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Two top Spanish transport officials have resigned over a botched order for new commuter trains that cost nearly €260m ($275m; £230m). The trains could not fit into non-standard tunnels in the northern regions of Asturias and Cantabria. The head of Spain's rail operator Renfe, Isaías Táboas, and the secretary of state for transport, Isabel Pardo de Vera, have now left their roles. The design fault was made public earlier this month. The Spanish government says the mistake was spotted early enough to avoid financial loss. However the region of Cantabria has demanded compensation. Renfe ordered the trains in 2020 but the following year manufacturer CAF realised that the dimensions it had been given for the trains were inaccurate and stopped construction. The rail network in northern Spain was built in the 19th Century and has tunnels under the mountainous landscape that do not match standard modern tunnel dimensions.

Weeks of no rain and low tides in Italy have left the famous canals of Venice so low that gondolas and water taxis are unable to navigate some of the waterways. A lack of rain, a high-pressure system, a full moon and sea currents are being blamed for the low tides that have left the "floating city" marooned. Ambulances reliant on the canals in this road-less city are being forced to proceed on foot to incidents, Paolo Rossi, the head of emergency health services said. Venice officials blamed the low tides for the dry canals but weeks of dry winter weather have raised concerns Italy is facing another drought after last summer’s emergency.

India's capital Delhi has banned motorbike taxis from its roads, dealing a blow to companies such as Uber, Ola and Rapido. A government notice says that using private two-wheelers to carry passengers for hire violates Indian law. The notice adds that "digital providers... facilitating such operations" could be fined up to 100,000 rupees ($1,208; £1,005). The companies have not commented yet. Thousands of Indians use affordable motorbike taxis every day to zip through slow-moving traffic. They also provide employment to hundreds and thousands of people, many of whom use their private motorbikes to transport passengers. But according to the Motor Vehicles Act, private vehicles cannot be used for commercial operations in India. The Indian Express newspaper spoke to some drivers affected by the ban in Delhi, who said they would find it hard to make ends meet without the extra income.

A South Korean court has for the first time recognised the rights of a same-sex couple in the country. In a landmark ruling, the Seoul High Court found a government health insurer did owe coverage to the spouse of a customer after the firm withdrew it when it found out the pair were gay. The men had held a wedding ceremony in 2019, but same-sex marriage is not recognised in South Korea. Activists say the ruling is a leap forward for LGBT rights in the country. However, the case will be challenged in the Supreme Court. The plaintiff, So Seong-wook said he welcomed the ruling and "recognition of a very obvious right that has not been given". In 2021, he sued the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) after being denied coverage on his partner Kim Yongmin's plan. The couple had been granted coverage at first, but this was then revoked as the NHIS said they had made a mistake in granting it to the same-sex couple. WATCH: BBC Korean speaks to couple at heart of rights battle Celebrating the ruling, Mr So praised the court for seeing "the principle of equality as an important issue".

Banking giant HSBC says its quarterly profit has almost doubled, boosted by rising interest rates around the world. The London-based firm reported profit before tax of $5.2bn (£4.3bn) for the last three months of 2022, up more than 90% from the same time a year earlier. However, pre-tax profit for the year as a whole fell by $1.4bn to $17.5bn, as it absorbs the cost of selling its French retail banking operations. HSBC is also in the process of selling its business in Canada. The bank said it planned to use the money raised from that sale to make payouts to shareholders once the deal is completed. HSBC staff get a uniform of jumpsuits and jeans HSBC to end funding for new oil and gas fields HSBC to close 114 UK branches as more bank online "2022 was another good year for HSBC," chief executive Noel Quinn said. "We are on track to deliver higher returns in 2023," he added.

King Charles III may be attempting to smooth things over with his brother, but royal experts suspect it’s part of a bigger plan. A source recently told The Telegraph that the king will not leave his younger sibling "homeless or penniless," despite forcing the Duke of York out of Royal Lodge, the queen mother’s former home. According to the outlet, Andrew’s annual allowance of nearly $300,000 is reportedly being cut in April, which friends claimed will make it difficult for the 63-year-old to maintain the 98-acre Windsor property. His main source of income is his Navy pension, as well as a "substantial inheritance" from his late parents, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.

Two years ago, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced ambitious plans to make India a green energy colossus. He pledged cutting emissions to net zero or becoming carbon neutral, meaning not adding to the amount of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere by 2070. (Although its demand for power and emissions are lower than Western countries', India is the world's third largest emitter of greenhouse gasses.) Mr Modi also promised for India to get half of its energy from renewable resources by 2030, and by the same year to slash projected carbon emissions by a billion tonnes. The school dropout's high-risk journey to become Asia's richest man One businessman who's key to Mr Modi's green energy plans is Gautam Adani, one of Asia's richest men who runs a sprawling port-to-energy conglomerate with seven publicly traded companies, including a renewable energy firm called Adani Green Energy. Mr Adani, already one of the world's largest solar players, plans to spend $70bn (£58bn) in green energy and become a global renewable player by 2030. This money is expected to be spent on boosting solar generation, making batteries and using wind energy and green hydrogen.

A mission is under way to rescue an Australian professor and three local researchers being held hostage by an armed group in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Police chief David Manning said security forces would use "whatever means necessary" up to and including lethal force to free the group. The team were on a field study trip in remote highlands when they were captured, on an unspecified date. A ransom has been demanded for their release, local officials say. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has reported that a larger group was initially kidnapped and some local guides have since been released. The four people who remain captive are the professor, an archaeologist from an Australian university, and three university students from PNG. The police chief said overnight the kidnappers were "opportunists" who had "obviously not thought this situation through". "We are offering the abductors a way out," he said. "They can release their captives and they will be treated fairly through the criminal justice system, but failure to comply and resisting arrest could cost these criminals their lives."

Congressman George Santos has admitted to having been "a terrible liar" when confronted with his embellished résumé in a new TV interview. The embattled Republican told TalkTV's Piers Morgan he had made mistakes under pressure but his lies were not about "tricking the people". Instead, he said, it was about "getting accepted by the party here locally". Mr Santos has faced fierce controversy since his election in November. He was initially lauded as the first openly gay Republican to win a seat in the House of Representatives as a non-incumbent when he won in New York's third district. But within weeks, the New York Times published a story that called into question large portions of his CV, including his education and work experience, triggering a wave of further reporting. He is alleged to have faced fraud charges in Brazil, presided over prolific campaign spending, lied about working for Goldman Sachs and about owning property - and even claimed to have produced the ill-fated Spider-Man musical on Broadway.

The global payment giants Mastercard and Visa are facing the latest in a string of multibillion-pound competition lawsuits with the launch of a potentially vast class action claim on behalf of British companies. Sky News has learnt that Harcus Parker, a London-based commercial litigation law firm, is close to filing what it believes will be among the biggest competition compensation claims in UK history. The filing, at the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), will allege that Mastercard and Visa overcharged businesses for so-called multilateral interchange fees (MIFs), which are paid by businesses to their banks to accept payment by credit or debit card.

A panel of the Japanese Justice Ministry has proposed raising the age of consent from 13 to 16. It forms part of a wider overhaul of Japan's laws on sex crimes, after multiple rape acquittals in 2019 caused outcry. The proposal also aims to criminalise the grooming of minors and expand the definition of rape. The statute of limitations for reporting rape will also be increased to 15 from 10 years. Currently, Japan has the lowest age of consent in developed countries, and the lowest in the G7 group. In Germany and Italy the age is 14, in Greece and France it is 15 and in the UK and many US states it is 16. The current law in Japan means victims of rape need to prove that there was "violence and intimidation" used during the rape and that it was "impossible to resist" to secure a conviction. The panel has not changed this wording but instead added other factors including intoxication, drugging, being caught off guard and psychological control into the definition.

Is China providing Russia with weapons? China has been expanding its military production capabilities and is now the world's fourth largest arms exporter. "China's weapons are getting more advanced now," says Siemon Wezeman from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. "Its drones, for example, are one area that Russia would be very interested in." The US says Chinese firms have already provided "non-lethal support" to Russia, and that it has new information suggesting Beijing could soon provide "lethal support". Maria Shagina, an expert in economic sanctions at the International Institute of Strategic Studies, says China has not overtly supplied Russia with weapons but may be secretly selling it hi-tech products which could be used for military purposes. "There is evidence that China is the biggest exporter of semiconductors - often through shell companies in Hong Kong and the UAE - to Russia," she says. "Some Chinese companies are also supplying civilian drones, exploiting the grey space between military and civilian purposes."

Israel has said it will pause building new settlements in the occupied West Bank for "the coming months". The move appears to be the fruit of behind-the-scenes talks by the US with Israeli and Palestinian officials. It comes as Palestinian leaders are being heavily criticised for agreeing to the withdrawal of a UN Security Council resolution on settlements. The council instead issued a symbolic statement expressing "deep concern and dismay" at recent developments. Last week, Israel announced the legalisation of nine unauthorised outposts and approved the planning and building of nearly 10,000 new housing units in existing settlements. These steps are not expected to be reversed. Washington had previously publicly warned Israel, its closest Middle Eastern ally, not to authorise new settlements. The settlements are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.

A group of Anglican leaders from around the world have rejected the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, as their leader after the Church of England backed prayers of blessing for same-sex couples. Archbishops representing 10 of the 42 provinces in the Anglican Communion have signed a statement saying they no longer consider Mr Welby "leader of the global communion". They added the Church of England was "disqualified" as their historic "Mother Church". It is the first time that the Archbishop of Canterbury's leadership has been rejected by such a large group of churches. Since its formation in 1867, the incumbent Archbishop of Canterbury has taken the role of spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, which is a global fellowship of 42 Anglican churches. He has no formal power - instead, he has moral authority and is seen as the "first among equals". Lambeth Palace, the official residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, said no formal change to the Anglican Communion's structure could be made without approval from its four governing "instruments".

A vast trove of Cambodia's Angkorian crown jewellery, some dating back to the 7th Century, resurfaced in London last summer, it has been revealed. The stolen items belonged to British antiquities smuggler Douglas Latchford. Experts say they have never seen most of the jewellery before and are stunned by its existence. The collection has been secretly returned to Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh, and is due to go on display there in the country's national museum. Latchford died in 2020 while awaiting trial in the US. His family promised to return his stolen collection to Cambodia after he died, but the authorities did not know what exactly would be handed over or how it would happen. Brad Gordon, the head of Cambodia's investigative team, became the first representative of the nation to see the jewellery when he visited London last summer. He told the BBC: "I was driven by a representative of the Latchford family to an undisclosed location. In the parking lot was a vehicle with four boxes inside.

Sexual exploitation has been uncovered on tea farms that supply some of the UK's most popular brands, including PG Tips, Lipton and Sainsbury's Red Label. More than 70 women on Kenyan tea farms, owned for years by two British companies, told the BBC they had been sexually abused by their supervisors. Secret filming showed local bosses, on plantations owned by Unilever and James Finlay & Co, pressuring an undercover reporter for sex. Three managers have now been suspended. Unilever faced similar allegations more than 10 years ago and launched a "zero tolerance" approach to sexual harassment as well as a reporting system and other measures, but a joint investigation for BBC Africa Eye and Panorama found evidence that allegations of sexual harassment were not being acted on. The BBC's Tom Odula spoke to women who worked on tea farms run by both companies. A number told him that because work is so scarce, they are left with no choice but to give in to the sexual demands of their bosses or face having no income. "I can't lose my job because I have kids," said one woman. Another woman said a divisional manager stopped her job until she agreed to have sex with him.

Summary US President Joe Biden has made a surprise visit to Kyiv – his first visit to Ukraine since Russia invaded almost a year ago It comes as the anniversary of Russia's invasion approaches on 24 February Biden is expected to visit neighbouring Poland next Meanwhile, EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels will discuss how to make sure Ukrainian forces have enough ammunition Russian forces have sustained "very high losses" in their assault on the eastern Ukrainian town of Vuhledar, according to UK intelligence Moscow's troops have been battling to break through Ukrainian defences around in the town in the Donbas region Ukraine's President Zelensky has described the situation as "very difficult" but says "we are breaking the invader