Monarchists in Australia have accused the state premiers of “insulting” King Charles as they will not be present at a reception welcoming him to the country.

The King’s visit, which begins later this week, will include a reception in Canberra, but the six state premiers – of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania – have said they’re unable to attend.

“I find it insulting,” said Bev McArthur of the Australian Monarchist League. “They should just take off their republican hats, make the short trip to Canberra, say ‘hi and thank for you coming to Australia’.”

Buckingham Palace is not commenting on the row – but the Australian states will all have representatives at the event, including their governors.

The King will also be formally welcomed by the country’s Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese.

It is a visit which has re-opened questions about whether Australia should become a republic – with this so-called “snub” at the reception being highlighted by the Daily Mirror.

Bev McArthur, a pro-monarchist campaigner and Liberal MP, told ABC News radio it was an “insult” that state premiers were not going to the reception next Monday.

“The failure of state premiers to attend the reception in Canberra is completely indefensible,” she told the BBC, accusing them of “gesture-led politics”.

“Welcoming the King and Queen to Australia is the least they can do as the most senior elected representatives of their states,” she said.

Writing on social media, she said the King was being “snubbed”.

Mrs McArthur was unconvinced by the excuses from the regional heads of government – which included having other commitments and meetings that day – telling the BBC it was “petty and inhospitable”.

The premier of Victoria, Jacinta Allan, cannot go as she’s tied up with other government business, but in a recent press conference said she was “very pleased that King Charles is visiting Australia”.

Asked about her view on Australia becoming a republic, she said it was “something I would support but it is not something that is a top priority for me right now”.

The premier’s deputy will not be going either, so the state will be represented by Victoria’s governor, Prof Margaret Gardner.

Mrs McArthur, speaking on behalf of the Australian Monarchist League, said that constitutional monarchy offered a “very stable system of government” and that an elected president would mean another layer of government.

She said that the latest polling in Australia showed more people still wanted to be a constitutional monarchy than a republic.

But the Australian Republic Movement is calling for an end to the King’s role as Australia’s head of state – and has called the royal visit the monarchy’s “farewell tour”.

“It’s time for Australia to elect a local to serve as our head of state. Someone who can work for Australia full time,” said spokesman Isaac Jeffrey.

In an exchange of letters with the Australian Republic Movement, the King has confirmed that whether Australia becomes a republic is a “matter for the Australian public to decide”.

The visit to Australia will be the King’s biggest trip since his cancer diagnosis earlier this year.

His treatment is expected to be paused during the trip.

After the Australian leg of the trip, the King and Queen will travel to Samoa for the Commonwealth heads of government meeting.

“This is the most dangerous of all front lines,” says Oleksandr, the head of a medical unit for the Ukrainian army’s 25th Brigade.

We are in the treatment room of a cramped makeshift field unit – the first point of treatment for injured soldiers.

“The Russian Federation is pushing very hard. We have not been able to stabilise the front. Each time the front line moves, we also move.”

We are close to Pokrovsk, a small mining city about 60km (37 miles) to the north-west of the regional capital, Donetsk.

The medics tell us they recently treated 50 soldiers in one day – numbers rarely seen before during the course of this war. The casualties are brought in for treatment at this secret location after dusk, when there is less of a chance of being attacked by armed Russian drones.

The Ukrainian troops have been injured in the ferocious battle to defend Pokrovsk. Just months ago, this was considered a relatively safe place – home to about 60,000 people, its streets lined with restaurants, cafes and markets. Soldiers would often come from the front line to the city for a break.

Now, it feels like a ghost town. More than three-quarters of its population have left.

Since Russia captured the city of Avdiivka in February, the speed of its advance in the Donestk region has been swift. At the start of October, it captured the key city of Vuhledar.

The Ukrainian government agrees with the soldiers we meet on the ground, that fighting around Pokrovsk is the most intense.

“The Pokrovsk direction leads the number of enemy attacks,” Kyiv stated last week – claiming that, in total, the Armed Forces of Ukraine had repelled about 150 “enemy” attacks on most days in the past two weeks.

In the field unit, six miles from the front, army medic Tania holds the arm of Serhii, a soldier with a bloodied bandage covering most of his face, and guides him into an examination room.

“His condition is serious,” says Tania.

Serhii has shrapnel injuries to one of his eyes, his skull and brain. The doctors quickly clean up his wounds and inject antibiotics.

Five more soldiers arrive soon after – they are uncertain how they received their injuries. The barrage of fire can be so fierce and sudden, their wounds could have been caused by mortars or explosives dropped from drones.

“It’s dangerous here. It is difficult, mentally and physically. We are all tired, but we are coping,” says Yuriy, the commander of all the brigade’s medical units.

All the soldiers we see were injured at different times of the morning, but they have only arrived after nightfall, when it is safer.

Such delays can increase the risk of death and disability, we are told.

Another soldier, Taras, has tied a tourniquet around his arm to stop the bleeding from a shrapnel wound, but now – more than 10 hours later – his arm looks swollen and pale and he can’t feel it. A doctor tells us it might have to be amputated.

In the past 24 hours, two soldiers have been brought in dead.

What we see at the field unit points to the ferocity of the battle for Pokrovsk – an important transport hub. The rail link that passes through was used regularly to evacuate civilians from front-line towns to safer parts of Ukraine, and to move supplies for the military.

Ukraine knows what is at stake here.

The threat of Russian drones is ever present – one hovers just outside the medical unit while we are there. It makes evacuations from the front line extremely hard. The building’s windows are boarded up so the drones can’t look inside, but the minute anyone steps out of the door, they are at risk of being hit.

The drones are also a threat to the remaining citizens of Pokrovsk.

“We constantly hear them buzzing – they stop and look inside the windows,” says Viktoriia Vasylevska, 50, one of the remaining, war-weary residents. But even she has now agreed to be evacuated from her home, on the particularly dangerous eastern edge of the city.

She is surprised by how fast the front line has moved west towards Pokrovsk.

“It all happened so quickly. Who knows what will happen here next. I’m losing my nerve. I have panic attacks. I’m afraid of the nights.”

Viktoriia says she has barely any money and will have to start her life from scratch somewhere else, but it is too scary to stay here now.

“I want the war to end. There should be negotiations. There is nothing left in the lands taken by Russia anyway. Everything is destroyed and all the people have fled,” she says.

We find eroded morale among most of the people we speak to – the toll of more than two and a half years of a grinding war.

Most of Pokrovsk is now without power and water.

At a school, there is a queue of people carrying empty canisters waiting to use a communal tap. They tell us that a few days ago, four taps were working, but now they are down to just one.

Driving through the streets, pockets of destruction are visible, but the city hasn’t yet been bombed out like others that have been fiercely fought over.

We meet Larysa, 69, buying sacks of potatoes at one of a handful of food stalls still open at the otherwise shuttered-down central market.

“I’m terrified. I can’t live without sedatives,” she says. On her small pension, she doesn’t think she would be able to afford rent somewhere else. “The government might take me somewhere and shelter me for a while. But what after that?”

Another shopper, 77-year-old Raisa chimes in. “You can’t go anywhere without money. So we just sit in our home and hope that this will end.”

Larysa thinks it’s time to negotiate with Russia – a sentiment that might have been unthinkable for most in Ukraine some time ago. But at least here, near the front line, we found many voicing it.

“So many of our boys are dying, so many are wounded. They’re sacrificing their lives, and this is going on and on,” she says.

From a mattress on the floor of an evacuation van, 80-year-old Nadiia has no sympathy for the advancing Russian forces. “Damn this war! I’m going to die,” she wails. “Why does [President] Putin want more land? Doesn’t he have enough? He has killed so many people.”

Nadiia can’t walk. She used to drag herself around her house, relying on the help of neighbours. Just a handful of them have stayed back, but under the constant threat of bombardment, she has decided to leave even though she doesn’t know where she will go.

But there are those who are not yet leaving town.

Among them are locals working to repair war-damaged infrastructure.

“I live on one of the streets closest to the front line. Everything is burnt out around my house. My neighbours died after their home was shelled,” Vitaliy tells us, as he and his co-workers try to fix electrical lines.

“But I don’t think it’s right to abandon our men. We have to fight until we have victory and Russia is punished for its crimes.”

His resolve is not shared by 20-year-old Roman, who we meet while he is working to fix a shell-damaged home.

“I don’t think the territory we’re fighting for is worth human lives. Lots of our soldiers have died. Young men who could have had a future, wives and children. But they had to go to the front line.”

At dawn one morning, we drive towards the battlefield outside the city. Fields of dried sunflowers line the sides of the roads. There is barely any cover, and so we drive at breakneck speed in order to protect ourselves against Russian drone attacks.

We hear loud explosions as we near the front line.

At a Ukrainian artillery position, Vadym fires a Soviet-era artillery gun. It emits a deafening sound and blows dust and dried leaves off the ground. He runs to shelter in an underground bunker, keeping safe from Russian retaliation and waiting for the coordinates of the next Ukrainian strike.

“They [Russia] have more manpower and weapons. And they send their men onto the battlefield like they’re canon fodder,” he says.

But he knows that if Pokrovsk falls, it could open a gateway to the Dnipro region – just 32km (20 miles) from Pokrovsk – and their job will become even more difficult.

“Yes, we are tired – and many of our men have died and been wounded – but we have to fight, otherwise the result will be catastrophic.”

India says it has withdrawn its high commissioner to Canada after it said he and other diplomats were named as “persons of interest” in the murder investigation of a Sikh separatist.

India said it received the news in a diplomatic communication from Canada on Sunday, and reserved the right to respond, stressing it “strongly rejects these preposterous imputations”.

The statement refers to allegations last year by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that India’s government may have been behind the killing on Canadian soil, an allegation Delhi rejects.

The row led to a deterioration in ties, with India asking Canada to withdraw dozens of its diplomatic staff and suspending visa services.

On Monday, a furious statement from India’s foreign ministry said Canada’s allegations were part of Trudeau’s “political agenda” and warned of action, without specifying what it would be.

“India now reserves the right to take further steps in response to these latest efforts of the Canadian government to concoct allegations against Indian diplomats,” it said.

Delhi also defended its High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma, referring to his “distinguished career spanning 36 years”.

“The aspersions cast on him by the government of Canada are ludicrous and deserve to be treated with contempt,” it said.

There was no immediate Canadian response to Delhi’s statement. The country’s deputy head of mission in Delhi, Stuart Wheeler, was summoned by India’s External Affairs Ministry to explain Canada’s move.

“He was informed that the baseless targeting of the Indian high commissioner and other diplomats and officials in Canada was completely unacceptable,” a ministry statement said.

“We have no faith in the current Canadian government’s commitment to ensure their security. Therefore, the government of India has decided to withdraw the High Commissioner and other targeted diplomats and officials.”

Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot and killed in June 2023 by two masked gunmen outside a Sikh temple he led in Surrey, British Columbia.

He had been a vocal supporter of the Khalistan movement, which demands a separate Sikh homeland, and publicly campaigned for it.

India has in the past described him as a terrorist who led a militant separatist group – accusations his supporters called unfounded.

Canadian police called his killing a “targeted attack”.

In September 2023, Trudeau had told Canada’s parliament that allegations of Indian involvement in the killing were based on Canadian intelligence.

He called the act a violation of Canada’s sovereignty.

India has vehemently denied all allegations and maintained that Canada has provided no evidence to support its claims.

Frosty ties between the two countries seemed to have thawed slightly after India resumed processing visas in October 2023.

But last week, Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly called the country’s relations with India “tense” and “very difficult”.

She also said there remained a threat of more killings like Nijjar’s on Canadian soil.

A court in Moscow has sentenced a French researcher to three years in a penal colony for breaking Russia’s controversial law on registering as a “foreign agent”.

Laurent Vinatier, who worked for a Switzerland-based conflict mediation NGO, was arrested in June while gathering what prosecutors say was information on Russia’s military.

Speaking in the courtroom in Russian, Vinatier apologised, saying he was unaware he should have registered. The 48-year-old, who had earlier admitted his guilt, recited a verse by Russian poet Alexander Pushkin.

A plea by Vinatier’s defence team for him to be fined instead of facing a jail term was dismissed by the presiding judge. The team said he would appeal.

France has not publicly commented on the Moscow court’s verdict. President Emmanuel Macron had earlier demanded Vinatier’s release.

On Monday, Judge Natalia Cheprasova at Moscow’s Zamoskvoretsky district court said: “The court ruled to find Vinatier guilty and sentence him to three years in a general regime penal colony.”

State prosecutors had demanded a jail term of three years and three months. They had argued that the information collected by Vinatier may have been used against Russia.

Speaking during the hearing, Vinatier apologised for his actions and said he loved Russia. Wearing a blue open-necked shirt and jeans, he did not display any emotion as the verdict against him was read out.

He concluded his comments by reciting a poem by Pushkin – If Life Deceives You -which speaks of having the patience to know that better days are ahead, the AFP news agency reported.

After the court verdict, Vinatier’s defence lawyer Pavel Mamonov told reporters: “We consider the sentence harsh and will definitely appeal.”

Vinatier worked for the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue non-government organisation when he was arrested. The NGO states its main activity is “to prevent and resolve armed conflicts around the world through mediation and discreet diplomacy”.

Russia requires anyone who gets foreign support or is under influence from abroad to declare themselves as a foreign agent.

The Kremlin has used the 2012 law to squash any opposition inside the country to President Vladimir Putin, and also as a pretext to detain people, including foreigners.

Russia has in the past used foreign national detained in the country as bargaining chips to secure the release of its nationals arrested abroad.

In August, Russia freed US reported Evan Gershkovich, ex-US Marine Paul Whelan and over a dozen others in exchange for several Russian spies detained across the West.

A former East German secret police officer has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for murdering a Polish man attempting to flee to West Berlin 50 years ago.

The man, named as Martin Manfred N in court papers, is now 80. He shot Czeslaw Kukuczka in the back at Friedrichstrasse station in 1974, after he had entered the Polish embassy claiming to be carrying a bomb and demanding to be allowed to leave to democratic West Germany.

Details of the killing remained unknown for decades after the Stasi secret police shredded files relating to the case before communist East Germany reunified with the West in 1991.

Berlin prosecutors filed charges against him in 2023 after persistent investigations by historians and Polish authorities.

On 29 March 1974, 38-year-old Kukuczka, a firefighter, entered the Polish embassy on East Berlin’s Unter den Linden boulevard with a briefcase.

The father of three said – falsely – that he was carrying a bomb. He demanded to be allowed to leave for West Berlin.

Stasi officers gave him an exit visa and some West German money and escorted him to Friedrichstrasse station, which was still served by trains from the western side of the city.

Kukuczka passed several border checks inside the station. However, before he could make it to the western part of the station, a man approached him from behind and shot him in the back.

A group of schoolchildren from Hesse in West Germany were among witnesses to the killing. One gave evidence at the trial that she had seen a man shoot Kukuczka before “people in uniform” sealed off the passage.

Details of the case were uncovered by historians, who tracked down related files in the Stasi archives. Documents linking Naumann to the killing, which had been shredded, were reconstituted using a purpose-built machine.

Kukuczka’s family was never officially told of his fate. His ashes were sent to his wife some weeks after his murder.

The case was brought to trial after Poland issued a European arrest warrant for Naumann in 2021.

The trial has been seen as holding special historical significance in Germany, similarly to trials of surviving Holocaust perpetrators.

Martin Manfred N always insisted on his innocence. His lawyer has said there was no proof he carried out the killing.

East Germany was created from the parts of Germany occupied by the Soviet Union after the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945. It was a communist dictatorship, while West Germany – created from the American, British and French occupation zones – was a capitalist, democratic state.

In 1991, both countries reunified to form modern Germany.

China on Monday launched new military drills off the coast of Taiwan in what it described as “punishment” for a speech given by its president William Lai, when he vowed to “resist annexation” or “encroachment upon our sovereignty”.

China claims the self-governing island of Taiwan as its own and its president Xi Jinping has vowed to retake it by force if necessary.

Taiwan said it detected 34 naval vessels and 125 aircraft in formation around the island on Monday.

Maps published by Chinese state media indicated its forces were positioned around the whole island. It said later on Monday that the drills had been successfully concluded.

The Chinese military, known as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said the drills involved all wings of the army and were designed to simulate attacking Taiwan by land, sea and air.

Senior Captain Li Xi, spokesperson of the PLA Eastern Theater Command said the drills “fully tested the integrated joint operation capabilities” of its troops.

Taiwan’s airports and ports continued functioning as normal.

An earlier statement from the Taiwanese defence ministry condemned the Chinese move and said its priority was to avoid direct clashes which could escalate the stand-off further. Outlying islands were put on high alert, it added.

China’s foreign ministry confirmed it had simulated military assaults and port blockades, and described Taiwanese independence as being “incompatible” with peace in the region.

A post by the Chinese coast guard on its Weibo account later noted that the route of the patrol was in the shape of a heart.

China has held several major military drills off the coast of Taiwan since 2022 and its fighter jets regularly enter Taiwanese airspace.

The latest exercise has been dubbed Joint Sword 2024-B by Beijing and had been widely expected since May, when drills bearing the same name and officially labelled as part A were staged.

That exercise, which China described as its largest yet, were timed to coincide with the inauguration of President Lai, who Beijing has long seen as a “troublemaker” advocating for Taiwan’s independence.

His latest comments, made on Taiwan’s national day, were condemned by China, which said he was escalating tensions with “sinister intentions”.

But while these drills were widely expected, if you look at the deployment and how close Chinese ships and aircraft are to Taiwan – as well as the fiery rhetoric – this is very aggressive behaviour.

In any other context, this would be seen as a dramatic escalation – but it comes against the backdrop of tensions that were already very high.

The US reacted by saying that there was no justification for the drills after Lai’s “routine” speech, and that China should avoid further actions which may jeopardise peace and stability in the region.

The recent history of China’s military intimidation of Taiwan goes back to 1996, after Taiwan held its first direct presidential elections. China declared several areas around Taiwan off limits, and fired short-range ballistic missiles into those areas off the north and south coasts.

US President Bill Clinton quietly moved US Navy forces into the Taiwan strait to demonstrate to Beijing that the US would prevent an attack on the island.

Tensions eased considerably between 2008 and 2016 – until the leader of Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Tsai Ing-wen was elected as president. China considers the DPP to be a hard line pro-independence party, and responded by cutting off all direct contacts with the government in Taipei.

That situation has remained ever since.

In August 2022 US house speaker Nancy Pelosi flew into Taipei – the first time a sitting house speaker had visited the island since 1997. Pelosi’s visit and her open support for Taiwan was seen by Beijing as a huge provocation – coming close to a formal recognition of the government here by a very senior US politician.

It reacted with fury – holding two days of exercises and for the first time ever flying ballistic missiles over the island and in to the Pacific Ocean.

The father of 10-year-old Sara Sharif called police from Pakistan and admitted he killed her at their Surrey home, a court heard.

Urfan Sharif made the confession in an eight minute-call about an hour after his family’s flight had landed in Islamabad on 10 August last year, before Sara’s body was found.

Mr Sharif, 42, Sara’s stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, and her uncle Faisal Malik, 29, have denied murdering the girl at the Old Bailey.

Jurors were told Mr Sharif’s case was that Ms Batool was responsible for Sara’s death and his confession on the phone call and also in a note was false to protect her.

Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones KC told the court Sara had been the victim of violent assaults for “weeks and weeks, at least”, before he listed a series of injuries she had suffered.

He said Sara had external and internal injuries, including extensive bruising, burns and broken bones, old and new.

She had burns to her buttocks, caused by a domestic iron, and six “probable human bite marks” to her arms and legs, the prosecution said.

Dental impressions ruled out that the bite marks had been caused by the male defendants, but Ms Batool had refused to provide the impressions, the court heard.

Sara also suffered injuries to her ribs, shoulder blades, fingers and 11 separate fractures to her spine, as well as signs of a traumatic brain injury, the prosecution added.

Mr Sharif called Surrey Police from Pakistan where the family had fled before her body was found and told the operator that he killed his daughter.

The prosecutor said that in the call, which lasted eight minutes and 34 seconds, Mr Sharif told the operator that he “legally punished her” and she died.

Later in the call to police, Sara’s father was said to have told the operator that Sara had been naughty and that he then beat her up, jurors heard.

“It wasn’t my intention to kill her, but I beat her up too much”, the prosecutor said Mr Sharif went on to tell the operator.

However, Mr Emlyn Jones KC added: “Sara had not just been beaten up. Her treatment, certainly in the last few weeks of her life, had been appalling and brutal.”

The court also heard that next to Sara’s body was a note in Urfan Sharif’s handwriting.

Mr Emlyn Jones KC said it read: “Whoever see this note it’s me Urfan Sharif who killed my daughter by beating. I am running away because I am scared but I promise I will hand over myself and take punishment.

“I swear to God that my intention was not to kill her but I lost it.”

Mr Emlyn Jones KC added: “As in the 999 call, on the face of it, the note appears to be a confession to having caused Sara’s death by beating her up.”

Jurors also heard that police found Sara’s body on a bottom bunkbed under covers as if she was asleep.

“But she was not asleep, she was dead,” Mr Emlyn Jones KC told the jury.

The three defendants, who lived with Sara before her death in August last year, are also charged with causing or allowing the death of a child, which they deny.

Mr Emlyn Jones KC added that each defendant was seeking to “deflect the blame” onto one or both of the others.

The prosecution said it was “inconceivable” that any of the adults could have carried out the abuse “without the complicity, participation, assistance and encouragement of the others”.

“None of them ever reported Sara’s abuse to any outside agency, who could have intervened,” Mr Emlyn Jones KC added.

The trial continues.

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A man in illegal possession of a shotgun and a loaded handgun was arrested at an intersection near Donald Trump’s rally in Coachella, California, on Saturday, police said.

The 49-year-old suspect, Vem Miller, was driving a black SUV when he was stopped at a security checkpoint by officers, who located the two firearms and a “high-capacity magazine”.

Mr Miller was then taken into custody “without incident”, the Riverside County Sheriff’s office said. He was later released and told US media he was a Trump supporter who was not planning to harm the Republican presidential candidate.

The US Secret Service said Trump “was not in any danger”, and that the incident did not impact protective operations.

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco also said that the encounter did not affect the safety of Trump or the rally’s attendees.

Although it was impossible to speculate about what was in the mind of the suspect, Mr Bianco said he “truly believed” that his officers had prevented a third assassination attempt.

He added that it might be impossible to prove that this was the intent of Mr Miller, who he described as “a lunatic”.

Mr Bianco is an elected official and a Republican who has previously expressed support for Trump. He is also acting as a surrogate – a representative – for Trump’s re-election campaign.

Mr Miller himself told the Southern California News Group that he was “shocked” at his arrest, while denying accusations that he wanted to hurt Trump.

He also told Fox News that he “always” travelled around with guns in his vehicle, but had never fired one.

Before his release on a $5,000 (£3,826) bail, Mr Miller was charged with two misdemeanour weapons charges. No federal charges have been filed.

A federal law enforcement official told the BBC’s US partner CBS News there was no indication of an assassination attempt connected to this incident.

Federal authorities say they are still investigating the incident, and it would be up to them to pursue any additional charges.

In a police news conference on Sunday, Mr Bianco gave an account of events. He said that as the suspect approached an outside perimeter, near the location of the rally, he “gave all indications that he was allowed to be there”.

But as the suspect got to the inside perimeter, “many irregularities popped up”, Mr Bianco added, explaining that the vehicle had a fake licence plate and was in “disarray” inside.

Multiple passports with multiple names and multiple driving licences were found in the car, the sheriff said, adding that the licence plate was “home-made” and not registered.

He added that the licence plate was also “indicative of a group of individuals that claim to be Sovereign Citizens”, an anti-government movement.

In his comments to US media, Mr Miller denied being a member.

• First Trump assassination attempt: An hour that shook the US election
• Second attempt: Ryan Routh charged over incident in Florida

The incident – which police said took place at 16:59 local time on Saturday (00:59 GMT on Sunday) – highlights, once again, the intense security operation around Trump, and the dangers facing the former president, with just over three weeks to go until the election.

It follows two high-profile alleged assassination attempts on Trump earlier this year, which resulted in an increase in the security around him at events.

The Saturday before Mr Miller’s arrest, Trump held his second rally in Butler, Pennsylvania this year, the same place were his ear was bloodied after a sniper fired multiple shots in his direction, killing one person in the crowd.

Another man is currently in jail after he was arrested outside the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach in September. The man was spotted hiding in bushes near the golf course with the muzzle of a rifle sticking out through the shrubbery.

Despite Sheriff Bianco’s suggestion that Mr Miller was planning to kill Trump, Mr Miller’s online footprint appears to back up his statements that he actually supports the Republican presidential candidate.

Content that he has posted seems to provide evidence that he is a dedicated right-wing activist.

He has two profiles on Facebook – one for a state election in Nevada in 2022 – as well as an Instagram, a LinkedIn, a Twitter account and an online show on video platform Rumble.

Mr Miller posted footage of himself at the Republican National Convention in July, along with photos with many high-profile Republicans and conservative commentators.

He regularly attends pro-Trump rallies events around the country and appears to be strongly opposed to the Democrats.

Mr Miller has also posted about a wide range of conspiracy theories around Covid, vaccines, 9/11, and the weather.

He owns a website and hosts an online chat show, in which he describes himself as an investigative journalist and filmmaker. His show also promotes right-wing views alongside his apparent conspiratorial beliefs.

In online posts, he has also promoted violence against Democrats for what he has called “treason” over the Hurricane Helene response.

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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.

Joker: Folie à Deux has plunged from the top of the North American box office, suffering a massive 80% drop from last weekend’s chart-topping debut of $40m (£30.65m) to just $7.1m.

That is a record collapse for a comic-book film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

It was knocked off its perch by indie horror film Terrifier 3, which took an estimated $18.2m over the weekend.

The Joker sequel was also beaten into third spot by animated film The Wild Robot, which held on to second place, taking $13.4m.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice fell one spot to fourth, taking $7m.

Film critics have offered a range of views about Joker: Folie à Deux, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, calling it “bleak and daring” but also “depressingly dull and plodding”.

Rounding out the North American top five was comedy-drama Piece by Piece, which uses Lego animation and features a stellar voice cast including Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Gwen Stefani, Justin Timberlake and Busta Rhymes.

Meanwhile, The Apprentice, a film about Donald Trump, managed only to open in the number-10 spot, with $1.6m.

The film will have its UK premiere as part of the London Film Festival on Tuesday.

It had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, in May, attracting mostly good reviews from critics but a legal threat from the former president.

The biopic traces the US presidential candidate’s origin story as an ambitious young property developer in 1970s and 80s New York.

His spokesman has described the film, which features a scene where Trump is seen raping his first wife, Ivana, as “garbage”, “pure fiction” and “election interference by Hollywood elites”.

The film begins with a disclaimer that many of its events are fictionalised.

The UK is struggling to counter a rise in “pure propaganda” from countries like Russia and China because of cuts to the World Service, the BBC’s director general has warned.

Tim Davie called for more funding for its global services, a decade after the government stopped paying for most of the World Service.

Last year, the BBC ended its Arabic, Persian and Hindi radio services, among others, as part of a plan to save £28.5m a year.

Mr Davie told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday that, in contrast, “malign powers, frankly – Russia, China, others – see the benefit of investing heavily in media, bordering into pure propaganda”.

Russia and China are filling the gaps by spending between £6bn and £8bn on expanding their global media activities, including in countries like Lebanon, he will tell the Future Resilience Forum on Monday.

In Lebanon, Russian-backed media is now transmitting on the radio frequency previously occupied by BBC Arabic, he said.

BBC Monitoring listened to that Russian output on the day thousands of pagers and radio devices exploded last month.

“What they heard was unchallenged propaganda and narratives being delivered to local communities,” Mr Davie said.

“Had the BBC been able to retain our impartial radio output, these messages would have been much harder for local audiences to find.

“In this context, the further retreat of the BBC World Service should be a cause for serious global concern.”

The UK government paid for the World Service in full until 2014, when it handed over most of the cost to the BBC.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office currently pays £104m a year towards the World Service’s total budget of £366m.

The service reaches 320 million people a week across radio, TV and digital output.

In 2022, the corporation decided to stop broadcasting on radio in 10 languages, and to close more than 380 World Service jobs.

“We haven’t closed a lot of language services,” Mr Davie told Radio 4, saying the cuts that have been made have been a result of “tight funding settlements, and there’s only so much you can ask of the UK licence fee payer to pay for language services”.

“For decades this was funded by government,” Mr Davie continued.

“There are very clear examples, where we’ve taken away BBC Arabic on radio, for instance… [and] others have come in [such as] Russian-backed media coming into Lebanon.

“I’ve got other examples where you see China and Russia deliberately spending billions of dollars on that strategic objective.”

He added: “This has to be a matter long term for the central government decision-making to say, ‘OK, we have to, as a country, invest’, and I don’t think it’s appropriate to charge all of this to the UK licence fee payer.

“It is a strategic decision and one I think we should value.”

A UK government spokesperson said: “We are fully committed to a successful BBC World Service that continues to provide essential, impartial and accurate news coverage and programming reaching millions of people across the globe.”

In a few hours, a spacecraft should blast-off from Florida on the hunt for signs of alien life.

Its destination is Europa, a deeply mysterious moon orbiting the distant planet Jupiter.

Trapped under its icy surface could be a vast ocean with double the amount of water on Earth.

The Europa Clipper spacecraft will chase a European mission that left last year, but using a cosmic piggyback, it will overtake and arrive first.

That won’t be until 2030 but what it finds could change what we know about life in our solar system.

Years in the making, the Europa Clipper launch was delayed at the last minute after hurricane Milton blasted Florida this week.

The spacecraft was rushed indoors for shelter, but after checking the launchpad at Cape Canaveral for damage, engineers have now given the go-ahead for lift-off at 1206 local time (1706 BST) on 14 October.

“If we discover life so far away from the Sun, it would imply a separate origin of life to the Earth,” says Mark Fox-Powell, a planetary microbiologist at the Open University.

“That is hugely significant, because if that happens twice in our solar system, it could mean life is really common,” he says.

Located 628 million km from Earth, Europa is just a bit bigger than our moon, but that is where the similarity ends.

If it was in our skies, it would shine five times brighter because the water ice would reflect much more sunlight.

Its icy crust is up to 25km thick, and sloshing beneath, there could be a vast saltwater ocean. There may also be chemicals that are the ingredients for simple life.

Scientists first realised Europa might support life in the 1970s when, peering through a telescope in Arizona, they saw water ice.

Voyager 1 and 2 spacecrafts captured the first close-up images, and then in 1995 Nasa’s Galileo spacecraft flew past Europa taking some deeply puzzling pictures. They showed a surface riddled with dark, reddish-brown cracks, fractures that may contain salts and sulfur compounds that could support life.

The Hubble space telescope has since taken pictures of what might be plumes of water ejected 100 miles (160 kilometers) above the moon’s surface

But none of those missions got close enough to Europa for long enough to really understand it.

Now scientists hope that instruments on Nasa’s Clipper spacecraft will map almost the entire moon, as well as collect dust particles and fly through the water plumes.

Britney Schmidt, professor of earth and atmospheric sciences at Cornell university in the US, helped to design a laser onboard that will see through the ice.

“I’m most excited about understanding Europa’s plumbing. Where’s the water? Europa has the ice version of Earth’s subduction zones, magma chambers and tectonics – we’re going to try to see into those regions and map them,” she says.

Her instrument, which is called Reason, was tested in Antarctica.

But unlike on Earth, all the instruments on Clipper will be exposed to huge amounts of radiation which Prof Schmidt says is a “major concern.”

The spacecraft should fly past Europa about 50 times, and each time, it will be blasted with radiation equivalent to one million X-rays.

“Much of the electronics are in a vault that’s heavily shielded to keep out radiation,” Prof Schmidt explains.

The spaceship is the largest ever built to visit a planet and has a long journey ahead. Travelling 1.8 billion miles, it will orbit both the Earth and Mars to propel itself further towards Jupiter in what is called the sling-shot effect.

It cannot carry enough fuel to motor itself all the way alone, so it will piggyback off the momentum of Earth and Mars’s gravitational pull.

It will overtake JUICE, the European Space Agency’s spaceship that will also visit Europa on its way to another of Jupiter’s moons called Ganeymede.

Once Clipper approaches Europa in 2030 it will switch on its engines again to carefully manoeuvre itself into the right orbit.

Space scientists are very cautious when talking about the chances of discovering life – there is no expectation that they will find human-like creatures or animals.

“We are searching for the potential for habitability and you need four things – liquid water, a heat source, and organic material. Finally those three ingredients need to be stable over a long enough period of time that something can happen,” explains Michelle Dougherty, professor of space physics at Imperial College in London.

And they hope that if they can understand the ice surface better, they will know where to land a craft on a future mission.

An international team of scientists with Nasa, the Jet Propulsion Lab and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab will oversee the odyssey.

At a time when there is a space launch virtually every week, this mission promises something different, suggests Professor Fox-Powell.

“There’s no profit being made. This is about exploration and curiosity, and pushing back the boundaries of our knowledge of our place in the universe,” he says.

Four soldiers have been killed and 58 injured in a drone strike targeting an army base in northern Israel, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has said.

The IDF added seven soldiers had been severely injured in the attack on a base “adjacent to Binyamina” – a town around 20 miles (33km) to the south of Haifa.

Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for the attack, which it said targeted a training camp of the IDF’s Golani Brigade in the area, which is based between Tel Aviv and Haifa.

The armed group’s media office said the strike was in response to Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon and Beirut on Thursday.

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The group said it targeted the camp in northern Israel using a “swarm of drones”.

The attack was one of the biggest on an Israeli position in more than a year.

The Israeli ambulance service, Magen David Adom (MDA), earlier said 61 people had been injured in the attack – including three critically. It added 37 of them had been taken to eight regional hospitals, either by ambulance or helicopter.

In a statement before the IDF confirmed the deaths, MDA said that alongside the three critically injured, 18 of the victims were in a moderate condition, 31 sustained mild injuries and nine people were “suffering anxiety”.

The reason for the discrepancy in the number of critical injuries between MDA and the IDF is not clear.

Israeli censorship rules had initially prevented media outlets reporting exactly where or what was targeted, before the IDF confirmed it was the Binyamina base.

Some Israeli media outlets have reported the base was hit by a low-level drone launched from Lebanon – a relatively unsophisticated weapon that appears not to have activated early-warning alarms.

Throughout the evening, television bulletins, social media posts and online reports showed footage of emergency vehicles, including helicopters, taking casualties to hospitals across northern Israel.

Many of the wounded have been evacuated to Hillel Yaffe Medical Centre in nearby Hadera – with others being taken to hospitals in Tel Hashomer, Haifa, Afula and Netanya.

Details are still scarce but many of the injured appear to have been in a communal canteen at the time and were caught completely by surprise. Images circulating on social media appear to show an empty mess hall with a hole in the roof.

On Saturday morning, a message was posted on social media by the Israeli military’s Arabic spokesman warning people living in the ‘D5’ area of northern Gaza to move south. D5 is a square on the grid superimposed over maps of Gaza by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It is a block that is split into several dozen smaller areas.

The message, the latest in a series, said: “The IDF is operating with great force against the terrorist organisations and will continue to do so for a long time. The designated area, including the shelters located there, is considered a dangerous combat zone. The area must be evacuated immediately via Salah al-Din Road to the humanitarian area.”

A map is attached with a large yellow arrow pointing from block D5 down to the south of Gaza. Salah al-Din Road is the main north-south route. The message is not promising a swift return to the places people have been living in, an area that has been pulverised by a year of repeated Israeli attacks. The heart of the message is that the IDF will be using “great force… for a long time”. In other words, don’t expect to come back any time soon.

The humanitarian area designated by Israel in the message is al-Mawasi, previously an agricultural area on the coast near Rafah. It is overcrowded and no safer than many other parts of Gaza. BBC Verify has tracked at least 18 airstrikes on the area.

Hamas has sent out its own messages to the 400,000 people left in northern Gaza, an area that was once the urban heartland of the Strip with a population of 1.4m. Hamas is telling them not to move. The south, they are told, is just as dangerous. As well as that, Hamas is warning them that they will not be allowed back.

Many people appear to be staying put, despite Israeli airstrikes and artillery bombardments. When I went down to an area overlooking northern Gaza I could hear explosions and see columns of smoke rising. The intensity reminded me of the first months of the war.

Some of the people who have stayed in northern Gaza when so many others have already fled south are doing so to remain with vulnerable relatives. Others are from families with connections to Hamas. Under the laws of war, that does not automatically make them belligerents.

One tactic that has been used over the last year by civilians who want to avoid IDF operations without taking their chances in the overcrowded and dangerous south of Gaza is to move elsewhere in the north, for example from Beit Hanoun to Gaza City, while the IDF is operating near their homes or shelters. When the army moves on, they return.

The IDF is trying to stop that happening, according to BBC colleagues who are in daily contact with Palestinians in Gaza. It is channelling families who are moving in one direction only, down Salah al-Din, the main road to the south.

Israel does not allow journalists to enter Gaza to report the war, except for brief, rare and closely supervised trips with the IDF. Palestinian journalists who were there on 7 October still do brave work. The Committee to Protect Journalists says at least 128 Palestinian media workers in Gaza have been killed since the war began. In northern Gaza, since Israel went back on the offensive, they have been filming panic-stricken families as they flee, often with small children helping out by carrying oversized backpacks.

One of them sent out a brief interview with a woman called Manar al-Bayar who was rushing down the street carrying a toddler. She was saying as she half-walked, half-ran on the way out of Jabalia refugee camp that “they told us we had five minutes to leave the Fallujah school. Where do we go? In southern Gaza there are assassinations. In western Gaza they’re shelling people. Where do we go, oh God? God is our only chance.”

The journey is hard. Sometimes, Palestinians in Gaza say, people on the move are fired on by the IDF. It insists that Israeli soldiers observe strict rules of engagement that respect international humanitarian law.

But Medical Aid for Palestinians’ head of protection, Liz Allcock, says the evidence presented by wounded civilians suggest that they have been targeted.

“When we’re receiving patients in hospitals, a large number of those women and children and people of, if you like, non-combatant age are receiving direct shots to the head, to the spine, to the limbs, very indicative of the direct targeted attack.”

Once again, the UN and aid agencies who work in Gaza are saying that Israeli military pressure is deepening what is already a humanitarian catastrophe.

Desperate messages are being relayed from the remaining hospitals in northern Gaza, saying that they are running low on fuel to power the generators that keep the hospitals going, and keep badly wounded patients alive. Some hospitals report that their buildings have been attacked by the Israelis.

The suspicion among Palestinians, the UN and relief agencies is that the IDF is gradually adopting some or all of a new tactic to clear northern Gaza known as the “Generals’ Plan”. It was proposed by a group of retired senior officers led by Maj-Gen (ret) Giora Eiland, who is a former national security adviser.

Like most Israelis they are frustrated and angry that a year into the war Israel still has not achieved its war aims of destroying Hamas and freeing the hostages. The Generals’ Plan is a new idea that its instigators believe can, from Israel’s perspective, break the deadlock.

At its heart is the idea that Israel can force the surrender of Hamas and its leader Yahya Sinwar by increasing the pressure on the entire population of the north. The first step is to order civilians to leave along evacuation corridors that will take them south of Wadi Gaza, an east-west stream that has become a dividing line in Gaza since the Israeli invasion last October.

Giora Eiland believes Israel should have done a deal straight away to get the hostages back, even if it meant pulling out of Gaza entirely. A year later, other methods, he says, are necessary.

In his office in central Israel, he laid out the heart of the plan.

“Since we already encircled the northern part of Gaza in the past nine or 10 months, what we should do is the following thing to tell all the 300,000 residents [that the UN estimates is 400,000] who still live in the northern part of Gaza that they have to leave this area and they should be given 10 days to leave through safe corridors that Israel will provide.

“And after that time, all this area will become to be a military zone. And all the Hamas people will still, though, whether some of them are fighters, some of them are civilians… will have two choices either to surrender or to starve.”

Eiland wants Israel to seal the areas once the evacuation corridors are closed. Anyone left behind would be treated as an enemy combatant. The area would be under siege, with the army blocking all supplies of food, water or other necessities of life from going in. He believes the pressure would become unbearable and what is left of Hamas would rapidly crumble, freeing the surviving hostages and giving Israel the victory it craves.

The UN World Food Programme says that the current offensive in Gaza is having a “disastrous impact on food security for thousands of Palestinian families”. The main crossings into northern Gaza, it says, have been closed and no food aid has entered the strip since 1 October. Mobile kitchens and bakeries have been forced to stop work because of air strikes. The only functioning bakery in the north, which is supported by WFP, caught fire after it was hit by an explosive munition. The position in the south is almost as dire.

It is not clear whether the IDF has adopted the Generals’ Plan in part or in full, but the circumstantial evidence of what is being done in Gaza suggests it is at the very least a strong influence on the tactics being used against the population. The BBC submitted a list of questions to the IDF, which were not answered.

The ultra-nationalist extremists in Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet want to replace Palestinians in northern Gaza with Jewish settlers. Among many statements he’s made on the subject, the finance minister Bezalel Smotrich has said “Our heroic fighters and soldiers are destroying the evil of Hamas, and we will occupy the Gaza Strip… to tell the truth, where there is no settlement, there is no security.”

The UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon says Israeli tanks forced their way into one of its positions early on Sunday morning.

In a statement, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) said two Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tanks destroyed the main gate of a post in Ramyah, near the Israeli border, and “forcibly entered the position” to request it turn out its lights.

About two hours later, it said rounds were fired nearby that saw smoke enter the camp, causing 15 peacekeepers to suffer skin irritations and gastrointestinal reactions.

The IDF offered a different version of events, saying it had encroached on a Unifil position to evacuate soldiers who had been wounded by an anti-tank missile.

It said two soldiers had been “seriously injured” in the attack, with others suffering lesser degrees of injury.

“For the sake of evacuating the wounded, two tanks drove backwards, in a place where they could not advance otherwise in light of the threat of shooting, a few metres towards the Unifil position,” the IDF said.

It added that during the incident, a smoke screen was fired to aid the evacuation – and that it had “maintained continuous contact” with Unifil, stressing there was “no threat to the Unifil force from IDF activities”.

UN secretary general António Guterres warned any attacks on peacekeepers “may constitute a war crime”, adding that “Unifil personnel and its premises must never be targeted”.

“Attacks against peacekeepers are in breach of international law, including international humanitarian law,” Mr Guterres said, according to a statement from his spokesman.

The incident is the latest in a growing number of encounters between Unifil and Israeli forces.

Israel has repeatedly urged the peacekeeping force to withdraw from areas of southern Lebanon where fighting was taking place, after it began a ground incursion on 30 September targeting the armed group Hezbollah.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Unifil to “immediately” get its troops “out of harm’s way” in a video statement issued by his office on Sunday, claiming that their presence in the region made them “hostages of Hezbollah”.

Unifil has so far refused these requests.

Israel has faced international condemnation for previous instances in which Unifil troops have been injured in southern Lebanon – with the IDF admitting responsibility for firing toward UN posts in some cases.

Unifil said: “For the fourth time in as many days, we remind the IDF and all actors of their obligations to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and property and to respect the inviolability of UN premises at all times.”

It described the breach of its post in Ramyah as “a further flagrant violation of international law”.

Unifil added that on Saturday Israeli troops had blocked them from carrying out a “critical” logistical movement near Meiss El Jebel, also near the border.

The IDF has yet to comment on that incident. But it alleged that Hezbollah had fired around 25 rockets and missiles in the last month from sites located near Unifil sites. It accused the armed group of “exploiting their proximity to UN forces”.

Hezbollah and Israel have been trading near daily cross-border fire since last October, when the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked communities in southern Israel.

Nearly 10,000 peacekeepers from 50 countries are stationed in Lebanon, alongside around 800 civilian staff.

Since 1978, they have patrolled the area between the Litani River and the UN-recognised boundary between Lebanon and Israel known as the “Blue Line”.

Israel has previously asked Unifil to withdraw north by 5km (3 miles).

Prior to Sunday’s incidents, five peacekeepers had been injured in recent days.

On Saturday, Unifil said a soldier had been shot at its headquarters in the city of Naquora – though it did not know the origin of the bullet.

The day before, the IDF said its troops were responsible for an incident in which two Unifil troops from Sri Lanka were injured.

On Thursday, two Indonesian Unifil soldiers were injured falling from an observation tower after an Israeli tank fired towards it.

Those incidents prompted rebukes from several of Israel’s allies, including France, Italy and Spain. A Downing Street spokesperson said the UK was “appalled”.

In his comments on Sunday, Netanyahu said European leaders should direct their criticism towards Hezbollah, not Israel.

Israel argues that Unifil has failed to stabilise the region and prevent Hezbollah fighters from operating south of the Litani River – among the reasons for a UN presence there.

It has previously said that it was acting on a 2004 UN resolution calling for the disbanding of Lebanese and non-Lebanese militant groups, and that its request for peacekeepers to withdraw was so it could confront Hezbollah.

Netanyahu said these appeals had been “met with refusals”, and that Unifil was providing a “human shield to Hezbollah terrorists”.

“This endangers both them and the lives of our soldiers,” he added.

“We regret the injuring of Unifil soldiers and we are doing everything in our power to prevent this injuring. But the simple and obvious way to ensure this is simply to get them out of the danger zone.”

Unifil officials have repeatedly refused to withdraw troops from the region.

The body’s spokesman Andrea Tenenti told the AFP news agency on Saturday that there had been a “unanimous decision to stay because it’s important for the UN flag to still fly high in this region”.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nijab Mikati condemned Netanyahu’s position.

In a statement, he said the Israeli PM’s comments represented “a new chapter in the enemy’s approach of not complying with international legitimacy”.

Mikati urged other nations “to take a firm position that stops the Israeli aggression”.

Israeli army vehicles had already pounded the dirt road into dust where we crossed into Lebanon, breaking through a hole in the fence that marks the ceasefire line drawn between the two countries a generation ago.

The ceasefire itself is already in tatters.

Israel’s ground invasion along this border last week was launched, it said, to destroy Hezbollah weapons and infrastructure in “limited, localised, targeted raids”.

Ten days on, the army was taking us to a village a couple of miles into Lebanese territory, where it had just established “some level of control”.

We were told not to reveal where it is, for military reasons, and our movements were restricted.

Israeli artillery was blasting through the air as we arrived. The brigade commander, Col Yaniv Malka, told us the area was still not clear of Hezbollah fighters.

Bursts of small-arms fire were from fighting that was taking place 500m away, he said, describing “face-to-face combat” with Hezbollah fighters inside the village just a couple of days before – meaning, he said, “my troops seeing in their eyes, and fighting them in the streets”.

All along the central path through the village, houses lay demolished; piles of rubble leaching glimpses of family life. Buildings left standing were shot through with artillery, missing corners or walls and peppered with gunshot and shrapnel holes.

Two tanks sat in churned up earth near what was once a village square. The level of destruction around them is reminiscent of Gaza.

Our movements on the ground were restricted by the army to a limited area of the village, but neighbouring buildings and communities appeared, from a distance, to be untouched.

These incursions seem – so far – to be more “limited and targeted” geographically than militarily.

The graffiti on a building commandeered by troops read: “We wanted peace, you wanted war”.

“Most of the terrorists ran away,” Col Malka told me. “[But] dozens of houses were booby-trapped. When we went house to house, we discovered booby-traps and weapons. We had no choice but to destroy them.”

We only have the army’s account of what happened here.

I asked an army spokesman whether any women or children were present when the operation here began. He replied that all civilians had been given ample warning to leave.

The human rights group Amnesty International this week described Israel’s evacuation warnings in southern Lebanon as inadequate and overly general, and said they did not absolve the country of its obligations under international law.

We were also shown three caches of weapons it said were found inside civilian homes here, including boxes of brand-new mortars, new anti-tank missiles and mines, as well as sophisticated shoulder launched rockets and night-scopes.

One anti-tank missile we saw was already semi-assembled.

The chief of staff for the 91st Division, Roy Russo, also showed us a garage he said had been used as an equipment warehouse, with sleeping bags, body armour, rifles and ammunition hidden in a large barrel.

“This is what we call an exchange zone,” he said. “They’re morphing from civilians into combatants. All this gear is designed to manoeuvre into [Israel] and conduct operations on the Israeli side. This is not defensive equipment.”

This, Israel says, is why it launched its invasion of southern Lebanon; that Hezbollah’s stockpiles of weapons and equipment along this border were planning for a cross-border attack similar to last year’s 7 October attacks by Hamas in southern Israel.

At the start of this invasion, the army revealed that Israeli special forces had been operating across the Lebanese border in small tactical units for almost a year, conducting more than 70 raids to find and destroy Hezbollah infrastructure, including underground tunnels – one of which, it said, stopped 30m (100ft) before the ceasefire line with Israel and was unfinished.

Col Malka showed me some of the weapons he said the army found on the day we arrived. They include a large IED, an anti-personnel mine, and a high-tech night-scope.

He said troops were finding “two to three times” the number of weapons they found in Gaza, with “thousands” of weapons and thousands of pieces of ammunition found in this village alone.

“We don’t want to hold these places,” he told me. “We want to take all the ammunition and fighting equipment out. After that, we expect the people will come back, and understand that peace is better for them, and terrorist control over them in a bad thing.”

“But I’ll leave that to the diplomats to solve,” he smiled.

After the last ground war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, the UN ruled that Hezbollah must pull back north of the Litani River. A previous resolution also ordered its disarmament. Neither decision has been enforced.

That ground war in 2006 was a wake-up call for Israel. The Iran-backed militia fought its army to standstill. For almost 20 years, both sides have been avoiding – and preparing for – the next one.

Col Malka fought in Lebanon during that war. “This one is different,” he said.

When I asked why, he replied: “Because of 7th October.”

As we were speaking, the sound of small-arms fire grew louder. He gestured towards it. “That’s my guys fighting in the casbah,” he said.

Israel’s ground invasion is part of a dramatic escalation against Hezbollah over the past three weeks that has also seen it intensify air strikes on southern Lebanon and parts of Beirut.

Lebanon says more than 2,200 people have been killed, mainly during the recent escalation, and more than a million people displaced.

Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel on 8 October last year, the day after Hamas’s deadly attack on southern Israel. The Iran-backed group says it is acting in solidarity with the Palestinians and has said it will stop firing if there is a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Israel accuses Hezbollah of using civilians as human shields. One commander described the ground war as an offensive operation to defend Israeli citizens – an invasion to stop an invasion, in other words.

But the speed with which Israel’s forces have been moving through villages along this border may only be the first chapter in this story.

Hezbollah tactics have shifted since the ground invasion began, with Israeli towns like Metula – surrounded on three sides by Lebanon – reporting a drop in direct fire from anti-tank missiles, and a rise in rockets fired out of sight from further away.

The assessment of many is that Hezbollah fighters have not run away, but simply withdrawn further back into Lebanon.

Israel already has four divisions lined up at this border – and a growing chorus of voices inside the country who say this is the moment, not just to push back Hezbollah, but to remake the Middle East.

As the fighting near the village intensified, we were told to leave immediately, hurried out to the waiting convoy.

Under the shadow of a growing conflict with Iran, Israel’s small successes along this frontier don’t change one key fact: this is not actually a border war, it’s a regional war being fought along a border.

“Let’s smile so we look better in the pictures they are taking,” jokes Marwan, the chief waiter at a Beirut hotel.

He and a colleague are gazing at the sky, trying to spot the Israeli surveillance drone buzzing overhead.

Neither the music playing in the background nor birdsong can mask its deep, humming noise. It’s like someone has left a hairdryer on, or a motorbike is doing laps of the clouds.

Marwan’s hotel is not in an area with a strong Hezbollah presence.

It’s in Achrafieh, a wealthy Christian quarter that’s not been targeted by Israel in previous wars. It’s also where I am based.

Days later, two Israeli missiles roar over Achrafieh.

I hear children and adults in the neighbourhood scream. People run to their balconies or open their windows trying to figure out what’s just happened.

Within seconds a strong explosion shakes the tree-lined streets.

Everyone in my building looks towards Dahieh, the Hezbollah-dominated southern suburb of Beirut which is partly visible from Achrafieh.

But soon we realise the strike has hit an area just a five-minute drive away from us.

Local media say the target is Wafiq Safa, a high-ranking Hezbollah security official who’s also the brother-in-law of recently killed leader Hassan Nasrallah. He reportedly survives.

The building that was hit was full of people who’d recently fled to Beirut. No warning was issued by the Israeli army, and at least 22 people were killed. It was the deadliest attack yet.

“Oh my God. What if we were passing through that street?” a neighbour exclaims. “I pass that street to go to work.”

“What is the guarantee that next time they won’t hit a building on our street, if they have a target?” another asks.

The recent turmoil in Lebanon started on 17 and 18 September, when waves of pager blasts killed at least 32 and left more than 5,000 injured, both Hezbollah fighters and civilians. Many lost their eyes or hands, or both.

Air strikes intensified in the south, as well as on Beirut’s southern suburbs, killing high-rank Hezbollah commanders including Nasrallah. On 30 September, Israel invaded southern Lebanon.

Officials say more than 1,600 people have been killed in Israel’s bombardment over the past weeks.

I’ve seen many of the strikes from my own balcony.

The past three weeks have felt like a “fast-forward”, Marwan the waiter tells me. “We haven’t digested what exactly happened.”

I’ve spoken to him many times in the past 12 months since tensions erupted between Hezbollah and Israel.

He’s lived here his entire life and seen all the wars between the two sides. But he’s always been an optimist, and never believed that this round of fighting would escalate into a war.

“I withdraw what I was telling you,” he tells me now. “I didn’t want to believe it but we are at war.”

The face of Beirut has completely changed.

Streets are packed with cars, some parked in the middle of boulevards. Hundreds fleeing Israeli operations in the south of the country have fled to the capital’s suburbs, sheltering in schools in “safer” neighbourhoods. Many have found themselves sleeping on the streets.

On the motorway towards the airport and the south, billboards show Hassan Nasrallah’s face. Both pro- and anti-Hezbollah people tell me these feel surreal.

In other areas, posters that previously read “Lebanon doesn’t want war” now say “Pray for Lebanon”.

The city’s iconic Martyrs’ Square – usually host to protests and huge Christmas celebrations – has turned into a tent city.

Families squeeze under the skeleton of an iron Christmas tree. Around a cut-out clenched fist installed above the square after youth protests in 2019, there are blankets, mattresses and tents made of whatever else people could find.

More of the same awaits around every corner. Makeshift homes stretch from the square all the way down to the sea.

Most of the families here are Syrian refugees, who’ve found themselves displaced again and barred from shelters which are limited to Lebanese nationals.

But many Lebanese families have found themselves homeless too.

Just over a kilometre away, 26-year-old Nadine is trying to take her mind off everything for a few hours.

She’s one of very few customers at Aaliya’s Books, a bookshop-bar in Beirut’s Gemmayze neighbourhood.

“I don’t feel safe any more,” she tells me. “We keep hearing explosions all night.

“I keep asking myself: what if they bomb here? What if they target a car in front of us?”

For a long time, Beirutis believed that tensions would stay limited to Hezbollah-run border villages in southern Lebanon.

Nasrallah, who led the powerful Shia political and military organisation, said he didn’t want to take the country to war, and that the front against Israel was solely to support Palestinians in Gaza.

That all changed.

In Beirut, although strikes mostly land in the southern suburbs, where Hezbollah dominates, they send shockwaves across the city – resulting in sleepless nights.

Businesses are affected. Aaliya’s Books is usually a lively place, hosting local bands, podcasts and wine-tasting nights.

We were filming here for a report right after the first air strike on Dahieh, on 30 July, which killed Hezbollah’s second-in-command Fuad Shukr.

Intense sonic booms could be heard overhead as Israeli jets broke the sound barrier.

But a jazz band played all night, with dancing patrons crowding the bar. Now the place is empty, with no music and no dancing.

“It is sad and frustrating,” says bar manager Charlie Haber. “You come here to change your mood but again you will end up talking about the situation. Everyone is asking, what is next?”

His place closed for two weeks after Nasrallah’s killing. Now they’ve reopened, but shut at 20:00 instead of midnight.

Day by day, the psychological strain on staff and customers worsens, says Charlie. Even a post on Instagram takes half a day to write, he adds, because you “don’t want to look like ‘hey, come and enjoy and we’ll give you a discount on drinks’ in this situation”.

It’s hard to find anywhere open late any more in this area.

Loris, a well-loved restaurant, never used to shut before 01:00 – but now the streets are deserted by 19:00, says one of its owners, Joe Aoun.

Three weeks ago you couldn’t get a table here without a reservation. Now, barely two or three tables are taken each day.

“We take it day by day. We are sitting here and talking together now, but maybe in five minutes we’ll have to close down and leave.”

Most of Loris’s staff come from Beirut’s southern suburbs or villages in the country’s south. “Each day one of them hears that his house is destroyed,” says Joe.

One employee, Ali, didn’t come to work for 15 days as he was trying to find somewhere for his family to stay. They’d slept under olive trees in the south for weeks.

Joe says Loris is trying to stay open to help staff make a living but he’s not sure how long this can continue. Fuel for the generators is extremely expensive.

I see the frustration on his face.

“We are against war,” he says. “My staff from the south are Shia but they are against war too. But no one asked for our opinion. We can’t do anything else. We just need to to hold on.”

Back at Aaliya’s, both Charlie and Nadine are worried about community tensions rising.

These parts of Beirut are mostly Sunni Muslim and Christian – but the new arrivals are largely Shia.

“I personally try to help people regardless of their religion or sect but even in my family there are divisions over it. Part of my family only help and accommodate displaced Christians,” she says.

Out in the squares and alleys of Achrafieh and Gemmayze, more and more flags can be seen of Lebanese Forces, a Christian party that strongly opposes Hezbollah.

The party has a long history of armed conflict with Shia Muslims, as well as Muslim and Palestinian parties during the civil war, three decades ago.

Nadine thinks this is a message to displaced Shias who have recently arrived, saying “don’t come here”.

With the movement of people, there are also fears that Israel can now target any building in any neighbourhood in its search for Hezbollah fighters or members of allied groups.

Hezbollah says its high-ranking officials do not stay in places assigned to displaced people.

None of this bodes well for local businesses.

Many in Gemmayze were already badly affected by the Beirut port explosion four years ago, which killed 200 people and destroyed more than 70,000 buildings. They’d only recently started getting back on their feet.

Despite the financial crisis, new places were springing up in the area – but many of them have closed now.

Maya Bekhazi Noun, an entrepreneur and board member of the restaurant and bar owners’ syndicate, estimates that 85% of food and drink spots in downtown Beirut have shut down or limited their opening hours.

“Everything happened so fast and we couldn’t do any statistics yet but I can tell you more around 85 percent of food and beverage places in downtown Beirut are closed or working for limited hours only.”

“It is difficult to keep the places open for joy when there are many people are sleeping without enough food and supplies nearby.”

Despite the tough situation in Beirut, you can still find bustling restaurants and bars around a 15 minute-drive north. But Maya says that too is temporary.

“Strikes may happen in other locations too. There have been attacks on some places in the north. There is no guarantee they will be safe either.”

It’s like someone pressed a button and life stopped in Beirut, she says.

“We are on hold. We were aware of the war in the south – and somehow affected by it too – but many like me didn’t expect the war to come this close.”

In China, people are following the US election with keen interest and some anxiety. They fear what could happen next at home and abroad, whoever wins the White House.

“None of us wants to see a war,” says Mr Xiang, as the music in the park reaches a crescendo and a nearby dancer elegantly spins his partner.

He has come to Ritan Park to learn dance with other seniors.

They gather here regularly, just a few hundred metres from the Beijing home of the American ambassador in China.

In addition to new dance moves, the looming US election is also on their minds.

It comes at a pivotal time between the two superpowers, with tensions over Taiwan, trade and international affairs running high.

“I am worried that Sino-US relations are getting tense,” says Mr Xiang who’s in his sixties. Peace is what we want, he adds.

A crowd has gathered to listen to this conversation. Most are reluctant to give their full names in a country where it is permissible to talk about the US president, but being critical of their own leader could get them in trouble.

They say they are worried about war – not just about a conflict between Washington and Beijing but an escalation of current wars in the Middle East and Ukraine.

• Election polls – is Harris or Trump ahead?
• Only one candidate is talking about China

That is why Mr Meng, in his 70s, hopes Donald Trump will win the election.

“Although he imposes economic sanctions on China, he does not wish to start or fight a war. Mr Biden starts more wars so more ordinary people dislike him. It is Mr Biden who supports Ukraine’s war and both Russia and Ukraine suffer great loss from the war,” he said.

Some sisters recording a dance routine for their social media page chip in. “Donald Trump said in the debate that he will end the war in Ukraine 24 hours after he takes office,” says one.

“About Harris, I know little about her, we think she follows the same route as President Biden who supports war.”

Their opinions echo a key message being propagated on Chinese state media.

China has called on the international community to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza while aligning itself with what it describes as its “Arab brothers” in the Middle East and has been quick to blame the US for its unwavering support of Israel.

On Ukraine, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the United Nations that China was playing a “constructive role” as he accused Washington of “exploiting the situation for selfish gain”.

While most analysts believe Beijing does not have a favourite in this race for the White House, many would agree that Kamala Harris is an unknown quantity to Chinese people and the country’s leaders.

• Listen to Laura Bicker discuss China/US on The Global Story
• Xi Jinping has economy worries. What do Chinese people think?

But some believe she will be more stable than Trump when it comes to one of the biggest flashpoints between the US and China – Taiwan.

“I don’t like Trump. I don’t think there is a good future between the US and China – there are too many problems, the global economy, and also the Taiwan problem,” says a father of a four-year-old boy in the park for a family day out.

He fears their differences over Taiwan could eventually lead to conflict.

“I don’t want it. I don’t want my son to go to the military,” he says as the young boy pleads to go back on the slide.

China claims the self-governing island of Taiwan as its own and President Xi has said “reunification is inevitable”, vowing to retake it by force if necessary.

The US maintains official ties with Beijing and recognises it as the only Chinese government under its “One China policy” but it also remains Taiwan’s most significant international supporter.

Washington is bound by law to provide Taiwan with defensive weapons and Joe Biden has said that the US would defend Taiwan militarily, breaking with a stance known as strategic ambiguity.

Harris has not gone that far. Instead, when asked in a recent interview she stated a “commitment to security and prosperity for all nations.”

Donald Trump is instead focused on a deal – not diplomacy. He has called on Taiwan to pay for its protection.

“Taiwan took our chip business from us. I mean, how stupid are we? They’re immensely wealthy,” he said in a recent interview. “Taiwan should pay us for defence.”

• SIMPLE GUIDE: How to win a US election
• EXPLAINER: What Harris or Trump would do in power
• ANALYSIS: What could be the ‘October Surprise’?
• FACT-CHECK: Debunking Trump claim about hurricane funds
• VOICES: ‘I’m uneasy’ – first-time voters weigh in

One of their biggest worries when it comes to the former US president is that he has also made it clear he plans to impose 60% tariffs on Chinese goods.

This is the last thing many businesses in China want right now as the country is trying to manufacture enough goods to export itself out of an economic downturn.

Ministers in China bristle with contempt at US-led trade tariffs which were first imposed by Donald Trump.

President Biden has also levied tariffs, targeting Chinese electronic vehicles and solar panels. Beijing believes these moves are an attempt to curb its rise as a global economic power.

“I don’t think it will do any good to the US to impose tariffs on China,” says Mr Xiang, echoing the sentiments of many we met. The tariffs will hit the US people, he adds, and increase costs for ordinary people.

Many of the the younger generation, while patriotic, also look towards the US for trends and culture – and that, perhaps more than any diplomatic mission, has power too.

In the park, Lily and Anna, aged 20 and 22, who get their news from TikTok, echo some of the national messages of pride spread by Chinese state media when it comes to this competitive relationship.

“Our country is a very prosperous and powerful country,” they say, dressed in their national costumes. They love China, they said, although they also adore the Avengers and particularly Captain America.

Taylor Swift is on their playlists too.

Others like 17-year-old Lucy hope to study in America one day.

As she cycles on an exercise bike, newly installed in the park, she dreams about visiting Universal Studios one day – after her graduation.

Lucy says she is excited to see there is a female candidate. “Harris’s candidacy marks an important step forward for gender equality, and it’s encouraging to see her as a presidential candidate.”

• Can Xi fix China’s economy?

The People’s Republic of China has never had a female leader and not a single woman currently sits on the 24-member team known as the Politburo that makes up the most senior members of the Chinese Communist Party.

Lucy is also worried about the intense competition between the two countries and believes the best way for China and the United States to improve their relationship is to have more people-to-people exchanges.

Both sides have vowed to work towards this, and yet the number of US students studying in China has fallen from around 15,000 in 2011 to 800.

Xi hopes to open the door for 50,000 American students to come to China in the next five years. But in a recent interview with the BBC, the US ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, accused parts of the Chinese government of not taking this pledge seriously.

He said that on dozens of occasions the security forces or a government ministry have prevented Chinese citizens from participating in public diplomacy run by the US.

On the other side, Chinese students and academics have reported being unfairly targeted by US border officials.

Lucy, however, remains optimistic that she will be able to travel to America one day, to promote Chinese culture. And, as the music strikes up nearby, she urges Americans to visit and experience China.

“We may be a little bit reserved sometimes and not as outgoing or as extrovert as US people, but we are welcoming,” she says as she heads off to join her family.

A man who had £165,000 stolen from his Revolut business account by fraudsters has told BBC Panorama he believes the company’s security measures failed to prevent the theft.

He says criminals managed to bypass the ID verification process to gain access to his account.

So far, Revolut has refused to refund this money.

The BBC has found that Revolut was named in more reports of fraud in the last financial year than any of the major High Street banks.

The e-money firm – which has not yet been granted full status as a bank – says it takes fraud incredibly seriously and that it has “robust controls” to meet its legal and regulatory obligations.

Revolut is among a number of new digital-only financial institutions that offer all their services online or through an app – there are no branches to go to.

The firm has grown rapidly and amassed more than 45 million customers worldwide, of which nine million are in the UK. It almost tripled its revenue to £1.8bn in 2023. Its accounts are quick to open and offer competitive foreign exchange rates in an easy-to-use app.

These were the features that attracted Jack – who runs an international business and needs to hold multiple different currencies – to Revolut.

Jack, who asked us not to use his surname, told us he was also reassured by the security features Revolut promote in their advertising.

In February, Jack was in a co-working space when he received a phone call from a scammer pretending to be from Revolut. He was told he was being called because his account might have been compromised through being on shared Wi-Fi.

Jack was tricked into handing over enough information to allow the scammers to put his Revolut account onto their device. This meant they could see all his previous transactions, including a purchase at the online retailer Etsy that morning.

While Jack was still on the phone to the scammers, a text message from Revolut arrived, asking him to confirm the exact same amount he had spent – £21.98 – by typing in a six-digit security code.

He said, “Yes, that was me,” and read out the code to the scammers.

What Jack didn’t realise was that they had set up their own account – also called Etsy – and by sharing the code Revolut had sent him, he was authorising a new payment to their fake account instead.

Two similar texts followed to authorise payments of small amounts to two further fake accounts, called “Revolut fees” and “Revolut fees care”. Jack also approved these – which meant he had been tricked into setting up three new payees.

This opened the floodgates and thousands of pounds began to fly out.

As soon as Jack realised he was being scammed, he contacted Revolut – but there was no dedicated helpline, just a chat function deep within the app.

“I messaged them saying, ‘I’ve been scammed, please freeze my account,’” he told the BBC.

It took 23 minutes to reach the right department that could freeze the account, during which time another £67,000 had been taken.

Jack is now out of pocket by £165,000. He thinks Revolut’s systems failed him in several ways.

He believes criminals managed to bypass facial-recognition software to gain access to his account on their device. If an account is set up on a new device, Revolut asks for a selfie, which Jack says he did not provide.

Jack says he asked Revolut to show him the image used to authorised the new device. They eventually told him that it wasn’t stored in their system, so there was no way of proving what the fraudsters had done, or what photo was used.

Panorama investigated this apparent vulnerability and found that it appeared to have been fixed.

Jack also believes the fact that 137 individual payments were being made to three new payees in the space of an hour, should have raised concerns with Revolut.

Most banks and financial institutions monitor customers’ accounts for unusual activity.

“If somebody is suddenly processing a vast amount of transactions and a ton of payments to a new account, it is something that is a red flag – and banks should typically start to investigate some of that behaviour,” says Nina Kerkez, a fraud specialist at data analytics company LexisNexis Risk Solutions.

“[They should] call their customer, send them a text message, engage in some way to ensure those transactions are legitimate.”

Last year, the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cyber-crime Action Fraud, received almost 10,000 reports of fraud in which Revolut was named, according to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted by Panorama.

That is 2,000 more than Barclays, one of the biggest banks in the UK, and double that of Monzo, a competitor of similar size to Revolut.

Panorama spoke to eight former employees to try to understand Revolut’s work culture, and two issues came up again and again – Revolut’s insatiable appetite for growth, and a high-pressure environment.

“Protecting Revolut from being used for financial crime always played second fiddle to the desire to launch new products and to get existing customers to use products more,” an insider, who wished to remain anonymous, told us.

Fraud is a problem for all banks and scams continue to net hundreds of millions even while the technology to defeat them improves.

In order to protect customers, financial companies do extra checks but sometimes these security steps can get in the way of a smooth customer experience.

Revolut says it has a “high performance culture” with an “expectation to deliver good customer outcomes” and that all new product launches involve comprehensive risk assessment and governance approval processes.

It also says it has “invested heavily” in its financial crime prevention team, which now makes up more than a third of its total global workforce.

Britain’s Newest Bank: How Safe Is Your Money?

Reporter Catrin Nye investigates the stories of Revolut customers who say scammers took tens of thousands of pounds from their accounts, and that Revolut failed to protect them.

Watch on BBC iPlayer or on BBC One on Monday 14 October at 20:00 (20:30 in Wales and Northern Ireland)

Revolut says it cannot comment on Jack’s case as it is being looked at by the Financial Ombudsman Service.

In 2023 the ombudsman received about 3,500 complaints about Revolut, more than any other bank or e-money firm.

“[This] shows that actually Revolut aren’t doing enough to act in this area,” says Rob Lilley-Jones, from consumer group Which?

He says that Which? does not recommend banking large sums of money with the firm.

“They have a track record of not reimbursing people who fall victim to fraud or find themselves in this incredibly difficult situation, [and] of money being taken from accounts even after scam activity has been reported.”

Revolut says that each potential fraud case is carefully investigated so it can evaluate the full circumstances and make the most informed decision.

Earlier this month new rules came in to make all banks and electronic money institutions reimburse victims of fraud.

The majority of scam victims will now be reimbursed their money automatically up to the value of £85,000, with refunds split 50-50 between sending and receiving firms.

• Banks must refund fraud up to £85,000 in five days
• Banks to put four-day hold on suspicious payments

This could prove costly for Revolut.

“We hear from customers consistently that they’re told to set up Revolut accounts when they are becoming the victim of a scam,” says Will Ayles from Refundee, a company specialising in fraud recovery.

“It might be safe to draw the conclusion from that, that fraud victims are told to set up Revolut accounts because fraudsters find it easier to move money through Revolut than any other bank.”

When someone is tricked into transferring money to a fraudster it is known as an authorised push payment (APP) fraud. It’s the most common type of financial scam in the UK.

Last year, figures from the Payment Systems Regulator show that for every million pounds paid into Revolut accounts, £756 was from APP fraud.

That is more than 10 times the amount for Barclays and four times more than Monzo.

Revolut says it takes fraud incredibly seriously, and has approaches to tackle it, including delaying payments, “to allow customers to stop, think and complete additional checks”.

It also says it has recently announced “a new biometric identification feature” and “an advanced AI-scam detection feature that protects customers against card scams”.

In July this year, the UK banking regulator granted Revolut a provisional banking licence, and it is now on its way to becoming a fully-fledged bank.

This means that if Revolut were to go bust, customers’ deposits would be guaranteed up to £85,000 per person.

Until then, it will continue to operate as an electronic money institution or e-money firm.

However, becoming a bank means it will be able to extend credit to customers via credit cards, overdrafts and mortgages.

“This means the stakes are higher for their customers if they’re targeted by a scammer,” says Rob Lilley-Jones.

“I think there might be a political element to Revolut’s licensing, because it’s becoming of a size to challenge High Street banks,” says Frances Coppola, a financial journalist and expert on banking risks and regulations.

“I think no government would want to have something of that size playing fast and loose with the rules.” However, she adds: “I suppose you could question, given there are so many complaints, whether Revolut should have a licence.”

The Treasury says the decision on whether to grant Revolut a banking license lies with the independent regulators. The regulators declined to comment to Panorama.

Revolut says that it abides by the same regulatory standards as any High Street bank, and it is sorry to hear of any instance where customers have been targeted by criminals.

It says it cut fraud by 20% last year but acknowledges “there is always more to do”.

• Customers can complain about any regulated firm to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which can settle disputes and order firms to pay compensation
• Mandatory Reimbursement Requirement regulations were brought in on 7 October 2024
• They will cover the vast majority of UK money transfers up to £85,000, with the exception of international transfers or those involving cryptocurrencies
• The new measures protect individuals, microenterprises – with fewer than 10 employees – and charities with an annual income of less than £1m
• BBC Action Line has more resources

“I feel sick if I don’t search for diamonds. It’s like a drug.”

Prakash Sharma, 67, speaks about diamonds with a passion that has defined his life for the past five decades.

A diamond hunter in India’s central state of Madhya Pradesh, he spends most of his day in the mines of Panna district.

Panna is among the country’s most backward regions – its residents face poverty, water scarcity, and unemployment. But it’s also home to most of India’s diamond reserves and remains a prime destination for diamond hunters.

While most mines are managed by the federal government, state officials lease out small parts of land to prospective miners every year at nominal prices. The district has the country’s only mechanised diamond mine.

However, once known for its large and rare finds, diamond mines of Panna are rundown now. Its reserves have depleted due to over-mining over the years.

Despite this decline, hopeful miners continue their quest.

They have to hand over their finds to the government diamond office, which evaluates the stones and sells them in an auction.

After deducting royalties and taxes, the proceeds are sent back to the miners, a bittersweet reward for their tireless digging.

Mr Sharma says he began digging for diamonds in 1974, right after he finished school, following in the footsteps of his father who was once a famous diamond hunter in his village.

He soon hit the jackpot after he found a six-carat diamond, which was worth a fortune 50 years ago.

That, he says, fuelled a passion in him to keep searching for more.

“I wanted to continue doing this instead of getting a low-paying government job,” he says.

Mr Sharma is among thousands of men – young and old – who spend their days in the mines, hoping to strike rich and escape the cycle of poverty.

The miners start digging through gravel in the early hours of the morning. They then wash, dry and sift through it looking for diamonds until sunset. Their families help them in their work.

It’s a physically demanding task – but for the people of Panna, it’s an intrinsic part of their lives, conversations and hopes for a better future.

For many, diamond hunting is a family tradition passed down through generations.

Shyamlal Jatav, 58, comes from one such family. His grandfather started the work and now his son continues it, balancing his studies while working part-time in the mines.

Mr Jatav says his grandfather found many diamonds, but in those days, they did not sell for much.

But things are different now, with some of these stones selling for tens of millions of rupees.

Raja Gound is among the few who got lucky. A labourer by profession, he was neck-deep in debt when he found a massive 19.22-carat diamond in July.

He sold the diamond at a government auction for about 8m rupees ($95,178; £72,909).

Mr Gound said he had been leasing mines for more than 10 years in the hope of finding a diamond.

India has always played a key role in the diamond industry. For more than 3,000 years, it was the world’s sole diamond source.

This changed in the 18th Century with discoveries in Brazil and South Africa.

But Panna’s legacy as a hub for diamonds has endured.

The district’s Majhgawan mine, operated by the state-controlled National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), is the country’s only organised source of diamond production.

NMDC began mining in 1968 and by 2024, it had extracted over 1.3 million carats of diamonds.

Though anyone can mine diamonds in Panna – that too at a cheap price – most hunters avoid taking the official route to sell their treasure.

Several residents told BBC Hindi that there was a big market for illegally mined diamonds – but the exact figures of the trade are unknown.

A black-market dealer, who did not want to be named, said people sell their finds illegally to avoid taxes and to ensure quick payments.

“If they go through official channels, they only get paid after the diamond is sold at auction, which can sometimes take years,” he said.

Ravi Patel, Panna’s mining officer, says authorities have taken measures to curb illegal sales but it’s difficult to track them because most of the diamonds mined are relatively small and do not fetch high prices.

Officials admit that there has been a decline in the number of diamonds deposited for government auctions.

In 2016, the office received 1,133 diamonds, but the numbers shrank to just 23 in 2023.

Anupam Singh, a government diamond evaluator in Panna, says restrictions on mining are behind this decline.

“The forest department has marked off significant zones, turning them into no-go areas for diamond hunters,” Mr Singh said.

There are more than 50 tigers living in the Panna Tiger Reserve and recent government efforts to preserve their population has presented many challenges to the miners.

Diamond miners who once operated within forested areas, including the buffer zone of the reserve, are prohibited from mining there and risk facing severe penalties if caught.

But despite the hardships and challenges, thousands of men continue to work in the shallow mines, hoping to overturn their fate.

Prakash Majumdar started digging for diamonds in 2020 after the Covid-19 lockdown took away all the labour and farming jobs in his hometown.

Desperate and struggling to feed his family, Mr Majumdar found his first diamond worth 2.9m rupees within a month of mining.

A lot has changed since – his family has now moved to a concrete home and he has become the elected village head.

Yet, his relentless quest for more continues.

“Diamond hunting will remain a part of my life and I am not going anywhere until I strike it rich,” he said.

On 15 December 2021 Larry Lowe’s life changed.

He was 54, rarely ill, fit, healthy and running 10km most days – until he got the Pfizer Covid booster.

Within days he developed numbness in the right side of his face and started experiencing pain.

“I had lost all the feeling in my face, teeth, nose, tongue, eye, that whole side of my head,” he said.

These symptoms have spread through his body and intensified over the years, with doctors across the UK saying the vaccine is to blame.

Pfizer said patient safety was paramount and it took reports of adverse reactions very seriously.

It said hundreds of millions of doses had been administered globally “and the benefit-risk profile of the vaccine remains positive for all authorised indications and age groups”.

Mr Lowe, who is from Omagh in Northern Ireland, said that while he was not opposed to vaccines, his life had been destroyed.

Northern Ireland’s Public Health Agency (PHA) said the benefits of the vaccines in preventing Covid-19 and serious complications associated with it far outweighed any currently known side effects in the majority of patients.

Mr Lowe was referred to Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in London where he was told the vaccine “was being recognized by my body as a toxin, and that was the cause of my problems”.

He broke down and cried.

“My wife and I were sitting in this little room in Westminster with consultants telling me the vaccine had destroyed the nerve on the right side of my face, and it was highly unlikely that I would ever recover from it,” he said.

In letters, seen by BBC News NI, London pain management specialists confirmed the onset of symptoms could be attributed to the Covid vaccine booster.

In correspondence to Mr Lowe’s GP last May, Guy’s and St Thomas’ Trust confirmed that “our multidisciplinary team were in agreement that the onset of symptoms could be attributed to the Covid vaccine booster”.

In April 2024, Mr Lowe was diagnosed by a consultant neurologist at the Southern Health Trust with a “painful trigeminal neuropathy” which had “the Covid vaccine as its main causative factor”.

• NI government consults on mandatory vaccines

He also developed a small fibre sensory neuropathy which the consultant said “is also one of the post-vaccine related neurological presentations”.

“I struggle when I think about what another 10 years is going to do to me, because in the three years roughly that I’ve had this, it’s destroyed me and it’s getting worse,” Mr Lowe said.

Mr Lowe said the small fibre neuropathy affected his entire body, from toes to fingertips.

He suffers from dry eye syndrome and wears sunglasses inside and out because of his sensitivity to light.

“I feel as if there is a clamp on both sides of my head, squeezing it all the time,” he said.

“I’ve been told that my condition is progressive. It is going to get worse.

“I didn’t ask for this,” he said.

He said he took the vaccine in good faith and feels he has been “left to rot”.

“I’m in so much pain, my life is barely worth living, except for my family,” he said.

He said he did not feel like himself anymore.

“Before this I was in a rock band, lead guitar, singing, writing songs, recording albums, loving it,” he told BBC News NI.

“Now that’s just a memory,” he added.

The former college lecturer had to medically retire.

He said chronic pain was hard to explain because people think of a “toothache or breaking their leg”.

“Once you break your leg, it starts to get better.

“My pain is getting worse every day.”

Mr Lowe praised all the medical professionals he had seen, who he said “tried everything” to help him but all they could offer was medication.

He said his GP was “fantastic,” but that he “doesn’t have the magic wand that I need”.

Mr Lowe said he would like the stigma taken out of Covid vaccine injuries.

He said many people do not take them seriously.

Mr Lowe said he had never been opposed to vaccinations which were tried and tested.

He added that he was not allowed to take any further vaccines.

Professor of European public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Martin McKee, said vaccines had been “absolutely essential” to allowing society to move on from the pandemic.

“Once the vaccines became available then the death rate fell markedly,” he said.

Prof McKee said all vaccines came with a risk of reactions and there would be “a small number of reactions” when a large number of people were vaccinated.

While he cannot comment on individual cases, he said reactions like Mr Lowe’s were “exceedingly rare”.

Mr Lowe said he had exhausted all the medication and treatments available in the UK and they did not work and he wants “medical and psychological help”.

“I want someone to recognize that the vaccine has done this.”

His wife Gini said life had been extremely tough.

She said they had a “fantastic, normal life” to a world that had been turned upside down.

She said Larry cries and screams at night with the pain.

“We have lost part of Larry and that’s hard to take,” she added.

Dr Louise Herron, deputy director of public health at the PHA said all vaccinations and medications could have some side effects.

“The most common side effects of the Covid-19 vaccine are mild and get better within a week,” she said.

“As with all vaccines and medicines, the safety of Covid-19 vaccines is being continually monitored.”

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is responsible for regulating medicines, including vaccines, and conducts robust safety monitoring and surveillance of all Covid-19 vaccines in the UK.

It said vaccination was the single most effective way to reduce deaths and severe illness from Covid-19.

Senegalese farmer Mouhamed Oualy has never been to sea, but he is about to embark on a perilous sea journey – one that has turned the Atlantic Ocean into a mass grave.

“The boat guys have called me – they said I should get ready. I am asking you to pray for me – the time has come,” he says.

BBC Africa Eye has gained unprecedented access to the secretive world of the migrants hoping to reach Europe via the dangerous crossing between West Africa and Spain’s Canary Islands.

And Mr Oualy wants to be one of the migrants to reach the archipelago – whose numbers have reached an all-time high.

The regional government there warns that what awaits them on the rocky shores of the archipelago is a system “overwhelmed” and “at breaking point” – but nothing will dent Mr Oualy’s determination.

Packed on to an overcrowded pirogue, a traditional wooden fishing canoe, Mr Oualy could face days, even weeks, at the mercy of one of the most unforgiving seas in the world.

From Senegal, it is an estimated distance of between 1,000km (600 miles) and 2,000km on the open ocean – depending on where you leave from, around 10 times the distance of other migrant routes crossing the Mediterranean.

Battling the ocean’s storms and strong sea currents, migrants often run out of water while suffering from severe motion sickness and intense fear.

At night, surrounded by dark waters, people often become delirious, overwhelmed by panic and dehydration.

Far away from the coast, in Senegal’s eastern region of Tambacounda, Mr Oualy’s children and extended family depend on the little money he made through farming.

The 40-year-old has not seen them for almost a year, after he moved closer to one of the major departure points along the coast.

There he has been working as a motorbike taxi driver, and borrowing money from friends, to gather the $1,000 (£765) fee to board one of the vessels leaving for the Canary Islands.

Fearing he could be scammed, he has agreed with the smugglers that he will only hand over the full amount if the boat makes it all the way.

“Nobody knows what could happen to me in these waters. The evil spirits of the sea could kill me,” he tells the BBC from the safety of the beach.

“The boat could capsize, killing everyone. If you fall into the water, what would you hold on to? The only possibility is death, but you have to take risks.”

Dozens of boats have disappeared with hundreds of lives on board. Without proper navigation systems, some veer off course and end up drifting all the way across the Atlantic, washing up on the coasts of Brazil.

If Mr Oualy survives the journey, he hopes to make a living to take care of his extended family, but he is keeping his plans secret to avoid worrying them.

Dark Waters: Africa’s Deadliest Migration Route – BBC Africa Eye investigates the perilous Atlantic crossing from West Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands.

Find it on iPlayer (UK only) or on the BBC Africa YouTube channel (outside the UK)

While Senegal recorded a solid economic performance during the decade from 2010, more than a third of the country still lives in poverty, according to the World Bank.

“I did any job you can imagine, but things didn’t get any better. If you don’t have money, you don’t matter. I am their only hope and I don’t have money,” he says.

Like Mr Oualy, most migrants on this route are sub-Saharan Africans fleeing poverty and conflict, exacerbated by climate change.

The Canary Islands have become a main gateway for irregular migrants and refugees hoping to reach Europe, especially after countries such as Italy and Greece introduced measures to crack down on other routes crossing the Mediterranean from Libya and Tunisia.

Almost 40,000 arrived in 2023, the highest number in three decades. So far this year, already more than 30,800 have made it to its tourist beaches, more than double the number from the same period last year.

As the weather conditions improve in the Atlantic, the Canary Islands government fears “the worst” is yet to come.

In an exclusive interview with BBC Africa Eye, Fernando Clavijo, the president of the Canary Islands government, described an “oversaturated” emergency system where sea rescuers, police and Red Cross volunteers are stretched beyond their limits.

“The consequence is that more people will die, we won’t be able to assist migrants as they deserve,” explains Mr Clavijo.

“Right now, Europe has the Mediterranean Sea blocked, which means that the Atlantic route, which is more dangerous and lethal, has become the escape valve.”

The BBC spoke to members of Spain’s emergency services, who asked to remain anonymous as they described their exhaustion.

One said: “Workers can’t bear witnessing death and devastation any longer.”

In El Hierro, the archipelago’s smallest island, the number of migrants who have arrived since the start of 2023 has already more than doubled the local population to nearly 30,000.

Mr Clavijo says locals cannot use public buses because they are all being used to carry migrants, which he fears could fuel xenophobia and create social unrest.

“We will all have to take responsibility, from the European Union to the Spanish government, because you cannot leave the Canary Islands facing this crisis on our own.”

In recent months, the sharp rise in arrivals has fuelled a fierce national debate in Spain over how to tackle irregular migration, with the Canaries calling for more state aid to care for those arriving, especially unaccompanied children.

Back in Senegal, Mr Oualy has finally been summoned by the smugglers to join other migrants in a secret hideout. His fate is now in their hands.

“There are a lot of us, we’ve filled the house. There are people from Mali and Guinea too. They take us in small boats of 10 to 15 people until we get to the big boat, then we leave,” he says.

To survive the long journey, Mr Oualy has only taken a few bottles of water and a handful of biscuits.

For the first two days, he is constantly sick. He stands up most of the time because of the lack of space and sleeps in sea water mixed with fuel.

He also runs out of water and has to drink from the sea.

Some people on the boat start to scream and become delirious. The crew tells the others to hold them down, so they do not fall overboard or push someone else in.

According to data from the United Nations migration body (IOM), the Atlantic route is fast becoming the deadliest migrant journey in the world.

An estimated 807 people have died or disappeared so far in 2024 – an increase of 76% compared to the same period last year.

But the number of casualties is likely to be significantly higher, because fatal accidents tend to go unrecorded on this route.

“Every 45 minutes, a migrant dies trying to reach our beaches. This means trafficking mafias are increasingly becoming more powerful,” says Mr Clavijo, referencing data sourced from the Spanish rights group Walking Borders.

The UN’s Office on Drugs and Crime estimates that criminals make around $150m a year on this route.

“The mafias that organise trips have realised that this is like drug trafficking, with little chance of being detected,” Lieutenant Antonio Fuentes, from a team in Spain’s Guardia Civil set up to tackle the smugglers, tells the BBC.

“For them, a migrant is a mere commodity. They carry people like they could carry drugs or weapons. They are simply victims.”

To better understand these criminal networks, the BBC spoke to one Senegalese smuggler organising boat trips – who asked to remain anonymous.

“If you take a big boat, one that can carry 200 to 300 people, and each of them pay around $500, we are talking about a lot of money,” he says.

When challenged about his criminal responsibility as a trafficker, on a trip that has killed many in his community, the smuggler is unrepentant and tells the BBC: “It is a crime, whoever gets caught should be put in prison, but there’s no solution.

“You will see people in the water who have died, but the boats keep going.”

For five days, the BBC receives no news from Mr Oualy. Then, one evening, he calls.

“The motor was heating up and the wind was so strong, some of the fishermen suggested we head to Morocco. But the captain refused. He said if we moved slowly, we’d be in Spain by 6am.”

Mr Oualy was less than a day away from reaching the Canary Islands when the ship’s engine ran into trouble – and many of the migrants, fearful of stronger winds once they went further out into the Atlantic Ocean, rebelled against their captain.

“Everyone started arguing and insulting each other. The captain gave in and turned back to Senegal.”

Mr Oualy survived the journey, but he sustained injuries and serious health problems from the journey.

He is in constant pain and moves slowly.

After a year planning the trip, Mr Oualy is back to square one – and has now returned to his family and is saving enough money for another passage.

“I wish to go back and try again. Yes, honest to God, that is my belief. That is better for me. If I die, it is God’s choice.”

If Mr Oualy makes it to Europe, it is likely he will not see his family for years. If he dies at sea, he will be lost to them forever.

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The Australian Republican Movement (ARM) has launched a campaign branding King Charles’s upcoming visit to the country as the “farewell tour” of the British monarchy.

They say the tongue-in-check push – which includes a merchandise collection – is aimed at sparking debate about the role of the Crown in modern Australia, but monarchists say it is offensive.

The tour, from 18 to 26 October, marks the first royal visit down under in more than a decade and will be King Charles’s longest trip since his cancer diagnosis.

It also comes a year after Australia’s unsuccessful Voice to Parliament vote, which has stalled momentum for another referendum.

Referendums are the only way to change Australia’s constitution and have an 80% failure rate.

The nation held one on the question of becoming a republic once before in 1999, which failed, however public support for the movement has grown since then.

On satirical posters, T-shirts, beer coasters and other paraphernalia, ARM’s campaign depicts the King, Queen and Prince of Wales as aging rock stars and urges Australians “young and old” to “wave goodbye to royal reign”.

“We expect a full-time, fully committed head of state whose only allegiance is to us – a unifying symbol at home and abroad,” the movement’s Co-Chair Esther Anatolitis said in a statement on Monday.

“It’s time for Australia to say ‘thanks, but we’ve got it from here’,” she added.

The organisation cited research it commissioned suggesting 92% of Australians are either “supporters of a republic” or “open to it”, as well as a finding that at least 40% of people surveyed didn’t know the country’s head of state was a foreign monarch.

Independent polling paints a different picture though, with one survey suggesting that roughly 35% of people want to remain a constitutional monarchy.

The Australian Monarchist League (AML) has described the ARM polling as “inflated”, while also criticising its new campaign as “terribly disrespectful to Charles given his ongoing cancer battle”.

“He should be applauded for his bravery, not insulted,” National Chairman Philip Benwell said.

Australia’s Prime Minister is a long-term republican but his government put any plans to hold a vote on breaking away from the British monarchy on ice earlier this year, saying it was no longer a priority issue.

Over the weekend, King Charles confirmed he had exchanged letters with the ARM ahead of his visit, reiterating the palace’s longstanding policy that it was up to Australians to make decisions about their future.

Constitutional votes in Australia are rare and difficult to pass, requiring a ‘double majority’ – support from more than half of the nation overall, and a majority in at least four of its six states. Only eight of 44 referendums have succeeded and almost all had bipartisan support.

The Voice referendum – which would have recognised First Nations people in the constitution and allowed them to form a body to advise the parliament – was overwhelmingly rejected after a bruising debate.

Pokémon maker Game Freak has confirmed it was the victim of a data leak after information appeared online over the weekend.

The company, which has developed the Nintendo-exclusive video game series since 1996, said its servers were hacked in August this year.

A statement said 2,606 items containing the names and email addresses of current, former and contract employees were accessed.

The company did not comment on other information shared online claiming to show details of unreleased and upcoming projects.

Game Freak said it would individually contact those affected where possible, and strengthen security measures to prevent similar hacks in future.

“We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and concern caused to all involved,” it said.

Game Freak works closely alongside Nintendo and the Pokémon Company on the franchise, said to be one of the most valuable media properties in the world.

It is currently developing the upcoming Pokémon Legends: Z-A, which is due for release next year.

Last month, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company lodged legal action in Japan against the makers of Palword.

The game, from developer Pocketpair, quickly earned the nickname “Pokémon with guns” due to the resemblance of its characters to Nintendo’s creatures.

They’ve accused the company of patent infringement – although the exact details of the claim have not been revealed.

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

People from around the UK have been taking pictures of the “comet of the century”, which was spotted streaking across the sky on Saturday night.

Comet A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) was last month seen from Earth for the first time since the Neanderthals were alive, some 80,000 years ago.

On Saturday, a number of British stargazers said they had spotted the object, after the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) predicted it might be visible to the naked eye.

Most images show the comet as a bright streak of light, similar to a torch, on the horizon.

Other pictures show a trail in the sky similar to what you might see coming out of an aeroplane.

Below is a selection of the best shots so far.

The Nasa Earth Observatory had predicted the comet could come within about 70 million km (44 million miles) of Earth on Saturday.

The RAS added the comet would be visible in the northern hemisphere from Saturday night until 30 October – and the object was later pictured in skies above the USA on Saturday.

The comet was photographed in Spain, Italy, Uruguay, and Indonesia from late September to early October, when it was visible in the southern hemisphere.

RAS said the object has been called the “comet of the century” because of its impressive brightness and visibility.

The organisation’s Dr Robert Massey advised enthusiasts to go out “immediately after sunset” with a pair of binoculars, head for higher ground and look west towards the horizon.

He suggested bringing a hot drink and avoiding areas where views of the sky are obstructed.

Dr Massey said a DSLR camera could capture shots of the comet, but said holding a mobile phone camera up against the eyepiece of a small telescope could also snap the space event.

On Thursday, the UK’s skies were once again treated to a display from the Northern Lights.

One man has launched a campaign in a bid to change what he calls the “fun deficit” in his city.

Calling himself the Chichester Anti-Recreation Partnership (Carp), he has put up spoof signs around central Chichester to make people laugh, but also highlight issues impacting the community.

Carp, who lives and works locally and does not want to be identified, told the BBC he wanted to satirise the city’s “overregulation and lack of fun” after he noticed that warning or prohibited signs were “everywhere”.

Chichester District Council said Chichester was a “vibrant place to live, work and visit”. They cited a recent study ranking it as the best place to live in West Sussex.

“I absolutely adore Chichester,” Carp said.

“But it does have some notable gaps – particularly when it comes to fun and things for younger people to do.

“Over time, it’s become increasingly focused on catering to older residents,” he continued.

“While it’s great that there’s so much for those who’ve retired, it feels like that’s come at the expense of forgetting about the younger generations.”

Almost half of Chichester residents are over 50, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Chichester District Council told the BBC it was working hard to deliver exciting events for all ages, including laser light shows, music events and street parties.

“All of these have been really well received and attended,” a council spokesperson said.

Carp said he also wanted to “raise awareness “about wider problems affecting the community, such as “the sewage crisis, poor state of roads and uneven pavements”.

“Humour has this unique ability to disarm people – it lowers their defences and allows them to consider issues from a fresh perspective,” he said.

“It reframes problems in a way that’s more approachable and less confrontational, which makes it easier to get your message across and spark discussions.”

Carp says he has put up around 35 signs since starting his campaign in August. He typically photographs his handiwork and uploads it on social media.

Carp said his message was “gaining momentum quickly” – with some images going viral on TikTok – though he added the council was quick to take the signs down.

He said he hoped the signs could help shift public opinion in favour of making the city more vibrant and fun, though he said there were some who would push back against this.

He suggested a “big difference” could be made if more nightlife for young people was brought to Chichester, plus bringing back the ice rink and creating more children’s play areas.

Chichester District Council told the BBC it was investing £814,000 in refurbishments to several play areas in Chichester.

“Families and young people are a really important part of our community,” the spokesperson said.

The local authority added it had created a dedicated evening and night-time working group, which was collecting views on what young people would like to see in the city in the future.

“I feel like I’m contributing to making the city a better place for everyone,” said Carp.

“Whether it’s a smile, a conversation, or just getting people to think about the issues in a new way, I think the impact justifies the effort.”

More than 200 people have taken part in the World Conker Championships, with many competing in fancy dress.

The competition took place earlier at the Shuckburgh Arms in Southwick, Northamptonshire.

The event saw participants go head-to-head using conkers threaded on to string to try and smash their opponent’s nut.

Since its inception in 1965, the event has raised more than £400,000 for charities that support the visually impaired.

One man wore a green inflatable Yoda headpiece, while another wore a conker-themed hat.

All participants were required to follow a stringent set of rules to ensure the event was as fair as possible, which included the conkers and laces being provided by organisers.

There were fears before the event that there could be a shortage of conkers due to high winds blowing horse chestnut seeds from trees earlier in the autumn.

More than 2,000 conkers had been prepared prior to the event.

Each player took three alternate strikes at the opponent’s conker.

Trophies were handed out to the overall winners.

The “second biggest conker competition in the world” took place at The Locks Inn at Geldeston, near Beccles, on the Norfolk-Suffolk border earlier this month.

The first black central bank governor of South Africa, who later went on to become finance minister, has died at the age of 65.

Tito Mboweni had suffered a “short illness”, the presidency confirmed on Saturday evening, without specifying further.

“We have lost a leader and compatriot who has served our nation as an activist, economic policy innovator and champion of labour rights,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said.

Mbwoeni’s family said they were “devastated” and that he had died in a hospital in Johannesburg “surrounded by his loved ones”.

A former anti-apartheid activist, Mboweni spent almost a decade in exile in Lesotho where he attended university.

That was followed by a Masters degree from the University of East Anglia in the UK.

“I suppose you can call me an exile kid, and international kid born in South Africa,” he was quoted as saying in later years.

“But my home is in South Africa, Lesotho, Mozambique, the United Kingdom, Zambia, Angola, Tanzania, Swaziland, the USA, Switzerland, and everywhere I stayed in my youth. I hate narrow nationalism – I cannot stand it. I hate xenophobia.”

He returned to South Africa in 1990, then served as the first labour minister under President Nelson Mandela, playing a key role in shaping post-apartheid labour laws.

These laid the foundation for collective bargaining agreements and labour courts to protect workers’ rights.

He gained a reputation for being principled and ready to debate issues openly, says News 24.

Mboweni’s penchant for wearing battered old clothes and shoes only added to his earnest public profile.

In his 10 years as governor of the reserve bank, Mboweni earned plaudits for his performance, at one point being named central bank governor of the year by the financial magazine Euromoney – who wrote that “his biggest success has been in bringing inflation under control”.

This was followed by a stint in the private sector, including as an international adviser to the global investment bank Goldman Sachs.

More recently, as finance minister in President Ramaphosa’s government between 2018 and 2021, Mboweni was credited with stabilising the economy.

He took that post despite suggesting months earlier that he was too long in the tooth and it was perhaps time for new blood.

“Against the wisdom of my team, please don’t tell them this. It’s between us, I am not available for minister of finance. You cannot recycle the same people all over again. It is time for young people. We are available for advisory roles. Not cabinet. We have done that,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

In his later years, he charmed South Africans with his laidback lifestyle and humorous cooking posts, sharing recipes and engaging with followers on social media.

One follower remarked after learning of Mboweni’s death, “He’s left shoes too big to fill”.

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India says it has withdrawn its high commissioner to Canada after it said he and other diplomats were named as “persons of interest” in the murder investigation of a Sikh separatist.

India said it received the news in a diplomatic communication from Canada on Sunday, and reserved the right to respond, stressing it “strongly rejects these preposterous imputations”.

The statement refers to allegations last year by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that India’s government may have been behind the killing on Canadian soil, an allegation Delhi rejects.

The row led to a deterioration in ties, with India asking Canada to withdraw dozens of its diplomatic staff and suspending visa services.

On Monday, a furious statement from India’s foreign ministry said Canada’s allegations were part of Trudeau’s “political agenda” and warned of action, without specifying what it would be.

“India now reserves the right to take further steps in response to these latest efforts of the Canadian government to concoct allegations against Indian diplomats,” it said.

Delhi also defended its High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma, referring to his “distinguished career spanning 36 years”.

“The aspersions cast on him by the government of Canada are ludicrous and deserve to be treated with contempt,” it said.

There was no immediate Canadian response to Delhi’s statement. The country’s deputy head of mission in Delhi, Stuart Wheeler, was summoned by India’s External Affairs Ministry to explain Canada’s move.

“He was informed that the baseless targeting of the Indian high commissioner and other diplomats and officials in Canada was completely unacceptable,” a ministry statement said.

“We have no faith in the current Canadian government’s commitment to ensure their security. Therefore, the government of India has decided to withdraw the High Commissioner and other targeted diplomats and officials.”

Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot and killed in June 2023 by two masked gunmen outside a Sikh temple he led in Surrey, British Columbia.

He had been a vocal supporter of the Khalistan movement, which demands a separate Sikh homeland, and publicly campaigned for it.

India has in the past described him as a terrorist who led a militant separatist group – accusations his supporters called unfounded.

Canadian police called his killing a “targeted attack”.

In September 2023, Trudeau had told Canada’s parliament that allegations of Indian involvement in the killing were based on Canadian intelligence.

He called the act a violation of Canada’s sovereignty.

India has vehemently denied all allegations and maintained that Canada has provided no evidence to support its claims.

Frosty ties between the two countries seemed to have thawed slightly after India resumed processing visas in October 2023.

But last week, Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly called the country’s relations with India “tense” and “very difficult”.

She also said there remained a threat of more killings like Nijjar’s on Canadian soil.

Monarchists in Australia have accused the state premiers of “insulting” King Charles as they will not be present at a reception welcoming him to the country.

The King’s visit, which begins later this week, will include a reception in Canberra, but the six state premiers – of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania – have said they’re unable to attend.

“I find it insulting,” said Bev McArthur of the Australian Monarchist League. “They should just take off their republican hats, make the short trip to Canberra, say ‘hi and thank for you coming to Australia’.”

Buckingham Palace is not commenting on the row – but the Australian states will all have representatives at the event, including their governors.

The King will also be formally welcomed by the country’s Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese.

It is a visit which has re-opened questions about whether Australia should become a republic – with this so-called “snub” at the reception being highlighted by the Daily Mirror.

Bev McArthur, a pro-monarchist campaigner and Liberal MP, told ABC News radio it was an “insult” that state premiers were not going to the reception next Monday.

“The failure of state premiers to attend the reception in Canberra is completely indefensible,” she told the BBC, accusing them of “gesture-led politics”.

“Welcoming the King and Queen to Australia is the least they can do as the most senior elected representatives of their states,” she said.

Writing on social media, she said the King was being “snubbed”.

Mrs McArthur was unconvinced by the excuses from the regional heads of government – which included having other commitments and meetings that day – telling the BBC it was “petty and inhospitable”.

The premier of Victoria, Jacinta Allan, cannot go as she’s tied up with other government business, but in a recent press conference said she was “very pleased that King Charles is visiting Australia”.

Asked about her view on Australia becoming a republic, she said it was “something I would support but it is not something that is a top priority for me right now”.

The premier’s deputy will not be going either, so the state will be represented by Victoria’s governor, Prof Margaret Gardner.

Mrs McArthur, speaking on behalf of the Australian Monarchist League, said that constitutional monarchy offered a “very stable system of government” and that an elected president would mean another layer of government.

She said that the latest polling in Australia showed more people still wanted to be a constitutional monarchy than a republic.

But the Australian Republic Movement is calling for an end to the King’s role as Australia’s head of state – and has called the royal visit the monarchy’s “farewell tour”.

“It’s time for Australia to elect a local to serve as our head of state. Someone who can work for Australia full time,” said spokesman Isaac Jeffrey.

In an exchange of letters with the Australian Republic Movement, the King has confirmed that whether Australia becomes a republic is a “matter for the Australian public to decide”.

The visit to Australia will be the King’s biggest trip since his cancer diagnosis earlier this year.

His treatment is expected to be paused during the trip.

After the Australian leg of the trip, the King and Queen will travel to Samoa for the Commonwealth heads of government meeting.

A man who had £165,000 stolen from his Revolut business account by fraudsters has told BBC Panorama he believes the company’s security measures failed to prevent the theft.

He says criminals managed to bypass the ID verification process to gain access to his account.

So far, Revolut has refused to refund this money.

The BBC has found that Revolut was named in more reports of fraud in the last financial year than any of the major High Street banks.

The e-money firm – which has not yet been granted full status as a bank – says it takes fraud incredibly seriously and that it has “robust controls” to meet its legal and regulatory obligations.

Revolut is among a number of new digital-only financial institutions that offer all their services online or through an app – there are no branches to go to.

The firm has grown rapidly and amassed more than 45 million customers worldwide, of which nine million are in the UK. It almost tripled its revenue to £1.8bn in 2023. Its accounts are quick to open and offer competitive foreign exchange rates in an easy-to-use app.

These were the features that attracted Jack – who runs an international business and needs to hold multiple different currencies – to Revolut.

Jack, who asked us not to use his surname, told us he was also reassured by the security features Revolut promote in their advertising.

In February, Jack was in a co-working space when he received a phone call from a scammer pretending to be from Revolut. He was told he was being called because his account might have been compromised through being on shared Wi-Fi.

Jack was tricked into handing over enough information to allow the scammers to put his Revolut account onto their device. This meant they could see all his previous transactions, including a purchase at the online retailer Etsy that morning.

While Jack was still on the phone to the scammers, a text message from Revolut arrived, asking him to confirm the exact same amount he had spent – £21.98 – by typing in a six-digit security code.

He said, “Yes, that was me,” and read out the code to the scammers.

What Jack didn’t realise was that they had set up their own account – also called Etsy – and by sharing the code Revolut had sent him, he was authorising a new payment to their fake account instead.

Two similar texts followed to authorise payments of small amounts to two further fake accounts, called “Revolut fees” and “Revolut fees care”. Jack also approved these – which meant he had been tricked into setting up three new payees.

This opened the floodgates and thousands of pounds began to fly out.

As soon as Jack realised he was being scammed, he contacted Revolut – but there was no dedicated helpline, just a chat function deep within the app.

“I messaged them saying, ‘I’ve been scammed, please freeze my account,’” he told the BBC.

It took 23 minutes to reach the right department that could freeze the account, during which time another £67,000 had been taken.

Jack is now out of pocket by £165,000. He thinks Revolut’s systems failed him in several ways.

He believes criminals managed to bypass facial-recognition software to gain access to his account on their device. If an account is set up on a new device, Revolut asks for a selfie, which Jack says he did not provide.

Jack says he asked Revolut to show him the image used to authorised the new device. They eventually told him that it wasn’t stored in their system, so there was no way of proving what the fraudsters had done, or what photo was used.

Panorama investigated this apparent vulnerability and found that it appeared to have been fixed.

Jack also believes the fact that 137 individual payments were being made to three new payees in the space of an hour, should have raised concerns with Revolut.

Most banks and financial institutions monitor customers’ accounts for unusual activity.

“If somebody is suddenly processing a vast amount of transactions and a ton of payments to a new account, it is something that is a red flag – and banks should typically start to investigate some of that behaviour,” says Nina Kerkez, a fraud specialist at data analytics company LexisNexis Risk Solutions.

“[They should] call their customer, send them a text message, engage in some way to ensure those transactions are legitimate.”

Last year, the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cyber-crime Action Fraud, received almost 10,000 reports of fraud in which Revolut was named, according to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted by Panorama.

That is 2,000 more than Barclays, one of the biggest banks in the UK, and double that of Monzo, a competitor of similar size to Revolut.

Panorama spoke to eight former employees to try to understand Revolut’s work culture, and two issues came up again and again – Revolut’s insatiable appetite for growth, and a high-pressure environment.

“Protecting Revolut from being used for financial crime always played second fiddle to the desire to launch new products and to get existing customers to use products more,” an insider, who wished to remain anonymous, told us.

Fraud is a problem for all banks and scams continue to net hundreds of millions even while the technology to defeat them improves.

In order to protect customers, financial companies do extra checks but sometimes these security steps can get in the way of a smooth customer experience.

Revolut says it has a “high performance culture” with an “expectation to deliver good customer outcomes” and that all new product launches involve comprehensive risk assessment and governance approval processes.

It also says it has “invested heavily” in its financial crime prevention team, which now makes up more than a third of its total global workforce.

Britain’s Newest Bank: How Safe Is Your Money?

Reporter Catrin Nye investigates the stories of Revolut customers who say scammers took tens of thousands of pounds from their accounts, and that Revolut failed to protect them.

Watch on BBC iPlayer or on BBC One on Monday 14 October at 20:00 (20:30 in Wales and Northern Ireland)

Revolut says it cannot comment on Jack’s case as it is being looked at by the Financial Ombudsman Service.

In 2023 the ombudsman received about 3,500 complaints about Revolut, more than any other bank or e-money firm.

“[This] shows that actually Revolut aren’t doing enough to act in this area,” says Rob Lilley-Jones, from consumer group Which?

He says that Which? does not recommend banking large sums of money with the firm.

“They have a track record of not reimbursing people who fall victim to fraud or find themselves in this incredibly difficult situation, [and] of money being taken from accounts even after scam activity has been reported.”

Revolut says that each potential fraud case is carefully investigated so it can evaluate the full circumstances and make the most informed decision.

Earlier this month new rules came in to make all banks and electronic money institutions reimburse victims of fraud.

The majority of scam victims will now be reimbursed their money automatically up to the value of £85,000, with refunds split 50-50 between sending and receiving firms.

• Banks must refund fraud up to £85,000 in five days
• Banks to put four-day hold on suspicious payments

This could prove costly for Revolut.

“We hear from customers consistently that they’re told to set up Revolut accounts when they are becoming the victim of a scam,” says Will Ayles from Refundee, a company specialising in fraud recovery.

“It might be safe to draw the conclusion from that, that fraud victims are told to set up Revolut accounts because fraudsters find it easier to move money through Revolut than any other bank.”

When someone is tricked into transferring money to a fraudster it is known as an authorised push payment (APP) fraud. It’s the most common type of financial scam in the UK.

Last year, figures from the Payment Systems Regulator show that for every million pounds paid into Revolut accounts, £756 was from APP fraud.

That is more than 10 times the amount for Barclays and four times more than Monzo.

Revolut says it takes fraud incredibly seriously, and has approaches to tackle it, including delaying payments, “to allow customers to stop, think and complete additional checks”.

It also says it has recently announced “a new biometric identification feature” and “an advanced AI-scam detection feature that protects customers against card scams”.

In July this year, the UK banking regulator granted Revolut a provisional banking licence, and it is now on its way to becoming a fully-fledged bank.

This means that if Revolut were to go bust, customers’ deposits would be guaranteed up to £85,000 per person.

Until then, it will continue to operate as an electronic money institution or e-money firm.

However, becoming a bank means it will be able to extend credit to customers via credit cards, overdrafts and mortgages.

“This means the stakes are higher for their customers if they’re targeted by a scammer,” says Rob Lilley-Jones.

“I think there might be a political element to Revolut’s licensing, because it’s becoming of a size to challenge High Street banks,” says Frances Coppola, a financial journalist and expert on banking risks and regulations.

“I think no government would want to have something of that size playing fast and loose with the rules.” However, she adds: “I suppose you could question, given there are so many complaints, whether Revolut should have a licence.”

The Treasury says the decision on whether to grant Revolut a banking license lies with the independent regulators. The regulators declined to comment to Panorama.

Revolut says that it abides by the same regulatory standards as any High Street bank, and it is sorry to hear of any instance where customers have been targeted by criminals.

It says it cut fraud by 20% last year but acknowledges “there is always more to do”.

• Customers can complain about any regulated firm to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which can settle disputes and order firms to pay compensation
• Mandatory Reimbursement Requirement regulations were brought in on 7 October 2024
• They will cover the vast majority of UK money transfers up to £85,000, with the exception of international transfers or those involving cryptocurrencies
• The new measures protect individuals, microenterprises – with fewer than 10 employees – and charities with an annual income of less than £1m
• BBC Action Line has more resources

Joker: Folie à Deux has plunged from the top of the North American box office, suffering a massive 80% drop from last weekend’s chart-topping debut of $40m (£30.65m) to just $7.1m.

That is a record collapse for a comic-book film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

It was knocked off its perch by indie horror film Terrifier 3, which took an estimated $18.2m over the weekend.

The Joker sequel was also beaten into third spot by animated film The Wild Robot, which held on to second place, taking $13.4m.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice fell one spot to fourth, taking $7m.

Film critics have offered a range of views about Joker: Folie à Deux, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, calling it “bleak and daring” but also “depressingly dull and plodding”.

Rounding out the North American top five was comedy-drama Piece by Piece, which uses Lego animation and features a stellar voice cast including Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Gwen Stefani, Justin Timberlake and Busta Rhymes.

Meanwhile, The Apprentice, a film about Donald Trump, managed only to open in the number-10 spot, with $1.6m.

The film will have its UK premiere as part of the London Film Festival on Tuesday.

It had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, in May, attracting mostly good reviews from critics but a legal threat from the former president.

The biopic traces the US presidential candidate’s origin story as an ambitious young property developer in 1970s and 80s New York.

His spokesman has described the film, which features a scene where Trump is seen raping his first wife, Ivana, as “garbage”, “pure fiction” and “election interference by Hollywood elites”.

The film begins with a disclaimer that many of its events are fictionalised.

An Indian politician has been shot dead in the commercial capital, Mumbai.

Gunmen opened fire on Baba Siddique, 66, near the office of his son, who is also a politician, according to local media reports.

Two people have been arrested in connection with the killing.

Siddique, a former local minister, was a senior figure in the politics of Maharashtra state, which is expected to hold legislative polls next month.

In February he defected from Congress, India’s main opposition party and joined the unrelated regional Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which is part of the governing coalition of the BJP.

Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, from the same party as Siddique, said he was shocked by the “cowardly attack”.

Siddique was known for lavish parties and for close ties to Bollywood superstars.

The shooting happened with high security in place due to a major Hindu festival in the city.

Opposition parties have criticised the government, saying there was a major lapse in security. The state government has promised a thorough inquiry.

Though two suspects have been taken into custody, the motive is not clear. Police are searching for a third suspect.

Some Indian media report the suspects have said they were from a gang run by notorious criminal Lawrence Bishnoi.

Bishnoi is currently in jail in connection with several high-profile cases. He has also been linked to the murder of Indian rapper Sidhu Moose Wala in 2022

The shooting came weeks after Siddique’s security detail was upgraded following death threats.

The father of 10-year-old Sara Sharif called police from Pakistan and admitted he killed her at their Surrey home, a court heard.

Urfan Sharif made the confession in an eight minute-call about an hour after his family’s flight had landed in Islamabad on 10 August last year, before Sara’s body was found.

Mr Sharif, 42, Sara’s stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, and her uncle Faisal Malik, 29, have denied murdering the girl at the Old Bailey.

Jurors were told Mr Sharif’s case was that Ms Batool was responsible for Sara’s death and his confession on the phone call and also in a note was false to protect her.

Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones KC told the court Sara had been the victim of violent assaults for “weeks and weeks, at least”, before he listed a series of injuries she had suffered.

He said Sara had external and internal injuries, including extensive bruising, burns and broken bones, old and new.

She had burns to her buttocks, caused by a domestic iron, and six “probable human bite marks” to her arms and legs, the prosecution said.

Dental impressions ruled out that the bite marks had been caused by the male defendants, but Ms Batool had refused to provide the impressions, the court heard.

Sara also suffered injuries to her ribs, shoulder blades, fingers and 11 separate fractures to her spine, as well as signs of a traumatic brain injury, the prosecution added.

Mr Sharif called Surrey Police from Pakistan where the family had fled before her body was found and told the operator that he killed his daughter.

The prosecutor said that in the call, which lasted eight minutes and 34 seconds, Mr Sharif told the operator that he “legally punished her” and she died.

Later in the call to police, Sara’s father was said to have told the operator that Sara had been naughty and that he then beat her up, jurors heard.

“It wasn’t my intention to kill her, but I beat her up too much”, the prosecutor said Mr Sharif went on to tell the operator.

However, Mr Emlyn Jones KC added: “Sara had not just been beaten up. Her treatment, certainly in the last few weeks of her life, had been appalling and brutal.”

The court also heard that next to Sara’s body was a note in Urfan Sharif’s handwriting.

Mr Emlyn Jones KC said it read: “Whoever see this note it’s me Urfan Sharif who killed my daughter by beating. I am running away because I am scared but I promise I will hand over myself and take punishment.

“I swear to God that my intention was not to kill her but I lost it.”

Mr Emlyn Jones KC added: “As in the 999 call, on the face of it, the note appears to be a confession to having caused Sara’s death by beating her up.”

Jurors also heard that police found Sara’s body on a bottom bunkbed under covers as if she was asleep.

“But she was not asleep, she was dead,” Mr Emlyn Jones KC told the jury.

The three defendants, who lived with Sara before her death in August last year, are also charged with causing or allowing the death of a child, which they deny.

Mr Emlyn Jones KC added that each defendant was seeking to “deflect the blame” onto one or both of the others.

The prosecution said it was “inconceivable” that any of the adults could have carried out the abuse “without the complicity, participation, assistance and encouragement of the others”.

“None of them ever reported Sara’s abuse to any outside agency, who could have intervened,” Mr Emlyn Jones KC added.

The trial continues.

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In China, people are following the US election with keen interest and some anxiety. They fear what could happen next at home and abroad, whoever wins the White House.

“None of us wants to see a war,” says Mr Xiang, as the music in the park reaches a crescendo and a nearby dancer elegantly spins his partner.

He has come to Ritan Park to learn dance with other seniors.

They gather here regularly, just a few hundred metres from the Beijing home of the American ambassador in China.

In addition to new dance moves, the looming US election is also on their minds.

It comes at a pivotal time between the two superpowers, with tensions over Taiwan, trade and international affairs running high.

“I am worried that Sino-US relations are getting tense,” says Mr Xiang who’s in his sixties. Peace is what we want, he adds.

A crowd has gathered to listen to this conversation. Most are reluctant to give their full names in a country where it is permissible to talk about the US president, but being critical of their own leader could get them in trouble.

They say they are worried about war – not just about a conflict between Washington and Beijing but an escalation of current wars in the Middle East and Ukraine.

• Election polls – is Harris or Trump ahead?
• Only one candidate is talking about China

That is why Mr Meng, in his 70s, hopes Donald Trump will win the election.

“Although he imposes economic sanctions on China, he does not wish to start or fight a war. Mr Biden starts more wars so more ordinary people dislike him. It is Mr Biden who supports Ukraine’s war and both Russia and Ukraine suffer great loss from the war,” he said.

Some sisters recording a dance routine for their social media page chip in. “Donald Trump said in the debate that he will end the war in Ukraine 24 hours after he takes office,” says one.

“About Harris, I know little about her, we think she follows the same route as President Biden who supports war.”

Their opinions echo a key message being propagated on Chinese state media.

China has called on the international community to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza while aligning itself with what it describes as its “Arab brothers” in the Middle East and has been quick to blame the US for its unwavering support of Israel.

On Ukraine, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the United Nations that China was playing a “constructive role” as he accused Washington of “exploiting the situation for selfish gain”.

While most analysts believe Beijing does not have a favourite in this race for the White House, many would agree that Kamala Harris is an unknown quantity to Chinese people and the country’s leaders.

• Listen to Laura Bicker discuss China/US on The Global Story
• Xi Jinping has economy worries. What do Chinese people think?

But some believe she will be more stable than Trump when it comes to one of the biggest flashpoints between the US and China – Taiwan.

“I don’t like Trump. I don’t think there is a good future between the US and China – there are too many problems, the global economy, and also the Taiwan problem,” says a father of a four-year-old boy in the park for a family day out.

He fears their differences over Taiwan could eventually lead to conflict.

“I don’t want it. I don’t want my son to go to the military,” he says as the young boy pleads to go back on the slide.

China claims the self-governing island of Taiwan as its own and President Xi has said “reunification is inevitable”, vowing to retake it by force if necessary.

The US maintains official ties with Beijing and recognises it as the only Chinese government under its “One China policy” but it also remains Taiwan’s most significant international supporter.

Washington is bound by law to provide Taiwan with defensive weapons and Joe Biden has said that the US would defend Taiwan militarily, breaking with a stance known as strategic ambiguity.

Harris has not gone that far. Instead, when asked in a recent interview she stated a “commitment to security and prosperity for all nations.”

Donald Trump is instead focused on a deal – not diplomacy. He has called on Taiwan to pay for its protection.

“Taiwan took our chip business from us. I mean, how stupid are we? They’re immensely wealthy,” he said in a recent interview. “Taiwan should pay us for defence.”

• SIMPLE GUIDE: How to win a US election
• EXPLAINER: What Harris or Trump would do in power
• ANALYSIS: What could be the ‘October Surprise’?
• FACT-CHECK: Debunking Trump claim about hurricane funds
• VOICES: ‘I’m uneasy’ – first-time voters weigh in

One of their biggest worries when it comes to the former US president is that he has also made it clear he plans to impose 60% tariffs on Chinese goods.

This is the last thing many businesses in China want right now as the country is trying to manufacture enough goods to export itself out of an economic downturn.

Ministers in China bristle with contempt at US-led trade tariffs which were first imposed by Donald Trump.

President Biden has also levied tariffs, targeting Chinese electronic vehicles and solar panels. Beijing believes these moves are an attempt to curb its rise as a global economic power.

“I don’t think it will do any good to the US to impose tariffs on China,” says Mr Xiang, echoing the sentiments of many we met. The tariffs will hit the US people, he adds, and increase costs for ordinary people.

Many of the the younger generation, while patriotic, also look towards the US for trends and culture – and that, perhaps more than any diplomatic mission, has power too.

In the park, Lily and Anna, aged 20 and 22, who get their news from TikTok, echo some of the national messages of pride spread by Chinese state media when it comes to this competitive relationship.

“Our country is a very prosperous and powerful country,” they say, dressed in their national costumes. They love China, they said, although they also adore the Avengers and particularly Captain America.

Taylor Swift is on their playlists too.

Others like 17-year-old Lucy hope to study in America one day.

As she cycles on an exercise bike, newly installed in the park, she dreams about visiting Universal Studios one day – after her graduation.

Lucy says she is excited to see there is a female candidate. “Harris’s candidacy marks an important step forward for gender equality, and it’s encouraging to see her as a presidential candidate.”

• Can Xi fix China’s economy?

The People’s Republic of China has never had a female leader and not a single woman currently sits on the 24-member team known as the Politburo that makes up the most senior members of the Chinese Communist Party.

Lucy is also worried about the intense competition between the two countries and believes the best way for China and the United States to improve their relationship is to have more people-to-people exchanges.

Both sides have vowed to work towards this, and yet the number of US students studying in China has fallen from around 15,000 in 2011 to 800.

Xi hopes to open the door for 50,000 American students to come to China in the next five years. But in a recent interview with the BBC, the US ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, accused parts of the Chinese government of not taking this pledge seriously.

He said that on dozens of occasions the security forces or a government ministry have prevented Chinese citizens from participating in public diplomacy run by the US.

On the other side, Chinese students and academics have reported being unfairly targeted by US border officials.

Lucy, however, remains optimistic that she will be able to travel to America one day, to promote Chinese culture. And, as the music strikes up nearby, she urges Americans to visit and experience China.

“We may be a little bit reserved sometimes and not as outgoing or as extrovert as US people, but we are welcoming,” she says as she heads off to join her family.

China on Monday launched new military drills off the coast of Taiwan in what it described as “punishment” for a speech given by its president William Lai, when he vowed to “resist annexation” or “encroachment upon our sovereignty”.

China claims the self-governing island of Taiwan as its own and its president Xi Jinping has vowed to retake it by force if necessary.

Taiwan said it detected 34 naval vessels and 125 aircraft in formation around the island on Monday.

Maps published by Chinese state media indicated its forces were positioned around the whole island. It said later on Monday that the drills had been successfully concluded.

The Chinese military, known as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said the drills involved all wings of the army and were designed to simulate attacking Taiwan by land, sea and air.

Senior Captain Li Xi, spokesperson of the PLA Eastern Theater Command said the drills “fully tested the integrated joint operation capabilities” of its troops.

Taiwan’s airports and ports continued functioning as normal.

An earlier statement from the Taiwanese defence ministry condemned the Chinese move and said its priority was to avoid direct clashes which could escalate the stand-off further. Outlying islands were put on high alert, it added.

China’s foreign ministry confirmed it had simulated military assaults and port blockades, and described Taiwanese independence as being “incompatible” with peace in the region.

A post by the Chinese coast guard on its Weibo account later noted that the route of the patrol was in the shape of a heart.

China has held several major military drills off the coast of Taiwan since 2022 and its fighter jets regularly enter Taiwanese airspace.

The latest exercise has been dubbed Joint Sword 2024-B by Beijing and had been widely expected since May, when drills bearing the same name and officially labelled as part A were staged.

That exercise, which China described as its largest yet, were timed to coincide with the inauguration of President Lai, who Beijing has long seen as a “troublemaker” advocating for Taiwan’s independence.

His latest comments, made on Taiwan’s national day, were condemned by China, which said he was escalating tensions with “sinister intentions”.

But while these drills were widely expected, if you look at the deployment and how close Chinese ships and aircraft are to Taiwan – as well as the fiery rhetoric – this is very aggressive behaviour.

In any other context, this would be seen as a dramatic escalation – but it comes against the backdrop of tensions that were already very high.

The US reacted by saying that there was no justification for the drills after Lai’s “routine” speech, and that China should avoid further actions which may jeopardise peace and stability in the region.

The recent history of China’s military intimidation of Taiwan goes back to 1996, after Taiwan held its first direct presidential elections. China declared several areas around Taiwan off limits, and fired short-range ballistic missiles into those areas off the north and south coasts.

US President Bill Clinton quietly moved US Navy forces into the Taiwan strait to demonstrate to Beijing that the US would prevent an attack on the island.

Tensions eased considerably between 2008 and 2016 – until the leader of Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Tsai Ing-wen was elected as president. China considers the DPP to be a hard line pro-independence party, and responded by cutting off all direct contacts with the government in Taipei.

That situation has remained ever since.

In August 2022 US house speaker Nancy Pelosi flew into Taipei – the first time a sitting house speaker had visited the island since 1997. Pelosi’s visit and her open support for Taiwan was seen by Beijing as a huge provocation – coming close to a formal recognition of the government here by a very senior US politician.

It reacted with fury – holding two days of exercises and for the first time ever flying ballistic missiles over the island and in to the Pacific Ocean.

The US says it will deploy a high-altitude anti-missile system and a military crew to Israel to help bolster that country’s air defences after a missile attack from Iran earlier this month.

A Pentagon statement said President Joe Biden had ordered the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) battery and its crew be sent “to defend Israel”.

Iran launched almost 200 ballistic missiles towards Israel on 1 October. The Israeli military said most were intercepted, but a number struck central and southern Israel.

Israel has not yet said how it will respond to the attack, but Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has said it will be “deadly, precise and above all surprising”.

Iran has in turn said it will not let any attack by Israel go unanswered.

The Pentagon said the Thaad deployment “underscores the United States’ ironclad commitment to the defense of Israel, and to defend Americans in Israel, from any further ballistic missile attacks by Iran”.

The US sent a Thaad battery to the Middle East after Hamas attacked southern Israel on 7 October last year. It previously sent a Thaad battery to Israel in 2019 for training and an air defence exercise.

But the US deploying a crew to Israel is more rare.

Iran said its 1 October missile barrage was a response to Israel’s assassinations of the Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) officer in Beirut, and of the Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

Israel has dramatically escalated its campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah in recent weeks, carrying out deadly air strikes across southern and eastern Lebanon and in parts of Beirut.

Before that, Israel and Hezbollah had been trading cross-border fire on a near daily basis since last October, when Hezbollah began firing into Israel which it said was a show of support for Palestinians in Gaza. It had said it would stop firing if there was a ceasefire in Gaza.

However, international efforts to get Israel and Hamas to agree to a ceasefire in Gaza have so far failed.

The US announcement underlines its growing concern about ballistic missiles targeting Israel.

Thaad provides yet another layer of intercept protection against what are called endo and exo (inside and outside) atmospheric threats. It costs around a billion dollars a battery.

Manufacturer Lockheed Martin describes the system as highly effective against short, medium and long-range targets.

Thaad missiles, which have a reported range of up to 200km (124 miles), are of a “hit to kill” variety, rather than using proximity detonation to bring down targets.

Israel’s missile defence comprises the Iron Dome for short-range rockets, David’s Sling for longer range weapons and cruise missiles, plus Arrow 2 and Arrow 3 against ballistic missiles launched from over 1,000km (621 miles) away.

Countering ballistic missiles threats is particularly difficult because of those missiles’ high speed and the rapid rate of change of aspect in flight – particularly during their terminal phase.

According to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Hezbollah in Lebanon has some 150,000 rockets – mainly supplied by Iran – at its disposal.

“This is the most dangerous of all front lines,” says Oleksandr, the head of a medical unit for the Ukrainian army’s 25th Brigade.

We are in the treatment room of a cramped makeshift field unit – the first point of treatment for injured soldiers.

“The Russian Federation is pushing very hard. We have not been able to stabilise the front. Each time the front line moves, we also move.”

We are close to Pokrovsk, a small mining city about 60km (37 miles) to the north-west of the regional capital, Donetsk.

The medics tell us they recently treated 50 soldiers in one day – numbers rarely seen before during the course of this war. The casualties are brought in for treatment at this secret location after dusk, when there is less of a chance of being attacked by armed Russian drones.

The Ukrainian troops have been injured in the ferocious battle to defend Pokrovsk. Just months ago, this was considered a relatively safe place – home to about 60,000 people, its streets lined with restaurants, cafes and markets. Soldiers would often come from the front line to the city for a break.

Now, it feels like a ghost town. More than three-quarters of its population have left.

Since Russia captured the city of Avdiivka in February, the speed of its advance in the Donestk region has been swift. At the start of October, it captured the key city of Vuhledar.

The Ukrainian government agrees with the soldiers we meet on the ground, that fighting around Pokrovsk is the most intense.

“The Pokrovsk direction leads the number of enemy attacks,” Kyiv stated last week – claiming that, in total, the Armed Forces of Ukraine had repelled about 150 “enemy” attacks on most days in the past two weeks.

In the field unit, six miles from the front, army medic Tania holds the arm of Serhii, a soldier with a bloodied bandage covering most of his face, and guides him into an examination room.

“His condition is serious,” says Tania.

Serhii has shrapnel injuries to one of his eyes, his skull and brain. The doctors quickly clean up his wounds and inject antibiotics.

Five more soldiers arrive soon after – they are uncertain how they received their injuries. The barrage of fire can be so fierce and sudden, their wounds could have been caused by mortars or explosives dropped from drones.

“It’s dangerous here. It is difficult, mentally and physically. We are all tired, but we are coping,” says Yuriy, the commander of all the brigade’s medical units.

All the soldiers we see were injured at different times of the morning, but they have only arrived after nightfall, when it is safer.

Such delays can increase the risk of death and disability, we are told.

Another soldier, Taras, has tied a tourniquet around his arm to stop the bleeding from a shrapnel wound, but now – more than 10 hours later – his arm looks swollen and pale and he can’t feel it. A doctor tells us it might have to be amputated.

In the past 24 hours, two soldiers have been brought in dead.

What we see at the field unit points to the ferocity of the battle for Pokrovsk – an important transport hub. The rail link that passes through was used regularly to evacuate civilians from front-line towns to safer parts of Ukraine, and to move supplies for the military.

Ukraine knows what is at stake here.

The threat of Russian drones is ever present – one hovers just outside the medical unit while we are there. It makes evacuations from the front line extremely hard. The building’s windows are boarded up so the drones can’t look inside, but the minute anyone steps out of the door, they are at risk of being hit.

The drones are also a threat to the remaining citizens of Pokrovsk.

“We constantly hear them buzzing – they stop and look inside the windows,” says Viktoriia Vasylevska, 50, one of the remaining, war-weary residents. But even she has now agreed to be evacuated from her home, on the particularly dangerous eastern edge of the city.

She is surprised by how fast the front line has moved west towards Pokrovsk.

“It all happened so quickly. Who knows what will happen here next. I’m losing my nerve. I have panic attacks. I’m afraid of the nights.”

Viktoriia says she has barely any money and will have to start her life from scratch somewhere else, but it is too scary to stay here now.

“I want the war to end. There should be negotiations. There is nothing left in the lands taken by Russia anyway. Everything is destroyed and all the people have fled,” she says.

We find eroded morale among most of the people we speak to – the toll of more than two and a half years of a grinding war.

Most of Pokrovsk is now without power and water.

At a school, there is a queue of people carrying empty canisters waiting to use a communal tap. They tell us that a few days ago, four taps were working, but now they are down to just one.

Driving through the streets, pockets of destruction are visible, but the city hasn’t yet been bombed out like others that have been fiercely fought over.

We meet Larysa, 69, buying sacks of potatoes at one of a handful of food stalls still open at the otherwise shuttered-down central market.

“I’m terrified. I can’t live without sedatives,” she says. On her small pension, she doesn’t think she would be able to afford rent somewhere else. “The government might take me somewhere and shelter me for a while. But what after that?”

Another shopper, 77-year-old Raisa chimes in. “You can’t go anywhere without money. So we just sit in our home and hope that this will end.”

Larysa thinks it’s time to negotiate with Russia – a sentiment that might have been unthinkable for most in Ukraine some time ago. But at least here, near the front line, we found many voicing it.

“So many of our boys are dying, so many are wounded. They’re sacrificing their lives, and this is going on and on,” she says.

From a mattress on the floor of an evacuation van, 80-year-old Nadiia has no sympathy for the advancing Russian forces. “Damn this war! I’m going to die,” she wails. “Why does [President] Putin want more land? Doesn’t he have enough? He has killed so many people.”

Nadiia can’t walk. She used to drag herself around her house, relying on the help of neighbours. Just a handful of them have stayed back, but under the constant threat of bombardment, she has decided to leave even though she doesn’t know where she will go.

But there are those who are not yet leaving town.

Among them are locals working to repair war-damaged infrastructure.

“I live on one of the streets closest to the front line. Everything is burnt out around my house. My neighbours died after their home was shelled,” Vitaliy tells us, as he and his co-workers try to fix electrical lines.

“But I don’t think it’s right to abandon our men. We have to fight until we have victory and Russia is punished for its crimes.”

His resolve is not shared by 20-year-old Roman, who we meet while he is working to fix a shell-damaged home.

“I don’t think the territory we’re fighting for is worth human lives. Lots of our soldiers have died. Young men who could have had a future, wives and children. But they had to go to the front line.”

At dawn one morning, we drive towards the battlefield outside the city. Fields of dried sunflowers line the sides of the roads. There is barely any cover, and so we drive at breakneck speed in order to protect ourselves against Russian drone attacks.

We hear loud explosions as we near the front line.

At a Ukrainian artillery position, Vadym fires a Soviet-era artillery gun. It emits a deafening sound and blows dust and dried leaves off the ground. He runs to shelter in an underground bunker, keeping safe from Russian retaliation and waiting for the coordinates of the next Ukrainian strike.

“They [Russia] have more manpower and weapons. And they send their men onto the battlefield like they’re canon fodder,” he says.

But he knows that if Pokrovsk falls, it could open a gateway to the Dnipro region – just 32km (20 miles) from Pokrovsk – and their job will become even more difficult.

“Yes, we are tired – and many of our men have died and been wounded – but we have to fight, otherwise the result will be catastrophic.”