It is time to stop talking about the Middle East being on the brink of a much more serious war. After the devastating Israeli attack on what it said was the Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut it feels as if they’re tumbling over it.

It was a huge series of blasts, according to people who were in Beirut. A friend of mine in the city said it was the most powerful she had heard in any of Lebanon’s wars.

In the hours after the attack Israeli media reported that the Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was the target. Social media channels and TV stations were full of speculation about whether he had been in the building that was targeted and whether he had survived.

As rescue workers searched for survivors in the rubble, Hezbollah’s silence on the matter redoubled the speculation.

It was not the end of Israeli air force’s bombing missions for the day. The Israeli military announced that it was continuing to attack Hezbollah targets.

Earlier in the day there were hopes, admittedly faint ones, that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was at least prepared to discuss a proposal for a 21-day ceasefire. It came from the US and France and was backed by Israel’s most significant Western allies.

But in a typically defiant and at times aggressive speech to the UN General Assembly in New York, Netanyahu did not talk about diplomacy.

Israel, he said, had no choice but to fight savage enemies who sought its annihilation. Hezbollah would be defeated – and there would be total victory over Hamas in Gaza, which would ensure the return of Israeli hostages.

Far from being lambs led to the slaughter – a phrase sometimes used in Israel to refer to the Nazi Holocaust – Israel, he said, was winning.

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The huge attack in Beirut that occurred as he finished his speech was an even more emphatic sign that a truce in Lebanon was not on Israel’s agenda.

It seemed more than feasible that the attack was timed to follow up Mr Netanyahu’s threats that Israel could, and would, hit its enemies, wherever they were.

The Pentagon, the US defence department, said it had no advance warning from Israel about the raid.

A photo released by the prime minister’s office in Jerusalem showed him at a bank of communications equipment in what looked like his hotel in New York City. The image’s caption said it showed the moment that he authorised the raid.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken defended the policy he has worked on for months. He said there was still room for negotiation. That assertion is looking hollow.

The Americans have very few levers to use against any side. They cannot, by law, talk to Hezbollah and Hamas as they are classified as foreign terrorist organisations. With the US elections only weeks away, they are even less likely to put pressure on Israel than they have been in the last year.

Powerful voices in the Israeli government and military wanted to attack Hezbollah in the days after the Hamas attacks last October. They argued that they could deal their enemies in Lebanon a decisive blow. The Americans persuaded them not to do it, arguing that the trouble it might set off across the region offset any potential security benefit for Israel.

But in the course of the last year Netanyahu has made a habit of defying President Joe Biden’s wishes about the way Israel is fighting. Despite providing Israel with the aircraft and bombs used in the raid on Beirut, President Biden and team were spectators.

His policy for the last year, as a lifelong supporter of Israel, was to try to influence Netanyahu by showing solidarity and support, delivering weapons and diplomatic protection.

Biden believed that he could persuade Netanyahu not just to change the way Israel fights – the president has said repeatedly that it is imposing too much suffering and killing too many Palestinian civilians – but to accept an American plan for the day after that rested on creating an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Netanyahu rejected the idea out of hand and has ignored Joe Biden’s advice.

After the attack on Beirut, Blinken repeated his view that a combination of deterrence and diplomacy had staved off a wider war in the Middle East. But as events spiral out of US control, he is not sounding convincing.

Big decisions lie ahead. First of all, with or without Nasrallah, Hezbollah is going to have to decide how to use its remaining arsenal. Do they use try to mount a much heavier attack on Israel? If they don’t use their remaining rockets and missiles in storage, they might decide Israel will get around to destroying even more of them.

The Israelis also face highly consequential decisions. They have already talked about a ground operation against Lebanon, and while they haven’t yet mobilised all the reserves they might need, an invasion is on their agenda. Some in Lebanon believe that in a ground war Hezbollah could negate some of Israel’s military strengths.

Western diplomats, among them Israel’s staunchest allies, were hoping to calm matters, urging Israel to accept a diplomatic solution. They will now be looking at events with dismay and also a sense of powerlessness.

Nita Morton turned up at a Bridgerton-themed ball expecting glitz, glamour and fabulous food.

The event in Detroit, Michigan, on Sunday night invited fans to “step into the enchanting world of the Regency era” with “sophistication, grace, and historical charm”.

So far, so good – but what happened next could almost make a Netflix drama itself.

Guests say they found soggy noodles, chicken bones, melancholy decor, a single violin and a pole dancer.

“I was brought to tears,” 25-year-old Nita said. “It was the worst event I’ve been to. My high school parties were better.”

“Bridgerton food is turkey and ham and grand dessert tables with things like macaroons,” she told the BBC.

“But we got soggy noodles with tomato sauce and small chicken wings.”

The blunder has gone viral on social media, as attendees who paid nearly $200 (£150) for a ticket complained it was a “scam”.

Guests in fancy ballgowns say they were reduced to sitting on the floor due to a lack of chairs – and some left early for McDonald’s or Burger King when food ran out.

People have been quick to note the similarities with other viral flops, including the Fyre festival in the Bahamas and the Willy Wonka experience in Glasgow.

The ball – in no way associated with Netflix or production company Shondaland – was organised by Uncle & Me LLC. It did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment but told local media it was working to address concerns.

The BBC has spoken to some of those who attended to hear how high society turned to bitter disappointment.

The itinerary for the ball, themed around hit period drama Bridgerton, included photo opportunities, dance lessons and a fashion show.

People who had purchased a more expensive ticket were also promised dinner and a violinist.

But alarm bells started ringing for guests when they arrived and found no-one at the door to greet them.

Kimberley Pineda, who posted a TikTok video about her experiences, told the BBC “anyone could’ve walked in” due to the lack of a check-in process.

She said guests were walking out as she arrived, with one warning her not to bother going in.

Once inside, she said she was faced with “cheap” decorations, and said the ballroom was completely sparse.

“There were just a few vendors, who I felt sorry for. They had been booked and had no idea either what was going on.

“Plates were being stacked on top of each other, glasses were being reused, whole plates of food were being left too, and someone told me the chicken wasn’t cooked properly and the beans smelled like fish.”

Like Kimberley, Andi Bell found the food and drink options woefully inadequate.

“Hors d’oeuvres were meant to be available to all guests. And the leftovers from the dinner were the promised hors d’oeuvres.”

Then came the entertainment – which for some proved to be the final straw.

“As the night wore on, we were presented with an exotic dancer with a pole, which very much appeared to be a stripper; a lack of dance lessons at the scheduled time despite most of us being in the ballroom waiting; and eventually club music was blasted from the stage,” Andi said.

“At that point, my sister and I left.”

Kimberley, meanwhile, said her “jaw dropped” when the pole dancer’s performance began.

“We were promised a Bridgerton-themed musical performance, but we were not expecting a pole dance,” she said.

Other entertainment included a Queen Charlotte act, one of the characters from the show.

But another guest, Amanda Sue Mathis, felt she was hardly regal – sitting in “a cheap costume” with a backdrop that looked like it was “purchased at a dollar store”, with a “fake stuffed dog” sitting on her lap.

The photographer, meanwhile, was only able to airdrop pictures, says Nita.

It meant people with Android phones resorted to taking pictures of his phone.

And while there was a violinist, she was having to perform across three floors, Nita said.

In a statement to WXYZ-TV, Uncle & Me LLC said: “We understand that not everyone had the experience they hoped for at our most recent event on Sunday night at The Harmonie Club, and for that, we sincerely apologise.

“Our intention was to provide a magical evening, but we recognise that organisational challenges affected the enjoyment of some guests.

“We take full responsibility and accountability for these shortcomings.”

The company said it was working to address all concerns raised by guests, adding: “We are reviewing resolution options, which will be communicated shortly.”

The company’s website does not appear to be working, while the event site – which was available until the middle of the week – now also appears to be down, adding to fans’ frustration.

Nita claims the statement was “gaslighting” attendees: “We’ve had no contact with the company for days.”

Andi claims communication from the organisers had been “non-existent”.

Kimberley says she feels “robbed” of her money and time, having spent $440 on her outfit alone.

And Amanda – a superfan who has watched Bridgerton six times from start to finish – described it as “a dream come true, until it wasn’t”.

Similar recent debacles might offer a clue as to how things will pan out.

After the spectacular failure of the Wonka experience earlier this year in Glasgow, where police were called as tempers flared at a near-empty warehouse, organisers said full refunds would be given to ticket holders.

Meanwhile, the Fyre festival promised a luxury two-week music event in the Bahamas – but fans arrived to find no musical acts, no planning and only disaster relief tents to sleep in.

Just months after being released from prison over the 2017 event, organiser Billy McFarland announced a reboot. Fyre II is due to take place in April 2025.

Should another Bridgerton-themed ball be arranged in the near future, fans in Detroit might be coining a phrase from Anthony Bridgerton himself: “You are the bane of my existence and the object of all my desires.”

Pop star Lana Del Ray has ended weeks of speculation by reportedly marrying her alligator tour guide boyfriend, Jeremy Dufrene, in Louisiana.

The couple applied for a marriage licence on Monday in the Lafourche parish of the state, south of New Orleans.

The star used her legal name Elizabeth Woodridge Grant on the document, according to records seen by the BBC.

Court records show the application was valid for a month and was signed off by a clerk at the court.

Reports in US media said Del Rey and Mr Dufrene did not wait that long and tied the knot on Thursday in Des Allemandes, Louisiana, near where Mr Dufrene works as a boat tour operator.

“The wedding ceremony and reception were both held in the same bayou where Jeremy operates his swamp boats tours,” People magazine reported on Friday, citing a source.

Del Rey has not commented publicly on the reported wedding.

The pair met back in 2019, when the singer posted photos from one such tour and wrote on her Facebook page: “Jeremy lemme be captain at Arthur’s Air Boat Tours x”.

The couple were spotted together this summer at the Reading and Leeds festivals, where Del Rey was a headliner, and in London.

The 39-year-old singer was propelled to fame in 2011 with the success of her self-titled debut album and its breakout single Video Games, and has cultivated a glamorous and somewhat mysterious image while releasing nine albums in total.

Her latest effort, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, received mostly positive reviews and was nominated for an Album of the Year Grammy Award.

Mr Dufrene’s bio on the website of Arthur’s Air Boat Tours notes that he used to work at a chemical plant until he decided it was “not his calling”.

“After a little convincing by his family, he got his captain’s licence and started running tours,” it reads.

“Jeremy’s a great airboat captain and loves interacting with wildlife & customers.”

Nestled in the mountains of Indian-administered Kashmir, Shopian – once a hotbed of militancy – sees a steady stream of voters entering a polling booth.

The former state of Jammu and Kashmir – now divided into two federally administered territories – is holding its first assembly election in a decade. The third and last phase of voting is on Tuesday and results will be declared on 8 October.

Since the 1990s, an armed separatist insurgency against Indian rule in the region has claimed thousands of lives, including those of civilians and security forces.

Earlier, elections were marred by violence and boycotts as separatists saw polls as a means for Delhi to try and legitimise its control. The high voter turnout now signals a change – people here say they have waited long to be heard.

“The level of poverty in our area is severe,” says 52-year-old Mohammad Yusuf Ganai after casting his vote. He laments that the lack of jobs has forced educated young Kashmiris to “sit at home”.

The last elections a decade ago resulted in a coalition government that collapsed in 2018. Before new polls could be held, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government revoked the region’s autonomy and statehood, sparking widespread discontent among Kashmiris.

For five years, Jammu and Kashmir has been under federal control with no local representation, and this election offers people a long-awaited chance to voice their concerns.

“We will finally be able to go to the elected official with our problems,” says 65-year-old Mohammad Abdul Dar.

Nearly 150km (93 miles) away in Uri, the last town near the Line of Control – the de facto border with Pakistan-administered Kashmir – newly elected MP from the Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) Engineer Rashid addresses a frenzied crowd. In jail since 2019 on terror funding charges that he denies, Rashid was granted interim bail to campaign for the election.

People flock to his motorcade, one seeking a selfie, another offering a jacket, as Rashid’s personal struggles appear to resonate deeply with voters.

• Why Engineer Rashid’s return from jail has ruffled feathers

“I want development and a resolution to the Jammu and Kashmir issue,” Rashid says. Being part of the system now as a lawmaker, he adds, will help him raise these issues in Delhi.

Civil engineer Tanvir Chalkoo, 29, listens intently to Rashid.

Calling the scrapping of autonomy the “worst kind of injustice”, Tanvir asks why as an Indian he should be treated any differently.

“People have been deprived of their rights for the last 10 years,” he says.

The BJP government insists that scrapping the region’s special status and placing it under direct rule has brought peace and development, with Prime Minister Modi announcing $700m (£523m) in projects during a visit in March. It’s now up to BJP candidate Engineer Aijaz Hussain in Srinagar’s Lal Chowk to convince voters of this message.

“Previously, no one would go door to door [to campaign]. Today, they are. This is our achievement, isn’t it?” says Aijaz.

He points to the increased voter turnout as proof of faith in the election process, with the recent parliamentary elections seeing record participation. Yet, despite these claims, the BJP did not contest those elections and is now only fielding candidates in 19 of the 47 assembly seats in the Kashmir valley.

The party’s stronghold remains the Hindu-dominated Jammu region with 43 seats, where it is hoping to score well.

“Our organisation is weak in other constituencies,” admits Aijaz.

The Hindu nationalist BJP has been trying to make inroads in the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley, where it has had little presence.

• ‘Any story could be your last’ – India’s crackdown on Kashmir press

Aijaz’s cavalcade of nearly 50 BJP-flagged cars drove through Srinagar’s narrow lanes, a show of strength unimaginable in Kashmir just a few years ago.

While some come out of their homes to greet Aijaz with sweets, others refrain. The BJP is still seen by many here as the party in Delhi which took away their autonomy.

Maleha Sofi, 24, is disillusioned with the BJP, believing the touted peace has come at the cost of personal liberties, and has decided not to vote. “We are not allowed to say anything,” she says.

Legacy parties like the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have made this central to their campaign.

“This election is an act of self-preservation for Kashmiris,” says Waheed Para, the party’s candidate from Pulwama. “It’s a step to reclaim what was lost and preserve what we have.”

In 2020, Para was jailed for nearly two years, accused of aiding banned separatist groups. India has long faced accusations of human rights violations in Kashmir – it denies this – but critics say this has intensified in the past few years.

Ahead of the assembly election, Amnesty International accused the government of fostering a “climate of fear” and urged an end to arbitrary detentions under strict anti-terror laws used to silence dissent on Jammu and Kashmir.

But the BJP government in Delhi has always taken a hard line on this. Aijaz says “all those people who are with separatists will be dealt with very seriously”.

While regional political parties promise change and say they are fighting for the rights of Kashmiris, how much influence will they have after these elections?

Lawyer Zafar Shah anticipates friction between the federal administration and the elected government which will soon assume charge.

Before 2019, when Jammu and Kashmir was a state, the chief minister could enact laws with the consent of the governor, who was bound by the state cabinet’s recommendations.

Now, as a federal territory under a Lieutenant Governor (LG), the chief minister must get the LG’s approval, especially on sensitive issues like public order, appointments and prosecutions. Power has shifted, says Mr Shah, as the LG won’t act without clearance from the federal home ministry.

“Whether the LG can create hurdles in the government’s working, that’s a matter to be seen when an actual situation arises,” adds Mr Shah.

Despite the challenges, many in Kashmir hope these elections will give them a chance to finally have their own representatives to voice their concerns.

At least 43 people have died and millions left without power on Friday as Hurricane Helene roared through the south-eastern US.

Officials continued daring rescues with boats, helicopters and large vehicles to help those stranded in floodwaters – including about 50 workers and patients who crowded on the roof of a flooded Tennessee hospital.

It was the most powerful storm on record to hit Florida’s Big Bend and moved north into Georgia and the Carolinas after making landfall overnight on Thursday.

Insurers and financial institutions say damage caused by the storm could run into the billions of dollars.

Roads and houses were submerged on Friday, with one family describing to BBC News how they had to swim out of their home to safety. Although Helene has weakened significantly, forecasters warn that high winds, flooding and the threat of tornadoes could continue.

Helene, which had been a category four storm, came ashore on Thursday night and remained a hurricane for six hours after it made landfall, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said a storm surge – heightened water levels mostly caused by high winds blowing water towards shore – reached more than 15ft (4.5m) above ground level across parts of the Florida coast.

The NHC said the surge should subside before the weekend but the threat from high winds and flooding would persist, including possible landslides.

Up to 20in (50cm) of rain is still possible in places.

The hurricane is the 14th most powerful to hit the US since records began. At approximately 420 miles (675 km) wide, it is behind only two other hurricanes – Ida in 2017 and Opal in 1996, both of which were 460 miles wide.

Because of its sheer size, the impact of strong winds and heavy rain have been widespread across Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas.

At least eight people have died in Florida since Friday, including at least five people in the coastal Pinellas County, the county’s sheriff, Bob Gualtieri said.

The county includes the city of St Petersburg on Florida’s Gulf Coast.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said one person died after a road sign fell on their car and another when a tree fell on a home.

• Hurricane Helene brings life-threatening conditions as it moves from Florida to Georgia

After hitting Florida, the storm continued on a deadly path north into Georgia – leaving at least 15 dead – including a first responder, Governor Brian Kemp said.

A suspected tornado that spurred in Wheeler County, in central Georgia, left two people dead when the twister picked up and overturned a mobile home, authorities said.

Kemp ordered 1,000 National Guard troops to help with rescue efforts across the state. The Georgia governor said Friday that more than 150 roads have been closed, 1,300 traffic signals are out across the state and people are still trapped in buildings.

In South Carolina, at least 17 people were killed, according to CBS News, the BBC’s US partner. Neighbouring North Carolina saw at least two fatalities in the storm, one due to a vehicle collision and another when a tree fell on a home in Charlotte, Governor Roy Cooper said.

The state also saw two confirmed tornadoes, which damaged 11 buildings and injured 15 people, the National Service said.

One person was also killed in Virginia, the state’s governor, Glenn Youngkin, said at a news conference on Friday.

Across the southeast, more than three million homes and businesses were without power late Friday, according to tracking site poweroutage.us.

First responders have been tackling rescues, using helicopters, boats and large vehicles to help people stranded in flooded homes. In North Carolina alone, more than 100 rescues have taken place, Cooper said.

In Tennessee, 58 patients and staff were left stranded on the roof of a hospital in the city of Erwin on Friday. Swift-moving water from the Nolichucky River prevented boats from being able to conduct rescue operations, and high winds prevented helicopter rescue.

The group was later taken to safety after helicopters from the Tennessee National Guard and the Virginia State Police intervened.

In Pasco County, north of Tampa on Florida’s Gulf coast, 65 people were rescued. Guests at a Ramada Inn in Manatee County were also rescued as floodwaters rushed into the hotel.

And in Suwannee County to the north, authorities reported “extreme destruction”, with trees falling onto homes.

Along the Gulf Coast of Florida, Briana Gagnier told the BBC that she and her family saw water creeping into their home on Holmes Beach and started moving their belongings onto tables and beds before hearing a loud bang.

“My family and I all looked at one another,” she said. “Then water just started pouring in.”

Ms Gagnier said she grabbed her pets, her wallet and some portable chargers and swam out of their home with her family. The water was up to their shoulders.

“We also encourage all communities to please continue to listen to your local officials,” FEMA Deputy Administrator Erik Hooks said on Friday.

“Just because the storm has passed where you are doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re safe to leave your home.”

Officials also reminded residents the effects of the storm are “not over yet” and urged residents to remain vigilant.

Hurricanes need sea surface temperatures of more than 27C (80F) to fuel them.

With exceptionally warm waters of the Gulf at 30-32C, the sea surface is about two degrees Celsius above normal for the time of year.

Florida’s 220-mile Big Bend coast is where Hurricane Idalia made landfall in 2023. The area was also battered by Hurricane Debby last month.

There could be as many as 25 named storms in 2024, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warned earlier this year.

Between eight and 13 of those storms could develop into hurricanes and a handful already have including Helene.

More storms could be on the horizon as the official end of hurricane season will not arrive until 30 November, officials warned.

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Dame Maggie Smith, best known for the Harry Potter films and Downton Abbey, has been remembered as “a true legend” of acting following her death at the age of 89.

Tributes have been paid by the King and prime minister, as well as numerous co-stars from her long career.

King Charles described her as “a national treasure”, while Sir Keir Starmer said she was “beloved by so many for her great talent”.

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe fondly remembered her “fierce intellect” and “gloriously sharp tongue”.

Miriam Margolyes said she was “the best of the best”, who combined “ferocity, a glint of mischief, delight and tenderness”.

“And enormous courage. I’ve been in awe of her, as all her colleagues are,” Margolyes told BBC News.

“I saw what a kind person she could be – as well as absolutely terrifying.”

• Obituary: A formidable star on stage and screen
• Shakespeare to Harry Potter: Six of her greatest roles
• Her life and career in pictures

Dame Maggie was known for her sharp tongue on screen and off during a varied and acclaimed career that spanned eight decades.

In the Harry Potter films, she played the acerbic Professor Minerva McGonagall, famous for her pointed witch’s hat and stern manner with the young wizards at Hogwarts.

Paying tribute, Radcliffe said: “She was a fierce intellect, had a gloriously sharp tongue, could intimidate and charm in the same instant and was, as everyone will tell you, extremely funny.

“I will always consider myself amazingly lucky to have been able to work with her, and to spend time around her on set.

“The word legend is overused but if it applies to anyone in our industry then it applies to her. Thank you Maggie.”

Emma Watson said she didn’t quite appreciate that young Hermione was sharing the screen “with a true definition of greatness” until her adult years.

Posting on Instagram, she remembered the star for being “real, honest, funny and self-honouring”.

“Maggie, there are a lot of male professors and by God you held your own.”

In hit ITV drama Downton Abbey, she played Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, the grand matriarch who excelled at withering one-liners through the show’s six series.

Elsewhere in her career, she won two Oscars – for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in 1970 and California Suite in 1979.

She had four other nominations, and received seven Bafta awards.

In a statement, the King and Queen said: “As the curtain comes down on a national treasure, we join all those around the world in remembering with the fondest admiration and affection her many great performances, and her warmth and wit that shone through both off and on the stage.”

The prime minister agreed that Dame Maggie was “a true national treasure whose work will be cherished for generations to come”.

She “introduced us to new worlds with the countless stories she acted over her long career”, Sir Keir said.

Hugh Bonneville, who played the Earl of Grantham in Downton Abbey, said: “Anyone who ever shared a scene with Maggie will attest to her sharp eye, sharp wit and formidable talent.

“She was a true legend of her generation and thankfully will live on in so many magnificent screen performances.”

Dame Maggie reprised her role for the two Downton Abbey films. In 2022’s Downton Abbey: A New Era, her character died of the illness she revealed at the end of the 2019 film.

Co-star Dame Harriet Walter told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme she excelled at comedy as well as drama.

“She was a true comedian, but also I’ve seen her playing some incredibly heartfelt, deep, sad roles, which is the huge range of an actress like her,” she said.

“If she was merely funny or merely tragic, she wouldn’t quite have made that sort of impression.”

Michelle Dockery, who played Dame Maggie’s on-screen granddaughter Lady Mary Crawley, told the BBC: “There was no-one quite like Maggie.

“I feel tremendously lucky to have known such a maverick. She will be deeply missed and my thoughts are with her family.”

Lesley Nicol, who played Downton Abbey’s cook Mrs Patmore, told BBC Radio Ulster: “It’s a very close group of people so we’re all devastated to think she’s not around any more.”

Downton Abbey creator and writer Julian Fellowes told Variety magazine she was “a joy to write for, subtle, many-layered, intelligent, funny and heart-breaking”.

Downton followed the success of 2002 period drama Gosford Park, which earned Dame Maggie both Oscar and Bafta nominations for playing the Dowager Countess of Trentham.

Dame Kristin Scott-Thomas, who starred alongside Dame Maggie in Gosford Park, said she “took acting very seriously but saw through the nonsense and razzmatazz”.

“She really didn’t want to deal with that,” Dame Kristin added.

“She had a sense of humour and wit that could reduce me to a blithering puddle of giggles. And she did not have patience with fools. So you had to be a bit careful. I absolutely adored her.

“The last time I saw her, she was very cross about being old. ‘Maddening’ I think she said. Much loved, much admired and irreplaceable.”

Also paying tribute, a National Theatre spokesperson said her career “spanned the theatrical, film and television world without equal”.

Praising her stage performances, the statement continued: “She will forever be remembered as one of the greatest actors this country has had the inestimable pleasure of witnessing.”

Bafta added that she was a “legend of British stage and screen”.

Announcing the news of her death “with great sadness” on Friday, her sons Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin said she “passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning”.

They said: “An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.”

They thanked “the wonderful staff at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their care and unstinting kindness during her final days”.

They added: “We thank you for all your kind messages and support and ask that you respect our privacy at this time.”

Dame Maggie began her career in the 1950s and was nominated for her first Oscar for playing Desdemona opposite Laurence Olivier in Shakespeare’s Othello in 1965.

The actress’s other memorable roles included 1985 Merchant Ivory film A Room With a View, which earned her another Oscar nomination and a Bafta.

She appeared as an English woman living in 1930s Italy in the film Tea with Mussolini, which was released in 1999; and was the firm but fair Reverend Mother in the two Sister Act films.

Sister Act co-star Whoopi Goldberg called Dame Maggie “a great woman and a brilliant actress”, adding: “I still can’t believe I was lucky enough to work with the ‘one-of-a-kind’.”

Rob Lowe, who starred with Dame Maggie in 1993’s Suddenly, Last Summer, recalled “the unforgettable experience of working with her”.

“Sharing a two-shot was like being paired with a lion,” he said.

“She could eat anyone alive, and often did. But funny, and great company. And suffered no fools.

“We will never see another. God speed, Ms Smith!”

The veteran actress also played the old woman who spent 15 years living in a van outside Alan Bennett’s house in a film adaptation of the writer’s The Lady in the Van in 2015.

Alex Jennings, who played Bennett, told Radio 4 she was “fearless” and praised her “brilliant technical abilities as an actress”.

Japan’s scandal-hit ruling party has elected Shigeru Ishiba as its new leader, positioning the former defence chief as Japan’s next leader.

Ishiba, 67, said he would clean up his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), revitalise the economy and address security threats after winning Friday’s party election.

Since the LDP has a parliamentary majority, its party chief will become prime minister and Ishiba is expected to be appointed to the role on Tuesday.

The change of guard comes at a turbulent time for the party, which has been rocked by scandals and internal conflicts that disbanded its once-powerful factions.

Nine candidates contested for the party leadership after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced last month that he would not stand for re-election.

Ishiba led in most opinion polls, with this being his fifth and, he said, final bid to lead the LDP, which has ruled Japan for most of the post-war era. It headed into a run-off between Ishiba and Sanae Takaichi, 63, who vied to become Japan’s first female leader.

“We ought to be a party that lets members discuss the truth in a free and open manner, a party that is fair and impartial on all matters and a party with humility,” he told a press conference.

Ishiba is in favour of allowing female emperors – a hugely controversial issue opposed by many LDP member and successive governments.

His blunt candour and public criticism of Prime Minister Kishida – a rarity in Japanese politics – has rankled fellow party members while resonating with members of the public.

Ishiba is well-versed on the machinations of party politics as well as security policies. He said Japan must strengthen its security in view of recent incursions from Russia and China into Japan’s territory and North Korea’s missile tests.

At a moment of flux within the LDP, he offers a safe pair of hands and stability.

What he doesn’t offer is a fresh face for an organisation desperate to reinvent itself and regain public trust amid a stagnant economy, struggling households and a series of political scandals. His economic strategy includes boosting wages to counter rising prices.

He has said that he reads three books a day and that he prefers doing that instead of mingling with his party colleagues.

Takaichi, on the other hand, was one of two women vying for the LDP leadership, but was also among the more conservative of the candidates.

A close ally to late former prime minister Shinzo Abe, Takaichi’s positions on women’s issues are in line with the LDP’s policy of having women serve in their traditional roles of being good mothers and wives.

She opposes legislation allowing women to retain their maiden name as well as allowing female emperors.

Consistent among the frontrunners, however, was a pledge to overhaul the LDP – which has held power almost continuously since it was formed in 1955 – in the face of public fury and plummeting approval ratings.

“In the upcoming presidential election, it’s necessary to show the people that the Liberal Democratic Party will change,” Kishida said at a press conference last month, when announcing his decision not to run for another term.

The LDP leadership contest is not just a race for the top job, but also an attempt to regain public trust that the party has haemorrhaged over the past few months amid a stagnant economy, struggling households and a series of political scandals.

Chief among these scandals are revelations regarding the extent of influence that Japan’s controversial Unification Church wields within the LDP, as well as suspicions that party factions underreported political funding over the course of several years.

The fallout from the political funding scandal led to the dissolution of five out of six factions in the LDP – factions that have long been the party’s backbone, and whose support is typically crucial to winning an LDP leadership election.

Perhaps more salient in the minds of the Japanese public, however, are the country’s deepening economic woes.

In the wake of the Covid pandemic, average Japanese families have been feeling the pinch as they struggle with a weak yen, a stagnant economy and food prices that are soaring at the fastest rate in almost half a century.

Meanwhile, data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows that wages in Japan have barely changed in 30 years. That drawn-out slump, coupled with 30-year-high inflation, is tightening the screws on Japanese households and prompting calls for government help.

It’s also damaging the LDP’s historically favourable standing among voters.

“People are tired of the LDP,” Mieko Nakabayashi, former opposition MP and political science professor at Tokyo’s Waseda University, told the BBC. “They’re frustrated with the inflation that they are facing currently and the so-called ‘lost 30 years’. The Japanese currency is low, lots of imports got expensive with inflation, and many people see it.”

Another major agenda item is the issue of Japan’s ageing and shrinking population, which puts pressure on social and medical services and presents a real challenge for the country’s medium and long-term workforce. Whoever takes charge of the LDP, and in turn government, will have to rethink how Japan operates its labour market and whether it should shift its attitudes towards immigration.

It’s a desperately needed recalibration in the lead-up to the Japanese general election, which is set to take place by October 2025 – or sooner, as some of the candidates have indicated. Koizumi, for example, has said that he would call a general election soon after the LDP contest.

The last two weeks of campaigning for the LDP leadership are seen by experts as an audition for the general election. For that reason, candidates have been presenting themselves not only to fellow party members but also to the public, in an attempt to win over the electorate.

“The public are changing,” Kunihiko Miyake, a visiting professor at Kyoto’s Ritsumeikan University who has worked closely with both Abe and Kishida, told the BBC. “It’s time for the conservative politics in this country to adapt to a new political environment and political battlefield.”

The other seven candidates in the first round were 43-year-old Shinjiro Koizumi, the youngest candidate; Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, 71, who is the other female candidate; Digital Transformation Minister Taro Kono, 61; Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, 63; Toshimitsu Motegi, 68, the LDP’s secretary-general; Takayuki Kobayashi, 49, a former economic security minister; and Katsunobu Kato, 68, a former chief cabinet secretary.

Four of the nine have served as foreign minister; three as defence minister.

In May a huge iceberg broke off from an Antarctic ice shelf, drifted, and came to a stop – right in front of “maybe the world’s unluckiest” penguins.

Like a door shutting, the iceberg’s huge walls sealed off the Halley Bay colony from the sea.

It seemed to spell the end for hundreds of newly-hatched fluffy chicks whose mothers, out hunting for food, may no longer have been able to reach them.

Then, a few weeks ago, the iceberg shifted and got on the move again.

Scientists have now discovered that the tenacious penguins found a way to beat the colossal iceberg – satellite pictures seen exclusively by BBC News this week show life in the colony.

But scientists endured a long, anxious wait until this point – and the chicks face another potentially deadly challenge in the coming months.

In August, when we asked the British Antarctic Survey if the emperor penguins had survived, they couldn’t tell us.

“We will not know until the sun comes up,” said scientist Peter Fretwell.

It was still Antarctic winter so satellites couldn’t penetrate the total darkness to take pictures of the birds.

This label of “maybe the world’s unluckiest penguins” comes from Peter, who has shared the penguins’ ups and downs for years.

These creatures teeter on the edge of life and death, and this was just the latest in a string of near-misses.

It was once a stable colony and with 14,000 – 25,000 breeding pairs annually, the second biggest in the world.

But in 2019, news came of a catastrophic breeding failure. Peter and his colleagues discovered that for three years the colony had failed to raise any chicks.

Baby penguins need to live on sea ice until they are strong enough to survive in open water. But climate change is warming the oceans and air, contributing to sea ice becoming more unstable and prone to sudden disintegration in storms.

With no sea ice, the chicks drowned.

A few hundred stragglers moved their home to the nearby MacDonald Ice rumples and kept the group going.

That is until A83 iceberg, which at 380 sq km (145 sq miles) is roughly the size of the Isle of Wight, calved off the Brunt Ice Shelf in May.

Peter feared a total wipe-out. It has happened to other penguin colonies – an iceberg blocked a group in the Ross Sea for several years, leading to no breeding success, he explains.

A few days ago, the sun rose again in Antarctica. The Sentinel-1 satellites that Peter uses orbited over Halley Bay, taking pictures of the ice sheet.

Peter opened the files. “I was dreading seeing that there wouldn’t be anything there at all,” he says. But, against the odds, he found what he hoped for – a brown smudge on the white ice sheet. The penguins are alive.

“It was a huge relief,” he says.

But how they survived remains a mystery. The iceberg could be around 15m (49ft) tall, meaning the penguins could not climb it.

“There’s an ice crack, so they might have been able to dive through it,” he says.

The iceberg probably extends more than 50m beneath the waves, but penguins can dive up to 500m, he explains.

“Even if there is just a small crack, they might have dived underneath it,” he says.

The team will now wait for higher-resolution pictures that show exactly how many penguins are there.

Scientists at the British research base at Halley will visit to verify the size and health of the colony.

But Antarctica remains a rapidly changing region affected by our warming planet, as well as natural phenomena that make life difficult there.

The MacDonald Ice rumples where the penguins now live is dynamic and unpredictable, and Antarctic seasonal sea ice levels are close to record lows.

As A83 moved, it changed the ice topography, meaning the penguins’ breeding site is now “more exposed”, Peter says.

Cracks have appeared in the ice and the edge with the sea is getting closer day-by-day.

If the ice breaks up under the chicks before they are able to swim, in around December, Peter warns they will perish.

“They’re such incredible animals. It’s a bit bleak. Like many animals in Antarctica, they live on the sea ice. But it is changing, and if your habitat changes then it’s never good,” he says.

Rebel groups have rejected a peace offer from Myanmar’s embattled junta, which is reeling from battlefield losses and defections in a civil war that has dragged on for more than three years.

This is dictatorship’s first such outreach since it seized power in 2021. It also comes after a ceasefire brokered by China in the northern Shan state fell apart.

The junta called on ethnic armed groups and “terrorist insurgent groups” to “communicate with us to solve political problems politically”, also urging them to join elections planned for next year.

The exiled National Unity Government (NUG) said the offer was not worth considering, adding the junta had no authority to hold an election.

The junta extended an olive branch Thursday as it struggled to fight on multiple fronts and stem a widespread rebellion.

Some reports say the junta now has control of less than half of Myanmar’s territories.

In June, an alliance of three ethnic armies renewed an offensive against the military, seizing territory along a key highway to China’s Yunnan province, which borders Myanmar.

The fighting near the border in Shan state has blocked China’s ambitious plan to connect its landlocked south-west to the Indian Ocean via Myanmar.

Beijing’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, is thought to have delivered a warning to the country’s ruler Min Aung Hlaing during a visit to Myanmar last month.

Armed groups should follow “the path of party politics and elections in order to bring about lasting peace and development”, the junta said in its statement on Thursday.

“The country’s human resources, basic infrastructure and many people’s lives have been lost, and the country’s stability and development have been blocked [because of the conflict]” it said.

But the rebel groups are sceptical of the offer.

The Karen National Union (KNU), which has been fighting for decades with the military for more autonomy along the border with Thailand, told AFP news agency that talks were only possible if the military agreed to “common political objectives”.

“Number one: no military participation in future politics. Two [the military] has to agree to a federal democratic constitution,” KNU spokesman Padoh Saw Taw Nee told AFP.

“Number three: they have to be accountable for everything they have committed… including war crimes and crimes against humanity,” he said. “No impunity.”

If the junta does not accede to these demands, the KNU will “keep putting pressure on [the junta] politically and militarily,” he added.

Maung Saungkha, the leader of the Bamar People’s Liberation Army, told Reuters news agency that his group is “not interested in this offer”.

“They are hanging goat’s heads but selling dog meat,” Soe Thu Ya Zaw, commander of the Mandalay People’s Defense Forces, wrote on Facebook.

After the military ousted Myanmar’s democratically-elected government in 2021, peaceful protests were met with killings and arrests.

This led ethnic armed groups to join forces with anti-coup militias across the country to fight back, plunging the country into a civil war.

At least 50,000 people have been killed since the coup and more than two million people displaced, according to the United Nations.

The UN warned last week that Myanmar was “sinking into an abyss of human suffering”. Eyewitnesses had previously told the BBC about how the military has tourtued people in its custody, including by pouring burning petrol on them and forcing some to drink their urine.

Austrians vote on Sunday in a general election that could see the far-right opposition Freedom Party (FPÖ) top the polls for the first time.

Five years ago, the party crashed out of a coalition government with the conservative People’s Party because of a corruption scandal dubbed Ibiza-gate.

But now, led by Herbert Kickl, the FPÖ is within reach of a historic victory. It narrowly leads the ruling conservatives in the opinion polls, and the opposition Social Democrats are in third place.

Even if the Freedom Party does come first, no party is expected to win enough seats for an outright majority, and building a coalition is likely to be difficult.

The FPÖ has successfully tapped into concerns about migration, rising inflation, the war in Ukraine and anger over the way the Covid pandemic was handled, and for months has been hovering around 27% in the polls, up to two points ahead of the conservative ÖVP, which is predicting a “photo finish”.

“The chances have never been so great,” one of its campaign videos says. “As (people’s chancellor) Herbert Kickl will do everything to give you back your freedom, your security, your (prosperity) and your peace… Let’s build Fortress Austria!”

It then shows Kickl saying that he wants to be “your servant and your protector”.

Kickl’s use of the term , which was used to describe Adolf Hitler in the 1930s, has worried some Austrians.

For them it is an uncomfortable reminder of the FPÖ’s origins. It was founded by former Nazis in the 1950s. Protesters at the party’s final election rally on Friday night waved banners reading “Nazis out of parliament”.

Like other far-right European parties, the FPÖ combines tough rhetoric on immigration and Islam with promises to reduce what it regards as interference from Brussels in national affairs.

But Kickl has also aligned his party closely with Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the self-styled champion of “illiberal democracy”, and shared a more conciliatory tone when it comes to Russia.

The Freedom Party leader has called European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen a “warmonger” and opposes sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Political analyst Thomas Hofer says Kickl’s rhetoric has always been “very harsh and divisive”, but he believes election victory would not necessarily clear the way to heading a coalition government.

“Of course it would be a totally new situation in the history of the Second Republic in Austria, because the Freedom Party came close a couple of times, but was never in first place, at least not on the general election level,” he told the BBC.

The party stunned European politics under leader Jörg Haider in 1999, coming second in elections and joined a conservative-led government. When it joined a coalition in 2018, Herbert Kickl was interior minister, until the party became engulfed in corruption revelations.

Now as leader the fiery Kickl has steered his party to what could be its best result yet.

“It would be a kind of shockwave for the other parties, but it doesn’t mean if the FPÖ comes in first, that they also will get the position of chancellor. This is by no means clear,” Thomas Hofer said.

The FPÖ leader is widely disliked by other parties in Austria.

The conservative People’s Party, led by Austria’s current chancellor Karl Nehammer, has repeatedly excluded joining a Kickl-led government, although it has not ruled out an alliance with his party.

Austria’s President, Alexander Van der Bellen, has also expressed his reluctance to see Kickl lead the country.

Other parties including the Social Democrats and Greens have also said they won’t form a government with the FPÖ.

“No coalition with the far right,” the Greens’ Climate Action Minister Leonore Gewessler told the BBC.

“We will not work in a coalition with the far right FPÖ, which denies climate change, which only works on dividing our society and spreading fear and conspiracy theories.”

Under Karl Nehammer, the conservatives have framed the vote as a choice between the incumbent chancellor or Kickl, seeking to attract centrist voters with slogans like “Vote Stability” and “Vote Centre”.

Nehammer has said it is “impossible to form a government with someone who adores conspiracy theories”.

Thomas Hofer highlights a lack of vision from both the conservatives and Social Democrats: “One big reason why [the FPÖ] could have this comeback is certainly the weakness of the others.”

He says forming a coalition government could take months.

Although some 6.3 million Austrians aged 16 or over will be able to vote in Sunday’s election, another 1.5 million long-term residents will not have the right, because of Austria’s highly restrictive citizenship laws.

Across the country that means almost one in five is excluded, whereas in Vienna the proportion is as high as one in three.

To highlight the issue, a charity organised an unofficial vote that attracted almost 20,000 people called – which translates as a passport-doesn’t-matter election.

Elisabeth Scherzenlehner, who teaches refugees German, brought her class along to the campaign group’s rally in Vienna.

“I think the FPÖ is a really strong negative voice, and I think there will be no mercy if they will come to rule Austria,” she said.

Hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has been accused of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman in another lawsuit filed in New York.

The 12th and latest accuser alleges that after she became pregnant, she was harassed by one his associates to have an abortion and later miscarried.

Mr Combs was arrested last week and is currently in federal custody, facing criminal charges of racketeering and sex trafficking.

He continues to deny all allegations of criminal wrongdoing. The BBC has approached Mr Combs’ lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, for comment on the latest civil lawsuit.

In the latest lawsuit, filed against him in New York, a woman referred to as Jane Doe describes repeated physical and sexual abuse over a period of four years beginning in late 2020.

She says she first met the rapper, who paid for her travel, at an “overseas location” and the two began seeing each other “regularly” after that, according to the lawsuit.

In her legal complaint, the woman alleges she was drugged by Mr Combs, who would then engage in sexual acts with her without her consent while she was unconscious.

The sexual encounters were filmed by Mr Combs without the woman’s permission and she was pressured by him to engage in group sex with others, the legal document claims.

In one instance, alleged to have apparently taken place in July 2022, the lawsuit describes the woman being compelled to take the drug ketamine, which caused her to “black out” and “lose consciousness intermittently throughout the night”.

Shortly afterwards, it alleges, the woman found out she was pregnant. According to the lawsuit, when the woman informed Mr Combs of the pregnancy, an associate of Mr Combs harassed her to have an abortion. The woman later suffered a miscarriage, it says.

The woman further alleges that Mr Combs made threatening jokes that led her to fear for her safety, says he monitored her location and phone conversations, and says he discouraged her from working so he could pay her an allowance instead.

“No one is above the law. Fame and wealth do not protect Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs from serious allegations of sex trafficking and abuse,” said the woman’s lawyers, Joseph L Ciaccio and Marie Napoli, in a statement provided to the BBC.

Mr Combs has faced a string of allegations in the past year following on from the lawsuit brought by his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura last November alleging physical and sexual abuse. Ms Ventura’s lawsuit was settled by Mr Combs for an undisclosed sum.

The rapper is also facing criminal charges as federal prosecutors have accused him of “creating a criminal enterprise” in which he “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfil his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct”.

The rapper has pled not guilty to the three felony charges against him.

The BBC has reached out to Mr Combs’ lawyer for comment about the allegations in this latest lawsuit.

Mr Combs has denied all allegations contained in the 11 previous lawsuits.

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Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanon’s militant Shia Islamist Hezbollah movement, is one of the best known and most influential figures in the Middle East.

Nasrallah – who was reportedly the target of Friday’s air strike on Beirut – has not been seen in public for years because of fears of being assassinated by Israel.

A shadowy figure with close personal links to Iran, he played a key role in turning Hezbollah into the political and military force it is today – and remains revered by the group’s supporters.

Under Nasrallah’s leadership, Hezbollah has helped train fighters from the Palestinian armed group Hamas, as well as militias in Iraq and Yemen, and obtained missiles and rockets from Iran for use against Israel.

• What is Hezbollah and why is Israel attacking Lebanon?
• Iran faces dilemma of restraint or revenge for attacks on ally Hezbollah

He steered Hezbollah’s evolution from a militia founded to fight Israeli troops occupying Lebanon into a military force stronger than the Lebanese army, a powerbroker in Lebanese politics, a major provider of health, education and social services, and a key part of its backer Iran’s drive for regional supremacy.

Born in 1960, Hassan Nasrallah grew up in Beirut’s eastern Bourj Hammoud neighbourhood, where his father Abdul Karim ran a small greengrocers. He was the eldest of nine children.

He joined the Amal movement, then a Shia militia, after Lebanon descended into civil war in 1975. After a short spell in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf to attend a Shia seminary he rejoined Amal in Lebanon before he and others split from the group in 1982, shortly after Israel invaded Lebanon in response to attacks by Palestinian militants.

The new group, Islamic Amal, received considerable military and organisational support from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards based in the Bekaa Valley, and emerged as the most prominent and effective of the Shia militias that would later form Hezbollah.

In 1985, Hezbollah officially announced its establishment by publishing an “open letter” that identified the US and the Soviet Union as Islam’s principal enemies and called for the “obliteration” of Israel, which it said was occupying Muslim lands.

Nasrallah worked his way up through Hezbollah’s ranks as the organisation grew. He said that after serving as a fighter he became its director in Baalbek, then the whole Bekaa region, followed by Beirut.

He became leader of Hezbollah in 1992 at the age of 32, after his predecessor Abbas al-Musawi was assassinated in an Israeli helicopter strike.

One of his first actions was to retaliate to the killing of Musawi. He ordered rocket attacks into northern Israel that killed a girl, an Israeli security officer at the Israeli embassy in Turkey was killed by a car bomb and a suicide bomber struck the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, killing 29 people.

Nasrallah also managed a low-intensity war with Israeli forces that ended with their withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000, though he suffered a personal loss when his eldest son Hadi was killed in a firefight with Israeli troops.

Following the withdrawal Nasrallah proclaimed that Hezbollah had achieved the first Arab victory against Israel. He also vowed that Hezbollah would not disarm, saying that it considered that “all Lebanese territory must be restored”, including the Shebaa Farms area.

There was relative calm until 2006, when Hezbollah militants launched a cross-border attack in which eight Israeli soldiers were killed and two others kidnapped, triggering a massive Israeli response.

Israeli warplanes bombed Hezbollah strongholds in the South and in Beirut’s southern suburbs, while Hezbollah fired about 4,000 rockets at Israel. More than 1,125 Lebanese, most of them civilians, died during the 34-day conflict, as well as 119 Israeli soldiers and 45 civilians.

Nasrallah’s home and offices were targeted by Israel warplanes, but he survived unscathed.

• Live: Latest news on Israel and Hezbollah
• Explained: What is Hezbollah and why is Israel attacking Lebanon?
• Watch: Hezbollah rockets hit residential areas in Israel
• Analysis: Israel is gambling Hezbollah will crumple but it faces a well-armed, angry enemy

In 2009, Nasrallah issued a new political manifesto that sought to highlight Hezbollah’s “political vision”. It dropped the reference to an Islamic republic found in the 1985 document, but maintained a tough line against Israel and the US and reiterated that Hezbollah needed to keep its weapons despite a UN resolution banning them in southern Lebanon.

“People evolve. The whole world changed over the past 24 years. Lebanon changed. The world order changed,” Nasrallah said.

Four years later, Nasrallah declared that Hezbollah was entering “a completely new phase” of its existence by sending of fighters into Syria to help its Iran-backed ally, President Bashar al-Assad, put down a rebellion. “It is our battle, and we are up to it,” he said.

Lebanese Sunni leaders accused Hezbollah of dragging the country into Syria’s war and sectarian tensions worsened dramatically.

In 2019, a deep economic crisis in Lebanon triggered mass protests against a political elite long accused of corruption, waste, mismanagement and negligence. Nasrallah initially expressed sympathy with the calls for reforms, but his attitude changed as the protesters began demanding for a complete overhaul of the political system.

On 8 October 2023 – the day after the unprecedented attack on Israel by Hamas gunmen that triggered the war in Gaza – previously sporadic fighting between Hezbollah and Israel escalated.

Hezbollah fired at Israeli positions, in solidarity with the Palestinians.

In a speech in November, Nasrallah said the Hamas attack had been “100 percent Palestinian in terms of both decision and execution” but that the firing between his group and Israel was “very important and significant”.

The group launched more than 8,000 rockets at northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. It also fired anti-tank missiles at armoured vehicles and attacked military targets with explosive drones.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) retaliated with air strikes and tank and artillery fire against Hezbollah positions in Lebanon.

In his most recent speech, Nasrallah blamed Israel for detonating thousands of pagers and radio handsets used by Hezbollah members, which killed 39 people and wounded thousands more, and said it had “crossed all red lines”. He acknowledged the group had suffered an “unprecedented blow”.

Shortly afterwards Israel dramatically escalated attacks on Hezbollah, launching waves of bombing that killed nearly 800 people.

After the US, the EU and 10 other counties called for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, the White House went into spin mode trying to build momentum for its proposal.

On a late night Zoom briefing so packed with reporters that some had to be turned away, senior Biden administration officials described the announcement as a “breakthrough”.

What they meant was they saw getting an agreement from key European countries and Arab states, led by Washington, as a big diplomatic achievement during the current explosive escalation

But this was world powers calling for a ceasefire – not a ceasefire itself.

• Explained: What is Hezbollah and why is Israel attacking Lebanon?
• Watch: What satellite data shows about rocket damage in Lebanon
• Analysis: Israel is gambling Hezbollah will crumple but it faces a well-armed, angry enemy
• Watch: Deserted streets in Israel’s border towns

The statement urges both Israel and Hezbollah to stop fighting now, using a 21-day truce, “to provide space” for further mediated talks. It then urges a diplomatic settlement consistent with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 – adopted to end the last Israel-Lebanon war of 2006, which was never properly implemented. It also calls for agreement on the stalled Gaza ceasefire deal.

Beyond the three-week truce, it packages up a series of already elusive regional objectives. Some have remained out of reach for diplomats for nearly two decades already.

To issue the agreed upon text, the Americans had the advantage of world leaders gathered in New York for the annual United Nations General Assembly.

But what the “breakthrough” did not mean – as it has become abundantly clear on the ground – was that Israel and Hezbollah had reached an agreement.

Here, it seemed like US officials were trying to present the position of the two sides as more advanced than it really was – likely an attempt to build public momentum behind the plan and to pressure both sides.

Asked whether Israel and Hezbollah were onboard, one of the senior officials said: “I can share that we have had this conversation with the parties and felt this was the right moment based on the [ceasefire] call, based on our discussion – and they are familiar with the text… We’ll let them speak to their actions of accepting the deal in the coming hours.”

Pressed again on whether this meant Israel and Hezbollah had signed on – especially given the fact that the US does not have direct contact with Hezbollah – the official clarified that the US had talked intensively about the text with Israeli officials and with Lebanon’s government (meaning its officials would have contact with Hezbollah).

“Our expectation is when the government of Lebanon and when the government of Israel both accept this, this will carry and to be implemented as a ceasefire on both sides,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

That sounded pretty promising. But after the late-night call, the diplomats woke to news of more Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon, including in Beirut, and more Hezbollah rocket fire into Israel. This week has seen Lebanon’s bloodiest day since its civil war; Israeli airstrikes killed more than 600 people including 50 children, according to Lebanese health officials.

So how significant is the diplomacy, and can it actually lead to a ceasefire?

The early signs don’t bode well. The office of Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, as he boarded a flight to New York for his UN speech on Friday, issued a defiant statement saying he hadn’t agreed to anything yet. It added that he ordered Israeli military to continue fighting with “full force”.

Lebanon’s prime minister Najib Mikati dismissed reports that he signed on to the proposed ceasefire, saying they were “entirely untrue”.

Instead, the joint statement creates a baseline position for the international community to try to exert pressure on Israel and Hezbollah to pull back and stop.

More work will be done in New York before the week is up. And it likely will continue afterwards.

It is significant that the Americans, leading the charge along with the French, have used the words “immediate ceasefire”. After 7 October, the US for months actively blocked resolutions from the UN Security Council calling for such a ceasefire in Gaza, until President Biden unexpectedly used the word and the US position shifted.

Since then, intensive diplomacy led by Washington has failed to reach a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas, with the US currently blaming a lack of “political will” by Hamas and Israel. Meanwhile, the US has continued to arm Israel.

That doesn’t inspire confidence that Washington and its allies can now strong-arm Israel and Hezbollah into a quick truce, especially given the fighting on the ground, the intensity of Israel’s air strikes and last week’s explosive pager attacks on Hezbollah, which has continued to fire into Israel.

On the other hand, the difference between this and the Gaza ceasefire is that the Israel-Lebanon agreement doesn’t involve hostage negotiations, which contributed to the deadlock over a Gaza deal.

But the objectives for each side are still very significant. Israel wants to be able to return 60,000 displaced residents from the north and maintain security there free from Lebanon’s daily rocket fire.

Hezbollah seeks to stop Israeli strikes on Lebanon where more than 90,000 people also are displaced from the south.

The Shia militant group will aim to maintain its dominance in the country and its presence in the south while trying to ensure the bloody events of the last week don’t invoke more internal resentment of the group amid Lebanon’s fractious sectarian divisions.

Finding agreement between these two sides has already evaded Amos Hochstein, Washington’s envoy on the Israel-Lebanon crisis, for months.

And here is where the US-led desire to get an immediate truce gets complicated.

My understanding of the negotiations to reach the joint statement is that Washington pushed to make sure it linked the 21-day ceasefire to creating the negotiating time for a longer-term settlement.

Namely, that the two sides negotiate to implement Resolution 1701, which implements multiple conditions on Israel and Hezbollah. These include the group’s retreat from a strip of Lebanon south of the Litani River and, in the long term, Hezbollah’s disarmament.

Ever since 2006, each side has long accused the other of breaking the terms of 1701.

All of this means that an objective, which has already evaded diplomats for nearly two decades, is now being wrapped into the short-term plan for calm between these two sides. As the missiles continue to fall, the current diplomacy is asking a lot.

Many hardline conservatives in Iran are growing uneasy about its lack of action as Israel targets the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, their country’s closest and most long-standing ally.

When President Masoud Pezeshkian addressed the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, he criticised Israel’s war in Gaza and warned that its attacks on Lebanon could not go unanswered.

But Mr Pezeshkian, who was elected in July, adopted a more conciliatory tone than his hard-line predecessors, avoiding rhetoric about annihilating the Islamic Republic’s arch-enemy.

“We seek peace for all and have no intention of conflict with any country,” he stated.

He also expressed his government’s readiness to resume nuclear talks with Western powers, saying: “We are ready to engage with participants of the 2015 nuclear deal.”

Other senior Iranian officials and commanders of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) have also appeared to be unusually restrained when expressing their intentions to take revenge on Israel for its actions against their country and its key allies Hamas and Hezbollah.

Iran has armed, funded and trained both armed groups, but Tehran’s leaders rely on Hezbollah to be a major deterrent preventing direct attacks on their country by Israel.

Iranian support has been critical to Hezbollah’s transformation into Lebanon’s most powerful armed force and political actor since the IRGC helped found the group in the 1980s.

It is the main supplier of the weapons that Hezbollah can deploy against Israel, particularly advanced missiles and drones, and the US has previously alleged that it also provides as much as $700m in funds annually.

Last week, Mojtaba Amani, Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, was severely injured when his pager exploded last week at the embassy in Beirut. Thousands more pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members also blew up in two attacks that killed a total of 39 people.

Iran blamed Israel, but it made no immediate public threats of retaliation.

In contrast, when Israel struck the Iranian consulate in Damascus in April, killing eight high-ranking IRGC Quds Force commanders, Iran swiftly responded by launching hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel.

Iran also vowed to retaliate after blaming Israel for the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in late July, although it has not announced that it has taken any action yet.

A former IRGC commander told the BBC that repeatedly threatening Israel without following through was further damaging the force’s credibility among its supporters inside Iran and its proxies abroad.

On Monday, President Pezeshkian told members of the US media in New York that Israel was seeking to draw Iran into a war.

“Iran is ready to defuse tensions with Israel and lay down arms if Israel does the same,” he insisted.

Some hardline conservatives close to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, criticised the president for talking about defusing tensions with Israel, asserting that he should recognize his position and avoid giving live interviews.

Mr Pezeshkian was due to hold a press conference in New York on Wednesday, but it was cancelled. It was unclear if he was forced to cancel because of his comments.

In Iran, power lies in the hands of Ayatollah Khamenei and the IRGC. They are the ones making the key strategic decisions, not the president.

It is notable that Ayatollah Khamenei also did not mention any plans for retaliation or issue threats toward Israel, which is quite unusual for him, when he addressed veterans on Wednesday.

Barak Ravid, an Israeli journalist at the US news site Axios, reported on Tuesday that two Israeli officials and Western diplomats had indicated that Hezbollah was urging Iran to come to its aid by attacking Israel. The Israeli officials claimed that Iran had told Hezbollah that “the timing isn’t right”, according to Ravid.

Last week, the host of the Iranian internet TV program Maydan, which is known to have ties to the IRGC, cited Iranian intelligence sources as claiming that Israel had also “carried out a special operation last month, killing IRGC members and stealing documents”.

He asserted that the Iranian press had been forbidden from reporting on the incident, which allegedly happened inside in Iran, and that the authorities were attempting to control the narrative.

In response, Tasnim News Agency, which also linked to the IRGC, denied the allegations.

The Islamic Republic finds itself in a precarious situation.

It is concerned that attacking Israel could provoke a US military response, dragging the country into a broader conflict.

With a crippled economy due to US sanctions and ongoing domestic unrest, a potential US strike against the IRGC could further weaken its the regime’s security apparatus, possibly emboldening the Iranian opponents to rise up once more.

However, if Iran refrains from direct intervening in Hezbollah’s conflict with Israel, it risks sending a signal to other allied militias in the region that, in times of crisis, the Islamic Republic may prioritize its own survival and interests over theirs.

This could weaken Iran’s influence and alliances across the region.

A nature reserve in the Philippines, which has been lauded by top climate activists and film stars, has come under a concerted disinformation attack on social media as it fights to continue its work, a BBC investigation has found.

A network of nearly 100 fake Facebook accounts and pages were found to be spreading misleading claims about the Masungi Georeserve and its keepers. Most were taken down after the BBC asked Meta, Facebook’s parent company, about these accounts.

Despite gaining international recognition for its reforestation efforts in the fight against climate change, the reserve is under pressure from illegal loggers, land grabbers, and quarrying companies.

A spokesperson for the reserve said it was being “ganged up on” by local politicians, businesses and some officials in government. The environment department, which has proposed ending a reforesting contract with the reserve, denied the claim.

It is not clear who controlled the network, but evidence seen by the BBC suggests that a public relations consultant who states on his social media profile that he has expertise in “reputation management” was linked to pages involved in the campaign.

Located east of Manila, the Masungi reserve is a popular eco-tourism destination, known for its lush rainforest and gravity-defying limestone formations. Supporters include climate activist Greta Thunberg and Hollywood superstar Leonardo DiCaprio.

The reserve has been trying to fend off illegal business activities for years, but this particular smear campaign is understood to have started in recent months.

“We’ve seen misleading information, trying to manufacture dissent against work that we do as environment defenders,” says Billie Dumaliang from the Masungi Georeserve Foundation.

These online attacks have appeared against a backdrop of physical violence against people involved in protecting the environment in the Philippines.

Two forest rangers who work for the Masungi Georeserve were shot and wounded in 2021. And campaigning group Global Witness says the Philippines ranks as the most dangerous place in Asia for environmental defenders, with 298 people killed since 2012.

”Online propaganda can be quite important in creating a fear factor for the people who work in Masungi,” says Regine Cabato, a Filipino journalist with experience covering disinformation.

By investigating this propaganda, BBC Verify identified a pattern of fake accounts and pages seemingly working together as part of the smear campaign.

Suspicious features included profile pictures showing K-pop stars, cats and models, rather than real people. Many of these accounts were created within hours of each other, and had very few friends.

But it was the content that they posted which made them stand out the most: in the last few months, they repeatedly posted content critical of the Masungi Georeserve Foundation.

“Suddenly the owners are making a lot of money,” posted one user, questioning the Masungi Georeserve’s entire operation.

“This protected area is owned by the people. Don’t be arrogant!” wrote another, along with an image telling the reserve to “stop masquerading as a protector of nature”.

“This is something we’ve seen play out during elections against certain political targets, and sometimes it’s something we’ve also seen deployed against private individuals,” says Ms Cabato.

“There is a lot of power and a lot of money that goes into turning the wheels of this machine.”

The campaign appears to have begun this year, around the time the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) proposed scrapping the 2017 contract that handed the Masungi Georeserve Foundation control over the vast majority of the land it holds – some 2,700 hectares – for reforestation purposes.

The move was criticised by a number of international celebrities, including Filipino actress and singer Nadine Lustre, Greta Thunberg and Leonardo DiCaprio – who, in an Instagram post, called on the Philippine president to “protect Masungi”.

When news outlets posted on Facebook about celebrity calls to “#SaveMasungi”, their posts drew the attention of the small army of fake accounts identified by the BBC.

Under those posts, they left comments defending the environment department’s proposal and attacking celebrities like DiCaprio over their intervention.

“Don’t be a loser Leonardo,” wrote one user.

“The DENR saw sketchy behaviour a long time ago,” posted another.

In addition, several of these accounts went on to share content from the DENR’s own social media accounts, or from pages supportive of the department’s work.

The DENR denies having any links to these accounts and pages.

But the department plays a dual role in the Philippines, which critics say is contradictory: it issues mining and quarrying permits, while also employing hundreds of forest rangers to protect the Sierra Madre, the country’s longest mountain range.

Podcast: An (online) storm in a Philippine rainforest

The BBC asked Meta about the accounts that seemed to be operating as an organised network, and the company confirmed that a cluster of accounts was engaging in inauthentic activity.

It took down most of the accounts and pages identified as part of the BBC investigation, saying they “engaged in deceptive, spammy activity, including amplifying content using fake accounts to make it appear more popular than it was”.

But it stopped short of linking this network to any third party.

“It seems like we’re being ganged up on by local politicians together with some people from the DENR, together with their cohorts in these destructive industries,” says Ms Dumaliang from the Masungi Geoserve Foundation.

The environment department denies this claim.

In a statement, the DENR told the BBC it had “no involvement in any social media campaign, activity, or other online tactics aimed at influencing public opinion in a negative manner”. It also described its communication efforts as transparent, accurate and fair.

While we do not know who ultimately controlled the network of accounts and pages, the BBC found evidence linking one individual to the campaign.

On social media, Ben Pablo described himself as a public relations consultant who specialised in “reputation management” and “social media marketing”.

But he placed ads on behalf of pages that were part of the campaign, according to Meta’s ad library, which lists all adverts placed on Facebook.

Mr Pablo did not respond to the BBC’s repeated requests for comment.

But since we first approached him, several of the pages that we believe he was linked to have been deleted, along with Mr Pablo’s own social media accounts.

In recent months, Mr Pablo has also bought Facebook adverts promoting Senator Imee Marcos, the sister of the current president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Although there is no evidence linking her to this campaign, the BBC asked the senator’s team whether she had ever employed Mr Pablo, but did not get a response. Whether Mr Pablo was acting alone remains unclear.

But, despite the impact that online disinformation may have on the lives of those looking after Masungi, Billie Dumaliang seems undeterred.

“Every time we see the landscape, the sunset unobstructed, we are reminded of the reason why we’re doing this: it is to preserve this special place.”

The US and China are the two largest economies in the world. They have the two most powerful militaries in the world. The US-China rivalry, in the view of many international analysts, will be the defining global theme of the 21st Century.

But at the moment, only one of the two major party presidential candidates is regularly talking about US-China policy – as he has done consistently for years.

According to a review by BBC Verify, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has mentioned China 40 times in his five rallies since the presidential debate earlier this month. In just one hour at a town hall forum last week in Michigan, he brought up the country 27 times.

And when he talks about China, Trump focuses on matters of tension between the two global powers, painting the country and the world’s second-largest economy, as a kind of economic predator.

• Who is ahead – Harris or Trump?

He has talked about the new tariffs he plans to impose on imports from Chinese companies – and those from other nations – should he return to the White House.

He has said he wants to prevent Chinese-made cars from being sold because he believes they will destroy the American auto industry. He has warned China not to attempt to replace the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency. And he has blamed the Chinese government for the Covid pandemic.

Many economists question the effectiveness of Trump’s tariff plans and warn that they would ultimately be harmful to US consumers. The Biden-Harris administration, however, has maintained, and even at times increased, the more narrowly focused tariffs that Trump imposed on China during his first term in office.

Trump’s protectionist message is tailored to blue-collar voters in the key industrial Midwest battleground states who have felt the impact of increased competition from Chinese manufacturers.

Meanwhile, BBC Verify finds, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris did not mention China at all in her six rallies since the 10 September debate. Although, in a speech on the economy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday afternoon, she made a handful of references to the country.

“I will never hesitate to take swift and strong measures when China undermines the rules of the road at the expense of our workers, communities, and companies,” she said at that event.

Asked for comment, an aide to the vice-president told the BBC that even if Harris does not talk about China regularly, she has a record of working to counter what they described as China’s efforts to undermine global stability and prosperity.

But when it comes to discussing China, the contrast between Trump and Harris on the campaign trail is unmistakable.

On Monday afternoon, at a barn in Smithton, a small town in rural western Pennsylvania, Trump sat down with a group of local farmers and ranchers for a roundtable discussion specifically about China.

The town may be just an hour outside of Pittsburgh, a Democratic Party urban stronghold, but this was decidedly Republican territory. Cows grazed peacefully on grasslands lined with dozens of “Trump for President signs”, while Trump supporters decorated two donkeys in “Make America Great Again” gear.

The topic of the event, hosted by the Protecting America Initiative, a conservative think-tank, was “the Chinese Communist Party’s growing threat to the US food supply”.

The forum ended up being a more open-ended conversation about the threat of China, full stop. The farmers, ranchers and business executives on the panel complained about having to compete with heavily subsidised Chinese imports and about the low quality of Chinese goods.

While the former president didn’t spend much time discussing the perceived dangers of Chinese ownership of US farmland – he instead promised that he would convince Chinese President Xi Jinping to buy more US agriculture exports – he again emphasised that he would use tariffs to shield the American economy from China.

At one point, he spoke of the need to protect the US steel industry – in order to prepare for a hypothetical war with China.

“If we’re in a war, and we need army tanks and we need ships and we need other things that happen to be made of steel, what are we going to do, go to China and get the steel?” he asked. “We’re fighting China, but would you mind selling us some steel?”

Some of the heavier lifting on China during the forum was left to Richard Grenell, a roundtable panelist and senior advisor for the Protecting America Initiative.

He warned the country has “quietly but strategically” worked against the US – particularly when Americans were distracted by other global issues.

“They go after our local and state politicians; they go after our manufacturing,” he said. “There is no question they are looking to, at some point, leverage that investment and activity.”

Grenell, who served as US ambassador to Germany and acting director of national intelligence while Trump was in office, is considered a possible secretary of state – America’s top diplomat – if Trump wins another term in November.

If Harris wins, on the other hand, there may not be a significant change from the current Biden administration, even if the current president has frequently deployed sharper rhetoric to describe the US-China rivalry.

• SIMPLE GUIDE: Everything you need to know about the vote
• EXPLAINER: Seven swing states that could decide election
• FACT CHECK: Was US economy stronger under Biden or Trump?
• POLICIES: What Harris or Trump would do in power
• POLLS: Who is winning the race for the White House?

Since the start of his presidency, Joe Biden has identified China as one of the autocracies competing with the world’s leading democracies in what he describes as a historic global inflection point.

According to public opinion surveys, China ranks low on the list of issues American voters care about – dwarfed by the economy, immigration and healthcare.

In a recent National Security Action survey of voters in key electoral battleground states, only 14% listed China as the top national security priority for the next president. Immigration led the list at 38%, followed by the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, both at 28%.

That could in part explain Harris’s seeming lack of interest in talking about China.

In this abbreviated presidential campaign for her, she has a shorter timeframe to define herself in the eyes of voters, so focusing on America’s main economic competitor may be less of a priority for the Democrat.

After the Trump event in Smithton, Bill Bretz, chair of the local county Republican Party committee, said that while China may not be at the top of voter concerns in Pennsylvania, it was important for Trump to talk about it.

As the largest up-for-grabs electoral prize, Pennsylvania is perhaps the pivotal state in the 2024 presidential election. Both Trump and Harris will be hard-pressed to win the White House without it in their column. Polls currently show the two candidates in a dead heat there.

“The majority of people have already picked the camp that they’re in, but there are those group of people that are undecided,” he said. “If China is a straw that sways the scale one way or another, I think it’s a great thing to bring up.”

North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher makes sense of the race for the White House in his weekly US Election Unspun newsletter. Readers in the UK can sign up here. Those outside the UK can sign up here.

A wall of seawater from the deadly Hurricane Helene forced Briana Gagnier and her family to swim out of their home on Florida’s Gulf Coast.

Ms Gagnier, who lives in Holmes Beach north of Sarasota, had stayed behind with her family to protect their one-storey property.

She placed sandbags at every door and moved belongings on to tall furniture to keep them dry. She even used towels in a vain effort to stem the storm surge.

Then came a loud bang.

Their garage door broke open violently – caving in to the deluge. Water quickly rose to their shoulders, forcing them to escape.

“Everyone was screaming and panicking,” she told the BBC. “Whatever your worst idea of what this storm is – that is what we’re seeing.”

She and her family ran across the street to a neighbour’s house, where they ended up rescuing two elderly people whose home had burst into flames.

She said the blaze appeared to be linked to a golf cart battery.

Looking around, she said she saw couches, chairs, a bench and even a car float by. The water was above her mailbox for part of the evening, she added.

“I just can’t believe this is real. The eye of the storm didn’t even hit us straight on,” said Ms Gagnier. “This island is completely devastated. Everywhere I look, devastation.”

• Streets in Georgia underwater as deadly Storm Helene rolls north: Follow Live
• In pictures: Hurricane Helene

She is one of many Floridians along the state’s Big Bend Coast who are reeling from the aftermath of Helene, which forecasters said was unusually large for a Gulf hurricane.

The deadly category four storm made landfall in Florida on Thursday evening, before weakening to a tropical depression as it churned inland through Georgia and into North Carolina and Tennessee.

There were 20 known fatalities from the storm as of Friday afternoon, including 11 in Georgia alone. At least five other people were killed in Florida and two more in North Carolina.

Four million households were without electricity by Friday lunchtime across the south-eastern US.

Michael Bobbit, who lives on Cedar Key, told the BBC his house, which sits atop a hill, “miraculously survived, but the island is totally devastated”.

In a video he posted on social media, he described the carnage: “Entire houses are missing or flattened in on themselves, the hardware store is gone, the downtown Jiffy [food market] completely destroyed, the post office completely destroyed.

“It’s hard to take in. However bad we imagined it would be, it’s so much worse in the daylight.”

Mr Bobbit said he believes it will take years for the small island of 720 people to recover.

A man and his dog were rescued by a US Coast Guard helicopter after his 36ft sailboat took on water.

The man, whom the Coast Guard did not name, was sailing 25 miles off the coast of Sanibel Island when he was caught by the hurricane. He called Channel 16 – the emergency channel for marine radios – to summon help.

Thousands of water rescues were also carried out inland throughout flooded neighbourhoods, including in Atlanta, Georgia, where an apartment building was evacuated amid flooding.

ML Ferguson, a resident of Anna Maria Island, Florida, told the BBC the roads around had morphed into rivers amid a storm surge of up to 10ft (3m).

When she returned to her home late on Thursday, she found it, too, had been deluged.

“Oh my gosh, it’s literally up to the second step,” she told the BBC in a phone interview, before quickly hanging up and rushing to stop more water from coming in.

In Tallahassee, Florida, some residents like Cainnon Gregg had hunkered down to ride out the storm. Mr Gregg, who stayed at a friend’s shelter, said he wanted to remain close to the water to check on his oyster farm as soon as it was safe to do so.

He had spent the last few days trying to protect it by sinking it into the ocean bed.

His farm was once destroyed before, during Hurricane Michael – a category five that hit the Florida panhandle in 2018 – and he said he was determined to learn from that lesson.

“Hopefully, and nothing is for certain, the farm is sitting nice and safe on the bottom,” he said ahead of the storm. “But anything could happen.”

Thousands in Ethiopia’s capital city defied a downpour to celebrate Meskel, the first big festival of the religious year.

It marks the discovery of the cross Jesus was crucified on, according to Ethiopian Orthodox Christian tradition.

On Thursday, believers gathered in a large public plaza in Addis Ababa for rituals, speeches and even a spot of theatre.

But the highlight was the lighting of a bonfire in the centre of the square.

There was heavy security presence at this year’s celebration – personnel numbers have been beefed up at many major events in Ethiopia amid sporadic fighting in regions such as Amhara and Oromia.

Traditional instruments play a significant role in Meskel proceedings.

Heavy rain fell at one point during the evening, prompting musicians playing the 10-stringed begena to cover their instruments.

Vocalists also put on a show.

This all-female choir adorned themselves with mock versions of adey abeba, an indigenous flower that symbolises the Ethiopian New Year, which was marked earlier this month.

As is customary, a huge pyre was lit at the centre of the square. The bonfire signifies the efforts made by Queen Eleni, a medieval Ethiopian ruler, to find Jesus’ cross.

Sunday school students portrayed this scene for Thursday’s crowds, with one young woman donning a huge crown and red cape to play Queen Eleni.

During the celebration Abune Mathias, the patriarch of Ethiopia’s Orthodox Church, called on Ethiopians to unite and play a part in bringing peace to the country.

One wreath-wearing attendee had a similar message.

• The country where a year lasts 13 months
• Ethiopians leap into pool during holy festival
• Why Ethiopia is so alarmed by an Egypt-Somalia alliance

A selection of striking news photographs taken around the world this week.

Nestled in the mountains of Indian-administered Kashmir, Shopian – once a hotbed of militancy – sees a steady stream of voters entering a polling booth.

The former state of Jammu and Kashmir – now divided into two federally administered territories – is holding its first assembly election in a decade. The third and last phase of voting is on Tuesday and results will be declared on 8 October.

Since the 1990s, an armed separatist insurgency against Indian rule in the region has claimed thousands of lives, including those of civilians and security forces.

Earlier, elections were marred by violence and boycotts as separatists saw polls as a means for Delhi to try and legitimise its control. The high voter turnout now signals a change – people here say they have waited long to be heard.

“The level of poverty in our area is severe,” says 52-year-old Mohammad Yusuf Ganai after casting his vote. He laments that the lack of jobs has forced educated young Kashmiris to “sit at home”.

The last elections a decade ago resulted in a coalition government that collapsed in 2018. Before new polls could be held, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government revoked the region’s autonomy and statehood, sparking widespread discontent among Kashmiris.

For five years, Jammu and Kashmir has been under federal control with no local representation, and this election offers people a long-awaited chance to voice their concerns.

“We will finally be able to go to the elected official with our problems,” says 65-year-old Mohammad Abdul Dar.

Nearly 150km (93 miles) away in Uri, the last town near the Line of Control – the de facto border with Pakistan-administered Kashmir – newly elected MP from the Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) Engineer Rashid addresses a frenzied crowd. In jail since 2019 on terror funding charges that he denies, Rashid was granted interim bail to campaign for the election.

People flock to his motorcade, one seeking a selfie, another offering a jacket, as Rashid’s personal struggles appear to resonate deeply with voters.

• Why Engineer Rashid’s return from jail has ruffled feathers

“I want development and a resolution to the Jammu and Kashmir issue,” Rashid says. Being part of the system now as a lawmaker, he adds, will help him raise these issues in Delhi.

Civil engineer Tanvir Chalkoo, 29, listens intently to Rashid.

Calling the scrapping of autonomy the “worst kind of injustice”, Tanvir asks why as an Indian he should be treated any differently.

“People have been deprived of their rights for the last 10 years,” he says.

The BJP government insists that scrapping the region’s special status and placing it under direct rule has brought peace and development, with Prime Minister Modi announcing $700m (£523m) in projects during a visit in March. It’s now up to BJP candidate Engineer Aijaz Hussain in Srinagar’s Lal Chowk to convince voters of this message.

“Previously, no one would go door to door [to campaign]. Today, they are. This is our achievement, isn’t it?” says Aijaz.

He points to the increased voter turnout as proof of faith in the election process, with the recent parliamentary elections seeing record participation. Yet, despite these claims, the BJP did not contest those elections and is now only fielding candidates in 19 of the 47 assembly seats in the Kashmir valley.

The party’s stronghold remains the Hindu-dominated Jammu region with 43 seats, where it is hoping to score well.

“Our organisation is weak in other constituencies,” admits Aijaz.

The Hindu nationalist BJP has been trying to make inroads in the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley, where it has had little presence.

• ‘Any story could be your last’ – India’s crackdown on Kashmir press

Aijaz’s cavalcade of nearly 50 BJP-flagged cars drove through Srinagar’s narrow lanes, a show of strength unimaginable in Kashmir just a few years ago.

While some come out of their homes to greet Aijaz with sweets, others refrain. The BJP is still seen by many here as the party in Delhi which took away their autonomy.

Maleha Sofi, 24, is disillusioned with the BJP, believing the touted peace has come at the cost of personal liberties, and has decided not to vote. “We are not allowed to say anything,” she says.

Legacy parties like the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have made this central to their campaign.

“This election is an act of self-preservation for Kashmiris,” says Waheed Para, the party’s candidate from Pulwama. “It’s a step to reclaim what was lost and preserve what we have.”

In 2020, Para was jailed for nearly two years, accused of aiding banned separatist groups. India has long faced accusations of human rights violations in Kashmir – it denies this – but critics say this has intensified in the past few years.

Ahead of the assembly election, Amnesty International accused the government of fostering a “climate of fear” and urged an end to arbitrary detentions under strict anti-terror laws used to silence dissent on Jammu and Kashmir.

But the BJP government in Delhi has always taken a hard line on this. Aijaz says “all those people who are with separatists will be dealt with very seriously”.

While regional political parties promise change and say they are fighting for the rights of Kashmiris, how much influence will they have after these elections?

Lawyer Zafar Shah anticipates friction between the federal administration and the elected government which will soon assume charge.

Before 2019, when Jammu and Kashmir was a state, the chief minister could enact laws with the consent of the governor, who was bound by the state cabinet’s recommendations.

Now, as a federal territory under a Lieutenant Governor (LG), the chief minister must get the LG’s approval, especially on sensitive issues like public order, appointments and prosecutions. Power has shifted, says Mr Shah, as the LG won’t act without clearance from the federal home ministry.

“Whether the LG can create hurdles in the government’s working, that’s a matter to be seen when an actual situation arises,” adds Mr Shah.

Despite the challenges, many in Kashmir hope these elections will give them a chance to finally have their own representatives to voice their concerns.

How do you tell a family who lost someone to genocide that they may have buried the wrong body?

That is the extremely delicate challenge facing missing persons organisations in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

They are trying to trace around 7,000 people who still have not been found, almost 30 years on from the end of the Bosnian war, which lasted from 1992-95.

Meanwhile, the remains of almost 2,000 people are lying unidentified in the country’s mortuaries.

The obvious conclusion would be that some of the missing might be found in these locations.

But another agonising possibility is that no relatives have claimed the bodies because they believe they have already buried their family members.

“Between 1992 and 2001, 8,000 cases were identified without the use of DNA,” says Matthew Holliday, the Programme Director in Europe for the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP).

He says that while the vast majority were correct, “there is an element of risk if you don’t use dental records, fingerprints or DNA. Misidentification can be between 15 and 20%. So it’s a sizeable issue”.

The ICMP has been at the vanguard of efforts to find and identify the remains of victims since its foundation in 1996. Its pioneering DNA lab started work in Sarajevo in 2001.

Now it is part of a new drive in Bosnia to obtain blood tests from the family members of missing people. That includes some of those whose cases were previously declared resolved.

“It’s important to reach out to families and get a reference sample, to exclude the possibility that their relative might be in a mortuary,” says Mr Holliday.

“We talk and walk them through the process. The key thing is, if you provide blood, you may actually find that your relative is on a rack in a mortuary. Wouldn’t you rather find that out?”

The missing still include around 800 victims of the 1995 Srebrenica Massacre, when Bosnian-Serb forces systematically murdered more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys.

Every summer, a few more victims are laid to rest, thanks to the work of the ICMP and its partners, including Bosnia’s Missing Persons Institute. This year, 14 people were buried in a ceremony at Potocari Cemetery – close to Srebrenica.

That can make an enormous difference to the relatives of those who died.

“It’s hard not to have a place where you can pay tribute to your loved ones,” says Mirela Osmanovic, who works at the Srebrenica Memorial Centre.

Her two teenage brothers, Velid and Ahmedin, both died in the massacre two years before she was born.

“Thankfully, we found their bodies,” she says, “and we buried them at the Memorial Centre in Srebrenica. But finding their bones and accepting what had happened was a really long process.”

Mirela never knew her brothers, though she has heard tales about them from her family. And she was keenly aware of the anguish, mixed with hope, that her parents felt in the decade before their sons’ bodies were found and identified.

She says the moment marked the closure of a painful chapter of their lives, because until then they were hoping someone would knock on the door and say her brothers were alive.

“They were buried in 2006 and 2008. That was actually quite early. Even 30 years after the genocide, there are families who have not found their loved ones,” says Mirela.

Zekija Avdibegovic is from such a family. She chairs the missing persons association in the town of Ilijas, near Sarajevo.

More than 30 years on from their disappearance, she’s still hoping for news of her husband, son and seven other family members.

“Honestly, it’s an extremely difficult process,” she tells me. “We were two young people trying to build a house and bring up a family. Now the purpose of our lives is just to learn about our loved ones’ fates and bury them”.

Zekija hopes the latest drive for blood tests may bring some answers and what she calls relief.

“I am aware that they were killed,” she says of her family members. “But knowing someone knows where their bodies are troubles me. With no grave to visit, it’s difficult. It adds to my grief.”

Time is another element. Zekija points out that in an increasing number of cases, there may be no suitable living relatives to provide blood samples.

The ICMP’s Matthew Holliday notes that there is no time limit to the work of either his organisation or the Missing Persons Institute. And he acknowledges that while “some people will never be found, with additional effort, we can still find many more”.

If the blood sample drive produces results, some bereaved families may finally be able to bury the misidentified remains of their relatives. And some of the mystery remains in the mortuaries may be identified at last.

A couple who were left with life-changing injuries after their Uber crashed have been told they cannot sue the company because of the terms they accepted when using the app.

Georgia and John McGinty, from New Jersey, in the US, are bound by a clause saying they could not take the case to a jury in a court of law.

State judges ruled they had clicked a “confirm” button on the app on more than one occasion when asked if they agreed with Uber’s terms of use.

The McGintys argue they had not understood they were forfeiting their right to sue the company.

They told the BBC the most recent time the terms were agreed to was when their daughter, then 12, had accepted them prior to ordering a pizza on Uber Eats.

“How would I ever remotely think that my ability to protect my constitutional rights to a trial would be waived by me ordering food?” said Mrs McGinty.

Uber told BBC News: “Our Terms of Use are clear that these types of claims should be resolved in arbitration. It’s important to highlight that the court concluded the plaintiff herself, not her daughter, agreed to Uber’s Terms of Use on multiple occasions.”

Arbitration means the dispute is settled through a third party rather than in court – in this case a lawyer appointed by Uber.

Legal experts say it tends to result in smaller financial settlements.

The case has parallels with Disney’s attempt to avoid being sued over a death at Disney World – in its case over the terms of a Disney+ membership – before the company changed its mind.

In March 2022, Georgia and John McGinty were riding in an Uber in New Jersey when it crashed, and they suffered extensive injuries.

Mrs McGinty’s injuries included spine fractures and traumatic injuries to her abdominal wall.

“I was in the critical care unit for a week,” she told the BBC.

“I had a horrible post-operative infection and almost died during this time, I wasn’t able to care for my child who was suffering from unrelated injury,” she said.

John fractured his sternum and sustained injuries to his hand.

“I shattered my wrist, broke my hand, and I have a steel rod with about nine pins in it. I don’t have full function of my left hand,” he said.

“I am in pain every day.”

He added that they “accumulated a tremendous amount of medical debt” and still need further medical treatment in the future, including a possible third operation for Georgia.

The couple attempted to sue Uber over the crash, citing the seventh amendment of the US Constitution, which grants people the right to a trial by jury.

But the tech firm argued that the couple could not take the case in front of a jury because of a clause in Uber’s US Terms of Use.

New Jersey’s Supreme Court agreed.

“We hold that the arbitration provision contained in the agreement under review, which Georgia or her minor daughter, while using her cell phone agreed to, is valid and enforceable,” its judgement says.

The judgment found the child had clicked the button to say she was 18 despite not being.

Referring to her daughter’s use of Uber Eats, Mrs McGinty says she does not know how it can be right that she is considered to have “authorised my child to waive our rights to go to a trial if we’re injured in a car accident.”

“I don’t know how anybody makes that leap,” she said.

Arbitration clauses are “very common,” especially when dealing with large corporations, said Ted Spaulding, a personal injury lawyer based in the state of Georgia.

An arbitrator is “most often a lawyer who does this for a living,” he said, who can “act like a judge and a jury”.

They decide on an outcome after weighing up arguments from both sides, and their fee is often split between both parties.

In the US, the enforceability of arbitration clauses differs state by state.

In its case, Disney used the arbitration clause in their terms to argue that a man whose wife died at Disney World could not sue them in a court of law.

Jeffrey Piccolo filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Disney after his wife, Dr Kanokporn Tangsuan, died following an allergic reaction at a restaurant, run by a third party, at Disney World Florida in 2023.

Disney said Mr Piccolo had waived his right to a jury trial when he signed up to a free trial of Disney+ in 2019.

Disney later withdrew its claim to arbitration and opted to proceed with a jury trial after media coverage of the lawsuit.

“We believe this situation warrants a sensitive approach to expedite a resolution for the family who have experienced such a painful loss,” Disney executive Josh D’Amaro told the BBC in a statement in August.

Mr Spaulding says: “The law understandably says, ‘Look, you have the duty to know what you’re signing’,” referring to the terms and conditions people often accept when using a product or a service.

However, he says “the scope should be within the transaction that you’re agreeing to”.

Georgia and John McGinty say the Uber case has been “absolutely devastating” to their family.

Georgia says their daughter, now 14, “suffered a lot of trauma as a result”.

She had a separate physical health issue which she was going through at the time, which her parents found difficult to help with while going through their own injuries.

“Years of her life with her parents… were taken away,” she says.

“Luckily, she’s a fighter, like her parents are,” says John.

“We are inadvertently teaching her adversity and strength and family and prayer and resilience.”

Uber told BBC News: “The court concluded that on multiple occasions the plaintiff herself agreed to Uber’s Terms of Use, including the arbitration agreement.”

The company added: “We are dedicated to road safety.”

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has pleaded not guilty to five counts of criminal offences, including bribery, wire fraud and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations.

Wearing a dark blue suit, Adams arrived in federal court in New York for a brief hearing to enter his plea.

“I am not guilty, your honour,” he told Magistrate Judge Katharine Parker with a straight-faced expression, according to reporters in court.

The 64-year-old was indicted earlier this week on allegations that he accepted illegal campaign funds and thousands of dollars in luxury travel benefits from Turkish businessmen and an official in exchange for his influence as mayor.

Adams has denied any wrongdoing and said the public should withhold judgement until he makes his defence.

“I follow the rules, I follow the federal law, I do not do anything that’s going to participate in illegal campaign activity,” he said at a news conference.

Adams gave a thumbs-up to reporters as he entered court on Friday morning.

He was released on bail. Judge Parker ruled that Adams cannot talk to witnesses about the facts concerning the case, though he can discuss business or private family matters with them, according to US media.

His lawyer, Alex Spiro, told reporters outside court that he would be filing a motion to dismiss the case next week.

“The entire body of evidence is one staffer,” he told reporters. “What you have not heard, is that that staffer has lied, and the government is in possession of that lie.”

If convicted, Adams could face up to 45 years in prison.

He has rejected growing calls from members of his own party to resign.

The former police officer was elected to lead the most populous US city nearly three years ago with a promise to be harsh on crime.

Prosecutors say Adams’s misconduct began in 2014, during his time as Brooklyn Borough president, and carried on during his election campaign for mayor and while in office.

In the 57-page indictment, Adams was accused of pressuring New York City Fire Department officials to approve a Turkish consulate building without a safety inspection in exchange for benefits such as discounted flights, luxury hotels and meals.

Prosecutors say he also misused $10m (£7.4m) in public funds.

He is accused of using straw donors – a scheme that a person or entity uses to evade campaign finance limits – to take in illegal foreign donations and matching them with city funds that were supposed to be for small-dollar contributions from residents.

The mayor is due back in court on 2 October.

Adams has insisted he will stay in office while the case plays out, despite calls from Democrats at the state and federal level to resign.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has the power to remove Adams. She has said she needs time to review the indictment to “see what’s embedded with this”.

Adams can also be ousted from the mayor’s office by a so-called “inability committee”, which would likely include at least a few city officials who oppose him.

Adams’s arraignment comes as the federal government carries out a number of probes into his administration, which has seen a wave of resignations in recent weeks.

The police commissioner, the health commissioner and the mayor’s chief counsel have all left office as well as the schools chancellor, David Banks, who had his phone seized.

US authorities have charged three Iranians with hacking Donald Trump’s presidential campaign this year.

Prosecutors say Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri and Yasar Balaghi are members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who engaged in a “hack and leak” operation in a “deliberate attempt” to undermine an unnamed presidential campaign.

Last week US officials said Iranian hackers had tried to distribute stolen material from the Trump campaign to individuals linked to Joe Biden’s re-election effort.

The trio are charged with 18 counts that include wire fraud, identity theft, and material support to a designated foreign terrorist organisation, as well as hacking-related charges.

In August, the Trump campaign said its internal communications were hacked by Iran. Iran officials denied involvement in the hack in a statement at the time.

A few days later, the Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed that Iran was behind the infiltration of Trump’s campaign.

In a statement issued with other US intelligence agencies, the FBI warned that Iran was trying to “stoke discord and undermine confidence in our democratic institutions”.

The agencies warned they had “observed increasingly aggressive Iranian activity during this election cycle”.

The 37-page indictment outlines a years-long hacking campaign that targeted US government and intelligence officials, the media, and individuals associated with political campaigns, beginning in 2020.

In May 2024, the Department of Justice alleges, the three accused hackers and conspirators began targeting “US Presidential campaign 1”.

They allegedly stole some of its documents and communications through fraudulent email accounts impersonating US government officials and phishing tactics that allowed them to gain access to personal email accounts of people working with the campaign.

Then in June they “sought to weaponize” the information by attempting to leak it to the media and individuals associated with “US Presidential campaign 2”, the department alleges.

When asked at a press conference whether the Biden campaign ever used the hacked materials, Attorney General Merrick Garland said “we’ve seen no indication that anyone replied”.

He added that the FBI received “good cooperation” from the Trump campaign and the Biden campaign, which was taken over by Vice-President Kamala Harris in July.

The Harris campaign said it was cooperating with law enforcement agencies.

“We’re not aware of any material being sent directly to the campaign; a few individuals were targeted on their personal emails with what looked like a spam or phishing attempt,” said Morgan Finkelstein, the Harris campaign’s national security spokeswoman.

The BBC has asked the Trump campaign and Iran’s mission to the United Nations for comment on the case.

Two email accounts associated with a “former, informal political consultant to the Trump campaign” were compromised, along with an unnamed official on the campaign and an attorney representing it, according to the indictment.

“Today the FBI would like to send a message to the government of Iran – you and your hackers can’t hide behind your keyboards,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray in a statement, adding that the charges represented “the culmination of a thorough and long-running FBI investigation”.

Among the documents Iran is thought to have obtained from the Trump campaign is a dossier of research into vice-presidential nominee JD Vance.

The dossier and other documents were sent to several major US news outlets, but were not widely distributed until Thursday when journalist Ken Klippenstein, who formerly worked for investigative outlet The Intercept, posted the Vance material on his blog.

Klippenstein, who said someone named “Robert” had offered him the dossier, was swiftly banned from X, formerly Twitter. In a statement the company said the journalist had violated rules against revealing personal information.

Pope Francis has been welcomed to Belgium with powerful speeches from both the prime minister and the king condemning the Catholic Church’s handling of sexual abuse.

It was some of the most direct criticism levelled at the Church by a country’s leaders on the issue during a papal visit, with both King Philippe and Alexander de Croo alluding to the pontiff’s own responsibility in bringing about justice.

The Pope acknowledged their comments, saying the Church “must be ashamed” but said it was a matter that was being dealt with “firmly and decisively”.

Late on Friday, behind closed doors, the Pope met 17 survivors of abuse by members of the Catholic Church.

• Why is the Pope doing a long tour when he’s so frail?

At the Palace of Laeken the Pope looked on solemnly as first the king of the Belgians and then the prime minister were unusually forthright in their comments about the body that he leads.

“It has taken far too long for the cries to be heard and acknowledged. It has taken far too long to begin looking for ways to repair the irreparable,” King Philippe said of victims of Church abuse.

De Croo then talked of the damage that had been done by the hundreds of sexual abuse cases associated with the Catholic Church in Belgium. “We cannot ignore the painful wounds that exist within the Catholic faith community and wider society,” he said, before addressing Pope Francis personally.

“You are committed to justice, but there is still a long way to go,” said the prime minister. Today, words alone do not suffice. We also need concrete steps.”

The Pope is visiting Belgium mainly to celebrate the 600th anniversary of two Catholic universities, but to some extent the trip has been overshadowed by long-running child abuse scandals, which have had a profound impact on the country.

Last year, a high-profile Belgian television series (Godforsaken) focused on abuse perpetrated by Catholic priests in Flanders. It led to many hundreds of people contacting an abuse helpline and is believed to have contributed to a dramatic decline in church attendance.

Survivors are calling for reparations and for the Vatican to devise a universal system for compensation, and the Belgian parliament has opened investigations into historical Church abuse cover-ups.

One of the 15 survivors meeting the Pope, Aline Colpaert, told Flemish TV earlier she was looking for a concrete plan of action: “I hope he’s sincere, that he really listens and that my message touches him.”

Pope Francis applauded the speeches of both the king and prime minister, and in his own speech said clerical sexual abuse was “our shame” – “the shame that today we must confront and beg forgiveness and resolve the problem, the shame of abuse, of the abuse of minors”. He compared the scourge of abuse to the slaughter of children by King Herod.

Although Pope Francis talked of the Church now taking decisive action to tackle the issue, critics contend that he could have done much more since his papacy began in 2013.

Certainly the Pope has now become adept at profusely apologising for clerical abuse and has often met survivors both at the Vatican and on foreign visits.

In fact, some trips like one to Canada in 2022, have been entirely built around survivors. In that case it was to say “sorry” to indigenous people, who as children faced family-separation and abuse at Catholic-run schools.

But it has not always been the case. In 2018, he faced a wave of criticism for his vocal defence of a Chilean bishop, Juan Barros, who had been accused of covering up abuse perpetrated by a mentor of his.

Pope Francis apologised for his “grave mistakes” in handling the situation in what was something of a watershed moment in the way he handled the issue of abuse.

Since then, the Pope has made it compulsory for members of the clergy to report suspected abuse to their superiors, saying that whistleblowers must be free from intimidation – though the realities of applying this globally have proved inconsistent to say the least.

There have also been new rules whereby clergy who have committed abuse can “defrocked.” But critics have said the Pope erred too much on the side of showing “mercy” to such priests.

They point to some cases where influential members of clergy, including some who have even admitted misconduct, have either not been suspended from public ministry or not been publicly sanctioned.

A meeting at the Vatican Embassy in Brussels between the pope and 17 survivors, lasted two hours, longer than originally expected. The Vatican said Pope Francis had expressed his shame for their suffering.

The ability to have such an opportunity cannot be underestimated, but survivor groups have long wanted such meetings to lead to far better systems being in place not just to punish those who abuse, but stop the abuse happening in the first place.

Mohamed Al Fayed’s son has said he is “horrified” by allegations of sexual abuse made against his late father, which have “thrown into question the loving memory I had of him”.

Dozens of women have accused the former Harrods owner – who died last year aged 94 – of multiple rapes and sexual assaults.

Lawyers hoping to bring a case against the department store are now representing 60 women, after a BBC investigation revealed the claims of over 20 women last week.

Omar Al Fayed said his father had been a “wonderful dad”, but added that this “does not blind me from an objective assessment of circumstances”.

In a public statement, the 36-year-old environmental entrepreneur said: “The extent and explicit nature of the allegations are shocking and has thrown into question the loving memory I had of him.

“How this matter could have been concealed for so long and in so many ways, raises further disturbing questions.”

He continued: “Throughout history, people in positions of power have all too often been shielded from the consequences of their actions, and justice has frequently been delayed or denied to those who have suffered…

“I firmly believe that anyone found guilty of such reprehensible actions, including having had facilitated, enabled or helped cover up such actions, no matter their status, must be held accountable.

He went on to say: “The alleged victims and public deserve full transparency and accountability.”

Omar Al Fayed expressed support for “any legitimate investigation into these allegations”, adding: “I will continue to support the principles of truth, justice, accountability, and fairness, regardless of where that journey may lead.

“No one is above the law, and all victims deserve their day in court.”

He also criticised the BBC for its extensive reporting on the allegations.

Omar Al Fayed was appointed to the Harrods board of directors in 2006 and remained on it until his father sold the business in 2010.

The department store’s current owners have said they were “utterly appalled” by the allegations and have condemned his actions “in the strongest terms”.

They acknowledged that during the time Harrods was owned by Mohamed Al Fayed, “as a business we failed our employees who were his victims and for this we sincerely apologise”.

They added: “The Harrods of today is a very different organisation to the one owned and controlled by Al Fayed between 1985 and 2010, it is one that seeks to put the welfare of our employees at the heart of everything we do.”

Harrods said it has a compensation scheme for ex-employees who say they were attacked by Mohamed Al Fayed, and that it has already reached financial settlements with the majority of people who have approached it since 2023.

Victims and former staff have said that he preyed on young women hired by the company, threatening them against speaking out about his behaviour.

Lawyers representing many of them said the billionaire used surveillance in Harrods and intrusive medical checks to undertake “systematic abuse”.

They have also said that there was “credible evidence” of instances of abuse taking place at other businesses and properties once owned by Al Fayed.

A BBC investigation into allegations of rape and attempted rape by Mohamed Al Fayed, the former owner of Harrods. Did the luxury store protect a billionaire predator?

Watch Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods on BBC iPlayer now

Listen to World of Secrets, Season 4: Al Fayed, Predator at Harrods on BBC Sounds. If you’re outside the UK, you can listen wherever you get your podcasts.

A young capybara’s escape from a zoo a fortnight ago gripped animal lovers across the globe.

Cinnamon’s Friday 13th flit from Hoo Zoo and Dinosaur World in Shropshire has inspired memes, merchandise, and a song, which staff have on repeat.

Her keepers tell the BBC about the stress and celebrations of the week she went Awol and the impact on the small, family-run site.

Cinnamon fled her enclosure via a gate left accidentally open on 13 September, after being startled by a tractor mower.

Keepers realised within minutes the springer spaniel-sized rodent had slunk off to an adjacent area of long grass and woodland, and began to stake it out.

But, by the following night she had escaped beyond the zoo’s perimeter and owners Will and Becky Dorrell issued an appeal for help.

She was quickly located by a thermal drone in a zoo-owned conservation area, just 200m from its perimeter.

As rescuers slowly zoomed in, reluctant to scare her away, people around the world began to delight in the coverage of her escapades.

An off-the-cuff comment Will made during an interview, that Cinnamon was probably “living her best life”, made it into headlines across the world.

“Every single story I’d see pop up on Facebook or everything else had that quote in it,” Will said. “There’s so much bad news about I think people wanted a bit of light relief.”

Meanwhile, zoo staff who had volunteered to work around the clock to find her were running on adrenalin.

Will said: “For my wife and I it was a terrible week. We were both living on about two hours sleep a night.”

He described her eventual capture on 20 September as “a bit of a hairy situation”, with rescuers wading into a pond to coax her into a cage.

“None of us wanted to celebrate or anything else until she was back in the paddock.”

Only then did the tired staff breathe a huge, collective sigh of relief. “We’re all exceptionally happy over it,” he added. “There was a big celebration for the staff.”

The team has been shocked by the interest in Cinnamon’s story.

“It was really nice… that everyone wanted an update – everyone seemed invested in the story,” Will said.

But global coverage also ramped up the pressure. “We obviously got the best possible outcome… We got her back, she was fit, healthy,” he said.

“But things can go wrong, and things can go catastrophically wrong, and that was always our concern.”

Other than a minor graze on her nose, the capybara was remarkably unharmed by her exploits and even “had a bit of a belly” after a week of fending for herself.

“She’s got a little bit cheekier because she’s looking round her paddock now and sticking her head up to look over the other side,” Will said.

“She’s clever, which is probably why she managed to escape and why she took so long to catch.”

One comment on the zoo’s Facebook page following her recapture summed up the public mood: “Awww so glad she’s back safe! Never been so worried about an animal I’ve never met.”

While Cinnamon retreated from the limelight for a week for some R and R, other followers suggested what the zoo might do next.

“They should write a children’s book now to sell! Cinnamon, the great Escape or Cinnamon’s – living her best life! 😂 think of the merch they can make now!” said one.

The zoo confirmed its new star attraction would get a belated first birthday party on 12 October, featuring a hunt for her pictures around the site.

Now the danger has passed, “we’d probably be stupid not to capitalise a little bit”, Will said.

Cinnamon teddies, magnets and clothing are now available, with 100 orders in the first day alone.

“Now that we know that she’s fit and healthy and she’s safe, we can have a bit of fun with it,” he added.

A children’s book is in the works, and even rumours about a film.

But, Will confirmed Hollywood had not called yet. “I keep hearing rumours of a movie, but we haven’t yet been approached by anyone.”

Cinnamon is back on public display on Saturday, and is expected to pull in the crowds.

“Last Saturday was very, very busy – busier than we would expect it to be for a Saturday in September,” Will said. “I’d say the proof will be in the next couple of weeks.”

A controversial women’s-only museum exhibit could soon re-open in Australia, after an appeal judge overturned a ruling that it breached anti-discrimination laws.

The luxurious Ladies Lounge at the Museum of Old and New Art (Mona) in Hobart had sought to highlight historic misogyny by banning male visitors from entering.

It was forced to shut in May when one affected patron sued the gallery for gender discrimination and won.

But on Friday, Tasmanian Supreme Court Justice Shane Marshall found that men could be excluded from the Ladies Lounge, because the law allows for discrimination if it promotes “equal opportunity” for a marginalised group.

“(The Ladies Lounge provides) women with a rare glimpse of what it is like to be advantaged rather than disadvantaged,” he said.

Kirsha Kaechele, the artist who created the exhibit, called the ruling a “big win”.

“It took 30 seconds for the decision to be delivered – 30 seconds to quash the patriarchy,” she said in a statement.

“Today’s verdict demonstrates a simple truth: women are better than men.”

Mona has a longstanding reputation for being provocative, and the exclusive opulence and pageantry of the the Ladies Lounge – which opened in 2020 and housed some of the museum’s most acclaimed works – is no different.

Ms Kaechele said that she had created the space to highlight the exclusion Australian women faced for decades, such as the decision to ban them from drinking in the main section of bars until 1965.

She described the exhibit as a “flipped universe” that provided a much needed “reset from this strange and disjointed world of male domination”.

But one man felt that the message was unlawful, and after being denied entry into the lounge last year, New South Wales native Jason Lau took his case to the Tasmania’s civil and administrative tribunal.

Representing himself throughout the case, he argued that the museum had violated the state’s anti-discrimination act by failing to provide “a fair provision of goods and services in line with the law” to him and other ticket holders who didn’t identify as female.

Mona had responded by claiming the rejection Mr Lau had felt was part of the artwork – so he hadn’t missed out – but the tribunal dismissed that reasoning. Further, it found that women no longer experienced the same level of exclusion from public spaces as they had in the past.

The new ruling will now send the case back to the tribunal, which will have to reconsider its judgement.

A spokesperson from Mona said that several steps remain before the lounge can officially re-open – including the tribunal’s updated ruling.

But the legal team representing the museum said Friday’s decision recognised the intended purpose of the Ladies Lounge “to highlight and challenge inequality that exists for woman in all spaces today”.

“I look forward to sharing what comes next. I think a celebration is in store,” Ms Kaechele added.

Dame Maggie Smith, best known for the Harry Potter films and Downton Abbey, has been remembered as “a true legend” of acting following her death at the age of 89.

Tributes have been paid by the King and prime minister, as well as numerous co-stars from her long career.

King Charles described her as “a national treasure”, while Sir Keir Starmer said she was “beloved by so many for her great talent”.

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe fondly remembered her “fierce intellect” and “gloriously sharp tongue”.

Miriam Margolyes said she was “the best of the best”, who combined “ferocity, a glint of mischief, delight and tenderness”.

“And enormous courage. I’ve been in awe of her, as all her colleagues are,” Margolyes told BBC News.

“I saw what a kind person she could be – as well as absolutely terrifying.”

• Obituary: A formidable star on stage and screen
• Shakespeare to Harry Potter: Six of her greatest roles
• Her life and career in pictures

Dame Maggie was known for her sharp tongue on screen and off during a varied and acclaimed career that spanned eight decades.

In the Harry Potter films, she played the acerbic Professor Minerva McGonagall, famous for her pointed witch’s hat and stern manner with the young wizards at Hogwarts.

Paying tribute, Radcliffe said: “She was a fierce intellect, had a gloriously sharp tongue, could intimidate and charm in the same instant and was, as everyone will tell you, extremely funny.

“I will always consider myself amazingly lucky to have been able to work with her, and to spend time around her on set.

“The word legend is overused but if it applies to anyone in our industry then it applies to her. Thank you Maggie.”

Emma Watson said she didn’t quite appreciate that young Hermione was sharing the screen “with a true definition of greatness” until her adult years.

Posting on Instagram, she remembered the star for being “real, honest, funny and self-honouring”.

“Maggie, there are a lot of male professors and by God you held your own.”

In hit ITV drama Downton Abbey, she played Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, the grand matriarch who excelled at withering one-liners through the show’s six series.

Elsewhere in her career, she won two Oscars – for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in 1970 and California Suite in 1979.

She had four other nominations, and received seven Bafta awards.

In a statement, the King and Queen said: “As the curtain comes down on a national treasure, we join all those around the world in remembering with the fondest admiration and affection her many great performances, and her warmth and wit that shone through both off and on the stage.”

The prime minister agreed that Dame Maggie was “a true national treasure whose work will be cherished for generations to come”.

She “introduced us to new worlds with the countless stories she acted over her long career”, Sir Keir said.

Hugh Bonneville, who played the Earl of Grantham in Downton Abbey, said: “Anyone who ever shared a scene with Maggie will attest to her sharp eye, sharp wit and formidable talent.

“She was a true legend of her generation and thankfully will live on in so many magnificent screen performances.”

Dame Maggie reprised her role for the two Downton Abbey films. In 2022’s Downton Abbey: A New Era, her character died of the illness she revealed at the end of the 2019 film.

Co-star Dame Harriet Walter told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme she excelled at comedy as well as drama.

“She was a true comedian, but also I’ve seen her playing some incredibly heartfelt, deep, sad roles, which is the huge range of an actress like her,” she said.

“If she was merely funny or merely tragic, she wouldn’t quite have made that sort of impression.”

Michelle Dockery, who played Dame Maggie’s on-screen granddaughter Lady Mary Crawley, told the BBC: “There was no-one quite like Maggie.

“I feel tremendously lucky to have known such a maverick. She will be deeply missed and my thoughts are with her family.”

Lesley Nicol, who played Downton Abbey’s cook Mrs Patmore, told BBC Radio Ulster: “It’s a very close group of people so we’re all devastated to think she’s not around any more.”

Downton Abbey creator and writer Julian Fellowes told Variety magazine she was “a joy to write for, subtle, many-layered, intelligent, funny and heart-breaking”.

Downton followed the success of 2002 period drama Gosford Park, which earned Dame Maggie both Oscar and Bafta nominations for playing the Dowager Countess of Trentham.

Dame Kristin Scott-Thomas, who starred alongside Dame Maggie in Gosford Park, said she “took acting very seriously but saw through the nonsense and razzmatazz”.

“She really didn’t want to deal with that,” Dame Kristin added.

“She had a sense of humour and wit that could reduce me to a blithering puddle of giggles. And she did not have patience with fools. So you had to be a bit careful. I absolutely adored her.

“The last time I saw her, she was very cross about being old. ‘Maddening’ I think she said. Much loved, much admired and irreplaceable.”

Also paying tribute, a National Theatre spokesperson said her career “spanned the theatrical, film and television world without equal”.

Praising her stage performances, the statement continued: “She will forever be remembered as one of the greatest actors this country has had the inestimable pleasure of witnessing.”

Bafta added that she was a “legend of British stage and screen”.

Announcing the news of her death “with great sadness” on Friday, her sons Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin said she “passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning”.

They said: “An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.”

They thanked “the wonderful staff at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their care and unstinting kindness during her final days”.

They added: “We thank you for all your kind messages and support and ask that you respect our privacy at this time.”

Dame Maggie began her career in the 1950s and was nominated for her first Oscar for playing Desdemona opposite Laurence Olivier in Shakespeare’s Othello in 1965.

The actress’s other memorable roles included 1985 Merchant Ivory film A Room With a View, which earned her another Oscar nomination and a Bafta.

She appeared as an English woman living in 1930s Italy in the film Tea with Mussolini, which was released in 1999; and was the firm but fair Reverend Mother in the two Sister Act films.

Sister Act co-star Whoopi Goldberg called Dame Maggie “a great woman and a brilliant actress”, adding: “I still can’t believe I was lucky enough to work with the ‘one-of-a-kind’.”

Rob Lowe, who starred with Dame Maggie in 1993’s Suddenly, Last Summer, recalled “the unforgettable experience of working with her”.

“Sharing a two-shot was like being paired with a lion,” he said.

“She could eat anyone alive, and often did. But funny, and great company. And suffered no fools.

“We will never see another. God speed, Ms Smith!”

The veteran actress also played the old woman who spent 15 years living in a van outside Alan Bennett’s house in a film adaptation of the writer’s The Lady in the Van in 2015.

Alex Jennings, who played Bennett, told Radio 4 she was “fearless” and praised her “brilliant technical abilities as an actress”.

It is time to stop talking about the Middle East being on the brink of a much more serious war. After the devastating Israeli attack on what it said was the Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut it feels as if they’re tumbling over it.

It was a huge series of blasts, according to people who were in Beirut. A friend of mine in the city said it was the most powerful she had heard in any of Lebanon’s wars.

In the hours after the attack Israeli media reported that the Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was the target. Social media channels and TV stations were full of speculation about whether he had been in the building that was targeted and whether he had survived.

As rescue workers searched for survivors in the rubble, Hezbollah’s silence on the matter redoubled the speculation.

It was not the end of Israeli air force’s bombing missions for the day. The Israeli military announced that it was continuing to attack Hezbollah targets.

Earlier in the day there were hopes, admittedly faint ones, that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was at least prepared to discuss a proposal for a 21-day ceasefire. It came from the US and France and was backed by Israel’s most significant Western allies.

But in a typically defiant and at times aggressive speech to the UN General Assembly in New York, Netanyahu did not talk about diplomacy.

Israel, he said, had no choice but to fight savage enemies who sought its annihilation. Hezbollah would be defeated – and there would be total victory over Hamas in Gaza, which would ensure the return of Israeli hostages.

Far from being lambs led to the slaughter – a phrase sometimes used in Israel to refer to the Nazi Holocaust – Israel, he said, was winning.

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The huge attack in Beirut that occurred as he finished his speech was an even more emphatic sign that a truce in Lebanon was not on Israel’s agenda.

It seemed more than feasible that the attack was timed to follow up Mr Netanyahu’s threats that Israel could, and would, hit its enemies, wherever they were.

The Pentagon, the US defence department, said it had no advance warning from Israel about the raid.

A photo released by the prime minister’s office in Jerusalem showed him at a bank of communications equipment in what looked like his hotel in New York City. The image’s caption said it showed the moment that he authorised the raid.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken defended the policy he has worked on for months. He said there was still room for negotiation. That assertion is looking hollow.

The Americans have very few levers to use against any side. They cannot, by law, talk to Hezbollah and Hamas as they are classified as foreign terrorist organisations. With the US elections only weeks away, they are even less likely to put pressure on Israel than they have been in the last year.

Powerful voices in the Israeli government and military wanted to attack Hezbollah in the days after the Hamas attacks last October. They argued that they could deal their enemies in Lebanon a decisive blow. The Americans persuaded them not to do it, arguing that the trouble it might set off across the region offset any potential security benefit for Israel.

But in the course of the last year Netanyahu has made a habit of defying President Joe Biden’s wishes about the way Israel is fighting. Despite providing Israel with the aircraft and bombs used in the raid on Beirut, President Biden and team were spectators.

His policy for the last year, as a lifelong supporter of Israel, was to try to influence Netanyahu by showing solidarity and support, delivering weapons and diplomatic protection.

Biden believed that he could persuade Netanyahu not just to change the way Israel fights – the president has said repeatedly that it is imposing too much suffering and killing too many Palestinian civilians – but to accept an American plan for the day after that rested on creating an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Netanyahu rejected the idea out of hand and has ignored Joe Biden’s advice.

After the attack on Beirut, Blinken repeated his view that a combination of deterrence and diplomacy had staved off a wider war in the Middle East. But as events spiral out of US control, he is not sounding convincing.

Big decisions lie ahead. First of all, with or without Nasrallah, Hezbollah is going to have to decide how to use its remaining arsenal. Do they use try to mount a much heavier attack on Israel? If they don’t use their remaining rockets and missiles in storage, they might decide Israel will get around to destroying even more of them.

The Israelis also face highly consequential decisions. They have already talked about a ground operation against Lebanon, and while they haven’t yet mobilised all the reserves they might need, an invasion is on their agenda. Some in Lebanon believe that in a ground war Hezbollah could negate some of Israel’s military strengths.

Western diplomats, among them Israel’s staunchest allies, were hoping to calm matters, urging Israel to accept a diplomatic solution. They will now be looking at events with dismay and also a sense of powerlessness.

Nita Morton turned up at a Bridgerton-themed ball expecting glitz, glamour and fabulous food.

The event in Detroit, Michigan, on Sunday night invited fans to “step into the enchanting world of the Regency era” with “sophistication, grace, and historical charm”.

So far, so good – but what happened next could almost make a Netflix drama itself.

Guests say they found soggy noodles, chicken bones, melancholy decor, a single violin and a pole dancer.

“I was brought to tears,” 25-year-old Nita said. “It was the worst event I’ve been to. My high school parties were better.”

“Bridgerton food is turkey and ham and grand dessert tables with things like macaroons,” she told the BBC.

“But we got soggy noodles with tomato sauce and small chicken wings.”

The blunder has gone viral on social media, as attendees who paid nearly $200 (£150) for a ticket complained it was a “scam”.

Guests in fancy ballgowns say they were reduced to sitting on the floor due to a lack of chairs – and some left early for McDonald’s or Burger King when food ran out.

People have been quick to note the similarities with other viral flops, including the Fyre festival in the Bahamas and the Willy Wonka experience in Glasgow.

The ball – in no way associated with Netflix or production company Shondaland – was organised by Uncle & Me LLC. It did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment but told local media it was working to address concerns.

The BBC has spoken to some of those who attended to hear how high society turned to bitter disappointment.

The itinerary for the ball, themed around hit period drama Bridgerton, included photo opportunities, dance lessons and a fashion show.

People who had purchased a more expensive ticket were also promised dinner and a violinist.

But alarm bells started ringing for guests when they arrived and found no-one at the door to greet them.

Kimberley Pineda, who posted a TikTok video about her experiences, told the BBC “anyone could’ve walked in” due to the lack of a check-in process.

She said guests were walking out as she arrived, with one warning her not to bother going in.

Once inside, she said she was faced with “cheap” decorations, and said the ballroom was completely sparse.

“There were just a few vendors, who I felt sorry for. They had been booked and had no idea either what was going on.

“Plates were being stacked on top of each other, glasses were being reused, whole plates of food were being left too, and someone told me the chicken wasn’t cooked properly and the beans smelled like fish.”

Like Kimberley, Andi Bell found the food and drink options woefully inadequate.

“Hors d’oeuvres were meant to be available to all guests. And the leftovers from the dinner were the promised hors d’oeuvres.”

Then came the entertainment – which for some proved to be the final straw.

“As the night wore on, we were presented with an exotic dancer with a pole, which very much appeared to be a stripper; a lack of dance lessons at the scheduled time despite most of us being in the ballroom waiting; and eventually club music was blasted from the stage,” Andi said.

“At that point, my sister and I left.”

Kimberley, meanwhile, said her “jaw dropped” when the pole dancer’s performance began.

“We were promised a Bridgerton-themed musical performance, but we were not expecting a pole dance,” she said.

Other entertainment included a Queen Charlotte act, one of the characters from the show.

But another guest, Amanda Sue Mathis, felt she was hardly regal – sitting in “a cheap costume” with a backdrop that looked like it was “purchased at a dollar store”, with a “fake stuffed dog” sitting on her lap.

The photographer, meanwhile, was only able to airdrop pictures, says Nita.

It meant people with Android phones resorted to taking pictures of his phone.

And while there was a violinist, she was having to perform across three floors, Nita said.

In a statement to WXYZ-TV, Uncle & Me LLC said: “We understand that not everyone had the experience they hoped for at our most recent event on Sunday night at The Harmonie Club, and for that, we sincerely apologise.

“Our intention was to provide a magical evening, but we recognise that organisational challenges affected the enjoyment of some guests.

“We take full responsibility and accountability for these shortcomings.”

The company said it was working to address all concerns raised by guests, adding: “We are reviewing resolution options, which will be communicated shortly.”

The company’s website does not appear to be working, while the event site – which was available until the middle of the week – now also appears to be down, adding to fans’ frustration.

Nita claims the statement was “gaslighting” attendees: “We’ve had no contact with the company for days.”

Andi claims communication from the organisers had been “non-existent”.

Kimberley says she feels “robbed” of her money and time, having spent $440 on her outfit alone.

And Amanda – a superfan who has watched Bridgerton six times from start to finish – described it as “a dream come true, until it wasn’t”.

Similar recent debacles might offer a clue as to how things will pan out.

After the spectacular failure of the Wonka experience earlier this year in Glasgow, where police were called as tempers flared at a near-empty warehouse, organisers said full refunds would be given to ticket holders.

Meanwhile, the Fyre festival promised a luxury two-week music event in the Bahamas – but fans arrived to find no musical acts, no planning and only disaster relief tents to sleep in.

Just months after being released from prison over the 2017 event, organiser Billy McFarland announced a reboot. Fyre II is due to take place in April 2025.

Should another Bridgerton-themed ball be arranged in the near future, fans in Detroit might be coining a phrase from Anthony Bridgerton himself: “You are the bane of my existence and the object of all my desires.”

Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanon’s militant Shia Islamist Hezbollah movement, is one of the best known and most influential figures in the Middle East.

Nasrallah – who was reportedly the target of Friday’s air strike on Beirut – has not been seen in public for years because of fears of being assassinated by Israel.

A shadowy figure with close personal links to Iran, he played a key role in turning Hezbollah into the political and military force it is today – and remains revered by the group’s supporters.

Under Nasrallah’s leadership, Hezbollah has helped train fighters from the Palestinian armed group Hamas, as well as militias in Iraq and Yemen, and obtained missiles and rockets from Iran for use against Israel.

• What is Hezbollah and why is Israel attacking Lebanon?
• Iran faces dilemma of restraint or revenge for attacks on ally Hezbollah

He steered Hezbollah’s evolution from a militia founded to fight Israeli troops occupying Lebanon into a military force stronger than the Lebanese army, a powerbroker in Lebanese politics, a major provider of health, education and social services, and a key part of its backer Iran’s drive for regional supremacy.

Born in 1960, Hassan Nasrallah grew up in Beirut’s eastern Bourj Hammoud neighbourhood, where his father Abdul Karim ran a small greengrocers. He was the eldest of nine children.

He joined the Amal movement, then a Shia militia, after Lebanon descended into civil war in 1975. After a short spell in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf to attend a Shia seminary he rejoined Amal in Lebanon before he and others split from the group in 1982, shortly after Israel invaded Lebanon in response to attacks by Palestinian militants.

The new group, Islamic Amal, received considerable military and organisational support from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards based in the Bekaa Valley, and emerged as the most prominent and effective of the Shia militias that would later form Hezbollah.

In 1985, Hezbollah officially announced its establishment by publishing an “open letter” that identified the US and the Soviet Union as Islam’s principal enemies and called for the “obliteration” of Israel, which it said was occupying Muslim lands.

Nasrallah worked his way up through Hezbollah’s ranks as the organisation grew. He said that after serving as a fighter he became its director in Baalbek, then the whole Bekaa region, followed by Beirut.

He became leader of Hezbollah in 1992 at the age of 32, after his predecessor Abbas al-Musawi was assassinated in an Israeli helicopter strike.

One of his first actions was to retaliate to the killing of Musawi. He ordered rocket attacks into northern Israel that killed a girl, an Israeli security officer at the Israeli embassy in Turkey was killed by a car bomb and a suicide bomber struck the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, killing 29 people.

Nasrallah also managed a low-intensity war with Israeli forces that ended with their withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000, though he suffered a personal loss when his eldest son Hadi was killed in a firefight with Israeli troops.

Following the withdrawal Nasrallah proclaimed that Hezbollah had achieved the first Arab victory against Israel. He also vowed that Hezbollah would not disarm, saying that it considered that “all Lebanese territory must be restored”, including the Shebaa Farms area.

There was relative calm until 2006, when Hezbollah militants launched a cross-border attack in which eight Israeli soldiers were killed and two others kidnapped, triggering a massive Israeli response.

Israeli warplanes bombed Hezbollah strongholds in the South and in Beirut’s southern suburbs, while Hezbollah fired about 4,000 rockets at Israel. More than 1,125 Lebanese, most of them civilians, died during the 34-day conflict, as well as 119 Israeli soldiers and 45 civilians.

Nasrallah’s home and offices were targeted by Israel warplanes, but he survived unscathed.

• Live: Latest news on Israel and Hezbollah
• Explained: What is Hezbollah and why is Israel attacking Lebanon?
• Watch: Hezbollah rockets hit residential areas in Israel
• Analysis: Israel is gambling Hezbollah will crumple but it faces a well-armed, angry enemy

In 2009, Nasrallah issued a new political manifesto that sought to highlight Hezbollah’s “political vision”. It dropped the reference to an Islamic republic found in the 1985 document, but maintained a tough line against Israel and the US and reiterated that Hezbollah needed to keep its weapons despite a UN resolution banning them in southern Lebanon.

“People evolve. The whole world changed over the past 24 years. Lebanon changed. The world order changed,” Nasrallah said.

Four years later, Nasrallah declared that Hezbollah was entering “a completely new phase” of its existence by sending of fighters into Syria to help its Iran-backed ally, President Bashar al-Assad, put down a rebellion. “It is our battle, and we are up to it,” he said.

Lebanese Sunni leaders accused Hezbollah of dragging the country into Syria’s war and sectarian tensions worsened dramatically.

In 2019, a deep economic crisis in Lebanon triggered mass protests against a political elite long accused of corruption, waste, mismanagement and negligence. Nasrallah initially expressed sympathy with the calls for reforms, but his attitude changed as the protesters began demanding for a complete overhaul of the political system.

On 8 October 2023 – the day after the unprecedented attack on Israel by Hamas gunmen that triggered the war in Gaza – previously sporadic fighting between Hezbollah and Israel escalated.

Hezbollah fired at Israeli positions, in solidarity with the Palestinians.

In a speech in November, Nasrallah said the Hamas attack had been “100 percent Palestinian in terms of both decision and execution” but that the firing between his group and Israel was “very important and significant”.

The group launched more than 8,000 rockets at northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. It also fired anti-tank missiles at armoured vehicles and attacked military targets with explosive drones.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) retaliated with air strikes and tank and artillery fire against Hezbollah positions in Lebanon.

In his most recent speech, Nasrallah blamed Israel for detonating thousands of pagers and radio handsets used by Hezbollah members, which killed 39 people and wounded thousands more, and said it had “crossed all red lines”. He acknowledged the group had suffered an “unprecedented blow”.

Shortly afterwards Israel dramatically escalated attacks on Hezbollah, launching waves of bombing that killed nearly 800 people.

Pop star Lana Del Ray has ended weeks of speculation by reportedly marrying her alligator tour guide boyfriend, Jeremy Dufrene, in Louisiana.

The couple applied for a marriage licence on Monday in the Lafourche parish of the state, south of New Orleans.

The star used her legal name Elizabeth Woodridge Grant on the document, according to records seen by the BBC.

Court records show the application was valid for a month and was signed off by a clerk at the court.

Reports in US media said Del Rey and Mr Dufrene did not wait that long and tied the knot on Thursday in Des Allemandes, Louisiana, near where Mr Dufrene works as a boat tour operator.

“The wedding ceremony and reception were both held in the same bayou where Jeremy operates his swamp boats tours,” People magazine reported on Friday, citing a source.

Del Rey has not commented publicly on the reported wedding.

The pair met back in 2019, when the singer posted photos from one such tour and wrote on her Facebook page: “Jeremy lemme be captain at Arthur’s Air Boat Tours x”.

The couple were spotted together this summer at the Reading and Leeds festivals, where Del Rey was a headliner, and in London.

The 39-year-old singer was propelled to fame in 2011 with the success of her self-titled debut album and its breakout single Video Games, and has cultivated a glamorous and somewhat mysterious image while releasing nine albums in total.

Her latest effort, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, received mostly positive reviews and was nominated for an Album of the Year Grammy Award.

Mr Dufrene’s bio on the website of Arthur’s Air Boat Tours notes that he used to work at a chemical plant until he decided it was “not his calling”.

“After a little convincing by his family, he got his captain’s licence and started running tours,” it reads.

“Jeremy’s a great airboat captain and loves interacting with wildlife & customers.”

At least 43 people have died and millions left without power on Friday as Hurricane Helene roared through the south-eastern US.

Officials continued daring rescues with boats, helicopters and large vehicles to help those stranded in floodwaters – including about 50 workers and patients who crowded on the roof of a flooded Tennessee hospital.

It was the most powerful storm on record to hit Florida’s Big Bend and moved north into Georgia and the Carolinas after making landfall overnight on Thursday.

Insurers and financial institutions say damage caused by the storm could run into the billions of dollars.

Roads and houses were submerged on Friday, with one family describing to BBC News how they had to swim out of their home to safety. Although Helene has weakened significantly, forecasters warn that high winds, flooding and the threat of tornadoes could continue.

Helene, which had been a category four storm, came ashore on Thursday night and remained a hurricane for six hours after it made landfall, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said a storm surge – heightened water levels mostly caused by high winds blowing water towards shore – reached more than 15ft (4.5m) above ground level across parts of the Florida coast.

The NHC said the surge should subside before the weekend but the threat from high winds and flooding would persist, including possible landslides.

Up to 20in (50cm) of rain is still possible in places.

The hurricane is the 14th most powerful to hit the US since records began. At approximately 420 miles (675 km) wide, it is behind only two other hurricanes – Ida in 2017 and Opal in 1996, both of which were 460 miles wide.

Because of its sheer size, the impact of strong winds and heavy rain have been widespread across Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas.

At least eight people have died in Florida since Friday, including at least five people in the coastal Pinellas County, the county’s sheriff, Bob Gualtieri said.

The county includes the city of St Petersburg on Florida’s Gulf Coast.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said one person died after a road sign fell on their car and another when a tree fell on a home.

• Hurricane Helene brings life-threatening conditions as it moves from Florida to Georgia

After hitting Florida, the storm continued on a deadly path north into Georgia – leaving at least 15 dead – including a first responder, Governor Brian Kemp said.

A suspected tornado that spurred in Wheeler County, in central Georgia, left two people dead when the twister picked up and overturned a mobile home, authorities said.

Kemp ordered 1,000 National Guard troops to help with rescue efforts across the state. The Georgia governor said Friday that more than 150 roads have been closed, 1,300 traffic signals are out across the state and people are still trapped in buildings.

In South Carolina, at least 17 people were killed, according to CBS News, the BBC’s US partner. Neighbouring North Carolina saw at least two fatalities in the storm, one due to a vehicle collision and another when a tree fell on a home in Charlotte, Governor Roy Cooper said.

The state also saw two confirmed tornadoes, which damaged 11 buildings and injured 15 people, the National Service said.

One person was also killed in Virginia, the state’s governor, Glenn Youngkin, said at a news conference on Friday.

Across the southeast, more than three million homes and businesses were without power late Friday, according to tracking site poweroutage.us.

First responders have been tackling rescues, using helicopters, boats and large vehicles to help people stranded in flooded homes. In North Carolina alone, more than 100 rescues have taken place, Cooper said.

In Tennessee, 58 patients and staff were left stranded on the roof of a hospital in the city of Erwin on Friday. Swift-moving water from the Nolichucky River prevented boats from being able to conduct rescue operations, and high winds prevented helicopter rescue.

The group was later taken to safety after helicopters from the Tennessee National Guard and the Virginia State Police intervened.

In Pasco County, north of Tampa on Florida’s Gulf coast, 65 people were rescued. Guests at a Ramada Inn in Manatee County were also rescued as floodwaters rushed into the hotel.

And in Suwannee County to the north, authorities reported “extreme destruction”, with trees falling onto homes.

Along the Gulf Coast of Florida, Briana Gagnier told the BBC that she and her family saw water creeping into their home on Holmes Beach and started moving their belongings onto tables and beds before hearing a loud bang.

“My family and I all looked at one another,” she said. “Then water just started pouring in.”

Ms Gagnier said she grabbed her pets, her wallet and some portable chargers and swam out of their home with her family. The water was up to their shoulders.

“We also encourage all communities to please continue to listen to your local officials,” FEMA Deputy Administrator Erik Hooks said on Friday.

“Just because the storm has passed where you are doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re safe to leave your home.”

Officials also reminded residents the effects of the storm are “not over yet” and urged residents to remain vigilant.

Hurricanes need sea surface temperatures of more than 27C (80F) to fuel them.

With exceptionally warm waters of the Gulf at 30-32C, the sea surface is about two degrees Celsius above normal for the time of year.

Florida’s 220-mile Big Bend coast is where Hurricane Idalia made landfall in 2023. The area was also battered by Hurricane Debby last month.

There could be as many as 25 named storms in 2024, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warned earlier this year.

Between eight and 13 of those storms could develop into hurricanes and a handful already have including Helene.

More storms could be on the horizon as the official end of hurricane season will not arrive until 30 November, officials warned.

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US Vice-President Kamala Harris has made a rare trip to the US-Mexico border as she seeks to blunt Republican attacks on immigration.

Harris, who last visited the border in 2021, accused Donald Trump of being focused on “scapegoating instead of solutions” and “rhetoric instead of results”.

Earlier on Friday, the Republican nominee argued Harris was “getting killed” on the issue and supports “the worst bill ever drawn” on border security.

Polls suggest more Americans trust Trump over Harris on handling the border and illegal immigration.

Cochise County, a conservative stronghold in Arizona that became a hot spot for record-high border crossings last autumn, provided a backdrop for the Democratic nominee to inspect the border wall, speak with local officials and project a message of toughness.

She claimed Trump “did nothing to fix our broken immigration system” as president, adding that Republicans were trying to force a “false choice” between border security and a “safe, orderly and humane” immigration system.

“We can and must do both,” she told supporters at a campaign event in Douglas.

Harris vowed to further toughen asylum laws enacted earlier this year by President Joe Biden and to revive a bipartisan border security measure Trump helped block.

But Jim Chilton, a local rancher, said he has “seen the evidence” of what Harris would do in power.

“I’ve watched her and President Biden,” he told the BBC. “We’ve had an open border policy. We now are understanding what that really means.”

Every year, thousands of undocumented migrants walk through Mr Chilton’s 50,000-acre ranch just south of Arivaca.

He has motion-activated cameras that show the procession of people, all dressed in near-identical camouflage, across his land. He is convinced drug dealers and gang members are among them.

Menacing signs threaten trespassers with death, but Mr Chilton has also installed drinking fountains so nobody dies making the hazardous journey.

Three corpses were found on his land last year.

A Trump supporter, Mr Chilton does not believe Harris will crack down on the flow of migrants.

“She’s changing her mind just to get votes and lie to us. It’s outrageous,” he said.

Concerns over stemming the influx are ever present in tiny border towns like Douglas.

Homeowners here can see through miles of border fencing into Mexico when they step out onto their front porches.

One woman said her neighbours built brick walls around their homes to keep migrants from hiding out in their backyards.

Even some Democrats here who are voting for Harris said they preferred Trump’s border approach and felt safer during his tenure.

Last year, a handful of churches and the town’s visitor centre transformed overnight into makeshift shelters to house newcomers.

Since then, the Biden administration has enacted tougher restrictions on seeking asylum and migrant crossings have plunged to four-year lows.

Gail Kochorek is a dedicated volunteer who drives down to the wall to hand out food and water to people on the Mexican side, usually waiting until after dark to cross back into the US.

To her, the political approach to immigration is increasingly dehumanising to people hoping to making a better life in her country.

She is disappointed to hear Harris promising to crack down on migrants but, given a choice between her and Trump, the Democrat can count on Ms Kochorek’s vote.

Laughing at Trump’s pledges to secure the border, she showed the BBC gaps in Trump’s wall and where people could cut through the steel fencing.

The former president has vowed to seal the border by completing construction of the barrier, increasing enforcement and implementing the largest mass deportation of undocumented migrants in US history.

But earlier this year, he urged Republicans to ditch a hardline, cross-party border bill that was endorsed by Biden and Harris.

“That’s the worst bill ever drawn. It’s a waste of paper,” Trump told supporters earlier on Friday at a rally in Walker, in the swing state of Michigan.

Denying that he lobbied congressional allies to tank the piece of legislation, Trump claimed Harris “want to see if she could salvage it and make up some lies”.

“She went to the border today because she’s getting killed on the border,” he said.

In a statement following Harris’s event, the Trump campaign characterised the visit as a “drop-in” and “photo op”.

The border crisis has been a major vulnerability for Harris.

As vice-president, she has not directly shaped border policy but was put in charge of addressing the root causes of migration from the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.

Her efforts targeted systemic issues like poverty, corruption, and violence, which for years have driven large numbers of people from these regions to make the treacherous journey to the United States.

It is too soon to tell if the two-part strategy – bolstering democratic institutions and coaxing business leaders to invest in the region – is working, but Harris has taken a lot of blame for upward trends in migration.

As a candidate, she has highlighted her experience as a prosecutor when she was attorney general of California, particularly in investigating transnational and cartel organisations, to emphasise her approach to tackling immigration-related challenges.

Her recent remarks have aligned closely with Biden’s emphasis on border security and law enforcement, but also reflect how the politics of the issue have shifted notably to the right.

As she seeks to convince voters that she has a plan, her biggest challenge is finding an approach that balances the legal and humanitarian aspects of the immigration system.

• SIMPLE GUIDE: Everything you need to know about the vote

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• POLICIES: Could Trump really deport a million migrants?

Mohamed Al Fayed’s son has said he is “horrified” by allegations of sexual abuse made against his late father, which have “thrown into question the loving memory I had of him”.

Dozens of women have accused the former Harrods owner – who died last year aged 94 – of multiple rapes and sexual assaults.

Lawyers hoping to bring a case against the department store are now representing 60 women, after a BBC investigation revealed the claims of over 20 women last week.

Omar Al Fayed said his father had been a “wonderful dad”, but added that this “does not blind me from an objective assessment of circumstances”.

In a public statement, the 36-year-old environmental entrepreneur said: “The extent and explicit nature of the allegations are shocking and has thrown into question the loving memory I had of him.

“How this matter could have been concealed for so long and in so many ways, raises further disturbing questions.”

He continued: “Throughout history, people in positions of power have all too often been shielded from the consequences of their actions, and justice has frequently been delayed or denied to those who have suffered…

“I firmly believe that anyone found guilty of such reprehensible actions, including having had facilitated, enabled or helped cover up such actions, no matter their status, must be held accountable.

He went on to say: “The alleged victims and public deserve full transparency and accountability.”

Omar Al Fayed expressed support for “any legitimate investigation into these allegations”, adding: “I will continue to support the principles of truth, justice, accountability, and fairness, regardless of where that journey may lead.

“No one is above the law, and all victims deserve their day in court.”

He also criticised the BBC for its extensive reporting on the allegations.

Omar Al Fayed was appointed to the Harrods board of directors in 2006 and remained on it until his father sold the business in 2010.

The department store’s current owners have said they were “utterly appalled” by the allegations and have condemned his actions “in the strongest terms”.

They acknowledged that during the time Harrods was owned by Mohamed Al Fayed, “as a business we failed our employees who were his victims and for this we sincerely apologise”.

They added: “The Harrods of today is a very different organisation to the one owned and controlled by Al Fayed between 1985 and 2010, it is one that seeks to put the welfare of our employees at the heart of everything we do.”

Harrods said it has a compensation scheme for ex-employees who say they were attacked by Mohamed Al Fayed, and that it has already reached financial settlements with the majority of people who have approached it since 2023.

Victims and former staff have said that he preyed on young women hired by the company, threatening them against speaking out about his behaviour.

Lawyers representing many of them said the billionaire used surveillance in Harrods and intrusive medical checks to undertake “systematic abuse”.

They have also said that there was “credible evidence” of instances of abuse taking place at other businesses and properties once owned by Al Fayed.

A BBC investigation into allegations of rape and attempted rape by Mohamed Al Fayed, the former owner of Harrods. Did the luxury store protect a billionaire predator?

Watch Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods on BBC iPlayer now

Listen to World of Secrets, Season 4: Al Fayed, Predator at Harrods on BBC Sounds. If you’re outside the UK, you can listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Rebel groups have rejected a peace offer from Myanmar’s embattled junta, which is reeling from battlefield losses and defections in a civil war that has dragged on for more than three years.

This is dictatorship’s first such outreach since it seized power in 2021. It also comes after a ceasefire brokered by China in the northern Shan state fell apart.

The junta called on ethnic armed groups and “terrorist insurgent groups” to “communicate with us to solve political problems politically”, also urging them to join elections planned for next year.

The exiled National Unity Government (NUG) said the offer was not worth considering, adding the junta had no authority to hold an election.

The junta extended an olive branch Thursday as it struggled to fight on multiple fronts and stem a widespread rebellion.

Some reports say the junta now has control of less than half of Myanmar’s territories.

In June, an alliance of three ethnic armies renewed an offensive against the military, seizing territory along a key highway to China’s Yunnan province, which borders Myanmar.

The fighting near the border in Shan state has blocked China’s ambitious plan to connect its landlocked south-west to the Indian Ocean via Myanmar.

Beijing’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, is thought to have delivered a warning to the country’s ruler Min Aung Hlaing during a visit to Myanmar last month.

Armed groups should follow “the path of party politics and elections in order to bring about lasting peace and development”, the junta said in its statement on Thursday.

“The country’s human resources, basic infrastructure and many people’s lives have been lost, and the country’s stability and development have been blocked [because of the conflict]” it said.

But the rebel groups are sceptical of the offer.

The Karen National Union (KNU), which has been fighting for decades with the military for more autonomy along the border with Thailand, told AFP news agency that talks were only possible if the military agreed to “common political objectives”.

“Number one: no military participation in future politics. Two [the military] has to agree to a federal democratic constitution,” KNU spokesman Padoh Saw Taw Nee told AFP.

“Number three: they have to be accountable for everything they have committed… including war crimes and crimes against humanity,” he said. “No impunity.”

If the junta does not accede to these demands, the KNU will “keep putting pressure on [the junta] politically and militarily,” he added.

Maung Saungkha, the leader of the Bamar People’s Liberation Army, told Reuters news agency that his group is “not interested in this offer”.

“They are hanging goat’s heads but selling dog meat,” Soe Thu Ya Zaw, commander of the Mandalay People’s Defense Forces, wrote on Facebook.

After the military ousted Myanmar’s democratically-elected government in 2021, peaceful protests were met with killings and arrests.

This led ethnic armed groups to join forces with anti-coup militias across the country to fight back, plunging the country into a civil war.

At least 50,000 people have been killed since the coup and more than two million people displaced, according to the United Nations.

The UN warned last week that Myanmar was “sinking into an abyss of human suffering”. Eyewitnesses had previously told the BBC about how the military has tourtued people in its custody, including by pouring burning petrol on them and forcing some to drink their urine.

Hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has been accused of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman in another lawsuit filed in New York.

The 12th and latest accuser alleges that after she became pregnant, she was harassed by one his associates to have an abortion and later miscarried.

Mr Combs was arrested last week and is currently in federal custody, facing criminal charges of racketeering and sex trafficking.

He continues to deny all allegations of criminal wrongdoing. The BBC has approached Mr Combs’ lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, for comment on the latest civil lawsuit.

In the latest lawsuit, filed against him in New York, a woman referred to as Jane Doe describes repeated physical and sexual abuse over a period of four years beginning in late 2020.

She says she first met the rapper, who paid for her travel, at an “overseas location” and the two began seeing each other “regularly” after that, according to the lawsuit.

In her legal complaint, the woman alleges she was drugged by Mr Combs, who would then engage in sexual acts with her without her consent while she was unconscious.

The sexual encounters were filmed by Mr Combs without the woman’s permission and she was pressured by him to engage in group sex with others, the legal document claims.

In one instance, alleged to have apparently taken place in July 2022, the lawsuit describes the woman being compelled to take the drug ketamine, which caused her to “black out” and “lose consciousness intermittently throughout the night”.

Shortly afterwards, it alleges, the woman found out she was pregnant. According to the lawsuit, when the woman informed Mr Combs of the pregnancy, an associate of Mr Combs harassed her to have an abortion. The woman later suffered a miscarriage, it says.

The woman further alleges that Mr Combs made threatening jokes that led her to fear for her safety, says he monitored her location and phone conversations, and says he discouraged her from working so he could pay her an allowance instead.

“No one is above the law. Fame and wealth do not protect Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs from serious allegations of sex trafficking and abuse,” said the woman’s lawyers, Joseph L Ciaccio and Marie Napoli, in a statement provided to the BBC.

Mr Combs has faced a string of allegations in the past year following on from the lawsuit brought by his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura last November alleging physical and sexual abuse. Ms Ventura’s lawsuit was settled by Mr Combs for an undisclosed sum.

The rapper is also facing criminal charges as federal prosecutors have accused him of “creating a criminal enterprise” in which he “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfil his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct”.

The rapper has pled not guilty to the three felony charges against him.

The BBC has reached out to Mr Combs’ lawyer for comment about the allegations in this latest lawsuit.

Mr Combs has denied all allegations contained in the 11 previous lawsuits.

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