Iran has launched hundreds of missiles towards Israel, with at least some striking Israeli territory. It is the second attack by Iran this year, after it fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel in April.

Israeli military officials said the attacks appeared to be over and there was no more threat from Iran “for now” but it is still unclear how much damage was caused.

The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has warned of “consequences” after the attack.

Here’s what we know so far.

Iran launched around 180 missiles towards Israel, the Israeli military said. That would make it a slightly larger attack than April’s barrage, which saw about 110 ballistic missiles and 30 cruise missiles fired towards Israel.

Footage carried by Israeli TV appeared to show some missiles flying over the Tel Aviv area shortly before 19:45 local time (16:45 GMT).

Most missiles were shot down by Israeli aerial defence systems, an Israeli security official said, while a BBC correspondent in Jerusalem said some military bases may have been hit, and that restaurants and schools were hit.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) maintained that 90% of projectiles had hit their targets, saying hypersonic missiles had been used for the first time. IRGC sources said three Israeli military bases had been targeted.

• Follow live: Iran launches barrage of missiles at Israel

The Palestinian civil defence authority in the occupied West Bank city of Jericho said a man there died during the Iranian missile barrage.

According to the AFP news agency, which spoke to city governor Hussein Hamayel, the victim was killed by falling rocket debris.

Israeli officials have not reported any serious injuries as a result of Tuesday’s air attacks, but Israeli medics said two people had been slightly wounded by shrapnel.

The IRGC said the attacks were in response to Israel’s killing of one of its top commanders and leaders of Iran-backed militias in the region.

It mentioned the killings of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and IRGC commander Abbas Nilforoshan in the Lebanese capital Beirut on 27 September.

It also referenced the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July. While Israel has not admitted to being behind Haniyeh’s death, it is widely believed to be responsible.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters news agency the country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had personally given the order for Tuesday’s missile attack.

Iran does not recognise Israel’s right to exist and seeks its eradication. It has spent years backing paramilitary organisations opposed to Israel.

Israel believes that Iran poses an existential threat and has spent years running covert operations against Tehran.

Israel has a sophisticated system of air defences, the best-known of which is the Iron Dome. It is designed to intercept short-range rockets of the sort fired by Hamas and Hezbollah.

While it was used to defend against some elements of Iran’s last attack in April, other elements of the country’s “layered” defence systems probably did the bulk of the work on Tuesday.

David’s Sling – a joint US-Israeli manufactured system – is used to intercept medium to long-range rockets, as well as ballistic and cruise missiles. And when it comes to long-range ballistic missiles, which fly outside the Earth’s atmosphere, Israel has the Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 interceptors.

US President Joe Biden reaffirmed US support for Israel after the missile attack, describing it as “defeated and ineffective”.

He had ordered his forces in the region to “aid Israel’s defence” and shoot down Iranian missiles.

A Pentagon spokesperson said US Navy destroyers had fired about a dozen interceptors against Iranian missiles headed to Israel.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin also confirmed “multiple” interceptions by the US, condemning “this outrageous act of aggression by Iran”.

The BBC has also verified footage showing missile interceptions over the Jordanian capital of Amman. The country also shot down a number of missiles during Iran’s last attack in April.

The BBC understands UK fighter jets were involved in supporting Israel on Tuesday, as they were in April.

Defence Secretary John Healey said British forces had “played their part in attempts to prevent further escalation” on Tuesday evening, without giving more details.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the UK stood with Israel and recognised her “right to self-defence”.

France and Japan added their voices to a chorus of condemnation of Iran’s attacks and also called on all parties to avoid further escalation.

Netanyahu said Iran had made a “big mistake” and would “pay for it”.

“We have plans, and we will operate at the place and time we decide,” said Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Haggari.

Iran’s IRGC said Tehran’s response would be “more crushing and ruinous” if Israel retaliated.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military carried out new air strikes in Beirut against Hezbollah targets overnight after warning residents to move out of the city’s southern suburbs where the group has a presence.

Everybody’s phone buzzed at once with an alert at around 19:30 local time.

It read: “You must enter a protected area immediately and remain there until further notice.”

The message was sent by the Israel Defense Forces’s Home Front Command and ended with the phrase “life-saving instructions”.

People began to head for shelter in safe rooms as missiles were launched towards Israel from Iran.

The sirens sounding across the country were heard by millions.

As the wail of the alarm rang outside, we moved to the shelter in the BBC’s Jerusalem Bureau – a secure part of the building with no windows.

We could hear frequent booms as missiles flew overhead and were intercepted by Israel’s defence system.

Videos captured here and elsewhere shared on social media showed streams of light as the missiles flew over Israel – and clouds of smoke as they were intercepted or detonated on impact.

“There’s loads of them,” a contact exclaimed in a video filmed in southern Israel that shows circles of light in the night sky.

At about 20:00, the IDF said its aerial defence array was identifying and intercepting the launches, and called on people to “remain in a protected space until further notice”.

It continued: “The explosions you are hearing are from interceptions and fallen projectiles.”

Concern had been mounting across Israel as reports emerged early in the evening that Iran was preparing a strike.

It came hours after Israeli troops invaded Lebanon, in what its military calls a “limited, localised and targeted” ground operation against Hezbollah.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said it launched the missiles in retaliation for recent attacks that killed the leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas, as well as a senior Iranian commander.

• Iran launches barrage of missiles at Israel – follow live updates
• What we know about Iran’s missile attack on Israel
• Video shows missiles fired towards Tel Aviv

As missiles flew overhead, messages streamed in from people in different parts of the country, waiting in their safe rooms.

“There’s a lot of alarms all the time so we’re in the safe room… But we’re OK for now,” a mother of two in the south of Israel told me by voice note.

“Very, very scary. I still cannot believe this is our life… it was VERY close,” a message from a journalist in Tel Aviv said.

“Usually we stay on our floor and don’t go down to the shelter but this time…we realised we had to go down.”

“It was very loud,” lawyer Efrat Eldan Schechter says by WhatsApp message from Ra’anana in central Israel, adding that she believes “it is not the end for tonight”.

“We need to see how it will evolve. It is very scary indeed… but we are strong and confident that our IDF will protect us. Iran just made a huge mistake.”

About an hour after the first message, phones again vibrated with a new alert from the Home Front Command, telling people they could leave shelters and protected areas.

Following the strikes, the IDF spokesperson said there were some hits in central and southern Israel.

Videos later shared on social media showed damage from the missiles in multiple locations, including a large crater in the ground near Tel Aviv.

The Palestinian civil defence authority in the occupied West Bank city of Jericho said a man there died during the Iranian missile barrage.

According to the AFP news agency, which spoke to city governor Hussein Hamayel, the victim was killed by falling rocket debris.

Israeli officials have not reported any serious injuries as a result of Tuesday’s air attacks.

“At this stage we don’t identify more launches from Iran. Stay responsible and listen to instructions,” IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a televised address.

Israel says at least 180 missiles were fired, most of them intercepted. It has said there will be “consequences”.

For the past few days, there was a feeling in Lebanon that an Israeli ground invasion into the country’s south was almost inevitable as Israel indicated its campaign against Hezbollah would not stop with the killing of Hassan Nasrallah, who, for three decades, was the face of the group.

Now that this has been confirmed, with what the Israeli military describes as a “limited, localised and targeted” operation, the fear is that this could be the start of something wider.

History shows that it is easy for Israeli troops to enter Lebanon, but difficult for them to leave.

“The country is lost,” a Lebanese friend texted me. Another one wrote: “If you ask me what’s coming, my answer is it will be very long and hard days are coming”. A third said: “We just need to hope for the best.”

There is a feeling that history is repeating itself, and uncertainty about what happens next.

It remains unclear whether Hezbollah can still organise any significant and co-ordinated response. It continues to fire rockets at Israel, but not at the same intensity.

Meanwhile, this is a country under pressure, struggling with the sheer number of casualties from Israeli air strikes and one million people who have already been displaced.

Hezbollah, a Shia Muslim group armed and financed by Iran, is considered a terrorist organisation by the UK, the US and others, but is more than just a militia in Lebanon. It is also a political party with representation in parliament, and a social movement, engrained in Lebanese society, with significant support.

Powerful and influential, Hezbollah, which means Party of God, is often described as a state within a state in Lebanon. It has been weakened by two weeks of unrelenting Israeli air strikes and high-profile assassinations, but has not been defeated.

In a defiant speech on Monday, the Hezbollah number two, Naim Qassem, said its fighters were ready to resist any Israeli invasion. Before this latest escalation, Hezbollah’s armed wing, which includes a vast arsenal of weapons and thousands of battled-hardened fighters, was said to be stronger than the Lebanese army, and the country’s authorities have little say – if any – over the group’s actions.

For almost a year, as Hezbollah carried out near-daily cross-border attacks on Israel, many outside its support base in Lebanon feared that this country, already struggling to recover from years of successive crises, was being dragged into a conflict that it has not chosen to fight.

The economy has essentially collapsed, and political impasse means the country has been without a president for almost two years.

Here, there are still memories of the last war between Israel and Hezbollah, in 2006, when parts of southern Lebanon and Dahieh, the group’s base in Beirut’s southern suburbs, were flattened.

Hezbollah’s rivals will not be disappointed to see a weakened group who, many say, is interested in defending its own interests – and those of its main supporter, Iran.

Hezbollah is the most powerful group in the so-called Axis of Resistance, an alliance of factions across the Middle East supported by Iran that also includes the Houthis in Yemen and militias in Iraq and Syria.

Having a strong Hezbollah in Lebanon, right next to Israel, has always been vital for Iran, part of its deterrence against any Israeli attack on its nuclear facilities.

Yesterday, outside a building in central Beirut hit by an Israeli strike, a resident told me: “I’m against Israel, who is killing us, but I’m against Iran, who is killing us as well”.

This is, obviously, rejected by Hezbollah supporters. “We shed tears of blood over the [Israeli] strike against Nasrallah, may God grant him paradise… He’s irreplaceable,” one of them said, after being forced to flee Dahieh. “We don’t fear [Israel]. We’re still standing.”

The US fired about a dozen interceptors at Tuesday’s barrage of Iranian ballistic missiles fired at Israel, the Pentagon says.

US President Joe Biden said the US “actively” supported Israel’s defence at his direction. He said he had spent the morning in the Situation Room – the White House hub for handling serious national security issues.

The Israeli military said about 180 missiles were fired at Israel, most of which were intercepted.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has defended the attack, calling it a “decisive” response “in defence of Iranian interests and citizens”.

In a Pentagon press briefing on Tuesday, Maj Gen Patrick Ryder said two US Navy destroyers fired the interceptors at the missiles, which the US believed were all launched from Iran.

He did not confirm whether they hit any of the Iranian missiles used in the attack – adding that this information was yet to be determined.

Iran launched around 180 missiles towards Israel, the Israeli military said. That would make it slightly larger than a barrage in April when Tehran launched about 110 ballistic missiles and 30 cruise missiles fired towards Israel.

Maj Gen Ryder added that the Pentagon was not aware of any warning for the attack.

President Biden said the US was “fully supportive” of Israel after Wednesday’s assault.

“Today, at my direction, the United States military actively supported the defence of Israel, and we’re still assessing the impact,” he said.

“But based on what we know now, the attack appears to have been defeated and ineffective. And this is testament to the Israeli military capability and the US military.”

Asked by reporters what the response towards Iran would be, Biden said: “That’s in active discussion right now. That remains to be seen.”

He said he would be talking to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his message “would depend on what we finally conclude is needed”.

The region is now well into a further sharp cycle of escalation, precisely the scenario Biden has spent months trying to avert – attempting to stem the Gaza war engulfing the rest of the region, while keeping up an almost continuous supply of arms to Israel.

Earlier, White House national security spokesman Jake Sullivan described Iran’s attack as a “significant escalation”.

He told reporters: “We have made clear that there will be consequences, severe consequences, for this attack, and we will work with Israel to make that the case.”

Mr Sullivan did not specify what such consequences might be, but he did not urge restraint by Israel as the US did after April’s attack by Iran.

US state department spokesman Matthew Miller said Washington had attempted to use both deterrence and diplomacy to de-escalate the region.

Pressed by the BBC on whether it was still taking this approach when working with the Israelis on the response to Iran, he said of course – they were always using both deterrence and diplomacy.

Iran’s armed forces warned against any direct military intervention in support of Israel.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement that the attacks were in response to Israel’s killing of a top IRGC commander and leaders of Iran-backed militias in the region.

It mentioned the killings of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and IRGC commander Abbas Nilforoshan in Lebanon last weekend.

It also referred to the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July.

While Israel has not admitted involvement in Haniyeh’s death, it is widely believed to be responsible.

Seven people have been killed in a shooting and knife attack in Tel Aviv, police in Israel have confirmed.

Several others were injured – some seriously – when a gunman opened fire at members of the public in the Jaffa area.

The deadly attack began in a rail carriage and continued on the platform, local police said in a statement.

Footage posted on social media showed motionless bodies strewn on the street.

Police said the gunman and another attacker armed with a knife were “neutralised” by members of the public, and described the motive as “terror”.

The identities of the perpetrators have not been released. Some Israeli media outlets earlier reported the death toll as eight, though it is unclear if this included the attackers.

• Iran launches barrage of missiles at Israel – follow live updates
• What we know about Iran’s missile attack on Israel
• Video shows missiles fired towards Tel Aviv

The shooting occurred shortly before an Iranian missile attack against Israel began.

Police at the scene were seen taking cover as missiles and air defence rockets flew over the city and air raid sirens blared.

Witnesses described the shooting, including Benjamin Ratzon, who told the Reuters news agency: “People were on the ground and they told me to bend down.

“I saw the terrorist facing me. He wanted to do something and the security forces arrived to the scene and they ran towards him.”

Another witness told the Jerusalem Post they initially mistook the gunfire for fireworks before realising “it was something much worse”.

They added: “There were many gunshots. We dropped to the floor, and people were crying. I saw someone bleeding on the ground.”

A shop owner said they quickly closed their shutters upon seeing “crowds of people running and shouting ‘terror attack'”.

Haartez quoted an eyewitness who was at a synagogue at the time of the attack.

“Among the worshippers were medics who volunteer at the MDA (Israel’s ambulance service).

“We treated a man who was wounded in the synagogue and then ran to the street to help others who were wounded.”

More than 100 people are to sue rap musician Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs for sexual assault, rape and sexual exploitation, a US lawyer has said.

Texas-based lawyer Tony Buzbee said that some of the alleged victims include minors who were abused when they were as young as nine years old.

“This is an important matter that we intend to aggressively pursue,” Mr Buzbee told reporters.

Erica Wolff, a lawyer representing Mr Combs, said the rapper “emphatically and categorically” denies the allegations, saying they are “false and defamatory”.

Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Mr Buzbee said he and his team “will leave no stone unturned to find potentially liable parties” in the alleged abuse, or “any individual or entity who participated in or benefited from this egregious behaviour”.

Ms Wolff said in a statement to the BBC that Mr Combs “looks forward to proving his innocence and vindicating himself in court, where the truth will be established based on evidence, not speculation”.

The legal action is the latest against Mr Combs.

Mr Combs was arrested last week and is facing criminal charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. He is currently in federal custody after he was denied bail, which he is appealing.

He has denied all allegations of criminal wrongdoing.

According to Mr Buzbee, who is licensed to practice law in Texas and New York, the total number of alleged victims he is representing is 120, with half of them being men and the other half women who hail from more than 25 states across the US.

He added that 25 of the alleged victims he is representing were minors. This marks the first time that Mr Combs has been accused of sexually abusing children.

The allegations span between 1991 to as recently as this year with the incidents taking place in Los Angeles, New York and Miami, Mr Buzbee said. He added most of the incidents occurred after 2015.

Most of the plaintiffs, he said, allege they were date raped after parties hosted by Mr Combs that were held at well-known venues, as well as private residences and hotels.

Mr Buzbee said the parties were either to mark an album release, or were New Year’s Eve parties and US Independence Day parties. Others occurred at what he said were auditions.

“Many times, especially young people wanting to break into the industry, were coerced into this type of conduct in the promise of being made a star or the promise of having Sean Combs listen to their tape,” Mr Buzbee said.

One man, who was aged nine at the time, alleges he was sexually abused by Mr Combs and his associates at a recording studio in New York while trying to land a record deal, according to his lawyer.

“Had he not been in power, I feel I could’ve been something great. I quit the industry because of what Sean Combs did to me,” he said in a statement via his lawyer.

Another man, who was also a minor at the time, alleged he was told by Mr Combs he would be made a “star”, but he first needed to visit the rapper alone without his parents.

Once in a private area, his lawyer claimed Mr Combs then requested the boy perform oral sex on him.

Mr Buzbee also raised the case of a then-15-year-old girl who alleges she was flown to New York for a party hosted by Mr Combs and was subsequently raped by him and others.

The lawyer claimed there was a clear modus operandi with alleged victims typically being offered “laced” drinks before being sexually assaulted.

“The biggest secret in the entertainment industry has finally been revealed to the world,” Mr Buzbee said. “The wall of silence has now been broken.”

He added that this is not a class action lawsuit and that there will be individual cases filed for each alleged victim.

Andrew Van Arsdale, an attorney at the AVA law group which is working with Mr Buzbee, said his firm had received more than 3,000 phone calls from people alleging abuse by the music mogul.

In addition to the 120 alleged victims, he said his firm were working to vet another 100 cases.

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Major US ports will stay shut until pay demands are met, the union boss representing striking dockworkers has said.

Harold Daggett, head of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), made the vow on a picket line in New Jersey on Tuesday, as tens of thousands of dockworkers on the east and gulf coasts walked out in a bid to win a better labour deal.

“We’re going to fight for it and we’re going to win or this port will never open up again,” he said. “I’m not playing games here.”

Businesses are bracing for the possibility of a prolonged ports shut down, which threatens to cause havoc to global trade and the US economy.

President Joe Biden has so far rebuffed calls by some of country’s biggest business groups to use federal power to reopen the ports for 80 days, suspending the strike to provide a cooling-off period for further negotiation.

“It’s only fair that workers, who put themselves at risk during the pandemic to keep ports open, see a meaningful increase in their wages as well,” Biden said.

“Now is not the time for ocean carriers to refuse to negotiate a fair wage for these essential workers while raking in record profits.”

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump also backed the striking port workers.

“American workers should be able to negotiate for better wages, especially since the shipping companies are mostly foreign flag vessels”, he said in a statement.

The strike, the first since 1977 for the ILA, has brought to a halt container traffic across 14 of the country’s busiest ports, including in New York, Georgia and Texas.

The ports are estimated by experts to handle more than a third of the US’s imports and exports. Disruption could lead to delays on goods deliveries for businesses and consumers.

The president said officials would be on the alert for signs of prices being unfairly hiked in the event of potential shortages.

Talks on a new deal were stalled for months ahead of the strike, but the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), which represents shipping firms and port associations, said that the two sides had started to trade proposals again.

Under the 2018 contract that expired on Monday, dockworkers earned a base hourly wage of $20-$39, as well as other benefits, including royalties tied to container traffic.

USMX said its most recent offer would boost pay by nearly 50%, triple company contributions to retirement and improve healthcare, among other concessions.

The organisation said the offer exceeded “every other recent union settlement” and called the current stand-off “completely unavoidable”.

“We look forward to hearing from the union about how we can return to the table and actually bargain, which is the only way to reach a resolution,” it said.

However, the ILA’s Mr Daggett said that there had been “nothing” so far to bring the union and companies together to end the strike.

He said he was prepared to keep the ports shut until companies agreed to boost hourly pay by $5 for each year of the contract. The union, which has about 47,000 active members according to federal filings, is also seeking protections against automation.

“I’m going to fight for it because those greedy companies are making billions of dollars and they don’t want to share,” he said. “I want my members taken care of for the rest of their lives and that’s why we’re out here.”

If prolonged, the stoppage is expected to lead to higher prices and shortages in the US, with shipping delays and other impacts rippling out across the world.

“We are seeing now that ships are starting to anchor outside of the ports waiting to see what is going to happen,” said Anne-Sophie Fribourg, a vice president at freight forwarding firm Zencargo, which organises shipments for exporters and importers.

“The disruption is going to be massive if the strike lasts,” she said.

Hamid Moghadam, chief executive of Prologis, one of the biggest warehouse companies in the world and landlord to the likes of Amazon, said while the strike was not a shock, it was “nonetheless” going to hurt the economy.

“It’s going to interfere with the proper functioning of the flow of goods,” he told the BBC.

Already 100,000 containers are in limbo waiting to be unloaded in the New York area, and another 35 ships are expected to arrive this week, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said.

Danny Reynolds, the owner of Stephenson’s, a 93-year-old clothing store in Elkhart, Indiana, said he had paid extra to expedite shipments of sweaters and coats into the country ahead of the strike.

But about 25% of his inventory has yet to arrive and he has his fingers crossed it has been unloaded. He said he was most worried about potential delivery days for special-order bridal gowns for November and December weddings.

“Where we get concerned is where we have special order merchandise for people’s wedding days that could be locked up on a ship unable to get to us. That’s a hard thing to explain to a potential bride,” he said.

About 75% of his merchandise is routed through east coast ports, he added. He explained while he expected his business to be able to function through the end of the year, he feared the wider impact.

“I think the results to the economy could be devastating if this goes on,” he suggested, adding that he wanted to see the president step in.

“I think it’s beyond time, quite honestly, for the Biden administration to sit down at the table with them and see what can’t be done to open this things back up.”

A Chinese woman has been arrested in Leipzig on suspicion of passing information about Leipzig/Halle airport, which is used as a key transport hub for the German defence industry, to Chinese intelligence.

German prosecutors said that Yaqi X, 38, had been working for a company providing logistics services at the airport.

Prosecutors said she had repeatedly sent details on flights, passengers and military cargo transport to another figure who worked for China’s secret services. The airport is considered an important centre for defence exports, particularly to Ukraine.

A second suspect, Jian G, was detained earlier this year.

He had worked as an aide for a member of the European Parliament from Germany’s far-right AfD party.

Yaqi X was remanded in custody and her home and workplace searched.

Between August 2023 and February 2024, prosecutors allege she had given Jian G information on the transport of military equipment and people linked to an unnamed German arms company.

German sources told public broadcaster ARD that the defence company involved was Rheinmetall, Germany’s biggest defence firm which has been heavily involved in supplying Ukraine with weapons, armoured vehicles and military equipment.

Yaqi X’s case appears to be linked to a spying case that unfolded last April involving parliamentary aide Jian G.

The MEP he had worked for, Maximilian Krah, dismissed Jian G as his assistant. Krah’s office in Brussels was searched by police, although there was no indication that he was involved.

Jian G was alleged to have spied on Chinese dissidents in Germany as well as passing information on the European Parliament to Chinese intelligence.

He had previously worked for dissident groups and had taken up German citizenship after coming to Germany in 2002.

Mech Dara, an award-winning Cambodian journalist who has reported extensively on human trafficking and corruption, has been arrested and charged with incitement.

Dara, who has reported for the BBC, has been charged over five social media posts which could “incite social unrest”, a court spokesperson said. He faces up to two years in jail.

Last year US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken honoured him for his work exposing online scam operations based in Cambodia.

Rights groups have spoken out over his arrest, while the US Embassy in Cambodia said it was “deeply troubled” by the news.

Dara was detained after being stopped at a highway toll booth on the border of Koh Kong and Sihanouk province in south-west Cambodia on Monday.

A relative in the car with Dara told the BBC that they were waiting to go through the booth when one military police car, accompanied by five other cars, pulled up alongside them.

“We got him,” one said while they were detaining Dara, his relative recounted, adding that Dara told his family not to worry as he was being taken away.

Local rights group Licadho reported that Dara messaged them, explaining that he had been arrested, before his phone was taken away.

His whereabouts were then not known for almost 24 hours, when he appeared in court in the capital Phnom Penh and was charged with incitement to commit a felony. He was sent to pre-trial detention and faces between six months and two years in jail if found guilty.

Phnom Penh Municipal Court spokesperson Y Rin told the BBC that the charges were related to five social media posts made in September, but did not elaborate.

In a statement, the court said the Facebook posts showed “edited pictures” of a “tourist attraction” which it said were “fake”.

Is said the posts were “full of ill-intention – inciting, causing anger among the public that was intended to make people think bad of the government”.

The vague charge of incitement is often used in Cambodia against government critics.

One of Dara’s relatives, who also works as a journalist but requested anonymity due to fear of reprisals, said Dara had been denied access to a lawyer and they were “so concerned” about his safety.

“The authorities didn’t show us any official arrest warrant or court papers. I’ve lost hope, I’m so concerned about practising journalism in Cambodia now,” the relative said.

One of Cambodia’s most prominent journalists, Mech Dara has been at the forefront of investigating the country’s cyberscam compounds, which are staffed mostly by trafficked workers.

Often victims are lured by adverts promising easy work and extravagant perks. Once they arrive in the country, they are held prisoner and forced to work in online scam centres. Those who do not comply face threats to their safety. Many have been subject to torture and inhuman treatment.

Last year, Mr Blinken awarded Dara the US State Department’s human trafficking Hero Award for his work.

The US State Department said it was aware of reports of his arrest and was “following developments closely with great concern”.

The US Embassy in Phnom Penh said it was “deeply troubled” by Dara’s arrest and called for his release, calling him a “leading voice against human trafficking and online scams”.

Last month, the US sanctioned powerful Cambodian tycoon and ruling party senator Ly Yong Phat – nicknamed the “king of Koh Kong” after his influence over his home province – over alleged connections to the cyberscam industry.

The Cambodian government said the sanctions were politically motivated.

Rights groups have voiced concern over Mech Dara’s arrest.

Bryony Lau, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said “Mech Dara is a respected journalist who has reported on important topics in the public interest such as online scam centres. Yet Cambodian authorities appear to have wrongfully arrested him yesterday.

“They should immediately release him.”

Phil Robertson, director of Asia Human Rights and Labour Advocates (AHRLA), called Dara’s arrest “outrageous and unacceptable” and “is emblematic of the Cambodian government’s repressive, over the top reaction to any sort of criticism from the media”.

Cambodia’s independent media landscape has been hit hard in recent years, with publications including the Cambodia Daily and Voice of Democracy – both of which Dara worked for – closed down by authorities.

The bodies of 20 children and three teachers have been recovered after a bus transporting school pupils crashed and caught fire outside Bangkok.

The bus was returning to the Thai capital after a school trip to the north of the country.

Videos from the scene showed flames engulfing the bus as it burned under an overpass, with huge clouds of dense black smoke billowing into the sky.

The driver handed himself in to police 100km (61 miles) north of Bangkok, according to local media.

Footage taken shortly after the fatal crash showed the driver attempting to extinguish the fire but he reportedly fled the scene.

Witnesses say the bus crashed into the concrete barrier dividing the highway just north of Bangkok, after a front tyre burst.

The bus was quickly consumed by an intense fire, and many on board were unable to get out. The cause of the fire is still unknown.

Nineteen children and three teachers are reported to have survived, sixteen of whom are being treated in hospital for their injuries.

Transport Minister Suriyahe Juangroongruangkit said the bus was powered by “extremely risky” compressed natural gas.

“This is a very tragic incident,” Mr Suriyahe told reporters at the scene.

“The ministry must find a measure… if possible, for passenger vehicles like this to be banned from using this type of fuel because it’s extremely risky.”

Piyalak Thinkaew, who was leading the search, said it was hard to identify the bodies because they were so badly burnt.

“Some of the bodies we found were very, very small,” he told reporters at the scene, adding that the fire started at the front of the bus.

“The kids’ instinct was to escape to the back so the bodies were there,” he said.

Forensic police said of the 23 bodies found, eleven were male, seven female and a further five were unidentifiable.

The ages of the children on board remains unclear, but the school caters for pupils between three and 15 years old.

Thailand has one of the worst road safety records in the world, with unsafe vehicles and poor driving contributing to roughly 20,000 fatalities a year.

Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, said an investigation was underway. “We have to investigate the trace of driving from the tire marks, the burning trace, and CCTV footage,” he said.

Last week, authorities in the Indian city of Kolkata announced plans to eliminate trams entirely, retaining only a small heritage loop. In response, a group of activists is fighting to ensure that trams remain a vital mode of transport rather than mere nostalgic joyrides. Sandip Roy reports.

In February 2023, Kolkata celebrated 150 years of its tramways with music, cake, a beauty parade of vintage trams, including a century-old wooden car, and a cheerful tram conductor, Roberto D’Andrea, who travelled all the way from Melbourne, Australia.

Melbourne and Kolkata boast two of the oldest operational tramways in the world. Melbourne’s trams date back to 1885. Kolkata’s first tram, a horse-drawn one, started in 1873.

That’s where the similarities end.

Melbourne’s tram system is going strong despite the government once attempting to get rid of them. The system has been upgraded and some trams are solar-powered.

• In pictures: India’s fading trams

Kolkata’s trams have been steadily declining over the years. From 52 routes in the 1970s, down to 25 in 2015 and now to just three.

The tram cars rattle and wheeze, having not been updated in years. Even the signs inside have not changed. “Beware of pickpockets”, “No change available for 100 rupees ($1.19; $0.89) or 50” and “To stop the car please ring the bell only once”.

Now, the state government has announced that it wants to do away with trams entirely, save for one small loop as a heritage route.

But a dogged group of tram activists is fighting back.

“It’s a huge backward step as cities worldwide are ‘decarbonising transport’ because of global warming and climate change,” says Mr D’Andrea, who has helped foster a Kolkata-Melbourne tram friendship over the years.

“More than 400 cities run tram systems. Cities that dismantled their tramways are rebuilding them at great expense in places like Sydney and Helsinki and all over France. Hong Kong runs trams at high frequency on narrow streets,” he says.

But West Bengal transport minister Snehasis Chakraborty told the media: “The population and vehicular count of Kolkata have multiplied several times but the city’s roads have not widened. Road space continues to hover around 6% which is way less than Mumbai’s 18% and Delhi’s 10%.”

Both those cities once had trams. Mumbai had double-decker ones. Both have done away with them, leaving Kolkata as the only Indian city to hold onto the trundling streetcars.

In a way they have become emblematic of the city itself.

The city has other landmarks – the steel Howrah bridge, the white-domed Victoria Memorial monument, the colonial buildings in the city’s centre. But just as London has its iconic red double-decker buses, Kolkata has its trams. The ding-ding sound of the first tram of the day rattling down streets was the alarm clock many in Kolkata woke up to.

They are a familiar sight in films made in the state.

“I have used trams in two of my films and the tram depot as well,” says filmmaker Anjan Dutt.

Mahanagar (1963), by celebrated filmmaker Satyajit Ray, opens with a stunning two-minute-long tram sequence, sparks flying from the overhead cables before the camera moves inside to settle on the protagonist’s tired face as he returns home from work. Here, the tram stands in for the city itself, both its dreams and the daily grind.

In fact, Kolkata’s Belgachia tram depot, once bustling with workmen repairing, maintaining, even building trams, nowadays often doubles as a film set. “Even on a working day I saw films being shot in the workshop,” says Subir Bose, a tram company worker who retired in 2022 after 39 years of service. “A Kolkata film means they have to show a tram.”

Trams are very much part of the history of the city and its sense of itself.

In 1902, Calcutta as it was known then, became the first Asian city with electric trams. Even after independence, the Calcutta Tramways Company was run from London and was listed on the London Stock Exchange till 1968. The cars were built by companies with names like Burn Standard and Jessop.

And it wasn’t just a transportation system. The tram lines knit the city together.

When bloody Hindu-Muslim riots gripped Calcutta during partition in 1947, tram workers patrolled the city in empty trams to help restore normalcy.

“My own father helped save some people from a mob,” says tram driver Gopal Ram. “Tram workers were like a family. It didn’t matter if you were Hindu or Muslim.”

Mr Ram’s great grandfather Antu Ram was a tram employee from the steam-powered days. His grandfather Mahavir and father Jagannath worked for the trams as well. Mr Ram retired recently, the fourth and last generation of his family in Kolkata trams.

In some ways, the mystery is that Kolkata’s trams have survived this long.

“In the 1950s and 60s, during the personal automobile boom, people were getting rid of trams everywhere, not just in India,” says transport consultant Suvendu Seth.

“Now they are making a comeback. The light rail in many cities in the United States is just a newer version of trams. It’s sad that we had it all the time and are neglecting it instead of improving it.”

Mr Seth says that instead of complaining about lack of road space, an innovative solution could be to make some roads open only to pedestrians and trams.

Debashis Bhattacharyya, a retired academic and president of the Calcutta Tram Users Association, thinks trams survived in Kolkata all these years because they connected the city’s schools, hospitals and cinemas.

In the 1990s, as the count of cars and buses increased, the then Communist government in the state called trams “obsolete” and wanted to get rid of them.

“I protested,” says Mr Bhattacharyya. “If trams went, I felt my whole existence was threatened. I did exhibitions, slide shows, brought in foreign experts. The government should be applying for UNESCO heritage status for trams instead of trying to kill it off. ”

Recently, activists have been trying to use culture to save trams.

Since 1996, filmmaker Mahadeb Shi has been organising the Tramjatra festival, often in collaboration with Mr D’Andrea. Art students paint the trams and local bands perform in the streetcars.

Each Tramjatra has a theme, like Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s Gitanjali or the city’s Durga Puja festival.

“Tramjatra helped expose younger people to trams too,” says Shi.

One north Kolkata tram route was reopened recently. The West Bengal Transport Corporation also tried to make trams cool again with special projects like a tram library, an Independence Day special tram and a short-lived Tram World museum.

When Kolkata received a C40 Cities “Green Mobility” award in Copenhagen in 2019, mayor Firhad Hakim said trams were a key part of his vision to make the city’s transportation all-electric by 2030.

But now he seems to have forgotten that pledge. The government admits trams are a “green” mode of transport but says they are investing in other forms instead – electric buses and cars and expanding the underground metro system.

Mr Bhattacharyya says tram routes have been gobbled up by tuk-tuks which generate more employment and votes for the government. The tram depots also sit on valuable real estate the government can sell.

But Shi insists the final bell hasn’t rung yet, as the issue is now with the Calcutta High Court, which formed an advisory committee last year to explore how Kolkata’s tram services can be restored and maintained, with the state awaiting the committee’s report before taking further action.

Mr Bose, the retired tram worker, says the government could have shut down the trams long ago, but that something held it back every time. Perhaps because it too senses what trams mean for the city, he says.

“Three things made Kolkata Kolkata – the Howrah Bridge, the Victoria Memorial and the trams. It’s heart-breaking to think we could be losing one of them.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has survived a second non-confidence motion in parliament in as many weeks.

The motion, brought by the opposition Conservatives, was aimed at bringing down his minority Liberal government and triggering a federal election.

The motion failed after Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre again fell short in his effort to gain the backing of other political parties in parliament.

Poilievre tabled this second non-confidence motion the day after his last one failed.

This motion accused the government of failing Canadians on affordable housing, the cost of living, and crime – key issues that the Conservatives have been using to hammer the Liberals for months.

The vote needed the majority of the 338 members of parliament (MPs) in order for it to pass.

After all the votes were counted, 121 voted for the motion while 207 voted against it.

In a statement following the vote, Poilievre blamed the NDP and the Bloc Québécois for its failure, saying the former had “sold out working Canadians” while the latter is “letting down Quebecers”.

The Bloc Québécois, which represents the interests of Quebec, Canada’s French-speaking province, had issued an ultimatum to the Liberals for its continued support.

The sovereigntist party gave the government a 29 October deadline to pass two bills, one increasing pensions for seniors and one to bolster protections on Canada’s supply management system, which controls production quotas and imports on dairy and poultry products.

On Tuesday, it tabled its own motion calling on the Trudeau government to support their seniors’ bill.

Meanwhile, the NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said indicated last week that his party would not support the Conservative motion.

Several other non-confidence motions are expected to be tabled in the coming weeks, including a third that has been put forward by the Conservatives.

Trudeau has been Canada’s prime minister for nine years and has been facing growing pressure to resign over concerns he is a drag on his party’s fortunes.

The Conservatives have been leading the Liberals by a wide margin in opinion surveys for months.

His Liberal party lost two consequential by-elections this summer in Toronto and Montreal, both in strongholds previously held by the party for years.

A deal between the Liberal party and the NDP had helped Trudeau stay in power since Canada’s last federal election in 2021.

The deal collapsed last month after Singh pulled out from the deal, saying that the Liberals are “too weak” to govern.

Six people have been killed in a local market area in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson.

According to regional authorities the Russian shelling happened at around 09:00 (06:00 GMT). That was just as people across Ukraine had stopped to remember their war dead.

“Defenders Day” is held annually in honour of the armed forces.

The shelling, near a local market and bus stop, was probably from Russian “barrel artillery”, according to the region’s prosecutor’s office.

One image, from local media, showed a body lying on the pavement by boxes of fruit.

Moscow has repeatedly denied targeting civilians.

Initial reports said seven had died doctors were able to save one person who had been “considered dead”.

Kherson was occupied by Russian troops shortly after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and was liberated by Ukraine in November.

It still lies extremely close to the frontline with fierce fighting on the other side of the Dnipro River.

It was at 08:55 on Tuesday that people in Kyiv and throughout Ukraine observed a10-minute silence for Defenders Day.

A small crowd had gathered at a memorial site on Maidan Square in Kyiv.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, thousands of Ukrainian flags have been planted here alongside framed pictures of fallen soldiers.

Halyna’s 29 year old son, Kostyantyn, was killed fighting in the Kherson region in July 2022.

“He was a platoon leader, a junior lieutenant,” Halyna told the BBC, clinging on to a photo of him, holding back tears.

“He was a very nice guy. His comrades came recently and told how he fought and how he died. It’s very hard for me.”

As the silence began, we watched as cars stopped in the middle of a busy road and people stood solemnly in the streets in a moment that felt charged with emotion, sorrow and intense national pride.

Soon, the sound of the Ukrainian national anthem could be heard echoing through the still streets.

It was at around that time that the strike on Kherson city took place in southern Ukraine.

Separately, 21 people have reportedly been wounded due to Russian glide bombs hitting residential and industrial areas in the city of Zaporizhzhia.

On the front line in Ukraine’s east, Russian troops continue to press hard and Donetsk regional head Vadym Filashkin has said they have almost reached the centre of the town of Vuhledar.

Just 107 people are said to remain in the bombed out town with children already evacuated and humanitarian aid “almost impossible” to deliver – according to Filashkin.

As part of Defenders Day, President Volodymyr Zelensky paid tribute to those who had been killed in the fighting, saying: “You sacrifice yourselves so that Ukraine does not have to be sacrificed.”

Yuliya’s partner, Bogdan, served as an army medic treating people during the devastating siege of Mariupol before he was captured by Russian troops.

“I have a daughter, she’s five years old so I think she helps me a lot because she’s my sense now to live. I need to be strong. And I need to be now a mother and a father in one person.”

Bogdan was one of dozens who died in the July 2022 explosion at Olenivka prison, which Kyiv believes was a deliberate attempt by Russia to destroy evidence of war crimes although Moscow blamed Ukrainian missiles.

For countless Ukrainian families, remembrance is a private act, as well as a public one.

Yuliya says she wants to her daughter to remember her father: “What he did for us and everything we have now is because of him. He was protecting us.”

Mark Rutte, the new secretary general of Nato, said he does not see any imminent threat of nuclear weapons being used by Russia despite “reckless and irresponsible” rhetoric by the Kremlin.

Last week, President Vladimir Putin said Russia was considering changing its military doctrine to regard an attack from a non-nuclear state – such as Ukraine – that was backed by a nuclear-armed one to be a “joint attack”.

Putin’s comments came as Ukraine sought approval to use long-range Western missiles against military sites in Russia.

The former Dutch prime minister was speaking at his first press conference since taking over as head of the military alliance.

Rutte said that while he supported Ukraine’s right to carry out such strikes, it was up to allies to lift restrictions and called for Nato countries to continue arming Ukraine, saying that “the more we help Ukraine at the moment, the sooner [the war] will end.”

“The cost of supporting Ukraine is far, far lower, than the cost we would face if we allow Putin to get his way,” Rutte said, reiterating his predecessor’s commitment to bringing Ukraine closer to Nato membership.

He acknowledged that the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine – where Russia is making slow but steady progress – was “difficult”.

However, Rutte also pointed out that Russia’s gains were limited and had come at a high cost, quoting estimates that 1,000 Russian soldiers were being killed or wounded every day.

• What is Nato, which countries are members and when might Ukraine join?

At his first press conference as Nato chief, Rutte said the three priorities for his term as secretary general would be to support Ukraine, to bolster Nato’s collective deterrence and to build relationships in other parts of the world, such as the Indo-Pacific.

When asked about former US president and current presidential candidate Donald Trump – who had a fractious relationship with Nato – Rutte praised him for persuading more allies to spend more on defence and for highlighting the challenge posed by Russia.

“He was the one pushing us to spend more,” Rutte said, and pointed out that Nato member countries currently are at a much higher spending level than when Trump took office in 2017.

He also said that Trump’s opponent, Kamala Harris, was a “highly respected leader” and vowed to work with whoever will win the US presidential election next month.

Like his predecessor, Rutte called for Nato countries to spend more and acknowledged that the Netherlands should have reached the target of spending 2% of GDP on defence sooner.

Mark Rutte, 57, was prime minister of the Netherlands until he stepped down earlier this year following the collapse of his coalition government in 2023.

In June, he was appointed as the next secretary general of Nato.

The term normally lasts four years, but Rutte’s predecessor, the Norwegian economist and former prime minister Jens Stoltenberg, ended up staying in post for ten years.

Over that decade, Nato went from the “brain death” French President Emmanuel Macron warned about in 2019 to a revamped military alliance that now counts Sweden and Finland among its members.

In a final farewell message before leaving the job on Tuesday, Stoltenberg said that the last ten years had been “momentous”.

Wishing Mark Rutte good luck, he said he was sure that Nato was in safe hands.

Three children have been injured – one of them seriously – in a knife attack at a daycare centre in the Swiss city of Zurich.

A spokesperson for the city’s police force said a 23-year-old Chinese man attacked a group of children who were being led to the centre by a staff member.

A daycare worker and a bystander managed to overpower the attacker and restrain him until police arrived.

A five-year-old boy suffered serious injuries and was being treated in hospital. Two other five-year-old boys were treated at the scene for less severe injuries.

Officers have yet to reveal a motive for the attack, which took place shortly after 12:00 local time (11:00 BST) in the near the Bernina shopping centre in Oerlikon, an area in the north of Zurich.

Police said an investigation was continuing and local media reported heavily armed officers were guarding the scene on Tuesday afternoon, while a drone flew overhead.

NZZ, a Swiss media outlet, said police searched a residential building near the daycare. It is unclear whether the operation was connected to the attack.

Kenya’s embattled Deputy President, Rigathi Gachagua, calls himself the “truthful man”, attributing his remarkable rise to the fact that he speaks truth to power.

But as he faces impeachment proceedings, he says these troubles are also a result of his outspoken nature.

Before he was elected MP in 2017, little was known about the man who would, in five short years, rise to become Kenya’s second-in-command.

Not many people outside Gachagua’s central Kenya constituency had heard of him or his style of politics.

Gachagua captured the limelight in the run-up to the 2022 elections, when he vehemently opposed President Uhuru Kenyatta’s choice of preferred successor.

Kenyatta was campaigning heavily for former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

But Gachagua allied himself with William Ruto, Kenyatta’s then deputy, who was angling for the presidency that his boss did not want to bequeath to him.

• How Kenya’s president has fallen out with his deputy

At political rallies and in media circles, Gachagua railed against Kenyatta, often in words that other politicians would find cringeworthy.

“Don’t kill me the way your father killed JM Kariuki,” he said at a rally in July 2022, referring to an MP who was killed in 1975 during the administration of Jomo Kenyatta, the nation’s first president and the father of Uhuru Kenyatta.

To this day, no one has been found guilty of Kariuki’s death.

Before he became Kenya’s deputy president, police raided Gachagua’s home and arrested him in relation to a corruption and money-laundering case. The charges were dropped after he and Ruto took power following the 2022 election.

He had helped Ruto win by marshalling support in Mount Kenya – the biggest voting bloc in the country. Both Gachagua and Kenyatta come from there. Kenyatta had tried to rally Mount Kenya’s voters to throw their weight behind Odinga, but he failed.

Long before Kenyatta became president in 2013, Gachagua had worked closely with him, including as his personal assistant for five years.

But after teaming up with Ruto, Gachagua went from being Kenyatta’s “confidant” to one of his harshest critics.

However, since falling out with his current boss, Gachagua has apologised to Kenyatta, saying it was “foolish” of him to have “fought my own brother”.

This humility is in sharp contrast to his rhetoric as Ruto’s running-mate – analyst Javas Bigamo had even described Gachagua as a “feared political bulldog that Ruto needed to be able to counter President Kenyatta in the central region”.

Gachagua was praised as an excellent mobiliser, who had the ear of ordinary people on the ground.

Yet he was probably not the person many expected to take the deputy position, given that Gachagua had only being a politician for five years and was up against more seasoned candidates.

Ruto explained he had chosen Gachagua because “he is one of those leaders who are passionate about ordinary people”.

Politics expert Bobby Mkangi previously told the BBC that Gachagua’s ability to negotiate his way to the top “considering other names that were fronted and were known nationally” was “quite something”.

But just two years after ascending to power, that ability seems to have fizzled out – leaving Gachagua butting heads with the president and in a position where many legislators are pushing for his removal.

He stands accused of corruption, money-laundering, gross misconduct, insubordination and bullying public officers and six other acts of wrongdoing.

As the motion was being tabled in parliament on Tuesday, the MP introducing the motion, Mwengi Mutuse, said that 291 out of 349 MPs had signed the document pushing for Gachagua’s removal.

The signatures of two-thirds – or 233 – of all MPs are required to impeach him.

Mkangi now says the deputy president has been “unable to consolidate the support of his base and the politicians around him”.

Gachagua has always been accused of being brash and aggressive – it was one of the reasons some argued against his selection to the running mate position prior to the 2022 election. But in recent months, this criticism has increased.

He denies this assessment of his character, along with assertions that he alienates his fellow politicians.

He says all he does is “speak the truth”, which he insists has made him unpopular within certain political factions.

“I will not compromise my principles,” he said over the weekend as calls for his impeachment came to a crescendo.

Gachagua has often identified himself as a child of the Mau Mau freedom fighters, who battled British colonial rule.

He was born in 1965 to parents who he has said were well known for their involvement in the struggle for freedom. His father built and serviced guns and his mother was a courier of ammunition and food for the fighters, Gachagua said.

His lineage has painted him as a champion of people in central Kenya, many of whom are descendants of independence struggle icons, but still continue to fight for economic freedom.

A popular catchphrase associated with the deputy president is “don’t touch the mountain”, a reference to his support base in the Mount Kenya region. However, he has also been accused of promoting tribalism rather than being a unifying figure.

But Gachagua has defended himself, insisting that speaking for the central Kenya region is not the same as antagonising other communities.

• Batons, tear gas, live fire – Kenyans face police brutality
• Kenyan president’s humbling shows power of African youth

Before joining politics, Gachagua had had a long career.

After completing university, he began working as a public administrator in government, and as a district officer in different locations across the country.

The district administrators of that time, during Daniel arap Moi’s presidency, were known for their high-handedness. It is an accusation that has stuck with him, including in present circumstances.

He worked as Kenyatta’s personal assistant between 2001 and 2006 – at a time when Kenyatta was a minister, presidential candidate and later the leader of the opposition.

Gachagua is a wealthy politician, having built a fortune in business over the years. He is married to a pastor, Dorcas, and they have two adult sons.

In 2017, he vied for the Mathira constituency seat, winning the position that had earlier been held by his elder brother, Nderitu Gachagua.

It is at this time that Gachagua’s fiery character and political abilities started attracting attention.

Yet his public utterances, before and since he became deputy president, have at times been seen as blunders or straight-up disgraceful comments.

He said last year that government was like a shareholding company, with those that voted for the current administration being more deserving of government appointments and contracts.

Senator Danson Mungatana last week said Gachagua’s words have “marginalised sections of Kenyans, created and continue to heighten ethnic tensions”.

Gachagua has often defended himself, but recently he acknowledged that in the end, it may be the very same thing that catapulted him to the top that will lead to his downfall: his way with words.

• How Kenya’s president has fallen out with his deputy
• Batons, tear gas, live fire – Kenyans face police brutality
• Kenyan president’s humbling shows power of African youth

Tuesday night’s vice-presidential debate between Republican JD Vance and Democrat Tim Walz was a civil, relatively restrained conversation about issues facing American voters during the 2024 campaign.

In that, it was unlike the two presidential debates earlier this year.

There were moments when Vance bristled at what he though was unfair fact-checking from the two CBS moderators, and at one point microphones of both candidates were temporarily muted. But for the most part, the exchanges between the two candidates – and the candidates and the moderators – were civil.

There were even times when they agreed – and said so.

“There’s a lot of commonality here,” Walz said toward the end of the evening.

When the topic turned to affordable housing, co-moderator Nora O’Donnell noted that both candidates seemed to care strongly. And when Walz spoke of his 17-year-old witnessing a shooting at a community center, Vance seemed genuinely concerned.

“I’m sorry about that and I hope he’s doing OK,” Vance said. “Christ have mercy, it is awful.”

But the two arrived with different images and skills, which was evident from the start of the debate.

Vance typically has a smoother delivery and appears more experienced on television, while Walz has a more down-to-earth, everyman feel.

Early on, Vance’s answers Tuesday night flowed clearly and he seemed more confident, while Walz stumbled, seeming uncomfortable, stilted and unfamiliar with certain topics.

A tempered debate, with few political body blows, also probably served Vance best in the end, as it gave him space to defend running mate Donald Trump, and smooth over some of the former president’s rougher edges.

If Vance was picked because he puts ideological meat on the bones of Trump’s conservative populism, on Tuesday night Vance put a polite, humble face on them, as well.

“Something these guys do is they make a lot of claims about if Donald Trump becomes president, all of these terrible consequences are going to ensue,” he said. “But in reality, Donald Trump was president. Inflation was low. Take home pay was higher.”

The most vigorous disagreements came toward the end of the debate, on the topic of Trump’s repeated claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

Vance, when asked if Trump lost the last presidential election, dodged the question and criticised what he said was Kamala Harris’s censorship.

Walz quickly noted that it was a “damning non-answer”.

“To deny what happened on January 6, the first time an American president or anyone tried to overturn an election, this has got to stop. “It’s tearing our country apart.”

Walz went on to say that the only reason Mike Pence, Trump’s previous vice-president, was not on stage was because he certified President Joe Biden’s victory.

Vance had no answer to that, highlighting that beyond his friendly demeanour and agreeability, he would not break from Trump’s unsubstantiated claims.

Vance and Walz entered this debate with different skill sets. Vance has sparred with journalists on television in heated exchanges. Walz is at home on the campaign stump, using his folksy style in contrast to more polished politicians.

In the early part of this debate, with both candidates standing behind podiums in a New York City television studio, Vance seemed much more comfortable. His answers were smooth, and relentlessly on-message, constantly reminding the audience that for all of Vice-President Kamala Harris’s promises, Democrats have held the White House for the past three and a half years.

“If Kamala Harris has such great plans for how to address middle class problems, then she ought to do them now,” he said.

Walz, for his part, seemed halting and unsure on the opening topic, dealing with Tuesday’s Iranian missile attack on Israel. The Minnesota governor rarely talks about foreign policy, and his discomfort on the subject was apparent.

The Democrat settled in as the debate moved along, and during his exchanges with Vance on the topic of immigration – an area of strength for the Republicans – both delivered well-honed messages.

Vance deflected accusations that he amplified false claims about Haitian immigrants stealing and eating pets in Ohio.

“The people I’m most worried about in Springfield, Ohio are the American citizens who have had their lives ruined by Kamala Harris’s border policies,” he said.

Vance said undocumented migration burdens city resources, drives up prices and pushes down wages.

Walz pointed to Trump’s opposition to proposed bipartisan immigration legislation earlier this year.

“I believe Senator Vance wants to solve this, but by standing with Donald Trump and not working together to find a solution, it becomes a talking point, and when it becomes a talking point like this, we dehumanize and villainize other human beings.”

When the topic turned to abortion – an area of strength for Democrats, according to polls – it was Vance who played defence, acknowledging that Republicans have to work to earn the trust of American voters.

“I want us as a Republican Party to be pro-family in the fullest sense of the word,” he said. “I want us to make it easier for moms to afford to have babies. There’s so much we can do on the public policy front just to give women more options.”

Walz countered by saying that the Democratic view on abortion is simple: “We are pro-women. We are pro-freedom to make your own choice.”

If Walz was more pointed on abortion, he declined to push his attacks when the subject turned to gun control.

After Vance said that it was important to increase security in schools, making doors and windows “stronger”, Walz talked up background checks rather than endorsing Democratic calls for bans on assault weapons and other limitations firearms.

As a congressman, Walz regularly voted in favour of gun rights and against many gun control measures, winning the praise of the pro-gun National Rifle Association. During the debate he said his views on gun control changed after the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting, but some Democrats may be disappointed he did not press Vance more Tuesday night.

American political history suggests that vice-presidential debates don’t really matter.

In 1988, Democrat Lloyd Bentsen dismantled Republican Dan Quayle. A few months later, Quayle was sworn in as vice-president after his ticket won in a landslide.

It may turn out that this debate is similarly irrelevant to November’s results. Unless there is a last minute debate announced, however, it will be the last word both parties have on a debate stage before Election Day.

Walz did no harm to the Democratic ticket and showed some of the midwestern charm that made him Harris’s choice.

But Vance’s strong performance is likely to buoy Republicans in the days ahead.

And the debate’s lasting impact may be to convince members of his party that the Ohio senator – who is only 40 – has a future in national conservative politics, given his ability to clearly advance their ideological priorities on the brightest of stages.

LIVE COVERAGE: Vance-Walz debate

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?

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

• Tim Walz: Harris’s pick for vice-president
• Donald Trump: A quick guide to the Republican candidate
• Kamala Harris: A quick guide to the Democratic candidate

• JD Vance: Trump’s second in command
• Kamala Harris: A quick guide to the Democratic candidate
• Donald Trump: A quick guide to the Republican candidate

Voters in the US go to the polls on 5 November to elect their next president.

The election was initially a rematch of 2020 but it was upended in July when President Joe Biden ended his campaign and endorsed Vice-President Kamala Harris.

The big question now is – will America get its first woman president or a second Donald Trump term?

As election day approaches, we’ll be keeping track of the polls and seeing what effect the campaign has on the race for the White House.

Harris has been ahead of Trump in the national polling averages since she entered the race at the end of July, as shown in the chart below with the latest figures rounded to the nearest whole number.

The two candidates went head to head in a televised debate in Pennsylvania on 10 September that just over 67 million people tuned in to watch.

A majority of national polls carried out in the week after suggested Harris’s performance had helped her make some small gains, with her lead increasing from 2.5 percentage points on the day of the debate to 3.3 points just over a week later.

That marginal boost was mostly down to Trump’s numbers though. His average had been rising ahead of the debate, but it fell by half a percentage point in the week afterwards.

You can see those small changes in the poll tracker chart below, with the trend lines showing how the averages have changed and the dots showing the individual poll results for each candidate.

While these national polls are a useful guide as to how popular a candidate is across the country as a whole, they’re not necessarily an accurate way to predict the result of the election.

That’s because the US uses an electoral college system, in which each state is given a number of votes roughly in line with the size of its population. A total of 538 electoral college votes are up for grabs, so a candidate needs to hit 270 to win.

There are 50 states in the US but because most of them nearly always vote for the same party, in reality there are just a handful where both candidates stand a chance of winning. These are the places where the election will be won and lost and are known as battleground states or swing states.

• What is the electoral college?

Right now, the polls are very tight in the seven states considered battlegrounds in this election with just one or two percentage points separating the candidates.

That includes Pennsylvania, which is key as it has the highest number of electoral votes of the seven states and therefore winning it makes it easier to reach the 270 votes needed.

In a sign of how the race has changed since Harris became the Democratic nominee, on the day Biden quit the race he was trailing Trump by nearly five percentage points on average in these seven states.

One thing to note is that there are fewer state polls than national polls being carried out at the moment so we have less data to go on and every poll has a margin of error that means the numbers could be higher or lower.

But looking at the trends since Harris joined the race does help highlight the states in which she seems to be in a stronger position, according to the polling averages.

In the chart below you can see that Harris has been leading in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin since the start of August.

All three had all been Democratic strongholds before Trump turned them red on his path to winning the presidency in 2016. Biden retook them in 2020 and if Harris can do the same this year then she will be on course to win the election.

The figures we have used in the graphics above are averages created by polling analysis website 538, which is part of American news network ABC News. To create them, 538 collects the data from individual polls carried out both nationally and in battleground states by lots of polling companies.

As part of its quality control, 538 only includes polls from companies that meet certain criteria, like being transparent about how many people they polled, when the poll was carried out and how the poll was conducted (telephone calls, text message, online, etc).

You can read more about the 538 methodology here.

At the moment, the polls suggest that Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are within a couple of percentage points of each other in swing states – and when the race is that close, it’s very hard to predict winners.

Polls underestimated support for Trump in both 2016 and 2020. Polling companies will be trying to fix that problem in a number of ways, including how to make their results reflect the make-up of the voting population.

Those adjustments are difficult to get right and pollsters still have to make educated guesses about other factors like who will actually turn up to vote on 5 November.

• SIMPLE GUIDE: Everything you need to know about the vote
• ANALYSIS: Harris goads Trump into flustered performance
• EXPLAINER: Seven swing states that could decide election
• IMMIGRATION: Could Trump really deport a million migrants?
• FACT CHECK: Was US economy stronger or weaker under Trump?
• Read more about: Kamala Harris | Donald Trump | US election

How would you like to spend your 80s?

Some gardening, maybe learning a language, a bit of travelling, spending time with the grandchildren.

Or perhaps entering an international beauty contest with the ultimate aim of launching your modelling career on the world stage.

For Choi Soon-hwa, it was a no-brainer.

This week, the 81-year-old took to the stage with women a quarter of her age for Miss Universe South Korea, hoping to make it to the finals in Mexico later this year.

The question, though, is why?

“After raising children and going through hardships, it’s just two people left, and that’s when you need to find what you want to do,” the former hospital worker explained to the BBC shortly after she came off stage.

“Once you find it, it becomes the energy that drives your life, leading to a positive outlook and healthier relationships with people, which in turn helps your well-being.”

For Ms Choi, the thing she wanted to do has been modelling, ever since a patient suggested she take it up at the spritely age of 72.

The comment gave her the confidence to take the leap after several years of financial hardship, which had pushed her and her family to the brink of ruin.

In the years since, she has become a familiar face in South Korea – including walking the runway at fashion week – but launching a career outside the country has proved difficult.

So when Miss Universe, the famed beauty pageant which began nine years after Ms Choi was born, decided to throw out rules banning entrants over the age of 28 earlier this year, she jumped at the chance to take part – making her the oldest ever contestant so far to take part.

“It was something I couldn’t have imagined,” she says. “For several years, I had wished to step onto the international stage as a model.

“However, there was no clear path or guidance for me, but since the Universe competition had no age restriction, I participated with the goal of reaching the global stage.”

The removal of age restrictrions come as the Miss Universe competition has moved towards becoming more diverse in recent years – allowing married women, transgender women and single mothers to take part.

But her entry still caused quite the stir – not least among her competition.

“The participants were surprised to see me, and when they learned I was 80, they expressed admiration, saying, I want to age like you,” she admits.

And it has brought her the international interest she was hoping: Ms Choi has garnered headlines around the world.

What it did not buy was a ticket to Mexico: the Miss Universe South Korea crown went instead to Han Ariel, 22.

Ms Choi didn’t walk away completely empty handed however – but with the title of “Best Dressed”.

“Just being able to participate is an amazing and honourable experience”, she says, adding that she hopes she is the first of many older women to compete for the crown and, by extension, challenge beauty norms.

“Since this is still new, there’s a lot of buzz, but as more seniors participate, perspectives on them will shift, and there will come a time when seniors can compete in world competitions,” she says. “But for now, it’s still time for the young to take the stage.”

And whatever happens next, she knows some of her biggest fans will always be at home in the form of her grandsons, aged 23 and 24.

“My grandchildren cheer me on, saying, ‘Our grandma is so cool, pretty, beautiful, and the best!'”

Kenya’s embattled Deputy President, Rigathi Gachagua, calls himself the “truthful man”, attributing his remarkable rise to the fact that he speaks truth to power.

But as he faces impeachment proceedings, he says these troubles are also a result of his outspoken nature.

Before he was elected MP in 2017, little was known about the man who would, in five short years, rise to become Kenya’s second-in-command.

Not many people outside Gachagua’s central Kenya constituency had heard of him or his style of politics.

Gachagua captured the limelight in the run-up to the 2022 elections, when he vehemently opposed President Uhuru Kenyatta’s choice of preferred successor.

Kenyatta was campaigning heavily for former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

But Gachagua allied himself with William Ruto, Kenyatta’s then deputy, who was angling for the presidency that his boss did not want to bequeath to him.

• How Kenya’s president has fallen out with his deputy

At political rallies and in media circles, Gachagua railed against Kenyatta, often in words that other politicians would find cringeworthy.

“Don’t kill me the way your father killed JM Kariuki,” he said at a rally in July 2022, referring to an MP who was killed in 1975 during the administration of Jomo Kenyatta, the nation’s first president and the father of Uhuru Kenyatta.

To this day, no one has been found guilty of Kariuki’s death.

Before he became Kenya’s deputy president, police raided Gachagua’s home and arrested him in relation to a corruption and money-laundering case. The charges were dropped after he and Ruto took power following the 2022 election.

He had helped Ruto win by marshalling support in Mount Kenya – the biggest voting bloc in the country. Both Gachagua and Kenyatta come from there. Kenyatta had tried to rally Mount Kenya’s voters to throw their weight behind Odinga, but he failed.

Long before Kenyatta became president in 2013, Gachagua had worked closely with him, including as his personal assistant for five years.

But after teaming up with Ruto, Gachagua went from being Kenyatta’s “confidant” to one of his harshest critics.

However, since falling out with his current boss, Gachagua has apologised to Kenyatta, saying it was “foolish” of him to have “fought my own brother”.

This humility is in sharp contrast to his rhetoric as Ruto’s running-mate – analyst Javas Bigamo had even described Gachagua as a “feared political bulldog that Ruto needed to be able to counter President Kenyatta in the central region”.

Gachagua was praised as an excellent mobiliser, who had the ear of ordinary people on the ground.

Yet he was probably not the person many expected to take the deputy position, given that Gachagua had only being a politician for five years and was up against more seasoned candidates.

Ruto explained he had chosen Gachagua because “he is one of those leaders who are passionate about ordinary people”.

Politics expert Bobby Mkangi previously told the BBC that Gachagua’s ability to negotiate his way to the top “considering other names that were fronted and were known nationally” was “quite something”.

But just two years after ascending to power, that ability seems to have fizzled out – leaving Gachagua butting heads with the president and in a position where many legislators are pushing for his removal.

He stands accused of corruption, money-laundering, gross misconduct, insubordination and bullying public officers and six other acts of wrongdoing.

As the motion was being tabled in parliament on Tuesday, the MP introducing the motion, Mwengi Mutuse, said that 291 out of 349 MPs had signed the document pushing for Gachagua’s removal.

The signatures of two-thirds – or 233 – of all MPs are required to impeach him.

Mkangi now says the deputy president has been “unable to consolidate the support of his base and the politicians around him”.

Gachagua has always been accused of being brash and aggressive – it was one of the reasons some argued against his selection to the running mate position prior to the 2022 election. But in recent months, this criticism has increased.

He denies this assessment of his character, along with assertions that he alienates his fellow politicians.

He says all he does is “speak the truth”, which he insists has made him unpopular within certain political factions.

“I will not compromise my principles,” he said over the weekend as calls for his impeachment came to a crescendo.

Gachagua has often identified himself as a child of the Mau Mau freedom fighters, who battled British colonial rule.

He was born in 1965 to parents who he has said were well known for their involvement in the struggle for freedom. His father built and serviced guns and his mother was a courier of ammunition and food for the fighters, Gachagua said.

His lineage has painted him as a champion of people in central Kenya, many of whom are descendants of independence struggle icons, but still continue to fight for economic freedom.

A popular catchphrase associated with the deputy president is “don’t touch the mountain”, a reference to his support base in the Mount Kenya region. However, he has also been accused of promoting tribalism rather than being a unifying figure.

But Gachagua has defended himself, insisting that speaking for the central Kenya region is not the same as antagonising other communities.

• Batons, tear gas, live fire – Kenyans face police brutality
• Kenyan president’s humbling shows power of African youth

Before joining politics, Gachagua had had a long career.

After completing university, he began working as a public administrator in government, and as a district officer in different locations across the country.

The district administrators of that time, during Daniel arap Moi’s presidency, were known for their high-handedness. It is an accusation that has stuck with him, including in present circumstances.

He worked as Kenyatta’s personal assistant between 2001 and 2006 – at a time when Kenyatta was a minister, presidential candidate and later the leader of the opposition.

Gachagua is a wealthy politician, having built a fortune in business over the years. He is married to a pastor, Dorcas, and they have two adult sons.

In 2017, he vied for the Mathira constituency seat, winning the position that had earlier been held by his elder brother, Nderitu Gachagua.

It is at this time that Gachagua’s fiery character and political abilities started attracting attention.

Yet his public utterances, before and since he became deputy president, have at times been seen as blunders or straight-up disgraceful comments.

He said last year that government was like a shareholding company, with those that voted for the current administration being more deserving of government appointments and contracts.

Senator Danson Mungatana last week said Gachagua’s words have “marginalised sections of Kenyans, created and continue to heighten ethnic tensions”.

Gachagua has often defended himself, but recently he acknowledged that in the end, it may be the very same thing that catapulted him to the top that will lead to his downfall: his way with words.

• How Kenya’s president has fallen out with his deputy
• Batons, tear gas, live fire – Kenyans face police brutality
• Kenyan president’s humbling shows power of African youth

On a quiet Sunday evening in November 2005, a journalist in India’s Bihar state received a panicked phone call at home.

“The Maoists have attacked the prison. People are being killed! I’m hiding in the toilet,” an inmate gasped into the mobile phone, his voice trembling. The sound of gunshots echoed in the background.

He was calling from a jail in Jehanabad, a poverty-stricken district and, at the time, a stronghold of left-wing extremism.

The crumbling, red-brick, colonial-era prison overflowed with inmates. Spread across an acre, its 13 barracks and cells were described in official reports as “dark, damp, and filthy”. Originally designed for around 230, it held up to 800 prisoners.

The Maoist insurgency, which began in Naxalbari, a hamlet in West Bengal state in the late 1960s, had spread to large parts of India, including Bihar. For nearly 60 years, the guerrillas – also called Naxalites – have fought the Indian state to establish a communist society, the movement claiming at least 40,000 lives.

The Jehanabad prison was a powder keg, housing Maoists alongside their class enemies – vigilantes from upper caste Hindu private armies. All awaited trial for mutual atrocities. Like many Indian prisons, some inmates had access to mobile phones, secured through bribing the guards.

“The place is swarming with rebels. Many are simply walking out,” the inmate – one of the 659 prisoners at the time – whispered to Mr Singh.

On the night of 13 November 2005, 389 prisoners, including many rebels, escaped from Jehanabad prison in what became India’s – and possibly Asia’s – largest jailbreak. At least two people were killed in the prison shootout, and police rifles were looted amid the chaos. The United States Department of State’s 2005 report on terrorism said the rebels had even “abducted 30 inmates” who were members of an anti-Maoist group.

In a tantalising twist, police said the “mastermind” of the jail break was Ajay Kanu, a fiery rebel leader who was among the prisoners. Security was so lax in the decrepit prison that Kanu stayed in contact with his outlawed group on the phone and through messages, helping them come in, police alleged. Kanu says this is not true.

Hundreds of rebels wearing police uniforms had crossed a drying stream behind the prison, climbed up and down the tall walls using bamboo ladders and crawled in, opening fire from their rifles.

The cells were open as food was being cooked late in the kitchen. The rebels walked to the main gates and opened them. Guards on duty looked on helplessly. Prisoners – only 30 of the escapees were convicts, while the rest were awaiting trial – escaped by simply walking out of the gates, and disappeared into the darkness. It was all over in less than an hour, eyewitnesses said.

The mass jail break exposed the crumbling law and order in Bihar and the intensifying Maoist insurgency in one of India’s most impoverished regions. The rebels had timed their plan perfectly: security was stretched thin due to the ongoing state elections.

___

Rajkumar Singh, the local journalist, remembers the night vividly.

After getting the phone call, he rode his motorbike through a deserted town, trying to reach his office. He remembers the air was thick with gunshots ringing in the distance. The invading rebels were also trying to attack a neighbouring police station.

As he turned onto the main road, dim streetlights revealed a chilling sight – dozens of armed men and women in police uniforms blocking the way, shouting through a megaphone.

“We are Maoists,” they declared. “We’re not against the people, only the government. The jailbreak is part of our protest.”

The rebels had planted bombs along the road. Some were already detonating, collapsing nearby shops and spreading fear through the town.

Mr Singh says he pressed on, reaching his fourth-floor office, where he received a second call from the same prisoner.

“Everyone’s running. What should I do?,” the inmate said.

“If everyone’s escaping, you should too,” Mr Singh said.

Then he rode to the prison through the eerily empty streets. When he reached, he found the gates open. Rice pudding was strewn all over the kitchen, the cell doors were ajar. There was no jailor or policeman in sight.

In a room, two wounded policemen lay on the floor. Mr Singh says he also saw the bloodied body of Bade Sharma, the leader of the feared upper caste vigilante army of landlords called Ranvir Sena and a prisoner himself, lying on the floor. The police later said the rebels had shot him while leaving.

Lying on the floor and stuck to the walls were blood-stained handwritten pamphlets left behind by the rebels.

“Through this symbolic action, we want to warn the state and central governments that if they arrest the revolutionaries and the struggling people and keep them in jail, then we also know how to free them from jail in a Marxist revolutionary way,” one pamphlet said.

___

A few months ago, I met Kanu, the 57-year-old rebel leader the police accuse of masterminding the jailbreak, in Patna, Bihar’s chaotic capital.

At the time of the incident, media reports painted him as “Bihar’s most wanted”, a figure commanding both fear and respect from the police.

Officers recounted how the rebel “commander” instantly took control during the prison break once he was handed an AK-47 by his comrades.

In a dramatic turn, the reports said, he “expertly” handled the weapon, swiftly changing magazines before allegedly targeting and shooting Sharma. Fifteen months later, in February 2007, Kanu was arrested from a railway platform while he was travelling from Dhanbad in Bihar to the city of Kolkata.

Almost two decades later, Kanu has been acquitted in all but six of the original 45 criminal cases against him. Most of the cases stem from the jailbreak, including that of the murder of Sharma. He has served seven years in prison for one of the cases.

Despite his fearsome reputation, Kanu is unexpectedly talkative. He speaks in sharp, measured bursts, downplaying his role in the mass escape that made headlines. Now, this once-feared rebel is subtly shifting his gaze toward a different battle – a career in politics, “fighting for poor, backward castes”.

As a child, Kanu spent his days and nights listening to stories from his lower-caste farmer father about Communist uprisings in Russia, China and Indonesia. By eighth grade, his father’s comrades were urging him to embrace revolutionary politics. He says his defiance took root early – after scoring a goal against the local landlord’s son in a football match, armed upper-caste men stormed their home.

“I locked myself inside,” he recalls. “They came for me and my sister, ransacking the house, destroying everything. That’s how the upper castes kept us in check – through fear.”

In college, while studying political science, Kanu ironically led the student wing of the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has waged a war against Maoism. After graduation, he co-founded a school, only to be forced out by the owner of the building. Upon returning to his village, tensions with the local landlord escalated. When a local strongman was murdered, Kanu, just 23, was named in the police complaint – and he went into hiding.

“Since then I have been on the run, most of my life. I left home early to mobilise workers and farmers, joined and went underground as a Maoist rebel,” he said. He joined the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), a radical communist group.

“My profession was liberation – the liberation of the poor. It was about standing up against the atrocities of the upper castes. I fought for those enduring injustice and oppression.”

___

In August 2002, with a feared reputation as a rebel leader and a 3m-rupee ($36,000; £27,000) bounty on his head – an incentive for people to report his whereabouts if they spotted him – Kanu was on his way to meet underground leaders and plan new strategies.

He was about to reach his destination in Patna when a car overtook him at a busy intersection. “Within moments, men in plainclothes jumped out, guns drawn, ordering me to surrender. I didn’t resist – I gave up,” he said.

Over the next three years, Kanu was shuffled between jails as police feared his escape. “He had a remarkable reputation, the sharpest of them all,” a senior officer told me. In each jail, Kanu says he formed prisoner unions to protest against corruption – stolen rations, poor healthcare, bribery. In one prison, he led a three-day hunger strike. “There were clashes,” he says, “but I kept demanding better conditions”.

Kanu paints a stark picture of the overcrowding in Indian prisons, describing Jehanabad, which held more than double its intended capacity.

“There was no place to sleep. In my first barrack, 180 prisoners were crammed into a space meant for just 40. We devised a system to survive. Fifty of us would sleep for four hours while the others sat, waiting and chatting in the dark. When the four hours were up, another group would take their turn. That’s how we endured life inside those walls.”

In 2005, Kanu escaped during the infamous jailbreak.

“We were waiting for dinner when gunfire erupted. Bombs, bullets – it was chaos,” he recalls. “The Maoists stormed in, yelling for us to flee. Everyone ran into the darkness. Should I have stayed behind and been killed?”

Many doubt the simplicity of Kanu’s claims.

“It wasn’t as simple as he makes it sound,” said a police officer. “Why was dinner being prepared late in the evening when it was usually cooked and served at dusk, with the cells locked up early? That alone raised suspicions of inside collusion.”

Interestingly many of the prisoners who escaped were back in jail by mid-December – some voluntarily, others not. None of the rebels returned.

When I asked Kanu whether he masterminded the escape, he smiled. “The Maoists freed us – it’s their job to liberate,” he said.

But when pressed again, Kanu fell silent.

The irony deepened as he finally shared a story from prison.

A police officer had once asked him if he was planning another escape.

“Sir, does a thief ever tell you what he’s going to steal?” Kanu replied wryly.

His words hung in the air, coming from a man who insists he had no part in planning the jailbreak.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s popularity, which was battered after the Hamas attacks on 7 October, has been boosted by his country’s military successes against Hezbollah, a new opinion poll suggests.

A picture has been widely shared of the Israeli PM in New York giving the order for the biggest of these – the assassination of the Lebanese armed group’s long-time chief, Hassan Nasrallah.

A poll for Israel’s Channel 12, released on Sunday night, indicates the Israeli PM’s Likud party would win more seats than any other if a general election was held.

However, it did not project a win for him overall, instead suggesting the current opposition parties would have more MPs, enabling them to form a coalition.

Fortunately for Netanyahu, his former political rival, Gideon Saar, also joined his fractious coalition government on Sunday, a step that should strengthen the prime minister.

“We will work together, shoulder to shoulder, and I intend to seek his assistance in the forums that influence the conduct of the war,” Netanyahu said.

Saar will serve as a minister without portfolio with a seat in the Security Cabinet, the body overseeing the management of the war against Israel’s regional enemies.

By joining the government with his four-seat party, Netanyahu has a much more solid majority of 68 in the 120-seat parliament.

Rumours had swirled in recent weeks that the position of defence minister currently held by the popular, seasoned, former military general Yoav Gallant would go to the relatively less experienced Saar.

However, that move seemed to be abandoned as Israel began its series of major strikes against Hezbollah.

For Netanyahu, the new composition of the government weakens the power of his National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir. The far-right winger has repeatedly threatened to topple the coalition if it goes ahead with a “reckless” deal to end the war in Gaza and bring home hostages or agrees to a permanent ceasefire with Hezbollah.

The coalition could now survive without Ben Gvir’s Jewish Power party’s six seats, giving Netanyahu more room for manoeuvre.

Once seen as a rising star of Likud, Saar left the party and became one of the most vocal critics of the prime minister arguing that Netanyahu should not continue to serve while battling corruption charges. He has framed his decision to join the government as an act of patriotism, fostering unity.

However, he has been sharply criticised by some Israeli commentators who describe him as acting cynically in his own self-interest.

“Saar’s decision to join the government is certainly a painful blow to a large number of Israelis who think that Netanyahu needs to go, and not just because he is being tried on criminal charges, and not just because he is the most corrupt, hedonistic and lying prime minister Israel has ever had,” said Yedioth Ahronoth columnist, Sima Kadmon.

She sees that his action “will stabilise and boost the worst government ever to have served in Israel, so much so that the original date of the next elections, October 2026, now appears to be a realistic date”.

Certainly, the extra seats could also help solve another challenge facing Israel’s most far-right ever government.

At this sensitive time of war, when the military has a pressing need to expand its ranks, divisions have opened over the passage of a new military conscription law.

The Israeli Supreme Court ruled in June that the state must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students into the army. They have historically been exempted, and such a move is vehemently opposed by two ultra-Orthodox parties upon which the coalition depends.

Deepening his personal rift with the prime minister, in July, Yoav Gallant approved a plan to begin sending out draft notices to 1,000 18-26-year-olds from the ultra-Orthodox community.

A slick political strategist, Netanyahu – Israel’s longest serving leader – did see a big drop in the support for his party in polls at the end of last year.

His personal image as “Mr Security” was badly damaged after the 7 October attacks – the deadliest day in Israeli history, when Hamas surprised one of the world’s best intelligence services and the best resourced military in the region took hours to respond.

However, by August, opinion polls suggested the prime minister had begun to bounce back.

That was despite the invasion of Gaza turning into Israel’s longest ever war with no sign of its objectives being met: the complete destruction of Hamas and bringing home Israel’s remaining hostages.

The latest poll gives Likud as many as 25 seats. Altogether coalition parties would be expected to take 49 seats, while opposition parties would win 66.

According to the research for Channel 12, Netanyahu also remains the favourite candidate for prime minister over the centrist opposition leader, Yair Lapid – with 38% favouring him over his rival who has 27% support.

Much in Israeli politics depends on what happens next as Israel’s multi-front war reaches a critical moment.

As Israel hints at a ground invasion of southern Lebanon, tens of thousands of Israeli citizens in the north of the country still do not know when they will return to their homes – an official goal for Israel.

If Hezbollah’s main ally Iran decides to attack, the consequences are unpredictable.

On the international stage, Israel looks increasingly isolated. International courts are considering whether to put Israel on trial for genocide and have requested an arrest warrant for the prime minister and his defence minister on allegations of crimes against humanity.

The ultimate test of Netanyahu’s resilience could be yet to come.

On a freezing cold November day in 2023, we’re driving up to a school on the outskirts of London. It appears disused and unremarkable – but then a sign reading ‘Truham High’ gives the game away.

This abandoned-looking building is actually the set of Netflix sensation Heartstopper, and on the day we visit, shooting for series three is well under way. The new episodes will be released on 3 October.

Inside, the hustle and bustle you might expect in a school corridor has been replaced with the organised chaos of a film set. The plain school interior is covered with colourful murals painted in the style of Alice Oseman’s graphic novels, which inspired the show.

Mr Ajayai’s art classroom is instantly recognisable.

In the first two series it’s been a safe space for Joe Locke’s character, Charlie, to go to when he’s having a hard time. During our visit he’s joined by Kit Connor, who plays Nick – and the conversation they’re filming looks difficult.

They’re sitting in a corner and speaking in hushed tones.

While the producers are tight-lipped about the detail of what they’re shooting, they do tell us “it’s quite an intense scene”.

They’re protective over how many people are in the room with the actors during more emotional scenes. Dozens of silent crew members are crammed into a room next door, watching intently on monitors while the actors do several takes.

The third series of the show deals with more serious topics than the first two; Charlie’s eating disorder will be a key storyline, and some characters will be having sex for the first time.

“We’ve always said the show grows up with the characters, which is definitely the case this year,” Locke says, speaking to us in a quick break before his next scene.

“The show deals with some more heavy topics like mental health, and growing up, so there’s a lot of ‘teenageness’.”

The show has been praised for showcasing “queer joy” – shining a light on the positive elements of growing up as part of the LGBTQ+ community – but Locke says it feels important to make sure it is still realistic.

“It’s all about authenticity, and trying to make your portrayal of a topic that is quite intense and quite close to people’s hearts as true as possible,” he says.

During our visit it’s clear the cast members’ chemistry goes beyond their time on-screen. Throughout our interviews they have in-jokes and gently make fun of each other, which Connor says helps with the more difficult days on set.

“After filming we all just sort of pile into someone’s flat and spend time together, we have a great way of doing it where we don’t talk about work or anything like that,” he says.

“We all just go home, make dinner and criticise each other’s cooking skills.

“[Joe Locke] actually cooked a good chilli this time… last time it was a very, very bad chilli. This time Will, who plays Tao, had seconds… but he will eat anything.”

While the friendships might be real, some of the most iconic locations in the show are actually flat-packed and assembled inside the school, as and when required.

During our visit, Nick’s bedroom is assembled in what would have been the school’s sports hall.

There are no lights as no scenes are planned here today, so we explore using our phone torches instead. Even in the semi-darkness, the attention to detail is clear.

From books about bisexuality, to Polaroid pictures of Nick and Charlie together, they’ve gone to painstaking lengths to make the bedroom a true reflection of the character’s journey throughout the series.

“The fans really notice everything, and have theories about even the tiniest of details… you should see some of the TikToks they make,” a member of the crew tells us.

Just down the corridor from Nick’s flat-pack bedroom is the costume department, where designer Adam Dee says he likes giving mega-fans things to spot.

“If they’ve got a scene with an open wardrobe, [we’ll] sneak in some iconic pieces from previous series so the audience can spot them,” he says.

“With Elle, she has a sewing station in her room, so we managed to add in some bits and pieces to her wardrobe that are made from two other items we’ve sewed together, or vintage scarves we’ve turned into tops.”

Heartstopper was somewhat of a surprise hit for Netflix, and series one launched with very little promotion.

It became one of the top 10 most-watched English-language series within two days of its release and received an almost-unheard-of 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes – something many critics have put down to the diverse on-screen representation.

Season three involves some of the show’s older characters turning 16 and starting to have sex.

Yasmin Finney’s character, Elle, who is transgender, will be shown starting a sexual relationship with her on-screen boyfriend Tao (William Gao).

The sex lives of transgender characters are often left out of TV storylines.

Finney tells us: “It’s nice to have that representation of a trans person being able to have those sorts of relationships.

“It’s very sweet and I’m very blessed to be able to deliver that performance with Will.”

In the second series, Tobie Donovan’s character Isaac tells the rest of the characters he is asexual, meaning he experiences little or no sexual attraction. It’s another topic few TV shows have featured.

Donovan tells us he felt he wanted to do “lots of research” to make sure “he was doing justice to this community”.

He added: “There’s been sort of nothing like this on TV before, so I really wanted to make sure I got it right.

“I feel like, from our season two response, people were quite happy that even just to have anyone on screen that’s like a little bit of their story. It’s great for all of us.”

Just before we leave, we catch the show’s executive producer, Patrick Walters, on the set of Mr Ajayai’s classroom.

Walters came up with the idea of turning Alice Oseman’s graphic novels into a TV series after “falling in love” with the books.

The show’s diversity is something he’s particularly proud of.

He says: “It’s amazing to think it is an important show for LGBT youth.

“I like to think young people really see themselves in the characters, and that’s why it connects.”

China’s sputtering economy has its worried leaders pulling out all the stops.

They have unveiled stimulus measures, offered rare cash handouts, held a surprise meeting to kickstart growth and tried to shake up an ailing property market with a raft of decisions – they did all of this in the last week.

On Monday, Xi himself spoke of “potential dangers” and being “well-prepared” to overcome grave challenges, which many believe was a reference to the economy.

What is less clear is how the slowdown has affected ordinary Chinese people, whose expectations and frustrations are often heavily censored.

But two new pieces of research offer some insight. The first, a survey of Chinese attitudes towards the economy, found that people were growing pessimistic and disillusioned about their prospects. The second is a record of protests, both physical and online, that noted a rise in incidents driven by economic grievances.

Although far from complete, the picture neverthless provides a rare glimpse into the current economic climate, and how Chinese people feel about their future.

Beyond the crisis in real estate, steep public debt and rising unemployment have hit savings and spending. The world’s second-largest economy may miss its own growth target – 5% – this year.

That is sobering for the Chinese Communist Party. Explosive growth turned China into a global power, and stable prosperity was the carrot offered by a repressive regime that would never loosen its grip on the stick.

The slowdown hit as the pandemic ended, partly driven by three years of sudden and complete lockdowns, which strangled economic activity.

And that contrast between the years before and after the pandemic is evident in the research by American professors Martin Whyte of Harvard University, Scott Rozelle of Stanford University’s Center on China’s Economy and Stanford masters student Michael Alisky.

They conducted their surveys in 2004 and 2009, before Xi Jinping became China’s leader, and during his rule in 2014 and 2023. The sample sizes varied, ranging between 3,000 and 7,500.

In 2004, nearly 60% of the respondents said their families’ economic situation had improved over the past five years – and just as many of them felt optimistic about the next five years.

The figures jumped in 2009 and 2014 – with 72.4% and 76.5% respectively saying things had improved, while 68.8% and 73% were hopeful about the future.

However in 2023, only 38.8% felt life had got better for their families. And less than half – about 47% – believed things would improve over the next five years.

Meanwhile, the proportion of those who felt pessimistic about the future rose, from just 2.3% in 2004 to 16% in 2023.

While the surveys were of a nationally representative sample aged 20 to 60, getting access to a broad range of opinions is a challenge in authoritarian China.

Respondents were from 26 Chinese provinces and administrative regions. The 2023 surveys excluded Xinjiang and parts of Tibet – Mr Whyte said it was “a combination of extra costs due to remote locations and political sensitivity”. Home to ethnic minorities, these tightly controlled areas in the north-west have long bristled under Beijing’s rule.

Those who were not willing to speak their minds did not participate in the survey, the researchers said. Those who did shared their views when they were told it was for academic purposes, and would remain confidential.

Their anxieties are reflected in the choices that are being made by many young Chinese people. With unemployment on the rise, millions of college graduates have been forced to accept low-wage jobs, while others have embraced a “lie flat” attitude, pushing back against relentless work. Still others have opted to be “full-time children”, returning home to their parents because they cannot find a job, or are burnt out.

Analysts believe China’s iron-fisted management of Covid-19 played a big role in undoing people’s optimism.

“[It] was a turning point for many… It reminded everyone of how authoritarian the state was. People felt policed like never before,” said Alfred Wu, an associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore.

Many people were depressed and the subsequent pay cuts “reinforced the confidence crisis,” he added.

Moxi, 38, was one of them. He left his job as a psychiatrist and moved to Dali, a lakeside city in southwestern China now popular with young people who want a break from high-pressure jobs.

“When I was still a psychiatrist, I didn’t even have the time or energy to think about where my life was heading,” he told the BBC. “There was no room for optimism or pessimism. It was just work.”

Work, however, no longer seems to signal a promising future, according to the survey.

In 2004, 2009 and 2014, more than six in 10 respondents agreed that “effort is always rewarded” in China. Those who disagreed hovered around 15%.

Come 2023, the sentiment flipped. Only 28.3% believed that their hard work would pay off, while a third of them disagreed. The disagreement was strongest among lower-income families, who earned less than 50,000 yuan ($6,989; £5,442) a year.

Chinese people are often told that the years spent studying and chasing degrees will be rewarded with financial success. Part of this expectation has been shaped by a tumultuous history, where people gritted their teeth through the pain of wars and famine, and plodded on.

Chinese leaders, too, have touted such a work ethic. Xi’s Chinese Dream, for example, echoes the American Dream, where hard work and talent pay off. He has urged young people to “eat bitterness”, a Chinese phrase for enduring hardship.

But in 2023, a majority of the respondents in the Whyte and Rozelle study believed people were rich because of the privilege afforded by their families and connections. A decade earlier, respondents had attributed wealth to ability, talent, a good education and hard work.

This is despite Xi’s signature “common prosperity” policy aimed at narrowing the wealth gap, although critics say it has only resulted in a crackdown on businesses.

There are other indicators of discontent, such as an 18% rise in protests in the second quarter of 2024, compared with the same period last year, according to the China Dissent Monitor (CDM).

The study defines protests as any instance when people voice grievances or advance their interests in ways that are in contention with authority – this could happen physically or online. Such episodes, however small, are still telling in China, where even lone protesters are swiftly tracked down and detained.

A least three in four cases are due to economic grievances, said Kevin Slaten, one of the CDM study’s four editors.

Starting in June 2022, the group has documented nearly 6,400 such events so far.

They saw a rise in protests led by rural residents and blue-collar workers over land grabs and low wages, but also noted middle-class citizens organising because of the real estate crisis. Protests by homeowners and construction workers made up 44% of the cases across more than 370 cities.

“This does not immediately mean China’s economy is imploding,” Mr Slaten was quick to stress.

Although, he added, “it is difficult to predict” how such “dissent may accelerate if the economy keeps getting worse”.

Chinese leaders are certainly concerned.

Between August 2023 and Janaury 2024, Beijing stopped releasing youth unemployment figures after they hit a record high. At one point, officials coined the term “slow employment” to describe those who were taking time to find a job – a separate category, they said, from the jobless.

Censors have been cracking down on any source of financial frustration – vocal online posts are promptly scrubbed, while influencers have been blocked on social media for flaunting luxurious tastes. State media has defended the bans as part of the effort to create a “civilised, healthy and harmonious” environment. More alarming perhaps are reports last week that a top economist, Zhu Hengpeng, has been detained for critcising Xi’s handling of the economy.

The Communist Party tries to control the narrative by “shaping what information people have access to, or what is perceived as negative”, Mr Slaten said.

CDM’s research shows that, despite the level of state control, discontent has fuelled protests – and that will worry Beijing.

In November 2022, a deadly fire – which killed at least 10 people who were not allowed to leave the building during a Covid lockdown – brought thousands onto the streets in different parts of China to protest against crushing zero-Covid policies.

Whyte, Rozelle and Alisky don’t think their findings suggest “popular anger about… inequality is likely to explode in a social volcano of protest.”

But the economic slowdown has begun to “undermine” the legitimacy the Party has built up through “decades of sustained economic growth and improved living standards”, they write.

The pandemic still haunts many Chinese people, said Yun Zhou, a sociology professor at the University of Michigan. Beijing’s “stringent yet mercurial responses” during the pandemic have heightened people’s insecurity about the future.

And this is particularly visceral among marginalised groups, she added, such as women caught in a “severely discriminatory” labour market and rural residents who have long been excluded from welfare coverage.

Under China’s contentious “hukou” system of household registration, migrant workers in cities are not allowed to use public services, such as enrolling their children in government-run schools.

But young people from cities – like Moxi – have flocked to remote towns, drawn by low rents, picturesque landscapes and greater freedom to chase their dreams.

Moxi is relieved to have found a slower pace of life in Dali. “The number of patients who came to me for depression and anxiety disorders only increased as the economy boomed,” he said, recalling his past work as a psychiatrist.

“There’s a big difference between China doing well, and Chinese people doing well.”

Whyte, Rozelle and Alisky’s research is based on four sets of academic surveys conducted between 2004 and 2023.

In-person surveys were conducted together with colleagues at Peking University’s Research Center on Contemporary China (RCCC) in 2004, 2009 and 2014. Participants ranged in age from 18-70 and came from 29 provinces. Tibet and Xingiang were excluded.

In 2023, three rounds of online surveys, at the end of the second, third and fourth quarters, were conducted by the Survey and Research Centre for China Household Finance (CHFS) at Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in Chengdu, China. Participants ranged in age from 20-60.

The same questions were used in all surveys. To make responses comparable across all four years, the researchers excluded participants aged 18-19 and 61-70 and reweighted all answers to be nationally representative. All surveys contain a margin of error.

The study has been accepted for publication by The China Journal and is expected to be published in 2025.

Researchers for the China Dissent Monitor (CDM) have collected data on “dissent events” across China since June 2022 from a variety of non-government sources including news reports, social media platforms operating in the country and civil society organisations.

Dissent events are defined as instances where a person or persons use public and non-official means of expressing their dissatisfaction. Each event is highly visible and also subject to or at risk of government response, through physical repression or censorship.

These can include viral social media posts, demonstrations, banner drops and strikes, among others. Many events are difficult to independently verify.

A judge in Georgia has struck down the state’s abortion law that has prohibited abortions after six weeks of pregnancy since it took effect in 2022.

Georgia’s Life Act was fully nullified by Judge Robert McBurney’s decision, meaning that the state must now allow abortions up to 22 weeks of pregnancy.

The judge wrote in his order that “liberty in Georgia” includes “the power of a woman to control her own body, to decide what happens to it and in it, and to reject state interference with her healthcare choices”.

Georgia passed the Life Act in 2019 but it only came into force in 2022, after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade and opened the door for state bans.

SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective filed the original lawsuit with other plaintiffs in 2019, shortly after Georgia’s Republican governor, Brian Kemp, signed the act into law.

When Judge McBurney reviewed the case in 2022, he struck down the law, ruling that it violated the US Constitution.

The Georgia Supreme Court later took up the case, however, and allowed the six-week limit to stand.

The case has since returned to Judge McBurney, who found this time that it violated the state constitution after a review “of our higher courts’ interpretations of ‘liberty'”.

“[D]oes a Georgian’s right to liberty of privacy encompass the right to make personal healthcare decisions? Plainly it does,” the judge wrote in his decision.

Gov Kemp’s office criticised the judge’s ruling on Monday.

“Once again, the will of Georgians and their representatives have been overruled by the personal beliefs of one judge,” Garrison Douglas, Kemp’s spokesperson, said in a statement.

“Protecting the lives of the most vulnerable among us is one of our most sacred responsibilities, and Georgia will continue to be a place where we fight for the lives of the unborn.”

This ruling could affect more than just Georgians, however.

It could open up abortion access in the US South, where several Republican-controlled state legislatures have passed laws that have severely limited access to abortion procedures.

These laws have meant people in the region sometimes travel hundreds of miles to states like North Carolina, Kansas and Illinois for legal abortions.

Judge McBurney noted the danger a six-week limit could have on women in his order, writing that “for many women, their pregnancy was unintended, unexpected, and often unknown until well after the embryonic heartbeat began”.

Monica Simpson, executive director of SisterSong Women, called the ruling “a significant step in the right direction”.

“We are encouraged that a Georgia court has ruled for bodily autonomy. At the same time, we can’t forget that every day the ban has been in place has been a day too long – and we have felt the dire consequences with the devastating and preventable deaths of Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller.”

Thurman and Miller were named in a pair of ProPublica reports that found their deaths were connected to Georgia’s abortion ban. Their cases have been highlighted by Vice-President Kamala Harris, who has made reproductive rights a centerpiece of her campaign for the White House.

Switzerland and Italy have redrawn part of their border in the Alps due to melting glaciers, caused by climate change.

Part of the area affected will be beneath the Matterhorn, one of Europe’s tallest mountains, and close to a number of popular ski resorts.

Large sections of the Swiss-Italian border are determined by glacier ridgelines or areas of perpetual snow, but melting glaciers have caused these natural boundaries to shift, leading to both countries seeking to rectify the border.

Switzerland officially approved the agreement on the change on Friday, but Italy is yet to do the same. This follows a draft agreement by a joint Swiss-Italian commission back in May 2023.

Statistics published last September showed that Switzerland’s glaciers lost 4% of their volume in 2023, the second biggest loss ever after 2022’s record melt of 6%.

An annual report is issued each year by the Swiss Glacier Monitoring Network (Glamos), which attributed the record losses to consecutive very warm summers, and 2022 winter’s very low snowfall. Researchers say that if these weather patterns continue, the thaw will only accelerate.

On Friday, Switzerland said that the redefined borders had been drawn up in accordance with the economic interests of both parties.

It is thought that clarifying the borders will help both countries determine which is responsible for the upkeep of specific natural areas.

Swiss-Italian boundaries will be changed in the region of Plateau Rosa, the Carrel refuge and Gobba di Rollin – all are near the Matterhorn and popular ski resorts including Zermatt.

The exact border changes will be implemented and the agreement published once both countries have signed it.

Switzerland says that the approval process for signing the agreement is under way in Italy.

Last year, Glamos warned that some Swiss glaciers are shrinking so fast that it is unlikely they can be saved, even if global temperatures are kept within the Paris climate agreement’s 1.5C target rise.

Experts say that without a reduction in greenhouse gases linked to global warning, bigger glaciers like the Aletsch – which is not on the border – could disappear within a generation.

A number of discoveries have been made on Swiss glaciers in recent years due to their melting and rapid shrinking.

Last July, human remains found close to Matterhorn were confirmed to be those of a German climber missing since 1986.

Climbers crossing the Theodul glacier above Zermatt noticed a hiking boot and crampons emerging from the ice.

In 2022, the wreckage of a plane that crashed in 1968 emerged from the Aletsch glacier.

And the body of missing British climber Jonathan Conville was discovered in 2014 by a helicopter pilot who spotted something unusual while delivering supplies to a mountain refuge on the Matterhorn.

Three people died and 15 others were injured after a man went on a stabbing rampage inside a Walmart supermarket in Shanghai on Monday night.

Chinese police said they arrested a 37-year-old man surnamed Lin at the scene, adding that he had come to Shanghai to “vent his anger due to a personal economic dispute”. Further investigations are continuing.

The incident took place at a shopping mall in Songjiang, a densely populated district in the city’s south-west, which is also home to several universities.

Police said the three people who died succumbed to their injuries at hospital. The others “did not sustain life-threatening wounds” and are not believed to be in danger.

“There was blood everywhere,” an eyewitnes surnamed Shi told BBC News.

Mr Shi, who runs a jewellery store at the ground floor of the Ludu International Commercial Plaza, said dozens of firefighters and special weapons and tactics (SWAT) officers entered the mall, and asked people to evacuate.

“I didn’t know what was happening, but suddenly, I saw people running in a panic,” he said.

“No one had ever experienced something like this, and we weren’t mentally prepared for it… This kind of random incident is terrifying and unsettling,” he said, adding that he had “narrowly escaped” death.

Discussions about the incident now appear to have been censored on Chinese social media.

The supermarket was open for business on Tuesday but with additional security.

Firearms are banned in China but the country has seen a spate of knife attacks in recent months.

Last month, a 10-year-old Japanese student died a day after he was stabbed near his school in southern China.

In June this year, four US college instructors were stabbed in a public park in the northeast city of Jilin. In May, a man stabbed dead two people and wounded 21 others at a hospital in the southern province of Yunnan.

A Chinese woman has been arrested in Leipzig on suspicion of passing information about Leipzig/Halle airport, which is used as a key transport hub for the German defence industry, to Chinese intelligence.

German prosecutors said that Yaqi X, 38, had been working for a company providing logistics services at the airport.

Prosecutors said she had repeatedly sent details on flights, passengers and military cargo transport to another figure who worked for China’s secret services. The airport is considered an important centre for defence exports, particularly to Ukraine.

A second suspect, Jian G, was detained earlier this year.

He had worked as an aide for a member of the European Parliament from Germany’s far-right AfD party.

Yaqi X was remanded in custody and her home and workplace searched.

Between August 2023 and February 2024, prosecutors allege she had given Jian G information on the transport of military equipment and people linked to an unnamed German arms company.

German sources told public broadcaster ARD that the defence company involved was Rheinmetall, Germany’s biggest defence firm which has been heavily involved in supplying Ukraine with weapons, armoured vehicles and military equipment.

Yaqi X’s case appears to be linked to a spying case that unfolded last April involving parliamentary aide Jian G.

The MEP he had worked for, Maximilian Krah, dismissed Jian G as his assistant. Krah’s office in Brussels was searched by police, although there was no indication that he was involved.

Jian G was alleged to have spied on Chinese dissidents in Germany as well as passing information on the European Parliament to Chinese intelligence.

He had previously worked for dissident groups and had taken up German citizenship after coming to Germany in 2002.

TV and Broadway star Gavin Creel has died from a “rare and aggressive” cancer at the age of 48, his publicist Matt Polk has announced.

Creel was best known as a stage star in shows such as Hello Dolly! opposite Bette Midler, which earned him a Tony award in 2017.

He played Cornelius Hackl opposite Midler in the titular role.

Midler paid tribute on Instagram, describing Creel as a “radiant actor… he was fantastic. I can’t believe he’s gone. What a loss.”

Creel also starred in the West End, picking up a prestigious Olivier award for best actor in a musical in 2014 for his turn as Elder Price in The Book Of Mormon, a role he went on to play on Broadway.

British star Hannah Waddingham said she was “shaken to my core” following his death.

“I’ve just had to sit down. I keep re-reading his name thinking everyone’s got it wrong. Not this man, not this beautiful, smiley, talented man,” she posted on X.

“The absolute real deal, talent pouring out of every pore. I’m heartbroken you’ve gone Gavin. I hope to see you again my friend.”

Actor, producer and composer Lin-Manuel Miranda also paid tribute to Creel, who was cast as his first King George III when hit musical Hamilton was at the early workshop stage.

“Gavin Creel was our first King when all we had was 11 songs and he wrapped the audience around his finger with nothing but a Burger King crown and his mind-blowing charisma and talent,” he wrote on Instagram.

“He is so loved and it is unimaginable that he’s no longer with us.

“My heart goes out to all the friends and family and collaborators lucky enough to be in his orbit.”

Frozen star’s Idina Menzel and Josh Gad also posted tribute on social media.

Creel’s first major Broadway role was as Jimmy Smith, opposite fellow newcomer Sutton Foster, in a revival of Thoroughly Modern Millie in 2002, which landed him his first Tony nomination for best leading actor in a musical.

“My sweet friend. I will love you forever,” Foster said in a post on Instagram.

Creel also played Claude Hooper Bukowski in the 2009 revival of Hair on Broadway.

He made his West End debut in 2006 as Bert in Mary Poppins and reprised his role in the West End transfer of Hair in 2010.

Other roles included Dr Pomatter in Sara Bareilles’ musical Waitress on Broadway in 2019, a role he took to the West End a year later.

Creel’s TV career included a two-episode stint in Ryan Murphy’s miniseries American Horror Stories, opposite Matt Bomer in 2021.

He also appeared opposite Dame Julie Andrews in TV movies Eloise At The Plaza and Eloise At Christmastime in the early 2000s.

The star also co-founded Broadway Impact, a grassroots organisation aimed at mobilising the theatre community to support marriage equality.

He was born in Findlay, Ohio and was a graduate of the University of Michigan School of Music.

Creel’s publicist said there will be a small private gathering for the family and a celebration of his life will be held for the theatre community at a date yet to be announced.

Tuesday night’s vice-presidential debate between Republican JD Vance and Democrat Tim Walz was a civil, relatively restrained conversation about issues facing American voters during the 2024 campaign.

In that, it was unlike the two presidential debates earlier this year.

There were moments when Vance bristled at what he though was unfair fact-checking from the two CBS moderators, and at one point microphones of both candidates were temporarily muted. But for the most part, the exchanges between the two candidates – and the candidates and the moderators – were civil.

There were even times when they agreed – and said so.

“There’s a lot of commonality here,” Walz said toward the end of the evening.

When the topic turned to affordable housing, co-moderator Nora O’Donnell noted that both candidates seemed to care strongly. And when Walz spoke of his 17-year-old witnessing a shooting at a community center, Vance seemed genuinely concerned.

“I’m sorry about that and I hope he’s doing OK,” Vance said. “Christ have mercy, it is awful.”

But the two arrived with different images and skills, which was evident from the start of the debate.

Vance typically has a smoother delivery and appears more experienced on television, while Walz has a more down-to-earth, everyman feel.

Early on, Vance’s answers Tuesday night flowed clearly and he seemed more confident, while Walz stumbled, seeming uncomfortable, stilted and unfamiliar with certain topics.

A tempered debate, with few political body blows, also probably served Vance best in the end, as it gave him space to defend running mate Donald Trump, and smooth over some of the former president’s rougher edges.

If Vance was picked because he puts ideological meat on the bones of Trump’s conservative populism, on Tuesday night Vance put a polite, humble face on them, as well.

“Something these guys do is they make a lot of claims about if Donald Trump becomes president, all of these terrible consequences are going to ensue,” he said. “But in reality, Donald Trump was president. Inflation was low. Take home pay was higher.”

The most vigorous disagreements came toward the end of the debate, on the topic of Trump’s repeated claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

Vance, when asked if Trump lost the last presidential election, dodged the question and criticised what he said was Kamala Harris’s censorship.

Walz quickly noted that it was a “damning non-answer”.

“To deny what happened on January 6, the first time an American president or anyone tried to overturn an election, this has got to stop. “It’s tearing our country apart.”

Walz went on to say that the only reason Mike Pence, Trump’s previous vice-president, was not on stage was because he certified President Joe Biden’s victory.

Vance had no answer to that, highlighting that beyond his friendly demeanour and agreeability, he would not break from Trump’s unsubstantiated claims.

Vance and Walz entered this debate with different skill sets. Vance has sparred with journalists on television in heated exchanges. Walz is at home on the campaign stump, using his folksy style in contrast to more polished politicians.

In the early part of this debate, with both candidates standing behind podiums in a New York City television studio, Vance seemed much more comfortable. His answers were smooth, and relentlessly on-message, constantly reminding the audience that for all of Vice-President Kamala Harris’s promises, Democrats have held the White House for the past three and a half years.

“If Kamala Harris has such great plans for how to address middle class problems, then she ought to do them now,” he said.

Walz, for his part, seemed halting and unsure on the opening topic, dealing with Tuesday’s Iranian missile attack on Israel. The Minnesota governor rarely talks about foreign policy, and his discomfort on the subject was apparent.

The Democrat settled in as the debate moved along, and during his exchanges with Vance on the topic of immigration – an area of strength for the Republicans – both delivered well-honed messages.

Vance deflected accusations that he amplified false claims about Haitian immigrants stealing and eating pets in Ohio.

“The people I’m most worried about in Springfield, Ohio are the American citizens who have had their lives ruined by Kamala Harris’s border policies,” he said.

Vance said undocumented migration burdens city resources, drives up prices and pushes down wages.

Walz pointed to Trump’s opposition to proposed bipartisan immigration legislation earlier this year.

“I believe Senator Vance wants to solve this, but by standing with Donald Trump and not working together to find a solution, it becomes a talking point, and when it becomes a talking point like this, we dehumanize and villainize other human beings.”

When the topic turned to abortion – an area of strength for Democrats, according to polls – it was Vance who played defence, acknowledging that Republicans have to work to earn the trust of American voters.

“I want us as a Republican Party to be pro-family in the fullest sense of the word,” he said. “I want us to make it easier for moms to afford to have babies. There’s so much we can do on the public policy front just to give women more options.”

Walz countered by saying that the Democratic view on abortion is simple: “We are pro-women. We are pro-freedom to make your own choice.”

If Walz was more pointed on abortion, he declined to push his attacks when the subject turned to gun control.

After Vance said that it was important to increase security in schools, making doors and windows “stronger”, Walz talked up background checks rather than endorsing Democratic calls for bans on assault weapons and other limitations firearms.

As a congressman, Walz regularly voted in favour of gun rights and against many gun control measures, winning the praise of the pro-gun National Rifle Association. During the debate he said his views on gun control changed after the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting, but some Democrats may be disappointed he did not press Vance more Tuesday night.

American political history suggests that vice-presidential debates don’t really matter.

In 1988, Democrat Lloyd Bentsen dismantled Republican Dan Quayle. A few months later, Quayle was sworn in as vice-president after his ticket won in a landslide.

It may turn out that this debate is similarly irrelevant to November’s results. Unless there is a last minute debate announced, however, it will be the last word both parties have on a debate stage before Election Day.

Walz did no harm to the Democratic ticket and showed some of the midwestern charm that made him Harris’s choice.

But Vance’s strong performance is likely to buoy Republicans in the days ahead.

And the debate’s lasting impact may be to convince members of his party that the Ohio senator – who is only 40 – has a future in national conservative politics, given his ability to clearly advance their ideological priorities on the brightest of stages.

LIVE COVERAGE: Vance-Walz debate

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?

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

Iran has launched hundreds of missiles towards Israel, with at least some striking Israeli territory. It is the second attack by Iran this year, after it fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel in April.

Israeli military officials said the attacks appeared to be over and there was no more threat from Iran “for now” but it is still unclear how much damage was caused.

The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has warned of “consequences” after the attack.

Here’s what we know so far.

Iran launched around 180 missiles towards Israel, the Israeli military said. That would make it a slightly larger attack than April’s barrage, which saw about 110 ballistic missiles and 30 cruise missiles fired towards Israel.

Footage carried by Israeli TV appeared to show some missiles flying over the Tel Aviv area shortly before 19:45 local time (16:45 GMT).

Most missiles were shot down by Israeli aerial defence systems, an Israeli security official said, while a BBC correspondent in Jerusalem said some military bases may have been hit, and that restaurants and schools were hit.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) maintained that 90% of projectiles had hit their targets, saying hypersonic missiles had been used for the first time. IRGC sources said three Israeli military bases had been targeted.

• Follow live: Iran launches barrage of missiles at Israel

The Palestinian civil defence authority in the occupied West Bank city of Jericho said a man there died during the Iranian missile barrage.

According to the AFP news agency, which spoke to city governor Hussein Hamayel, the victim was killed by falling rocket debris.

Israeli officials have not reported any serious injuries as a result of Tuesday’s air attacks, but Israeli medics said two people had been slightly wounded by shrapnel.

The IRGC said the attacks were in response to Israel’s killing of one of its top commanders and leaders of Iran-backed militias in the region.

It mentioned the killings of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and IRGC commander Abbas Nilforoshan in the Lebanese capital Beirut on 27 September.

It also referenced the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July. While Israel has not admitted to being behind Haniyeh’s death, it is widely believed to be responsible.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters news agency the country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had personally given the order for Tuesday’s missile attack.

Iran does not recognise Israel’s right to exist and seeks its eradication. It has spent years backing paramilitary organisations opposed to Israel.

Israel believes that Iran poses an existential threat and has spent years running covert operations against Tehran.

Israel has a sophisticated system of air defences, the best-known of which is the Iron Dome. It is designed to intercept short-range rockets of the sort fired by Hamas and Hezbollah.

While it was used to defend against some elements of Iran’s last attack in April, other elements of the country’s “layered” defence systems probably did the bulk of the work on Tuesday.

David’s Sling – a joint US-Israeli manufactured system – is used to intercept medium to long-range rockets, as well as ballistic and cruise missiles. And when it comes to long-range ballistic missiles, which fly outside the Earth’s atmosphere, Israel has the Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 interceptors.

US President Joe Biden reaffirmed US support for Israel after the missile attack, describing it as “defeated and ineffective”.

He had ordered his forces in the region to “aid Israel’s defence” and shoot down Iranian missiles.

A Pentagon spokesperson said US Navy destroyers had fired about a dozen interceptors against Iranian missiles headed to Israel.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin also confirmed “multiple” interceptions by the US, condemning “this outrageous act of aggression by Iran”.

The BBC has also verified footage showing missile interceptions over the Jordanian capital of Amman. The country also shot down a number of missiles during Iran’s last attack in April.

The BBC understands UK fighter jets were involved in supporting Israel on Tuesday, as they were in April.

Defence Secretary John Healey said British forces had “played their part in attempts to prevent further escalation” on Tuesday evening, without giving more details.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the UK stood with Israel and recognised her “right to self-defence”.

France and Japan added their voices to a chorus of condemnation of Iran’s attacks and also called on all parties to avoid further escalation.

Netanyahu said Iran had made a “big mistake” and would “pay for it”.

“We have plans, and we will operate at the place and time we decide,” said Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Haggari.

Iran’s IRGC said Tehran’s response would be “more crushing and ruinous” if Israel retaliated.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military carried out new air strikes in Beirut against Hezbollah targets overnight after warning residents to move out of the city’s southern suburbs where the group has a presence.

The bodies of 20 children and three teachers have been recovered after a bus transporting school pupils crashed and caught fire outside Bangkok.

The bus was returning to the Thai capital after a school trip to the north of the country.

Videos from the scene showed flames engulfing the bus as it burned under an overpass, with huge clouds of dense black smoke billowing into the sky.

The driver handed himself in to police 100km (61 miles) north of Bangkok, according to local media.

Footage taken shortly after the fatal crash showed the driver attempting to extinguish the fire but he reportedly fled the scene.

Witnesses say the bus crashed into the concrete barrier dividing the highway just north of Bangkok, after a front tyre burst.

The bus was quickly consumed by an intense fire, and many on board were unable to get out. The cause of the fire is still unknown.

Nineteen children and three teachers are reported to have survived, sixteen of whom are being treated in hospital for their injuries.

Transport Minister Suriyahe Juangroongruangkit said the bus was powered by “extremely risky” compressed natural gas.

“This is a very tragic incident,” Mr Suriyahe told reporters at the scene.

“The ministry must find a measure… if possible, for passenger vehicles like this to be banned from using this type of fuel because it’s extremely risky.”

Piyalak Thinkaew, who was leading the search, said it was hard to identify the bodies because they were so badly burnt.

“Some of the bodies we found were very, very small,” he told reporters at the scene, adding that the fire started at the front of the bus.

“The kids’ instinct was to escape to the back so the bodies were there,” he said.

Forensic police said of the 23 bodies found, eleven were male, seven female and a further five were unidentifiable.

The ages of the children on board remains unclear, but the school caters for pupils between three and 15 years old.

Thailand has one of the worst road safety records in the world, with unsafe vehicles and poor driving contributing to roughly 20,000 fatalities a year.

Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, said an investigation was underway. “We have to investigate the trace of driving from the tire marks, the burning trace, and CCTV footage,” he said.

More than 100 people are to sue rap musician Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs for sexual assault, rape and sexual exploitation, a US lawyer has said.

Texas-based lawyer Tony Buzbee said that some of the alleged victims include minors who were abused when they were as young as nine years old.

“This is an important matter that we intend to aggressively pursue,” Mr Buzbee told reporters.

Erica Wolff, a lawyer representing Mr Combs, said the rapper “emphatically and categorically” denies the allegations, saying they are “false and defamatory”.

Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Mr Buzbee said he and his team “will leave no stone unturned to find potentially liable parties” in the alleged abuse, or “any individual or entity who participated in or benefited from this egregious behaviour”.

Ms Wolff said in a statement to the BBC that Mr Combs “looks forward to proving his innocence and vindicating himself in court, where the truth will be established based on evidence, not speculation”.

The legal action is the latest against Mr Combs.

Mr Combs was arrested last week and is facing criminal charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. He is currently in federal custody after he was denied bail, which he is appealing.

He has denied all allegations of criminal wrongdoing.

According to Mr Buzbee, who is licensed to practice law in Texas and New York, the total number of alleged victims he is representing is 120, with half of them being men and the other half women who hail from more than 25 states across the US.

He added that 25 of the alleged victims he is representing were minors. This marks the first time that Mr Combs has been accused of sexually abusing children.

The allegations span between 1991 to as recently as this year with the incidents taking place in Los Angeles, New York and Miami, Mr Buzbee said. He added most of the incidents occurred after 2015.

Most of the plaintiffs, he said, allege they were date raped after parties hosted by Mr Combs that were held at well-known venues, as well as private residences and hotels.

Mr Buzbee said the parties were either to mark an album release, or were New Year’s Eve parties and US Independence Day parties. Others occurred at what he said were auditions.

“Many times, especially young people wanting to break into the industry, were coerced into this type of conduct in the promise of being made a star or the promise of having Sean Combs listen to their tape,” Mr Buzbee said.

One man, who was aged nine at the time, alleges he was sexually abused by Mr Combs and his associates at a recording studio in New York while trying to land a record deal, according to his lawyer.

“Had he not been in power, I feel I could’ve been something great. I quit the industry because of what Sean Combs did to me,” he said in a statement via his lawyer.

Another man, who was also a minor at the time, alleged he was told by Mr Combs he would be made a “star”, but he first needed to visit the rapper alone without his parents.

Once in a private area, his lawyer claimed Mr Combs then requested the boy perform oral sex on him.

Mr Buzbee also raised the case of a then-15-year-old girl who alleges she was flown to New York for a party hosted by Mr Combs and was subsequently raped by him and others.

The lawyer claimed there was a clear modus operandi with alleged victims typically being offered “laced” drinks before being sexually assaulted.

“The biggest secret in the entertainment industry has finally been revealed to the world,” Mr Buzbee said. “The wall of silence has now been broken.”

He added that this is not a class action lawsuit and that there will be individual cases filed for each alleged victim.

Andrew Van Arsdale, an attorney at the AVA law group which is working with Mr Buzbee, said his firm had received more than 3,000 phone calls from people alleging abuse by the music mogul.

In addition to the 120 alleged victims, he said his firm were working to vet another 100 cases.

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Seven people have been killed in a shooting and knife attack in Tel Aviv, police in Israel have confirmed.

Several others were injured – some seriously – when a gunman opened fire at members of the public in the Jaffa area.

The deadly attack began in a rail carriage and continued on the platform, local police said in a statement.

Footage posted on social media showed motionless bodies strewn on the street.

Police said the gunman and another attacker armed with a knife were “neutralised” by members of the public, and described the motive as “terror”.

The identities of the perpetrators have not been released. Some Israeli media outlets earlier reported the death toll as eight, though it is unclear if this included the attackers.

• Iran launches barrage of missiles at Israel – follow live updates
• What we know about Iran’s missile attack on Israel
• Video shows missiles fired towards Tel Aviv

The shooting occurred shortly before an Iranian missile attack against Israel began.

Police at the scene were seen taking cover as missiles and air defence rockets flew over the city and air raid sirens blared.

Witnesses described the shooting, including Benjamin Ratzon, who told the Reuters news agency: “People were on the ground and they told me to bend down.

“I saw the terrorist facing me. He wanted to do something and the security forces arrived to the scene and they ran towards him.”

Another witness told the Jerusalem Post they initially mistook the gunfire for fireworks before realising “it was something much worse”.

They added: “There were many gunshots. We dropped to the floor, and people were crying. I saw someone bleeding on the ground.”

A shop owner said they quickly closed their shutters upon seeing “crowds of people running and shouting ‘terror attack'”.

Haartez quoted an eyewitness who was at a synagogue at the time of the attack.

“Among the worshippers were medics who volunteer at the MDA (Israel’s ambulance service).

“We treated a man who was wounded in the synagogue and then ran to the street to help others who were wounded.”

The US fired about a dozen interceptors at Tuesday’s barrage of Iranian ballistic missiles fired at Israel, the Pentagon says.

US President Joe Biden said the US “actively” supported Israel’s defence at his direction. He said he had spent the morning in the Situation Room – the White House hub for handling serious national security issues.

The Israeli military said about 180 missiles were fired at Israel, most of which were intercepted.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has defended the attack, calling it a “decisive” response “in defence of Iranian interests and citizens”.

In a Pentagon press briefing on Tuesday, Maj Gen Patrick Ryder said two US Navy destroyers fired the interceptors at the missiles, which the US believed were all launched from Iran.

He did not confirm whether they hit any of the Iranian missiles used in the attack – adding that this information was yet to be determined.

Iran launched around 180 missiles towards Israel, the Israeli military said. That would make it slightly larger than a barrage in April when Tehran launched about 110 ballistic missiles and 30 cruise missiles fired towards Israel.

Maj Gen Ryder added that the Pentagon was not aware of any warning for the attack.

President Biden said the US was “fully supportive” of Israel after Wednesday’s assault.

“Today, at my direction, the United States military actively supported the defence of Israel, and we’re still assessing the impact,” he said.

“But based on what we know now, the attack appears to have been defeated and ineffective. And this is testament to the Israeli military capability and the US military.”

Asked by reporters what the response towards Iran would be, Biden said: “That’s in active discussion right now. That remains to be seen.”

He said he would be talking to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his message “would depend on what we finally conclude is needed”.

The region is now well into a further sharp cycle of escalation, precisely the scenario Biden has spent months trying to avert – attempting to stem the Gaza war engulfing the rest of the region, while keeping up an almost continuous supply of arms to Israel.

Earlier, White House national security spokesman Jake Sullivan described Iran’s attack as a “significant escalation”.

He told reporters: “We have made clear that there will be consequences, severe consequences, for this attack, and we will work with Israel to make that the case.”

Mr Sullivan did not specify what such consequences might be, but he did not urge restraint by Israel as the US did after April’s attack by Iran.

US state department spokesman Matthew Miller said Washington had attempted to use both deterrence and diplomacy to de-escalate the region.

Pressed by the BBC on whether it was still taking this approach when working with the Israelis on the response to Iran, he said of course – they were always using both deterrence and diplomacy.

Iran’s armed forces warned against any direct military intervention in support of Israel.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement that the attacks were in response to Israel’s killing of a top IRGC commander and leaders of Iran-backed militias in the region.

It mentioned the killings of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and IRGC commander Abbas Nilforoshan in Lebanon last weekend.

It also referred to the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July.

While Israel has not admitted involvement in Haniyeh’s death, it is widely believed to be responsible.

Voters in the US go to the polls on 5 November to elect their next president.

The election was initially a rematch of 2020 but it was upended in July when President Joe Biden ended his campaign and endorsed Vice-President Kamala Harris.

The big question now is – will America get its first woman president or a second Donald Trump term?

As election day approaches, we’ll be keeping track of the polls and seeing what effect the campaign has on the race for the White House.

Harris has been ahead of Trump in the national polling averages since she entered the race at the end of July, as shown in the chart below with the latest figures rounded to the nearest whole number.

The two candidates went head to head in a televised debate in Pennsylvania on 10 September that just over 67 million people tuned in to watch.

A majority of national polls carried out in the week after suggested Harris’s performance had helped her make some small gains, with her lead increasing from 2.5 percentage points on the day of the debate to 3.3 points just over a week later.

That marginal boost was mostly down to Trump’s numbers though. His average had been rising ahead of the debate, but it fell by half a percentage point in the week afterwards.

You can see those small changes in the poll tracker chart below, with the trend lines showing how the averages have changed and the dots showing the individual poll results for each candidate.

While these national polls are a useful guide as to how popular a candidate is across the country as a whole, they’re not necessarily an accurate way to predict the result of the election.

That’s because the US uses an electoral college system, in which each state is given a number of votes roughly in line with the size of its population. A total of 538 electoral college votes are up for grabs, so a candidate needs to hit 270 to win.

There are 50 states in the US but because most of them nearly always vote for the same party, in reality there are just a handful where both candidates stand a chance of winning. These are the places where the election will be won and lost and are known as battleground states or swing states.

• What is the electoral college?

Right now, the polls are very tight in the seven states considered battlegrounds in this election with just one or two percentage points separating the candidates.

That includes Pennsylvania, which is key as it has the highest number of electoral votes of the seven states and therefore winning it makes it easier to reach the 270 votes needed.

In a sign of how the race has changed since Harris became the Democratic nominee, on the day Biden quit the race he was trailing Trump by nearly five percentage points on average in these seven states.

One thing to note is that there are fewer state polls than national polls being carried out at the moment so we have less data to go on and every poll has a margin of error that means the numbers could be higher or lower.

But looking at the trends since Harris joined the race does help highlight the states in which she seems to be in a stronger position, according to the polling averages.

In the chart below you can see that Harris has been leading in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin since the start of August.

All three had all been Democratic strongholds before Trump turned them red on his path to winning the presidency in 2016. Biden retook them in 2020 and if Harris can do the same this year then she will be on course to win the election.

The figures we have used in the graphics above are averages created by polling analysis website 538, which is part of American news network ABC News. To create them, 538 collects the data from individual polls carried out both nationally and in battleground states by lots of polling companies.

As part of its quality control, 538 only includes polls from companies that meet certain criteria, like being transparent about how many people they polled, when the poll was carried out and how the poll was conducted (telephone calls, text message, online, etc).

You can read more about the 538 methodology here.

At the moment, the polls suggest that Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are within a couple of percentage points of each other in swing states – and when the race is that close, it’s very hard to predict winners.

Polls underestimated support for Trump in both 2016 and 2020. Polling companies will be trying to fix that problem in a number of ways, including how to make their results reflect the make-up of the voting population.

Those adjustments are difficult to get right and pollsters still have to make educated guesses about other factors like who will actually turn up to vote on 5 November.

• SIMPLE GUIDE: Everything you need to know about the vote
• ANALYSIS: Harris goads Trump into flustered performance
• EXPLAINER: Seven swing states that could decide election
• IMMIGRATION: Could Trump really deport a million migrants?
• FACT CHECK: Was US economy stronger or weaker under Trump?
• Read more about: Kamala Harris | Donald Trump | US election

Israel says Iran launched more than 180 missiles towards the country in a large-scale attack that further heightened fears of an all-out regional war.

Millions of people rushed to shelters before explosions lit up the night skies above Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Paramedics said two were lightly injured by shrapnel.

The Israeli military said most of the missiles were intercepted with US help, but that there were a “small number of hits”. It accused Iran of a “dangerous escalation” and warned of “consequences”.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the missiles hit their targets and that it had retaliated for the killings of the leaders of its allies Hezbollah and Hamas, as well as a top Iranian general.

The US said the missile attack appeared to have been “defeated and ineffective”, and that it was consulting with Israel on a response.

The UN’s secretary general condemned what he called the “broadening conflict in the Middle East”, adding: “This must stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire.”

The missile attack came hours after Israeli troops began an invasion of southern Lebanon to remove what the military said were “Hezbollah terror targets” in border villages that posed a threat to residents of northern Israel.

Israel has gone on the offensive against the Iran-backed Shia Islamist political and military organisation after almost a year of cross-border hostilities sparked by the war with Hamas in Gaza, saying it wants to ensure the safe return of residents of border areas displaced by Hezbollah rocket, drone and missile attacks.

Air raid sirens sounded all across Israel at around 19:30 local time (16:30 GMT) on Tuesday, as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) warned missiles had been launched from Iran.

Within a few minutes in Jerusalem, loud explosions were heard in Jerusalem as missiles flew overhead and were intercepted by Israeli air defence systems.

Videos shared on social media showed streams of light as the missiles flew over Israel, and clouds of smoke as they were intercepted or detonated on impact.

Just over an hour later, the IDF announced that people were allowed to leave their protected spaces because it did “not identify any additional aerial threats from Iran”.

Later, IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a statement that “there were a small number of hits in the centre of Israel, and other hits in Southern Israel”.

“The majority of the incoming missiles were intercepted by Israel and a defensive coalition led by the United States.”

He added: “Iran’s attack is a severe and dangerous escalation. There will be consequences.

“Our defensive and offensive capabilities are at the highest levels of readiness. Our operational plans are ready.

“We will respond wherever, whenever, and however we choose, in accordance with the directive of the government of Israel.”

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters at the White House that he did “not know of any damage to aircraft or strategic military assets in Israel”.

“In short, based on what we know at this point, this attack appears to have been defeated and ineffective,” he added.

He also condemned the attack as “a significant escalation” and warned: “We have made clear that there will be consequences, severe consequences, for this attack, and we will work with Israel to make that the case.”

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) put out a statement saying it had launched scores of ballistic missiles at “the heart of the occupied territories” and targeted unspecified “sensitive security and military” centres.

The attack was retaliation for “the violation of Iran’s sovereignty and the martyrdom” of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed by an explosion in Tehran in July that Iranian officials blamed on Israel, but Israeli officials did not claim. The statement described the missile barrage as having been “in line with the legitimate right of the nation to defend itself”.

It also said the attack was in response to the Israeli air strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Friday that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Brig-Gen Abbas Nilforoushan, the operations commander of the IRGC’s overseas arm, the Quds Force.

The IRGC warned Israel that it would “be faced with subsequent crushing blows” if it responded to the attack.

Later, Iranian state media claimed that missiles had hit the Nevatim, Hazterim and Tel Nof air bases, as well as Israeli tanks in Netzarim – a reference to an Israeli military corridor in central Gaza – and gas installations in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon.

The attack took place about an hour after a senior White House official told reporters that the US had indications that Iran was preparing to imminently launch missiles at Iran.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu then told Israelis in a video statement: “We are in the midst of a campaign against Iran’s axis of evil.

“Together, we will stand steadfast in the trying days ahead of us. Together we will stand. Together we will fight and together we will win.”

Meanwhile, the US military’s Central Command announced that three additional squadrons of F-16 and F-15E fighter aircraft and A-10 attack aircraft were arriving in the Middle East, and that one squadron had already arrived.

Over the weekend, the Pentagon had also ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group to remain in the region to “deter aggression”.

In April, Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel in retaliation for a deadly strike on the Iranian consulate in Syria that killed several top commanders.

Almost all of them were shot down by Israel, the US and other Western allies and their Arab partners, and an air base in southern Israel sustained only minor damage when it was hit.

Israel responded by launching a missile that hit an Iranian air base Western calls for restraint.

On Saturday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had promised that the death of his close ally Hassan Nasrallah would “not go unavenged”.

He gave no details, but said: “The fate of this region will be determined by the forces of resistance, with Hezbollah at the forefront.”

Iran has built a network of allied armed groups across the Middle East, which are all opposed to the US and Israel and sometimes refer to themselves as the “Axis of Resistance”. Besides Hezbollah, they include Hamas in the Palestinian territories, the Houthis in Yemen, and a number of Shia militias in Iraq and Syria.

Last week, authorities in the Indian city of Kolkata announced plans to eliminate trams entirely, retaining only a small heritage loop. In response, a group of activists is fighting to ensure that trams remain a vital mode of transport rather than mere nostalgic joyrides. Sandip Roy reports.

In February 2023, Kolkata celebrated 150 years of its tramways with music, cake, a beauty parade of vintage trams, including a century-old wooden car, and a cheerful tram conductor, Roberto D’Andrea, who travelled all the way from Melbourne, Australia.

Melbourne and Kolkata boast two of the oldest operational tramways in the world. Melbourne’s trams date back to 1885. Kolkata’s first tram, a horse-drawn one, started in 1873.

That’s where the similarities end.

Melbourne’s tram system is going strong despite the government once attempting to get rid of them. The system has been upgraded and some trams are solar-powered.

• In pictures: India’s fading trams

Kolkata’s trams have been steadily declining over the years. From 52 routes in the 1970s, down to 25 in 2015 and now to just three.

The tram cars rattle and wheeze, having not been updated in years. Even the signs inside have not changed. “Beware of pickpockets”, “No change available for 100 rupees ($1.19; $0.89) or 50” and “To stop the car please ring the bell only once”.

Now, the state government has announced that it wants to do away with trams entirely, save for one small loop as a heritage route.

But a dogged group of tram activists is fighting back.

“It’s a huge backward step as cities worldwide are ‘decarbonising transport’ because of global warming and climate change,” says Mr D’Andrea, who has helped foster a Kolkata-Melbourne tram friendship over the years.

“More than 400 cities run tram systems. Cities that dismantled their tramways are rebuilding them at great expense in places like Sydney and Helsinki and all over France. Hong Kong runs trams at high frequency on narrow streets,” he says.

But West Bengal transport minister Snehasis Chakraborty told the media: “The population and vehicular count of Kolkata have multiplied several times but the city’s roads have not widened. Road space continues to hover around 6% which is way less than Mumbai’s 18% and Delhi’s 10%.”

Both those cities once had trams. Mumbai had double-decker ones. Both have done away with them, leaving Kolkata as the only Indian city to hold onto the trundling streetcars.

In a way they have become emblematic of the city itself.

The city has other landmarks – the steel Howrah bridge, the white-domed Victoria Memorial monument, the colonial buildings in the city’s centre. But just as London has its iconic red double-decker buses, Kolkata has its trams. The ding-ding sound of the first tram of the day rattling down streets was the alarm clock many in Kolkata woke up to.

They are a familiar sight in films made in the state.

“I have used trams in two of my films and the tram depot as well,” says filmmaker Anjan Dutt.

Mahanagar (1963), by celebrated filmmaker Satyajit Ray, opens with a stunning two-minute-long tram sequence, sparks flying from the overhead cables before the camera moves inside to settle on the protagonist’s tired face as he returns home from work. Here, the tram stands in for the city itself, both its dreams and the daily grind.

In fact, Kolkata’s Belgachia tram depot, once bustling with workmen repairing, maintaining, even building trams, nowadays often doubles as a film set. “Even on a working day I saw films being shot in the workshop,” says Subir Bose, a tram company worker who retired in 2022 after 39 years of service. “A Kolkata film means they have to show a tram.”

Trams are very much part of the history of the city and its sense of itself.

In 1902, Calcutta as it was known then, became the first Asian city with electric trams. Even after independence, the Calcutta Tramways Company was run from London and was listed on the London Stock Exchange till 1968. The cars were built by companies with names like Burn Standard and Jessop.

And it wasn’t just a transportation system. The tram lines knit the city together.

When bloody Hindu-Muslim riots gripped Calcutta during partition in 1947, tram workers patrolled the city in empty trams to help restore normalcy.

“My own father helped save some people from a mob,” says tram driver Gopal Ram. “Tram workers were like a family. It didn’t matter if you were Hindu or Muslim.”

Mr Ram’s great grandfather Antu Ram was a tram employee from the steam-powered days. His grandfather Mahavir and father Jagannath worked for the trams as well. Mr Ram retired recently, the fourth and last generation of his family in Kolkata trams.

In some ways, the mystery is that Kolkata’s trams have survived this long.

“In the 1950s and 60s, during the personal automobile boom, people were getting rid of trams everywhere, not just in India,” says transport consultant Suvendu Seth.

“Now they are making a comeback. The light rail in many cities in the United States is just a newer version of trams. It’s sad that we had it all the time and are neglecting it instead of improving it.”

Mr Seth says that instead of complaining about lack of road space, an innovative solution could be to make some roads open only to pedestrians and trams.

Debashis Bhattacharyya, a retired academic and president of the Calcutta Tram Users Association, thinks trams survived in Kolkata all these years because they connected the city’s schools, hospitals and cinemas.

In the 1990s, as the count of cars and buses increased, the then Communist government in the state called trams “obsolete” and wanted to get rid of them.

“I protested,” says Mr Bhattacharyya. “If trams went, I felt my whole existence was threatened. I did exhibitions, slide shows, brought in foreign experts. The government should be applying for UNESCO heritage status for trams instead of trying to kill it off. ”

Recently, activists have been trying to use culture to save trams.

Since 1996, filmmaker Mahadeb Shi has been organising the Tramjatra festival, often in collaboration with Mr D’Andrea. Art students paint the trams and local bands perform in the streetcars.

Each Tramjatra has a theme, like Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s Gitanjali or the city’s Durga Puja festival.

“Tramjatra helped expose younger people to trams too,” says Shi.

One north Kolkata tram route was reopened recently. The West Bengal Transport Corporation also tried to make trams cool again with special projects like a tram library, an Independence Day special tram and a short-lived Tram World museum.

When Kolkata received a C40 Cities “Green Mobility” award in Copenhagen in 2019, mayor Firhad Hakim said trams were a key part of his vision to make the city’s transportation all-electric by 2030.

But now he seems to have forgotten that pledge. The government admits trams are a “green” mode of transport but says they are investing in other forms instead – electric buses and cars and expanding the underground metro system.

Mr Bhattacharyya says tram routes have been gobbled up by tuk-tuks which generate more employment and votes for the government. The tram depots also sit on valuable real estate the government can sell.

But Shi insists the final bell hasn’t rung yet, as the issue is now with the Calcutta High Court, which formed an advisory committee last year to explore how Kolkata’s tram services can be restored and maintained, with the state awaiting the committee’s report before taking further action.

Mr Bose, the retired tram worker, says the government could have shut down the trams long ago, but that something held it back every time. Perhaps because it too senses what trams mean for the city, he says.

“Three things made Kolkata Kolkata – the Howrah Bridge, the Victoria Memorial and the trams. It’s heart-breaking to think we could be losing one of them.”

UK forces were involved in supporting Israel in the conflict in the Middle East after Iran launched a missile attack on the country.

Defence Secretary John Healey said British forces had “this evening played their part in attempts to prevent further escalation”, without giving more details.

The BBC understands UK fighter jets were involved, as they were in April when Iran last attacked Israel with missiles.

Responding on Tuesday to Iran’s attack, which the Israeli military said involved 180 missiles being fired with most intercepted, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the UK “stands with Israel” and recognises its right to self-defence.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had launched the missiles in retaliation for recent attacks that killed the leaders of the Hezbollah and Hamas militant groups, as well as a senior Iranian commander.

Healey said: “British forces have this evening played their part in attempts to prevent further escalation in the Middle East.

“I want to thank all British personnel involved in the operation for their courage and professionalism.

“The UK stands fully behind Israel’s right to defend its country and its people against threats.”

In April British jets shot down a number of drones fired at Israel from Iran.

The drones were intercepted by the RAF in Syrian and Iraqi airspace, where it was already operating as part of the Operation Shader mission against the Islamic State group.

The decision to use jets in April was taken by the previous Conservative government and supported at the time and since by Sir Keir.

Sir Keir used the address from Downing Street to condemn Iran’s attack on Israel, saying he was “deeply concerned that the region is on the brink”.

“We stand with Israel and we recognise her right to self-defence in the face of this aggression,” he said.

Calling on Iran to stop its attacks, he added: “Together with its proxies like Hezbollah, Iran has menaced the Middle East for far too long, chaos and destruction brought not just to Israel, but to the people they live amongst in Lebanon and beyond.

“Make no mistake, Britain stands full square against such violence. We support Israel’s reasonable demand for the security of its people.”

Sir Keir was on the phone to his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu when the Iranian attacks began.

The two men had been speaking for around 15 minutes – about the prospect of missiles being fired by Tehran – when Netanyahu had to abandon the call because he had been told the attacks were under way.

During their call, Sir Keir also underlined the importance of a ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza.

Conservative Party leader Rishi Sunak said: “We stand unequivocally by Israel’s right to defend itself including against Hezbollah in Lebanon.”

In his statement, the prime minister repeated his advice to British nationals to leave Lebanon, warning the situation was becoming “increasingly grave”.

He added: “If you have the means to leave, the time is now. Do not wait.”

Britons in Lebanon have been advised to register their presence with officials on the government’s website and a UK-chartered plane is leaving Beirut on Wednesday.

But some told the BBC they had received no confirmation or details about their booking on the government-chartered flight, despite paying for a seat.

As of last week, there were thought to be between 4,000 and 6,000 UK nationals, including dependants, in Lebanon.

The missile attack came hours after Israel launched a ground invasion in southern Lebanon, in what it has described as “limited, localised and targeted” raids against Hezbollah.

Lebanese officials say more than 1,000 people have been killed following Israeli air strikes over the past two weeks. Hezbollah has responded by firing hundreds of rockets into northern Israel.

The previously sporadic cross-border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah escalated on 8 October 2023 – the day after the unprecedented attack on Israel by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip – when Hezbollah fired at Israeli positions, in solidarity with the Palestinians.