Telegram boss and founder Pavel Durov has been placed under formal investigation in France as part of a probe into organised crime on the messaging app, Paris prosecutors say.

Mr Durov, 39, has not been remanded in custody, but placed under judicial supervision, and has to pay a €5m (£4.2m; $5.6m) deposit.

The Russian-born billionaire, who is also a French national, also has to show up at a French police station twice a week and is not allowed to leave French territory.

Mr Durov was first detained upon arrival at Le Bourget airport north of Paris last Saturday under a warrant for offences related to the app.

In Wednesday’s statement, the Paris prosecutors said Mr Durov was put under formal investigation over alleged offences that included:

• Complicity in the administration of an online platform to enable illicit transactions by an organised gang
• Refusal to communicate with authorities
• Complicity in organised criminal distribution of sexual images of children

In France, being put under formal investigation does not imply guilt or necessarily result in a trial – but it indicates that judges consider there is enough of a case to proceed with an investigation.

Mr Durov has so far made no public comments on the latest developments.

His lawyer, David-Olivier Kaminski, said Telegram complied in every respect with European digital regulations and was moderated to the same standards as other social networks.

It was “absurd” to suggest his client could be involved “in criminal acts that don’t concern him either directly or indirectly”, he added.

It is unprecedented for the owner of a social media platform to be arrested because of the way in which that platform is being used, and it has fuelled a fierce debate online about freedom of speech and accountability.

We have previously seen tech bosses hauled in front of lawmakers for confrontational grillings about their practices and failings, but not met by law enforcement at airports.

Elon Musk, the owner of X, has defended Mr Durov, arguing that moderation is a “propaganda word” for censorship. He has called for Mr Durov’s release.

Chris Pavlovski, the founder of a controversial video-sharing app called Rumble, said he had fled Europe following Mr Durov’s detention.

While most of the world’s largest social networks do engage with national and international bodies when it comes to serious criminal offences such as the sharing of child sexual abuse images, Telegram is accused of ignoring them.

The firm, which is now headquartered in Dubai, insists that its moderation tools meet industry standards.

French President Emmanuel Macron said earlier this week that France was deeply committed to freedom of expression, and that the decision to hold Mr Durov was “in no way… political”.

Huge groups of up to 200,000 people can share and comment on information and content on Telegram – WhatsApp on the other hand limits its maximum group size to just over 1,000.

While Telegram messages can be encrypted, meaning that only the sender and recipient can view them, this is not activated by default and has to be manually switched on to private chats.

On Monday evening, the Paris prosecutors said Mr Durov was being held in custody as part of a cyber-criminality investigation. In response, Telegram said Mr Durov had “nothing to hide”.

Russia said that without a “serious basis of evidence”, the charges could be seen as an act of “intimidation” against a major technology company for political purposes.

Telegram is ranked as one of the major social media platforms.

It was founded in 2013 and is particularly popular in Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet Union states, as well as Iran.

The BBC revealed on Wednesday that Telegram – which has more than 950 million registered users – has repeatedly refused to join international programmes aimed at detecting and removing child abuse material online.

The BBC has contacted Telegram for comment about its refusal to join the child protection schemes.

Mr Durov, who also founded the popular Russian social media company VKontakte, left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with government demands to shut down opposition communities on the platform.

He also holds passports of St Kitts and Nevis and the United Arab Emirates.

The chief executive of Aricell, a South Korean lithium battery company, has been arrested over a massive factory fire in June that killed 23 people and injured nine others.

A court approved the warrant for Park Soon-kwan’s arrest on Wednesday.

Investigators have said Aricell’s management is suspected of workplace safety violations. The fire was one of South Korea’s worst factory disasters in recent years.

Aricells’ parent company, S-Connect, did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment.

After the fire Mr Park issued an apology: “We are deeply saddened by the loss of life and would like to express our deepest condolences and apologies to the bereaved families.”

“We take great responsibility and will sincerely provide support to the deceased and their families in every way possible,” he added.

His arrest comes after a police investigation found that the factory had been rushing to meet production deadlines.

Investigators said there were a number of safety issues at the plant, including a failure to address quality defects in batteries and hiring unskilled staff to handle dangerous materials.

It was also alleged that Aricell had been cheating in quality inspections related to contracts with the military.

The blaze broke out on 24 June after several battery cells exploded.

At the time of the fire, the Aricell factory housed an estimated 35,000 battery cells on its second floor, where batteries were inspected and packaged.

As a lithium fire can react intensely with water, firefighters had to use dry sand to extinguish the blaze, which took several hours to get under control.

The victims were mostly foreign workers, from country’s including China and Laos.

South Korea is a leading producer of lithium batteries, which are used in many items from electric cars to laptops.

Artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant Nvidia says its revenues for the three months to the end of July more than doubled compared to a year earlier, hitting a record $30bn (£24.7bn).

However, the firm’s shares fell by more than 6% in New York after the announcement.

Nvidia has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI boom, with its stock market value soaring to more than $3tn.

The company’s shares have risen by more than 160% this year alone.

“It’s less about just beating estimates now, markets expect them to be shattered and it’s the scale of the beat today that looks to have disappointed a touch,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

The sky-high expectations are driven by its valuation, which has surged ninefold in value in under two years thanks to its dominance of the AI chip market.

Profits for the period soared, with operating income rising 174% from the same time last year to $18.6bn.

It was the seventh quarter in a row that Nvidia had beaten analysts’ expectations on both sales and profits.

“Generative AI will revolutionise every industry,” said Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang.

The results have become a quarterly event which sends Wall Street into a frenzy of buying and selling shares.

A “watch party” had been planned in Manhattan, according to the Wall Street Journal, while Mr Huang, famed for his signature leather jacket, has been dubbed the “Taylor Swift of tech”.

Alvin Nguyen, senior analyst at Forrester, told the BBC both Nvidia and Mr Huang have become the “face of AI”.

This has helped the company so far, but it could also hurt its valuation if AI fails to deliver after firms have invested billions of dollars in the technology, Mr Nguyen said.

“A thousand use cases for AI is not enough. You need a million.”

Mr Nguyen also said Nvidia’s first-mover advantage means it has market-leading products, which its customers have spent decades using and has a “software ecosystem”.

He said that rivals, such as Intel, could “chip away” at Nvidia’s market share if they developed a better product, though he said this would take time.

It may be an innocent enough racquet sport, but Hong Kong’s Education Bureau has unintentionally given badminton a whole new meaning.

In teaching materials it released last week, a module titled adolescents and intimate relationships for Secondary Year 3, suggested that teenagers who wanted to have sex with each other could “go out to play badminton together” instead.

The materials also include a form called “My Commitment” aimed at getting “young lovers” to attest that they would exercise “self-discipline, self-control, and resistance to pornography”.

The new materials have raised eyebrows and attracted criticism for being “out of touch”. But officials have defended the decision.

Meanwhile social media has been flooded with jokes centered around “playing badminton”.

“FWB [Friends with benefits]?? Friends with badminton,” read one comment on Instagram that had more than 1,000 likes.

“In English: Netflix and chill? In Cantonese, play badminton together?” read a Facebook post which was shared more than 500 times.

Even Olympics badminton player Tse Ying Suet could not resist a comment.

“Everyone is making an appointment to play badminton. Is everyone really into badminton?” she asked on Threads with a smirking face emoji.

For some people it was also about the practicalities.

Local lawmaker Doreen Kong said the documents showed that the education bureau did not understand young people. She specifically criticised the badminton suggestion as unrealistic.

“How could they borrow a badminton racket on the spot if it happens?” She asked.

To Thomas Tang, who is an amateur badminton player, the jokes and sudden increased interest in the sport have made it slightly embarrassing for players like him.

“In the past this was just a healthy sport, but now if you ask people to play badminton they make a lot of jokes,” he said, adding that the irony was that badminton was actually a good way for guys to meet girls.

The Education Bureau documents also told teachers that one of the objectives of the module was to help students master ways of coping with sexual fantasies and impulses, and the module was not created to encourage them to start dating or engaging in sexual behaviour.

Some suggested discussion activities in the documents include advising students to “dress appropriately to present a healthy image and to avoid visual stimulation from sexy clothing”, and “firmly refuse sex before marriage” if they are unable to cope with the “consequences of premarital sex”.

Education Secretary Christine Choi has stood firm in the face of all the criticism.

“We wish to protect the teenagers,” she said while defending the documents in an interview on Sunday, adding that it is illegal to have sex with an underage person.

She has received support from the city’s leader John Lee, who said that while there could be different opinions on education, the government plays a “leading role in determining the kind of society it aims to build”.

But to Henry Chan, a father of a 13-year-old girl and 10-year-old boy, these efforts are ridiculous.

“The Hong Kong government is always out of touch. They are making a fool of themselves,” he said.

“My wife and I will probably do that [sex education] ourselves. That’s not something I would count on schools and the government to do.”

Allegations. Resignations. Police complaints.

These words have been dominating headlines and shaking up a bustling film industry in the southern Indian state of Kerala since last week.

The state has been witnessing a flurry of sexual abuse allegations against some top male stars since a landmark report that looked into problems faced by women in the industry was released last week.

The industry, which makes around 150-200 Malayalam-language films a year, is a vital, vibrant business that has made some of the most critically acclaimed and progressive cinema emerging from India.

But the 290-page report by a three-member panel – called the Hema committee – detailed the problems faced by women in Malayalam cinema, including poor working conditions and rampant sexual harassment. Parts of the report have been redacted to hide the identities of the survivors as well as those accused of harassment.

• The Hema committee report slams Kerala’s film industry

Since its release, a number of women – some of whom have now given up acting – have publicly spoken about facing sexual assault and harassment in the industry.

More than a dozen police complaints have been filed against some male stars, two of whom have also filed counter-complaints.

The shake-up has been so huge that the entire top governing body of the state’s biggest film group – the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) – was dissolved after its president, superstar Mohanlal, resigned on “moral grounds” after some members faced accusations.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg. Only a few have spoken up till now. More serious issues may emerge,’’ actor Mala Parvathy told BBC Hindi.

The reactions to the first-of-its-kind report are being closely watched by people in India’s many film industries, including Bollywood. During the #MeToo movement, several women had made sexual harassment allegations against actors and filmmakers in different states but few of these have been investigated.

• Indian actress breaks silence on sexual assault

The government set up the Hema committee, headed by a former judge of the Kerala High Court, in 2017 in the aftermath of the shocking sexual assault on a leading actress. One of Kerala’s biggest actors, Dileep, was named by police as an accused and charged with criminal conspiracy. He has denied the charges, but was arrested and held in custody for three months before being released on bail. The case is still being heard in court.

After the release of the report, the first public allegation came from Bengali actress Sreelekha Mitra, who accused well-known director Ranjith of sexually harassing her a few years ago. He has denied this but resigned as chairman of the state’s prestigious motion picture academy. Mitra has filed a police complaint.

Many of the other complaints echo some of the revelations made by unnamed women in the Hema committee report that they were repeatedly asked to “compromise” and “adjust” in exchange for opportunities.

Minu Muneer told BBC Hindi as well as several other news channels that an actor had hugged and kissed her without her consent while they were shooting a film. She has also detailed instances of sexual misconduct by others in the industry, including prominent actor and lawmaker Mukesh.

Mukesh has denied the allegations against him and accused Muneer of trying to blackmail him.

“I welcome any investigation into allegations made against me and others in the film industry,” he wrote in a Facebook post.

Two actresses have accused a director of knocking on the doors of their hotel rooms in the middle of the night. He has not responded to the allegation.

One actress has accused well-known actor Siddique of raping her in 2016 and filed a police complaint against him. Siddique, who resigned as AMMA general secretary after the accusation, has denied this and accused the complainant of trying to “tarnish his reputation”.

While the Kerala government had been praised for being the first to set up such a committee, the report’s release has also put it on the back foot.

The report, which was submitted in 2019, was released only last week after nearly five years of delay and multiple legal challenges by members of the film industry. The government then said that while it would investigate all complaints filed before the police, it would not take up any cases on its own. But as pressure mounted, it has set up a special team to investigate complaints.

The Kerala High Court has also asked the government to submit the entire report – including the 54 redacted pages – to it.

Within the Malayalam film industry, reactions to the report have been mixed. Superstars such as Mohanlal and Mammotty have been criticised for not making a public comment yet.

Some actors have welcomed the release of the report and called for the government to launch a proper investigation into the allegations. A prominent film employees’ federation has asked the government to disclose the names of those accused in the report.

Others have lamented that the report is being used to brand all men in the industry as abusers.

But many have also argued that the report and the subsequent shake-up are positive, much-needed changes in an industry often celebrated for making progressive films.

“I am not ok with people saying, ‘Malayalam industry is so rotten inside’. No, we are good inside, which is why we are fixing it,” actress Parvathy Thiruvothu, a founding member of the Women in Cinema Collective, an organisation formed in the aftermath of the 2017 assault, told a news channel.

It was the industries “you don’t hear anything about” that people should be “worried about”, she added.

A powerful typhoon has made landfall in Japan, with three people already confirmed dead.

Shanshan landed in Kagoshima prefecture, in the southern island of Kyushu, at around 08:00 local time (23:00 GMT), the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.

The agency has issued its rare “special warning” for the most violent storms, warning of landslides, flooding and large-scale damage. High winds of up to 252 km/h (157mph) have been reported on the island.

A couple in their 70s and a man in his 30s have died. Both were part of a family of five whose home in Gamagori in central Japan was swept away late on Tuesday, prior to the typhoon’s landfall.

Their other two family members – two women in their 40s – were rescued after all-night recovery efforts, local broadcaster NHK reported.

As much as 600mm of rain over 24 hours has been forecast in some areas of Kyushu, home to 12.5 million people.

Some 255,00 houses are now without power, the island’s utility operator said.

Videos online show large trees swaying, tiles blown off houses, and debris being thrown into the air as heavy rains lashed the island.

At least 39 people have been injured in Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures, NHK said.

Major carmakers like Toyota and Nissan shut down their plants on Thursday, citing the safety of its employees as well as potential parts shortages caused by the storm.

Hundreds of flights to and from southern Japan have been cancelled. Some high-speed train services have also been suspended.

Earlier this week, local governments issued evacuation advisories to 810,000 people in the central Shizuoka prefecture on Japan’s main island of Honshu.

A further 56,000 were told to leave their home in Kagoshima on Kyushu, the fire and disaster management agency said.

JMA expects the storm to approach Japan’s central and eastern regions, including the capital Tokyo, around the weekend.

Special typhoon warnings, like the one issued for Shanshan, are declared in Japan in cases of extraordinarily powerful storms. The same warning was issued in September 2022 as Typhoon Nanmadol approached Kyushu – the first such warning declared for a region other than Okinawa.

Shanshan comes in the wake of Typhoon Ampil earlier this month, which caused only minor injuries and damage but still disrupted hundreds of flights and trains.

Before that, northern parts of Japan saw record rainfall when Tropical Storm Maria hit Honshu island.

Typhoons in the region have been forming closer to coastlines, intensifying more rapidly and lasting longer over land due to climate change, according to a study released last month.

South Korean singer Taeil has left the K-pop band NCT after being accused of an unspecified sexual crime, his label announced on Wednesday.

The 30-year-old’s agency, SM Entertainment, released a statement on X, saying the NCT member will depart from the boy band after learning he has been “accused in a criminal case related to a sexual crime”.

The label did not specify the nature of the alleged crime but said it “recognised the seriousness of the situation” and decided Taeil, whose legal name is Moon Tae-il, can no longer “continue his activities with the team”.

Taeil has not publicly commented on the allegations.

SM Entertainment added that he is fully cooperating with the police investigation.

“We will provide further statements as the investigation progresses,” the statement, which was posted in Korean and translated by Associated Press, said.

The Bangbae Police Station in Seoul announced it was investigating Taeil in relation to a sexual crime, according to South Korean media.

The BBC was unable to reach police for comment.

Taeil was part of NCT, or Neo Culture Technology, a globally popular South Korean boy band that debuted in 2016.

The group currently has over two dozen members divided into several subunits, including NCT 127, NCT Dream, and NCT Wish.

Taeil was recently active in NCT 127.

On 15 August last year, Taeil got into a car accident in downtown Seoul, in South Korea, while travelling on his motorcycle.

He temporarily suspended his schedules to focus on treatment and recovery.

Known for experimental music spanning various genres, NCT has gained international attention with some releases charting on Billboard lists.

K-pop originated from South Korea and is an amalgamation of pop, R&B and hip-hop.

It has grown into a global phenomenon, particularly after the success of the boy band BTS in the late 2010s.

Passengers on a round-the-world cruise have been left stranded in Belfast for three months after their voyage was beset by delays.

Villa Vie Residences’ Odyssey arrived at Queen’s Island in the Northern Ireland capital to be outfitted before it was scheduled to leave on 30 May for the first leg of a three-year cruise.

But the ship has still not left yet thanks to problems with its rudders and gearbox.

Florida resident Holly Hennessey is among those on board to have “hunkered down” and made the city their unexpected home.

Travelling with her cat, Captain, has meant the self-proclaimed “cruise addict” has been unable to leave Belfast while waiting for the ship to be ready.

Passengers are allowed to spend time on the ship during the day, but must disembark in the evenings.

“We can spend all day aboard the ship, and they provide shuttle buses to get on and off,” Ms Hennessey said.

“We can have all of our meals and they even have movies and trivia entertainment, almost like cruising except we’re at the dock.”

Despite enjoying the sights, the damp weather has been a shock for the US native.

“I’ve never had so much use for my umbrella in my life, and I carry my raincoat everywhere I go.”

Passengers on the cruise were given the option of buying their cabin outright rather than paying a daily rate for their room like a traditional hotel.

It allows them to remain onboard beyond the Villa Vie Residences’ Odyssey’s initial three-year tour.

“I want to stay just as long as I am able,” she said. “I have always wanted to live on a ship, and it will be a dream come true for me.”

Villa Vie Residences’ website states that the cost of buying a cabin can range from $99,999 to $899,000.

Ms Hennessey’s cabin has space for a double bed, small living area with room for the cat and a balcony.

“Villa Vie is a community and a real community has pets,” she said.

The company says they are trying to do everything they can to “relieve the anxiety” of passengers by planning trips and other cruises or putting them up in hotels.

Angela and Stephen Theriac lived in Nicaragua and have made the most of their wait.

Since May they have travelled by train around Spain, taken weekend trips to England, and visited Greenland.

“We are travellers, and we want to make the most of the place we are in,” said Ms Theriac.

“We keep teasing we will apply for residency here in Belfast.”

Her husband Stephen says they have settled in with the locals.

“We have eaten in every restaurant and had a Guinness in every pub,” he said.

“It is just all part of our adventure.”

Dr David Austin, from Georgia in the United States, says he has “stopped counting down” the days until the ship launches.

“The payoff of seeing the world in this fashion is too great to feel too disappointed with each delay announcement,” he said.

“I was committed, having sold my house right before my arrival, and I’ve stayed committed to this adventure with every delay.”

CEO Mike Petterson said that he expects the ship to launch by the end of next week.

“We’re not focused on the next days or weeks, we are focused on the rest of our lives and what this company will do for the residents and the industry,” he said.

Mr Petterson explained that Villa Vie Residences’ Odyssey is the first “affordable” residential cruise ship.

“When you’re the first at doing something, you will run into hiccups, but we’re definitely getting there, and although we are late, we will launch,” he added.

Miserable winter weather, snow on Table Mountain and gale force winds have not dampened Cape Town residents’ enthusiasm for free medical care being offered on a Chinese ship, currently docked in the South African city’s harbour.

A financial crisis in one of Africa’s biggest and most developed economies has left public services underfunded, and many people say they cannot afford private healthcare because of soaring prices.

It comes months after the government signed into law a controversial new health scheme, which aims to provide universal healthcare for all, but is facing threats of legal challenges.

Since China’s so-called Peace Ark arrived last week, more than 2,000 South Africans have been treated on board – ranging from maternity check-ups and cataract surgeries to cupping therapy.

China enjoys a strong political partnership with South Africa, and this is Beijing’s latest show of soft power.

• Why China performs joint military exercises with South Africa
• Why South Africa’s health insurance is causing ructions

Lucy Mnyani told local media she was happy to see images of her unborn child for the first time: “I had been going to the day hospitals in Gugulethu and Langa [townships] and they never sent me for a CT scan.”

Another person who queued up, Joseph Williams, told national broadcaster SABC: “When you go the local clinic you sit for hours and hours before they help you, depending on your condition.

“Here the service was very quick so I’m grateful that I came. I actually got the results for what I came for.”

Officials say the ship has a capacity of 700 patients each day and the service forms part of a joint exercise between the South African and Chinese armies. The ship has 100 people on board with 300 beds, 20 intensive care beds, operating theatres, clinical departments and even a rescue helicopter.

The Peace Ark’s first two days saw pre-selected people being offered treatment before it was extended to the general public on Monday.

“We arranged with the night shelters to provide a service for people who live on the streets of Cape Town because they don’t have access to any healthcare,” Saadiq Kariem, head of Western Cape’s Health Department, told the BBC.

He added that elderly people living in care homes had also been brought in for medical care, and Western Cape health staff were offered wellness visits.

“From registering to completing my care took me an hour,” said Dr Kariem, who himself went for a medical check-up and joined the queue as an ordinary citizen.

“It’s something that would take much longer at our public healthcare facilities because you have many more people requiring services.”

A total of 57 surgeries have been carried out so far, a tiny dent in the province’s waiting list of 80,000 patients.

And this is in Western Cape province, which arguably has one of the best health systems in the country.

“These have been mostly orthopaedic, cataract and a few tubal ligation surgeries for women who no longer wish to fall pregnant,” Dr Kariem said.

The popularity of the Peace Ark is telling, said Dr Shuaib Manjra, chairperson of the Health Justice Initiative: “It shows the public health system in the province and in the country is not serving the people as it should.

“Often you find people spending an entire day at a clinic waiting to be seen. There are major backlogs at hospitals, budgets and posts are being cut, and often this results in people missing out on up to two days of work after waiting to be seen for a simple procedure,” he told the BBC.

The African National Congress (ANC) says its National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme will be a huge improvement as all services at both public and private facilities will be free at the point of care – paid out of a central fund.

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has insisted it will still be implemented despite the party losing its parliamentary majority in May, and going into coalition with parties like the Democratic Alliance (DA) that oppose some aspects of the scheme.

It will cause a massive shake-up of the health sector, but critics fear it could prompt an exodus of health professionals to find employment abroad.

The scheme is being vociferously opposed by private health companies as it bars people from taking out private health insurance for treatment.

At the moment about 14% of the population have private medical care, with the remaining 86% relying on overburdened state clinics and hospitals.

Last week, Business Unity South Africa and the South African Medical Association refused to sign what is known as the “health compact” – an annual agreement with the president that sets out how various sectors are to address health challenges in the coming year.

The two organisations – which between them represent private businesses and 12,000 doctors – are angry about the NHI in its current form, feeling it has been forced upon them.

Dr Manjra said the NHI was a “noble idea” but he understood the reservations.

“Our history of corruption and incompetence will potentially destroy the entire health sector. There’s an estimate that in some cases up to a third of the health budget is lost through corruption.”

Dealing with these issues within the public health sector should be the priority, he said.

Siphiwe Dlamini, spokesman for the South African army, told the BBC the response to the Peace Ark had been overwhelming with good feedback about “the attention and care received”.

The floating hospital leaves Cape Town on Thursday for Angola before moving on to several other countries. It has already visited the Seychelles, Tanzania, Madagascar and Mozambique – on this its 10th excursion since being commissioned in 2008.

The initiative is seen as a further step in China’s efforts to increase its influence on the African continent.

Over the past two decades its trade with Africa has grown steadily, while Beijing has also been increasingly involved in the construction sector – including building large sports stadiums in several parts of the continent.

• South Africa opposition in turmoil as Malema’s deputy jumps ship
• South Africa’s ‘favourite teacher’ dies aged 85
• Woman switches to Miss Universe Nigeria after Miss SA row
• Last elephant at South African zoo freed after 40 years

A former Nevada politician has been found guilty of first degree murder for the death of a journalist who wrote critical stories about his time in office.

Robert Telles, 47, has been jailed since 2022 for the stabbing of Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative journalist Jeff German.

During trial, prosecutors presented the jury with DNA evidence found under Mr German’s fingernails that they said belonged to Telles – who had pleaded not guilty.

A jury of 12 returned a guilty verdict on Wednesday, after deliberating for two days. Several hours later, the same jury sentenced Telles to life in prison.

Telles, who was elected Clark County public administrator in 2018, sat blank faced in court on Wednesday as the judge called in the jury.

He then bowed his head as the guilty verdict was read.

“The jury unanimously finds the murder willful, deliberate and premeditated,” juror number two told the court.

Telles was given a life sentence in a separate hearing later on Wednesday. He is eligible for parole after he serves 20 years in prison.

The seven women and five men that composed the jury deliberated for roughly 12 hours, beginning on Monday, before the panel reached its conclusion.

The trial had stretched across two weeks.

Testimony in court came from dozens of witnesses, including detectives, forensic experts, those who knew the ex-politician, and Telles himself.

He alleged that he had been framed.

“This thing has been kind of a nightmare,” he said about a week into the trial. “I want to say unequivocally – I’m innocent. I didn’t kill Mr German.”

In September 2022, Mr German, 69, was found after he had been stabbed seven times in the neck and torso outside his Nevada home.

Prosecutors accused Telles of killing Mr German over unflattering articles the journalist had written about his behaviour as an elected official.

One alleged that Telles had an “inappropriate” relationship with a member of his staff, and several others alleged hostile behaviour in his Las Vegas office.

Telles, a Democrat, lost his primary for a second term as public administrator in 2022 after Mr German’s stories were published in the Las Vegas Review-Journal ahead of the election.

Security footage recovered by police and shown to the jury caught Mr German’s assailant wearing a large, straw hat and sneakers outside the journalist’s home.

Authorities later found the remnants of similar items at Telles’s house, though they had been cut up.

The prosecution alleged that it was Telles who had appeared in the security video, claiming that he had hid in the bushes outside Mr German’s house and then attempted to dispose of evidence.

Telles’s defense attorneys argued that the shredded evidence had been planted at the ex-politician’s home as part of an effort to frame their client. They disputed that Mr German’s articles were “a motive for a murder”.

But prosecutors shared the DNA evidence, a timeline and video of Telles’s SUV driving on the streets near Mr German’s home just before his murder. The driver of the car is wearing an outfit similar to the one worn by the person seen in the security footage.

Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom on Wednesday, Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson celebrated the jury’s decision.

“The jury hit the ball out of the park this time,” he said. “They hit a home run by getting the right verdict.”

A veteran reporter, Mr German had spent more than four decades covering the city and corruption.

He had one more article to publish about Telles at the time of his death.

Glenn Cook, the executive editor of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, issued a statement that said the “jury delivered a measure of justice” for Mr German with its verdict.

“Jeff (German) was killed for doing the kind of work in which he took great pride: His reporting held an elected official accountable for bad behavior and empowered voters to choose someone else for the job.”

Canadian serial killer Jeremy Skibicki has been given four life sentences for the 2022 murders of four Indigenous women in Winnipeg.

He showed no reaction as the sentence was read, and was emotionless as family members of victims delivered angry impact statements in court on Wednesday.

Prosecutors argued that Skibicki, 37, killed four women in 2022 in calculated and racially motivated crimes.

He had pleaded not guilty due to mental disorder.

The murders and subsequent trial sent shockwaves through Canada’s Indigenous community, which has long grappled with cases of violence against women.

The victims are Morgan Harris, 39, Marcedes Myran, 26 and Rebecca Contois, who was 24. The fourth woman has yet to be identified, and was given the name Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, meaning Buffalo Woman, by Indigenous elders.

Throughout the trial, a buffalo head sat on a red cloth on a table near the prosecutors in tribute to the still unidentified victim.

The remains of two victims are believed to still be in a landfill in Winnipeg. A formal search has been set for this autumn, after months of pressure from their families.

According to court documents, Skibicki killed the women between March and May of 2022, with Ms Contois believed to be the final victim.

He met at least two at local homeless shelters in Winnipeg, a city of 820,000 in the Prairie Province.

Over the course of the trial, the court heard that Skibicki had assaulted the women, strangled or drowned them, and then committed sex acts on them before dismembering their bodies and disposing of them in trash bins.

The killings went undetected for months, until a man looking for scrap metal in a bin outside Skibicki’s apartment found partial human remains in May 2022 and called police.

The murderer shocked police by confessing to three other murders while he was being interrogated for Ms Contois’ death.

Skibicki’s lawyers tried to argue that he was not aware of the severity of his actions due to delusions driven by schizophrenia. They argued he was hearing voices that told him to commit the crimes as part of a mission from God.

He is not eligible for parole for at least 25 years, when he is at least 60.

“Make no mistake Mr Skibicki, because of the current state of the law, the only available sentence that I can impose today will regrettably not adequately reflect the gravity of these offences,” said Judge Glen Joyal.

The women, the judge said, “were preyed upon and targeted by a white supremacist who was acting upon his homicidal necrophilia”.

Multiple family members and representatives from First Nation communities delivered impact statements to the court.

“The heinous crimes committed by Mr Skibicki have left a deep scar on First Nations people and the reverberations of his actions will be felt for generations,” said Grand Chief Cathy Merrick of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs.

“Despite the overwhelming challenges, the community remains resilient.”

A new flashpoint has emerged in the ongoing maritime dispute between China and the Philippines, with both countries clashing over yet another spot in the South China Sea.

Both China and the Philippines have staked their claims on various islands and zones in the Sea – their dispute increasingly escalating over the years with more vessel collisions, scuffles, and allegations of armed threats.

But last week, things came to a head when Beijing and Manila’s vessels collided near the Sabina Shoal- both accusing the other of ramming them on purpose.

The shoal, claimed by China as Xianbin Jiao and as Escoda Shoal by the Philippines, is located some 75 nautical miles from the Philippines’ west coast and 630 nautical miles from China.

On 19 August, several Chinese and Philippine vessels collided near the shoal in the disputed Spratly Islands – an area rich in oil and gas, which has been claimed by both countries for years.

The Chinese coast guard said that the Philippine vessel “deliberately collided” into them, while the Philippines said the Chinese vessels were conducting “aggressive manoeuvres”.

A second round of collisions took place on Sunday, with both sides once again blaming each other. Several other countries including the UK, Japan, Australia and South Korea, as well as the EU, have criticised China’s actions.

On Monday, the Philippines said 40 Chinese ships prevented two of their boats from conducting a “humanitarian mission” to restock the Teresa Magbuana, a Philippine coast guard ship deployed months earlier to the shoal.

The Philippines suspects China is attempting to reclaim land at Sabina Shoal. It has pointed to underwater mounds of crushed coral on Sabina’s sandbars, which its coast guard filmed, saying Beijing is using that material to expand the shoal. Chinese state media has called such accusations “groundless”.

Authorities sent the Teresa Magbuana to Sabina in April as part of a prolonged presence they plan to maintain at the shoal. Manila sees it as key to their efforts to explore the Spratlys for oil and gas.

China meanwhile sees the presence of the Teresa Magbuana as evidence of the Philippines’ intentions to occupy the shoal.

A recent commentary by Chinese state news outlet Xinhua pointed to a decrepit World War Two era ship grounded by the Philippines in 1999 on the Second Thomas Shoal, known in Chinese as the Ren’ai Jiao.

A handful of soldiers are still stationed there and require regular rations. For years, the ship has been a source of constant friction between both countries, with China routinely attempting to block re-supply missions to the ship.

“25 years on, it is still there. Clearly, the Philippines is attempting to repeat this scenario at Xianbin Jiao,” said the commentary.

“China will never be deceived by the Philippines again.”

There has been a string of dangerous encounters in recent months as the two sides sought to enforce their claims on disputed reefs and outcrops, including the Second Thomas Shoal and the Scarborough Shoal.

The collisions usually arise from the cat-and-mouse games the boats engage in, as they attempt to chase the other side away.

China has increasingly blasted powerful water cannon and lasers at Philippine ships, with the Filipinos also accusing the Chinese of boarding their boats, leading to scuffles, as well as confiscating items and puncturing their inflatable vessels.

One of the latest accusations from Manila was that Chinese coast guard personnel armed with knives, spears and swords boarded one of their military ships and threatened their soldiers.

“We are struggling against a more powerful adversary,” the Philippines defence chief Gilberto Teodoro said on Tuesday, while appealing to the international community to issue “a strong call-out against China”.

So far there have been no fatalities, though the Philippines says several of its soldiers have sustained injuries. But President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has warned that any Filipino deaths resulting from China’s actions would be considered an “act of war”.

Observers worry their dispute could eventually spark a larger confrontation in the South China Sea.

A previous attempt by the Philippines to get the United Nations to arbitrate ended with the decision that China had no lawful claims within its so-called nine dash line, the boundary it uses to claim a large swathe of the South China Sea. Beijing has refused to recognise the ruling.

But in recent weeks both countries have made an attempt to de-escalate the immediate conflicts out at sea.

Last month they agreed to allow the Philippines to restock the outpost in the Second Thomas Shoal with food, supplies and personnel. Since then this has taken place with no reported clashes.

The incidents at Sabina Shoal however raise the question of whether such attempts at de-escalation are effective when the dispute can simply shift to a new site.

A manatee and its calf drift underwater in Hunter Springs, Florida.

An algal bloom in the area had caused a decline in the eelgrass beds that provide them with food, but the local community restored the habitat, resulting in more manatees being recorded than ever before.

The photo taken by Dr Jason Gulley, who is also a geologist, is among several highly commended in this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

The competition’s winning photographs will be announced on 8 October, followed by an exhibition at the Natural History Museum, showcasing 100 photographs.

Scroll down to hear more from Jason and see some of the other highly commended photographs.

Jason told the BBC in an interview that he doesn’t normally take photos for competitions.

Manatees are large aquatic mammals commonly known as sea cows.

All three manatee species are listed as vulnerable to extinction due to a variety of threats including boat collisions, hunting and habitat destruction.

“The first time I got into the water with manatees, I saw them being super playful with each other. They were curious and inquisitive,” he said.

“There was one manatee that became super curious about me, and he would leave the other group of manatees and walk on his flippers, and he’d get about halfway towards me and then run back to the group on his flippers.

“A couple of minutes later, he’d come just a little bit closer and then go back, and it just reminded me of experiences like at a dog park.”

“I’ve never seen photographs that capture this behaviour,” Jason said. “I went in to get a few pictures for a project on environmental impacts and conservation, but I got obsessed.”

Sasha had been watching these tawny owlets for several days in a park near his home. He had seen tawny owls in the neighbourhood before but was surprised to discover these so close to the heart of the city.

Highly Commended, 10 Years and Under

Location: Maximiliansanlagen, Munich, Germany

Jose saw this stoat jump mid-air as an “expression of exuberance” as the small mammal hurled itself around in a fresh snowfall.

Highly Commended, Behaviour: Mammals

Location: Athose, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France

The radio alerted Ian that a jaguar had been spotted prowling a tributary of the São Lourenço river. Kneeling in the boat, he was in the perfect position when the cat delivered the skull-crushing bite to the unsuspecting yacare caiman.

Highly Commended, Behaviour: Mammals

Location: Pantanal, Mato Grosso, Brazil

During Chinese New Year, Xingchao tracked a group of Pallas’s cats on the frozen plateau of Inner Mongolia. Before dawn, Xingchao made eye contact with this cat, just as it caught a bird.

Category – Highly Commended, Behaviour: Mammals

Location: Hulun Buir, Inner Mongolia, China

As Lam Soon Tak explored the highlands of Malaysia, he came across this spider, Heteropoda davidbowie, named in 2008 by arachnologist and Bowie fan Dr Peter Jägerthe. Perched on broken branches beside a river, its orange body stood out against the lush green moss.

Highly Commended, Behaviour: Invertebrates

Location: Cameron Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia

A standout moment on Tamara’s nine-week expedition in Antarctica’s Weddell Sea was when two seals bobbed up to the surface to take a deeper breath after falling asleep alongside the ship.

Highly Commended, Animals in their Environment

Location: Weddell Sea, Antarctica

Mussels bind themselves to rocks or other mussels on the ocean floor using their hair-like ‘beards’, also called byssal threads. Theo likes to take pictures of species that are not considered beautiful or important, to highlight their unappreciated significance.

Highly Commended, Animals in their Environment

Location: Praia da Ursa, Sintra, Portugal

Thomas used his drone to capture this image, which is a stitched panorama of 26 individual frames, to provide a spectacular view of meltwater plunging over the edge of the Bråsvellbreen glacierglacier.

Highly Commended, Oceans: The Bigger Picture

Location: Svalbard, Norway

On the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise, Tommy photographed a requiem shark, its body arched in a final act of resistance. He was on a research expedition to document bycatch or accidental capture of sharks by tuna and swordfish fishing boats.

Highly Commended, Oceans: The Bigger Picture

Location: International waters, South Atlantic Ocean

Shreyovi spotted the two Indian peafowl while walking in the forest with her parents.

Runner-Up, 10 Years and Under.

Location: Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan, India

All photos subject to copyright.

You can see Highly Commended photographs from all of the categories at the Natural History Museum website.

Jake Sullivan has been welcomed to China on his first visit as US national security adviser. He will hold talks with Foreign Minister Wang Yi as the two countries try to stabilise relations.

Mr Sullivan and Mr Wang have met four times over 16 months in Vienna, Malta, Washington and Bangkok. Their last meeting in January was shortly after a high-stakes summit between Presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden that sought to reset frosty ties.

This week’s talks – scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday – signal that China is still a priority for the Biden administration, even as the retiring president enters his final months in office.

Both Mr Sullivan and Mr Wang have already acknowledged a need to find common ground after disagreements between their nations.

Could another presidential summit be on the cards?

The White House is trying not to explicitly link Mr Sullivan’s trip to the US presidential election. But it’s hard to ignore the timing.

If Mr Sullivan is able to lay the groundwork for a final Biden-Xi summit, his trip would tie up the ends of the US president’s most consequential – and fraught – foreign policy relationship.

US and Chinese diplomats always acknowledge that talks between Washington and Beijing are never easy. And there is a lot to talk about.

With the unexpected turn the US election has taken with Biden bowing out in favour of Kamala Harris, China is watching closely for what the next presidency might have in store.

Donald Trump has made it clear he will raise tariffs further on Chinese goods, potentially deepening the trade war he kicked off in 2019.

While Mr Biden’s administration saw merit in diplomacy, he didn’t reverse Trump-era tariffs and has added more – in May he announced steep duties on Chinese-made electric cars, solar panels, and steel.

Mr Biden has also strengthened alliances across Asia to combat China’s rising influence and beefed up Washington’s military presence – which, in turn, has rattled Beijing.

So far, the Harris campaign has not given many clues about how she plans to manage the relationship with China.

And the White House has made clear that Mr Sullivan’s visit is meant to continue the work of the Biden administration, rather than set the tone for the next president.

But China is likely looking ahead anyway.

Beijing will use this opportunity with Mr Sullivan to clarify its own priorities. It will hope that all parties in America are listening – China’s ministry of foreign affairs has described this as a “critical juncture” between the world’s two biggest economies.

For China, the red line is and always will be Taiwan. It claims the self-governing island and has repeatedly said it will not tolerate any signs that Washington is encouraging Taiwanese independence.

High-profile diplomatic visits, such as a controversial one by then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2022, or recognition of Taiwan’s elections or its elected leaders, fall into that category.

Chinese state media has said Beijing will focus on expressing grave concerns, stating its position, and making serious demands on matters such as the “Taiwan question”.

China will also have some strong words for Mr Sullivan on trade. Beijing has described US tariffs on Chinese goods as “unreasonable” and has urged Washington to “stop politicising and securitising economic and trade issues” and “take more measures to facilitate people-to-people exchanges between the two countries”.

When he came to power, Mr Biden wanted to set ties with China on an even keel after what he saw as the chaos and unpredictability of the Trump White House.

His administration has wanted to “responsibly manage” rivalry with Beijing; to demonstrate American power and competition with China through stealth not bravado.

But that strategy has been upended amid the turbulence of events.

Last year, crisis engulfed the direct relationship when an American fighter jet shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon over US territory.

The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have further sharpened the tone.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Beijing in April with a warning – Washington would act if China did not stop supplying Russia with microchips and machine parts to build weapons used in its war in Ukraine.

He accused his Chinese counterparts of “helping to fuel the biggest threat” to European security since the Cold War.

His warning materialised with a raft of sanctions on Chinese firms over their alleged support of the Russian military.

This is a tricky subject that China keeps trying to bat away, but Washington is insistent, and Mr Sullivan is likely to bring it up again.

China’s increasing assertiveness in Asia has also made the US wary of the impact of those ties further afield – particularly with Iran, which allies itself with Moscow and also arms Israel’s adversaries.

Finally, in America, there is the devastating domestic impact of Chinese-manufactured “pre-cursor” chemicals to make synthetic opioids like fentanyl, overdoses of which are killing more Americans than ever and the crisis has laid waste to entire towns.

Last year’s summit between Mr Biden and Mr Xi in San Fransisco was meant to make progress on these issues.

Since then, despite the tariffs and the stern rhetoric, Washington and Beijing have acknowledged their differences – and reports of the two sides striking a deal on curbing fentanyl production are a good sign.

In April, when the BBC accompanied US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on his visit to Shanghai and Beijing, the public elements of some of his meetings with senior Chinese officials felt like a steely stand-off.

It was a show of diplomatic strength meant for each side’s domestic audience. And this will undoubtedly be a part of Mr Sullivan’s trip too, as he tries to bolster Mr Biden’s diplomacy in the waning months of his presidency.

But these meetings serve another fundamental purpose – face-to-face time between two rival, inter-dependent economies as they battle mutual distrust and try to probe each other’s real intentions.

It seems that Jake Sullivan’s previous meetings with Wang Yi have quietly laid the groundwork for what both sides call “stable relations”.

In a recent speech at the Council of Foreign Relations in Washington, Mr Sullivan said that he and Mr Wang had “increasingly gotten to the point of setting aside the talking points and really having strategic conversations”.

He described the character of those conversations as “direct”, including one on the war in Ukraine.

“Both of us left feeling that we didn’t agree or see eye-to-eye on everything but that there was a lot of work to carry forward.”

Eight weeks, hundreds of competitors across multiple events and a multi-million pound prize pot – but this wasn’t any sports tournament.

Luke Bennett is coming home from the first Esports World Cup in Saudi Arabia as a world champion.

Not only that, the 19-year-old from Bromsgrove in Worcestershire is also returning £100,000 richer after bagging the top prize in sim racing (short for simulated racing).

“It’s pretty surreal,” Luke tells BBC Newsbeat. But now he’s hoping he has a chance to make it properly real with a career in motorsport.

Luke’s part of Team Redline – an offshoot of Red Bull’s F1 team which boasts Belgian-Dutch racing driver Max Verstappen among its alumni.

“It’s just like racing a car in real life,” Luke says of sim racing. “But on a computer.”

The team was founded more than 20 years ago but Luke says people are still surprised when he talks about what he does.

He says people are shocked when he tells them about the prize money involved.

“It shows it’s getting bigger and bigger and it can be a career for some people.”

Team Redline dominated at the Esports World Cup, never finishing outside of the top four once in the grand finals of the tournament.

“It’s been a rough few months,” says Luke. “Every day – practice, practice, practice.

“All that weight has been lifted off our shoulders now.”

Luke isn’t just fast on the virtual track. He says his career is moving at top speed as well.

“I started driving with just a £100 steering wheel on the desk and having a bit of fun,” he says.

Not long after, fellow competitors noticed his potential and his parents helped him buy a better simulator.

“That’s when things really took off,” he says.

“I joined Team Redline and after that it’s just been up and up and up until this point right now.”

Esports tournaments are still “quite niche and quite new,” he says.

“It’s not been long since all this prize money started coming through and all these big competitions started so there’s not many stories of people going all the way.”

In that sense, he’s a pioneer, admitting “the future is a bit uncertain” for esports champions.

But as uncertain as it might be, the industry received another boost last month when it was announced from next year there would also be an Olympic Esports Games.

Like the Esports World Cup, the Games will be held in Saudi Arabia as part of a 12-year partnership between the Kingdom and the International Olympics Committee.

Before the World Cup, players, streamers and fans were divided by the decision for it to be hosted in the Arab country – which also funded the prize pot – due to its record on human rights.

Homosexuality is illegal in Saudi Arabia and it has faced criticism over its stance on LGBT relationships as well as lack of rights for women.

Critics condemned it as “sportswashing” but the decision was defended by organisers who told Newsbeat no-one would face discrimination at the event.

Luke says the country was “a really cool setting” for the event and now has his eye on winning more tournaments and making it to the Olympics – something he says would be “unbelievable”.

“I think I’d find it a bit weird calling myself an Olympian because I really don’t feel like one,” he says.

“But it’s something that would be very cool.

“The dream is still the same – we may be world champions but there’s always more.

“We want to be world champions in everything, so we’ll keep going.”

And if he can be a pioneer in an online esports career, Luke sees no reason he can’t be a pioneer offline too.

“I hope one day to get into the real world of motorsport,” he says.

“I see more and more people get a way in through sim racing now, and hopefully that does happen.

“If not, I’ve got plenty of time to decide what I want to do as I’m still only 19.”

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays – or listen back here.

Can AI help restaurant owners come up with tasty new menus to tempt customers, or is this just a recipe for disaster?

“We asked [popular AI chatbot] ChatGPT to create a recipe – the best pizza for Dubai,” says Spartak Arutyunyan, who heads menu development for the city’s branch of restaurant and delivery chain Dodo Pizza.

“And it did create a recipe. We launched it, it was actually a huge hit, and it’s still on the menu.”

With 90% of Dubai’s three million people being immigrants, “there’s so many cultures here”, says Mr Arutyunyan. “Indians, Pakistanis, Filipinos, Arab people, European guys.”

He asked ChatGPT to come up with a pizza that represented that cultural mix. Its response was a topping comprising Arab shawarma chicken, Indian grilled paneer cheese, Middle Eastern Za’atar herbs, and tahini sauce.

And Dodo Pizza’s customers apparently cannot get enough of it. “As a chef, I wouldn’t mix these ingredients ever on a pizza, but still, the mix of flavours was surprisingly good,” says Mr Arutyunyan.

Yet other pizzas dreamed up by the AI did not make it to the menu, for example strawberries and pasta, and blueberries and breakfast cereal.

A world away in the US, Venecia Willis conducted a similar AI experiment at Dallas’ Velvet Taco, where she is culinary director.

She became “really curious” about AI, so she let ChatGPT loose on devising one of their tacos of the week.

For prompts, Ms Willis says she told it to “use, like, eight ingredients, and it could only select one tortilla and one protein”.

Some recipe results were rather less than moreish.

“There were some funky combinations, and I was like, I’m not really sure if red curry, coconut tofu and pineapple are going to be delicious together,” says Ms Willis.

But she made three of the recipes that looked more promising, and ultimately chose a prawns and steak taco to go on public sale. They sold 22,000 in a week.

“I think AI is a great tool to use when you’re in a bit of a creative slump, to get the brain going again – ‘that combination might actually work, let’s try it’. The AI can suggest something maybe I wouldn’t have thought of.”

But Ms Willis adds that she “wouldn’t go completely rogue with AI. There has to be a human element to validate recipes.”

Not everyone in the food trade loves the idea of AI though. London-based cocktail creator Julian de Feral says he avoids AI because it “seems very counter-intuitive”, with its choices lacking common sense.

AI chatbots are “not magic”, warns Emily Bender, a linguistics professor at the University of Washington in Seattle. She says that they have instead learned from what they have read online.

“If you can get ChatGPT to spit out something that looks like a recipe, then it’s because there are recipes on the internet.”

She adds that the AI could have grabbed the recipe from someone’s cookery blog, thereby decreasing their reader numbers, and their ability to make a living from subscriptions or advertising revenue.

However, Prof Bender does concede that in the future more sophisticated AI may be helpful in recipe creation.

She says that the AI could be asked to “categorise ingredients as sweet, or acidic, and so on”, find those that the internet says should taste good together, and then come up with endless detailed recipes. “However, you have to have a well-defined research question [to give the AI] to get that kind of benefit,” she adds.

Still, UK supermarket chain Waitrose is using AI to spot rising food trends on social media. Currently these include “smash burgers” – crispy burgers made by squashing ground beef onto a super-hot pan – and “crookies” – a croissant filled with cookie dough and chocolate chips.

“We saw smash burgers trending all over social media,” says Lizzie Haywood, Waitrose’s innovations manager. “Now three or four dedicated smash burger restaurants opening up in the UK has coincided with us launching our smash burgers.”

As for crookies, she says the AI saw that the mention of them had “jumped 80 to 90% from last year on social media, and we managed to launch them into trial stores in three months”.

In Singapore, Italian expat Stefano Cantù has created an AI-powered app that can suggest recipes in response to you telling it what ingredients you have in your fridge and cupboards. In a nod to the app being powered by ChatGPT he has called it “ChefGPT”.

“I’m Italian, so of course I cook stuff,” says Mr Cantù, whose day job is at a software company. He says he came up with the idea “over a weekend” after asking ChatGPT for recipe inspirations.

The app also has drop-down menus and toggles, to let a user specify tools they have in their kitchen, or if they’re in a hurry or not a very good cook. The AI then comes up with a recipe and a picture of the dish.

Mr Cantù says he got 30,000 users within a week and a half of launching last year. But then he got “quite a big bill from OpenAI”, the company behind ChatGPT.

He now continues to pay OpenAI a regular fee for using its AI. Mr Cantù explains that this is a standard arrangement when a start-up like his builds its app on top of another company’s technology.

He adds that he is continuing to try to find “the right balance between advertising and subscriptions, and the right level of usage to give free users”. And how he can “monetise free users without selling their data”.

Back in Dubai, Spartak Arutyunyan at Dodo Pizza says AI should be seen as more of a fun thing to use rather than something you’d base your entire menu around.

Yet Dodo Pizza is now enabling customers in Dubai, who order via its app, to try using AI themselves to dream up unusual pizza toppings. And the firm says it aims to extend the AI function to its other branches around the world.

Three weeks ago, just days after being formally chosen as the Democratic presidential nominee, Kamala Harris was pressed on her plans for a sit-down interview.

“I’ve talked to my team,” she told reporters on the airport tarmac in Detroit. “I want us to get an interview scheduled before the end of the month.”

On Thursday night, Ms Harris will – just barely – make good on that promise, sitting down with CNN’s Dana Bash for her first major interview.

But Ms Harris will not be there by herself. The vice-president will be joined by her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, for the prime-time appearance, airing at 21:00 EDT (02:00 BST).

Ms Harris may have answered the question of when she would conduct an in-depth, substantive discussion of her candidacy and agenda – standard procedure for all major party presidential candidates.

But with Mr Walz in tow, the decision to make this a joint appearance may also fuel growing criticism that after escaping the rigours of a months-long presidential primary, she is now dodging the scrutiny that comes with a solo interview.

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“I think it’s incredibly weak, weak sauce, to show up with your running mate,” said Scott Jennings, a former special assistant to President George W Bush, on CNN, adding that Harris had a “troubling lack of confidence” in her own political ability.

But supporters of Ms Harris insist that given the unprecedented nature of her candidacy following President Joe Biden’s sudden departure from the race, she is taking things at a smart pace.

“I think the cadence has been right,” said Peter Giangreco, a Chicago-based Democratic strategist. “Win the nomination, pick your nominee, lay out your economic plan, do your convention and now do some sit-downs and amplify that.”

Joint interviews featuring both members of a presidential ticket are not unusual.

Barack Obama and Joe Biden sat for an interview with 60 minutes after Mr Biden was selected as the vice-presidential nominee in 2008. Eight years later, Hillary Clinton and her running mate Tim Kaine did the same. For Ms Harris and Mr Biden in 2020, they picked ABC’s 20/20. And less than a week after Trump announced JD Vance as his running mate, the pair were jointly interviewed on Fox.

But since Mr Biden passed the torch to her late last month, Ms Harris has limited most of her engagement with the press to scripted and highly-controlled environments. Her last formal sit-down interview was on 24 June, more than two months and a political lifetime ago.

Her occasional interactions with reporters – brief answers to shouted questions on her way to and from campaign events – have done little to quell Republican claims that she is shirking any opportunity to have her record and agenda put under the microscope.

The harshest criticism comes from her Republican opponents, who have both given several interviews in the past month.

“She’s not smart enough to do a news conference,” Mr Trump told media earlier in August. “She won’t do interviews with friendly people because she can’t do better than Biden.”

The Democratic nominee has enjoyed a surge in momentum since entering the race. Now, after her whirlwind introduction to American voters, she needs to “reinforce” that energy, said Republican strategist and Trump critic Chip Felkel.

“She’s gotta get out there,” he said. “She’s got to show that she can think under pressure, because that’s part of what the president has to do.”

By doing a joint interview, the Harris campaign may have calculated that the pressure – and the difficult questions – will at least be shared between the two of them. And it ensures both are in lockstep when it comes to explaining policy.

Mr Giangreco, the Democratic strategist, predicted Ms Harris and Mr Walz will try to turn the focus onto their economic plan, an agenda to lower the cost of living and provide economic security that she first announced at a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, two weeks ago.

Mr Giangreco also pointed to another potential benefit of a joint interview: drawing a contrast between Mr Walz and his Republican counterpart JD Vance who he has labelled as “weird”.

Still, the real impact of Ms Harris and Mr Walz’s sit-down won’t be known until it is done.

Ms Harris’s record with high-pressure interviews is mixed. A 2021 conversation with NBC’s Lester Holt, in which she fumbled through questions about her role in the administration’s border policy, was widely regarded as a failure.

But in a more recent appearance, a one-on-one with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, in which she defended Mr Biden’s calamitous debate performance, Ms Harris looked calm and confident amid a political firestorm.

If this high-stakes CNN joint interview falls into the latter category, then the Harris campaign will hope much of the criticism will fall away, said Mr Felkel, the Republican strategist.

“They just need to be able to say ‘See, we told you,’” he said. “And then keep moving.”

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In the Palestinian village of Battir, where ancient terraces are irrigated by a natural spring, life carries on as it has for centuries.

Part of a Unesco World Heritage site, Battir is known for its olive groves and vineyards. But now it is the latest flashpoint over settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Israel has approved a new Jewish settlement here, taking away privately owned land for new settler houses and new outposts have been set up without even Israeli authorisation.

“They are stealing our land to build their dreams on our catastrophe,” says Ghassan Olyan, whose property is among that seized.

Unesco says it is concerned by the settlers’ plans around Battir, but the village is far from an isolated example. All settlements are seen as illegal under international law, although Israel disagrees.

“They are not caring about the international law, or local law, and even God’s law,” Mr Olyan says.

Last week, Israel’s domestic intelligence chief Ronen Bar wrote to ministers warning that Jewish extremists in the West Bank were carrying out acts of “terror” against Palestinians and causing “indescribable damage” to the country.

Since the start of the war in Gaza, there has been an acceleration in settlement growth in the occupied West Bank.

Extremists in Israel’s government boast that these changes will prevent an independent Palestinian state from ever being created.

There are fears, too, that they seek to prolong the war in Gaza to suit their goals.

Yonatan Mizrahi from Peace Now, an Israeli organisation that monitors settlement growth, says Jewish extremists in the West Bank are exacerbating an already tense and volatile situation, and making it harder than ever to end the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

He believes a “mix of rage and fear” in Israeli society after the 7 October attacks, in which 1,200 people were killed is driving settlers to seize more land, with fewer people questioning them.

A June survey by the Pew Research Center suggested that 40% of Israelis believed settlements made the country safer, up from 27% in 2013. Meanwhile, 35% of people polled said that the settlements hurt Israel’s security, down from 42%.

Mr Mizrahi worries that Jewish extremists in the West Bank are exacerbating an already tense and volatile situation, making it harder than ever to end the Israel-Palestinian conflict. “I think it’s extremely dangerous,” he says. “It’s increasing the hate on both sides.”

Since the outbreak of the war, settler violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank has surged.

It had already been on the rise, but in the past 10 months the UN has documented around 1,270 attacks, compared with 856 in all of 2022.

According to the Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem, during the same period Israeli settler harassment has forced Palestinians out of at least 18 villages in the West Bank, the Palestinian territory between Israel and Jordan that was captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war and has been occupied ever since.

Between 7 October and August 2024, 589 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank – at least 570 by Israeli forces and at least 11 by settlers, according to the UN. They include some said to have been planning attacks as well as unarmed civilians. In the same period, Palestinians killed five settlers and nine members of Israel’s security forces.

This week, a Palestinian man aged 40 was reportedly shot dead after settlers and Israeli soldiers entered Wadi al-Rahhel, near Bethlehem. The Israeli military said stones had previously been thrown at an Israeli vehicle nearby.

Last month, a 22-year-old Palestinian man was killed when dozens of settlers rampaged through the village of Jit, prompting international condemnation. Israeli security forces have made four arrests and have described the incident as a “severe terror event”.

But the track record in such cases is one of virtual impunity. Israeli civil rights group Yesh Din found that, between 2005 and 2023, just 3% of official investigations into settler violence ended in a conviction.

In the letter by Ronen Bar, which was leaked to Israeli media, the head of Israel’s Shin Bet security service said that radical settlers were emboldened by light-handed law enforcement.

Settlers live in exclusively Jewish communities set up in parts of the West Bank.

Many settlements have the legal support of the Israeli government; others, known as outposts, and often as simple as caravans and corrugated iron sheds, are illegal even under Israeli law. But extremists build them regardless in a bid to seize more land.

In July, when the UN’s top court found for the first time that Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, was illegal, it said the country should halt all settlement activity and withdraw as soon as possible.

Israel’s Western allies have repeatedly described settlements as an obstacle to peace. Israel rejected the finding, saying: “The Jewish people are not occupiers in their own land.”

Now there are fears that extremists are working to make settlements in the West Bank irreversible.

They have rapidly expanded their control over the territory, with the support of the most far-right government in Israel’s history. These extremists are advancing annexation plans in the West Bank and also openly call for settling Gaza once the war is over. Settlers now serve at the heart of Israel’s government, in key ministries.

At the very time that world leaders opposed to settlements are voicing renewed enthusiasm for a two-state solution – a long-hoped for peace plan that would create a separate Palestinian state – Israeli religious nationalists, who believe all these lands rightfully belong to Israel, are vowing to make the dream of an independent Palestinian state impossible.

Analysts think this is why some politicians are refusing to accept any ceasefire deal.

“The reason they don’t want to end the conflict or go into a hostage deal is because they believe that Israel should keep on fighting until it can reach a point where it can stay inside Gaza,” says Tal Schneider, political correspondent for The Times of Israel.

“They think for the long term their ideology is more righteous,” she adds. “This is their own logic.”

Israeli authorities, meanwhile, have announced plans for five new settlements, including the one in Battir, and declared a record area of land, at least 23 sq km, for the state. This means Israel considers it Israeli land, regardless of whether it is in the occupied Palestinian territories, or privately owned by Palestinians, or both, and Palestinians are prevented from using it.

By changing facts on the ground, as the settlers describe it, they hope to move enough Israelis on to the land and build enough on it to make their presence irreversible. Their long-term hope is that Israel formally annexes the land.

Outside state-sanctioned land seizures, extremists have also rapidly established settlement outposts.

In one by al-Qanoub, north of Hebron, satellite images showed new caravans and roads had appeared in the months since the start of the war. Meanwhile, an entire Palestinian community has been forced off the land.

We drove to al-Qanoub with Ibrahim Shalalda, 50, and his 80-year-old uncle Mohammed, who told us their homes had been destroyed by settlers last November.

As we approached, an extremist settler blocked the road with his car.

Armed Israelis soon arrived. The group – some Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers, with insignia on their uniforms and one identified as a settlement security officer – stopped us for checks.

The settlement guard forced the two Palestinian farmers from the car and searched them. After two hours, the IDF soldiers dispersed the settlers and allowed the BBC car to leave.

Israel began settling the West Bank soon after capturing it from Jordan and occupying it more than five decades ago. Successive governments since then have allowed creeping settlement expansion.

Today, an estimated three million Palestinians live on the land – excluding Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem – alongside about half a million Jewish Israelis in more than 130 settlements.

But a prominent far-right government figure who took office in 2022 is promising to double the number of settlers to a million.

Bezalel Smotrich believes that Jews have a God-given right to these lands. He heads one of two far-right, pro-settler parties that veteran Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu brought into his governing coalition after the 2022 elections returned him to power.

Mr Smotrich serves as finance minister but also has a post in the defence ministry, which has allowed him to make sweeping changes to Israeli policies in the West Bank.

He has massively invested state finances in settlements, including new roads and infrastructure. But he has also created a new bureaucracy, taking powers from the military, to fast-track settler construction.

In secretly recorded remarks to supporters, Mr Smotrich boasted that he was working towards “changing the DNA” of the system and for de facto annexation that would be “easier to swallow in the international and legal context”.

Religious nationalists have sat on the fringes of Israeli politics for decades.

But their ideology has slowly become more popular. In the 2022 election, these parties took 13 seats in the 120-seat Israeli parliament and became kingmakers in Mr Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition.

During the war, Bezalel Smotrich and fellow radical Itamar Ben-Gvir, now Israel’s national security minister, have repeatedly made comments stoking social division and provoking Israel’s Western allies.

After Israel’s military arrested reservists accused of sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee, Mr Ben Gvir said it was “shameful” for Israel to arrest “our best heroes”. This month, Mr Smotrich suggested it might be “justified and moral” to starve Gazans.

But it is in the West Bank and Gaza that the far right seeks to make permanent changes. “This is a group of Israelis who have been against any type of compromise with the Palestinians or Israel’s other Arab neighbours,” says Anshel Pfeffer, a veteran Israeli journalist and correspondent for The Economist.

And with the war in Gaza, the far right sees a fresh opportunity. Mr Smotrich has called for Palestinian residents to leave, making way for Israelis who could “make the desert bloom”.

Although Mr Netanyahu has ruled out restoring Jewish settlements in Gaza, he remains beholden to far-right parties who threaten to collapse his coalition if he signs a “reckless” ceasefire deal to bring home Israeli hostages currently held by Hamas.

The logic of the extremists may be one that only a minority of Israelis follow. But it is helping to prolong the war, and dramatically transforming the landscape of the West Bank – causing long-term damage to chances of peace.

Aeroplane passengers should be restricted to two drinks at airports, Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary has said.

Mr O’Leary said introducing alcohol limits at airports would help tackle a rise in disorder on flights.

Violent outbursts are occurring weekly due to alcohol, he said, especially when it is mixed with other substances.

“We don’t want to begrudge people having a drink,” he told the Daily Telegraph.

“But we don’t allow people to drink-drive, yet we keep putting them up in aircraft at 33,000ft.”

Crew members and other passengers have become targets, according to Mr O’Leary.

Delays add to the problem, with longer drinking times at airports.

“In the old days, people who drank too much would eventually fall over or fall asleep. But now those passengers are also on tablets and powder,” he added.

“It’s the mix. You get much more aggressive behaviour that becomes very difficult to manage.”

Mr O’Leary said it was difficult for airlines to identify inebriated people at the gate, especially when they boarded in a group.

“As long as they can stand up and shuffle they will get through. Then when the plane takes off, we see the misbehaviour,” he said.

Ryanair staff search bags for alcohol before passengers board flights to Ibiza, one of the worst-affected “party destinations”.

Other challenging destinations include some of the Greek islands.

An AirportsUK spokesperson said that disruptive behaviour, whether due to alcohol or other causes, “is unacceptable and could lead to substantial penalties”.

These penalties include fines, boarding being refused, or up to two years in jail.

The spokesperson added that airports have “a wide range of measures in place to monitor and tackle disruptive behaviour and ensure everyone’s safety”.

“Airports are committed to providing a safe and enjoyable travel experience for all passengers and we’re pleased that the vast majority of travellers continue to enjoy their journeys responsibly,” they said.

In response to Mr O’Leary’s comments, Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin said they have reviewed their sales in the last four weeks at their busiest airport pub.

“We have had no complaints about our pubs from the airport authorities or airlines, that I’m aware of, in recent years,” Mr Martin said.

“If our pub teams do see a possibly disruptive passenger, they alert airport police and security,” he continued.

While there is “no perfect solution”, he added, “working with airports and airlines and the licensing authorities” strikes a “reasonable balance for outbound flights.”

A Ugandan man allegedly found with 24 human skulls may have been using them for human sacrifice and could face life in prison, the police have told the BBC.

Police spokesperson Patrick Onyango said the suspect, Ddamulira Godfrey, would be charged under the Prevention and Prohibition of Human Sacrifice Act.

Animal remains and skins were also found in Mr Godfrey’s shrine in the suburbs of the capital, Kampala.

Police are still searching Mr Godfrey’s shrine in the hopes of recovering more human remains.

Warning: This story contains a picture that some people may find distressing

“We are charging him first under the Prevention and Prohibition of Human Sacrifice Act, which [prohibits] one being in possession of human body parts and instruments of human sacrifice,” Mr Onyango said.

“If he is found guilty, he will serve life in prison.”

Mr Godfrey claims to be a traditional healer and herbalist. However, the country’s Traditional Healers’ Association has distanced itself from him.

This is not the first time such a shocking discovery has been made in Uganda in recent weeks.

Last month, police recovered 17 human skulls from a shrine in the central district of Mpigi, about 41km (25 miles) from Kampala.

Both discoveries have been linked to human sacrifice for ritual purposes.

Some people in many African countries believe that magic charms made from human body parts will bring them good luck, for example to become rich, or alternatively to curse their enemies.

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Robert F Kennedy Jr faces calls from environmentalists for an investigation over a historic claim that he once cut the head off a dead beached whale with a chainsaw to take it home on the roof of his vehicle.

A group that supports Kamala Harris for president says Mr Kennedy’s alleged removal and transportation of the skull of the whale may have broken the law.

Mr Kennedy, 70, has not commented on the incident, detailed by his daughter in an interview 12 years ago.

The call for an investigation comes days after he suspended his independent presidential campaign, which was marked by strange twists including his confession that he once dumped the body of a dead bear in New York’s Central Park.

Mr Kennedy has now endorsed Donald Trump for the presidency, and has been offered a place on the Republican candidate’s transition team if he is elected.

The incident with the whale’s head, which dates to around 1994, was recounted by Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy in a 2012 interview with Town & Country magazine.

Mr Kennedy, who is said to enjoy studying animal skulls and skeletons, reportedly heard that the dead animal had washed up in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, where the family was staying.

He went to the beach to cut off the head with a chainsaw, and then proceeded to tie it to the roof of the family minivan with bungee cords. The family then drove back to their home in New York, Ms Kennedy said.

“Every time we accelerated on the highway, whale juice would pour into the windows of the car, and it was the rankest thing on the planet,” Ms Kennedy told the magazine.

“We all had plastic bags over our heads with mouth holes cut out, and people on the highway were giving us the finger, but that was just normal day-to-day stuff for us.”

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The call for an investigation was made by the Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund, which has publicly endorsed Democratic candidate Kamala Harris for president.

The group wrote a letter to set out their case to marine protection officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa).

The letter, quoted by US media, said Mr Kennedy may have broken multiple federal laws by collecting wildlife body parts and transporting them across state lines.

“Vital research opportunities are lost when individuals scavenge a wildlife carcass and interfere with the work of scientists,” the group’s political director Brett Hartl wrote.

“This is particularly true of marine mammals, which are some of the most difficult wildlife species in the world to study,” Mr Hartl added.

Noaa confirmed to the BBC that it received the letter and was compiling a response.

Mr Kennedy has not confirmed receipt of the letter. The BBC has approached his campaign for comment.

At one point earlier this year, Mr Kennedy averaged about 15% in presidential preference polls as an independent candidate.

His pitch blended anti-establishment and anti-corporate rhetoric with liberal social positions, environmentalism and controversial vaccine scepticism.

But his numbers dwindled, and he announced last week he was suspending his campaign.

Although he initially competed to win the Democratic nomination, he ended up criticising his former party and offering his endorsement to Donald Trump. The move dismayed his relatives, who are the most famous family in Democratic politics.

Mr Kennedy’s campaign attracted a range of bizarre and scandalous headlines.

In May, the New York Times ran an article revealing he had told lawyers involved in his 2012 divorce proceedings that he was suffering from a memory issue relating to a dead brain parasite.

In mid-July, Mr Kennedy texted an apology to a former family nanny after Vanity Fair magazine published a story in which she accused him of unwelcome sexual advances. “I have no memory of this incident but I apologise sincerely for anything I ever did that made you feel uncomfortable,” he wrote.

In comments to the media, he said the Vanity Fair article contained a lot of “garbage” but conceded that he had a “very, very rambunctious youth” and that he was “not a church boy”.

Earlier this month, Mr Kennedy was filmed talking to actress Roseanne Barr, recounting the 2014 incident with the dead bear cub.

He said a woman had killed the bear with her car when he was driving in a rural area, and he put it in his van with the initial intention of harvesting its meat.

But ultimately he thought it would be “amusing” to leave the carcass in New York’s Central Park, to make it appear that an errant cyclist had killed the animal. The bear was found the following day.

Responding to a BBC request for comment, New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation said charges could not be brought for incidents more than a year old.

A wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery turned contentious when former President Donald Trump’s campaign staff got into an “altercation” with cemetery staff over filming at the burial site for military members.

Cemetery officials publicly offered few details beyond saying “there was an incident” and a “report was filed”.

The incident, first reported by NPR, occurred when a campaign staffer attempted to film in a restricted area and a cemetery employee tried to stop them.

The Trump campaign denied the allegations and said they received permission from families of fallen service members to film, though federal law prohibits political campaign activity on the grounds of military cemeteries.

Trump was at the memorial to honour the 13 US military service members who were killed during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan three years ago Monday.

An unnamed source told NPR that Trump staffers were attempting to film and photograph a section of the cemetery where the recent US casualties are buried.

Federal law restricts recording there. Trump staffers were told beforehand that they could not photograph or film that part of the grounds, cemetery officials said.

When the cemetery employee tried to stop the campaign from entering that section, campaign staff verbally abused and pushed the official aside, the unnamed source told NPR.

Defence officials told CBS, the BBC’s US news partner, that some Trump campaign staff were unprofessional and both verbally and physically aggressive towards the cemetery official.

Trump’s campaign has denied NPR’s version of the story.

Steven Cheung, a Trump spokesperson, disputed that there was a physical altercation and said the campaign is prepared to release video to confirm their account.

“The fact is that a private photographer was permitted on the premises and for whatever reason an unnamed individual, clearly suffering from a mental health episode, decided to physically block members of President Trump’s team during a very solemn ceremony,” he said in a statement.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump shared a statement from family members of the fallen soldiers honoured at the event, expressing their approval.

“We had given our approval for President Trump’s official videographer and photographer to attend the event, ensuring these sacred moments of remembrance were respectfully captured and so we can cherish these memories forever,” the families said in Trump’s Truth Social post.

But that goes against federal policy, an Arlington National Cemetery spokesperson told the BBC.

Federal law prohibits political campaign or election-related activities on the grounds of military cemeteries, including photographers, content creators or anyone directly supporting a partisan political candidate’s campaign, the cemetery spokesperson said.

Arlington National Cemetery said it would not be releasing further information or the identity of the worker involved in order to protect the person.

The Trump campaign shared some footage of the visit on social media on Tuesday, but the alleged “altercation” was not included in the video.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox, who is running for reelection, also attended the ceremony and posted a photo on X of himself with Trump and the family of Staff Sgt. Darin Hoover, of Utah, who was killed during the withdrawal.

But he later came under fire for using the photo in a campaign email, forcing an apology post via X on Wednesday that acknowledged it should not have been sent: “This was not a campaign event and was never intended to be used by the campaign.”

Sgt. Hoover’s grave is next to that of Master Sgt. Andrew Marckesano, who died by suicide after six tours in Afghanistan in 2020.

His sister, Michele Marckesano, issued a statement Wednesday on behalf of her family to CBS, the BBC’s news partner, saying they fully support the Hoover family.

However, she said that according to a “conversation with Arlington National Cemetery”, Trump campaign staffers “did not adhere to the rules that were set in place for this visit”.

She urged visitors to remember those buried there “real people” who should be “honored and respected”.

An American archaeologist has died after the replica boat she was sailing in capsized in rough seas during an expedition from the Faroe Islands to Norway.

Six people were on board the Naddoddur when it got into trouble on Tuesday evening – the fourth day of the voyage – and a distress signal was sent.

Only five people managed to get into an inflatable life raft. They were later airlifted to safety by helicopter.

A woman’s body was eventually found on Wednesday morning close to where the boat sank.

The US State Department confirmed the death of an American citizen “off the coast of Norway” but declined to comment further “out of respect for the privacy of the family”.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased,” the agency told BBC News.

Norwegian media identified the deceased woman as 29-year-old Karla Dana.

A blog maintained by the group contains several entries written by Ms Dana. In one post that appears to have been written before their departure, she describes trepidation over the expedition as she watched online videos of the North Sea.

“It’s hard to keep excitement from turning into fear when you see those waves casually tossing around huge modern boats like toys,” she wrote in the post, which published Wednesday.

“But there’s a wild beauty in the North Sea, a reminder of nature’s raw power, and I feel incredibly lucky to be part of this adventure.”

Ms Dana’s body was found trapped underneath the capsized boat, Faroe Islands news website local.fo reported.

Norway’s Sea Rescue Society (NSSR) described conditions when the boat capsized as very demanding, posting a video of the strong winds and high sea west of the town of Stad.

It said waves were up to 5m (16ft) and winds were as much as 40 knots.

According to Ms Dana’s LinkedIn profile, she is an archaeologist specialising in the Viking era, with previous experience working and studying in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Spain, England, Germany, Morocco, China and Taiwan.

In 2023, Ms Dana joined the Florida chapter of The Explorers Club.

The Explorers Club is a prestigious international organisation founded in 1904 by Arctic explorers to promote scientific discovery and research.

Joseph Dituri, the chairman of The Explorers Club’s Florida chapter who sponsored Ms Dana’s entry into the club last year, said that her death is a reminder “that we make these dangerous Expeditions and Explorations look easy but they are not”.

“This brave Explorer left this planet doing something she loved entirely too early,” he told BBC News.

“Her exploration spirit was evident in everything she did as well as her zest for life! It is a better world having had her in it.”

Dr Dituri, who holds a Guinness World Record for having spent 100 days in an underwater habitat, said that Ms Dana had begun to pursue an archaeology masters degree in June at the University of the Highlands and Islands at the remote Orkney Island campus.

“As she finished her first excavation unearthing Iron Age Viking artifacts in the Orkneys, Karla shared, ‘I’m happy to say I’m living out my dreams,'” Dr Dituri said.

Earlier, she had led a project in Costa Rica, doing ethnographic field research on the Ngöbe Indigenous Tribe. Her work culminated in book about the tribe’s language, legends and traditions.

Bergur Jacobsen, who is chairman of the Naddoddur boat club on the Faroe Islands, told the BBC that everyone was very sad about what had happened.

He explained that the 10m-long boat had been on previous Viking voyages before to Iceland, Shetland and Norway.

“It’s not a Viking boat, it’s a Faroes fishing boat without a motor but with sails.”

He said he could not speak about the accident as a Norwegian investigation team was due to speak to him.

Locals were said to be in shock over the accident. One seaman told the BBC that visitors were keen to go on expeditions with the boat, although he would not have done so himself.

The expedition had been postponed for several days because of bad weather until Saturday.

One of four Swiss nationals on the trip, Andy Fitze, posted a map on social media two days into the voyage showing the boat to the north-east of Shetland.

Before the trip, the Faroese member of the crew, Livar Nysted, said when you were in the middle of a storm “you just try to do the best you can”.

“It’s an open boat. You sleep under the stars and when it’s raining or windy you can feel the elements.”

The expedition was not affiliated with the Viking Cruises company.

A Bedouin Arab man rescued in Gaza has urged Israel to reach a deal with Hamas to free all the remaining hostages, as details of his suffering in captivity have emerged.

Kaid Farhan Elkadi, 52, was rescued on Tuesday in a “complex operation in the southern Gaza Strip”, the Israeli military said.

After returning to his village in southern Israel on Wednesday, Mr Elkadi said his “happiness is not complete as long as there are detainees” on both sides.

Meanwhile, a former Israeli mayor said Mr Elkadi had been hardly exposed to sunlight for eight months.

In a separate development on Wednesday, Israel announced that it had recovered the body of an Israeli soldier killed in last October’s attack by Hamas on Israel.

The soldier’s name was not publicly released at the request of his family.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said “a bold operation” by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the country’s security service reflected “our commitment to bringing all the hostages home”.

US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators are trying to broker a ceasefire deal that would see Hamas release the 103 hostages still being held, including at least 33 who are presumed dead, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

Mr Elkadi was kidnapped by Hamas during the 7 October attack on Israel, and is the eighth hostage rescued by Israeli forces since the start of the war in Gaza.

On Wednesday, he returned to his home village of Karkur in the Negev desert after being discharged from hospital.

Surrounded by reporters and members of his Bedouin community, Mr Elkadi pleaded for all the hostages to be released.

“It does not matter if they are Arab or Jewish, all have a family waiting for them. They also want to feel the joy.

“I hope, I pray for an end to this,” he said, revealing that he had the same message during Tuesday’s phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“I told Bibi Netanyahu yesterday, ‘Work to bring an end to this.’”

Mr Elkadi was allowed to go home after undergoing hospital examinations.

The father of 11 earlier told his relatives “about difficult days, a very cruel captivity”, Ata Abu Medigam, ex-mayor of the southern Israeli town of Rahat, told Israel’s Haaretz newspaper.

“He spoke about one of the hostages who was held captive with him for two months and died next to him,” Mr Medigam said.

Mr Elkadi had also started worrying about losing his eyesight, Mr Medigam added.

“He would check his eyes to see if they were still working and functioning – he would put his fingers on his eyes to check his reflexes.”

Mr Elkadi also told his relatives that one of his fellow detainees had died next to him during his time in captivity, Mr Medigam said.

The Israeli military said forces had found Mr Elkadi in an underground tunnel “when he was alone”.

In a statement, the military said no further details about the rescue could be published “due to considerations of the safety of our hostages, the security of our forces, and national security”.

But some details have been emerging about Mr Elkadi’s time in captivity.

His cousin, Fadi Abu Sahiban, said Mr Elkadi did not get preferential treatment due to being a Muslim.

“They didn’t give him concessions because he’s a Muslim. He says they let him pray, that’s the only thing they allowed him to do,” he told Haaretz.

Mr Elkadi had no way of communicating with the outside world and was in constant fear of bombs overhead, his cousin said.

He “would hear the shelling of the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] endlessly, he said his body was shaking”, said Mr Abu Sahiban.

“Every day he was sure was his last day, and not only because of his captors, but also because of the shelling of the army. He said that every day is a life-threatening situation.”

Mr Elkadi, a grandfather of one, worked for many years as a security guard at Kibbutz Magen, close to the Israel-Gaza border, where he was abducted.

The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

More than 40,530 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.

Indirect talks to broker a ceasefire and the release of hostages have continued in Cairo in recent days, but so far there has been no sign of a breakthrough over key sticking points. They include Mr Netanyahu’s demand that Israel keep troops along Gaza’s border with Egypt, which Hamas has rejected.

Two other Bedouin Arabs – Yousef Zyadna and his son, Hamza – are among the remaining hostages who are still alive, while the body of a third, Mhamad el-Atrash, is still being held by Hamas.

Another Bedouin, Hisham al-Sayed, has been held captive in Gaza since 2015.

Three weeks ago, just days after being formally chosen as the Democratic presidential nominee, Kamala Harris was pressed on her plans for a sit-down interview.

“I’ve talked to my team,” she told reporters on the airport tarmac in Detroit. “I want us to get an interview scheduled before the end of the month.”

On Thursday night, Ms Harris will – just barely – make good on that promise, sitting down with CNN’s Dana Bash for her first major interview.

But Ms Harris will not be there by herself. The vice-president will be joined by her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, for the prime-time appearance, airing at 21:00 EDT (02:00 BST).

Ms Harris may have answered the question of when she would conduct an in-depth, substantive discussion of her candidacy and agenda – standard procedure for all major party presidential candidates.

But with Mr Walz in tow, the decision to make this a joint appearance may also fuel growing criticism that after escaping the rigours of a months-long presidential primary, she is now dodging the scrutiny that comes with a solo interview.

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“I think it’s incredibly weak, weak sauce, to show up with your running mate,” said Scott Jennings, a former special assistant to President George W Bush, on CNN, adding that Harris had a “troubling lack of confidence” in her own political ability.

But supporters of Ms Harris insist that given the unprecedented nature of her candidacy following President Joe Biden’s sudden departure from the race, she is taking things at a smart pace.

“I think the cadence has been right,” said Peter Giangreco, a Chicago-based Democratic strategist. “Win the nomination, pick your nominee, lay out your economic plan, do your convention and now do some sit-downs and amplify that.”

Joint interviews featuring both members of a presidential ticket are not unusual.

Barack Obama and Joe Biden sat for an interview with 60 minutes after Mr Biden was selected as the vice-presidential nominee in 2008. Eight years later, Hillary Clinton and her running mate Tim Kaine did the same. For Ms Harris and Mr Biden in 2020, they picked ABC’s 20/20. And less than a week after Trump announced JD Vance as his running mate, the pair were jointly interviewed on Fox.

But since Mr Biden passed the torch to her late last month, Ms Harris has limited most of her engagement with the press to scripted and highly-controlled environments. Her last formal sit-down interview was on 24 June, more than two months and a political lifetime ago.

Her occasional interactions with reporters – brief answers to shouted questions on her way to and from campaign events – have done little to quell Republican claims that she is shirking any opportunity to have her record and agenda put under the microscope.

The harshest criticism comes from her Republican opponents, who have both given several interviews in the past month.

“She’s not smart enough to do a news conference,” Mr Trump told media earlier in August. “She won’t do interviews with friendly people because she can’t do better than Biden.”

The Democratic nominee has enjoyed a surge in momentum since entering the race. Now, after her whirlwind introduction to American voters, she needs to “reinforce” that energy, said Republican strategist and Trump critic Chip Felkel.

“She’s gotta get out there,” he said. “She’s got to show that she can think under pressure, because that’s part of what the president has to do.”

By doing a joint interview, the Harris campaign may have calculated that the pressure – and the difficult questions – will at least be shared between the two of them. And it ensures both are in lockstep when it comes to explaining policy.

Mr Giangreco, the Democratic strategist, predicted Ms Harris and Mr Walz will try to turn the focus onto their economic plan, an agenda to lower the cost of living and provide economic security that she first announced at a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, two weeks ago.

Mr Giangreco also pointed to another potential benefit of a joint interview: drawing a contrast between Mr Walz and his Republican counterpart JD Vance who he has labelled as “weird”.

Still, the real impact of Ms Harris and Mr Walz’s sit-down won’t be known until it is done.

Ms Harris’s record with high-pressure interviews is mixed. A 2021 conversation with NBC’s Lester Holt, in which she fumbled through questions about her role in the administration’s border policy, was widely regarded as a failure.

But in a more recent appearance, a one-on-one with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, in which she defended Mr Biden’s calamitous debate performance, Ms Harris looked calm and confident amid a political firestorm.

If this high-stakes CNN joint interview falls into the latter category, then the Harris campaign will hope much of the criticism will fall away, said Mr Felkel, the Republican strategist.

“They just need to be able to say ‘See, we told you,’” he said. “And then keep moving.”

• SIMPLE GUIDE: Everything you need to know about the vote
• ANALYSIS: Three ways Trump will try to end Harris honeymoon
• EXPLAINER: Where the election could be won and lost
• FACT-CHECK: Trump falsely claims Harris crowd was faked
• VOTERS: What Democrats make of Tim Walz as VP

It may be an innocent enough racquet sport, but Hong Kong’s Education Bureau has unintentionally given badminton a whole new meaning.

In teaching materials it released last week, a module titled adolescents and intimate relationships for Secondary Year 3, suggested that teenagers who wanted to have sex with each other could “go out to play badminton together” instead.

The materials also include a form called “My Commitment” aimed at getting “young lovers” to attest that they would exercise “self-discipline, self-control, and resistance to pornography”.

The new materials have raised eyebrows and attracted criticism for being “out of touch”. But officials have defended the decision.

Meanwhile social media has been flooded with jokes centered around “playing badminton”.

“FWB [Friends with benefits]?? Friends with badminton,” read one comment on Instagram that had more than 1,000 likes.

“In English: Netflix and chill? In Cantonese, play badminton together?” read a Facebook post which was shared more than 500 times.

Even Olympics badminton player Tse Ying Suet could not resist a comment.

“Everyone is making an appointment to play badminton. Is everyone really into badminton?” she asked on Threads with a smirking face emoji.

For some people it was also about the practicalities.

Local lawmaker Doreen Kong said the documents showed that the education bureau did not understand young people. She specifically criticised the badminton suggestion as unrealistic.

“How could they borrow a badminton racket on the spot if it happens?” She asked.

To Thomas Tang, who is an amateur badminton player, the jokes and sudden increased interest in the sport have made it slightly embarrassing for players like him.

“In the past this was just a healthy sport, but now if you ask people to play badminton they make a lot of jokes,” he said, adding that the irony was that badminton was actually a good way for guys to meet girls.

The Education Bureau documents also told teachers that one of the objectives of the module was to help students master ways of coping with sexual fantasies and impulses, and the module was not created to encourage them to start dating or engaging in sexual behaviour.

Some suggested discussion activities in the documents include advising students to “dress appropriately to present a healthy image and to avoid visual stimulation from sexy clothing”, and “firmly refuse sex before marriage” if they are unable to cope with the “consequences of premarital sex”.

Education Secretary Christine Choi has stood firm in the face of all the criticism.

“We wish to protect the teenagers,” she said while defending the documents in an interview on Sunday, adding that it is illegal to have sex with an underage person.

She has received support from the city’s leader John Lee, who said that while there could be different opinions on education, the government plays a “leading role in determining the kind of society it aims to build”.

But to Henry Chan, a father of a 13-year-old girl and 10-year-old boy, these efforts are ridiculous.

“The Hong Kong government is always out of touch. They are making a fool of themselves,” he said.

“My wife and I will probably do that [sex education] ourselves. That’s not something I would count on schools and the government to do.”

Passengers on a round-the-world cruise have been left stranded in Belfast for three months after their voyage was beset by delays.

Villa Vie Residences’ Odyssey arrived at Queen’s Island in the Northern Ireland capital to be outfitted before it was scheduled to leave on 30 May for the first leg of a three-year cruise.

But the ship has still not left yet thanks to problems with its rudders and gearbox.

Florida resident Holly Hennessey is among those on board to have “hunkered down” and made the city their unexpected home.

Travelling with her cat, Captain, has meant the self-proclaimed “cruise addict” has been unable to leave Belfast while waiting for the ship to be ready.

Passengers are allowed to spend time on the ship during the day, but must disembark in the evenings.

“We can spend all day aboard the ship, and they provide shuttle buses to get on and off,” Ms Hennessey said.

“We can have all of our meals and they even have movies and trivia entertainment, almost like cruising except we’re at the dock.”

Despite enjoying the sights, the damp weather has been a shock for the US native.

“I’ve never had so much use for my umbrella in my life, and I carry my raincoat everywhere I go.”

Passengers on the cruise were given the option of buying their cabin outright rather than paying a daily rate for their room like a traditional hotel.

It allows them to remain onboard beyond the Villa Vie Residences’ Odyssey’s initial three-year tour.

“I want to stay just as long as I am able,” she said. “I have always wanted to live on a ship, and it will be a dream come true for me.”

Villa Vie Residences’ website states that the cost of buying a cabin can range from $99,999 to $899,000.

Ms Hennessey’s cabin has space for a double bed, small living area with room for the cat and a balcony.

“Villa Vie is a community and a real community has pets,” she said.

The company says they are trying to do everything they can to “relieve the anxiety” of passengers by planning trips and other cruises or putting them up in hotels.

Angela and Stephen Theriac lived in Nicaragua and have made the most of their wait.

Since May they have travelled by train around Spain, taken weekend trips to England, and visited Greenland.

“We are travellers, and we want to make the most of the place we are in,” said Ms Theriac.

“We keep teasing we will apply for residency here in Belfast.”

Her husband Stephen says they have settled in with the locals.

“We have eaten in every restaurant and had a Guinness in every pub,” he said.

“It is just all part of our adventure.”

Dr David Austin, from Georgia in the United States, says he has “stopped counting down” the days until the ship launches.

“The payoff of seeing the world in this fashion is too great to feel too disappointed with each delay announcement,” he said.

“I was committed, having sold my house right before my arrival, and I’ve stayed committed to this adventure with every delay.”

CEO Mike Petterson said that he expects the ship to launch by the end of next week.

“We’re not focused on the next days or weeks, we are focused on the rest of our lives and what this company will do for the residents and the industry,” he said.

Mr Petterson explained that Villa Vie Residences’ Odyssey is the first “affordable” residential cruise ship.

“When you’re the first at doing something, you will run into hiccups, but we’re definitely getting there, and although we are late, we will launch,” he added.

An American archaeologist has died after the replica boat she was sailing in capsized in rough seas during an expedition from the Faroe Islands to Norway.

Six people were on board the Naddoddur when it got into trouble on Tuesday evening – the fourth day of the voyage – and a distress signal was sent.

Only five people managed to get into an inflatable life raft. They were later airlifted to safety by helicopter.

A woman’s body was eventually found on Wednesday morning close to where the boat sank.

The US State Department confirmed the death of an American citizen “off the coast of Norway” but declined to comment further “out of respect for the privacy of the family”.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased,” the agency told BBC News.

Norwegian media identified the deceased woman as 29-year-old Karla Dana.

A blog maintained by the group contains several entries written by Ms Dana. In one post that appears to have been written before their departure, she describes trepidation over the expedition as she watched online videos of the North Sea.

“It’s hard to keep excitement from turning into fear when you see those waves casually tossing around huge modern boats like toys,” she wrote in the post, which published Wednesday.

“But there’s a wild beauty in the North Sea, a reminder of nature’s raw power, and I feel incredibly lucky to be part of this adventure.”

Ms Dana’s body was found trapped underneath the capsized boat, Faroe Islands news website local.fo reported.

Norway’s Sea Rescue Society (NSSR) described conditions when the boat capsized as very demanding, posting a video of the strong winds and high sea west of the town of Stad.

It said waves were up to 5m (16ft) and winds were as much as 40 knots.

According to Ms Dana’s LinkedIn profile, she is an archaeologist specialising in the Viking era, with previous experience working and studying in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Spain, England, Germany, Morocco, China and Taiwan.

In 2023, Ms Dana joined the Florida chapter of The Explorers Club.

The Explorers Club is a prestigious international organisation founded in 1904 by Arctic explorers to promote scientific discovery and research.

Joseph Dituri, the chairman of The Explorers Club’s Florida chapter who sponsored Ms Dana’s entry into the club last year, said that her death is a reminder “that we make these dangerous Expeditions and Explorations look easy but they are not”.

“This brave Explorer left this planet doing something she loved entirely too early,” he told BBC News.

“Her exploration spirit was evident in everything she did as well as her zest for life! It is a better world having had her in it.”

Dr Dituri, who holds a Guinness World Record for having spent 100 days in an underwater habitat, said that Ms Dana had begun to pursue an archaeology masters degree in June at the University of the Highlands and Islands at the remote Orkney Island campus.

“As she finished her first excavation unearthing Iron Age Viking artifacts in the Orkneys, Karla shared, ‘I’m happy to say I’m living out my dreams,'” Dr Dituri said.

Earlier, she had led a project in Costa Rica, doing ethnographic field research on the Ngöbe Indigenous Tribe. Her work culminated in book about the tribe’s language, legends and traditions.

Bergur Jacobsen, who is chairman of the Naddoddur boat club on the Faroe Islands, told the BBC that everyone was very sad about what had happened.

He explained that the 10m-long boat had been on previous Viking voyages before to Iceland, Shetland and Norway.

“It’s not a Viking boat, it’s a Faroes fishing boat without a motor but with sails.”

He said he could not speak about the accident as a Norwegian investigation team was due to speak to him.

Locals were said to be in shock over the accident. One seaman told the BBC that visitors were keen to go on expeditions with the boat, although he would not have done so himself.

The expedition had been postponed for several days because of bad weather until Saturday.

One of four Swiss nationals on the trip, Andy Fitze, posted a map on social media two days into the voyage showing the boat to the north-east of Shetland.

Before the trip, the Faroese member of the crew, Livar Nysted, said when you were in the middle of a storm “you just try to do the best you can”.

“It’s an open boat. You sleep under the stars and when it’s raining or windy you can feel the elements.”

The expedition was not affiliated with the Viking Cruises company.

Allegations. Resignations. Police complaints.

These words have been dominating headlines and shaking up a bustling film industry in the southern Indian state of Kerala since last week.

The state has been witnessing a flurry of sexual abuse allegations against some top male stars since a landmark report that looked into problems faced by women in the industry was released last week.

The industry, which makes around 150-200 Malayalam-language films a year, is a vital, vibrant business that has made some of the most critically acclaimed and progressive cinema emerging from India.

But the 290-page report by a three-member panel – called the Hema committee – detailed the problems faced by women in Malayalam cinema, including poor working conditions and rampant sexual harassment. Parts of the report have been redacted to hide the identities of the survivors as well as those accused of harassment.

• The Hema committee report slams Kerala’s film industry

Since its release, a number of women – some of whom have now given up acting – have publicly spoken about facing sexual assault and harassment in the industry.

More than a dozen police complaints have been filed against some male stars, two of whom have also filed counter-complaints.

The shake-up has been so huge that the entire top governing body of the state’s biggest film group – the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) – was dissolved after its president, superstar Mohanlal, resigned on “moral grounds” after some members faced accusations.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg. Only a few have spoken up till now. More serious issues may emerge,’’ actor Mala Parvathy told BBC Hindi.

The reactions to the first-of-its-kind report are being closely watched by people in India’s many film industries, including Bollywood. During the #MeToo movement, several women had made sexual harassment allegations against actors and filmmakers in different states but few of these have been investigated.

• Indian actress breaks silence on sexual assault

The government set up the Hema committee, headed by a former judge of the Kerala High Court, in 2017 in the aftermath of the shocking sexual assault on a leading actress. One of Kerala’s biggest actors, Dileep, was named by police as an accused and charged with criminal conspiracy. He has denied the charges, but was arrested and held in custody for three months before being released on bail. The case is still being heard in court.

After the release of the report, the first public allegation came from Bengali actress Sreelekha Mitra, who accused well-known director Ranjith of sexually harassing her a few years ago. He has denied this but resigned as chairman of the state’s prestigious motion picture academy. Mitra has filed a police complaint.

Many of the other complaints echo some of the revelations made by unnamed women in the Hema committee report that they were repeatedly asked to “compromise” and “adjust” in exchange for opportunities.

Minu Muneer told BBC Hindi as well as several other news channels that an actor had hugged and kissed her without her consent while they were shooting a film. She has also detailed instances of sexual misconduct by others in the industry, including prominent actor and lawmaker Mukesh.

Mukesh has denied the allegations against him and accused Muneer of trying to blackmail him.

“I welcome any investigation into allegations made against me and others in the film industry,” he wrote in a Facebook post.

Two actresses have accused a director of knocking on the doors of their hotel rooms in the middle of the night. He has not responded to the allegation.

One actress has accused well-known actor Siddique of raping her in 2016 and filed a police complaint against him. Siddique, who resigned as AMMA general secretary after the accusation, has denied this and accused the complainant of trying to “tarnish his reputation”.

While the Kerala government had been praised for being the first to set up such a committee, the report’s release has also put it on the back foot.

The report, which was submitted in 2019, was released only last week after nearly five years of delay and multiple legal challenges by members of the film industry. The government then said that while it would investigate all complaints filed before the police, it would not take up any cases on its own. But as pressure mounted, it has set up a special team to investigate complaints.

The Kerala High Court has also asked the government to submit the entire report – including the 54 redacted pages – to it.

Within the Malayalam film industry, reactions to the report have been mixed. Superstars such as Mohanlal and Mammotty have been criticised for not making a public comment yet.

Some actors have welcomed the release of the report and called for the government to launch a proper investigation into the allegations. A prominent film employees’ federation has asked the government to disclose the names of those accused in the report.

Others have lamented that the report is being used to brand all men in the industry as abusers.

But many have also argued that the report and the subsequent shake-up are positive, much-needed changes in an industry often celebrated for making progressive films.

“I am not ok with people saying, ‘Malayalam industry is so rotten inside’. No, we are good inside, which is why we are fixing it,” actress Parvathy Thiruvothu, a founding member of the Women in Cinema Collective, an organisation formed in the aftermath of the 2017 assault, told a news channel.

It was the industries “you don’t hear anything about” that people should be “worried about”, she added.

Artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant Nvidia says its revenues for the three months to the end of July more than doubled compared to a year earlier, hitting a record $30bn (£24.7bn).

However, the firm’s shares fell by more than 6% in New York after the announcement.

Nvidia has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI boom, with its stock market value soaring to more than $3tn.

The company’s shares have risen by more than 160% this year alone.

“It’s less about just beating estimates now, markets expect them to be shattered and it’s the scale of the beat today that looks to have disappointed a touch,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

The sky-high expectations are driven by its valuation, which has surged ninefold in value in under two years thanks to its dominance of the AI chip market.

Profits for the period soared, with operating income rising 174% from the same time last year to $18.6bn.

It was the seventh quarter in a row that Nvidia had beaten analysts’ expectations on both sales and profits.

“Generative AI will revolutionise every industry,” said Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang.

The results have become a quarterly event which sends Wall Street into a frenzy of buying and selling shares.

A “watch party” had been planned in Manhattan, according to the Wall Street Journal, while Mr Huang, famed for his signature leather jacket, has been dubbed the “Taylor Swift of tech”.

Alvin Nguyen, senior analyst at Forrester, told the BBC both Nvidia and Mr Huang have become the “face of AI”.

This has helped the company so far, but it could also hurt its valuation if AI fails to deliver after firms have invested billions of dollars in the technology, Mr Nguyen said.

“A thousand use cases for AI is not enough. You need a million.”

Mr Nguyen also said Nvidia’s first-mover advantage means it has market-leading products, which its customers have spent decades using and has a “software ecosystem”.

He said that rivals, such as Intel, could “chip away” at Nvidia’s market share if they developed a better product, though he said this would take time.

US authorities said that the man who attempted to kill former President Donald Trump acted alone and there is no sign of foreign involvement.

But FBI officials stressed at a news briefing on Wednesday that a motive for the assassination attempt remains unknown, and they said that Thomas Crooks – the 20-year-old assailant – had a “mixture of ideologies”.

The law enforcement agency described Crooks’s search history, and it released photos of the gun he used and the improvised explosive devices found in his car.

Crooks attempted to shoot the former president at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on 13 July. He grazed Trump’s ear, killed one man and seriously injured two others.

Kevin Rojek, head of the FBI’s Pittsburgh office, said that Crooks began searching online for Trump campaign events starting in September 2023.

He searched for events for both Trump and President Joe Biden, who was still the Democratic nominee at the time of the shooting. He also looked for the location of both the Republican and Democratic national conventions.

“When… the Trump rally was announced early in July, he became hyper-focused on that specific event and looked at it as a target of opportunity,” Mr Rojek said.

Crooks registered for the Trump rally one week in advance, Mr Rojek said.

On the same day, the 20-year-old searched how far assassin Lee Harvey Oswald was from John F Kennedy when the Marine veteran fatally shot the US president in 1963.

Crooks also looked up “Where will Trump speak from at Butler Farm Show?” – the site of the rally. His search history showed that he had attempted to find bomb making instructions and ingredients as well, authorities said.

“We believe the subject engaged in detailed attack planning,” Mr Rojek said.

FBI officials said Crooks’s online activities showed a “mixture of ideologies” and that they are continuing to look into his online presence.

“We see no definitive ideology associated with our subject, either left leaning or right leaning,” Mr Rojek said.

Crooks was a registered Republican. In 2021, he donated $15 to liberal campaign group ActBlue.

Officials said that some anti-Semitic comments online “were associated with accounts associated with [Crooks]” and that they were working to determine whether he wrote them.

The FBI has previously said that Crooks had at least two social media accounts which showed contradictory ideological views. The content of the accounts has not been made public.

At the Butler rally, Crooks was on the roof of a nearby building for about six minutes. He fired eight shots at Trump, who was speaking on a stage, before a Secret Service sniper killed him.

During Wednesday’s news conference, FBI officials also responded to criticism by conservatives, including Republican Congressman Clay Higgins of Louisiana, that the agency had cleaned up the crime scene and returned Crooks’s body to his family too quickly.

Mr Rojek said that standard procedures were followed in the clean up of the site, that Crooks’s body was returned after an autopsy was completed and that it is not standard procedure to retain human remains indefinitely.

The autopsy indicated that Crooks had no trace of illegal drugs or alcohol in his system. The FBI said that the Crooks family has co-operated with their investigation.

A Congressional task force including both Republicans and Democrats is in the process of investigating the security failures that led to the shooting.

Kimberly Cheatle, the director of the Secret Service at the time of the shooting, stepped down from her position last month after facing intense pressure from lawmakers.

She has since been replaced by Ronald Rowe as acting director.

At least five Secret Service agents have been placed on administrative leave following the security lapse.

Last week, Trump held an outdoor rally in North Carolina – his first since the assassination attempt. He appeared behind a podium surrounded by bulletproof glass.

A 3,500-year-old jar has been accidentally smashed into pieces by a four-year-old boy during a trip to a museum in Israel.

The Hecht Museum in Haifa told the BBC the crockery dated back to the Bronze Age between 2200 and 1500BC – and was a rare artefact because it was so intact.

It had been on display near the entrance of the museum without glass, as the museum believes there is “special charm” in showing archaeological finds “without obstructions”.

The boy’s father, Alex, said his son “pulled the jar slightly” because he was “curious about what was inside”, causing it to fall.

Alex also said he was “in shock” to see his son next to the smashed jar and at first thought “it wasn’t my child that did it”.

However, after calming the boy down he spoke to the security guard, Alex told the BBC.

The Hecht Museum said the child has been invited back to the exhibition with his family for an organised tour after the incident happened a few days ago.

“There are instances where display items are intentionally damaged, and such cases are treated with great severity, including involving the police,” Lihi Laszlo from the museum told the BBC.

“In this case, however, this was not the situation. The jar was accidentally damaged by a young child visiting the museum, and the response will be accordingly.”

A specialist in conservation has also been appointed to restore the jar, and it will be returned to its spot “in a short time”.

The boy’s father Alex said they will feel “relieved” to see the jar restored but added they are “sorry” because “it will no longer be the same item”.

The museum told the BBC that “whenever possible, items are displayed without barriers or glass walls”.

And “despite the rare incident” the museum said it intends to continue this tradition.

• World’s oldest known lipstick traced back 5,000 years
• World’s oldest masks go on display in Jerusalem
• American tourist arrested for smashing Jerusalem museum statues

The jar was most likely originally intended to be used to carry local supplies, such as wine and olive oil.

It predates the time of the Biblical King David and King Solomon and is characteristic of the Canaan region on the eastern Mediterranean coast.

Similar items of pottery found during archaeological digs are usually broken or incomplete when unearthed, making this intact jar “an impressive find” when it was discovered, the museum added.

The Hecht Museum is in the grounds of the University of Haifa in northern Israel and collects items of archaeology and art.

Telegram boss and founder Pavel Durov has been placed under formal investigation in France as part of a probe into organised crime on the messaging app, Paris prosecutors say.

Mr Durov, 39, has not been remanded in custody, but placed under judicial supervision, and has to pay a €5m (£4.2m; $5.6m) deposit.

The Russian-born billionaire, who is also a French national, also has to show up at a French police station twice a week and is not allowed to leave French territory.

Mr Durov was first detained upon arrival at Le Bourget airport north of Paris last Saturday under a warrant for offences related to the app.

In Wednesday’s statement, the Paris prosecutors said Mr Durov was put under formal investigation over alleged offences that included:

• Complicity in the administration of an online platform to enable illicit transactions by an organised gang
• Refusal to communicate with authorities
• Complicity in organised criminal distribution of sexual images of children

In France, being put under formal investigation does not imply guilt or necessarily result in a trial – but it indicates that judges consider there is enough of a case to proceed with an investigation.

Mr Durov has so far made no public comments on the latest developments.

His lawyer, David-Olivier Kaminski, said Telegram complied in every respect with European digital regulations and was moderated to the same standards as other social networks.

It was “absurd” to suggest his client could be involved “in criminal acts that don’t concern him either directly or indirectly”, he added.

It is unprecedented for the owner of a social media platform to be arrested because of the way in which that platform is being used, and it has fuelled a fierce debate online about freedom of speech and accountability.

We have previously seen tech bosses hauled in front of lawmakers for confrontational grillings about their practices and failings, but not met by law enforcement at airports.

Elon Musk, the owner of X, has defended Mr Durov, arguing that moderation is a “propaganda word” for censorship. He has called for Mr Durov’s release.

Chris Pavlovski, the founder of a controversial video-sharing app called Rumble, said he had fled Europe following Mr Durov’s detention.

While most of the world’s largest social networks do engage with national and international bodies when it comes to serious criminal offences such as the sharing of child sexual abuse images, Telegram is accused of ignoring them.

The firm, which is now headquartered in Dubai, insists that its moderation tools meet industry standards.

French President Emmanuel Macron said earlier this week that France was deeply committed to freedom of expression, and that the decision to hold Mr Durov was “in no way… political”.

Huge groups of up to 200,000 people can share and comment on information and content on Telegram – WhatsApp on the other hand limits its maximum group size to just over 1,000.

While Telegram messages can be encrypted, meaning that only the sender and recipient can view them, this is not activated by default and has to be manually switched on to private chats.

On Monday evening, the Paris prosecutors said Mr Durov was being held in custody as part of a cyber-criminality investigation. In response, Telegram said Mr Durov had “nothing to hide”.

Russia said that without a “serious basis of evidence”, the charges could be seen as an act of “intimidation” against a major technology company for political purposes.

Telegram is ranked as one of the major social media platforms.

It was founded in 2013 and is particularly popular in Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet Union states, as well as Iran.

The BBC revealed on Wednesday that Telegram – which has more than 950 million registered users – has repeatedly refused to join international programmes aimed at detecting and removing child abuse material online.

The BBC has contacted Telegram for comment about its refusal to join the child protection schemes.

Mr Durov, who also founded the popular Russian social media company VKontakte, left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with government demands to shut down opposition communities on the platform.

He also holds passports of St Kitts and Nevis and the United Arab Emirates.

A powerful typhoon has made landfall in Japan, with three people already confirmed dead.

Shanshan landed in Kagoshima prefecture, in the southern island of Kyushu, at around 08:00 local time (23:00 GMT), the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.

The agency has issued its rare “special warning” for the most violent storms, warning of landslides, flooding and large-scale damage. High winds of up to 252 km/h (157mph) have been reported on the island.

A couple in their 70s and a man in his 30s have died. Both were part of a family of five whose home in Gamagori in central Japan was swept away late on Tuesday, prior to the typhoon’s landfall.

Their other two family members – two women in their 40s – were rescued after all-night recovery efforts, local broadcaster NHK reported.

As much as 600mm of rain over 24 hours has been forecast in some areas of Kyushu, home to 12.5 million people.

Some 255,00 houses are now without power, the island’s utility operator said.

Videos online show large trees swaying, tiles blown off houses, and debris being thrown into the air as heavy rains lashed the island.

At least 39 people have been injured in Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures, NHK said.

Major carmakers like Toyota and Nissan shut down their plants on Thursday, citing the safety of its employees as well as potential parts shortages caused by the storm.

Hundreds of flights to and from southern Japan have been cancelled. Some high-speed train services have also been suspended.

Earlier this week, local governments issued evacuation advisories to 810,000 people in the central Shizuoka prefecture on Japan’s main island of Honshu.

A further 56,000 were told to leave their home in Kagoshima on Kyushu, the fire and disaster management agency said.

JMA expects the storm to approach Japan’s central and eastern regions, including the capital Tokyo, around the weekend.

Special typhoon warnings, like the one issued for Shanshan, are declared in Japan in cases of extraordinarily powerful storms. The same warning was issued in September 2022 as Typhoon Nanmadol approached Kyushu – the first such warning declared for a region other than Okinawa.

Shanshan comes in the wake of Typhoon Ampil earlier this month, which caused only minor injuries and damage but still disrupted hundreds of flights and trains.

Before that, northern parts of Japan saw record rainfall when Tropical Storm Maria hit Honshu island.

Typhoons in the region have been forming closer to coastlines, intensifying more rapidly and lasting longer over land due to climate change, according to a study released last month.