Image source, Alamy
Matt McGrath and Mark Poynting BBC Climate & Science Published 9 April 2025, 00:03 BST
The UK government is investigating a fast-growing “green fuel” called HVO diesel amid claims of significant fraud, the BBC has learned.
HVO is increasingly popular as a transport fuel and for powering music festivals and its backers say it can curb carbon emissions by up to 90% as it can be made from waste materials like used cooking oil.
[Image Placeholder] Image caption, The King and Queen attend a state banquet hosted by the president of Italy
King Charles and Queen Camilla have had a private meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican where he wished them a happy 20th wedding anniversary.
In a statement released by Buckingham Palace, the King and Queen said they were “delighted the Pope was well enough to host them - and to have had the opportunity to share their best wishes in person”.
Summary
Media caption, How the US stock market is reacting to Trump’s tariffs…in 45 seconds
Temperatures could reach 23C (73F) in parts of the UK on Friday, as mostly clear skies bring a bright, sunny start to April.
Parts of southern England have highs in the low 20s forecast for Friday afternoon. The Algarve, in Portugal, is set to see highs of 18C, accompanied by some showers.
Temperatures are expected to remain in the mid to high teens for England, Wales and parts of Scotland over the weekend and into Monday. Skies will be mostly clear, with some cloud expected for eastern Scotland and England on Saturday.
 Image caption: The expansion plans include a new terminal building for the Bedfordshire-based airport
London Luton Airport hopes to almost double annual passenger numbers to 32 million by 2043 after the government approved expansion plans, including a new terminal.
It came despite the Planning Inspectorate recommending Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander rejected them over environmental concerns.
Image source, Facebook Image caption, Andrew and Dawn Searle moved to France from Musselburgh
French officials investigating the deaths of a British couple in their home in south-west France have said it was murder followed by suicide.
The bodies of Andrew and Dawn Searle, who previously lived in East Lothian in Scotland, were found on 6 February at their home in Les Pequies, about a hour north of Toulouse.
Mrs Searle’s body was found in the garden with severe wounds to her head, while her husband’s body was found inside.
By Fergus Walsh, Medical editor & Camilla Horrox, Global health producer
It’s 10am, and in a little over two hours, Wayne Hawkins will be dead.
The sun is shining on the bungalow where the 80-year-old lives in San Diego, California with his wife of more than five decades, Stella.
I knock on the door and meet his children - Emily, 48, and Ashley, 44 - who have spent the last two weeks at their father’s side.
Image source, Legacy Independent Funeral Directors
Image caption, Robert Bush ran Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull where 35 bodies and a quantity of ashes were removed by police in March 2024
A man has been charged with 64 offences after a major investigation into a funeral directors in Hull in which police removed 35 bodies and a quantity of ashes.
Humberside Police began its inquiry into Legacy Independent Funeral Directors after a report of “concern for care of the deceased” in March last year.
Tesla sales have plummeted to their lowest level in three years after a reaction against its boss Elon Musk.
The electric car maker delivered almost 337,000 electric vehicles in the first three months of 2025, a 13% drop from a year ago.
Tesla shares tumbled in early trading on Wednesday after the release of the unexpectedly low sales numbers.
The cars face increasing competition from Chinese firm BYD, but experts believe Musk’s role in the Trump administration has had an effect too.
Directors including Ron Howard, Francis Ford Coppola and Michael Mann have paid tribute to actor Val Kilmer, following his death aged 65.
Kilmer starred in some of the biggest movies of the 1980s and 90s, including Top Gun and Batman Forever.
Coppola described Kilmer as “a wonderful person to work with and a joy to know”, while Howard praised his “awesome range as an actor”.
Singer Cher, a former girlfriend of Kilmer’s, summed him up as “funny, crazy, pain in the ass, GREAT FRIEND” and “brave” during his illness.
A British couple are fighting deportation from Australia following the diagnosis of one partner’s multiple sclerosis (MS). Jessica Mathers, 30, and her boyfriend Rob O’Leary are facing the prospect of being forced to leave the country they’ve called home since 2017.
The situation began in 2023 when Ms. Mathers’ visa application for permanent residency was rejected due to concerns about the potential cost of treating her condition under Australia’s healthcare system, Medicare. The couple met while backpacking in Australia in 2017 and Mr. O’Leary has since established a carpentry and construction business.
Image caption: Mickey Rourke is known for films like 9½ Weeks, Year of the Dragon and The Wrestler
By Ian Youngs Culture reporter
Hollywood actor Mickey Rourke has been given a formal warning for using “offensive and unacceptable” language towards JoJo Siwa in Celebrity Big Brother.
The Oscar-nominated star entered the ITV reality show on Monday alongside the 21-year-old TV and social media personality, and 11 other celebrities.
 Image caption: Jaroslaw Rossa and his sons Filip, 15, and Dominic, seven, died in a crash on the M6
Federica Bedendo BBC News, North East and Cumbria
Two children, their father and his partner were unlawfully killed when they crashed head-on with a car being driven the wrong way on a motorway by a man intending to take his own life, a coroner has ruled.
Donald Trump is set to unveil a plan that could effectively end decades of economic globalization, potentially launching a universal tariff on all imports into the USA.
Every time Donald Trump has discussed his plan to levy massive tariffs on imports, there have been widespread assumptions of delay, reduction, or rollback. However, today he will reveal the seriousness of his intentions in the White House Rose Garden.
The potential of a 20% universal tariff is seen as the only way to achieve the massive revenues claimed by some of his advisors. This could involve broadly bracketed tariff levels across different countries.
Empty your mind. Be formless, shapeless, like water! you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle you put water into a teapot, it becomes the teapot Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water my friend.