| | | | | | | Hello. The Swedish flag was raised at Nato’s headquarters today, symbolising the Nordic country’s full inclusion in the military alliance. Swedish troops are among the thousands joining Nato’s biggest exercise in decades, as defence correspondent Jonathan Beale reports from northern Norway. After the Princess of Wales admitted to editing her Mother’s Day photo, BBC Verify explains what may have been altered in the image, and how. Finally, BBC 100 Women tells the story of two Afghan sisters defying Taliban rule through song. |
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| | | | | | AT THE SCENE | Northern Norway | | Nato’s new members get war-ready | | | | Swedish soldiers have joined the first test of Nato's new military plans in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Credit: BBC | | Involving 90,000 military personnel, Exercise Steadfast Defender is one of Nato’s largest exercise in decades. Sweden and Finland, new members of the military alliance, are joining for the first time the drills that have the stated objective to deter Russia. | | | | Jonathan Beale, Defence correspondent |
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| The first stage of the exercise is taking place in the remote white wilderness of the Finnmark region of northern Norway. It's not that far from Norway's 120-mile border with Russia. Though in this scenario Finnmark has been invaded by a fictional enemy called Occasus. Eivor, a 21-year-old Norwegian medical student and part-time soldier, says her grandparents had to flee this same area when the Nazis invaded in World War Two.
"I'd rather stay here and fight," she says. She says she's not expecting the Russians to invade "but of course you always have to stay on your toes". It's the first big Nato exercise with forces from Sweden and Finland taking part as fully fledged members. There's a palpable sense of excitement among their troops at becoming part of the world's largest military alliance. They're also more willing to identify the threat. |
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| Questions Answered | | 'Bad job of photoshopping' | | | | Kensington Palace said it would not be re-issuing the original unedited photograph of Catherine and her children. Credit: Prince of Wales |
| | A statement from Catherine, the Princess of Wales, apologised for editing an image of her and her children that was withdrawn from publication by major news agencies over its manipulation. Kate’s message did not specify what exactly was edited or why. | | | | Andre Rhoden-Paul, Joshua Cheetham and Jake Horton, BBC Verify |
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| | What was special about the photo? | | The picture, taken by Prince William for the UK’s Mother's Day, had been the first image released by Kensington Palace since Catherine's surgery in January amid intense speculation about her health. | | What looks odd about the image? | | BBC photo editor Phil Coomes was among those who identified an issue with Princess Charlotte's sleeve, as well as an issue near Louis's legs, where there is what looks like a jagged edge on the base of a wooden door. Questions also surround blurring on Princess Charlotte's tights and Catherine's zipper and hair not aligning. | | What do we know from the image’s metadata? | | Data about the photo image shows that the picture was taken with a digital camera using a Canon lens. It was saved twice on photo editing software Adobe Photoshop, using an Apple Mac computer. But we do not know if both of these versions were saved on the same device. The first version was saved on 8 March at 21:54 GMT, and the second was saved on 9 March at 09:39. | | | | | | |
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| | The big picture | | Party the night away | | | | Emma Stone was one of the stars who changed her outfit between the Oscars and the Vanity Fair party. Credit: Getty Images |
| | There ain’t no party like an Oscars after-party, and Hollywood A-listers showed up dressed for the occasion. The hottest accessory, needless to say, was one of the golden statuettes. | | | | |
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| | | For your downtime | | Biryani supremacy | | This one-pot dish is a year-round favourite, but even more so at Ramadan. | | |
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| | And finally... in Afghanistan | | Two sisters are defying the Taliban’s restrictions on women’s freedoms by performing songs from under their blue burkas. More than just a duet, the siblings have started a singing movement, known as The Last Torch. Listen to one of their performances in this report from the BBC 100 Women team. |
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| | | | | | | | In History Newsletter | | The past comes to life through the BBC's unique audio, video and written archive, each Thursday. | | |
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