Airlines will be able to cancel flights weeks in advance, without losing valuable take off and landing slots at busy airports, if they face fuel shortages this summer.

New plans drawn up by the government will let carriers plan ahead, helping to avoid disruptive last-minute cancellations for passengers.

The proposals would allow airlines to merge flights on routes with multiple trips to the same destination on the same day, meaning passengers could be moved from their original booking to a similar one to save fuel.

The UK imports about 65% of the jet fuel it uses, a significant portion of which comes from the Middle East under normal circumstances. But, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz means those supplies cannot get through.

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#Aviation #Flights #BBCNews

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BP’s profits for the first three months of the year have more than doubled following a surge in oil prices since the beginning of the Iran war.

In its first results since the conflict broke out, the energy giant reported profits of $3.2bn (£2.4bn) between January and March after an “exceptional” performance in its oil trading business.

The figure was higher than analysts had expected and far ahead of income in the same period last year which reached $1.38bn.

The oil price has seen sharp swings since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran as the key Strait of Hormuz – which usually carries about 20% of the global supplies of oil and liquid natural gas – has been effectively closed.

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If fewer people have children… what happens next?

Across the globe birth rates are falling, populations are ageing and debates about parenthood have become intensely divisive.

In this video, we set out to understand why parenthood might no longer feel like the default option, why birth rates are falling faster in some places than others and what this trend could mean for our future.

In case you’re interested here are some of the stories we reference in this video:

1. Scotland’s birth rate falls to lowest level since 1855 – https://bbc.in/4vV6WBw
2. Scotland’s deaths outnumber births – so why is the population still rising? – https://bbc.in/4sXjG84

In Case You Missed It is a new YouTube series from BBC News telling stories from across the UK. Let us know what you think in the comments and tell us if there are any stories you think we should cover next!

In this video…

00:00 – Intro
00:37 – The UK’s population pyramid
01:34 – The story so far… on social media
02:46 – Scotland’s population data
06:30 – What’s a ‘baby desert’?
07:21 – The cost of having children
08:07 – ‘Social infertility’ – reasons we might not have children
11:32 – The Japanese example – ‘a quiet state of emergency’
12:30 – What does the future hold?

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For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit https://BBC.com/news

#BBCNews #BirthRates #population #children #parenting

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Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews

For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news

#BBCNews

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The US-Israel war on Iran is on hold – for the moment – but although a ceasefire has been in place since early April, diplomatic talks in Pakistan have not produced a permanent peace deal. Now Iranian state media says Tehran has put forward a new proposal for negotiations, but President Trump has said he’s not satisfied with it.

The US is continuing to exert economic pressure on Iran with its blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz. But there are growing reports that President Trump is considering possible new strikes on Iran – as the deadline passes for Congressional approval for further military action. According to US law, the President must ask lawmakers for permission for any military action longer than 60 days.

There are reports that President Trump has been briefed about possible options for another offensive, while Bloomberg mentions the potential deployment of a new hypersonic missile called Dark Eagle.

We ask our diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams what US military action might look like, and which side is under more pressure to make a deal.

New episodes of the Global News Podcast are published twice a day. You can listen here: https://link.mgln.ai/GNP-YT

And you can find more of our YouTube episodes here: https://bbc.in/GlobalNewsPodcast

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