury deck chair in a prime viewing position.

A higher-tier “Director’s View” package, which includes front-row seating, a blanket, themed treat bag and a copy of the novel, has already sold out.

The screening is expected to last around three hours and 45 minutes, including the film and event timings.

Outdoor cinema events have grown in popularity across North Yorkshire in recent years, with historic venues such as Castle Howard providing a dramatic setting for classic films during the summer months.

WARNING, GRAPHIC CONTENT: A scientist scalped by an industrial machine while working in a converted paper mill factory has spoken of her ordeal

Advertisement

A scientist who suffered a horrific scalping injury from an industrial machine has recounted the harrowing moment she walked into her lab clutching her own scalp.

Dr Pia Winberg endured a nightmare scenario when her hair became caught in a high-powered drive shaft while working in a converted paper mill factory. The 55 year old had her scalp torn clean from her skull in the appalling accident.

Despite losing substantial amounts of blood, Pia succeeded in extricating herself from the machinery, retrieved her detached scalp and made her way 200 metres to a neighbouring laboratory to request a colleague summon an ambulance. The scientist has revealed how the devastating day played out.

“I was wearing my factory cap, protective eyewear and hearing protection,” Pia, from Narrawallee, Australia, told creatorzine.com. “I assumed that the small ball grip at the end of the valve handle unthreaded, and rolled under the machine. Why else I would have been on my knees with my head just above floor level?

“That’s where I found myself. The next memory was a just sense of frustration, as I tried to work out why my hair felt like it was tangled in two directions in something. I brought my hands down in front of me.”, reports the Daily Star.

Advertisement

“In confusion, I wondered why my hands were completely covered in red – that was when my memory stopped again. I must have managed to extract my hair, remove my scalp and its hair from the machine, and walked, holding it, 200 metres to the lab building. I opened the door and said my colleague Rachel’s name, after which my memory stops.”

In February 2019, the scientist was developing seaweed-based gels designed to restore damaged tissue and improve wound recovery. The accident happened at a pilot facility she’d set up in a disused 1950s paper mill in New South Wales.

Rachel described Pia as eerily composed despite being soaked in blood. Pia recalled: “I turned and walked down the corridor to my office chair. Rachel ran after me and it was then that she could see my skull sticking out of the top of my head, and my scalp and mobile phone in my hands in my lap. She understood then that it was me who had had the accident and she acted fast.”

Four ambulances arrived within 10 minutes, followed by a rescue helicopter. Paramedics worked for hours attempting to stabilise her blood pressure before she could be airlifted to Sydney’s St George Hospital.

Medical staff attempted to reattach her scalp during six hours of emergency operations, but the blood vessels had sustained excessive damage. Instead, surgeons carried out a split-skin graft utilising skin removed from her thigh, fastening it directly to her skull while vacuum pressure encouraged the tissue to fuse.

Without viable tissue, her skull bone would have perished. Yet, in a remarkable twist, the scientist reckons her own seaweed-based research contributed significantly to her recovery.

Pia revealed: “When the dressings could be removed a week later, I went straight into using my seaweed gel moisturiser across the whole mesh graft site, and it healed so well that I say I had baby skin across my head and not a single scar from the mesh skin pattern.

“Not that having a baby’s bottom effect across my head was ideal, but it was still amazing. I kept using the cream, until a year later, because skin remodelling takes as long as that after trauma.”

Throughout the subsequent year, she underwent six further reconstructive procedures as doctors progressively expanded remaining scalp tissue across her skull using inflatable expanders topped up weekly with saline solution.

Pia explained: “They approached this by implanting expander bags under the side patch of hair and scalp tissue that remained on one side. These bags were expanded to stretch the scalp with hair on it slowly, by injecting 10ml of saline each week.

“After the bag was filled to a litre of water and I had a giant hair balloon on the side of my head, a fourth surgery could remove the balloon, detach 90% of the baby skin graft tissue, and extend the stretched, real, scalp tissue with hair over to the other side of my skull to reattach once again.

“After this, another two surgeries tidied it up, and today there is just one four centimetre patch of baby skin, thigh graft tissue on my skull. The rest is extended true scalp with my own hair, thinned a bit, but with feeling and better thickness than thigh skin, which was thin and with no nerves or sensation.”

Her present research now focuses on SXRG84, a seaweed-based gel that appears to mimic molecules involved in human tissue repair, hydration and collagen production.

Pia explained: “Before the accident, I thought of the scalp mainly as the place that held hair. After losing mine, I learned that the scalp is far more than that. It’s a living, sensory, vascular organ wrapped over the skull, thick, richly innervated, full of hair follicles, blood vessels, glands and connective tissue.

“The scalp helps protect the skull and brain, regulates heat, senses touch and temperature, and anchor the hair that shields us from sun, cold and environmental exposure. Losing my scalp changed more than my appearance. I experienced vertigo and a strange disconnection from the top of my own head.

“Hair movement activates nerve endings around the follicle, making hair-covered skin sensitive to light touch, brushing, air movement and subtle environmental contact. I had to relearn touch, pressure and position across my skull.

“The map of my head had been redrawn. I could feel my brain learning where I was again. That experience changed the way I understood skin.”

Scientists at PhycoHealth, the company Pia founded, are investigating whether the marine gel could help burns victims, chronic wounds and tissue harmed by chemotherapy.

Advertisement

Pia continued: “Skin is not wrapping paper, it’s an organ of sensation, immunity, temperature control, communication and repair. The scalp, in particular, is a remarkable interface between the brain and the outside world. It tells us about pressure, wind, warmth, danger, touch and even the subtle presence of our body in space.

“I became, unwillingly, a patient inside the very clinical world I was trying to help and experiencing the challenge from the frontline. I saw the brilliance of surgeons and emergency clinicians, but also the limits of what medicine currently has available when large areas of complex tissue are lost.

“A split-skin graft can save life and cover bone, but it does not replace full scalp tissue, hair follicles, thickness, sensation, glands, elasticity or the original sensory map of the body. That’s why our research now matters to me in a completely different way.

“We’re investigating how these marine glycans can support skin repair, collagen protection, inflammation control, microbiome balance and even 3D-printed full-thickness skin models. What began as ecological science, cultivating seaweed to transform waste nutrients into valuable biology, became deeply personal.

“I now understand skin as one of the most intelligent organs of the body. And I understand healing not only as closing a wound, but as restoring structure, sensation, identity and connection to the world.”

People were woken up as far apart as Rochdale, Stockport and Wigan

Residents across Greater Manchester were woken in the night as a huge and intense storm battered the region. There were reports of intense thunder from 2am on Thursday (May 28), as far apart as Rochdale, Stockport and Wigan.

The storm comes after the Met Office placed a yellow weather warning in across England and Wales yesterday (May 27). It covered large areas of the UK between midnight and 4am.

Click here to get the biggest stories straight to your inbox in our Daily Newsletter

Footage of the strikes were posted across social media as lightning illuminated residential streets, disrupting sleep after days of intense heat. Heavy rain also fell throughout Greater Manchester.

There have also been reports of the storm in Merseyside, West Midlands, North Wales and Lancashire.

One resident in Wigan posted on social media: “So, everyone else heard that loud bang at 3am too? What the hell was it?”

Another, in Heywood, wrote on Facebook: “It was so loud! I have never heard thunder as loud as last night I thought it was something else because of how loud it was.” A second Heywood resident added: “Nothing normally wakes me up but that did, looked out the window and thought I was dreaming.”

Just down the road in Middleton, one local wrote: “Early hours here in Middleton lightning first a few times then came the thunder .Hopefully it has cleared the air and got rid of that pollen.”

Over in Stockport, a young resident told the Manchester Evening News: “I had left the curtains and windows open to allow cold air into the room after the heatwave, without realising storms were in the forecast. Overnight I was woken up by a huge flash that lit up the room. At first I thought someone was moving a car on the driveway but quickly realised the noise was actually heavy rain.

“I then heard rumbling thunder in the distance, which must have carried on for hours, even after the rain eased. Now I’m shattered and running on around four hours of sleep.”

And in Middleton, a local told the M.E.N: “I thought it was a load of people kicking my bins about – it went on for ages. It was so loud, like a bomb going off.

“A lovely 2am thunderstorm waking them up is just what everyone needed after a week of sleepless nights thanks to the heatwave.”

Prior to the downpour, the Met Office said: “Thunderstorms will continue to affect parts of England and Wales and are likely to become increasingly confined to northern and eastern parts of the warning area during the course of the early hours.

“While many places will miss the worst conditions, where thunderstorms do occur frequent lightning and heavy downpours are likely. Hail and strong, gusty winds may also affect a few places.”

The bakery chain is trialling Greggs Express, a self-service unit which allows customers to quickly grab their favourite treats on the go.

The first unit opened at Motor Fuel Group’s (MFG) petrol forecourt outside Glasgow Airport.

Tony Rowson, property director at Greggs, said: “Greggs Express is our latest concept being trialled to help us enhance our customer experience, focusing on convenience and speed.

“The units allows customers to grab their favourite bake or serve coffee themselves, ideal for customers on the move.

“Working with MFG, the trial will help us understand how this format can support our growth ambitions alongside our broader estate growth plans while continuing to deliver the great-tasting food and value our customers expect.”

Customer behaviour is being analysed, with a small number of other self-service units planned to be rolled out across MFG locations in the coming months.

Jamie Constable, head of operations – food service at MFG, said: “At MFG, we are committed to delivering the highest level of convenience and choice across our forecourt estate.

“The self-service format of Greggs Express is perfectly suited to the fast-paced, on-the-go needs of our customers, and we’re delighted to be Greggs partner of choice for this exciting trial.”

The development comes just weeks after Greggs announced they were locking away their items behind the counter at some stores in a trial to combat theft.

The trial is running across six stores which they said are exposed to ‘higher levels of anti-social behaviour’.

Greggs also recently introduced Bitesize Greggs, a smaller shop format designed for limited-space locations, with three currently open.