Plus: Perils of a migrant's journey through Mexico, and royalties for nature ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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| Hello. Week-long speculation about Israel's response to Iran's attack on 13 April appears to have found an answer, with explosions being reported in the province of Isfahan. Our correspondents analyse the latest events. We also have stories looking at Mexico's criminal cartels profiting from migrants seeking to reach the US, and an infected blood scandal in the UK that still affects its victims, decades later. And in what's music to nature's ears, a new initiative aims to help fund environmental projects through song royalties. | |
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TOP OF THE AGENDA | Latest shot in spiralling tit for tat | | Iranian state TV broadcast images of Isfahan which appeared to show no signs of damage. Credit: EPA | Iranian media reported explosions in Isfahan province, which is home to a large air base, a major missile production complex and several nuclear sites, early on Friday. Neither Israel nor the US have commented, but American media quoted US officials saying an Israeli missile struck Iran. Iranian media have, however, reported that three drones were downed by the country's air defence system. It's the "latest shot in a spiralling tit for tat" between Tehran and Tel Aviv, as chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet calls it. Iran's response has so far been "muted and mild", writes security correspondent Frank Gardner, with Iranian officials playing down the attack and stating there is no immediate plan for retaliation. Even if both Iran and Israel now draw a line under the saga, their decades-long proxy war has been altered by the direct confrontation of the past few weeks, writes international editor Jeremy Bowen.
Isfahan incident: Here is what we know about the explosions reported in Iran and their ramifications.
Sanctions on Iran: Before the attack, the US and the UK had followed the EU in announcing new restrictions targeting Tehran's drone and missile programmes.
Get the latest: G7 leaders meeting in Capri, Italy, for their annual summit are due to discuss the overnight explosions in Iran. Follow our live page for real-time news and analysis. | |
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| | | San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico |
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| Gangs exploiting migrants' struggles | | Queue of migrants outside processing centre in Arizona after crossing the border. Credit: Getty Images | The migrants attempting to cross Mexico's border with the US are easy prey for extortion by criminal organisations or corrupt police officers. Their role has stayed mostly under the radar in the debate about mass migration. |
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| | | The first time Edoardo's bus to Sonoyta near the US border was stopped, 10 armed men wearing balaclavas got on board. Once they established who the migrants were, they asked each of them for 1500 pesos ($90; £72) or they would be detained. As Eduardo's bus continued north through the Mexican states of Sinaloa and Sonora, he says they were stopped at six police checkpoints where officers demanded money from the migrants. "If you didn't have money they took your papers - that's how I lost some documents." |
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BEYOND THE HEADLINES | Children used in unsafe clinical trials |
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| | | Luke O'Shea-Phillips, here aged two, says he could have been killed by infected blood given to him. Credit: Allan Archive | In the 1970s and 80s, hundreds of people in the UK, including children, were unknowingly enrolled in clinical trials involving infected blood products that doctors knew might be contaminated. Ahead of the publication of a public inquiry's final report into the scandal, due in May, Chloe Hayward and Hugh Pym speak to some of the people affected. |
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SOMETHING DIFFERENT | Volcano vino | How ash from a devastating eruption led to a winemaking tradition. | |
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And finally... | The contribution of nature to songwriting is being recognised. A project aims to pay royalties to environmental causes every time someone plays a track featuring birdsong, waves or wind - provided "nature" has been listed a featured artist. Producer Brian Eno has remixed his David Bowie collaboration Get Real for the project. But can you hear the hyenas and wild pigs in the track? Have a listen. | |
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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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MORE BBC NEWSLETTERS | | US Election Unspun: Cut through the noise in the race for the White House, every Wednesday. Subscribe. | | Future Earth: Essential global climate news and hopeful developments, every Tuesday. Subscribe. | | Football Extra: Latest news, insights and gossip from the Premier League, weekdays. Subscribe. | |
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