Chelsea 4-1 Bayern Munich (agg: 5-3): Fran Kirby double helps Blues reach Women's Champions League final - BBC Sport

Chelsea 4-1 Bayern Munich (agg: 5-3): Fran Kirby double helps Blues reach Women's Champions League final

Chelsea Women's players celebrate — Kirby's second goal finally made sure of victory in the 95th minute

Late goals by Pernille Harder and Fran Kirby took Chelsea through to their first Women's Champions League final at the expense of Bayern Munich in a captivating game.

The Blues trailed 2-1 after the away leg but Kirby's breakaway strike put them in control on away goals.

Sarah Zadrazil's stunning shot made it 1-1 but Ji So-yun restored the lead.

With extra time looming Harder headed in and, as Bayern pressed, Kirby scored into an empty net to seal victory.

Emma Hayes celebrates Chelsea reaching 'dream' Champions League final

Kirby ran half the length of the pitch to ensure Chelsea's progress in a dramatic finish to an astonishing game at Kingsmeadow.

The goal sparked wild scenes of celebration among players and staff, with a tearful manager Emma Hayes overwhelmed by leading Chelsea through to the final against Barcelona in Gothenburg on Sunday, 16 May.

Harder's fine near-post header from Jess Carter's exquisite free-kick had put the Blues on the verge of becoming the first English side since Arsenal in 2007 to reach a European final.

Bayern piled forward in the final stages, causing blind panic on several occasions as they desperately sought the second away goal that would have taken them through.

But the hosts somehow survived and, with keeper Laura Benkarth upfield Kirby made sure of a monumental win.

Kirby class shines through again

Fran Kirby scores for Chelsea against Bayern Munich — Fran Kirby's early goal was Chelsea's first on-target attempt

England striker Kirby was the game's outstanding player in a match full of standout performances by Chelsea.

Magdalena Eriksson's experience shone though in defence having returned after injury and the trio of Meleanie Leupolz, Sophie Ingle and Ji provided the perfect balance in midfield.

Leupolz and Ingle's tenacity and ability to read danger enabled Ji's creative talents to flourish and in turn allow Kirby, Kerr and Harder to cause mayhem in the final third.

Kirby started and finished the scoring, putting the Blues ahead inside ten minutes with a typically composed finish after a sumptuous one-two with Kerr.

Bayern responded impressively and Carter had to make a vital block to stop Lineth Beerensteyn's goalbound effort, before Zadrazil's swerving 25-yard strike via the underside of the bar levelled the scores.

Ji's follow-up strike after her own free-kick was blocked restored the lead, the South Korean's shot bouncing into the turf, going through a crumbling wall and finding the far corner.

And a place in showpiece final was assured thanks to Harder and Kirby.

Chelsea's quadruple quest continues

Emma Hayes and her coaching staff celebrate — Hayes has led Chelsea into Europe on five occasions

Boss Hayes was overcome with emotion, having twice taken Chelsea to the semi-finals where they lost to Wolfsburg in 2018 and Lyon in 2019.

She was on the Arsenal coaching staff when the Gunners won the Uefa Women's Cup - as the Women's Champions League was then known - in 2007.

Victory over Bayern means a remarkable quadruple is still feasible.

Wins over Tottenham and Reading in their remaining two Women's Super League fixtures will ensure back-to-back domestic league titles.

The Blues have already won the League Cup, thrashing Bristol City 6-0 in the final, and also have a fifth-round FA Cup tie at home to Everton looming.

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Great Britain women win 4x400m bronze at World Athletics Relays event

GB 4x400m women's team of Jessie Knight, Emily Diamond, Ama Pipi and Laviai Nielsen — Jessie Knight ran GB's final leg and held on for third place

Great Britain's 4x400m women's team won bronze at the 2021 World Athletics Relays event in Silesia in Poland.

The quartet of Laviai Nielsen, Ama Pipi, Emily Diamond and Jessie Knight finished behind winners Cuba and second-placed Poland.

The British runners set a time of three minutes 29.27 seconds.

"There were about four of us who got the baton at the same time and I think I got overly excited," said Knight, who ran the final leg.

"I just went for it, which to be honest in relay running, you've got to do.

"I got to about 250m winning and I felt really good, but I could just feel the pressure coming.

"It's the best I could do and I'm really glad I gave it a good go."

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Lewis Hamilton wins Portuguese Grand Prix after spectacular overtakes

Lewis Hamilton fought back to pass both Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen for a brilliant victory in the Portuguese Grand Prix.

The seven-time champion fell to third as Verstappen's Red Bull overtook him at a restart after an early safety car.

But he passed Verstappen four laps later and then hunted down and did the same to his Mercedes team-mate before moving on to control the race.

The win gives Hamilton an eight-point championship lead over Verstappen.

It was a statement race for Hamilton, who has moved on to 97 career Grand Prix victories, and a clear demonstration of his unquenched desire to secure a world record eighth world title this year.

But he missed out on the point for fastest lap after both Verstappen and Bottas pitted for fresh tyres to chase it in the closing laps.

The Dutchman, bidding to minimise the damage in his fight with Hamilton for the title, thought he had taken it - although his time was deleted for going beyond track limits, and so the point went to Bottas instead.

No answer to Hamilton

Mercedes crew celebrate as Lewis Hamilton drives past — Hamilton has opened up an eight-point lead in the drivers' championship

Hamilton lost out to Bottas in the fight for pole position on Saturday by just 0.007 seconds and the two Mercedes, with Verstappen behind, moved away in formation at the start.

But a safety car was triggered on lap two when Kimi Raikkonen drove into the back of Alfa Romeo team-mate Antonio Giovinazzi on the pit straight and tore off his front wing.

At the restart, Bottas waited until he was halfway around the final corner before accelerating away and Verstappen anticipated the situation perfectly, sweeping past Hamilton in a superlative move around the outside of Turn One.

Verstappen stayed right behind Bottas but could not pass him and was soon under pressure from Hamilton, determined to repay the compliment.

At the end of lap 10, Verstappen had a slide on the exit of Turn 14, the effective final corner, and Hamilton grabbed his chance, closing on the Red Bull and repassing Verstappen.

The Dutchman defended to the inside, but Hamilton squeezed alongside him there anyway over the dusty part of the track to claim the corner.

Next, it was Bottas' turn to fall prey to Hamilton, who tracked his team-mate closely for nine laps before pulling off a lovely outside pass at Turn One.

The race was now Hamilton's to lose, and he was always in control, as the focus turned to the fight for second between Bottas and Verstappen.

The decisive moments came around the pit stops.

Red Bull brought Verstappen in first on lap 35, with Bottas following him in a lap later.

The Mercedes retained the lead, but Verstappen was close behind the Finn as he came out of the pits, and Bottas' fate was sealed when he had huge slide on the exit of Turn Three.

Verstappen closed right up and passed into the hairpin at Turn Five. Bottas dropped three seconds back from the Red Bull before coming back for a few laps, but then fell away again as the top three positions were sealed.

Kimi Raikkonen — Raikkonen ended up in the gravel after colliding with team-mate Giovinazzi

Alonso's recovery drive

Sergio Perez took fourth for Red Bull, ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who moved up from his disappointing eighth place on the grid partly thanks to his ability to start on the medium tyre because he was fast enough to make it through second qualifying on it.

That put him in a stronger strategic position than team-mate Carlos Sainz, who started fifth on the softs, and after their pit stops, Leclerc closed up to Sainz, who was ordered to let his team-mate by.

Sainz, who had switched from softs to mediums, then fell back into the clutches of the Alpines of first Esteban Ocon, who qualified a superb sixth, and then Fernando Alonso, who had a disappointing qualifying performance in 13th but drove an excellent race with a long first stint on the medium tyre.

Alonso passed Daniel Ricciardo's McLaren shortly after they had stopped within a lap of each other, and then dispatched Sainz before closing in on Ocon in the final laps, finishing just a second behind after starting seven places behind him.

Ricciardo also passed Sainz in the closing laps to take ninth, a decent result after qualifying 16th, and the Ferrari also dropped back behind Alpha Tauri's Pierre Gasly for the final point as a frustrated Sainz battled deteriorating tyres.

Driver of the day

Lewis Hamilton drinks champagne on the podium — It has to be Hamilton. Both he and Verstappen pulled off superb overtaking moves into Turn One - but Hamilton had to do two to win the race, and pass both his title rival and his team-mate. It was a drive of pure class and will have a sent a powerful message to Verstappen in their intense fight

What happens next?

The Spanish Grand Prix next weekend - another very different circuit and the prospect of another close fight in what is turning into a vintage year.

'Tough race, physically and mentally' - what they said

Hamilton: "That was such a tough race, physically and mentally, keeping everything together. I didn't quite get as good a start as Valtteri and then lost out at the restart which was not good. I had to try and reposition myself best I could, I think Max made a mistake at some point and that was perfect. With Valtteri I had to make the move early on before the tyres were destroyed and I just managed to get him at Turn One. Right on my limit. Great race."

Verstappen: "My race was pretty decent. I had a good restart and then of course, I tried to put the pressure on Valtteri. At the end, I think we just lacked a little bit of pace but overall, Lewis got by again and once after the pit stop, the warm up is super hard on this tyres. This was an odd weekend in terms of grip. We were not on top of it here but we'll see what we can do in Barcelona."

Bottas: "I don't really know what happened in the first stint. I didn't have the pace for unknown reasons. After that the second stint was pretty good but there was some issue with a sensor or something. We've had a strong package overall today so I don't really know why in the first stint it didn't work."

Verstappen and Hamilton shake hands — Hamilton leads Verstappen 2-1 for race wins so far this seasaon

Fernando Alonso on track — Alonso finished eighth in Portugal after starting 13th on the grid

Valtteri Bottas ahead of Lewis Hamilton on track — Bottas failed to secure the race win despite starting on pole in Portugal

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Manchester United protests: Emotions have been simmering for 16 years

Manchester United fans protest outside Old Trafford against the club's ownership under the Glazer family — Fans protest outside Old Trafford against the Glazers, who took over Manchester United in 2005

It was at an entrance to Old Trafford round the back of the Stretford End, away from the noise and the flares that accompanied the start of the Manchester United fans' protest at Old Trafford, that those who made it onto the pitch entered through.

Most were young lads in their 20s, coming down the hill in wave after wave. But not all.

There were women and older men too. One, probably in his late 50s or early 60s, wore a green and gold scarf and woolly hat - the colours of United's first shirts when they were formed as Newton Heath in 1878, and of the original anti-Glazer protests in 2010

After he had left the stadium compound, he remained with those waiting for the United team bus that never arrived.

He was not angry and spoke calmly to fans and media in the same area, wanting to know the latest about what was happening on the other side of the ground, or around the team hotel, where he had been earlier.

Those fans, he felt, were more sinister than the ones at the stadium. But he didn't condemn them. He accepts they have a common goal. Emotions have been simmering for 16 years, so a bit of aggression is understandable, the theory went.

Exchanges like this - and people like that - underline the reason for what happened at Old Trafford.

A large protest was expected outside the ground before the match with historic rivals Liverpool - but no-one expected fans to force their way into the stadium and onto the pitch and for the match to be postponed.

It was the third major fans protest against the club and its owners in recent days following a protest at Old Trafford last Saturday and fans entering the club's training ground at Carrington the previous Thursday.

Like supporters of the other five 'big six' clubs, Manchester United's fans are angry about the European Super League proposals . They don't want it and will voice their opposition - just as fans of the other five English sides have done.

What sets United apart is that their fans are not surprised at the actions of their owners - the US-based Glazer family.

Indeed, to those fans, it merely underlines their view that the owners of their football club only care about money and that they have no affection for the world-famous 149-year-old institution they are in charge of.

If they did, the argument goes, they would never have landed the club with the enormous debt associated with their controversial £790m leveraged takeover in 2005.

Manchester United were a debt-free organisation when they were on the stock market prior to the Glazers buying the club. The fans believe the Glazers should have used their own money.

That debt currently stands at £455.5m, according to the club's latest accounts, which were released on 4 March, 2021. It is estimated that in general finance costs, interest and dividends, the Glazer takeover has cost United in excess of £1bn.

There is nothing new in this. Many United fans were genuinely angry when Sir Alex Ferguson used to defend the owners. The Scot repeatedly said the Glazer family backed him in the transfer market and never offered criticism.

Those fans felt Ferguson's brilliance as a manager masked underlying issues around the money being invested in United's playing squad.

It is no surprise the 'green and gold' anti-Glazer campaign began in 2010, when United were experiencing a dip after three successive Premier League titles, nor that it fizzled out when Ferguson got his team playing like champions again and reached another Champions League final.

But for some, the sentiment never dimmed. Disenchantment with the Glazer stewardship of United has grown with every passing year since Ferguson retired in 2013, not just because the club's fortunes have slipped, but because despite the relative failure, tens of millions of pounds go out of the club, either directly to the family or because of the way they run United.

There is a counter-balance to this narrative.

The owners are responsible for the phenomenal rise in Manchester United's commercial revenue. They were the ones who aggressively pursued the regional approach, which every other similar sized club has followed.

The Glazers introduced a commercial plan which was different to any other club. Other than the major deals with Adidas, Chevrolet and others, they sell on a regional basis across the globe, so they have telecoms partners in USA and Canada, another in Africa, another in China. They recognised United were popular and maximised the popularity.

It can be argued, with some justification, that the Glazers are responsible for a significant proportion of United's rise in income and what they take out is only a percentage of it.

United sources never tire of drilling home the message that the money the club raises is done to improve the playing side, whether it be through big-money signings or academy prospects.

Beyond question, they have spent a lot of money on players. Whether they have bought the right ones is debatable though, and the Glazers are blamed by some for not putting the processes in place to get the recruitment right.

In recent times, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, a patron of the Manchester United Supporters Trust (Must), which has campaigned against the family, has, like Ferguson, been condemned for not criticising the owners.

Yet Solskjaer, when I asked him about the planned protests in the build-up to Sunday's game, said the fans' voice "needs to be heard".

That probably explains the wording of the club statement on Sunday night, which in addition to condemning those who put "other fans, staff and police in danger", also acknowledged their right to free expression and peaceful protest, in addition to highlighting their passion.

In the aftermath of the ESL's collapse, co-chairman Joel Glazer said he accepted there was a need for greater communication with supporters.

That said, he opted not to join an emergency fans forum on Friday when Must were amongst the signatories of a letter, read out to executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, stating the fans did not trust or believe the owners.

It is doubtful whether bridges between the two sides can ever be built but even securing some sort of peace, however uneasy, may not be easy to achieve.

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Long-distance relationships are tough - but lockdown helped this couple

By Hazel Shearing
BBC News

image captionAlexia and Tao met in London a year ago - then she moved back home to Ottawa, Canada

Alexia liked the look of Tao's photos and gave him a chance. When she swiped right back in the first lockdown, they were separated by the River Thames and a short walk through the Greenwich foot tunnel. A year later, it's the Atlantic Ocean and about 3,000 miles.

Alexia, 27, says she wouldn't have even been on Bumble, the dating app where they met, had it not been for the pandemic.

She is looking noticeably more spritely than Tao, 24, when she joins the Zoom call. It's 15:00 for us in London, but for her, in her hometown of Ottawa, Canada, it's 10:00.

"I kind of hopped on almost like a quarantine activity. Just a fun thing to do, you know?" says the freelance graphic designer, when we talk about online dating in lockdown. At the time she was working in the UK on a temporary visa. "I missed meeting new people. I felt like I should be living my best life here, living abroad, but I wasn't able to do that."

She and Tao, an engineering student, realised quickly they lived about a half a mile from one another. It was just a 30 minute walk between Greenwich and the Isle of Dogs, in south London, but coronavirus restrictions meant meeting up for a date wasn't possible. So instead they spent a month chatting virtually.

image captionThe couple snapped selfies in front of the Cutty Sark, by their favourite park, once coronavirus restrictions relaxed

In May, a slight relaxation of England's Covid restrictions meant that they were able to meet outside in person. They went to Greenwich Park, keeping two metres apart from one another.

"We never broke our social distancing," says Alexia. "It was still the peak of lockdown, it was a bit scary. It was the most wholesome dating experience, like no physical contact at all."

They saw each other every day, and the same park became their "stomping ground". After about six weeks they formed a support bubble, since Tao lived by himself. Alexia says it seemed soon, but thinks the pandemic made their relationship move quicker.

"There's not too many people casually dating because you can't really," she says. "It kind of just nudged us faster to make a decision - is this what we want?"

As they grew closer, a secret began pressing on Alexia's mind. She knew her visa was due to run out in December and she would have to go back to Canada. She waited for the right time to tell him, but there wasn't one. One day in early summer, as they were gazing across south London from the top of a hill in their favourite park, she came clean. She says, to her surprise, he took it well.

"It was emotional for me when she was leaving," Tao says. He pauses for a second before adding: "I didn't cry, obviously. I just realised it's a new chapter. If it works, it works. It's still working up to now, so I'm happy with it."

image captionAlexia says she told Tao: "I just have to let you know that literally I have to leave the country"

Some friends and family couldn't believe it when they said they were going to continue their relationship ("my cousin was like, 'you're crazy'", Alexia laughs). But they say their set-up is more or less the same as it was when they first matched.

For Tao, chatting to Alexia over the phone and video calls once she went back to Canada was "pretty much like what we did at the beginning, but long-distance". "There's no physical contact but we're talking every day," he says.

Alexia agrees, saying it's "like a continuation of how our relationship started". "This is round two, just an ocean apart," she says.

image captionAlexia and Tao joined me on a video call. They often speak when she wakes up, which is usually around midday for him.

Coronavirus restrictions mean it is currently illegal to travel abroad from the UK for holidays. Canada has also banned most foreign nationals.

Ottawa, Canada's capital, is in the most populous province, Ontario, where the rate of coronavirus infections reached an all-time high last month. That prompted restrictions on non-essential travel and a six-week stay-at-home-order.

Despite all of this, the couple think it's easier to do long-distance in a pandemic than it would have been otherwise. With Alexia working from home and Tao learning remotely, it's easy to get hold of one another, despite the five-hour time difference.

"We're not juggling being at work and socialising, we're both just always at home," says Alexia. "I don't think it would have been like this in normal life circumstances, because I think both of us had quite busy lives before the pandemic. It's kind of nice that we've been able to prioritise quality time together, and just spending time together online."

For the most-part, they do normal things, only virtually. They watch films in sync (Train to Busan, a Korean Zombie film, seems to have been Alexia's pick rather than Tao's) and have meals together - even if her lunch is his dinner.

image captionThe couple are "counting down" until they can see each other again.

One big difference is that they haven't been able to meet each other's friends and families.

"It's been a unique experience where we have been dating in a bubble. The outside world has not really touched our relationship much in terms of a lot of our time together is just us two. Which has been in a way kind of nice," says Alexia.

They agree that long-distance dating has "forced us to communicate, and learn to communicate well".

"It's different, you kind of have to adapt," Alexia says. She knows it's "not ideal" though, and Tao says he would still rather see her every day if he could.

For now, with travel restrictions in place, they don't know when they'll next see each other. All they can do is pay close attention to updates on travel rules, but they have made tentative plans for Alexia to come to the UK for a couple of months once they ease.

"I'm hoping that by the end of the year Canada will open their borders up so he'll be able to come and visit here," Alexia says, her eyes glancing down to Tao's screen on Zoom. "We'll see."

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Then and now: When silence descended over Victoria Falls

By Mark Kinver
Environment reporter

In our monthly feature, Then and Now, we reveal some of the ways that planet Earth has been changing against the backdrop of a warming world. Here, we look at the effects of global heating on Victoria Falls, one of the natural wonders of the world - and how Sub-Saharan Africa is learning to cope with the climate crisis.

In full flow, Victoria Falls easily qualifies as one of the natural wonders of the world. Spanning 1.7km at its widest point and with a height of more than 100m, locals refer to Africa's greatest waterfall as "the smoke that thunders".

This amazing feature is formed as the Zambezi river plunges into a chasm called the First Gorge. The chasm was carved by the action of water along a natural fracture zone in the volcanic rock that makes up the landscape in this region of southern Africa.

In 2019, however, Victoria Falls was silenced.

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

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Drag the button to see how the falls have changed over time

Images: Reuters

In a drought described as the worst in a century, the flow of the Zambezi was reduced to a relative trickle and the Falls ran dry.

As one of the region's biggest attractions for tourists, Victoria Falls is a valuable source of income for Zimbabwe and Zambia. As news of the low waters spread, local traders noticed a visible drop in tourist numbers.

As well as hitting the countries' economies, it also hit electricity supplies, which are dependent on hydroelectric generation.

More widely across the region, agencies reported an increase in the need for food aid, as crops failed in the drought.

A single extreme weather event cannot, in isolation, be viewed as a consequence of climate change.

But the region is recording a sequence of extreme droughts that reflect what climate modellers have predicted will occur as a result of an increase in greenhouse gases in the world's atmosphere as a result of human activity.

image copyrightGetty Images

Zambia's President, Edgar Lungu - speaking at the time - called it "a stark reminder of what climate change is doing to our environment".

Observers of weather patterns in the Zambezi Basin believe the changing climate is resulting in a delay to the monsoon season, concentrating the rains into bigger, more intense events.

This makes the storage of the water in the region more difficult, and makes the impact of the extended dry season more damaging to people and the environment.

The UN's State of the Climate in Africa in 2019 report painted a worrying picture for a continent that could see its population double over the coming century.

Speaking at the report's launch in October 2020, World Meteorological Organization secretary-general Petteri Taalas observed: "Climate change is having a growing impact on the African continent, hitting the most vulnerable hardest, and contributing to food insecurity, population displacement and stress on water resources.

"In recent months, we have seen devastating floods, an invasion of desert locusts and now face the looming spectre of drought because of a La Niña event."

image captionMore than 1,000 people died after Cyclone Idai hit Mozambique and Zimbabwe in 2019

The report adds that 2019 was among the three warmest years on record for the continent.

It warns that the warming trend is expected to continue.

The worrying fact facing politicians, policymakers and civil society is that the continent is set to be hardest hit by climate change, yet the continent's capacity to adapt to the realities of a warming world are low.

Areas of concern include water supplies, health, food security, droughts and floods, biodiversity. It is a list of concerns that is continuing to grow.

Africa is on the front line of the battle against dangerous climate change.

Our Planet Then and Now will continue each month up to the UN climate summit in Glasgow, which is scheduled to start in November 2021

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Lebanon Easter biscuit woes symbolise crumbling economy

By Eloise Alanna
BBC News, Beirut

image captionMaamoul, a festival favourite, is becoming too expensive for many families

For Greek Orthodox Christians celebrating Easter, the tradition of making or buying maamoul biscuits plays a key role - but this year things are very different.

The Lebanese take pride in these confections. As well as Easter, they are made during Eid al-Fitr, at the end of Ramadan, and Muslims and Druze enjoy them for Eid al-Adha.

Rita Stambouli is Greek Orthodox and lives in Zahlé, a town about an hour's drive east of Beirut in the Bekaa valley. When I visit, she is preparing her maamoul.

With a church sermon echoing across the red-roofed town, she puts a ball of date paste into a pocket of dough. She stuffs it into the mould and laughs as she whacks the wooden shape on the side. "We're getting the stress out!' she says, as a perfectly shaped maamoul pops out on her hand.

"We feel the poverty. Our situation has gone backwards. We're not living like before," she explains. "We get meat and chicken once a month."

image captionMaamoul ingredients can cost a sizeable chunk of Rita Stambouli's monthly wage

Rita works as a secretary at a hospital. Since the economic crash her salary, like that of all Lebanese, has been decreasing in value each month.

"I have two children. Both my husband and I work. We rent our house. And our income is not sufficient anymore," she says.

Pistachios are Rita's favourite filling but she can't make maamoul with them this year. They are too expensive. She is also making much less maamoul than normal. She has replaced the ghee, a type of fat, with subsidised butter.

"The ghee is a third of my salary," she remarks.

image captionEach biscuit has its own shape and is traditionally made at home in special wooden moulds

Food, like everything in Lebanon, has become extremely expensive. And it's getting political.

In addition to rising prices, people's money has lost considerable value. The banks have collapsed and people can't get their savings out.

More and more Lebanese are turning to food banks. Even the Sawa for Development and Aid, a charity that predominantly supports Syrian refugees and vulnerable Lebanese, is being asked to help more families in the Bekaa Valley.

The situation is getting worse, and aid is being wasted by internal politics and disagreements.

image captionMaamoul are made from ingredients such as semolina, sugar and rose water and filled with pistachio, walnuts and dates

Wheat was given to Lebanon at the end of 2020 by Iraq and was reported to have been poorly stored in the football stadium rather than being distributed to the people. Tea was donated by Sri Lanka to the victims of the August 2020 Beirut port blast but it was given to the families of the presidential guard.

In Tripoli, Lebanon's second biggest city, a volunteer handing out food packages was shot dead when scuffles broke out, while in supermarkets people are fighting and throwing food at each other as they grab the subsidised products.

"I've witnessed a few fights," says Rita. "There isn't enough for everyone."

There are fears subsides will run out very soon, and if they do, chaos will likely ensue.

As the country's woes mount, political parties are taking their own measures.

Hezbollah, a Shia Islamist political and military organisation, has opened its own branch of supermarkets, al-Sajjad. It is issuing a card for vulnerable families to purchase cheap and subsidised produce from Iran, Iraq and Syria, countries where it has a significant presence.

"These supermarkets are just for Hezbollah, and its supporters. I can't benefit from this," says Rita. "The government should do the same because we need to be able to eat."

Meanwhile in Beirut, Joseph Tawk, a TV celebrity and ambassador for the non-governmental organisation Lebanon of Tomorrow, has been making 9,000 maamoul with his team over the last three days. They provide food and medicine across the country to those who need it, and have been distributing the biscuits.

"Maamoul isn't going to save Lebanon," Joseph laughs, "but they can save a smile for a day. Tomorrow it might be rice or a paracetamol box."

image captionLebanon of Tomorrow made and distributed 9,000 maamoul biscuits to families in Beirut

With the country under a four-day lockdown against the spread of coronavirus, Orthodox Christians celebrating Easter and Muslims breaking their Ramadan fast with the iftar evening meal will sit down to enjoy the food they can afford.

Rita puts out her maamoul on the kitchen side to cool. They smell divine. She tells me this is the smell of Easter for her. Although she doesn't have her favourite pistachio filling, she knows she's lucky enough to make a small batch. Many families this year aren't able to make any.

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India Covid-19: Fact-checking misleading claims on oxygen treatments

image copyrightGetty Images

image captionOxygen for treating Covid is increasingly hard to find in India, with long queues forming to refill cylinders

As India battles a deadly second wave of the pandemic, its healthcare system has come under severe strain.

Hospitals are experiencing shortages of oxygen for patients and, as people try to get hold of their own supplies, online misinformation has been spreading.

It includes misleading claims about ways to treat falling oxygen levels - one of the symptoms of Covid-19.

We've been looking at some of these.

A nebuliser cannot supply oxygen

A video has been widely shared on social media of a doctor claiming that a nebuliser - a small medical device for delivering a fine spray of a drug to patients - can be used in place of an oxygen cylinder.

In the video, which has been circulated on Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp, he can be seen demonstrating how to use it, explaining in Hindi that "our environment has enough oxygen that this (nebuliser) can provide".

image captionNebulisers, designed to deliver inhaled medication, cannot provide oxygen to Covid patients

He goes on to say: "All you need is a nebuliser, and you can draw oxygen from it."

The hospital named in the post - near the capital, Delhi - has distanced itself from the claim in the video, saying the use of a nebuliser has not been backed by "evidence or scientific study".

Other medical experts have also pointed out that the technique is totally ineffective in supplying additional oxygen.

After the video was widely shared, the doctor who'd appeared in it responded to the criticism by releasing another video clip, stating that he had been "misunderstood."

He said he did not mean to suggest that nebulisers could replace oxygen cylinders, but he didn't explain why he'd said that you could get oxygen from them.

The original video continues to be widely circulated and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi even used a screenshot from it in a recent address.

It was displayed while Mr Modi said that "many doctors are sharing information through social media, consulting through phone and WhatsApp", although the audio was not used.

Herbal remedies don't work and can be dangerous

India's social media platforms have been inundated with messages suggesting various herbal home remedies for treating the symptoms of Covid-19, such as falling oxygen levels.

One widely shared "remedy" suggests a mix of camphor, clove, carom seeds and eucalyptus oil will be beneficial in maintaining oxygen levels while suffering from the virus.

There is no evidence that this can help people who are infected.

A video promoting this mixture, presented by a doctor of Indian traditional Ayurvedic medicine, has been shared on Facebook more than 23,000 times, as well as on WhatsApp.

In fact, camphor oil, widely used in skin creams and ointments, is potentially harmful if consumed internally.

The US Centers for Disease Control warns that camphor vapour inhalation could cause poisoning.

Lemons aren't the answer either

A senior Indian politician and businessman recently claimed two drops of lemon juice in the nose can increase oxygen saturation levels.

Vijay Sankeshwar said he suggested it to his colleagues whose oxygen levels were low and "within half an hour, their oxygen levels rose from 88% to 96%". He went on to say that 80% of India's oxygen shortage could be solved by using this remedy.

There is no evidence, however, of this treatment having any effect on oxygen saturation levels in the blood.

And neither are "magic" deep breaths

India's most popular yoga guru, Baba Ramdev, has been appearing on news channels and has videos on his YouTube channel which he claims show you how to increase oxygen levels at home.

In the video, he says "there's a hue and cry about oxygen in the entire country, but I'll show you magic", while wearing a device to measure blood-oxygen levels on one of his fingers.

In the video, which has had more than 300,000 views on his YouTube channel, he demonstrates breathing exercises in which he holds his breath in the sitting position and shows his blood oxygen levels falling to well below the recommended safe level.

But then he says: "Take two deep breaths, you'll get the oxygen (back into your blood), it's there in abundance (in the environment)."

While practising yoga is generally good for your health, in cases where oxygen saturation levels fall because of a medical condition such as Covid-19, medical oxygen (which is nearly 100% pure oxygen) is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

"If the oxygen levels are low, if they're low for a long time, if it's not treated, then the cells themselves stop to work well. Again, the life-saving treatment here then is medical oxygen," says the WHO's Dr Janet Diaz.

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