German auction of Nazi concentration camp items cancelled, Polish minister says

Many items to be sold were said to be from the Buchenwald and Auschwitz concentration camps

Among more than 600 items for sale was a letter from an Auschwitz prisoner and a medical diagnosis about the forced sterilisation of a prisoner from the Dachau concentration camp, German media reports.

A Holocaust survivors' group and politicians had earlier called for German auction house Felzmann to cancel the sale in Neuss, which was reportedly scheduled for Monday.

On Sunday, Radoslaw Sikorski thanked his German counterpart Johann Wadephul for agreeing "such a scandal must be prevented".

A planned auction in Germany of artefacts from prisoners of Nazi concentration camps has been cancelled following a public outcry, Poland's Deputy Prime Minister has said.

"Respect for victims requires the dignity of silence, not the din of commerce," Sikorski said in post on X.

According to reports, the auction listing on the Auktionshaus Felzmann website had been removed by mid-afternoon on Sunday.

The BBC has contacted the auction house for comment.

"Documents or expert reports by Nazi perpetrators that were offered at the auction are not for private collections," German State Minister for Culture Wolfram Weimer told German news agency DPA.

Steps should be taken to prevent future auctions, he added.

"For victims of Nazi persecution and Holocaust survivors, this auction is a cynical and shameless undertaking that leaves them outraged and speechless", Christoph Heubner, an executive vice-president of the International Auschwitz Committee (IAC), said.

Poland's culture minister Marta Cienkowska said her ministry would investigate the provenance of the artefacts to determine whether any should be returned to Poland.

Auschwitz was at the centre of the Nazi campaign to eradicate Europe's Jewish population, and almost one million of those who died at the site were Jews.

Among the others who lost their lives were Poles, Roma and Russian prisoners of war.

Many of the artefacts scheduled to be auctioned were said to have come from the Buchenwald and Auschwitz concentration camps.

Mr Heubner, from the IAC, said they "belong to the families of the victims".

"They should be displayed in museums or memorial exhibitions and not degraded to mere commodities," he added.

Premature birth can be incredibly lonely, says Beatrice

"And sometimes, when you are faced with that moment of learning that your baby's going to come a bit early, it can be incredibly lonely."

"I think so often, especially as mums, we spend our lives, you know, feeling we have to be perfect to do this," Beatrice told the podcast.

Her words are part of a campaign for premature birth research charity Borne, of which she became a patron months after her daughter was born several weeks early.

Princess Beatrice has said premature birth can be "incredibly lonely", as she reflected on her own experience for a podcast ahead of World Prematurity Day.

News of the princess's second pregnancy was announced by Buckingham Palace in October last year, and she gave birth to her second daughter Athena Elizabeth Rose in January.

Beatrice, 37, the eldest daughter of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Duke of York and the King's brother, was due to give birth to her daughter in early spring, when, in December, she received medical advice not to travel long distances.

After changing her travel plans from spending the festive period overseas, she joined the royal family at church in Sandringham on Christmas Day with doctors said to have warned her that a premature arrival was a possibility.

"Nothing quite prepares you for the moment when you realise your baby is going to arrive early," she wrote in British Vogue in March, adding, "there's so little control."

At the time of her patronage, the princess said she was "looking forward to supporting Borne and its programme of ground-breaking research".

Last week, Beatrice, visited the charity's research laboratories at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London as part of the Every Week Counts campaign.

According to Borne, 15 million babies arrive too soon each year, with 60,000 - or 1 in 13 - born prematurely in the UK every year.

The charity says complications from prematurity remain the leading cause of neonatal death and lifelong disability.

The princess said there was a "sense of life changing relief" knowing Borne was supporting research and asking important questions.

She added that she hoped her support of the campaign would "bring as many people that have had their own stories, to come and share them".

"Then maybe we can learn from each other."

World Prematurity Day is organised but the World Health Organization every year.

Hackers steal maternity ward CCTV videos in India cybercrime racket

18 minutes ago Share Save Cherylann Mollan, BBC News and Gopal Kateshiya and Roxy Gagdekar Chhara, BBC Gujarati Share Save

Getty Images Police say that they uncovered a massive cybercrime racket

Hacked CCTV videos from a maternity hospital in India have been sold on Telegram, police say, raising serious questions about privacy and security in a country where such cameras have become commonplace. Earlier this year, police in Gujarat state were alerted by the media to videos on YouTube - some showed pregnant women undergoing medical exams and receiving injections in their buttocks - in a maternity hospital in a city. The videos had a link directing viewers to Telegram channels to buy longer videos. The director of the hospital told the BBC that the cameras had been installed for the safety of doctors. The BBC is not naming the city or hospital to protect the identity of the women in the videos. None of them have filed a police complaint. Police say their investigation uncovered a massive cybercrime racket where sensitive footage from at least 50,000 CCTVs from across the country was stolen by hackers and sold on the internet. CCTVs have become ubiquitous in India, especially in urban areas. They are installed in malls, offices, hospitals, schools, private apartment complexes and even inside people's homes. Experts warn that while CCTV boosts security, poorly installed or managed systems can threaten privacy. In India, cameras are often handled by staff without cybersecurity training, and some domestically manufactured models are reportedly easily exploitable. In 2018, a tech worker in Bengaluru city said that his webcam was hacked, and that the hacker demanded payment in exchange for not sharing his private videos. In 2023, a YouTuber reportedly found out that his home CCTV had been hacked after private videos went viral. Last year, the federal government asked states to not procure CCTVs from suppliers with a history of security and data breaches and also introduced new rules to improve cyber security of CCTV cameras. But hacking incidents like these are still reported.

Getty Images CCTV cameras are ubiquitous in India

In Gujarat, police say they ended up discovering a "network of individuals spread across the country". "[They] were hacking into the video surveillance systems - or CCTV systems - of hospitals, schools, colleges, corporate offices and even the bedrooms of private individuals in multiple states," Lavina Sinha, who heads the Ahmedabad cyber crime department investigating the case, told reporters. Hardik Makadiya, Gujarat's top cybercrime official, says videos were sold for 800–2,000 rupees ($9-22; £7-17, with Telegram channels offering live CCTV feeds via subscription. Police have registered a case under various sections of the law, including violating a female patient's privacy, publishing obscene material, voyeurism and cyber terrorism - which is a non-bailable offence. They say that they reached out to Telegram and YouTube, and the videos have been taken down. Since February, police have arrested eight people in the case - four from Maharashtra and others from Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Delhi, and Uttarakhand. They remain in judicial custody as the case proceeds in court. CCTV: Why do so many Indians love surveillance? Yash Koshti, lawyer for three of the accused, denied the allegations, saying they were not hackers or cyber criminals and that someone else carried out the breach. Cybercrime investigator Ritesh Bhatia warns that weakly protected CCTV and home networks are easy targets and must be properly secured. "Wireless CCTV systems help you access the footage remotely, like on your smartphone or laptop. But once a system is connected to the web, it's easy for hackers to decode its IP address and default password. And once they get into the system, they can see or record live footage, download it or even shut down the system," Mr Bhatia says. He says that one way to secure surveillance systems is to change IP addresses and the default password. Mr Bhatia advises using a robust password that mixes letters, numbers, and symbols and cannot be found in a dictionary, and recommends periodic audits by a cybersecurity professional. He adds that CCTV manufacturers also bear responsibility, and their packaging should clearly warn users to replace default passwords with strong ones - similar to cigarette packet health warnings.

Getty Images A CCTV surveillance sign in Tamil Nadu; such signs are common across India

Three things you can do if your child's friends annoy you

Just now Share Save Yasmin Rufo Share Save

Getty Images

You are not going to like all your children's friends and sooner or later, your child will bring home a friend you just don't warm to. Maybe they're rude, overconfident or have a habit of helping themselves to snacks without asking. Or maybe it's deeper than that and you feel they bring out the worst in your child. It's easy to just tell your child they can't hang out with a friend, but that often won't solve the problem. Parenting coach Sue Atkins and mum-of-four and comedian Ria Lina share three ways you can navigate this without driving your own kid away.

1. Consider why you don't like them

Is it something serious like disrespect, bullying or risky behaviour, or is it just that the child rubs you up the wrong way? Atkins says it's worth doing a little self-audit before reacting as it's important to separate what's annoying from what's harmful. If it's a genuine risk like dangerous behaviour or bullying then it's time to step in more firmly, but if the issue is something like manners, you can model the behaviour you want to see. This is something Lina, whose comedy is often about the trials and tribulations of raising four children, often does. "When a child is under my care, they follow my standards," she explains. "I tell my children off for putting their feet on bus seats and if other kids under my care are doing that, then I'll tell them to take their feet off too." Lina says that the reason you may not like your children's friends is often because of a "clash of values" with other parents. "I've had moments where I thought, this kid makes my kid worse but often it's not really that child's fault. "For example, I don't allow gun play at home at all, no finger guns or playing with toy guns, but lots of boys do that and that's caused tension when I've told my kids they couldn't join in." Sometimes talking to the child's parents can help find a middle ground that both parents are happy with, she says.

2. Talk, don't ban

Getty Images Identify the behaviour you don't like in your child's friend and talk to them about it directly

The worst thing you can do is just ban your child from seeing a friend as "you're not helping them engage in better friendships nor are you explaining to them why they can't spend time with that child," says Atkins. Being too heavy-handed can "backfire and your child will probably hang out with that friend more just to spite you." You should ask your child why they like that friend - what do they have in common? What do they enjoy doing together? Listening to them share this doesn't mean you approve of their friendship but it helps build trust between you. "When you talk, choose your moment carefully," says Atkins. "Watch your tone and body language because if you go in aggressive or judgemental, they'll shut down. "You want to build bridges, not walls." Lina says that it's important to tell your child "you don't approve of a particular behaviour and you don't want to see them copying it," she adds. "That way you're not stopping the friendship or forbidding the interaction but you're drawing a line about what shouldn't be repeated or endorsed."

3. Widen the circle

Getty Images Joining a sports group can be a good way for children to meet new people

Two US marines implicated in killing family in notorious Iraq war shooting, expert tells BBC

19 minutes ago Share Save Lara Elgebaly BBC Eye Investigations Share Save

BBC Safa Younes is now 33 - she was the only person in her family to survive the shootings in Haditha

"This is the room where my whole family was killed," says Safa Younes. Bullet holes pepper the front door to the house in the Iraqi town of Haditha, where she grew up. Inside the back bedroom, a colourful bedspread covers the bed where her family was shot. This is where she hid with her five siblings, mum and aunt when US marines stormed into their home and opened fire, killing everyone apart from Safa, on 19 November 2005. Her dad was also shot dead when he opened the front door. Now, 20 years on, a BBC Eye investigation has uncovered evidence that implicates two marines, who were never brought to trial, in the killing of Safa's family, according to a forensic expert. The evidence - mainly statements and testimony given in the aftermath of the killings - raises doubts about the American investigation into what happened that day, and poses significant questions over how US armed forces are held to account. The killing of Safa's family was part of what became known as the Haditha massacre, when US marines killed 24 Iraqi civilians, including four women and six children. They entered three homes killing nearly everyone inside, as well as a driver and four students in a car, who were on their way to college. The incident triggered the longest US war crimes investigation of the Iraq war, but no-one was convicted of the killings.

The house in Haditha where Safa's family was killed in 2005

The marines said they were responding to gunfire after a roadside bomb went off, killing one of their squad members, and injuring two others. But Safa, who was 13 at the time, tells the World Service: "We hadn't been accused of anything. We didn't even have any weapons in the house." She survived by pretending to be dead among the small bodies of her sisters and brother - the youngest was three years old. "I was the only survivor out of my entire family," she says. Four marines were initially charged with murder, but they gave conflicting accounts of the events, and over time US military prosecutors dropped charges against three of them, granting them immunity from further legal action. That left squad leader Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich as the only one to face trial in 2012.

Michael Epstein In this image, taken from footage which has not been broadcast before, Humberto Mendoza (kneeling) demonstrates what happened

In a video recording of a pre-trial hearing, which has never been broadcast before, the most junior member of the squad, Lance Corporal Humberto Mendoza is questioned and re-enacts events at Safa's house. Mendoza - who was a private at the time and was never charged - admits to killing Safa's father when he opened the front door to the marines. "Did you see his hands?" a lawyer asks him. "Yes sir," Mendoza responds, and goes on to confirm that Safa's father was not armed. "But you shot him anyways?" the lawyer asks. "Yes sir," Mendoza says. In his official statements, Mendoza had initially claimed that after entering the house, he opened the door to the bedroom where Safa and her family were, but when he saw there were only women and children inside he did not go in, and instead shut the door. However, in a newly discovered audio recording from Wuterich's trial, Mendoza gives a different account. He says that he walked about 8ft (2.4m) into the bedroom. This is hugely significant, according to forensic expert Michael Maloney. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service sent him to Haditha in 2006 to investigate the killings and he examined the bedroom where Safa's family was shot.

Safa inside the bedroom where her family was killed, explaining where she lay pretending to be dead

Using the crime scene photos taken by the Marine Corps at the time of the killings, he concluded that two marines had entered the room and shot the women and children. When we played him the recording of Mendoza saying he had walked into the room, Maloney said: "This is just amazing to me, what we're listening to, and I've never heard this before today." He said it showed Mendoza was placing himself in the position where Maloney concluded the first shooter stood, at the foot of the bed. "If you were to ask me: 'Is this a confession of sorts?' What I'd say is: 'Mendoza confessed to everything except for pulling the trigger.'" Safa had given a video deposition to military prosecutors in 2006 but it was never shown in court. In it, she described how the marine who opened the bedroom door threw in a grenade, which failed to explode, and then the same man came into the room and shot her family. Mendoza is the only marine who ever said he opened the door.

US Marine Corps Safa was 14 when she was filmed giving her testimony

Another marine, Lance Corporal Stephen Tatum did not deny he took part in the shootings, but said he had followed the squad leader, Wuterich, into the bedroom and initially claimed he did not know there were women and children there because of poor visibility. But in three later statements obtained by the BBC, Tatum gave a different account. "I saw that children were in the room kneeling down. I don't remember the exact number but only that it was a lot. I am trained to shoot two shots to the chest and two shots to the head and I followed my training," Tatum told the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in April 2006. A month later, he said he "was able to positively identify the people in the room as women and children before shooting them". And then a week after that, he said: "This is where I saw the kid I shot. Knowing it was a kid, I still shot him." He described the child as wearing a white T-shirt, standing on the bed, and having short hair. Tatum's defence lawyers claimed these later statements had been obtained under duress. Charges against Tatum were dropped in March 2008, and the statements were disregarded at Wuterich's trial. Forensics expert Michael Maloney said the statements by Mendoza and Tatum point to them being the two marines who shot Safa's family. He believes Mendoza went into the bedroom first and Tatum followed "firing across the head of the bed". We put the allegations to Mendoza and Tatum. Mendoza did not respond. He has previously admitted to shooting Safa's father, but said he was following orders. He was never charged with a criminal offence. Through his lawyer, Tatum said he wants to put Haditha behind him. He has never withdrawn his testimony that he was one of the shooters in Safa's house.

Michael Epstein Squad leader, Frank Wuterich, was the only marine to stand trial for the deaths, but his charges were eventually dismissed in a plea deal

Maloney told the BBC that the prosecution "wanted Wuterich to be that primary shooter". But before Maloney was able to testify, Wuterich's trial ended in a plea deal. Wuterich maintained he could not remember what had happened in Safa's house, and agreed to plead guilty to one count of negligent dereliction of duty - a charge unrelated to any direct involvement in the killings. Wuterich's military lawyer, Haytham Faraj, a former marine himself, said the punishment was "tantamount to a slap on the wrist… like a speeding ticket". Neal Puckett, the lead defence lawyer for Wuterich, said the whole investigation and prosecution against his client was "botched". "The prosecution, in granting immunity to all their witnesses and dismissing all their charges… essentially rendered themselves incapable of achieving justice in this case," he said. Haytham Faraj agreed the process was deeply flawed. "The government paid people to come in and lie, and the payment was immunity, and that's how they misused the legal process," he told the BBC. "The trial of Haditha was never meant to give voice to the victims," he added. He said that survivors' "impressions of a show trial with no real outcome, with no-one being punished, was right".

Safa still lives in Haditha and now has a daughter and two sons

Keyless car theft devices used by criminals sell for £20k online

18 minutes ago Share Save Emma Vardy BBC Breakfast business presenter Share Save

A doorbell camera captured footage of a gang using an electronic device to steal a car

Gadgets used by criminals to steal keyless cars without breaking in are being sold online for more than £20,000, the BBC has found. A new law is imminent on owning devices used in car thefts, some of which allow thieves to bounce the signal from a key inside a property to open a car. But experts say the ban is unlikely to stop gangs who are loaning them out for large sums and stealing vehicles to order. The BBC has seen price lists and video guides for devices claiming to access cars including Lamborghinis and Maseratis, with gadgets selling for up to 25,000 euros (£22,000). Abbie Brookes-Morris said criminals used the device to steal her keyless vehicle, a theft she calls "an invasion".

She said the car, which she shares with her partner Tom, was stolen from outside their home in Wolverhampton while they slept. "Although they didn't physically come into the house, you don't feel safe," she said. Her doorbell camera captured footage of a gang using a gadget outside her property. "They're walking back and forwards trying to find the signal. I didn't know that thing existed, I had no idea," she said. "It took them two minutes in total to arrive, look at the car, get the signal and leave." Abbie said police later found their car abandoned some distance away, but it is now unusable and has been immobilised due to the way the theft was carried out.

Abbie Brookes-Morris said she had no idea criminals were using sophisticated electronic devices to steal cars

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) data on police recorded crime from the Home Office, more than 100,000 vehicles were stolen within the last 12 months. Admiral Insurance told the BBC its figures suggest between 60% and 70% of vehicle thefts in the past year were keyless models. However, it does not have data for the number stolen using these devices. The BBC found some gadgets are disguised as Bluetooth speakers, used to target lower value cars, while others are military grade technology which can block the signal of a car tracker so it cannot be traced once stolen. Richard Billyeald, from Thatcham Research which works with the car industry to improve security, said: "You're really only using these if you're stealing cars, there's no legitimate use in any other way at all. "What we've seen is this move from the opportunistic theft of cars to organised criminal gangs stealing cars to order to really make money, and that's why they're investing so much money in these devices."

Abbie Brookes-Morris Abbie said it took the criminals two minutes to get the signal and steal her car

Organised crime

The crime is difficult for police to combat because the gadgets are being passed around the country by organised crime groups, said Neil Thomas, a car tracking expert who helps retrieve stolen vehicles. "They'll just loan the devices out," he said. "Criminals are paying huge sums, but they'll make those sums back. They're potentially stealing 10 cars a week. This is very much organised cross-border crime." While keyless entry is a convenience for drivers returning to their cars with their hands full of shopping or carrying children, they become "a nightmare if your street is targeted by relay theft," said Jack Cousens from the AA. "The days of smash and grab are diminishing. As vehicles become more technologically advanced, would-be thieves do their best to stay ahead of the game. That's why we've seen a rise in relay theft across the country," he said. Under new laws in the Crime and Policing Bill, which is making its way through Parliament, it will be illegal to possess or share electronic devices used to steal cars and could lead to up to five years in prison. Previously, police could only prosecute if they proved the equipment was used to commit a specific crime.

So-called signal jammers, like the one pictured here, are used by criminals to stop cars from being traced once stolen

Tips on how to prevent keyless car thefts