Nine people, including a child, have been killed after handheld pagers used by members of the armed group Hezbollah to communicate exploded across Lebanon, the country’s health minister says.

Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon was among 2,800 other people who were wounded by the simultaneous blasts in Beirut and several other regions.

Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, said the pagers belonged “to employees of various Hezbollah units and institutions” and confirmed the deaths of eight fighters.

The group blamed Israel for what it called “this criminal aggression” and vowed that it would get “just retribution”. The Israeli military declined to comment.

Hours before the explosions, Israel’s security cabinet said stopping Hezbollah attacks on the north of the country to allow the safe return of displaced residents was an official war goal.

There have been almost daily exchanges of fire across the Israel-Lebanon border since the day after the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza on 7 October.

Hezbollah has said it is acting in support of the Iran-backed Palestinian group. Both are proscribed as terrorist organisations by Israel, the UK and other countries.

The UN’s spokesman said the latest developments in Lebanon were “extremely concerning, especially given that this is taking place within a context that is extremely volatile”.

Many Lebanese were in a state of shock and disbelief on Tuesday evening, unable to get their heads around an event that was unprecedented in scale and nature.

Hezbollah said an unspecified number pagers – which the group relies on heavily for communications due to the risk of mobile phones being hacked or tracked – exploded at around 15:30 local time (12:30 GMT) in the capital Beirut and many other areas.

One CCTV video showed an explosion in a man’s bag or pocket at a supermarket. He is then seen falling backwards to the ground and crying out in pain as other shoppers run for cover.

Hours later, ambulances were still rushing to hospitals overwhelmed with the number of casualties, 200 of whom the health minister said were in a critical condition. Outside, relatives were waiting in the hope of receiving updates.

The LAU Medical Centre in Beirut’s Ashrafieh district closed its main gate and was limiting the number of people getting in. “It’s very sensitive and some scenes are horrific,” one staff member told the BBC.

Most of the wounds were at the level of the waist, face, eyes and hands, he said, adding: “A lot of casualties have lost fingers, in some cases all of them.”

The wife of Iranian ambassador Mojtaba Amani said he was “slightly inured” by one of the explosions and that he was “doing well” in hospital.

Hezbollah’s media office announced the deaths of eight fighters. It did not give details on the locations and circumstances, saying only that they were “martyred on the road to Jerusalem”.

A source close to the group told AFP news agency that the son of Hezbollah MP Ali Ammar and the 10-year-old daughter of a Hezbollah member in the Bekaa Valley were among those killed. Later, the source said the son of another lawmaker, Hassan Fadlallah, was wounded, having initially reported that he was dead.

Fourteen people were also wounded by exploding pagers in neighbouring Syria, where Hezbollah is fighting alongside government forces in the country’s civil war, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

“We hold the Israeli enemy fully responsible for this criminal aggression,” Hezbollah said in a statement on Tuesday evening.

“This treacherous and criminal enemy will certainly get his just retribution on this sinful aggression from where it counts and from where it does not count,” it added.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati also blamed Israel for the explosions, saying that they represented a “serious violation of Lebanese sovereignty and a crime by all standards”.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he told his Lebanese counterpart that he “strongly condemned Israeli terrorism”.

The US, Israel’s closest ally, denied any involvement and urged Iran not to heighten tensions.

Hezbollah did not say what it believed had caused the pagers to explode.

The Wall Street Journal cited a source as saying the affected devices were from a new shipment that Hezbollah had received in recent days. A Hezbollah official also told the newspaper some people had felt the pagers heat up before the blasts.

Overheated lithium-ion batteries can catch fire, but experts said hacking into the pagers and making them overheat would not usually cause such explosions.

A former British Army munitions expert, who asked not to be named, told the BBC the pagers would have likely been packed with between 10g and 20g of military-grade high explosive, hidden inside a fake electronic component.

Once armed by a signal, called an alphanumeric text message, the next person to use the device would have triggered the explosive, the expert said.

Lina Khatib, a Middle East analyst at the UK-based Chatham House think tank, told the BBC: “Israel has been engaging in cyber operations against Hezbollah for several months, but this security breach is the largest in scale.”

Nicholas Blanford, a Beirut-based senior fellow of the American think tank the Atlantic Council, said: “Israel in one fell swoop has rendered combat ineffective hundreds if not thousands of Hezbollah fighters, in some cases permanently.”

He warned that Hezbollah’s leaders would now “face extreme pressure from the ranks and supporters to retaliate heavily”, describing it as “the most dangerous moment” in the Hezbollah-Israel conflict since October.

A statement put out by the Israeli military on Tuesday evening did not comment on the pager explosions, but said the chief of staff Lt Gen Herzi Halevi had held a situational assessment with commanders “focusing on readiness in both offence and defence in all arenas”.

It also said there was no change in defensive guidelines to the Israeli public but asked them to remain alert and vigilant.

Earlier in the day, the military said an air strike had killed three “Hezbollah terrorists operating within a terrorist infrastructure site” in the Blida area, near Lebanon’s border with Israel.

Lebanon’s health ministry confirmed that three people had been killed in an Israeli strike, while Hezbollah’s media office said it had carried out missile and drone attacks targeting Israeli troops and military sites.

Israel’s Shin Bet internal security service also said it had foiled a Hezbollah bomb attack targeting an unnamed former senior Israeli security official. Hezbollah did not comment on the accusation.

This comes at a time when Israel’s government is threatening to step up its military effort against Hezbollah.

On Tuesday morning, Israel’s security cabinet made the safe return of 60,000 residents displaced in the north by Hezbollah attacks an official goal of the Gaza war.

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said during a meeting with US envoy Amos Hochstein on Monday that the only way to return northern residents was through “military action”.

“The possibility for an agreement is running out as Hezbollah continues to ‘tie itself’ to Hamas, and refuses to end the conflict,” a statement from his office said.

Since the hostilities escalated in October, at least 589 people have been killed in Lebanon, the vast majority of them Hezbollah fighters, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

On the Israeli side, 25 civilians and 21 members of security forces have been killed, the Israeli government says.

Prominent opposition leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has resigned from his post, days after getting bail in a corruption case.

Kejriwal spent five months in jail in connection with a now-scrapped alcohol sales policy. He has denied the allegations against him.

He has said that he will take up the post only if people re-elect his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the upcoming assembly elections.

Kejriwal’s colleague and senior Delhi minister Atishi will replace him as the leader of the government, the party announced on Tuesday.

AAP made its poll debut in 2013 Delhi assembly elections and has governed the capital city since, focussing on welfare measures such as affordable electricity and water for residents.

In 2020, the party won 62 seats in the 70-seat assembly – in almost a repeat of its performance in the previous election when it won 67 seats.

Kejriwal had announced his intention to resign over the weekend, saying he would sit on the chief minister’s chair only if the people of Delhi gave him a “certificate of honesty”.

“I got justice from the legal court, now I will get justice from the people’s court,” he told reporters.

Kejriwal has called for advancing the Delhi elections, which are scheduled for February next year, to November, aligning them with the upcoming polls in Maharashtra state.

Experts, however, say that is unlikely to happen.

Indian laws stipulate that elections cannot be scheduled less than six months before an assembly term’s end unless the assembly is dissolved early. Additionally, the Election Commission considers factors like weather, festivals, and electoral roll revisions before announcing elections.

• Arvind Kejriwal: The maverick leader who took on India’s Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is the AAP’s main opposition in Delhi, has called Kejriwal’s resignation a “publicity stunt” to galvanise public sympathy.

An anti-corruption crusader, Kejriwal was the third AAP leader to be arrested over alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped alcohol sales policy.

Manish Sisodia, a former deputy chief minister, and AAP leader Sanjay Singh were also arrested in the case. Sisodia was granted bail in August after spending 17 months in jail and Singh was released on bail in April.

The policy was introduced by AAP in 2021, saying it would curb black market sales, increase revenues and ensure even distribution of liquor licences.

It was withdrawn a few months later after Delhi’s Lieutenant-Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena accused AAP of exploiting rules to benefit private liquor barons.

The AAP denies the charges and has accused the BJP of using investigating agencies to unjustly target opposition leaders, a charge it denies.

At 43, Atishi has become the youngest and third woman to serve as chief minister of Delhi.

She currently holds important portfolios such as water, finance, power and education in Delhi’s cabinet.

In the absence of senior AAP leaders, who were jailed until recently, she served as the face of the party and swiftly gained prominence as a powerful leader.

Born to professors with Marxist leanings, Atishi studied at Delhi University and went to the University of Oxford for her master’s degree.

After spending a few years in teaching at a school in Karnataka, she was involved with alternative farming and education reforms in Madhya Pradesh.

She joined AAP in 2013 and has significantly contributed to overhauling Delhi’s public schools as an advisor to former Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia.

Riding on her reputation as an education reformer, she was elected to the Delhi assembly in 2020.

She had contested the 2019 parliamentary elections, but lost to former cricketer Gautam Gambhir.

Earlier this year, she made headlines after she went on an indefinite hunger strike to highlight Delhi’s water crisis during its peak summer months.

Thousands of people have been injured in Lebanon, after pagers used by the armed group Hezbollah to communicate dramatically exploded almost simultaneously across the country on Tuesday.

At least nine people were killed and some 2,800 injured, many of them seriously.

It is unclear how the attack – which looks to have been highly sophisticated – occurred, though Hezbollah has blamed its adversary Israel. Israeli officials have so far declined to comment.

Here is what we know so far.

The blasts began in Lebanon’s capital Beirut and several other areas of the country at about 15:45 local time (13:45 BST) on Tuesday.

Witnesses reported seeing smoke coming from people’s pockets, before seeing small explosions that sounded like fireworks and gunshots.

In one clip, CCTV footage appeared to show an explosion in a man’s trouser pocket as he stood at a shop till.

Explosions continued for around an hour after the initial blasts, the Reuters news agency reported.

Soon after, scores of people began arriving at hospitals across Lebanon, with witnesses reporting scenes of mass confusion.

• Pager explosions will devastate Hezbollah’s morale and manpower

Analysts have been quick to express shock at the scale of Tuesday’s attack – saying Hezbollah prides itself on its security measures.

Some suggested a hack may have caused the pager batteries to overheat, causing the devices to explode. Such an act would be unprecedented.

But many experts say that is unlikely, with footage of the explosions inconsistent with the batteries overheating.

Some analysts say instead that some sort of supply chain attack, which involved the pagers being tampered with during their manufacture or in transit, was more likely.

Supply chain attacks are a growing concern in the cyber security world with many high-profile incidents recently caused by hackers gaining access to products whilst they are in development.

But these attacks are normally contained to software. Hardware supply chain attacks are far rarer as they involve getting hands on to the device.

If this was indeed a supply chain attack it would have involved a huge operation to secretly tamper with the pagers in some way.

A former British Army munitions expert, who asked not to be named, told the BBC the devices could have been packed with between 10 to 20 grams each of military-grade high explosive, hidden inside a fake electronic component.

This, said the expert, would have been armed by a signal, something called an alphanumeric text message.

A source close to Hezbollah told AFP that two of those killed were the sons of two Hezbollah MPs. They also said the daughter of a Hezbollah member was killed.

Among the injured was Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani. Reports in Iranian media said his injuries were minor.

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was not hurt in the explosions, Reuters reported quoting a source.

Lebanese Public Health Minister Firass Abiad said damage to the hands and face made up the majority of injuries.

Speaking to the BBC’s Newshour programme, he said: “Most of the injuries appear to be to the face and especially to the eyes and also the hand with some amputations, whether it’s in the hands or the fingers, and some of them have injuries to their flank.”

He added: “The vast majority of the people who are presenting to the emergency rooms are in civilian clothes, so it’s very difficult to discern whether they belong to a certain entity like Hezbollah or others…

“But we are seeing among them people who are old or people who are very young, like the child who unfortunately died… and there are some of them who are healthcare workers,” the minister said.

Outside of Lebanon, 14 people were injured in similar blasts in neighbouring Syria, according to UK-based campaign group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

So far, nobody has claimed responsibility – though Lebanon’s prime minister and Hezbollah have blamed Israel.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the explosions represented a “serious violation of Lebanese sovereignty and a crime by all standards”.

In its statement accusing Israel of being behind the attacks, Hezbollah said it held the country “fully responsible for this criminal aggression that also targeted civilians”.

“This treacherous and criminal enemy will certainly receive its just punishment for this sinful aggression, whether it expects it or not,” it added.

Israeli officials have not commented on the allegations, but most analysts agree that it seems likely it is behind the attack.

Prof Simon Mabon, chair in International Relations at Lancaster University, told the BBC: “We know that Israel has a precedent of using technology to track its target” – but he called the scale of this attack “unprecedented”.

Lina Khatib, from the UK-based Chatham House, said the attack suggested that Israel has “deeply” infiltrated Hezbollah’s “communications network”.

Hezbollah has relied heavily on pagers as a low-tech means of communications to try to evade location-tracking by Israel.

A pager is a wireless telecommunications device that receives and displays alphanumeric or voice messages.

Mobile phones have long since been abandoned as simply too vulnerable, as Israel’s assassination of the Hamas bomb-maker Yahya Ayyash demonstrated as long ago as 1996, when his phone exploded in his hand.

But one Hezbollah operative told the AP news agency that the pagers were a new brand that the group had not used before.

Emily Harding, an ex-analyst with the CIA, said the security breach was deeply embarrassing to Hezbollah.

“A breach of this magnitude is not only physically harmful, but will also make them question their entire security apparatus,” she told the BBC.

“I would expect to see them conduct an intensive internal investigation that will distract them from a potential fight with Israel.”

Hezbollah is allied with Israel’s arch-nemesis in the region, Iran. The group is part of Tehran’s Axis of Resistance and has been engaged in a low-level war with Israel for months, frequently exchanging rocket and missile fire across Israel’s northern border. Entire communities have been displaced from both sides.

The blasts came just hours after Israel’s security cabinet made the safe return of residents to the north of the country an official war goal.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a visiting US official that Israel would “do what is necessary to ensure its security”.

Earlier on Monday, Israel’s domestic security agency said it had thwarted a Hezbollah attempt to assassinate a former official.

Despite the ongoing tensions, observers say that until now both sides have aimed to contain hostilities without crossing the line into full-scale war. But there are fears that the situation could spiral out of control, with Hezbollah already threatening to respond to Tuesday’s explosions.

“I thought I’d spend my whole life here, fighting a corrupt government – but the younger generation did something.”

Samadhi Paramitha Brahmananayake is looking at the field where she spent months camped out with thousands of other demonstrators in Sri Lanka’s capital in 2022.

She can’t quite believe that luscious green grass has replaced the hundreds of protester tents that filled the field opposite the presidential secretariat.

“I feel we’re now more energetic, more powerful,” says Ms Brahmananayake, a 33-year-old banker based in Colombo.

Two years ago, huge crowds forced the country’s deeply unpopular leader from office – now voters are just days away from choosing who they want for president.

It’s the first election since the mass protests – called the “aragalaya”, Sinhalese for struggle – which were sparked by Sri Lanka’s worst economic crisis. Inflation was at 70%. Basics like food, cooking gas and medicine were scarce.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the president at the time, and his government were blamed for the mess. He fled the country just before crowds stormed his residence. Euphoric protesters leapt into the presidential pool, taking victory laps.

Mithun Jayawardana, 28, was one of those swimmers. “It was awesome,” he said thinking back. Jobless, with no gas or electricity at home, he says he joined the aragalaya for a lark.

Today, he recognises how crucial the elections on Saturday are: “We need a president who is elected by the people. The people didn’t elect the current president.”

Ranil Wickremesinghe, the man who currently holds the job, was appointed to the position after Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned. Mr Wickremesinghe, who’s been tasked with steering Sri Lanka through a period of painful economic reform, is running for re-election as an independent.

He’s stood for president twice before but never succeeded, and his political future appears uncertain.

Many associate Wickremesinghe with the Rajapaksas, a political dynasty who have dominated Sri Lankan politics for decades. Many blame them for the years of financial mismanagement that led to Sri Lanka’s economic woes.

Even the country’s top court ruled that Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother Mahinda, another former president, were among 13 former leaders responsible for the financial crisis.

Despite the political baggage that comes with the name, a Rajapaksa has entered the political fray in these elections – there are still places the family enjoys a lot of support.

One such district is just over an hour outside Colombo. Music, fireworks and the cheers of supporters greeted Namal Rajapaksa as he approached the podium to address the hundreds that had come to hear him speak on Monday in the town of Minuwangoda. Even his father, Mahinda joined him on stage.

Namal Rajapaksa denied his family’s role in Sri Lanka’s economic collapse.

“We know our hands are clean, we know we have not done anything wrong to the people or this country,” he told the BBC.

“We are willing to face the people, let the public decide what they want and who to vote for.”

In all, a record 38 candidates are contesting the 21 September election, none of them women. In 2019, Sajid Premadasa, leader of the country’s main opposition party, won 42% of the popular vote, losing to Gotabaya Rajapaksa. This time around he is thought to be in with a chance too.

For people looking for change, many are looking to Anura Kumara Dissanayake. The candidate of the leftist National People’s Party alliance has emerged as an unlikely frontrunner.

Thousands of people flocked to a field in the small town of Mirigama, two hours north-west from Colombo, to hear Mr Dissanayake speak last Saturday, many wearing bright pink hats or T-shirts with his face.

“Yes 100% sure, okay,” he tells the BBC, when asked if he can win. Campaigning as the voice of the working class, he is hoping to disrupt Sri Lanka’s political establishment.

Unlike past elections in Sri Lanka, the economy is front and centre in this one.

Holding her four-year-old son Nehan, Rangika Munasinghe laments the higher taxes she now pays.

“It’s very difficult. Salaries are being reduced, taxes on products and food are high. Kids meals, milk powder, all more expensive. Taxes are so high, we can’t manage it,” the 35-year-old told the BBC at a busy market in Colombo.

Sri Lanka was able to stave off bankruptcy in 2022 thanks to loans from the International Monetary Fund, and countries like China and India. But now everyone is feeling the pressure from the country’s enormous $92bn (£69bn) debt burden, which includes both foreign and national debt.

“I’m doing two jobs,” says Mohamed Rajabdeen, who’s in his 70s. He is selling spoons from a stall off a busy street. Once this is done, he will travel to his second job, working in security.

“We should get good salaries, university students should get jobs, and people should be able to live in peace and harmony. We expect our government to fulfil all of that.”

Being that vocal about their expectations from elected officials is something new for many people in Sri Lanka. That change has been brought about by the protest movement, says Buwanaka Perera, a youth political activist.

“People are more gutsy in confronting the state or in confronting what’s wrong,” the 28-year-old said. “It’s not just the state, it’s trickled down to everyday things – it can be in your household, it can be in your streets. To make a stand to voice out and to look out for one another.”

Ms Brahmananayake agrees, calling it a lasting impact of her efforts and the thousands of others who participated in the uprising two years ago.

“People are talking about politics now. They are asking questions. I think people have the power in their hands. They can vote.”

Like her, climate and political activist Melani Gunathilaka, 37, knows the path forward will not be easy for Sri Lanka, but they have hope.

“There hasn’t been a change in the political and economic culture – but there has been a massive change in terms of society,” she says.

“For the first time people took charge, people exercised their democratic rights to do what’s right for the country.”

Ranil Wickremesinghe, a six-time former prime minister, was appointed president after Gotabaya Rajapaksa was ousted in 2022.

The 75-year-old, who faced the monumental task of trying to lead Sri Lanka out of economic collapse, has been accused of protecting the Rajapaksa family, allowing them to regroup, while shielding them from prosecution – allegations he has denied.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake is the candidate of the leftist National People’s Party alliance.

His promises of tough anti-corruption measures and good governance have boosted his candidacy, positioning the 55-year-old as a serious contender.

Sajith Premadasa, the runner-up last time, is the leader of the country’s main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB).

Earlier this week, he told news agency AP that he would ensure that the rich would pay more taxes and the poor would see their conditions improve if he won.

Namal Rajapaksa comes from a powerful political clan that produced two presidents.

The 38-year-old’s campaign has centred around the legacy of his father, who is still seen as a hero by some Sri Lankans for presiding over the bloody end to the civil war against Tamil Tiger rebels. But he needs to win over voters who blame the Rajapaksas for the economic crisis.

Hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has been denied bail after pleading not guilty in a sex-trafficking case.

A New York federal judge remanded the musician in custody after prosecutors argued he was a “serious flight risk”.

Mr Combs, 54, was arrested on Monday evening, accused of running a criminal enterprise from at least 2008 that relied on drugs and violence to force women to “fulfill his sexual desires”, according to prosecutors.

A 14-page indictment charges him with racketeering, sex trafficking by force, and transportation to engage in prostitution.

If convicted on all three counts, the rapper and record producer faces a sentence of 15 years up to life in prison.

He was wearing a black T-shirt and grey sweatpants during Tuesday’s court appearance in Manhattan.

Asked by US Magistrate Judge Robyn Tarnofsky how he wished to plead, Mr Combs stood up and said: “Not guilty.”

According to court documents, Mr Combs “wielded the power” of his status to “lure female victims… to engage in extended sex acts” called “Freak Offs”.

“During Freak Offs, Combs distributed a variety of controlled substances to victims, in part to keep the victims obedient and compliant,” the indictment said.

In a news briefing, US prosecutor Damian Williams said officials found firearms, ammunition and more than 1,000 bottles of lubricant during raids on Mr Combs’s homes in Miami and Los Angeles, about six months ago.

Mr Williams said federal agents had also found three semi-automatic rifles with defaced serial numbers, and a drum magazine.

He told reporters that further charges were possible, without offering specific details.

Mr Combs’s lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said the defence team had already launched an appeal against the judge’s bail decision, with a hearing set for Wednesday.

“We believe in him wholeheartedly,” Mr Agnifilo told reporters at the Manhattan court.

“He didn’t do these things. There’s no coercion and no crime. He’s not afraid of the charges.”

Mr Agnifilo said Mr Combs was the target of “an unjust prosecution”.

In court documents, federal prosecutors said that Mr Combs had “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct”.

Prosecutors accuse Mr Combs of “creating a criminal enterprise” whose members – under his direction – engaged in sex trafficking, forced labour, kidnapping, arson and bribery.

“On numerous occasions”, the documents said, Mr Combs assaulted women by “striking, punching, dragging, throwing objects at, and kicking them”.

The indictment did not specify how many women were alleged victims. It also does not accuse Mr Combs himself of engaging directly in unwanted sexual acts with women.

The Bad Boy records founder, who was also known during his career as P. Diddy and Puff Daddy, has faced many of the accusations before.

Last November, his ex-girlfriend, singer Casandra Elizabeth Ventura, filed a civil lawsuit against him that included graphic descriptions of violent abuse. He denied the accusations, but settled the case a day after it was filed.

In May, Mr Combs released a public apology after video footage from a Los Angeles hotel appeared to show him beating Ms Ventura in a hallway.

Tuesday’s indictment against Mr Combs accuses him of similar violence.

Ms Ventura’s lawyer, Douglas Wigdor​​​​, declined to comment on Mr Combs’s arrest.

The indictment follows a string of sexual assault allegations against Mr Combs, one of the most successful music moguls in the history of rap.

Four women, including Ms Ventura, have filed lawsuits accusing him of sexual and physical abuse.

In a statement issued last December, Mr Combs defended himself against what he described as “sickening allegations” made by “individuals looking for a quick payday”.

In June, he returned a ceremonial “Key to the City of New York” following a request from Mayor Eric Adams, who had bestowed the honour on him just nine months beforehand.

Days later, Howard University announced it was revoking Mr Combs’s 2014 honorary degree.

The musician is credited with helping turn rappers and R&B singers such as Usher, Mary J Blige and Notorious B.I.G. into stars in the 1990s and 2000s.

The tobacco giant that makes Marlboro cigarettes has sold a UK inhaler company for a knock-down price due to what it calls an “unwarranted” backlash.

Philip Morris International (PMI) has offloaded Vectura Group for £150m ($198m) just three years after buying it in a deal worth more than £1bn.

PMI’s decision to buy Vectura, which makes inhalers to treat lung conditions such as asthma, was criticised as being hypocritical.

However, PMI defended the move as part of its strategy to away from cigarettes and towards “smoke free” businesses like vaping.

PMI announced the sale to electronics firm Molex Asia Holdings on Wednesday, saying it releases Vectura “from the unreasonable burden of external constraints and criticism related to our ownership”.

The deal, which still needs regulatory approval, will see Molex pay an up-front fee of £150m and “potential deferred payments of up to £148m” if certain requirements are met.

PMI’s boss Jacek Olczak also said the company remains “committed to driving innovation in this space over the long-term”, suggesting it has not moved on entirely from the inhaler sector.

The Vectura purchase was part of PMI’s push towards a “smoke free world”. PMI has said it wants two thirds of its sales to come from non-cigarette sales by 2030.

However, health charities have voiced scepticism about the sincerity of PMI’s pledge considering the billions of pounds it still makes from cigarette sales.

Its latest financial results for the three months to the end of June showed that more than 60% of its $9.47bn (£7.19bn) sales came from cigarettes.

Over that period, PMI accounted for 23.6% of the global cigarette market by revenue.

The news comes as the new Labour government has said it is considering an outdoor smoking ban at pubs.

Health experts have welcomed the plans, but many pub owners have told the BBC that they were worried about the impact on their businesses.

The Indian state of West Bengal has agreed to remove the police chief of its capital, Kolkata, following a meeting with doctors protesting the rape and murder of their colleague.

Two other senior officials – the director of medical education and the director of health services – will also be removed, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said.

Thousands of junior doctors in the state have been on a strike since 9 August, when the body of the 31-year-old woman was found at the state-run hospital where she worked.

The crime sparked nationwide outrage and concerns about the safety of health workers in India.

A hospital volunteer was arrested in connection with the case, which is now being investigated by a federal agency.

The protesting doctors have voiced five key changes: justice for the victim, the removal of senior police officials, and enhanced security for health workers, among them.

• Indian women lead night protests after doctor’s rape and murder
• Rape and murder of doctor in hospital sparks protests in India
• Raped Indian doctor’s colleague speaks of trauma and pain

On Monday, Banerjee announced the government had accepted some of their demands.

“The commissioner of Kolkata Police will be removed on Tuesday evening and there will be some more changes,” she said at a midnight press conference, held after a five-hour meeting with a delegation of protesters.

The decision has raised hopes for junior doctors resuming work – but protesters have said they would decide their next steps only after the promises made by the government are fulfilled.

The woman’s murder has sparked an outpouring of anger, especially in West Bengal.

A series of protests have taken place since the killing. The largest saw tens of thousands of women across West Bengal participating in the Reclaim the Night march on 14 August to demand “independence to live in freedom and without fear”.

While protests died down in other parts of India, doctors in Kolkata refused to back down till all their demands are met.

Thousands of them have set up camp outside the state’s health department headquarters, defying a Supreme Court order for them to return to work, which was passed last week.

Authorities had earlier invited the protesters for a meeting with the chief minister but the doctors insisted on livestreaming the meeting, which the government declined.

The protests have put the West Bengal government on the back foot.

Courts criticised the local administration and police for lapses in the handling of the case, which they have denied.

The state government has said that 23 people have died after not accessing medical services during the strike. But the protesting doctors say they have ensured that emergency services are not affected.

On Monday, Banerjee announced that no action will be taken against protesting doctors for abstaining from work.

India’s Supreme Court has said the incident had “shocked the conscience of the nation” and criticised authorities for their handling of the investigation.

Banerjee’s government has announced a slew of measures for women’s safety at workplaces, including designated retiring rooms and CCTV-monitored “safe zones” at state-run hospitals.

Somalia may be one of the poorest countries in the world and beset by violence, but it is “fixable”, according to its top climate official.

The country has been torn apart by more than 30 years of overlapping conflicts – including an Islamist insurgency, a civil war, and a series of regional and clan confrontations. Yet Abdihakim Ainte, the Somali prime minister’s climate advisor, still regards his country as “as story of potential – of promise”.

What makes his optimism all the more surprising is the fact climate change is amplifying virtually all the challenges his country faces.

One commentator described climate change as a “chaos multiplier”, because it exacerbates existing tensions and entrenches conflict in fragile states like this.

The Climate Question

But Somalia, the easternmost country in continental Africa, can’t be held responsible for our changing climate. The figures are staggering. Somalia has emitted roughly as much carbon dioxide from fossil fuels since the 1950s as the US economy does in an average three days.

The most obvious effects of climate change here have been in agriculture. Somalia is still overwhelmingly an agricultural economy, with about two thirds of the population depending on farming and animal herding for most of their income.

In 2022 the country experienced its worst drought for 40 years – an event scientists estimate was made 100 times more likely by human-caused climate change.

The extent of the challenge Somalia faces became clear as the convoy of International Red Cross (ICRC) Land Cruisers we were travelling in rumbled into the dry scrub that covers most of the country. We were accompanied by three guards clutching AK47s – Somalia is the only country in the world where Red Cross staff travel with armed security as standard.

The camel herders and small-scale farmers we met are on the front line of climate change here. For thousands of years Somalis have been eking out a living moving their herds of camels and goats from one pasture to the next across this dry land.

But climate change is disrupting the patterns of rain that made this way of life possible.

Sheik Don Ismail told us he lost all his camels during the drought, when grazing grounds dried up and the fodder he grew on his small farm wasn’t enough to sustain them.

“The well became dry and there was no pasture, so the animals began to die,” he said, shaking his head. “The life we lead now is really bad – really bad.”

That drought left farmers and herders fighting for access to water and pasture. Sheik Don said he was sometimes forced to defend his land at gunpoint.

“There is no respect if you don’t have a gun,” he said. “The herders who lead their animals into the farm stay back when they see my weapon. They get scared.”

In a country divided into rival clan groups and already scarred by violence, these localised disputes can easily spiral into full-blown battles, said Cyril Jaurena, who runs the ICRC operation in Somalia.

“Access to boreholes and pastureland gets more and more difficult to find, and so the population in the area might end up fighting – competing for those resources, and sometimes it goes to people shooting at each other,” he warned.

And drought isn’t the only problem here. Last year Somalia experienced terrible floods as a result of rains scientists say were made twice as intense by human-caused global warming. The floodwater washed away precious soils killing hundreds of people and displacing one million others.

The effects of Somalia’s climate change “double whammy” are all too evident in the hunger clinic the Red Cross runs in a hospital in the port city of Kismayo on the south coast.

Every day a steady stream of mothers bring their malnourished babies here. Many have had to cross from territory controlled by al-Qaeda’s lethal affiliate, Islamist militants al-Shabab, to get here.

The UN estimates more than 1.5m children under the age of five are acutely malnourished in Somalia.

Around four million Somalis have been driven into vast makeshift refugee camps – about a fifth of the total population.

Displaced people make their homes out of anything they can get hold of – pieces of old fabric, plastic sheets and rusty corrugated iron – all draped over a web of dry sticks. Some people even unroll tin cans into strips to form parts of their walls.

There is little international support, if any. At the refugee camp I visited, just outside the city of Garowe in the north of Somalia, families have to pay for their food and water, as well as pay rent for the scraps of land where they build their shacks.

After more than three decades of war, Somalia has fallen way down the list of international priorities. Its problems have been eclipsed by what seem like more urgent conflicts, in places like Ukraine and Gaza. The UN calculates Somalia needs at least $1.6bn (about £1.2bn) to meet the basic humanitarian needs of the people this year, but so far just $600 million has been pledged by donor governments.

The entwined impacts of climate and conflict have created a huge reservoir of potential recruits for the country’s many conflicts.

Those in the camps are desperate for money, and the easiest work to come by – according to the people I spoke to – is as a paid fighter with one of the many rival armies.

One woman told me of her fears for her husband and four of her five sons after they became fighters with a local militia.

“They are rural people with no skills, so the only work they could get was in the army,” Halima Ibrahim Ali Mohamud said as we sat on carpets laid over the dirt floor of her hut.

“They were desperate, and when you are without food long enough, and your children are looking at you, you will do anything.”

As we went from shack to shack, mothers told us similar stories of husbands and sons who had left to become fighters, some of whom had been killed.

But many Somali people are taking action. The local power station in Garowe has been investing in wind and solar power, for example.

The decision wasn’t prompted by some international initiative, says the company CEO. Abdirazak Mohamed said he hasn’t received any grants or aid from abroad. The National Energy Corporation of Somalia (NECSOM), who he works for, is making the investments because renewables – energy derived from natural sources like the sun and the wind – are much better value than the diesel generators the power station used to rely on.

I met Somali entrepreneurs setting up businesses, including a woman who had arrived in the Garowe refugee camp with nothing, but who set up a thriving business.

Amina Osman Mohamed explained how she had borrowed food from a local stall, cooked it, and used the small profit she made to do the whole thing again the following day.

The small but busy café she created generates the extra cash she so desperately needs to care for her sick husband and 11 children – including those of her widowed daughter.

As I left Amina’s bustling café, I began to understand why the Somali prime minister’s climate advisor is optimistic about his country’s future.

There is hope. But with climate change turbo-charging the conflict here, this country will need continued international help to make peace and build resilience against our changing climate.

As the sun was rising Baltimore 26 March, Maria del Carmen Castellón received news that she never expected: her husband, Miguel Angel Luna Gonzalez, was missing in the cold, dark waters of Maryland’s Patapsco river.

“I got a knock on the door from my husband’s son,” she recalls. “It’s news I wouldn’t wish on any wife. At that moment, I wished I had wings so I could fly and save him.”

Luna, a 49-year-old father of three originally from El Salvador, was one of eight workers fixing potholes on Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge when it was struck by a 948ft (289m) cargo ship – the M/V Dali – sending an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 tonnes of debris into the shipping channel below.

Six of the workers – all originally from Latin America – died in the bridge collapse.

It would be more than five weeks until Luna’s body was recovered in early May.

“That was the hardest day of my life,” Ms Castellón said. “It opened a wound in my heart that will never heal.”

Now, six months on from the disaster, the families of three of the dead workers are suing the shipping company, Grace Ocean Private Ltd, arguing that its “negligence” and actions directly led to the collapse of the bridge and the deaths of their loved ones.

“We’re fighting for justice,” added Ms Castellón, speaking in Spanish to reporters at the Baltimore offices of Casa, an advocacy organisation focused on immigrants. “Justice means preventing future tragedies.”

While a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation into the incident is ongoing, a preliminary report issued in May found that the Dali had lost electrical power four times in a span of less than 12 hours before colliding with the Key Bridge.

“There’s a lot that we still don’t know,” said Matthew Wessler, a lawyer working on behalf of the three families. “But in our view, that [the repeated loss of power] should have led the ship to fully assess what had gone wrong and fix the problem.”

In federal court earlier this year, Grace Ocean sought to limit its legal exposure from the disaster.

Contacted by the BBC, a spokesman for Grace Ocean said the filing of claims from the families “was anticipated”, but the company “will have no further comments on the merits of any claim” for the time being.

The lawsuit is one of several faced by Synergy and Grace Ocean in the wake of the accident.

The city of Baltimore and a collection of local business owners have also sued the firms, claiming that the ship was unseaworthy when it set off for its March voyage.

Speaking to reporters in Baltimore on Tuesday, Ms Castellón recalled that the day before the accident, the couple went to look at a rental property where they were hoping to open a small restaurant.

The two had already worked together on a food truck, with Luna helping when not at his construction job.

“As we looked through the windows, we spoke about a future in which he wouldn’t have to suffer at a dangerous job,” Ms Castellón said, crying. “Those moments were filled with laughter, and love,” she added.

“But those dreams were shattered that morning when I lost him,” Ms Castellón added.

That night as he left for work, he left her a letter which he signed off with “I love you”.

“I carry that in my heart now,” she added.

Lawyers and immigration advocates working with the families say they also hope the incident highlights the often dangerous – but crucial work – of immigrants in the US.

A former employee of the company behind the doomed Titan submersible has told a public hearing he believed a safety incident was “inevitable” as the firm “bypassed” all standard rules.

OceanGate’s former operations director David Lochridge testified to US Coast Guard investigators that he had warned of potential safety problems before he was fired in 2018, but was ignored.

Five people on board the Titan sub died when the experimental deep-sea craft imploded in June 2023 as it began a planned descent to the wreck of the Titanic.

The public hearings began on Monday as part of a two-week inquiry by the US Coast Guard into the disaster. The investigation has been going on for 15 months.

Mr Lochridge’s highly anticipated testimony on Tuesday marked his first time speaking out publicly since raising concerns with his former employer.

He was fired from OceanGate and sued by the company for revealing confidential information. He countersued for wrongful dismissal.

A key former employee of the company, he had been asked by the CEO, Stockton Rush, to assemble a quality inspection report in 2018 of the Titan.

US court documents show Mr Lochridge had major concerns with the Titan’s design, including the fact it was made from carbon fibre, warning that the material would damage further with every dive.

On Tuesday, he told US Coast Guard investigators the “whole idea” of OceanGate was “to make money”.

“There was very little in the way of science,” he said.

Mr Lochridge also accused the company and its CEO of “arrogance”, saying they refused to work with experts at the University of Washington to develop the Titan submersible and opted to do all the engineering in house.

“They think they could do this on their own without proper engineering support,” he said.

He testified his relationship with the company began breaking down in 2016 because he raised concerns about safety, saying he was probably labelled “the troublemaker” for being outspoken.

Mr Lockridge was one of as many as 10 former OceanGate employees, including co-founder Guillermo Sohnlein, and experts in marine safety and undersea exploration expected to speak to the Coast Guard’s Marine Board of Investigations (MBI).

On Monday, officials detailed communications between the Titan and its mother ship, the Polar Prince.

It was revealed “all good here” was one of the final messages from the submersible before it imploded.

OceanGate’s former engineering director Tony Nissen told the hearing that he once refused to get into the sub several years before Titan’s last trip.

“‘I’m not getting in it,’” Mr Nissen said he told the company CEO, Rush, also testifying that he had felt pressured to get the vessel ready to dive.

While offering a historical look at the Titan, officials noted it was never subject to third-party testing and had been left exposed to weather and other elements while in storage.

They noted that during 13 dives to the Titanic in 2021 and 2022, the submersible had 118 equipment issues.

Officials also offered a handful of specific examples of submersible failures including its batteries dying and leaving passengers stuck inside for 27 hours.

As well as OceanGate’s CEO, British explorer Hamish Harding, veteran French diver Paul Henri Nargeolet, the British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman were on board the ship.

OceanGate suspended all exploration and commercial operations following the incident.

Dominique Pelicot, the 71-year-old man accused of drugging his wife to sleep and recruiting dozens of men to abuse her for over 10 years, has admitted to all the charges against him in his first testimony since the trial opened on 2 September.

Referring to the 50 co-defendants who are accused of raping his now ex-wife Gisèle, Mr Pelicot said: “I am a rapist like the others in this room.”

“They all knew, they cannot say the contrary,” he said. Only 15 of the 50 defendants admit rape, with most saying they only took part in sexual acts.

Of his ex-wife, Mr Pelicot said: “She did not deserve this.”

“I was very happy with her,” he told the court.

He begged his wife and family to accept his apology, saying: “I ask for forgiveness, even though it is unacceptable.”

Gisèle, who was given the chance to respond shortly after, said: “It is difficult for me to listen to this. For 50 years, I lived with a man who I would’ve never imagined could be capable of this. I trusted him completely.”

Although no cameras are allowed in court, the trial is open to the public at the request of Gisèle Pelicot, who waived her right to anonymity at the beginning of the proceedings. Her legal team said opening up the trial would shift the “shame” back on to the accused.

As she stepped out of the courtroom during a pause in the hearing on Tuesday, Gisèle was met by applause from onlookers, and she smiled as she accepted a bouquet of flowers.

Since the trial began, Gisèle has become a symbol of resilience and courage. Last weekend, thousands of people gathered in cities across France to show their support to her and other victims of rape, and the trial has ignited a national conversation on marital rape, consent and chemical submission.

Mr Pelicot, who is a father and grandfather, began his testimony by telling the court of traumatic childhood experiences and said he was abused by a male nurse when he was nine years old.

When asked about his marriage to Gisèle, Mr Pelicot said he considered suicide when he found out she was having an affair.

Throughout his testimony on Tuesday morning, Mr Pelicot repeatedly assured the court that he never “hated” his wife and was in fact “crazy about [her]… I loved her immensely and I still do.”

“I loved her well for 40 years and badly for 10,” he added, apparently referring to the decade during which he drugged her and abused her.

Mr Pelicot was then questioned by Stéphane Babonneau, one of Gisèle’s lawyers, who asked him why he had been unable to find the will to stop abusing her, even when she started presenting medical problems.

In previous sessions of the trial, Gisèle said she had been worried she was developing Alzheimer’s or a brain tumour because of hair and weight loss and large memory gaps. These were, in fact, side-effects of the drugs her husband was giving her.

“I tried to stop, but my addiction was stronger, the need was growing,” he said.

“I was trying to reassure her, I betrayed her trust. I should’ve stopped sooner, in fact I should’ve never started at all.”

Mr Pelicot is also accused of drugging and abusing his daughter, Caroline, after semi-naked photos of her were found on his laptop. He has previously denied this and on Tuesday he also stated he had never touched his grandchildren. “I can look my family in the eyes and tell them that nothing else occurred,” he said.

Mr Pelicot also said he “became perverted” when, in 2010, he met a male nurse on the internet who suggested he drug his wife with a sedative, explained how to administer it and shared photos of drugged women. “That’s when it all clicked,” Mr Pelicot said. “Everything started then.”

In one section of Tuesday’s hearing, Mr Pelicot was also asked about the thousands of videos he filmed of men abusing his unconscious wife. These were found by investigators and were instrumental in tracking down the 50 men who are now accused of rape.

Mr Pelicot recognised he had filmed the men partly for “pleasure,” but also “as insurance”.

Throughout the morning, Mr Pelicot appeared determined to rebut one of the main lines of defence of several of the accused, which hinges on the premise they did not “know” they were raping Gisèle – in other words, that they thought they were having consensual intercourse with her.

Mr Pelicot met the defendants on a chat room called “Without her knowledge” on a now-closed website which hosted pornographic material.

“I didn’t force anyone, they came to look for me,” he said on Tuesday. “They asked me if they could come, and I said yes. I never handcuffed and dragged anyone.”

Some have said they were “manipulated” by Mr Pelicot into believing they were taking part in an erotic game in which Gisèle was only pretending to be asleep because she was shy, and several denied they knew they were being filmed.

But Mr Pelicot said the only person he ever “manipulated” was his wife, and also said that the men must have known they were being filmed: “There was a tripod and a screen attached to it, everyone could see it as soon as they walked into the room.”

Mr Pelicot said he wanted to prove that his wife “was a victim and not an accomplice. To prove that everything happened without her knowledge. I’m aware many [defendants] have disputed this.”

Béatrice Zavarro, Mr Pelicot’s lawyer, told French TV that she did not know what people would think of her client, but that he was “sharing his truth”.

She added that Mr Pelicot was “very downtrodden” and that although she did not know what his wife would make of his request for forgiveness, “the confession is now under way and he will continue.”

She said: “We will get to the end of this trial and we will know everything about Dominique Pelicot.”

Mr Pelicot, who was diagnosed with a kidney infection and kidney stones, was absent from court for nearly a week because of illness. He is set to give his testimony throughout the day, although he will be allowed frequent breaks.

Exuberant young men splashing around in a pool with one theatrically soaping himself as a crowd cheered. Sri Lankans dancing in an opulent hallway as the iconic bands played festive tunes with trumpets and drums.

These scenes beamed across the world on 13 July 2022 in the hours after crowds overran the presidential palace, forcing then-leader Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country.

It was a moment of triumph for them.

Hundreds of thousands of people from across Sri Lanka had defied a national curfew – they braved tear gas shells and water cannons to march peacefully to the presidential palace, calling on Rajapaksa to step down.

For weeks, he had resisted calls to resign, even though his elder brother Mahinda Rajapaksa had already quit as prime minister to try to defuse public fury.

Months of protests – called the “aragalaya” (struggle) in Sinhala – had culminated in the events of July 2022, leading to Mr Rajapaksa’s humiliating, hurried exit.

Just a few months earlier, such events would have been unthinkable.

For years, the Rajapaksa family – led by Mahinda – held a vice-like grip over Sri Lankan politics.

In his first term, Mahinda Rajapaksa presided over the bloody end to Sri Lanka’s civil war against Tamil Tiger rebels. That victory helped him establish himself as a national “saviour” among the island’s majority Sinhalese – his most ardent supporters compared him to an emperor.

As he grew more powerful, so did his family. He appointed his younger brother, Gotabaya, as defence secretary – a position he wielded ruthlessly, critics say. Two other brothers – Basil and Chamal – rose to the jobs of finance minister and parliamentary speaker respectively.

The family appealed to a majority-Sinhalese nationalist base. So, for years, they survived allegations of corruption, economic misrule, widespread human rights abuses and suppression of dissent.

That changed in 2022, when a slew of policies set off the country’s worst-ever economic crisis.

Seventeen years after Mahinda first became president, Sri Lankan crowds celebrated the Rajapaksas’ fall, certain the family was finished.

But was it?

Cut to two years later, and Mahinda Rajapaksa’s son, Namal, has thrown his hat into the ring for the presidential election to be held on 21 September.

“It is bad enough that the people who were driven out after the aragalaya [mass protests] are contesting these polls,” Lakshan Sandaruwan, a university student who took part in the demonstrations, told BBC Sinhala. “What is even worse is that some may actually vote for a member of that family.”

Namal is not the only Rajapaksa who is back on the scene.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa himself – the man angry protesters chased out of the country – did not stay away for long.

He returned just 50 days after his inglorious departure, first to Singapore and then Thailand. On his return, he was given the privileges of a former president: a plush bungalow and security, all of it paid for by the government.

Ranil Wickremesinghe, an opposition politician, was appointed as president for the remaining two years of Rajapaksa’s tenure. The family-led Sri Lanka Podu Jana Peramuna Party (SLPP), which has a two-thirds majority in parliament, threw their support behind him.

Before his unexpected elevation, Wickremesinghe, a six-time former prime minister, was the only MP from his United National Party after their abysmal showing in the 2020 parliamentary elections.

He has focused on rebuilding the economy. But he has been accused of protecting the Rajapaksa family, allowing them to regroup, while shielding them from prosecution – allegations he has denied.

Hours after Wickremesinghe became president, the military was deployed to clear the crowds at Galle Face in Colombo, which had been the epicentre of the protests.

Dozens of soldiers swooped on the site, dismantling tents and other belongings of demonstrators. In the following months, those who had stormed the presidential palace and were seen walking out with “souvenirs” – such as bed sheets or the odd keepsake to remember a historic day – have been jailed.

“Ranil protected the Rajapaksa family from the wrath of the people, ensuring the continuity of the SLPP-led parliament, cabinet and the government, and not doing anything to stop corruption, and even suppressing the progress of any investigation against the Rajapaksa family members,” said political scientist Jayadeva Uyangoda.

“He also protected them from international pressure for holding them accountable to serious human rights violations and war-related allegations.”

This has angered many Sri Lankans who are living through a cost-of-living crisis, and enduring more hardships because of reforms intended to revive a stagnant economy.

Although there are no shortages or power cuts, prices have sky-rocketed. The government has also scrapped subsidies on essentials such as electricity, and cut welfare spending.

Taxes, meanwhile, have gone up as Wickremesinghe has sharply increased tax rates and widened the net to shore up public revenue.

Some economists say the painful measures are necessary to restore Sri Lanka’s macro-economic stability as it attempts to restructure its international debt and stick to the terms of the bailout agreed with the International Monetary Fund.

The country’s foreign reserves have risen to around $6bn from a mere $20m at the height of the crisis, and inflation is around 0.5%.

But the real-world impact on millions of ordinary Sri Lankans has been devastating.

A study from policy research organisation Lirne Asia, which surveyed 10,000 households, estimated that as many as three million people fell below the poverty line in 2023, pushing the number of poor from four million to seven million.

These families are going hungry and, desperate for more money, they are pulling their children out of school.

The Rajapaksas have denied any wrongdoing but in 2023, the country’s Supreme Court ruled that the family – including Gotabaya and Mahinda – was directly responsible for economic mismanagement between 2019 and 2022, which triggered the crisis.

Nimesha Hansini, a university student in Colombo, told BBC Sinhala she felt the Rajapaksas were “directly responsible for the economic crisis due to the financial frauds carried out under the guise of development projects during their reign”.

“But nothing has changed for them – only their political power has decreased,” she added.

“I don’t have much to say about them,” says Rashmi, a farmer in the traditional Rajapaksa stronghold of Hambantota. “We are suffering because of what they have done. We voted for them before, but that will never happen again.”

These are the minds that Namal Rajapaksa is hoping to change – he wants to win back the base.

His campaign has centred around the legacy of his father Mahinda, who is still seen as a hero by some Sri Lankans.

This is despite some international calls to prosecute him for war crimes. The UN estimates that 100,000 people including 40,000 Tamil civilians were killed by Sri Lankan armed forces in the final stages of the conflict, but Mahinda Rajapaksa has never been convicted of any wrongdoing and rejects such allegations.

Mahinda’s images adorn Namal’s campaign rallies and his social media posts feature illustrations showing him alongside his father when he was younger.

He has even tried to highlight their resemblence to each other, growing out his moustache and wearing Mahinda’s trademark red shawl.

Many of his campaign posts strike a note of defiance: “We do not fear challenges; in fact, we welcome them. That’s something I learned from my father.”

Another post refers to him as “patriotic, courageous and forward-thinking”.

“It seems to me that Namal Rajapaksa thinks, not incorrectly, that representing the legacy of his father will enable him to protect his father’s vote base and benefit from it,” Prof Uyangoda said.

“It is one way to rebuild the shattered electoral bases of the SLPP.”

But many voters don’t appear to be buying it – and polls don’t suggest Namal is a serious contender for the top job.

One comment on a campaign post on Namal’s Instagram account was scathing: “The latest heir of the Rajapaksa family taking a shot at the presidency? Quite the family business isn’t it?”

Reactions on the ground were more vitriolic. “I will never vote for Namal Rajapaksa. The years of hardship we have lived are a curse on that family,” HM Sepalika, a villager who’s been resettled in Vavuniya in the north, told BBC Sinhala.

“The people of this country got together and staged this struggle because they didn’t want the Rajapaksas. But they still have so much greed and lust for power that they are trying to come back and ask people to vote for them,” said Nishanthi Harapitiya, a shop assistant in Hambantota.

Others say they cannot take Namal seriously.

“Why should he ask for our vote? He is a child with no experience. Who will vote for him? Unless someone votes for him out of pity for his father, he cannot be elected president,” said Mohammed Haladeen, a trader from Kathankudy in eastern Sri Lanka.

Attention is now largely focused on three candidates: opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, the leftist National People’s Party alliance’s Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Wickremesinghe, who is running as an independent candidate.

But Namal Rajapaksa could be playing a longer game.

Recent elections have shown that families or allies of once-unpopular strongmen do make big political comebacks – such as Bongbong Marcos in the Philippines or even Prabowo Subianto of Indonesia.

“He wants to remain politically relevant, protect the SLPP’s voter base, and be politically active till 2029,” Prof Uyangoda said.

Lakshan Sandaruwan, the university student who took part in the demonstrations, agrees.

“Namal is contesting the polls to prepare the necessary background for 2029, not to become the president this time,” he said.

“But if the people do not act intelligently, the people themselves will create a Rajapaksa president again.”

A supermoon has lit up the sky across the world coinciding with a rare partial lunar eclipse.

The Moon could be seen to appear brighter and bigger on Tuesday night.

Supermoons happen when the Moon is at its closest point to Earth in its orbit.

A rare partial lunar eclipse – when the Earth’s shadow covers part of the Moon – also happened with about 4% of the Moon’s disc covered in darkness.

Over night from Tuesday into Wednesday, the lunar phenomenon was visible across the globe – with some of the clearest sightings in the UK and the US.

The eclipse was also visible in Latin America, Europe and Africa, as well as small parts of Asia and the Middle East.

This month’s full moon – known as the Harvest moon – is the second of four “supermoons” this year.

The next partial eclipse will be in August 2026, which will be special as around 96% of the Moon will be in shadow.

A second apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump has spotlighted several issues facing the agency tasked with protecting one of the world’s most high-profile men.

Trump’s public profile has posed a unique security and funding challenge for the Secret Service, a former agent told BBC News.

“It’s dialled up,” said Paul Eckloff, a Secret Service agent of 20 years who protected Trump during his presidency.

“The amount of time he spends outside, the exuberance of his fan base, the number and size of rallies, and the lack of military support, does make it more difficult.”

The Secret Service, which protects presidents and other top US officials, was central to both incidents that threatened Trump’s life.

The agency has recently raised concerns about the resources needed to fund the former president’s protection detail.

Earlier this week, a Secret Service agent spotted a gunman hiding in the bushes near the former president’s West Palm Beach, Florida, golf course.

The agent fired on the suspect, who sped away in a car before being arrested a short time later.

This follows a July assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where another gunman opened fire and struck Trump’s ear. The episode brought intense scrutiny to the Secret Service.

The agency’s leadership has been hauled before Congress since then, its director resigned after intense pressure, and lawmakers have since set up a task force to examine this summer’s threats to the Republican candidate’s life.

The most recent incident, meanwhile, has led to calls for new funding for the Secret Service to ensure it can adequately protect presidential candidates in a political climate that many fear could lead to more violence.

As details of the apparent assassination attempt emerged, President Joe Biden told reporters on Monday that the Secret Service “needs more help” and Congress should respond.

The agency has scaled up its efforts since July, but the calendar could prove a challenge for expediting new funding for the agency.

There are fewer than 50 days until the 5 November election, and a politically split Capitol Hill is unable to agree on the next budget, which means the US could face a government shutdown on 1 October.

More money for the Secret Service could be a hard sell given those political realities.

House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, the Republican leader at the centre of the congressional budget fight, dismissed the need for the Secret Service to receive budget help.

“I don’t think it’s a funding issue,” he said on Fox News. “President Trump needs the most coverage of anyone. He’s the most attacked; he’s the most threatened.”

But Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe wrote in a letter to Congress last week that “increased mission requirements of the Secret Service necessitate additional resources”.

The Secret Service has long worried about protecting Trump at his golf courses, the Washington Post reported, and had even tried to warn the former president about the opportunities it could provide to a would-be assailant.

In 2022, then-US Secret Service Director James Murray warned US lawmakers that the agency was scrambling to keep up with the pace and scale of Trump’s rallies.

He noted that the loss of the military support that a sitting president receives had put a greater strain on the agents assigned to protecting Trump after he left the White House.

The Secret Service had protected presidents at rallies before. But with Trump, “the nature is different, and we’re seeing sometimes two, three, four, of these rallies every month”, Mr Murray told the House Appropriations Committee at the time.

Trump’s pastime of golf adds a different challenge.

“The hobby of golf is particularly problematic: You’re outside, an outdoor venue, for hours at a time,” said Mr Eckloff.

Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said on Monday that if Trump had been a sitting president, “we would have had this entire golf course surrounded”.

Other presidents, including Barack Obama, also had a penchant for playing golf while in office. But the former president frequently played on a military base, where security was easier to manage, according to Mr Eckloff, the former Secret Service agent.

This week, lawmakers called for presidential candidates from both parties to receive the same level of protection as a sitting US president.

The acting head of the US Secret Service said this week that Trump’s security was now at its “highest level”.

Trump’s existing protection is as “near as possible to presidential-level security that can be done”, said Mr Eckloff.

But, he acknowledged, “that’s not to say you couldn’t do more”.

Dancing with the Stars is known for its glitz and glitter, and a staple of US television for almost 20 years. But on Tuesday during the show’s prime-time season premiere, there will be a twist, when convicted fraudster Anna Delvey – real name Anna Sorokin – takes to the floor wearing a bejewelled ankle monitor.

In a press release, Disney-owned ABC called Sorokin “an artist, fashion icon and infamous NYC socialite”, as well as “a notorious ankle bracelet fashionista”. She will be joining a cast that includes an NBA veteran, various reality-TV stars, and two Olympians, for the latest edition of the US spin-off from the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing format.

Critics accused the channel of glamorising her past crimes. The New York Post called it a “new low for pop culture”.

Some have also questioned how she has right to live and work in the US, as a German-Russian citizen.

Sorokin’s electronic ankle monitor is not for her original 2019 convictions, which came after she travelled the world masquerading as a European heiress, conning banks, lawyers and a private jet company out of more than $200,000 (£150,000).

Instead, the ankle monitor is the result of a years-long immigration battle in the US, where she is fighting deportation.

Debates online are raging over this new chapter of infamy.

Some appear to admire her endless ambition, as if she represents some sort of warped American Dream. Others have slammed her continued self-promotion and seeming lack of remorse as shameless.

During a heated discussion on The View talk show, Whoopi Goldberg said her ability to appear on Dancing with the Stars, despite facing immigration charges, is an example of a “two-tier immigration system” that favours the wealthy or connected.

Others have said it’s hardly surprising to see her convictions being overlooked in a country where a felon is running for president.

Sorokin first gained notoriety when New York Magazine published an investigation into her misdeeds in 2018. Her scams were later explored in the Netflix series Inventing Anna and BBC podcast Fake Heiress.

It was the audacity that intrigued people. She had worked her way into elite circles in New York City in a ruse that lasted for years. Her goal was to secure a $22m loan to build an arts foundation in her own name.

While living under the heiress persona, she forged bank statements, ran up large bills at luxury hotels that she couldn’t afford, dashed out of restaurants without paying, bounced cheques, created fake emails from accountants, and let others pick up her tabs after extravagant spending. Small businesses and individuals were also affected.

“She’s been a public figure for a long enough time that I don’t think people remember the details of what the crimes were – if ever they really knew them in the first place,” said Jessica Pressler, who wrote the first piece on her in New York Magazine, and became the inspiration for the fictionalised journalist character in Inventing Anna.

“People don’t look that far past the surface,” she added, acknowledging this is what aided the original grift. “Dancing With the Stars… it’s a natural extension of the story.”

Sorokin was arrested in 2017 while on the run in California and went on criminal trial in New York. In 2019, she was found guilty of eight theft-related charges, and sentenced to between four and 12 years.

That was part one of her legal struggles.

After serving almost four years, including time in the notorious Rikers Island jail, she was released in February 2021, and was expected to leave the US.

But she didn’t go.

Six weeks later – following a string of media appearances and having signed a paid TV deal with a German company – immigration authorities arrested her for overstaying her visa.

More than three years on, she is still fighting deportation. She has served time back in jail and under house arrest. In 2022, she was scheduled to board a plane in New York to return to Germany. But her lawyer intervened and she did not fly. Litigation regarding her deportation was ongoing, they said.

Her exact claims for asylum are unclear, but they are believed to relate to her Russian citizenship. She lived there in her early years but her family moved to Germany in her teens. When she was in New York in her 20s, she had a tourist visa.

While under house arrest, Sorokin started her own podcast and did interviews with various media. (Vogue magazine filmed a tour of her apartment in the East Village; Vogue UK wrote a “What is Anna Delvey reading?” feature.)

“Most of us would die of embarrassment at doing anything that she does,” said Pressler, describing how Sorokin stayed in a hotel for months without paying the bill and flew to Morocco with no money. “From staying in a hotel for months and not paying bills, to getting on a plane to Morocco with no money, no-one would do that. She does it with aplomb. I think on the whole any admiration people have for her is kind of limited to that.”

“They aren’t going to do these things, they don’t think the things she’s done are good, but the ordinary person wishes they could have that belief in themselves.”

John Sandweg – who served as the acting head of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during Barack Obama’s presidency – is her current immigration lawyer.

He told the BBC that lengthy deportation cases are not uncommon in the United States, but this has been “fairly protracted”.

“Her criminal case has also been on appeal for a long time and that has had an impact,” he added.

He said her house arrest terms were “really restrictive”. “We challenged those. She was banned from social media. We argued that was unconstitutional,” he said. She wasn’t a flight risk or a danger to society, and she had kept to her parole conditions, he added.

As a result of the challenge, her bond conditions were relaxed in August. She is now back on social media and she has been permitted to travel to Los Angeles for the filming of Dancing with the Stars. She also has a social security number.

ICE confirmed to the BBC that she had received permission to travel. “Anna Sorokin’s conditions of release were amended by a Department of Justice immigration judge,” said the spokesperson.

Sorokin had to pay rent while under house arrest, but this also caused dispute. Her landlord filed legal action, saying she had failed to pay three months’ rent. Court documents show he claimed Sorokin owed more than $12,000. The case was eventually resolved and she moved out.

Sorokin has employed plenty of lawyers in recent years. The funding is believed to have come from media deals and sales of her prison artwork.

Netflix controversially paid Sorokin $320,000 (£230,000) for her life story for its Inventing Anna series. After a state intervention, she was legally obliged to use some of that money to pay back the victims of her theft. But there was some money left over to pay for her lawyer in the original trial.

Netflix is facing a defamation trial, sparked by the series.

The case was brought by Sorokin’s one-time friend Rachel Williams, who was portrayed in the show.

Williams wrote a book My Friend Anna about their short-lived friendship and how it fell apart after she was left to foot a $62,000 bill at a luxury resort in Morocco.

The lawsuit argues that Netflix used her real name and biographical details in its Inventing Anna series, but she was unfairly depicted as a “vile and contemptible person”.

Netflix, in an attempt to dismiss the lawsuit, said their interpretation of Williams was open to “literary licence” and protected by the First Amendment, according to Variety magazine.

Sorokin is not involved in that case, although she has been subpoenaed as a witness for the trial.

Williams’ lawyer Alexander Rufus-Isaacs told the BBC that the case was expected to come to trial next year.

He said Sorokin’s employment on Dancing with the Stars was “glamorising and minimising the crimes she committed, and minimising the impact on the people she hurt”.

In court, Sorokin was found not guilty of the charge related to the Morocco trip. American Express eventually refunded Williams, but after she had suffered a long period of stress and anxiety, according to her book.

While some have viewed Sorokin as an anti-establishment hero for infiltrating and embarrassing wealthy institutions, Williams did not see it that way. She previously told the BBC: “The system that Anna was seeking to undermine… she wasn’t doing it out of some altruistic nobility, she wanted to be a part of them.”

In response to the recent backlash, Dancing with the Stars boss Conrad Green told Variety: “Yes, [Sorokin] had the issues she’s had, but we’ve had other people on the show who’ve had criminal issues in the past. She served her time. I think it’s perfectly valid for her to be on the show.”

For more on the rise and fall of Anna Delvey, listen to the BBC’s podcast Fake Heiress.

Is your success because of who you are, or who you know?

Nepotism – giving work opportunities and advantages to your friends and family – has been the subject of debate in showbiz around the world for a number of years.

Some feel “nepo babies” – those who’ve been given a boost because of their parents – don’t deserve their success, while Gwyneth Paltrow called that term “ugly”.

But it’s not just a Hollywood thing.

Bollywood actress Ananya Panday has been criticised and heavily trolled over nepotism because her father Suyash “Chunky” Panday was a successful actor in the late 1980s.

While accepting her privilege, Ananya has often disputed how much of an impact his success had on her career.

But now the 25-year-old says she wants her work to do the talking.

“I was always the first person to be like: I know I come from a [film] family, my father’s an actor and obviously that’s given me more access [to opportunities].

“I’ve never fought it. But I realised that there is so much conversation about it and people are not going to stop asking about nepotism,” she tells BBC Asian Network’s Haroon Rashid.

“You think it’s over but people will keep talking about it. I realised it’s better to just not say anything any more and let your work speak.”

In her new show Call Me Bae, Ananya plays a character which some feel has real-life similarities to her.

Bae, aka Bella Chowdhary, comes from a privileged and elite background but is soon kicked out of her life of luxury and forced to try to make it on her own.

“It’s a riches to rags and almost underdog story,” Ananya says.

But she says real-life experiences did not impact her decision to take the role, instead she “just went with the story and script”.

“I think the lovely thing about this is that it’s very self-aware.

“It speaks about the privilege, wealth and the bubble that the character is living in, which breaks in the first episode.

“A lot of people say I’m very similar to Bae. I think once people watch it, they’ll see more differences than similarities,” she says.

The humour in the show is quite “tongue-in-cheek with a lot of pop culture references”, she says, and that includes a real-life interaction Ananya had on the topic of privilege and nepotism.

During a roundtable discussion with other actors in 2020, Ananya was saying she’d make no apologies for being her famous father’s daughter and that she was “so proud of him”.

After a long, impassioned speech from Ananya, Siddhant Chaturvedi, who does not come from a famous family, chipped in to support her.

“Everybody has their own struggle,” he said, before switching to Hindi and uttering a line that earned nods and noises of approval from his fellow actors.

“The difference is, where our dreams come true, their struggle begins (jahan humare sapne pure hote hai wahan inka struggle shuru hota hai).”

It was a line that went viral, and was included in the script for Call Me Bae.

Ananya says it’s not the first time someone tried to put this real-world line into scripted fiction.

“But in this situation it worked well because it went with the character of Bae.

“When you watch it in the scene, it’s not completely jarring that the conversation happens.”

As a result, she says she “felt safe in the environment”.

“It wasn’t the only cultural reference. I feel we don’t have that enough in our films and shows.”

Despite highlighting their differences, Ananya says she does identify strongly with her character, who she feels has “a human side with vulnerability”.

“I actually liked that she looks a certain way, but then turns the audience on their head. It makes you rethink everything about people who you maybe judge on a first glance.”

As an actress, she says “you have to set apart the person that you are and the characters you play on screen”.

“But I think it’s lovely when you can bring yourself to certain characters.

“If there is a tone that I understand, that I can bring to the characters I play which make it more relatable, then I think that’s more of a strength than a disadvantage.”

And she hopes the character of Bae “becomes synonymous” with her.

“There are certain characters that stay with actors and people remember them for roles and I feel like she has that memorable quality about her.”

While the show itself has had mixed reviews, there has been a largely positive reaction to Ananya’s performance, with the Times of India saying she delivers a “relatable performance that anchors the show”.

Ananya has previously received praise for her roles in films such as her debut Student of the Year 2, Pati Patni Aur Woh and Gehraiyaan.

But it does not take long for accusations of privilege to return, with comments such as “nepo” often found on posts to her 25 million Instagram followers.

Repeatedly having to prove yourself might feel frustrating, but Ananya says she is now in a different head space.

“I don’t know if I’m in that zone to cry about it or complain about it anymore.

“I think that’s a tag and conversation that will always stay,” she says.

She adds every film acts as “a reset button” for every actor.

“No matter what you’ve done in the past, the audience is going to judge you on your next [film].

“What is important at this point is just to put my head down and work and make sure that every time I bowl people over with my work.

“Because that’s the best that I can do.

“I have seen a shift and I do feel like it’s getting better. I feel there are good times ahead.”

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

It is hard to think of an attack more calculated to sow fear and confusion.

Hezbollah relies heavily on pagers for the group’s communications.

Mobile phones have long since been abandoned as simply too vulnerable – as Israel’s assassination of a Hamas bombmaker demonstrated as long ago as 1996.

But today’s attacks were terrifying in their scope.

Hezbollah members were blown up in supermarkets, on the street, in their cars, at home, next to their children.

Incidents were reported from all across Lebanon, from Beirut to the Bekaa Valley. Even from neighbouring Syria.

Iranian state TV confirmed that Tehran’s ambassador in Lebanon was among those injured.

Each explosion may have been small, but some resulted in catastrophic injuries.

One particularly graphic image showed a lifeless young man slumped in a barber’s chair, his face bloodied.

• What we know about the Hezbollah pager explosions
• What is Hezbollah in Lebanon and will it go to war with Israel?

At a time when Hezbollah and Israel have been locked in a low-level war for almost a year, these attacks will have devastating consequences for Hezbollah’s manpower, communications and morale.

Israel has yet to comment, but this was undoubtedly its work – no other group or country has the motivation or capacity to do something like this.

It is the latest in a series of sophisticated military and undercover operations that have included, since mid-July, a long-range air raid in Yemen, as well as assassinations in Beirut and Tehran.

Do the pager attacks herald a larger Israeli operation?

With large numbers of Hezbollah’s personnel now injured and its vital communication network massively – and embarrassingly – disrupted, this would clearly be a tempting moment for Israel to take advantage.

Israeli leaders have been signalling, in recent days, their desire to alter the military status quo along the Lebanese border.

On Sunday, Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said Israel needed “a change in the balance of power on our northern border”.

Tens of thousands of Israeli citizens have spent most of a year away from their homes. Israel ordered an evacuation of vulnerable northern communities when Hezbollah started firing rockets into northern Israel, soon after the Gaza war began.

Months of retaliatory Israeli air strikes have also forced huge numbers of Lebanese civilians to abandon their homes.

On Monday, Mr Netanyahu and his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, both warned a visiting US official that Israel was prepared to do whatever it took to ensure its security.

For the first time, the government also said its Gaza war aims included allowing Israelis to return to their homes, raising the spectre of a wider conflict, possibly involving a limited ground invasion to create a buffer zone in southern Lebanon.

There are no signs yet of the sort of build up of men and armour that would be needed for a major military incursion, but today’s attacks represent yet another dangerous escalation.

It is hard to see how Hezbollah won’t feel compelled to respond in some way.

“We can’t say why we’re here, it’s top secret!”

I’d never asked what the drunk British man in strange military fatigues was doing in a Ukrainian cafe, but he was keen to tell me regardless.

It was the summer of 2022, and dotted across Kyiv’s main Khreshchatyk Street were similar types who all claimed they were joining Ukraine’s war effort against Russia.

“War attracts all sorts,” I thought.

We now know they included Ryan Routh, the suspect in an apparent attempted assassination of Donald Trump in the US on Sunday.

Routh “was an omnipresent dude” in the Ukrainian capital, remarks Chris Lutz, an aid worker who met him several times.

“I wouldn’t call him crazy,” he says. “He was trying his best to help Ukraine, but it was getting to an unhealthy level.”

• What we know about Ryan Routh so far
• Gunman lurked for hours before Trump’s last-minute game of golf
• Trump says he was bundled into golf cart after shots rang out
• BBC Verify: How much security does Trump get?

Ukrainian officials have firmly distanced themselves from the man accused of trying to assassinate Donald Trump at the former president’s Florida golf course.

Routh, 58, had repeatedly tried to recruit foreign soldiers for the Ukrainian military, but was unsuccessful.

“He has never served in Ukraine’s International Legion and has no relation to the unit,” said the legion’s spokesperson.

The American reportedly contacted the legion on a regular basis with ideas described by one Ukrainian soldier as “nonsensical” and “delusional”.

The suspect had also admitted to being turned down himself, claiming it was down to his age and lack of fighting experience.

In an online post reacting to the events in the US over the weekend, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was “glad” Donald Trump was unharmed.

There was no mention of the suspect who’d been a staunch supporter of Zelensky’s country – and for good reason.

Three days after Russia’s full-scale invasion, Zelensky called for “friends of peace and democracy” to join the fight from abroad, and they did so in their thousands.

Ukraine’s International Legion was born.

It was initially thought 20,000 volunteers were willing to sign up. Experts now think there are more than 4,000 foreign fighters in Ukraine.

Despite the fact Routh failed in his attempts to add to that number, his arrest in Florida has still given Kyiv a headache.

Lt Andriy Kovalenko, who’s from Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, warned Russia would use the assassination attempt for propaganda purposes.

“Playing with fire has its consequences,” was the response from Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov when asked whether Ukraine could have been behind the plot.

On Russian state TV, host Olga Skabeyeva called Routh a “crazed fan of Zelensky, walking around with a machine gun”.

“There has been another attempt on Donald’s life, and the attempt is officially linked to Ukraine,” she added, making reference to an earlier effort by a gunman in Pennsylvania to shoot Trump in July.

A popular pro-Russian Telegram channel in Ukraine claimed the Ukrainian intelligence service was behind the assassination attempt. A similar account said the American had travelled to Ukraine to “recruit American mercenaries”.

No evidence has accompanied these claims.

“Of course, all this is a lie,” said Lt Kovalenko. “But information confrontation is a component of the war.”

Sandra Andersen Eira, a Norwegian national fighting with the Ukrainian Marine Corps on the southern front line, says she is puzzled.

“My only question is: how did he get rejected by the International Foreign Legion?” she asks.

She says that until last May there was very little vetting. A minimum contract of six months and basic training have since been brought in.

Recruits still don’t have to have any military experience, though some consider this to be an advantage. “Routh was just another one of those types,” Ms Eira says.

“You had characters fundraising, scamming people, claiming to be in the front lines, with a unit, and then they’re not.

“Some volunteers have good intentions and really want to make a difference, but maybe they’re just not mentally or physically fit for it. Some of them are just delusional.”

Perhaps this applied to Ryan Routh.

He might not have helped Ukraine, but his time in the country has given it an unwelcome connection to an assassination attempt on a US presidential candidate.

The Princess of Wales has carried out her first work meeting since she began cancer treatment earlier this year.

In another small step on her return to public life, the princess had a meeting on Tuesday in Windsor Castle about her early childhood project.

It follows last week’s video message from Catherine where she revealed her relief that her chemotherapy had ended.

The princess said this year had been “incredibly tough” but she had gained a “renewed sense of hope and appreciation of life”.

This latest update is part of Catherine’s carefully managed return, which later this year could see her making a small number of public appearances, such as at Remembrance events in November and her annual Christmas carol concert.

There is still great caution about her health. She said in her video last week that her “path to healing and full recovery is long and I must continue to take each day as it comes”.

But her return for this meeting near her home in Windsor, recorded in the official Court Circular, suggests continuing progress.

There are no details of the meeting, but one of Catherine’s flagship projects has been the Shaping Us campaign, raising awareness about the importance of early childhood, which she has described as her “life’s work”.

This tentative return to work follows a year of health problems.

In January she was in hospital for abdominal surgery and then in March it was revealed that she was undergoing cancer treatment.

There were a couple of public appearances, at Trooping the Colour and the Wimbledon tennis championship, but it has mostly been a year away from the public eye.

Last week’s highly personal video, filmed with her family in Norfolk, described her emotional journey during the months of her cancer treatment – saying that “out of darkness, can come light”.

The princess described the “stormy waters” of her experience of cancer and how it had felt “complex, scary and unpredictable”.

“With humility, it also brings you face to face with your own vulnerabilities in a way you have never considered before, and with that, a new perspective on everything,” she said.

Norway, one of the world’s largest exporters of oil, now has more electric cars on its roads than petrol-driven vehicles.

Of the 2.8 million private cars registered there, 754,303 are now all-electric, compared with 753,905 that run on petrol, according to new figures from the Norwegian Road Federation.

The Nordic country of 5.5 million people is aiming to become the first nation to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars – by 2025.

Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) have been boosted by tax breaks and other incentives, funded in large part from the money Norway makes out of oil and gas.

• Why is Norway the land of electric cars?

The country has a sovereign wealth fund worth more than $1.7 trillion (£1.3tn), built up from the proceeds of its oilfields, to act as a “pension fund” for when it runs out.

This cash cushion has made it possible for the government to offer green incentives to motorists, including exempting electric car buyers from sales tax.

In the early days of the EV revolution, Norway’s environmental activists even enlisted the help of the country’s biggest pop group, A-ha, to promote the use of the vehicles.

Despite this milestone, there is still work to be done. Diesel models remain most numerous at just under one million, but their sales are falling rapidly, says the Norwegian Road Federation.

At present, nine out of 10 new cars sold in Norway are electric vehicles, industry figures indicate. And it’s not hard to see why when you consider how much the authorities do to favour them.

Many places offer free parking for EVs and their drivers do not have to pay city tolls.

And while electric car owners in many countries complain about the lack of charging facilities, there are numerous free chargers in every Norwegian town and city, with 2,000 of them in Oslo alone.

An al-Qaeda-linked group has said it was behind an early morning attack in the Malian capital, Bamako.

Armed men targeted a military training school and other areas in the city, the authorities said, blaming “a group of terrorists” for the assault.

Jihadist group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) claimed responsibility, saying it had inflicted heavy human and material losses.

The attack was the first of its kind in years to hit Bamako. Before Tuesday, the city had largely avoided the Islamist insurgency that has wracked Mali for more than a decade.

JNIM is considered to be one of the most active militant groups in the wider Sahel region, having staged numerous attacks in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.

It said “special operation” on Tuesday struck both the training centre and Bamako’s military airport, leading to casualties on the military’s behalf.

The New York Times also reported losses – members of Mali’s security forces told the US paper “several” officers had been killed or injured. The sources also said that a dozen ambulances had carried the troops to hospital.

The government did not mention any such losses, but said the military training school was among a number of “sensitive points” “targeted by terrorist attacks” at dawn.

A military statement issued at about 08:00 local time (08:00 GMT) said the situation “was under control”, while a statement from the security ministry said residents could go about their business as normal.

AFP news agency later reported “heavy exchanges of fire” had taken place in the early afternoon near a police station controlling access to the civilian airport terminal.

At a similar time, JNIM said that it had taken complete control of the nearby military airport. The BBC has not been able to verify this claim.

Earlier, Mali’s state television channel broadcast footage appearing to show roughly 20 prisoners. The men all had blindfolds on and their wrists tied.

“The terrorists have been neutralised. The sweep is continuing,” army chief-of-staff Oumar Diarra said during the ORTM news report.

The news report also showed footage of three unmoving bodies laying on the ground.

International organisations such as the UN have reportedly advised their staff to restrict their movement.

Videos posted earlier on social media showed black plumes of smoke rising from a part of the city.

As shots rang out, people heading to the mosque for morning prayers had to turn back, news agency Reuters said.

Bamako’s Modibo Keita International Airport was closed following the attack.

The military seized power in a coup in 2021, accusing the government of failing to do enough to quell the insurgency.

The junta expelled French troops and UN peacekeepers and brought in Russia’s Wagner group to help fight the jihadists, but there is no sign of the insurgency ending.

• UN translators in Mali fear Taliban-style fate
• Boost for Wagner as Mali shuns UN troops
• Why UN peacekeepers are being told to leave Mali
• Has Wagner Group helped fight against jihadists?

A wildlife charity has declared a national “butterfly emergency” after its annual Big Butterfly Count recorded its lowest ever numbers.

The count has been running for 14 years. This year’s poor results are partly down to the wet weather but the long-term trend is hugely concerning, says Butterfly Conservation.

It is calling on the government to ban pesticides that can harm butterflies and bees “before it’s too late”.

Butterflies are at “their lowest ebb” on the back of 50 years of decline, said the charity’s head of science, Dr Richard Fox.

“Butterflies are a key indicator species; when they are in trouble we know that the wider environment is in trouble too,” he said.

Neonicotinoid pesticides were banned in the UK in 2018 but have been approved four times in a row in emergencies to tackle a virus that attacks sugar beet.

A spokesperson from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs said it was “committed to deliver for nature and will change existing policies, including banning the use of those neonicotinoid pesticides that threaten vital pollinators” – but has given no time scales for doing so.

The 2024 Big Butterfly Count took place in July and August across the UK when thousands of people recorded over a period of 15 minutes how many butterflies they saw, even if it was none.

Overall, participants spotted seven butterflies on average per count, the lowest in the scheme’s 14-year history. Last year’s average was 12.

Butterfly Conservation said it was the worst year recorded for the common blue, holly blue, green-veined white, small white, small tortoiseshell, painted lady and Scotch argus.

This year’s fall in butterfly numbers is thought to have been made worse by the wet spring coupled with the late arrival of summer heat.

Wider data from the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme – one of the longest running insect monitoring schemes in the world – shows yearly fluctuations in butterfly numbers in response to weather conditions amid a long-term picture of decline driven by climate change, habitat loss, pollution and pesticides.

Dr Marc Botham of the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology said 33% of species had shown a significant decline in their abundance on monitored sites in the UK over the past 48 years.

“It’s quite simple really – there’s not enough habitat and what is there isn’t good quality,” he said.

“We need to be putting [measures] in place to increase the amount and quality of habitat so that [butterflies and other wildlife] can do better.”

The makers of The Sims have confirmed that a movie based on the hit videogame series is on the way.

Rumours about the adaptation of the popular life simulator, which first launched more than 20 years ago in 2000, had been swirling for several months.

Gaming giant Electronic Arts (EA), which publishes the series, announced it was working with Amazon MGM Studios on the film.

It also confirmed Margot Robbie’s production company LuckyChap and Loki director Kate Herron were involved.

British author and comedian Briony Redman will co-write the film, EA said.

She previously worked with Herron, who also directed episodes of Netflix’s Sex Education, on a script for the most recent series of Doctor Who.

EA said it was “too early to share more” but promised updates next year, when The Sims marks its 25th anniversary.

Developed by Maxis, the game puts players in charge of cartoonish characters known as Sims, putting them in control of various aspects of their lives.

The game receives regular updates, and over the years the developers have included themed expansion packs introducing new elements, relationship dynamics and, in one case, allowing players to turn their Sims into vampires.

Margot Robbie starred in last year’s Barbie movie – one of the most successful product to film crossovers ever – and her production company is also working on a Monopoly adaptation.

Speaking to Variety in February, she said: “We want to make more films that have the effect that Barbie has.

“Why can’t it be another big, original, bold idea where we get an amazing filmmaker, a big budget to play with, and the trust of a huge conglomerate behind them to go and really play? I want to do that.”

LuckyChap previously worked with Amazon on the release of Saltburn – which was a massive success when it became available on its Prime Video service towards the end of last year.

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

New York police have defended their actions after a bystander was shot in the head as two officers tackled a fare-evader armed with a knife in a busy subway station.

The man was in critical condition after the shooting at Sutter Avenue L station in Brooklyn on Sunday afternoon. Three others, including the suspect, were wounded.

Police said officers challenged a suspected fare-evader, then shot him after he threatened them with a knife. His condition is critical.

New York authorities have made reducing crime on the subway and buses a top priority following a series of violent attacks, robberies and murders. A crackdown on fare evasion is part of that push.

But critics have questioned how the pursuit of a minor offender escalated into the use of lethal force in a crowded space.

Tom Donlon, the city’s interim police commissioner, ordered a full investigation but added: “Make no mistake, the events that occurred… were the results of an armed perpetrator”.

The officers involved have not been named by police.

The bystander who was shot and had critical injuries has been identified in New York media as Gregory Delpeche. The New York Daily News reports that he was on the way to his job at a local hospital, which he’s had for more than 20 years. The wound to his head has left him with possible brain damage, his family told the outlet.

Jennvine Wong, of the Legal Aid Society Cop Accountability Project, told The New York Times that police had endangered lives after choosing “in an enclosed space … to use disproportionate force”.

In a press conference, NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said that two officers had seen a man – later identified as Derrell Mickles – go through barriers without paying.

Mr Maddrey said body camera footage showed the suspect threatening to “kill” the officers if they followed him, before confronting them with a knife.

The footage shows a train pull into the station as the confrontation escalates. The officers fired Tasers at the man – to no effect – as he attempted to board the train, before he jumped back to the platform.

“At one point, he is advancing on one of the officers with his knife,” Mr Maddrey said. “The officer stands back, he draws his weapon, and both officers at this point fire.”

Two bystanders, a police officer and the suspect were hit.

Mr Maddrey said that the officer realised he had been shot in the armpit but continued to perform “life-saving measures” on the suspect. Both officers then realised that two bystanders had also been hit by gunfire. Two other officers then arrived and aided the wounded.

Officials said that the suspect had a record of 20 previous arrests and a significant history of mental illness.

Janno Liever, the chief executive of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said that the incident “started because somebody wanted to come to the transit system with a weapon, somebody who… had a history of crime and a history of violence and even gun charges”.

The police said on Sunday that a knife had been recovered and posted a picture on social media. The next day, however, it posted another message saying the knife had been taken from the crime scene by an unidentified man.

Officers recovered a different knife from the scene, thinking it was the one that the suspect had been carrying, according to the Gothamist.

An NYPD spokesman told the news website that the knife they picked up must have been left behind by another subway rider.

City authorities have attempted to expand the police presence on its transport system following a surge in crime. All stations on the city’s system have security cameras and pilot schemes are being run to scan passengers for weapons.

The MTA last year announced a crackdown on fare evasion, backed by enforcement by police. Officials say that aggressive enforcement can help in catching criminals and removing weapons from New York’s trains.

But the problem continues to grow, with NYPD statistics showing 2,227 arrests and more than 30,000 summonses in the second quarter of this year – around double that of the same period five years ago.

Nine people, including a child, have been killed after handheld pagers used by members of the armed group Hezbollah to communicate exploded across Lebanon, the country’s health minister says.

Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon was among 2,800 other people who were wounded by the simultaneous blasts in Beirut and several other regions.

Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, said the pagers belonged “to employees of various Hezbollah units and institutions” and confirmed the deaths of eight fighters.

The group blamed Israel for what it called “this criminal aggression” and vowed that it would get “just retribution”. The Israeli military declined to comment.

Hours before the explosions, Israel’s security cabinet said stopping Hezbollah attacks on the north of the country to allow the safe return of displaced residents was an official war goal.

There have been almost daily exchanges of fire across the Israel-Lebanon border since the day after the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza on 7 October.

Hezbollah has said it is acting in support of the Iran-backed Palestinian group. Both are proscribed as terrorist organisations by Israel, the UK and other countries.

The UN’s spokesman said the latest developments in Lebanon were “extremely concerning, especially given that this is taking place within a context that is extremely volatile”.

Many Lebanese were in a state of shock and disbelief on Tuesday evening, unable to get their heads around an event that was unprecedented in scale and nature.

Hezbollah said an unspecified number pagers – which the group relies on heavily for communications due to the risk of mobile phones being hacked or tracked – exploded at around 15:30 local time (12:30 GMT) in the capital Beirut and many other areas.

One CCTV video showed an explosion in a man’s bag or pocket at a supermarket. He is then seen falling backwards to the ground and crying out in pain as other shoppers run for cover.

Hours later, ambulances were still rushing to hospitals overwhelmed with the number of casualties, 200 of whom the health minister said were in a critical condition. Outside, relatives were waiting in the hope of receiving updates.

The LAU Medical Centre in Beirut’s Ashrafieh district closed its main gate and was limiting the number of people getting in. “It’s very sensitive and some scenes are horrific,” one staff member told the BBC.

Most of the wounds were at the level of the waist, face, eyes and hands, he said, adding: “A lot of casualties have lost fingers, in some cases all of them.”

The wife of Iranian ambassador Mojtaba Amani said he was “slightly inured” by one of the explosions and that he was “doing well” in hospital.

Hezbollah’s media office announced the deaths of eight fighters. It did not give details on the locations and circumstances, saying only that they were “martyred on the road to Jerusalem”.

A source close to the group told AFP news agency that the son of Hezbollah MP Ali Ammar and the 10-year-old daughter of a Hezbollah member in the Bekaa Valley were among those killed. Later, the source said the son of another lawmaker, Hassan Fadlallah, was wounded, having initially reported that he was dead.

Fourteen people were also wounded by exploding pagers in neighbouring Syria, where Hezbollah is fighting alongside government forces in the country’s civil war, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

“We hold the Israeli enemy fully responsible for this criminal aggression,” Hezbollah said in a statement on Tuesday evening.

“This treacherous and criminal enemy will certainly get his just retribution on this sinful aggression from where it counts and from where it does not count,” it added.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati also blamed Israel for the explosions, saying that they represented a “serious violation of Lebanese sovereignty and a crime by all standards”.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he told his Lebanese counterpart that he “strongly condemned Israeli terrorism”.

The US, Israel’s closest ally, denied any involvement and urged Iran not to heighten tensions.

Hezbollah did not say what it believed had caused the pagers to explode.

The Wall Street Journal cited a source as saying the affected devices were from a new shipment that Hezbollah had received in recent days. A Hezbollah official also told the newspaper some people had felt the pagers heat up before the blasts.

Overheated lithium-ion batteries can catch fire, but experts said hacking into the pagers and making them overheat would not usually cause such explosions.

A former British Army munitions expert, who asked not to be named, told the BBC the pagers would have likely been packed with between 10g and 20g of military-grade high explosive, hidden inside a fake electronic component.

Once armed by a signal, called an alphanumeric text message, the next person to use the device would have triggered the explosive, the expert said.

Lina Khatib, a Middle East analyst at the UK-based Chatham House think tank, told the BBC: “Israel has been engaging in cyber operations against Hezbollah for several months, but this security breach is the largest in scale.”

Nicholas Blanford, a Beirut-based senior fellow of the American think tank the Atlantic Council, said: “Israel in one fell swoop has rendered combat ineffective hundreds if not thousands of Hezbollah fighters, in some cases permanently.”

He warned that Hezbollah’s leaders would now “face extreme pressure from the ranks and supporters to retaliate heavily”, describing it as “the most dangerous moment” in the Hezbollah-Israel conflict since October.

A statement put out by the Israeli military on Tuesday evening did not comment on the pager explosions, but said the chief of staff Lt Gen Herzi Halevi had held a situational assessment with commanders “focusing on readiness in both offence and defence in all arenas”.

It also said there was no change in defensive guidelines to the Israeli public but asked them to remain alert and vigilant.

Earlier in the day, the military said an air strike had killed three “Hezbollah terrorists operating within a terrorist infrastructure site” in the Blida area, near Lebanon’s border with Israel.

Lebanon’s health ministry confirmed that three people had been killed in an Israeli strike, while Hezbollah’s media office said it had carried out missile and drone attacks targeting Israeli troops and military sites.

Israel’s Shin Bet internal security service also said it had foiled a Hezbollah bomb attack targeting an unnamed former senior Israeli security official. Hezbollah did not comment on the accusation.

This comes at a time when Israel’s government is threatening to step up its military effort against Hezbollah.

On Tuesday morning, Israel’s security cabinet made the safe return of 60,000 residents displaced in the north by Hezbollah attacks an official goal of the Gaza war.

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said during a meeting with US envoy Amos Hochstein on Monday that the only way to return northern residents was through “military action”.

“The possibility for an agreement is running out as Hezbollah continues to ‘tie itself’ to Hamas, and refuses to end the conflict,” a statement from his office said.

Since the hostilities escalated in October, at least 589 people have been killed in Lebanon, the vast majority of them Hezbollah fighters, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

On the Israeli side, 25 civilians and 21 members of security forces have been killed, the Israeli government says.

Thousands of people have been injured in Lebanon, after pagers used by the armed group Hezbollah to communicate dramatically exploded almost simultaneously across the country on Tuesday.

At least nine people were killed and some 2,800 injured, many of them seriously.

It is unclear how the attack – which looks to have been highly sophisticated – occurred, though Hezbollah has blamed its adversary Israel. Israeli officials have so far declined to comment.

Here is what we know so far.

The blasts began in Lebanon’s capital Beirut and several other areas of the country at about 15:45 local time (13:45 BST) on Tuesday.

Witnesses reported seeing smoke coming from people’s pockets, before seeing small explosions that sounded like fireworks and gunshots.

In one clip, CCTV footage appeared to show an explosion in a man’s trouser pocket as he stood at a shop till.

Explosions continued for around an hour after the initial blasts, the Reuters news agency reported.

Soon after, scores of people began arriving at hospitals across Lebanon, with witnesses reporting scenes of mass confusion.

• Pager explosions will devastate Hezbollah’s morale and manpower

Analysts have been quick to express shock at the scale of Tuesday’s attack – saying Hezbollah prides itself on its security measures.

Some suggested a hack may have caused the pager batteries to overheat, causing the devices to explode. Such an act would be unprecedented.

But many experts say that is unlikely, with footage of the explosions inconsistent with the batteries overheating.

Some analysts say instead that some sort of supply chain attack, which involved the pagers being tampered with during their manufacture or in transit, was more likely.

Supply chain attacks are a growing concern in the cyber security world with many high-profile incidents recently caused by hackers gaining access to products whilst they are in development.

But these attacks are normally contained to software. Hardware supply chain attacks are far rarer as they involve getting hands on to the device.

If this was indeed a supply chain attack it would have involved a huge operation to secretly tamper with the pagers in some way.

A former British Army munitions expert, who asked not to be named, told the BBC the devices could have been packed with between 10 to 20 grams each of military-grade high explosive, hidden inside a fake electronic component.

This, said the expert, would have been armed by a signal, something called an alphanumeric text message.

A source close to Hezbollah told AFP that two of those killed were the sons of two Hezbollah MPs. They also said the daughter of a Hezbollah member was killed.

Among the injured was Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani. Reports in Iranian media said his injuries were minor.

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was not hurt in the explosions, Reuters reported quoting a source.

Lebanese Public Health Minister Firass Abiad said damage to the hands and face made up the majority of injuries.

Speaking to the BBC’s Newshour programme, he said: “Most of the injuries appear to be to the face and especially to the eyes and also the hand with some amputations, whether it’s in the hands or the fingers, and some of them have injuries to their flank.”

He added: “The vast majority of the people who are presenting to the emergency rooms are in civilian clothes, so it’s very difficult to discern whether they belong to a certain entity like Hezbollah or others…

“But we are seeing among them people who are old or people who are very young, like the child who unfortunately died… and there are some of them who are healthcare workers,” the minister said.

Outside of Lebanon, 14 people were injured in similar blasts in neighbouring Syria, according to UK-based campaign group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

So far, nobody has claimed responsibility – though Lebanon’s prime minister and Hezbollah have blamed Israel.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the explosions represented a “serious violation of Lebanese sovereignty and a crime by all standards”.

In its statement accusing Israel of being behind the attacks, Hezbollah said it held the country “fully responsible for this criminal aggression that also targeted civilians”.

“This treacherous and criminal enemy will certainly receive its just punishment for this sinful aggression, whether it expects it or not,” it added.

Israeli officials have not commented on the allegations, but most analysts agree that it seems likely it is behind the attack.

Prof Simon Mabon, chair in International Relations at Lancaster University, told the BBC: “We know that Israel has a precedent of using technology to track its target” – but he called the scale of this attack “unprecedented”.

Lina Khatib, from the UK-based Chatham House, said the attack suggested that Israel has “deeply” infiltrated Hezbollah’s “communications network”.

Hezbollah has relied heavily on pagers as a low-tech means of communications to try to evade location-tracking by Israel.

A pager is a wireless telecommunications device that receives and displays alphanumeric or voice messages.

Mobile phones have long since been abandoned as simply too vulnerable, as Israel’s assassination of the Hamas bomb-maker Yahya Ayyash demonstrated as long ago as 1996, when his phone exploded in his hand.

But one Hezbollah operative told the AP news agency that the pagers were a new brand that the group had not used before.

Emily Harding, an ex-analyst with the CIA, said the security breach was deeply embarrassing to Hezbollah.

“A breach of this magnitude is not only physically harmful, but will also make them question their entire security apparatus,” she told the BBC.

“I would expect to see them conduct an intensive internal investigation that will distract them from a potential fight with Israel.”

Hezbollah is allied with Israel’s arch-nemesis in the region, Iran. The group is part of Tehran’s Axis of Resistance and has been engaged in a low-level war with Israel for months, frequently exchanging rocket and missile fire across Israel’s northern border. Entire communities have been displaced from both sides.

The blasts came just hours after Israel’s security cabinet made the safe return of residents to the north of the country an official war goal.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a visiting US official that Israel would “do what is necessary to ensure its security”.

Earlier on Monday, Israel’s domestic security agency said it had thwarted a Hezbollah attempt to assassinate a former official.

Despite the ongoing tensions, observers say that until now both sides have aimed to contain hostilities without crossing the line into full-scale war. But there are fears that the situation could spiral out of control, with Hezbollah already threatening to respond to Tuesday’s explosions.

Donald Trump has praised an “amazing” woman motorist who he said tailed an alleged gunman as he made his getaway after an apparent assassination attempt on the former president on Sunday, leading to a speedy arrest.

In his first public appearance since the incident, the Republican presidential candidate told a crowd that the unnamed civilian “saw something in this guy that was bad”.

She spotted the suspect running to his car and became suspicious, so followed him in her own vehicle and took pictures of his licence plate, Trump said.

Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was arrested in an SUV less than an hour after he allegedly fled Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Trump shared the account on Tuesday night at a town hall-style event in Flint, Michigan, with Sarah Huckabee Sanders, his former press secretary and now governor of Arkansas.

Trump was rushed to safety unharmed after Secret Service agents spotted a muzzle of a rifle sticking through the shrubbery as the former president was playing a round of golf.

The Republican candidate was about 300-500 yards (275-460m) away.

An agent shot in the direction of the apparent sniper’s nest before the suspect dropped the rifle and fled into a black Nissan SUV, police said.

“You want to know another sort of a miracle?” Trump told the crowd after lauding the Secret Service. “So the guy’s now running for his life, and he’s got a car a block away or whatever.”

He added: “And a woman, driving in a car, saw a man on the street, pretty busy street, running.

“And she followed him. And he got into the car. And she stopped because she thought he was trouble. He looked different.

“She followed him, it wasn’t very far, and parked the car behind his car and started taking pictures of his licence plate.”

“Seriously, who would do that?” he said, adding that “she was really amazing”.

Trump said she quickly sent those images to the authorities.

“Women are smarter than men,” he told the crowd, adding that he would like to meet her.

Routh was stopped by police driving northbound on the I-95 highway.

He appeared in court on Monday, charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obstructed serial number. More counts could follow.

It was apparently the second assassination attempt targeting Trump in as many months.

It is hard to think of an attack more calculated to sow fear and confusion.

Hezbollah relies heavily on pagers for the group’s communications.

Mobile phones have long since been abandoned as simply too vulnerable – as Israel’s assassination of a Hamas bombmaker demonstrated as long ago as 1996.

But today’s attacks were terrifying in their scope.

Hezbollah members were blown up in supermarkets, on the street, in their cars, at home, next to their children.

Incidents were reported from all across Lebanon, from Beirut to the Bekaa Valley. Even from neighbouring Syria.

Iranian state TV confirmed that Tehran’s ambassador in Lebanon was among those injured.

Each explosion may have been small, but some resulted in catastrophic injuries.

One particularly graphic image showed a lifeless young man slumped in a barber’s chair, his face bloodied.

• What we know about the Hezbollah pager explosions
• What is Hezbollah in Lebanon and will it go to war with Israel?

At a time when Hezbollah and Israel have been locked in a low-level war for almost a year, these attacks will have devastating consequences for Hezbollah’s manpower, communications and morale.

Israel has yet to comment, but this was undoubtedly its work – no other group or country has the motivation or capacity to do something like this.

It is the latest in a series of sophisticated military and undercover operations that have included, since mid-July, a long-range air raid in Yemen, as well as assassinations in Beirut and Tehran.

Do the pager attacks herald a larger Israeli operation?

With large numbers of Hezbollah’s personnel now injured and its vital communication network massively – and embarrassingly – disrupted, this would clearly be a tempting moment for Israel to take advantage.

Israeli leaders have been signalling, in recent days, their desire to alter the military status quo along the Lebanese border.

On Sunday, Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said Israel needed “a change in the balance of power on our northern border”.

Tens of thousands of Israeli citizens have spent most of a year away from their homes. Israel ordered an evacuation of vulnerable northern communities when Hezbollah started firing rockets into northern Israel, soon after the Gaza war began.

Months of retaliatory Israeli air strikes have also forced huge numbers of Lebanese civilians to abandon their homes.

On Monday, Mr Netanyahu and his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, both warned a visiting US official that Israel was prepared to do whatever it took to ensure its security.

For the first time, the government also said its Gaza war aims included allowing Israelis to return to their homes, raising the spectre of a wider conflict, possibly involving a limited ground invasion to create a buffer zone in southern Lebanon.

There are no signs yet of the sort of build up of men and armour that would be needed for a major military incursion, but today’s attacks represent yet another dangerous escalation.

It is hard to see how Hezbollah won’t feel compelled to respond in some way.

Hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has been denied bail after pleading not guilty in a sex-trafficking case.

A New York federal judge remanded the musician in custody after prosecutors argued he was a “serious flight risk”.

Mr Combs, 54, was arrested on Monday evening, accused of running a criminal enterprise from at least 2008 that relied on drugs and violence to force women to “fulfill his sexual desires”, according to prosecutors.

A 14-page indictment charges him with racketeering, sex trafficking by force, and transportation to engage in prostitution.

If convicted on all three counts, the rapper and record producer faces a sentence of 15 years up to life in prison.

He was wearing a black T-shirt and grey sweatpants during Tuesday’s court appearance in Manhattan.

Asked by US Magistrate Judge Robyn Tarnofsky how he wished to plead, Mr Combs stood up and said: “Not guilty.”

According to court documents, Mr Combs “wielded the power” of his status to “lure female victims… to engage in extended sex acts” called “Freak Offs”.

“During Freak Offs, Combs distributed a variety of controlled substances to victims, in part to keep the victims obedient and compliant,” the indictment said.

In a news briefing, US prosecutor Damian Williams said officials found firearms, ammunition and more than 1,000 bottles of lubricant during raids on Mr Combs’s homes in Miami and Los Angeles, about six months ago.

Mr Williams said federal agents had also found three semi-automatic rifles with defaced serial numbers, and a drum magazine.

He told reporters that further charges were possible, without offering specific details.

Mr Combs’s lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, said the defence team had already launched an appeal against the judge’s bail decision, with a hearing set for Wednesday.

“We believe in him wholeheartedly,” Mr Agnifilo told reporters at the Manhattan court.

“He didn’t do these things. There’s no coercion and no crime. He’s not afraid of the charges.”

Mr Agnifilo said Mr Combs was the target of “an unjust prosecution”.

In court documents, federal prosecutors said that Mr Combs had “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct”.

Prosecutors accuse Mr Combs of “creating a criminal enterprise” whose members – under his direction – engaged in sex trafficking, forced labour, kidnapping, arson and bribery.

“On numerous occasions”, the documents said, Mr Combs assaulted women by “striking, punching, dragging, throwing objects at, and kicking them”.

The indictment did not specify how many women were alleged victims. It also does not accuse Mr Combs himself of engaging directly in unwanted sexual acts with women.

The Bad Boy records founder, who was also known during his career as P. Diddy and Puff Daddy, has faced many of the accusations before.

Last November, his ex-girlfriend, singer Casandra Elizabeth Ventura, filed a civil lawsuit against him that included graphic descriptions of violent abuse. He denied the accusations, but settled the case a day after it was filed.

In May, Mr Combs released a public apology after video footage from a Los Angeles hotel appeared to show him beating Ms Ventura in a hallway.

Tuesday’s indictment against Mr Combs accuses him of similar violence.

Ms Ventura’s lawyer, Douglas Wigdor​​​​, declined to comment on Mr Combs’s arrest.

The indictment follows a string of sexual assault allegations against Mr Combs, one of the most successful music moguls in the history of rap.

Four women, including Ms Ventura, have filed lawsuits accusing him of sexual and physical abuse.

In a statement issued last December, Mr Combs defended himself against what he described as “sickening allegations” made by “individuals looking for a quick payday”.

In June, he returned a ceremonial “Key to the City of New York” following a request from Mayor Eric Adams, who had bestowed the honour on him just nine months beforehand.

Days later, Howard University announced it was revoking Mr Combs’s 2014 honorary degree.

The musician is credited with helping turn rappers and R&B singers such as Usher, Mary J Blige and Notorious B.I.G. into stars in the 1990s and 2000s.

The tobacco giant that makes Marlboro cigarettes has sold a UK inhaler company for a knock-down price due to what it calls an “unwarranted” backlash.

Philip Morris International (PMI) has offloaded Vectura Group for £150m ($198m) just three years after buying it in a deal worth more than £1bn.

PMI’s decision to buy Vectura, which makes inhalers to treat lung conditions such as asthma, was criticised as being hypocritical.

However, PMI defended the move as part of its strategy to away from cigarettes and towards “smoke free” businesses like vaping.

PMI announced the sale to electronics firm Molex Asia Holdings on Wednesday, saying it releases Vectura “from the unreasonable burden of external constraints and criticism related to our ownership”.

The deal, which still needs regulatory approval, will see Molex pay an up-front fee of £150m and “potential deferred payments of up to £148m” if certain requirements are met.

PMI’s boss Jacek Olczak also said the company remains “committed to driving innovation in this space over the long-term”, suggesting it has not moved on entirely from the inhaler sector.

The Vectura purchase was part of PMI’s push towards a “smoke free world”. PMI has said it wants two thirds of its sales to come from non-cigarette sales by 2030.

However, health charities have voiced scepticism about the sincerity of PMI’s pledge considering the billions of pounds it still makes from cigarette sales.

Its latest financial results for the three months to the end of June showed that more than 60% of its $9.47bn (£7.19bn) sales came from cigarettes.

Over that period, PMI accounted for 23.6% of the global cigarette market by revenue.

The news comes as the new Labour government has said it is considering an outdoor smoking ban at pubs.

Health experts have welcomed the plans, but many pub owners have told the BBC that they were worried about the impact on their businesses.

A former employee of the company behind the doomed Titan submersible has told a public hearing he believed a safety incident was “inevitable” as the firm “bypassed” all standard rules.

OceanGate’s former operations director David Lochridge testified to US Coast Guard investigators that he had warned of potential safety problems before he was fired in 2018, but was ignored.

Five people on board the Titan sub died when the experimental deep-sea craft imploded in June 2023 as it began a planned descent to the wreck of the Titanic.

The public hearings began on Monday as part of a two-week inquiry by the US Coast Guard into the disaster. The investigation has been going on for 15 months.

Mr Lochridge’s highly anticipated testimony on Tuesday marked his first time speaking out publicly since raising concerns with his former employer.

He was fired from OceanGate and sued by the company for revealing confidential information. He countersued for wrongful dismissal.

A key former employee of the company, he had been asked by the CEO, Stockton Rush, to assemble a quality inspection report in 2018 of the Titan.

US court documents show Mr Lochridge had major concerns with the Titan’s design, including the fact it was made from carbon fibre, warning that the material would damage further with every dive.

On Tuesday, he told US Coast Guard investigators the “whole idea” of OceanGate was “to make money”.

“There was very little in the way of science,” he said.

Mr Lochridge also accused the company and its CEO of “arrogance”, saying they refused to work with experts at the University of Washington to develop the Titan submersible and opted to do all the engineering in house.

“They think they could do this on their own without proper engineering support,” he said.

He testified his relationship with the company began breaking down in 2016 because he raised concerns about safety, saying he was probably labelled “the troublemaker” for being outspoken.

Mr Lockridge was one of as many as 10 former OceanGate employees, including co-founder Guillermo Sohnlein, and experts in marine safety and undersea exploration expected to speak to the Coast Guard’s Marine Board of Investigations (MBI).

On Monday, officials detailed communications between the Titan and its mother ship, the Polar Prince.

It was revealed “all good here” was one of the final messages from the submersible before it imploded.

OceanGate’s former engineering director Tony Nissen told the hearing that he once refused to get into the sub several years before Titan’s last trip.

“‘I’m not getting in it,’” Mr Nissen said he told the company CEO, Rush, also testifying that he had felt pressured to get the vessel ready to dive.

While offering a historical look at the Titan, officials noted it was never subject to third-party testing and had been left exposed to weather and other elements while in storage.

They noted that during 13 dives to the Titanic in 2021 and 2022, the submersible had 118 equipment issues.

Officials also offered a handful of specific examples of submersible failures including its batteries dying and leaving passengers stuck inside for 27 hours.

As well as OceanGate’s CEO, British explorer Hamish Harding, veteran French diver Paul Henri Nargeolet, the British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman were on board the ship.

OceanGate suspended all exploration and commercial operations following the incident.

Dominique Pelicot, the 71-year-old man accused of drugging his wife to sleep and recruiting dozens of men to abuse her for over 10 years, has admitted to all the charges against him in his first testimony since the trial opened on 2 September.

Referring to the 50 co-defendants who are accused of raping his now ex-wife Gisèle, Mr Pelicot said: “I am a rapist like the others in this room.”

“They all knew, they cannot say the contrary,” he said. Only 15 of the 50 defendants admit rape, with most saying they only took part in sexual acts.

Of his ex-wife, Mr Pelicot said: “She did not deserve this.”

“I was very happy with her,” he told the court.

He begged his wife and family to accept his apology, saying: “I ask for forgiveness, even though it is unacceptable.”

Gisèle, who was given the chance to respond shortly after, said: “It is difficult for me to listen to this. For 50 years, I lived with a man who I would’ve never imagined could be capable of this. I trusted him completely.”

Although no cameras are allowed in court, the trial is open to the public at the request of Gisèle Pelicot, who waived her right to anonymity at the beginning of the proceedings. Her legal team said opening up the trial would shift the “shame” back on to the accused.

As she stepped out of the courtroom during a pause in the hearing on Tuesday, Gisèle was met by applause from onlookers, and she smiled as she accepted a bouquet of flowers.

Since the trial began, Gisèle has become a symbol of resilience and courage. Last weekend, thousands of people gathered in cities across France to show their support to her and other victims of rape, and the trial has ignited a national conversation on marital rape, consent and chemical submission.

Mr Pelicot, who is a father and grandfather, began his testimony by telling the court of traumatic childhood experiences and said he was abused by a male nurse when he was nine years old.

When asked about his marriage to Gisèle, Mr Pelicot said he considered suicide when he found out she was having an affair.

Throughout his testimony on Tuesday morning, Mr Pelicot repeatedly assured the court that he never “hated” his wife and was in fact “crazy about [her]… I loved her immensely and I still do.”

“I loved her well for 40 years and badly for 10,” he added, apparently referring to the decade during which he drugged her and abused her.

Mr Pelicot was then questioned by Stéphane Babonneau, one of Gisèle’s lawyers, who asked him why he had been unable to find the will to stop abusing her, even when she started presenting medical problems.

In previous sessions of the trial, Gisèle said she had been worried she was developing Alzheimer’s or a brain tumour because of hair and weight loss and large memory gaps. These were, in fact, side-effects of the drugs her husband was giving her.

“I tried to stop, but my addiction was stronger, the need was growing,” he said.

“I was trying to reassure her, I betrayed her trust. I should’ve stopped sooner, in fact I should’ve never started at all.”

Mr Pelicot is also accused of drugging and abusing his daughter, Caroline, after semi-naked photos of her were found on his laptop. He has previously denied this and on Tuesday he also stated he had never touched his grandchildren. “I can look my family in the eyes and tell them that nothing else occurred,” he said.

Mr Pelicot also said he “became perverted” when, in 2010, he met a male nurse on the internet who suggested he drug his wife with a sedative, explained how to administer it and shared photos of drugged women. “That’s when it all clicked,” Mr Pelicot said. “Everything started then.”

In one section of Tuesday’s hearing, Mr Pelicot was also asked about the thousands of videos he filmed of men abusing his unconscious wife. These were found by investigators and were instrumental in tracking down the 50 men who are now accused of rape.

Mr Pelicot recognised he had filmed the men partly for “pleasure,” but also “as insurance”.

Throughout the morning, Mr Pelicot appeared determined to rebut one of the main lines of defence of several of the accused, which hinges on the premise they did not “know” they were raping Gisèle – in other words, that they thought they were having consensual intercourse with her.

Mr Pelicot met the defendants on a chat room called “Without her knowledge” on a now-closed website which hosted pornographic material.

“I didn’t force anyone, they came to look for me,” he said on Tuesday. “They asked me if they could come, and I said yes. I never handcuffed and dragged anyone.”

Some have said they were “manipulated” by Mr Pelicot into believing they were taking part in an erotic game in which Gisèle was only pretending to be asleep because she was shy, and several denied they knew they were being filmed.

But Mr Pelicot said the only person he ever “manipulated” was his wife, and also said that the men must have known they were being filmed: “There was a tripod and a screen attached to it, everyone could see it as soon as they walked into the room.”

Mr Pelicot said he wanted to prove that his wife “was a victim and not an accomplice. To prove that everything happened without her knowledge. I’m aware many [defendants] have disputed this.”

Béatrice Zavarro, Mr Pelicot’s lawyer, told French TV that she did not know what people would think of her client, but that he was “sharing his truth”.

She added that Mr Pelicot was “very downtrodden” and that although she did not know what his wife would make of his request for forgiveness, “the confession is now under way and he will continue.”

She said: “We will get to the end of this trial and we will know everything about Dominique Pelicot.”

Mr Pelicot, who was diagnosed with a kidney infection and kidney stones, was absent from court for nearly a week because of illness. He is set to give his testimony throughout the day, although he will be allowed frequent breaks.

“We can’t say why we’re here, it’s top secret!”

I’d never asked what the drunk British man in strange military fatigues was doing in a Ukrainian cafe, but he was keen to tell me regardless.

It was the summer of 2022, and dotted across Kyiv’s main Khreshchatyk Street were similar types who all claimed they were joining Ukraine’s war effort against Russia.

“War attracts all sorts,” I thought.

We now know they included Ryan Routh, the suspect in an apparent attempted assassination of Donald Trump in the US on Sunday.

Routh “was an omnipresent dude” in the Ukrainian capital, remarks Chris Lutz, an aid worker who met him several times.

“I wouldn’t call him crazy,” he says. “He was trying his best to help Ukraine, but it was getting to an unhealthy level.”

• What we know about Ryan Routh so far
• Gunman lurked for hours before Trump’s last-minute game of golf
• Trump says he was bundled into golf cart after shots rang out
• BBC Verify: How much security does Trump get?

Ukrainian officials have firmly distanced themselves from the man accused of trying to assassinate Donald Trump at the former president’s Florida golf course.

Routh, 58, had repeatedly tried to recruit foreign soldiers for the Ukrainian military, but was unsuccessful.

“He has never served in Ukraine’s International Legion and has no relation to the unit,” said the legion’s spokesperson.

The American reportedly contacted the legion on a regular basis with ideas described by one Ukrainian soldier as “nonsensical” and “delusional”.

The suspect had also admitted to being turned down himself, claiming it was down to his age and lack of fighting experience.

In an online post reacting to the events in the US over the weekend, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was “glad” Donald Trump was unharmed.

There was no mention of the suspect who’d been a staunch supporter of Zelensky’s country – and for good reason.

Three days after Russia’s full-scale invasion, Zelensky called for “friends of peace and democracy” to join the fight from abroad, and they did so in their thousands.

Ukraine’s International Legion was born.

It was initially thought 20,000 volunteers were willing to sign up. Experts now think there are more than 4,000 foreign fighters in Ukraine.

Despite the fact Routh failed in his attempts to add to that number, his arrest in Florida has still given Kyiv a headache.

Lt Andriy Kovalenko, who’s from Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, warned Russia would use the assassination attempt for propaganda purposes.

“Playing with fire has its consequences,” was the response from Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov when asked whether Ukraine could have been behind the plot.

On Russian state TV, host Olga Skabeyeva called Routh a “crazed fan of Zelensky, walking around with a machine gun”.

“There has been another attempt on Donald’s life, and the attempt is officially linked to Ukraine,” she added, making reference to an earlier effort by a gunman in Pennsylvania to shoot Trump in July.

A popular pro-Russian Telegram channel in Ukraine claimed the Ukrainian intelligence service was behind the assassination attempt. A similar account said the American had travelled to Ukraine to “recruit American mercenaries”.

No evidence has accompanied these claims.

“Of course, all this is a lie,” said Lt Kovalenko. “But information confrontation is a component of the war.”

Sandra Andersen Eira, a Norwegian national fighting with the Ukrainian Marine Corps on the southern front line, says she is puzzled.

“My only question is: how did he get rejected by the International Foreign Legion?” she asks.

She says that until last May there was very little vetting. A minimum contract of six months and basic training have since been brought in.

Recruits still don’t have to have any military experience, though some consider this to be an advantage. “Routh was just another one of those types,” Ms Eira says.

“You had characters fundraising, scamming people, claiming to be in the front lines, with a unit, and then they’re not.

“Some volunteers have good intentions and really want to make a difference, but maybe they’re just not mentally or physically fit for it. Some of them are just delusional.”

Perhaps this applied to Ryan Routh.

He might not have helped Ukraine, but his time in the country has given it an unwelcome connection to an assassination attempt on a US presidential candidate.

Dancing with the Stars is known for its glitz and glitter, and a staple of US television for almost 20 years. But on Tuesday during the show’s prime-time season premiere, there will be a twist, when convicted fraudster Anna Delvey – real name Anna Sorokin – takes to the floor wearing a bejewelled ankle monitor.

In a press release, Disney-owned ABC called Sorokin “an artist, fashion icon and infamous NYC socialite”, as well as “a notorious ankle bracelet fashionista”. She will be joining a cast that includes an NBA veteran, various reality-TV stars, and two Olympians, for the latest edition of the US spin-off from the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing format.

Critics accused the channel of glamorising her past crimes. The New York Post called it a “new low for pop culture”.

Some have also questioned how she has right to live and work in the US, as a German-Russian citizen.

Sorokin’s electronic ankle monitor is not for her original 2019 convictions, which came after she travelled the world masquerading as a European heiress, conning banks, lawyers and a private jet company out of more than $200,000 (£150,000).

Instead, the ankle monitor is the result of a years-long immigration battle in the US, where she is fighting deportation.

Debates online are raging over this new chapter of infamy.

Some appear to admire her endless ambition, as if she represents some sort of warped American Dream. Others have slammed her continued self-promotion and seeming lack of remorse as shameless.

During a heated discussion on The View talk show, Whoopi Goldberg said her ability to appear on Dancing with the Stars, despite facing immigration charges, is an example of a “two-tier immigration system” that favours the wealthy or connected.

Others have said it’s hardly surprising to see her convictions being overlooked in a country where a felon is running for president.

Sorokin first gained notoriety when New York Magazine published an investigation into her misdeeds in 2018. Her scams were later explored in the Netflix series Inventing Anna and BBC podcast Fake Heiress.

It was the audacity that intrigued people. She had worked her way into elite circles in New York City in a ruse that lasted for years. Her goal was to secure a $22m loan to build an arts foundation in her own name.

While living under the heiress persona, she forged bank statements, ran up large bills at luxury hotels that she couldn’t afford, dashed out of restaurants without paying, bounced cheques, created fake emails from accountants, and let others pick up her tabs after extravagant spending. Small businesses and individuals were also affected.

“She’s been a public figure for a long enough time that I don’t think people remember the details of what the crimes were – if ever they really knew them in the first place,” said Jessica Pressler, who wrote the first piece on her in New York Magazine, and became the inspiration for the fictionalised journalist character in Inventing Anna.

“People don’t look that far past the surface,” she added, acknowledging this is what aided the original grift. “Dancing With the Stars… it’s a natural extension of the story.”

Sorokin was arrested in 2017 while on the run in California and went on criminal trial in New York. In 2019, she was found guilty of eight theft-related charges, and sentenced to between four and 12 years.

That was part one of her legal struggles.

After serving almost four years, including time in the notorious Rikers Island jail, she was released in February 2021, and was expected to leave the US.

But she didn’t go.

Six weeks later – following a string of media appearances and having signed a paid TV deal with a German company – immigration authorities arrested her for overstaying her visa.

More than three years on, she is still fighting deportation. She has served time back in jail and under house arrest. In 2022, she was scheduled to board a plane in New York to return to Germany. But her lawyer intervened and she did not fly. Litigation regarding her deportation was ongoing, they said.

Her exact claims for asylum are unclear, but they are believed to relate to her Russian citizenship. She lived there in her early years but her family moved to Germany in her teens. When she was in New York in her 20s, she had a tourist visa.

While under house arrest, Sorokin started her own podcast and did interviews with various media. (Vogue magazine filmed a tour of her apartment in the East Village; Vogue UK wrote a “What is Anna Delvey reading?” feature.)

“Most of us would die of embarrassment at doing anything that she does,” said Pressler, describing how Sorokin stayed in a hotel for months without paying the bill and flew to Morocco with no money. “From staying in a hotel for months and not paying bills, to getting on a plane to Morocco with no money, no-one would do that. She does it with aplomb. I think on the whole any admiration people have for her is kind of limited to that.”

“They aren’t going to do these things, they don’t think the things she’s done are good, but the ordinary person wishes they could have that belief in themselves.”

John Sandweg – who served as the acting head of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during Barack Obama’s presidency – is her current immigration lawyer.

He told the BBC that lengthy deportation cases are not uncommon in the United States, but this has been “fairly protracted”.

“Her criminal case has also been on appeal for a long time and that has had an impact,” he added.

He said her house arrest terms were “really restrictive”. “We challenged those. She was banned from social media. We argued that was unconstitutional,” he said. She wasn’t a flight risk or a danger to society, and she had kept to her parole conditions, he added.

As a result of the challenge, her bond conditions were relaxed in August. She is now back on social media and she has been permitted to travel to Los Angeles for the filming of Dancing with the Stars. She also has a social security number.

ICE confirmed to the BBC that she had received permission to travel. “Anna Sorokin’s conditions of release were amended by a Department of Justice immigration judge,” said the spokesperson.

Sorokin had to pay rent while under house arrest, but this also caused dispute. Her landlord filed legal action, saying she had failed to pay three months’ rent. Court documents show he claimed Sorokin owed more than $12,000. The case was eventually resolved and she moved out.

Sorokin has employed plenty of lawyers in recent years. The funding is believed to have come from media deals and sales of her prison artwork.

Netflix controversially paid Sorokin $320,000 (£230,000) for her life story for its Inventing Anna series. After a state intervention, she was legally obliged to use some of that money to pay back the victims of her theft. But there was some money left over to pay for her lawyer in the original trial.

Netflix is facing a defamation trial, sparked by the series.

The case was brought by Sorokin’s one-time friend Rachel Williams, who was portrayed in the show.

Williams wrote a book My Friend Anna about their short-lived friendship and how it fell apart after she was left to foot a $62,000 bill at a luxury resort in Morocco.

The lawsuit argues that Netflix used her real name and biographical details in its Inventing Anna series, but she was unfairly depicted as a “vile and contemptible person”.

Netflix, in an attempt to dismiss the lawsuit, said their interpretation of Williams was open to “literary licence” and protected by the First Amendment, according to Variety magazine.

Sorokin is not involved in that case, although she has been subpoenaed as a witness for the trial.

Williams’ lawyer Alexander Rufus-Isaacs told the BBC that the case was expected to come to trial next year.

He said Sorokin’s employment on Dancing with the Stars was “glamorising and minimising the crimes she committed, and minimising the impact on the people she hurt”.

In court, Sorokin was found not guilty of the charge related to the Morocco trip. American Express eventually refunded Williams, but after she had suffered a long period of stress and anxiety, according to her book.

While some have viewed Sorokin as an anti-establishment hero for infiltrating and embarrassing wealthy institutions, Williams did not see it that way. She previously told the BBC: “The system that Anna was seeking to undermine… she wasn’t doing it out of some altruistic nobility, she wanted to be a part of them.”

In response to the recent backlash, Dancing with the Stars boss Conrad Green told Variety: “Yes, [Sorokin] had the issues she’s had, but we’ve had other people on the show who’ve had criminal issues in the past. She served her time. I think it’s perfectly valid for her to be on the show.”

For more on the rise and fall of Anna Delvey, listen to the BBC’s podcast Fake Heiress.