Plus: Happy birthday to all the leaplings, and a Willy Wonka experience gone wrong
| | | | | | | Hello. A northern city in Texas is battling thesecond-largest wildfire in the US state's history, but it's cities along the Mexico border in the south that are under the spotlight today, as both Joe Biden and Donald Trump are expected to visit. Anthony Zurcher reflects on immigration's importance in the 2024 White House race. As the death toll in Gaza surpasses 30,000, Yolande Knell looks into how the casualty figures are calculated. Finally, to mark 29 February, we have stories on what it's like to be born on such an unusual date, and on how a Roman emperor took on the challenge of creating an accurate calendar. |
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| | | | Top of the agenda | | The virtual duel along US-Mexico border | | | | More than 6.3 million migrants have been detained crossing into the US illegally during Mr Biden's time in office. Credit: Getty Images |
| | Two cities along Texas's US-Mexico border are hosting high-profile visitors today. US President Joe Biden is expected in Brownsville, while Donald Trump is due more than 300 miles away in Eagle Pass. Almost a decade after Mr Trump made his campaign promise to build a wall along the US's southern border, and make Mexico pay for it, immigration remains a hot-button political issue. According to a recent Gallup survey, 28% of Americans named immigration as their top concern, beating every other topic, including the economy and inflation. As North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher writes, the day provides an opportunity for Mr Biden to try to convince voters he is serious about immigration, while Mr Trump's own trip is another chance to shine a spotlight on an issue that has been the central focus of his political career. Read his analysis. | | | | |
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| | | | | | | | AT THE SCENE | Cairo, Egypt | | Dangerous journeys to flee Sudan | | A vicious power struggle between Sudan's military and a paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), that erupted last April has forced more than 10 million people from their homes. An estimated 450,000 people fled to Egypt via a perilous journey through the desert. | | | | Mohamed Osman, BBC News Arabic |
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| | Ibrahim, a government employee from Khartoum who made it to Egypt last August, told the BBC a man he was travelling with broke his neck and died after the truck they were in hit a rock. The smugglers insisted on leaving his body and burying it in the desert. "Everyone was horrified. I stared at the unmarked grave as we drove away, while the women and children in the truck wept," Ibrahim said. Robberies are also common. Halima, a 60-year-old who had fled Gezira state after RSF fighters attacked her home, told the BBC about a frightening experience in December before their truck reached the border. |
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| | | | Beyond the headlines | | The leaplings who stay forever young | | | | Although he is 32, Joe Middleton is celebrating his eighth leap year birthday. Credit: Joe Middleton |
| | Those who were born on 29 February get to celebrate their actual birthdays only once every four years. By their own accounts, the benefits of being born on an unusual date outweigh the occasional issues, such as not finding their date of birth in drop-down forms. | | | | |
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| | | | Something different | | Longest year ever | | Julius Caesar's project to fix the calendar risked failing over a Roman maths quirk. | | |
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| | | | | | | | | | US Election Unspun newsletter | | Cut through the noise in the race for the White House, every Wednesday to your inbox. | | |
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– Sofia |
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