our science editor — rebecca morelle — reports.d time of landing, but now is the process of waiting for comms and we are in standby mode. a tense time at intuitive machines mission control, as the team waits for their lunar lander to call home. we are checking our antenna reception. still nothing as the minutes pass but then, finally, a faint signal. we can confirm, without a doubt, our equipment is on the surface of the moon and we are transmitting. so congratulations, im team. we'll see how much more we can get from that. applause. congratulations to everyone involved in this great and daring quest at intuitive machines, space x and right here at nasa. what a triumph! this feat is a giant leap forward for all of humanity. the intuitive machines team now needs to check the condition of the spacecraft and the status of what's on board. nasa has paid the company to carry six of its scientific instruments. it's the first ever commercial lander to reach the lunar surface and marks a return there for america. it's been more than 50 yea

our science editor rebecca morelle has the details. we leave it.n. the voice of nasa's gene cernan as the apollo 17 lander left the lunar surface in 1972. no one thought it would take more than 50 years for america to return to the moon. but now they're back, this time with a private company in charge. we've reached the expected time of landing, but now is the process of waiting for comms. and we are in standby mode. there was a tense time at intuitive machines mission control waiting for the lunar lander to call home. we are checking our antenna reception. but finally, a faint signal. we can confirm without a doubt that our equipment is on the surface of the moon and we are transmitting. this is just the start for commercial missions to the moon. i this is a new way of doing businessl because it's a company—led mission. and so nasa isjust one _ of the customers on this mission. and this is beneficial for nasa - because the risk of having a failure on the mission is no longer nasa's risk _ it's the company's risk. the spacecraft has landed close to

rebecca morelle, bbc news.national air and space museum. people were on the edge of their seas with this and waiting to see if it will be successful. as with all lending, whether on the moon or hamas, there is the element of this thing happening at a great distance from you that you cannot observe happening. you are hoping that the technology operates as it is meant to, as advertised. and that your technology landed safely on the surface. as with sending anything to land on anybody out in the solar system, we have been landing things on mars successfully for decades now, there are challenges of orbital dynamics trying to get things on the right trajectory in the first place. first you need to launch them successfully and then sets them on the trajectory and then once you get to the moon, you have the problem that you really cannot do this with a joystick. it has to be done autonomously by the lander and everything has to go exactly right, time to properly and the propulsion system has to work just and the propu

rebecca morelle, bbc news.told the bbc today�*s vote had been �*absolutely fair�* despite the recentjailing of his rival imran khan on corruption charges. mobile phone services were also suspended across pakistan as voting took place. the run up to election day has been marred by violence with at least nine people killed. from lahore, carrie davies sent this report. this vote was already overshadowed by questions of whether it�*s credible. then, as the polls opened, the internet shut down. pretty much on the dot of eight o�*clock, all of our phones stopped working. we don�*t have internet, we can�*t call anybody. the authorities said this was for security, others called it deliberate disruption. some voters told us they struggled to find out where they were meant to vote and candidates had issues, too. we had created whatsapp groups, for them to be able to inform us centrally of what they see there. those groups are obviously not working. akram raja is one of imran khan�*s lawyers and is backed by his party. mr

rebecca morelle, bbc news.ures after its top court ruled that frozen embryos could be legally considered children. there are concerns they could be prosecuted. president biden has called the court ruling outrageous and unacceptable. this nomia iqbal has the story. for veronica, fertility treatment is the only way to have children. she has one son and wants to expand herfamily, but her life has now been upended. i understand the idea of attaching emotion to the embryos. they signify potential, they signify, you know, the dream of a child. but you can't cuddle an embryo, you can't breast—feed an embryo. the alabama supreme court's decision was issued in wrongful death cases brought by three couples. in 2020 they had frozen embryos destroyed in an accident at a fertility clinic. the court used an already established law here to decide that unborn children are children, even outside the womb. but the court's chiefjustice went further in invoking the bible in hisjudgment, saying, "human life cannot be wrongfully des

rebecca morelle, bbc news.ng brain activity and using virtual reality — to try to understand why people stammer. our correspondent felicity baker reports. just so you know, i have a stammer. for people who stammer, every word matters. i always found it hard to say the word meaning "the next day", and i try and say t—t—t—t...tomorrow. i have a st—ammer... aiden has stammered all of his life. now he wants answers. there�*s still quite a few un...known questions about the causes and potential t—t—treatment. so when i heard about the fact that there was this research happening in oxford, i was quite happy to take part and help out with it. your task is to memorise these words and to speak them out loud... scientists are measuring brain activity in people who stammer. they�*re trying to understand what happens in the moments before they speak. the team is also using virtual reality to understand why people seem to stammer less when they�*re alone. we�*ve got a spaceman, a mosquito and a horned character. when aiden

our science editor rebecca morelle reports.

rebecca morelle, bbc news.n a garden in plymouth on tuesday, has been safely detonated at sea. during the day, police closed roads and stopped rail and bus services while the device was transported through the streets. more than seven thousand people living along the route were told to leave their homes. jenny kumah reports. the bomb has been detonated off the coast of plymouth. it landed more than 80 years ago but still capable of causing huge damage. on the move, the city at a standstill. as the military carried its legal cargo. just look at the size of it. 500 kilograms of explosives. it was a delicate operation to move it out of harms way. huge relief when it made its way through the city deeply. forthe made its way through the city deeply. for the past week, the device called chaos local communities. we,ooo people living in nearby properties were told to leave their homes over three days. some stayed with friends and families, others got put up in hotels by the council. then bomb disposal experts announced

rebecca morelle, bbc news.haul of class a drugs seized in the uk has been found at southampton in a shipment of bananas, onboard a container from south america. the national crime agency says there was nearly six tonnes of cocaine, with an estimated street value of £450 million. it says the drugs were due to head to hamburg in germany for onward delivery. inquiries are ongoing to identify the criminal networks involved. parts of plymouth are being shut down today, with local residents asked to temporarily leave their homes, because an undetonated bomb dating back to world war two is set to be moved by military convoy from the residential garden where it was found this week to sea, where it's to be detonated under controlled conditions. jenny kumah is in plymouth for us. what a day! this has caused huge disruption since _ this has caused huge disruption since the — this has caused huge disruption since the device was found on tuesday. _ since the device was found on tuesday, some 3000 people being asked _ tuesda

with a bit more detail on the mission — our correspondent, rebecca morelle, has more on radio: im—i, separation confirmed. it's a spacecraft that could make history as the first ever commercial lander to reach the lunar surface — marking a return to the moon for the united states. the mission is being run by a company called intuitive machines, but nasa is hitching a ride on the lander, paying to carry six scientific instruments. it's a different way of operating for the us space agency. it's a legitimate question. why go back to the moon? we were there. well, we go back in a different way with commercial and international partners. we're having these landers almost become scouts for our human missions to land on the moon. it's been more than 50 years since the united states landed on the moon. the last time was in 1972, and this is where apollo 17 set down. before that, there were five other apollo missions that made it down to the lunar surface, and they were all around the moon's equator. but now, the united states is heading down to the south pole, and this is the landing site of

the final descent to the moon was not without some drama. 0ur science editor rebecca morelle has moreense time as the — are in stand-by mode. a tense time as the team _ are in stand-by mode. a tense time as the team waits - are in stand-by mode. a tense time as the team waits for - time as the team waits for their lunar lander to call home. ~ ., . their lunar lander to call home. . . ., ., home. we are checking on our antenna reception. _ home. we are checking on our antenna reception. still- antenna reception. still nothing. _ antenna reception. still nothing, as _ antenna reception. still nothing, as the - antenna reception. still| nothing, as the minutes antenna reception. still nothing, as the minutes pass. but then, finally, a faint signal... but then, finally, a faint signal- - -_ but then, finally, a faint sirnal...~ signal... we can confirm, without — signal... we can confirm, without a _ signal... we can confirm, without a doubt, - signal... we can confirm, without a doubt, as - signal... we can confirm, without a doubt, as our i without a doubt, as our equipment is on the su

rebecca morelle, bbc news. slot machines will be introduced to cap the amount that players can bet on a single game. the government has announced that, from september, under—25s will have a limit of a £2 maximum stake online, while anyone over the age of 25 will have a limit of £5. new laws on the ownership of xl bully dogs come into force in scotland today. it follows what scotland's first minister described as "a flow" of the dogs into the country when the rules changed in england and wales, in december. that was after a spate of high—profile attacks. the uk will sign a deal with the eu 5 border and coastguard agency 7 which the government says will allow it them to work more closely to tackle illegal migration. it's hoped that the agreement will lead to a greater exchange of information and expertise. last year, nearly 30,000 migrants crossed the channel to the uk from france — down a third on 2022. the number of mps calling for commons speaker sir lindsay hoyle to resign has risen to 67. dozens of snp and c

our science editor rebecca morelle reports. we have reached the expected time of landing.process of waiting for medications, we are in standby mode. a, medications, we are in standby mode. �* , ., mode. a tense time at intuitive machines mission _ mode. a tense time at intuitive machines mission control - mode. a tense time at intuitive machines mission control as - machines mission control as they wait for their lunar lander to call home. we are checking — lander to call home. we are checking on _ lander to call home. we are checking on reception. - lander to call home. we are checking on reception. still| checking on reception. still nothin: checking on reception. still nothing as _ checking on reception. still nothing as minutes - checking on reception. still nothing as minutes passed but then, finally, a fainter signal. then, finally, a fainter siunal. ~ then, finally, a fainter sitnalr , signal. we can consider firm without a — signal. we can consider firm without a doubt _ signal. we can consider firm without a doubt as - signal. we can consider firm without a doubt

rebecca morelle, bbc news.i. what the fraudsters are doing is creating and then registering fake companies, using slightly different spelling. once registered, they can open bank accounts, apply for loans, even order from suppliers. the bbc has discovered that more than 750 fake firms have been registered in the last six weeks. here's our home affairs correspondent tom symonds. michelin—starred chef alexis gauthier has run his restaurant for 14 years. but last month, someone cloned it. they created a company from scratch, at companies house, and what was really surprising was he managed to put this company at the same address as my restaurant. more than 700 other cloned restaurants, including heston blumenthal�*s, have been registered with slight misspellings. even the ritz, established 1906, has a clone registered 2024. the central problem — companies house doesn't have the powers to check companies illegitimate. graham barrow, who shared his data exclusively with the bbc, has become an expert in spotting the

rebecca morelle, bbc news.lator ofgem has announced it's lowering the cap on household gas and electicity prices by 12.3%. the new pricing level means the average household bill will be about £1,690 a yearfrom april. this is the lowest level for two years. let's speak to our cost of living correspondent, kevin peachey. some good news, then, kevin. little bit of relief for people. energy prices, the cost of heating and lighting homes has been one of the chief reasons for this cost of living difficulties people have been facing, that and food prices as well. along with many other essential bills. but there has been some good news today. the regulator for the energy sector in the uk, ofgem, said that in england, wales and scotland the cost of energy would come down in april. it sets a cap every three months. this will be for a further three months from april. it sets a cap on the unit price of gas and electricity. that means the cost of each unit of energy, not the total bill that it puts a limit on, so if you use