Innovation

"I would happily go cycle naked around the capital 100 times in a row than go through having my brain tumour again."

Those are the words of Stephen Lewis, who will take on the World Naked Bike Ride in London with his partner on 14 June.

The couple from Newark in Nottinghamshire will be raising money for the mental health charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) because of their struggles after Mr Lewis's diagnosis and treatment of a brain tumour.

The 38-year-old, who works as a train driver, says he had his work and life upended by the cholesterol granuloma between his brain and eye socket, and still deals with the aftermath two years later.

"When I first had symptoms I wasn't overly sort of bothered by them," Mr Lewis said.

He had started to experience double vision in 2023 and saw an optician, who assured him it was normal for someone his age.

But after feeling that something was not right in his body, he sought out an MRI scan which revealed the tumour.

"I remember the room turning into like this tunnel, and Shayne was sat to my left, and I completely shut down.

"He was asking all the right questions, but I remember at that point, I sort of went into this self-preservation mode, and because of the nature of it no-one truly knew how to operate."

'Mentally exhausted'

After visiting hospitals in Nottingham, Sheffield, and Lincoln, a surgeon in Leicester figured out how to proceed with the removal, Mr Lewis said.

He was told the tumour might be cancerous, and there was no way of knowing until it would have been taken out.

Mr Lewis said that was when doctors told him to consider writing his will.

It turned out the tumour between his eye socket and brain was a cholesterol granuloma, which is a type of benign cyst.

Despite the successful removal, the ordeal left Mr Lewis feeling at his "lowest" afterwards.

"I held myself up strong the whole time, being strong for everyone else as well because it upsets so many family members, especially my mum," he said.

"Perhaps after it all, because I had done that so hard, maybe my brain was mentally exhausted from it, and I finally felt the true nature of what I went through."

He feared the tumour would stop him from working as a train driver, which had been his "goal in life".

Despite his recovery progress, he can currently only work up to three days a week because of his medication, although he said this should be only temporary.

It was one of his partner's friends who invited the pair to take part in the World Naked Bike Ride to commemorate the overcoming of the health scare.

"I thought, not a chance," Mr Lewis recalls of his initial reaction.

"Then I sat on it and thought, you know what, if I could go through what I went through with my brain tumour, then I can do anything.

"I figured as well, because of the impact that all this has had on my mental health, I'd like to sort of strip away the stigma."

He said there were lingering elements of the railway industry being "male-oriented", which made it important to encourage people to talk about their mental health.

"I thought by doing this bold move, it'll gain people's interest, and it has really," he said.

"It's raised a lot of conversations, certainly with colleagues, talking about their own mental health stories, so in my eyes it's really worked."

The route of the World Naked Bike Ride will see the pair cycle through some of London's busiest areas.

Cyclists from across the world will depart on 14 June from various points in London, with Mr Lewis and his partner setting off from Regents Park at 14:50 BST.

Carlisle United's US owners say they are "deeply sorry" over the club's relegation from the English Football League (EFL) and that they "take responsibility".

The Blues were relegated from League Two to the National League after losing 3-2 at Cheltenham Town on Saturday.

It is 20 years since they were last relegated from the EFL.

Chairman Tom Piatak said the "frustration and anger felt across the fanbase is fully shared by us" and added the group would "not hide from the work ahead".

Mr Piatak, a businessman from Florida whose family have been in charge of Carlisle since November 2023, said the season "started with ambition and hope".

However the club were in the bottom two for all bar three days since early October.

'A painful day'

"We fell short of the standards you rightly expect," the owner continued, describing Saturday's match as a "painful day".

"Yet in the face of that, your loyalty has been extraordinary.

"From 11,000 at Brunton Park on Good Friday to almost 1,000 of you in Cheltenham today, you've never stopped showing up.

"That unwavering support is the soul of this football club."

Carlisle United boss Mark Hughes told BBC Radio Cumbria: "It's not a great moment for anyone connected with the club.

"It's difficult for everyone, not least the fans who came in great numbers again today.

"We gave it a shot and the players gave me everything, but for everyone connected it is really hard to take."

Mr Piatak added: "We will be transparent. We will be accountable. And we will not hide from the work ahead."

Meanwhile, Barrow AFC said it was "always nice to freshen up" its bio on X.

The club changed its description to "the only Football League Club in Cumbria".

When the devastating war in Sudan reached Sarah Williams' neighbourhood in the capital Khartoum, she and her children were caught in the crossfire.

Bullets tore through their home, fires engulfed buildings, and electricity lines sparked explosions.

"We were crawling on the ground," she recalls, holding her one-year-old son close. "It was chaos."

Ms Williams, a 33-year-old mother of five, is from South Sudan.

She was forced to flee when civil war erupted in 2013, two years after it gained independence from Sudan, to become the world's newest nation.

But the post-independence euphoria soon dissipated, when a power struggle between President Salva Kiir and his deputy Riek Machar triggered a civil war that claimed the lives of an estimated 400,000 people and forced 2.5 million people to flee their homes.

Ms Williams was among them. After arriving in what was then a peaceful Khartoum, she rebuilt her life, working as a housekeeper for a middle-class family.

But she was uprooted again after fighting erupted in the city in 2023 between forces loyal to military ruler Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his then-deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti.

"The conflict started among themselves," Ms Williams says. "But later, they began killing South Sudanese also, even though we weren't part of their fight."

In the past two years, the conflict in Sudan has claimed more than 150,000 lives, forcing more than 12 million people from their homes, and turning large parts of Khartoum into rubble.

When her home came under attack, she packed her few belongings and headed back to South Sudan.

However, conflict has now resumed there too, with the United Nations (UN) warning that the 2018 peace agreement between Kiir and Machar is at risk of collapsing.

Ms Williams' journey has ended, for now, in Renk. A once quiet dusty border town, it has turned into a transit hub, heaving with people from both Sudan and its neighbour to the south.

Stranded in Renk for about five months, Ms Williams wants to return to her hometown, Nasir, in Upper Nile State.

However, it is unsafe to travel to Nasir – a strategically important port town along the Sobat River – as it has turned into a war zone.

"There's conflict ahead of us," she tells the BBC, holding her four-year-old daughter while gently rocking her one-year-old son.

Her voice is steady, but her eyes are heavy – carrying the weight of war, loss, and uncertainty.

Government troops and the White Army – a militia allied with Machar during the civil war – have repeatedly clashed in Nasir, with reports of heavy shelling, ambushes, and displacement of residents.

Ms Williams has not heard from her family in the town.

"I don't know where they ran to when the clashes started… or even if they're alive," she says quietly.

The fighting in South Sudan has left thousands of people like Ms Williams stranded at the Renk Transit Centre. The camp is overcrowded, accommodating more than 9,000 people – three times the number it was designed for.

Refugees are given a small amount of cash by aid agencies to buy food, but it lasts for only two weeks and they are then expected to fend for themselves.

Sarah says she and other refugees were then forced to chop down trees to sell as firewood, so that they could raise money for food

"I used to collect firewood and sell it to buy flour, but there's nothing left in the forest now. No wood for women to collect and sell," Ms Williams says – a reminder of the environmental degradation that war causes.

Corrugated shelters at the camp squeeze in up to 15 people per room. Others build fragile homes from sticks, cloth, and torn sacks. Overcrowding is fuelling disease, hunger and despair.

Aid agencies are scrambling to move families to safer parts of South Sudan, where people have "stronger community or family ties, livelihood opportunities, and better access to services", says Vijaya Souri of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Hundreds wait under a scorching sun to board metal boats bound for Malakal. The journey takes two and a half days down the River Nile. Passengers sit on their luggage or the floor of the boat.

Among them is Mary Deng, who escaped from Wad Madani, a fierce battleground in the Sudanese conflict.

"This child was just one day old when we crossed the border," she says. "We are 16 in total. We had no money – but we had God."

She clutches a bundle of documents – her family's ticket out of Renk.

Medical services are stretched to their limits. The Joda border clinic – built from iron sheets – is the only functioning health centre in the area.

"Over 600 babies have been born here since the war began," says a health worker. "But we can only operate during the day now, there's no funding for night shifts."

A cholera epidemic was declared in Renk last October. It spread across most of South Sudan, including the capital Juba, causing more than 450 deaths.

Tatek Wondimu Mamecha, the World Health Organisation's (WHO) emergency officer in South Sudan, warns of the growing risks.

"Even though the cholera outbreak is controlled, we're not out of the woods. Right now, malaria is spiking and with the rainy season coming, it will shoot up," he tells the BBC.

Mr Tatek adds that the ripple effects of global aid cuts by US President Donald Trump's administration are devastating.

"Five of our partners either stopped service or reduced operations by 50%."

Hospitals like Renk Referral have lost half their staff, including surgeons, obstetricians, paediatricians, putting an enormous strain on the remaining medics.

"The facility manages around 350 to 400 patients a day," Mr Tatek says.

The refugee crisis in Renk brings into sharp focus the fact that tens of thousands people are trapped between two conflicts, with parts of South Sudan no longer a safe haven for people fleeing the two-year conflict in Sudan.

Tensions have escalated in South Sudan since March when Machar was put under house arrest after being accused by Kiir's allies of supporting armed groups – a claim his party denies.

George Owino, the chair of a monitoring body set up under the 2018 peace deal to assist in its implementation, has warned that the latest clashes "threaten the foundation of the agreement."

He tells the BBC the core problem is that political leaders continue to command rival troops, failing to integrate them into a unified national army.

"The link between politics and military power is still intact," Mr Owino says.

"When leaders disagree, it quickly turns into armed confrontation – exactly what the agreement was supposed to prevent."

The 2013 civil war broke out after Kiir sacked Machar as vice-president, accusing him of plotting a coup, while Machar made the counter-accusation that Kiir was a "dictator".

The devastating civil war ended following the 2018 peace deal that saw Machar being reappointed as vice-president.

"There used to be more dialogue within the presidency. That has diminished," Mr Owino says.

The African Union (AU) has so far failed in its efforts to get the peace process back on track, while Uganda has deployed troops to South Sudan to bolster Kiir's position.

Machar's party says the deployment undermines South Sudan's sovereignty, and the 2018 peace deal.

Both Uganda and Kiir's government defend the deployment, saying it is in accordance with a long-standing security agreement between the two nations.

Nevertheless, the deployment shows how fragile Kiir's grip on power is, while fears grow that a full-scale civil war could resume.

And across the border in Sudan, the civil war continues to rage, with Gen Dagalo announcing the formation of a rival government.

His move comes despite the fact that his forces have lost control of Khartoum after heavy fighting. The city is now a burnt-out shell, with bombed and blackened buildings.

Ms Williams says she has no intention of going back to Khartoum, and has decided that it is best to try and rebuild her life in her home country, "even if the situation is bad".

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Too many social housing tenants in Jersey are struggling to pay their rent, a deputy says.

Raluca Kovacs, member of the political party Reform Jersey, said she had asked the States to approve finding ways of reducing accommodation rental costs in the public sector.

Resident Mandy Bisson said her monthly rent cost about £1,300, in comparison to her previous rent of £143 per week (£542 for four weeks) about eight years ago.

Housing Minister Sam Mezec said the social housing rent system needed to be reviewed.

'Very depressing'

Ms Bisson, who receives benefits after twice battling with cancer, said: "It's heart-breaking because, at the end of the day… I try and be positive but I know nothing is going to change.

"I feel really let down. It's very depressing"

According to the Statistics Jersey census 2021, there were 5,826 social housing rent households.

Kovacs said she wanted government ministers to find ways of reducing the burden on housing tenants, adding 53% of those renting in the public sector were under "rental stress".

She said: "Rental stress defines when tenants are paying more than 30% of their income into their rent.

"In the Isle of Man the social rent is three times cheaper than us… something needs to be addressed."

Housing Minister Sam Mezec said the social housing rent system needed to be reviewed.

"I think deputy Kovacs made a really good start with her proposition," he said.

"She's raising a really important topic that, I think, will affect the lives of lots of people."

Mr Mezec said he was "absolutely happy" to support Ms Kovacs on the issue.

He said: "I've specifically said that we also need to be looking at income support policies as part of this review.

"It's definitely the case that our social housing rents are a lot more expensive than you'll find in other places."

Drivers are being urged to check before they travel as part of the M5 is due to close overnight for essential work.

The carriageway will be closed in both directions between Junction 22 for the Edithmead Interchange and Junction 23 for the Dunball Interchange in Somerset from 21:00 BST until 06:00 on Friday.

The northbound entry slip road at Junction 23 and the southbound entry slip road at Junction 22 will also be closed.

Signposted diversions will be put in place, National Highways said.

A legal challenge against the planned Sizewell C nuclear power station has been lodged at the High Court.

Campaign group Together Against Sizewell C (TASC) claimed the plant wanted to add additional coastal flood defences at the site, which were not included in the original planning application.

TASC said it raised the concerns with Ed Miliband, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, but after they were "not addressed", it submitted an application for judicial review.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said it could not comment on ongoing legal proceedings. Sizewell C declined to comment.

In the approved plans, Sizewell C said the power station would be built on a platform 7m above the current sea level and protected by "a sea defence structure which will be more than 14m above mean sea level".

TASC claimed the power station now wanted to "build two more flood barriers, standing at nine and 10 metres high, further inland to protect the power station" in the event of a "worst-case scenario" flooding.

The group believed the additional defences should be consulted on and would "disrupt nearby protected areas of wildlife".

The BBC approached Sizewell C for details about the alleged extra defences, but it declined to comment.

TASC said it had contacted Miliband to ask him to consider revoking or changing the development consent order, which was approved in 2022, but the request was not accepted.

It has now submitted an application for judicial review of this decision and argued that the Secretary of State breached his obligations and duties in rejecting its request, and the decision was "irrational".

Chris Wilson from TASC said: "We must not let the Secretary of State of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero allow Sizewell C Ltd to use the unpredictability of climate change to defer for decades the assessment and public scrutiny of the impacts of these two huge overland flood barriers."

A spokesperson from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: "New nuclear power stations such as Sizewell C will play an important role in helping the UK achieve energy security and net zero, while securing thousands of good, skilled jobs and supporting our energy independence beyond 2030.

"Development consent was granted for Sizewell C on 20 July 2022, having considered all relevant information."

Reform UK has taken control of Durham County Council after winning more than half of the seats.

It secured 65 councillors, gaining heavily from Labour, the Conservatives and independents, with all 98 results declared.

Party leader Nigel Farage MP, who visited the area during the election campaign, spoke at a celebration event in Newton Aycliffe.

He warned those at the council working on climate change or diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, or anyone who "thinks they can go on working from home, I think you better all be seeking alternative careers very, very quickly".

He criticised Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer for not taking Reform seriously when he joked the party would "have the Conservatives for breakfast".

"But he missed a bit. We were going to have the Labour Party for lunch and that's what we have done," Farage said.

Among the newly elected councillors is former GB News presenter Darren Grimes, who is from County Durham, and who won one of two seats for Reform representing the Annfield Plain and Tanfield ward.

"I gave up a job in telly land to stand here and do this," he said.

"I'm obviously personally delighted but I'm also really humbled by the number of people who put their trust and faith in us to deliver for them."

He said if Reform took control of the council, they would "get the auditors in" to make sure no money was being wasted.

The council was previously run as a coalition between the Liberal Democrats, Tories and independent councillors.

Liberal Democrat leader Amanda Hopgood – who previously led the council – has retained her seat, with her party securing 14 councillors, increasing its number by one. The Green Party also picked up an extra seat, taking its number of councillors to two.

Labour has been left with just four seats on the council, with local leader Carl Marshall one of the political casualties, losing his seat in Stanley to Reform.

Marshall said the council was in "decent financial nick" but Reform would have to have some "very challenging discussions because of the cost pressures" County Durham faced.

The Conservatives have just one councillor from the previous 16, with local party leader Richard Bell holding on to his Upper Teesdale seat. There are 14 independent councillors.

Labour MP for Blaydon and Consett Liz Twist, who attended the Durham County Council count, said the local election results showed her party needed to "move faster" when enacting its policy changes.

"We have a clear plan and we need to make sure people understand that plan," she said.

Results elsewhere

Reform also won its first seat on Hartlepool Borough Council following a by-election.

Amanda Napper took the Throston ward seat from Labour with 889 votes.

Speaking after the count, she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service her priorities would be to tackle anti-social behaviour.

"When you see the state of Throston ward it makes you realise how much hard work it needs to pull it into shape, so I'm fully eyes wide open to the amount of work needed," she said.

Elsewhere in the North East, Labour managed to hold off Reform in a tightly run race for North Tyneside mayor.

Karen Clark was elected to the post, replacing Dame Norma Redfearn who stepped down from the role, which effectively leads the council.

In Northumberland, the Conservatives held on to 26 county council seats to remain the largest party there, but fell short of the 35 needed for a majority.

Reform surged into second place, with 23 new councillors elected.