Iran’s Navy seizes US oil tanker in Sea of Oman

Iran's navy have seized an oil tanker in the Sea of Oman. Armed masked men boarded the St Nikolas and changed the vessel's course towards an Iranian port. Iranian state media say it follows a court order authorising the move. We have the latest on this story from our Security correspondent.

We go to Ecuador, where at least 10 people have been killed since a state of emergency began on Monday. It was declared after a notorious gangster vanished from his prison cell. After days of violence, masked gunmen broke into public television channel TC's live studio during a broadcast and threatened staff. Our correspondent is in the port city of Guayaquil covering the story.

We continue hearing from people who have contracted Sepsis, a serious condition that happens when the body's immune system has an extreme response to an infection. We hear from Cindy Mullins, a nurse and mother from Kentucky whose story when viral. After complications with a kidney stone her Sepsis infection led to a quadruple amputation, but she is on the road to recovery.

Scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew in London have revealed their top discoveries of new plants and fungi in 2023. They include a palm tree that grows largely underground and a red-flowered orchid that grows on the top of an extinct volcano.

(Photo: An Iranian military ship takes part in an annual drill in the coastal area of the Gulf of Oman and near the Strait of Hormuz, Iran, 13 December, 2022. Credit: Reuters)