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Amid harsh barbs and heated geopolitics, the last World Cup match-up between Iran and the United States began with an unlikely gesture - bouquets of white flowers. The flowers, Iran's coach later said, were meant as a symbol of peace ahead of the 1998 showdown in France. Two decades later, political tensions were again high ahead of the Iran-US game in Qatar. The latest meeting, however, went without any friendly gestures. The previous match, held in Lyon, came 20 years after diplomatic relations between the two nations were severed as a result of the storming of the US embassy in Tehran in 1979 and subsequent 444 day hostage crisis. Just one month before kick-off, the US State Department labelled Iran the world's "most active" sta...

Tuesday, 17 January 2023 is the day analysts predict Elon Musk will become the number-one influencer on Twitter. With 120 million followers, his account, @ElonMusk, is already the second most followed, after @BarackObama, the former US president's, which has 130 million. And following a meteoric rise in the month since he bought Twitter, Mr Musk's will inevitably overtake, statisticians at Social Blade say. This will be an unprecedented moment. The social-media industry has never before seen a platform with a chief executive who is also its biggest personality. So if Mr Musk is to become both Twitter's chief executive and its "chief influencer", what are the implications - for the billionaire and for the website? BBC...

They lost 3-0 to England at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, in Al Rayyan, Qatar. To get through to the next round Wales had to beat England and hope Iran-USA drew. If the other game was anything but a draw, Wales had to win by at least four goals. It was the first time Wales had qualified for a World Cup since 1958. In Qatar Chris Madelin, 37, from Bridgend, said: "I'm proud to be here but not very proud of how we performed. Anyone watching that would struggle to know how we qualified." Image caption, Chris Madelin, pictured with wife Philippa, was not proud of Wales' performance His English-born wife Philippa shared his pain. The 38-year-old said: "I'm married to a Welshman, it was really sad, I found it hard to watch." ...

European bison were released into woodland near Canterbury in July as part of a rewilding project to help restore the area to its natural state. The Hollywood star shared an image of the bison to his 55.6 million Instagram followers. It was the first bison to be born in the UK wild in thousands of years. The actor - who describes himself as an environmentalist - frequently uses his social media platform to comment on issues related to climate change. In the post, DiCaprio describes the animals as "ecosystem engineers" as, through their natural behaviour, "create light and space for other wildlife to thrive." Bison clear undergrowth, allowing other plants and insects to move in. They also de-bark conifers, allowing native ...

Wales being the Land of Song has an extra special meaning for one fan - who is experiencing the World Cup through music. Cai Emlyn Davies lost most of his sight when he was nine and is not able to follow the action clearly on the pitch. So it was the euphoria that resonated in the stands that told him Gareth Bale nailed the equaliser against the USA. For Cai, Wales as a footballing nation goes hand-in-hand with it being a musical one as well. As much as it is about the exploits on the pitch, it is about the goose bumps of Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau and the raw emotion of Yma O Hyd. It is about the music of the Barry Horns and the Red Wall singing Calon Lan, Don't Take Me Home or Men of Harlech that connects him to the action. ...

Kevin Davies, 62, from Pembrokeshire, was in Doha with his son and friends. BBC Wales has been told Mr Davies died of natural causes on Friday but he was not at the stadium to watch Wales' 2-0 defeat by Iran. His family is being offered UK consular assistance, with support from Football Supporters' Association Cymru which is helping fans at the tournament. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office confirmed it was "supporting the family of a British man who has died in Qatar". The Football Association of Wales (FAW) tweeted to say its thoughts were with Mr Davies's family and friends at this sad time and said that it would help in whatever it could. Chief Executive Noel Mooney said: "So sorry to hear that one of our suppor...