Welcome to BBC Verify Live! We're bringing you the latest updates and verifications from around the world. Today's headlines include a Romanian village being evacuated after a ship caught fire at a Ukrainian river port, an increase in asylum appeals in the UK, a rise in small boat crossings in the English Channel, and a potential sabotage incident on a Polish rail line.
Romanian Village Evacuated After Ship Fire
A small Romanian village, Plauru, is now being evacuated due to the proximity of a burning liquid petroleum gas (LPG) tanker, Ordina, to their territory. The ship caught fire after a reported Russian drone strike at a port on the Danube river in Ukraine, which borders Romania. The video footage, geolocated to the Ukrainian city of Izmail, shows a huge flame erupting from the tanker. Reverse image searches confirm the video's authenticity, and the ship's features match publicly available pictures.
Asylum Appeals in the UK
The number of asylum cases going to tribunal in the UK has risen by 36% in the year to March, while closed cases increased by just 4%. This means the open caseload for immigration and asylum matters has increased by 80% over the last year. In the 12 months ending March 2025, 12,129 asylum appeals were decided by tribunal, almost double the previous year's number.
Small Boat Crossings in the English Channel
After a few days without any detections, the number of small boats crossing the English Channel rose at the end of last week, with 217 people spotted on Friday. This brings the total for the year to 39,292, which is higher than the number for the whole of 2024 but still below the record year of 2022. The number of migrants detected crossing was much higher than the equivalent point in 2022 due to a high number of crossings in the spring and early summer of this year.
Potential Sabotage on Polish Rail Line
The Polish military will inspect 120km of railway line after an explosive device destroyed the tracks on the Warsaw-Lublin route. The Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, confirmed that the incident was a deliberate act of sabotage. The first images of the location were shared on Instagram yesterday, showing a short train and a section of track cordoned off by police tape. A close-up picture of the track shows a section missing, with sharp fragments and scorch marks.
Russian Attack on Ukrainian City
We've verified images from Balakliya in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, showing the aftermath of two overnight Russian strikes. Local officials reported three people killed and several others wounded. Pictures shared by Ukrainian police on Telegram show badly damaged buildings and debris. We also verified a video of pitch-black streets in Donetsk, caused by Ukrainian strikes on power infrastructure. In Russia, a video showed an explosion and ball of flames in Oryol, with local media reporting the city had been targeted by Ukrainian drones.
AI-Generated Video Alert
We're also warning our audience about a video doing the rounds on social media that purports to show Donald Trump joking with Bill Clinton. Our analysis, confirmed by an expert, suggests this video is almost certainly AI-generated. If you've seen a similar claim or video, please contact us to help us verify and combat misinformation.
