Israel is creating a new military dividing line in Gaza, separating off the far north of the strip, satellite images studied by BBC Verify appear to show.

Troops are in control of, and are clearing, an area across the width of north Gaza. Satellite images and videos show that hundreds of buildings have been demolished between the Mediterranean Sea and the Israel border, mostly through controlled explosions.

Images also show Israeli troops and vehicles have been stationed across the new divide. Analysts said the images suggest Gaza is being split into zones to make it easier to control.

An IDF spokesperson told the BBC it was “targeting terrorist operatives and infrastructure” in north Gaza.

Dr H A Hellyer, a Middle East security expert from the Rusi think tank, said the satellite images suggested Israel was preparing to block Palestinian civilians from returning to the north Gaza governorate. More than 100,000 people have already been displaced from the far north of Gaza, according to the UN.

Images appear to show two long sections of road on either end of the cleared strip being connected by cleared land through an urban area. Buildings are being demolished between the two sections of road, with a clear pattern visible since early October.

This partition stretches about 5.6 miles (9km) across Gaza, from east to west, dividing Gaza City and the towns of Jabalia, Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia in north Gaza.

The BBC has been told that there is a tactical route between Jabalia and Gaza City, which is part of operational activities targeting Hamas in Jabalia.

Videos filmed by the IDF and posted online show several multi-storey buildings being destroyed in controlled explosions since the beginning of October.

The graphic below shows examples geolocated by BBC Verify along the new corridor.

An IDF spokesperson told the BBC that it had no intention of destroying civilian infrastructure “without operational necessity” to neutralise Hamas.

Other footage shows IDF Humvee vehicles being driven through the cleared area from the direction of Israel. Humvees are not as heavily armoured as other military vehicles – and Dr Hellyer told the BBC that such vehicles were unlikely to be used unless the military was confident about their safety, indicating that Israeli troops are in control of the area.

Some analysts believe the IDF’s presence could indicate a permanent military partition – giving it control of who can travel between the Gaza and the north Gaza governorates.

Dr Hellyer said of the IDF: “They’re digging in for the long term. I would absolutely expect the north partition to develop exactly like the Netzarim Corridor.”

The BBC has previously documented how two partitions have been constructed in Gaza since the start of the current war. The Netzarim Corridor splits an area south of Gaza City, while the Philadelphi Corridor gives the IDF control of land running the length of Gaza’s border with Egypt.

BBC analysis of this new partition in the north shows a similar pattern to the construction of the previous corridors over the past year, with existing and newly built roads being connected and military positions emerging at regular intervals. Buildings and agricultural land are cleared so roads can be paved and military infrastructure built.

Dr Eado Hecht from the Begin–Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (Besa), an Israeli think tank specialising in national security and foreign policy, agreed that the data showed a new dividing line, but questioned whether it was designed to be permanent.

“There is a new partition corridor separating Gaza City and the northern towns of the Gaza Strip. The goal is to cut off the Hamas – and other organizations’ – forces that have returned to that area from support and the ability to retreat, so they can be dealt with more effectively.”

Israel has denied that it is implementing the “General’s Plan”. Under the strategy, devised by former general Giora EIland, civilians would be told to leave the north, supplies would be blocked and the area would become a military zone. Those who remained would be treated as combatants and faced with the choice of “surrender or starve”, with the aim of putting pressure on Hamas to release its hostages.

In a statement to the BBC, an IDF spokesperson said: “The IDF operates according to well-established military plans, and the claim that the IDF is implementing this specific plan is incorrect.”

But concerns have mounted over the safety of the thousands of Palestinian civilians who remain in besieged towns in north Gaza.

The UN and aid charities have raised significant concerns about the situation in the north of Gaza. While thousands of people have been displaced, the UN says over 65,000 people could remain in the area.

The UN also says that “virtually no aid” has entered the North Gaza governorate in 50 days. A spokesperson said that Palestinians were facing “facing critical shortages of supplies and services, as well as severe overcrowding and poor hygiene conditions” due to the blockade.

Earlier this month, a UN-backed assessment said there was a strong likelihood that famine was imminent in the besieged areas of northern Gaza.

BBC analysis shows around 90% of north Gaza has been subject to evacuation orders since the start of October. Videos posted on social media document people being moved south of the new partition. It is not clear if and when they will be able to return, but Israel’s foreign minister has insisted civilians will be allowed to return after the war.

Satellite images show the displacement of people in north Gaza. Large groups of tents, erected as temporary shelter, disappear. In the area left behind, there are often destroyed buildings and other examples of military activity.

While the IDF appears to have established enough control in the area to travel in lightly armoured vehicles, heavy fighting has also persisted in the area between IDF troops and Hamas fighters.

Videos posted by Hamas fighters show clashes with IDF tanks in the area around the dividing line.

Experts disagree over how long the new partition might be intended to remain in place. Dr Hellyer suggested that it could form the basis of plan to expel Palestinians from the area permanently.

“Personally I think they’re going to settle Jewish settlers in the north, probably in the next 18 months,” he said. “They won’t call them settlements. To begin with they’ll call them outposts or whatever, but that’s what they’ll be and they’ll grow from there.”

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said that troops should occupy Gaza and “encourage” about half of Palestinian civilians to leave the territory within two years.

But the Israeli government denies that it plans to build settlements in Gaza once the war ends, and Dr Hecht dismissed such suggestions as nothing more than a “dream” for some ultranationalist ministers.

“All three corridors (Philadelphi in the south, Netzarim just south of Gaza City and the new one just north of Gaza City) are for control purposes,” Dr Hecht said.

“The duration of their existence depends on when the war ends and in what manner it ends.”

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Britain and Iraq have agreed an unprecedented joint plan to tackle people smuggling gangs responsible for thousands of migrants crossing the Channel in small boats.

On a three-day visit to the country, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper also signed a new agreement to ensure failed Iraqi asylum seekers are returned home more “swiftly”.

She met ministers from the federal government in Baghdad and regional leaders in Kurdistan in the north where many smuggling gangs are based.

The agreement will involve greater intelligence sharing and more joint law enforcement operations, all designed to increase the number of smugglers that are prosecuted.

As part of the deal, the UK will give Iraqi law enforcement £300,000 for training in border security, focused on organised immigration crime and drug trafficking. On top of this, the authorities in the Kurdistan region of Iraq will get support worth £200,000 to help tighten their border security and tackle irregular migration.

The home secretary was accompanied by Martin Hewitt, the government’s new Border Security Commander, who met his Iraqi counterpart. Both men will play a huge role in trying to make the agreement work.

The BBC team were the only broadcast journalists travelling with Cooper. The focus in Baghdad was a half-day meeting with her Iraqi counterpart, Abdul Amir al-Shammari.

They met at the interior ministry before visiting the Iraqi human trafficking centre.

The home secretary also toured a police college where she was guest of honour for a marching parade of more than 2,000 newly trained Iraqi officers.

The agreement is the first substantive attempt by the government to fulfil the prime minister’s “personal mission” to combat people smuggling at source rather than just trying to stop boats in the Channel.

Iraqi migrants are regularly among the top five nationalities seeking to cross to the UK and many of the smuggling networks across Europe are run by Iraqi Kurds.

We spoke to Shukria Badar, a mother of five boys and two girls from Erbil, whose son Baryar Mohamed used people smugglers to try to reach Britain. He perished in the Channel when his overloaded boat sank in heavy seas. He was 23-years-old.

Shukria wept as she told us how she fears one of her other sons may one day also try to reach Britain using people smugglers.

“I wish they would die all these smugglers. They deserve to die for every tear l’ve shed for my son, for every tear other mothers have shed for their children.

“I pray that God punishes them for what they have done, and there must be a law to put these smugglers in prison.”

The new UK-Iraqi deal is designed to be a blueprint for further cooperation between both governments.

It will involve a new communications campaign to try to counter smuggler propaganda on social media. The aim will be to deter Iraqis coming to the UK by telling real stories about “the risks and realities of travelling to the UK irregularly”.

A new taskforce of experts from both countries will be set up to agree ways of upgrading Iraq’s biometric border controls. This would help identify migrants without documentation.

The two governments also agreed to “enhance their cooperation” to ensure failed Iraqi asylum seekers in the UK are returned home “swiftly” by cutting red tape and improving technology.

But the home secretary refused to say how many Iraqis would be returned and how quickly.

She said: “We think this partnership is really important because it includes training, capability building, information sharing in order to go after these criminal gangs who are profiting from undermining border security, profiting from putting lives at risk.

“They’ve been operating out of the Kurdish region in Iraq and having that law enforcement cooperation across borders is crucial to going after gangs who operate across borders as well.”

Speaking at a Downing Street news briefing on Thursday, Sir Keir described the agreement with Iraq as “a world-first that will help us smash the people smuggling gangs and secure our borders”.

He said the funding for Iraqi law enforcement would “tackle the problem upstream, way before it reaches our shores”.

Diplomats accept there are many questions about this policy.

There is a risk that smuggling networks are replaced the moment some ringleaders are arrested.

There may be difficulties getting different parts of Iraq’s law enforcement agencies to cooperate with one another.

Communications campaigns to deter migration often struggle to counter the reports of friends and family in the UK.

We spoke to one people smuggler in Erbil who wished to remain anonymous. He told us the new agreement might make him more cautious for a while but it would not stop him doing business.

The man – who was 36-years-old and from northern Iraq – said he had helped more than 5,000 people leave Kurdistan. He said he was responsible for organising the whole journey to the UK. But he refused to take responsibility for migrants dying in the Channel, blaming local smugglers for overloading boats and migrants themselves for taking the risk.

“We often pay for the boat that carries small numbers, because we bear responsibility for it. The parents are also informed that the road is illegal,” he said.

“In the event of deaths or harm, we do not bear responsibility. The majority of these incidents occur because Pakistani and Afghan smugglers load large numbers onto boats.

“The majority of drowning accidents are for those who pay less amount of money. A boat that carries a few people has a higher price than a boat that carries a large number of people. For example, for a boat that is heavily loaded, we pay 1,200 euros but for a boat that carries a smaller number, we pay 2,500 euros.”

Iraq’s interior minister, Abdul Amir al-Shammari, insisted the new agreement would help tackle this. “The cooperation will involve comprehensive training, exchange of expertise and intelligence coordination in tracking wanted individuals,” he told the BBC.

“The United Kingdom is a significant country for Iraq and a key partner. We hope this cooperation will serve as a starting point for broader collaboration across all ministries.”

Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg has visited Donald Trump at his resort in Mar-a-Lago, further evidence of the apparent thawing in their once frosty relations.

The president-elect already has a close, high-profile relationship with another of the leading figures in tech, X owner Elon Musk.

Historically, though, there has been no such closeness between Trump and Mr Zuckerberg – with Trump barred from Facebook and Instagram after the Capitol riots, and Trump threatening the Meta boss with jail if he interfered in the 2024 presidential election.

However, there has recently been evidence those strained relations are improving, culminating in Mr Zuckerberg dining with the president-elect at his Florida mansion.

“Mark was grateful for the invitation to join President Trump for dinner and the opportunity to meet with members of his team about the incoming administration,” a Meta spokesperson told the BBC.

“It’s an important time for the future of American Innovation,” the statement added.

In August, Trump wrote in a book Mr Zuckerberg would “spend the rest of his life in prison” if he attempted to interfere in the 2024 US election.

But the president-elect subsequently softened his position, telling a podcast in October it was “nice” Mr Zuckerberg was “staying out of the election”, and thanking him for a personal phone call after he faced an assassination attempt.

There have have also been indications Mr Zuckerberg is attempting to be more accommodating towards America’s incoming president.

Trump was thrown off Meta platforms Facebook and Instagram in 2021 for what the company called his “praise for people engaged in violence at the Capitol on January 6.”

But that suspension has since been lifted.

In August this year, Mr Zuckerberg spoke of his regret at de-promoting content relating to allegations about Joe Biden’s son Hunter, which had been a right-wing talking point in the US prior to the 2020 presidential election.

He also said he would make no more contributions to support electoral infrastructure, after a $400m (£302m) donation in 2020 was viewed by some online as a way of skirting donation limits.

Mr Zuckerberg said his donations had been designed to be non-partisan, and his goal was to be neutral in elections.

It is not known what the two men discussed over dinner at Trump’s Florida home.

Meta has though been facing increasing regulation in recent years, including an ongoing antitrust case brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2020.

Even so, Mr Zuckerberg’s apparently improving relations with the president-elect have been totally eclipsed by Trump’s closeness to Elon Musk.

Trump’s close-knit relationship with the X owner resulted in more than $100m (£79m) in campaign donations, along with endorsements from the billionaire and his superfans.

Their relationship is so tight it has caused some to dub Musk his “First Buddy”, a play on the president’s wife being named First Lady.

It has ultimately led to the billionaire being placed in charge of a new Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), which may give him not only influence over government policy, but the very regulation threatening his business empire.

However, Mr Zuckerberg and Mr Musk have a longstanding rivalry.

Some of their disagreements stem from serious business matters, such as a failed collaboration in 2016 when a SpaceX rocket exploding while carrying a Facebook satellite.

Their beef rumbled on eventually becoming a war of words over a potential cagefight.

Though neither have backed down publicly, it seems unlikely the bout of the billionaires will actually come to pass.

Three Americans detained in China were released in exchange for three Chinese prisoners in the US, after the Biden administration negotiated a prisoner swap.

Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and John Leung are on their way back to the US, a spokesperson for the National Security Council (NSC) said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Soon they will return and be reunited with their families for the first time in many years,” the statement said.

The exchange was reportedly months in the making, and included the release of three Chinese citizens in US custody, Chinese authorities confirmed on Wednesday.

“Through the unremitting efforts of the Chinese Government, the three Chinese citizens wrongfully detained by the United States have returned to their motherland safely,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in a statement Wednesday.

“China has always been firmly opposed to the suppression and persecution of Chinese nationals by the United States for political purposes,” she added.

President Biden raised the issue of Americans wrongfully detained in China directly with President Xi Jinping earlier this month when the two met during the Apec summit in Peru, according to an American official familiar with the negotiations. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan also urged for their return during his visit to China in August.

“Thanks to this Administration’s efforts and diplomacy with the PRC, all of the wrongfully detained Americans in the PRC are home,” the NSC spokesperson said.

The swap was first reported by Politico.

Mr Swidan, 48, had been detained since 2012 and was facing the death penalty after a conviction for narcotics trafficking. Swidan denied the charges and the State Department classified him as wrongfully detained, previously raising concerns about his health.

Mark Li, 60, had been held in China since September 2016 on what activists say were trumped-up spying charges.

John Leung, 78, has lead several pro-Beijing groups in the US. He was arrested in 2021 and sentenced to life in prison on espionage charges two years later.

According to the New York Times, multiple US officials said they had discussed releasing Chinese citizen Xu Yanjun, 42, who was convicted in the US on espionage charges two years ago and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Xu was first Chinese government intelligence officer ever to be extradited to the US to stand trial, the Justice Department said.

As of Wednesday morning, Xu was listed in the Bureau of Prisons system as “not in BOP custody”.

The deal marks a diplomatic win for Biden in the final months of his presidency.

It follows the release of another American considered wrongfully detained: David Lin, a pastor who had been jailed in China from 2006 until his release in September.

During his four years in the White House, Biden oversaw the release of more than 70 Americans, including from Russia, Venezuela and Iran.

On Wednesday, the US also lowered its travel advisory level for mainland China to Level 2: Exercise increased caution.

A proposal to amend a decades-old law that governs properties worth millions of dollars donated by Indian Muslims over centuries has triggered protests in the country.

The properties, which include mosques, madrassas, shelter homes and thousands of acres of land, are called waqf and are managed by a board.

The new bill – which introduces more than 40 amendments to the existing law – was expected to be tabled in the current parliament session after incorporating changes suggested by a joint committee of MPs.

But the committee is now set to ask for more time to submit its recommendations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government says that the proposed changes are necessary to root out corruption in the management of these properties and address demands for reform from the Muslim community.

But several Muslim groups and opposition parties have called the changes politically motivated and an attempt by Modi’s Hindu nationalist party to weaken the rights of minorities.

The bill was first introduced in parliament in August but then sent to a joint parliamentary committee for their recommendations.

In Islamic tradition, a waqf is a charitable or religious donation made by Muslims for the benefit of the community. Such properties cannot be sold or used for any other purpose – which implies that waqf properties belong to God.

A vast number of these properties are used for mosques, madrassas, graveyards and orphanages, and many others are vacant or have been encroached upon.

The tradition of waqf in India can be traced back to the Delhi Sultanate period in the 12th Century when the early Muslim rulers from Central Asia came to India.

The properties are now governed by the Waqf Act, 1995, which mandated the formation of state-level boards. These boards include nominees from the state government, Muslim lawmakers, members of the state bar council, Islamic scholars and managers of waqf properties.

The government says that the waqf boards are among India’s largest landholders. There are at least 872,351 waqf properties across India, spanning more than 940,000 acres, with an estimated value of 1.2 trillion rupees ($14.22bn; £11.26bn).

Muslim groups agree that corruption is a serious issue in waqf boards – its members have been accused several times of colluding with encroachers to sell waqf land.

But critics also say that a significant number of these properties have been encroached by individuals, businesses and government bodies – which too requires immediate attention.

A report submitted in 2006 by the Justice Sachar Committee – formed by the earlier Congress party-led government to assess the socioeconomic conditions of Muslims in India – had recommended waqf reform, as it found that the revenues from the boards were low compared to the vast number of properties they managed.

The committee estimated that efficient use of the land had the potential to generate an annual revenue of about 120bn rupees (1.4bn; £1.1bn). The current annual revenue, according to some estimates, is around 2bn rupees.

The committee also noted that “encroachments by the State, who is the custodian of the Wakf interests, is common”, listing hundreds of instances of such “unauthorised occupation” of waqf land by government authorities.

According to government data, at least 58,889 of waqf properties are currently encroached upon, while more than 13,000 are under litigation. The status of more than 435,000 properties remains unknown.

The amendments, the government says, address these issues and advance the recommendations made by the Sachar Committee.

Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju told The Times of India newspaper that the reforms were also necessary as only an elite section in the Muslim community managed these properties.

But many Muslims see the proposed changes with scepticism.

One of the most contentious aspects of the bill is the change to ownership rules, which would impact historical mosques, dargahs and graveyards owned by the board.

Many of these properties – in use by Muslims for generations – lack formal documentation as they were donated orally or without legal records decades or centuries ago.

The 1954 Waqf Act recognised such properties under the category of “waqf by user”, but the proposed law omits the provision, leaving the fate of a significant number of these properties uncertain.

Professor Mujibur Rehman, author of Shikwa-e-Hind: The Political Future of Indian Muslims, explains that tracing the ownership of such long-standing community properties is complicated, as their management and deed systems have shifted over the centuries from the Mughal system to the British colonial system, and now to the current system.

“You can trace personal properties up to a few generations, but tracing community properties is more difficult, as their management keeps changing over time,” Prof Rehman says.

Others worry that the new bill may not address the community’s concerns but could instead considerably take away the role of Muslims in controlling waqf properties.

That’s because the proposed changes include tweaks to the composition of waqf boards, making it compulsory to include non-Muslims as its members.

Some agree that a general law mandating people of all religions to be part of boards that run religious institutions is not a bad idea – as it would make processes more secular.

But the current move appears to favour majoritarian politics, Prof Rehman says. “There seems to be an attempt not only to get the state’s control over Muslims’ properties, but also of Hindu community over Muslim community’s lives.”

Among other crucial changes is the mandatory requirement for boards to register their properties with district collectors, who would recommend to the government whether the waqf’s claim to a property is valid.

Critics say this will undermine the powers of the waqf boards.

Asaduddin Owaisi, a prominent Muslim MP, alleges that these changes are intended to strip Muslims of their land.

The current law requires state governments to appoint a survey commissioner who identifies waqf properties, and subsequently prepares a list. The list is then sent to the state government which issues a legally mandated notification. If unchallenged for a year, the final nature of the property becomes waqf.

But some of the changes would mean that the status of several waqf properties will have to be re-established.

“Many have illegally encroached upon waqfs. This means they will get a chance to claim that the property is theirs,” Owaisi recently told reporters.

This process, Muslim groups say, will put many historical dargahs and masjids at risk. They say that reform is needed but it must keep the sensitivity and interests of the community in mind.

“The diagnosis may be correct,” Prof Rehman says, “but the treatment is not.”

Major sanitary pad makers in China are apologising after being accused of selling pads that are shorter than advertised.

It comes amid a storm of anger after viral social media videos showed Chinese women measuring the lengths of sanitary pads from popular brands – showing that most of them fell short of what was stated on their packaging.

The uproar has extended into broader grievances about women being short-changed by feminine hygiene products, which have a history of safety scandals in China.

Chinese women have taken it upon themselves to call out quality concerns in sanitary pads, the most commonly used feminine hygiene product in the country.

In one of the earliest videos, posted on 3 November, a user on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu examined nine brands of sanitary pads with a measuring tape, showing that they all fell short of the length stated on their packaging.

“Will cutting a few centimetres help you strike it rich?” the user wrote in her video.

The revelations soon ignited widespread criticism, with consumers accusing sanitary pad makers of being deceitful.

“The inflated sanitary pad length is just like the insoles under men’s feet,” reads one popular Weibo post.

Amid the uproar, an investigation of over 20 different sanitary pads by Chinese news outlet The Paper found that nearly 90% of the products were “shrunken”, measuring at least 10mm shorter than claimed on their packaging. Tucked within most of them were even shorter absorbent layers, which are meant to soak up menstrual flow.

The Paper also reported that while national standards for sanitary pads specify that the products can measure within 4% of advertised lengths, they do not specify the length of the absorbent layer in sanitary pads.

Following a torrent of complaints, authorities said they were revising the current national standard on sanitary pads, according to local media.

Met with enquiries and complaints from customers about the discrepancy in its sanitary pad lengths, the popular Chinese brand ABC further stoked outrage after its customer service reportedly responded to a complaint by saying “if you cannot accept [the length difference] then you can choose not to buy it”.

ABC said in a statement in mid-November that it was “deeply sorry” for the “inappropriate” response, and promised to improve its products to achieve “zero deviation”. Other companies including Shecare and Beishute have also issued apologies.

Chinese state media has also weighed in on the controversy, criticising manufacturers for cutting corners.

“As a daily necessity for women, quality of sanitary pads is directly related to the health and comfort of the user,” reads a Xinhua article. “The problems existing in some products on the market cannot be ignored.”

Sanitary pads are the most commonly used feminine hygiene product in China, where the market is valued at $13bn (£10bn). However, the products have also made headlines over the years for safety issues.

In 2016, police busted a massive “fake sanitary towel” operation in southeast China, where millions of sanitary pads were manufactured in a factory without proper hygiene measures and packaged as popular brands. In 2021, popular feminine hygiene brand Space 7 apologised and vowed an investigation after a woman claimed she found a needle in one of its sanitary pads.

The wave of anger also reflects broader grievances felt by women over the quality of products meant for them.

“Is it that hard for sanitary pads to tackle women’s needs?” reads a trending hashtag on Weibo.

Another trending phrase that has caught on amid the blowback encapsulates the outrage: “Sanitary pads yield a centimetre; women yield for a lifetime.”

Australia will ban children under 16 from using social media, after its Senate approved the world’s strictest laws.

The ban – which will not take effect for at least 12 months – could see tech companies fined up to A$50m ($32.5m; £25.7m) if they don’t comply.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the legislation is needed to protect young people from the “harms” of social media, something many parent groups have echoed.

But critics say questions over how the ban will work – and its impact on privacy and social connection – have been left unanswered.

This is not the first attempt globally to limit children’s social media use, but it involves the highest age limit set by any country, and does not include exemptions for existing users or those with parental consent.

“This is a global problem and we want young Australians essentially to have a childhood,” Albanese said when introducing the bill to the lower house last week. “We want parents to have peace of mind.”

Having passed the Senate by 34 votes to 19 late on Thursday, the bill will return to the House of Representatives – where the government has a majority meaning it is sure to pass – for it to approve amendments, before becoming law.

The legislation does not specify which platforms will be banned. Those decisions will be made later by Australia’s communications minister, who will seek advice from the eSafety Commissioner – an internet regulator that will enforce the rules.

Gaming and messaging platforms are exempt, as are sites that can be accessed without an account, meaning YouTube, for instance, is likely to be spared.

The government says will it rely on some form of age-verification technology to implement the restrictions, and options will be tested in the coming months. The onus will be on the social media platforms to add these processes themselves.

However digital researchers have warned there are no guarantees the unspecified technology – which could rely on biometrics or identity information – will work. Critics have also sought assurances that privacy will be protected.

They have also warned that restrictions could easily be circumvented through tools like a VPN – which can disguise a user’s location and make them appear to be logging on from another country.

Children who find ways to flout the rules will not face penalties, however.

Polling on the reforms, though limited, suggests it is supported by a majority of Australian parents and caregivers.

“For too long parents have had this impossible choice between giving in and getting their child an addictive device or seeing their child isolated and feeling left out,” Amy Friedlander, who was among those lobbying for the ban, recently told the BBC.

“We’ve been trapped in a norm that no one wants to be a part of.”

But many experts say the ban is “too blunt an instrument” to effectively address the risks associated with social media use, and have warned it could end up pushing children into less regulated corners of the internet.

During a short consultation period before the bill passed, Google and Snap criticised the legislation for not providing more detail, and Meta said the bill would be “ineffective” and not meet its stated aim of making kids safer.

In its submission, TikTok said the government’s definition of a social media platform was so “broad and unclear” that “almost every online service could fall within [it]”.

X questioned the “lawfulness” of the bill – saying it may not be compatible with international regulations and human rights treaties which Australia has signed.

Some youth advocates also accused the government of not fully understanding the role social media plays in their lives, and locking them out of the debate.

“We understand we are vulnerable to the risks and negative impacts of social media… but we need to be involved in developing solutions,” wrote the eSafety Youth Council, which advises the regulator.

Albanese has acknowledged the debate is complex but steadfastly defended the bill.

“We all know technology moves fast and some people will try to find ways around these new laws but that is not a reason to ignore the responsibility that we have,” he has said.

Last year, France introduced legislation to block social media access for children under 15 without parental consent, though research indicates almost half of users were able to avoid the ban using a VPN.

A law in the US state of Utah – which was similar to Australia’s – was overturned by a federal judge who found it unconstitutional.

Australia’s laws are being watched with great interest by global leaders.

Norway has recently pledged to follow in the country’s footsteps, and last week the UK’s technology secretary said a similar ban was “on the table” – though he later added “not… at the moment”.

Gregg Wallace is to step away from presenting MasterChef while allegations of historical misconduct are investigated, the show’s production company has said.

It comes after BBC News sent a letter to Wallace’s representatives on Tuesday setting out allegations of inappropriate sexual comments by 13 people who worked with him across a range of shows over a 17-year period.

Broadcaster Kirsty Wark, who was a Celebrity MasterChef contestant in 2011, said he told “sexualised” jokes during filming.

Wallace’s lawyers say it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature. Masterchef’s production company Banijay UK has launched an investigation and said Wallace is co-operating.

Wark, who is best known for hosting BBC Newsnight, told BBC News that on two occasions, during early morning filming, Wallace told stories and jokes of a “sexualised nature” in front of contestants and crew.

She said she feels strongly that the comments were “really, really in the wrong place”.

Other allegations we’ve heard include Wallace talking openly about his sex life, taking his top off in front of a female worker saying he wanted to “give her a fashion show”, and telling a junior female colleague he wasn’t wearing any boxer shorts under his jeans.

BBC News has also heard from a former MasterChef worker who says he showed her topless pictures of himself and asked for massages, and a former worker on Gregg Wallace’s Big Weekends, who says he was fascinated by the fact she dated women and asked for the logistics of how it worked.

We have also found that Wallace was warned by the BBC after a complaint was raised about him in 2018 about the show Impossible Celebrities.

A formal HR investigation took place and, in the outcome letter, which we have seen, the BBC concluded that “many aspects of [Wallace’s] behaviour were both unacceptable and unprofessional”.

In a subsequent letter, which we have also seen, a BBC executive said she had held a 90-minute meeting with Wallace to make clear “how seriously the BBC takes this matter”. She also reassured the workers that action would be taken “to prevent a similar reoccurrence and to safeguard others in the future”.

But further incidents have since emerged.

BBC News started investigating Wallace in the summer, after becoming aware of allegations. The claims we have heard are across five shows, from 2005 to 2022.

BBC News is editorially independent from the wider organisation.

Announcing its investigation on Thursday, Banijay UK said in a statement: “This week the BBC received complaints from individuals in relation to historical allegations of misconduct while working with presenter Gregg Wallace on one of our shows.”

Wallace, 60, is “committed to fully co-operating throughout the process”, it added.

“Whilst these complainants have not raised the allegations directly with our show producers or parent company Banijay UK, we feel that it is appropriate to conduct an immediate, external review to fully and impartially investigate,” Banijay’s statement continued.

“While this review is under way, Gregg Wallace will be stepping away from his role on MasterChef and is committed to fully co-operating throughout the process.

“Banijay UK’s duty of care to staff is always a priority and our expectations regarding behaviour are made clear to both cast and crew on all productions, with multiple ways of raising concerns, including anonymously, clearly promoted on set.

“Whilst these are historical allegations, incidences brought to our attention where these expectations are not met, are thoroughly investigated and addressed appropriately.”

Banijay’s statement concluded by encouraging anyone who wanted to raise any issues or concerns to come forward.

A BBC spokesman said: “We take any issues that are raised with us seriously and we have robust processes in place to deal with them.

“We are always clear that any behaviour which falls below the standards expected by the BBC will not be tolerated.

“Where an individual is contracted directly by an external production company we share any complaints or concerns with that company and we will always support them when addressing them.”

Episodes of MasterChef: The Professionals featuring Wallace that have already been recorded will transmit as planned, with the next episode due to air on Thursday evening.

Wallace has presented the popular BBC One cooking show alongside John Torode since 2005, as well as its spin-offs Celebrity MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals.

Wallace was the original presenter of the BBC show Saturday Kitchen in 2002 and has also featured on Eat Well For Less, Inside The Factory, Turn Back Time, Harvest and Supermarket Secrets.

He took part in Strictly Come Dancing in 2014, and was recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2022 for his services to food and charity.

Chart-topping K-pop group NewJeans have said they are leaving their agency after accusing it of “mistreatment” and “manipulation”.

The five-member girl band announced their departure from Ador, a subsidiary of powerhouse label Hybe, in a late-night press conference held on Thursday.

One of the group’s member’s Hanni alleged NewJeans had been shunned by the company.

The split is the latest development in a long-running conflict between former NewJeans producer Min Hee-Jin, and Hybe’s chairman Bang Si-hyuk which has made headlines in South Korea.

• K-pop star gives tearful testimony on harassment
• NewJeans face uncertainty after failed ultimatum

“This is not the type of work ethic we respect and not one we want to be a part of, and to continue working under a company with no intention of protecting NewJeans would only do us harm,” Hanni said.

She added the group had faced “mistreatment, not just towards us but also including our staff”, and said the group experienced “deliberate miscommunications and manipulation in multiple areas”.

The group said they would like to work with Min, the group’s former mastermind who left Ador in August following accusations that she had planned to split from Hybe, taking NewJeans with her.

This would have made NewJeans and Ador independent of Hybe. Min has denied the accusations against her.

She has previously accused Hybe of launching another girl group, Illit, that was copying NewJeans’s music and appearance.

On 13 November, NewJeans filed a legal notice to Ador demanding the company resolve breaches of their exclusive contracts within 14 days.

They said that failure to meet their demands would result in the termination of their contracts.

The group had asked for an apology allegedly made by one of the company’s managers, who is accused by NewJeans of bullying, and the immediate reinstatement of Min.

They added they they would fulfil their contractual obligations, but at the conference warned their fans they might not be able to use the band’s name after the contract terminates.

Prior to the split, the band were committed to a seven-year contract, which runs out in 2029.

In October, the K-pop news site Koreaboo estimated that the members would have to pay about 300bn South Korean Won (about £170m) to terminate the contract early.

But group singer Haerin said it “makes no sense” that the group would be liable to pay a contract breach fee.

“We never broke any rules,” Haerin said. “We did nothing but try our best – they are the ones at fault. Hybe and Ador are the ones responsible.”

The group has been embroiled in a year-long controversy with audits and emotional accusations making South Korean headlines.

In October, a member of the group, Hanni, 20, testified at the Labour Committee of South Korea’s National Assembly at a hearing about workplace harassment.

She alleged that entertainment agency Hybe had deliberately undermined her band, and accused senior managers of deliberately ignoring her.

Following several incidents, she said: “I came to the realisation that this wasn’t just a feeling. I was honestly convinced that the company hated us.”

NewJeans made its debut in 2022 and is among Hybe’s most successful K-pop groups, along with BTS.

With slick pop hits including Super Shy and OMG, NewJeans were the eighth biggest-selling act in the world last year, and were nominated for best group at this year’s MTV Awards.

Formed by Ador in 2022, its five members – Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin and Hyein – range in age from 16 to 20.

Parts of the US face a “significant Arctic outbreak” for the Thanksgiving holiday, which includes some of the country’s busiest travel days of the year.

“Dangerously cold wind chills” are anticipated over the northern Plains on Thursday by the National Weather Service (NWS).

Meanwhile, parts of the north-east including New England could see heavy snow, and the East Coast is expected to be hit by thunderstorms.

The severe conditions come in a week expected to set records for Thanksgiving travel. Thousands of flights were delayed and dozens cancelled on Wednesday, according to tracking site FlightAware.

The snow expected on Thursday could fall in Maine, New York state and the north Appalachians, said BBC Weather forecaster Elizabeth Rizzini.

The thunderstorms could affect Georgia, plus North and South Carolina, she added.

Stormy conditions are then expected to reach the Midwest on Friday, bringing lake-effect snow and severe thunderstorms.

Lake-effect snow happens when cold air passes over unfrozen and relatively warm waters – in this case in the Great Lakes – causing the air to rise and form clouds that produce snow. Up to 8in (20cm) could fall in some places, the NWS says.

Flight disruption has been reported as holidaymakers attempt to make seasonal journeys. More than 4,500 delays within, into or out of the US were logged by FlightAware on Wednesday. There were 61 cancellations.

The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says passenger volumes during this year’s Thanksgiving have already reached record highs.

The busiest days were expected to be Tuesday and Wednesday, before Thanksgiving, as well as the Sunday after the holiday. The TSA expects to screen nearly nine million people at airports during those three days alone.

And a record number of nearly 80 million Americans were expected during the week to travel at least 50 miles (80km) by car. Insurance company AAA said the anticipated increase was due to petrol prices being lower than this time last year.

On the other side of the country, there are dense fog warnings on Thursday for the Pacific north-west and California, as well as freezing fog for Oregon and parts of Washington state, BBC forecaster Elizabeth Rizzini said.

Earlier this week, a winter storm brought heavy snow and high winds for higher elevations in the west. Central California was also hit by another “atmospheric river” event on Tuesday after a similar phenomenon last week. The weather event occurs when water evaporates into the air and is carried along by the wind.

And communities in the Pacific north-west continue to recover from last week’s bomb cyclone, an intense weather event that takes place when air pressure quickly drops off the coast. The storm caused mass flooding and power cuts.

In Kibbutz Menara in northern Israel, the sound of gunfire from across the border marked the first day of the ceasefire with Hezbollah.

Menara sits face to face with the Lebanese village of Meiss el-Jabal. It was one of several places where the Israeli military said it fired towards suspects spotted nearby.

They were not gun battles with Hezbollah fighters, it said, but warning shots to push the suspects back. Four of them were arrested.

The handover of control on the Lebanese side of the border, from Israeli troops to the Lebanese army, has not yet begun.

And Lebanese residents have been told not to return there yet.

In Menara, the ceasefire bought Meitel and her 13-year-old daughter Gefen back their first visit home in more than a year.

“This is unbelievable. It’s like a nightmare,” Meitel said, as they inspected a damaged building.

They left the kibbutz on 8 October 2023, when Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel the day after Hamas’s deadly attack on southern Israel triggered the war in Gaza.

Israel’s government said its intense bombardment and ground invasion in Lebanon would ensure the tens of thousands of northern Israeli residents of the evacuated from their homes would be able to return safely.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised that would happen during a speech on Tuesday in which he said he had agreed to the ceasefire because the war had set Hezbollah back “tens of years”, destroyed most of its rockets, and demolished its infrastructure next to the border.

However, Meitel said she had little trust in the ceasefire, noting the gunfire that echoed through Menara’s empty streets during her visit.

“They want to come back. We need to keep them away,” she said.

Three quarters of the buildings in Menara have been destroyed in almost 14 months of fighting, along with the electricity, sewage and gas supplies.

The roof of the communal kitchen, caved in from a direct hit, lies tangled in hills of concrete and metal on the floor.

In house after house, the tell-tale tattoos of shrapnel damage, and rough-edged holes from anti-tank missiles have left homes burned out and unsafe.

Through the burned-out windows, the many shattered houses of their Lebanese neighbours are also visible.

Orna has lived in Menara through two previous wars but she said this ceasefire was different.

“Our forces will not leave these villages and will not allow terrorists to come back here. You can hear it yourself. Whenever someone tries to come back, they will be shot,” she explained.

“I personally will be come and be here regardless of what goes on there. But I’m a crazy, stubborn old lady. Families will not come back here. It’s impossible.”

The ceasefire is triggering the first discussions of what it would take for residents to return.

Repairing Menara will take months, but rebuilding a sense of security could take longer still.

The damage, a practical challenge, is also a reminder of what Hezbollah weapons can do.

Early in the morning they grabbed what they could – bags with clothes, blankets, and mattresses – and headed south.

Families who had been forced to flee because of the war did not wait to see if the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah would hold.

Just hours after it came into effect they were driving back home on the main road from Beirut.

Some waved the yellow and green flag of Hezbollah, others carried posters with images of the group’s former leader Hassan Nasrallah, killed in an Israeli air strike two months ago.

For many this was a moment of celebration.

“What happened is very good. This is a victory for the resistance,” said Abu Ali, referring to the ceasefire that had been brokered by the US and France.

“May God have mercy on our martyrs. The resistance is a source of honour and pride for us. Without its existence, there would be no homeland, no south, nothing.”

His plan was to return to the village Houla, right next to the border. But Israeli troops were still there, he said.

“We don’t know whether our house is still standing or has been destroyed,” Ali said. “But we’ll go there.”

The 60-day ceasefire will see the gradual withdrawal of the Israeli military, and of Hezbollah fighters and weapons, from Lebanon’s south.

The Lebanese army said it was already strengthening its presence there, as part of the deployment of an additional 5,000 soldiers under the deal. Both Israel and Hezbollah have said they are ready to respond to any violations.

The ceasefire is the main hope to bring an end to over a year of conflict, that intensified in September with widespread Israeli air strikes, assassinations of top Hezbollah officials and a ground invasion.

Israel’s stated goal was to move the group away from the border and stop the attacks on its northern communities.

In Lebanon, more than one million people were displaced, mostly from Shia Muslim areas in the south, the eastern Bekka Valley and Dahieh in Beirut – which are essentially controlled by Hezbollah, the powerful militia and political party supported by Iran.

They started to return despite warnings from Israeli and Lebanese authorities that it was not yet safe to do so.

“It doesn’t matter if the house is still intact or not, the important thing is that we are returning, thanks to the blood of our martyr, Nasrallah,” said Fatma Balhas, who was travelling to the town of Seddiqine.

Hezbollah-allied media also said this was a sign the group had been victorious in the war.

Near Sidon, the first big city on the coast south of Beirut, cars drove on the opposite carriageway, as a traffic jam formed just outside a military checkpoint.

Soldiers handed out leaflets telling people to not touch unexploded ordnance. “Don’t get close, don’t touch it, report it immediately”.

As night fell on Wednesday the truce appeared to be holding, with UN chief Antonio Guterres describing it as the “first ray of hope for peace amid the darkness of the past months”.

The war has devastated this country, and recovery will be long and difficult. And what will happen with Hezbollah is not clear. The group has been diminished, but it still enjoys significant support.

For Lebanon, it means this crisis is not over.

A ceasefire has come into effect between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon after a deal was agreed to end 13 months of fighting.

In October 2023, Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel in support of its ally Hamas in Gaza and Israel launched retaliatory air strikes in Lebanon.

The conflict escalated in late September 2024, when Israel launched an intense air campaign and ground invasion of southern Lebanon.

In Lebanon, more than 3,800 people have been killed since October 2023, according to Lebanese authorities, with one million people forced to flee their homes.

On the Israeli side, at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians have been killed, while 60,000 people have been displaced, Israeli authorities say.

• Follow live updates on this story
• What we know about Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal
• Questions over Hezbollah’s future after ceasefire
• Israeli anger at ‘irresponsible and hasty’ ceasefire
• Watch: People in Israel and Lebanon react to ceasefire deal

Lebanon is a small country with a population of about 5.5 million people, which borders Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. It is about 170km (105 miles) away from Cyprus.

Under the terms of the ceasefire, Hezbollah must end its armed presence in the area of southern Lebanon between the Blue Line – the unofficial border between Lebanon and Israel – and the Litani River, about 30km (20 miles) to the north.

Over the next 60 days, Israel will gradually withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon and thousands of Lebanese army troops will move into the vacated positions in parallel, the agreement says.

The Lebanese army will ensure that Hezbollah’s infrastructure or weaponry is removed and that it cannot be rebuilt, according to a senior US official.

Under UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the last war in 2006, the area south of the Litani should be free of any armed personnel or weapons other than those of the Lebanese state and the UN peacekeeping force (Unifil). However, both sides claimed violations of the resolution.

The US and France will join the existing tripartite mechanism, involving Unifil, Lebanon and Israel, which will be charged with monitoring violations, the senior US official said.

The agreement also says that “these commitments do not preclude either Israel or Lebanon from exercising their inherent right of self-defence, consistent with international law”. Israel’s prime minister insisted it would “maintain full freedom of military action” to attack Hezbollah if it violated the agreement.

Tens of thousands of Lebanese civilians displaced by the war have started returning to their homes in the south, despite being warned by the Israeli military that it was not safe to return to areas where its soldiers were still deployed.

Israel launched its ground invasion of southern Lebanon on the night of 30 September 2024, with troops and tanks crossing the border in several locations.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was carrying out “limited, localised, and targeted ground raids” to dismantle what it called Hezbollah’s “terrorist infrastructure”.

Analysis by experts at the Institute for the Study of War suggests Israeli ground operations were limited to areas within a few kilometres of the border, as shown in the map below.

The IDF warned people living in dozens of towns and villages in southern Lebanon to leave their homes and head north of the Awali River, which meets the coast about 50km (30 miles) from the border with Israel.

Lebanese civilians were also told by the IDF not to use vehicles to travel south of the Litani River.

The IDF carried out air strikes in Lebanon throughout the conflict.

But it sharply escalated the air campaign on 23 September 2024, when it launched an operation targeting what it said were Hezbollah infrastructure sites and weapons in all areas of the country where the group has a strong presence.

However, Lebanese authorities say more than 700 women and 200 children have been killed since the start of the conflict, as well as another 200 people working in the country’s health sector.

As the chart below shows, the intensity of the strikes stepped up significantly in the weeks before the Israeli ground invasion in late September and peaked in October.

The majority of Israeli strikes were in southern Lebanon, where about a million people lived before the conflict escalated over a year ago.

The map below – using analysis of satellite data by Corey Scher of CUNY Graduate Center and Jamon Van Den Hoek of Oregon State University – shows which areas of Lebanon sustained the most concentrated damage during the conflict.

As the following map shows, Beirut was also heavily targeted by Israeli air strikes.

There were some strikes close to central Beirut but the majority of them hit the southern suburbs of the city – densely populated areas that were home to hundreds of thousands of civilians.

These areas, close to the international airport, have a strong Hezbollah presence and it was a series of strikes on buildings there that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on 27 September.

There were several dozens air strikes in the southern suburbs and central Beirut on 26 November hours before the ceasefire deal was agreed.

Israel has a decades-long history of conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon but it is just one of the fronts that it is currently engaged in hostilities.

The others include armed forces and non-state armed groups in several countries in the Middle East, including Iran, Syria and Iran-backed groups operating in Gaza, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

Seoul has recorded its heaviest November snowfall since records began over a century ago in 1907.

The South Korean capital was covered with at least 16 cm of snow on Wednesday – beating the city’s previous record of 12.4cm from November 1972.

It caused significant disruption across the country, with local media reporting that flights had been grounded, roads closed, and that there were delays to transport services.

At least one person is reported to have died in a weather-related traffic accident near Seoul.

Youn Ki-han, the head of Seoul’s Meteorology Forecast Division, told the AFP news agency that the heavy snowfall was due to strong westerly winds and a “significant temperature difference between the sea surface and the cold air”.

It is expected to continue through Wednesday night and into Thursday morning.

The cold weather comes after the region experienced a period of mild autumn temperatures.

“Just last week, I felt that the November autumn was a bit warm, but in just one week it feels like it’s turned into a winter wonderland, which was quite a contrast,” said businessman Bae Joo-han.

“So I came out onto the streets today to enjoy the first snowfall of this winter.”

An oil painting of a Māori elder has fetched a record price at an auction on Tuesday, making it the most valuable artwork of its kind in New Zealand history.

The painting by famed local artist Charles Frederick Goldie, shows a portrait of Wharekauri Tahuna, a priest who is believed to be one of the last tattooed men of his generation.

The NZ$3.75m ($2.2m; £1.7m) sale also marks the highest price ever paid for a painting at auction in New Zealand, according to the auction house.

It comes at a point of increased racial tensions in New Zealand, with the government having recently put forth a bill that Māori said would hurt their rights.

Thoughts of a Tohunga was painted nine years before Goldie died in 1947, with art critics believing it was his best work.

It depicts the priest with a moko, or facial tattoo, and wearing a pendant known as a hei-tiki around his neck.

The sale, to an undisclosed buyer, makes it the most valuable Māori portrait in New Zealand art history.

“Goldie was well loved by Māori during his lifetime, [he] lived in Auckland and met his subjects,” Richard Thomson, director at the International Art Centre told the BBC, adding that this was the first time the painting had gone on sale in 33 years.

“New Zealanders have an affinity with their history and portraits by Goldie have always been sought after,” he said, adding that since 2016 his auction house has sold 13 Goldie paintings, with buyers paying more than a million New Zealand dollars each time.

Wharekauri Tahuna was one of Goldie’s favourite subjects and featured in a number of his works.

Māoris make up about 18% of New Zealand’s population, though many remain disadvantaged compared to the general population when assessed through markers such as health outcomes, household income, education levels and incarceration and mortality rates. There remains a seven-year gap in life expectancy.

Last week, political party Act – a minor partner in the coalition government – sought to pass a bill that would reintepret the country’s founding treaty with Māori people, known as the Treaty of Waitangi.

Thousands of people joined a nine-day march against the bill earlier last week.

The bill passed a first reading but is unlikely to pass a second reading, as Act’s coalition partners have indicated they will not support it.

A man who sold his rural home to someone who turned out to be on the FBI’s most wanted list has said it was the ideal location “if you wanted to keep your head down”.

Daniel Andreas San Diego paid £425,000 for the house near Llanrwst in north Wales in August 2023 using the name Danny Webb.

On Monday, Mr San Diego – who had a $250,000 (£199,000) bounty on his head – was arrested in Maenan after 21 years on the run following two explosions in San Francisco in 2003 he was suspected of being behind.

“He was quite excited because there was a big woodland at the back, he was into his mountain biking and that’s what sold it to him, apparently,” said Aled Evans.

“It sounded like the ideal place he wanted – but he wanted it for other reasons,” he told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

Maenan sits just off the A470, one of the main roads running through north Wales, about 10 miles (16km) from Conwy.

It is a sprawling community of farms and isolated cottages, many of which are now holiday homes or holiday lets. There is no shop or village pub.

Many of the properties that you pass on the way to Llidiart y Coed appear to be holiday homes. 

Two of those that do live close by reported little or no contact with a man who had been on the run for 20 years. 

One identified a black Seat Leon car parked nearby as belonging to San Diego. 

Neither seemed to have any direct contact to him.

The house in question is a white villa with a balcony offering striking views of rolling hills and a well-manicured garden.

When the BBC visited, a bunch of keys was hanging from the lock on a glass door on the inside, and pans and crockery were spread over the kitchen sink and worktop.

You are greeted by a chalk message on a slate board as you walk down the garden path left for the binmen well-over a year ago by the family of four who previously lived here.

Mr San Diego was, it seems, in no hurry to make the place his own.

Just inside the door a pair of heavy duty wellies stood abandoned among a small debris pile of clothes, unopened post and a range of high-end power tools.

All the signs were that this was a home that had – in the best detective story tradition – been left in a hurry.

Mr Evans said the house was not “in the middle of nowhere” but was along an unmade track on “quite a busy” public footpath through the wood.

He added that Mr San Diego offered £15,000 over the asking price.

“The day of the viewing he spent considerable time on the balcony looking at the view and that’s what sold it to him, apparently,” Mr Evans said.

He told the BBC that “Danny” was excited about using the woodland at the back of the house for mountain biking, but thought it was strange that he did not seem worried about unfinished repair work to a damaged summer house.

Mr Evans described Mr San Diego as a likeable, quiet man who told him his work in IT had brought him to Wales.

“I thought he was a Canadian and not an American,” he said, describing him as softly spoken.

He told BBC Radio Cymru’s Dros Frecwast that he saw Mr San Diego for about 20 minutes on the day he moved in.

“He wasn’t in a hurry and was very cool about the whole situation,” adding that the neighbours “never saw him”.

He only found out about Mr San Diego’s arrest after a former neighbour phoned him to tell him the shocking news.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet. But it hasn’t affected us, of course. You couldn’t make it up.

“It was a perfect place to hide and he was besotted with the view from the house. His view for the foreseeable future won’t be half as good.”

When the FBI finally got their man he was found living at the end of a long, narrow track which forms part of the footpath on a steep, thickly-forested hill leading towards the popular Cadair Ifan Goch viewing point and the stunning views it offers across the Carneddau mountains of Eryri.

Llidiart y Coed benefits from the same breathtaking scenery.

Large swathes of the Conwy river are clearly visible below, snaking its way to the sea a few miles to the north, while the icy face of Carnedd Llewelyn glistens in the distance beyond.

Only the low-level hum of traffic rising from the A470 reminds you just how close you are to modern life.

Llidiart y Coed was once just a small, two-storey Welsh cottage. But a large, single-storey flat roof extension, glazed over with a late November frost, now provides the main living area.

Details of how the man known locally as Danny Webb lived in this Welsh idyll will, perhaps, emerge in the days to come. There are suggestions he was a keen mountain biker and a wetsuit hanging just inside that door indicates a man who enjoyed the great outdoors.

But after 20 years on the run, Daniel Andreas San Diego’s next home, presumably in a prison cell, will be very different.

The FBI has accused Mr San Diego of being “an animal rights extremist” involved in a series of bombings in San Francisco.

The first bombing happened in August 2003, outside the Chiron Life Science Center in Emeryville, California.

A second bomb was found at the site by authorities but exploded before it could be defused.

The agency said that raised the possibility the device was planted specifically to target first responders.

Less than a month later, in September 2003, a nail bomb exploded outside a nutritional products corporation based in Pleasanton, California.

He became the first “domestic terrorist” to be added to the agency’s most wanted terrorist list, created by then-President George W Bush in October 2001 in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

Mr San Diego appeared on the list alongside Osama Bin Laden, who is believed to have ordered the 9/11 attacks, and was killed by US forces in Pakistan in 2011.

Michael J Heimbach, the FBI’s assistant director of the counterterrorism division, said the suspect had committed “domestic acts of terror planned out and possibly intended to take lives”.

According to reports, the agency’s last sighting of him was in 2003 when FBI agents were close in downtown San Francisco.

“He parked his car, got out of his vehicle and started walking down the street and, if I’m not mistaken, he went into a Bart [train] station and that was the last time we’ve seen him,” FBI agent David Johnson said in 2013.

Dodging bullets, ducking explosions, safeguarding state secrets.

Bombastic propaganda films present the shadowy Russian political operative Maxim Shugalei as a heroic figure – who will apparently stop at nothing in his quest to promote the country abroad.

While his escapades have no doubt been exaggerated, in real life he has played a significant role in the expansion of Russia’s influence in parts of Africa, working closely with the Wagner Group of Russian mercenaries.

However, this would-be iron man recently suffered a set-back when he was arrested in the central African nation of Chad.

He, along with fellow Russian operatives Samer Sueifan and E Tsaryov, were detained in September on unexplained charges, before being freed and sent home earlier this month, according to the Russian embassy.

Shugalei tends to describe himself as a “sociologist” but in reality, say analysts, he is a spin doctor and an agent of Russian influence known for his work on the African continent.

He has been under EU sanctions since 2023 for overseeing disinformation campaigns to promote the Wagner Group in several African countries, and is also the subject of Ukrainian sanctions.

Since at least 2010, Shugalei was affiliated with the late Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner boss and a close associate of President Vladimir Putin.

While Shugalei used to deny these ties – as was customary in Prigozhin’s circles – he nevertheless first came to media attention for his work and subsequent arrest in Libya on charges of spying and meddling in elections on behalf of the Wagner boss.

Prigozhin had tasked Shugalei with gathering information and preparing a strategy to support Seif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of former leader Muammar Gaddafi.

When Shugalei returned to Russia, Prigozhin revealed that he had given him 18m rubles ($173,000; £138,000) – 1m rubles for each month he had spent in captivity.

Shugalei’s escapades in Libya formed the basis for a trilogy of action TV films, seemingly sponsored by Prigozhin. They were designed to, among other things, glorify the regime of then-Wagner ally Khalifa Haftar in eastern Libya and whitewash Russia’s activities in Africa.

The role of Shugalei was played by the actor Kirill Polukhin, and the films show him as “almost a James Bond figure, or Mission Impossible type”, says Ladd Serwat, an Africa Regional Specialist at the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project (Acled).

“We are shown this macho, tough person who is unwilling to crack under pressure or give away national secrets – then is very capable as a mercenary or independent military operator.”

A modest-sized online fan page falsely claims that “Shugalei” has even become an Arabic word for “man of iron who cannot be broken”.

But as a key player in the expansion of Russia’s influence in Africa in recent years, he has also been involved in some extraordinary activities in real life.

In 2018, a BBC investigation found that he was one of several Russian operatives who were caught offering suitcases full of cash to presidential candidates in Madagascar.

There is a stark contrast between the benevolent, saviour image Russia’s influence network projects and the reality on the ground, say analysts.

“Industrial and artisanal miners have been attacked or abducted by Wagner mercenaries and pushed out of areas – such as Ndassima [in the Central African Republic] – where they were operating in order to make space for Prigozhin-linked businesses to operate,” says Mr Serwat.

Wagner fighters have accused been accused by rights groups of committing horrific atrocities – including a massacre in Mali, the abduction and rape of teenage girls, and massacring civilians to secure access to lucrative gold mines.

Before his activities abroad, the only public episode of Shugalei’s career as a political consultant dates back to the 2002 elections for the St Petersburg parliament.

At the time, Shugalei served as a representative for one of the candidates and famously ate several documents during an electoral commission meeting to prevent them from being submitted to court.

Under Prigozhin, Shugalei’s official position was head of the Foundation for the Protection of National Values, a pro-Wagner organisation and public relations firm.

Unofficially, he worked in various African states to try to ensure regimes favourable to Wagner would come to, and remain in, power, as part of Russia’s attempts to gain influence on the continent – especially at the expense of France.

Since the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin last year, troops serving under the Wagner banner in Ukraine and Africa have been absorbed into Russia’s official military structure.

However, Prigozhin’s media empire, which Shugalei was a part of, has crumbled.

As someone who operates in the shadows, it is hard to know exactly how much influence he wields.

Yet, according to some, Shugalei may not have lost too much influence despite the death of his mentor.

“He still seems to have the same level of influence, despite the fact that the Kremlin seems to have taken over the majority of Wagner group operations,” says Beverly Ochieng, a senior analyst covering Francophone Africa for Control Risks.

He seemingly no longer denies his ties to Wagner and Prigozhin – his Telegram channel is full of posts commemorating the late oligarch and his mercenary group, and he even reposts Wagner’s recruitment information.

Yet, aside from his arrest in Chad and a July trip to Angola which he documented on Telegram, it is hard to tell the full scale of his current activities.

Chad has given no official reason for the arrest of Shugalei and his two associates.

Multiple theories abound – some more plausible than others.

Russian state-controlled news channel RT reported that the arrests were instigated by France, but this is most likely a fiction designed to save face, Ms Ochieng tells the BBC.

Since at least May, Russia has been pushing the narrative that the West’s traditional influence in Chad is waning.

But, although Chad has recently signed deals with Russia on infrastructure and security, it still hosts French troops, and retains good relations with the former colonial power, unlike several of its Francophone neighbours which have tilted towards Russia.

There is no evidence of a Russian military presence in the country.

In fact, some argue that Chadian President Mahamat Déby is expertly playing Russia and the West against each other, to Chad’s advantage.

Russia is striving to gain complete dominance over West Africa’s Sahel region, and already has close ties to two of Chad’s neighbours – Niger, and the Central Africa Republic (CAR), the country where Russia’s influence is strongest on the continent.

Wagner fighters are said to have infiltrated Chad from the CAR and clashed with the local army, before retreating.

If Russia could bring Chad into its orbit, that would create an uninterrupted sphere of influence stretching thousands of miles.

Shugalei had visited Chad twice before, and notably held talks with Déby’s campaign team prior to the presidential elections in May. He was also linked to the Russia House cultural centre in the capital, N’Djamena, which recently unveiled a new headquarters at a ceremony attended by Russian government officials.

Last year, US intelligence services said they had discovered that Wagner allegedly orchestrated a plot to assassinate Déby but failed to carry it out.

Mr Serwat suggests this may be why Shugalei was arrested.

Ms Ochieng says Chad may have been worried about Shugalei’s potential to try and destabilise the country by spreading disinformation.

Shugalei’s foundation has denied that he is a “Wagner spy”, saying Shugalei “does not know anything in particular about Wagner Group’s activities in Africa and only knows general details about what it did previously”.

Russian-backed social media content, TV stations and news sites are being deployed to spread a pro-Russian agenda and disinformation, especially in Africa, according to analysts.

Examples include Afrique Media TV which broadcasts from Cameroon as far afield as CAR, Ivory Coast, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger – and is also on YouTube where it has thousands of followers, and enjoys a large Facebook following.

Shugalei himself teases his presence in various African countries, sometimes sharing short, low-budget, vlog-style Telegram videos that make clear his love of showmanship.

Of the video content aimed at Africans, many take on a fable-like appearance – one, called LionBear – shows a bear (which symbolises Russia) running across the globe to defend a lion (his Central African Republic friend) from the malign influence of hyenas.

“I don’t think people necessarily are won over by these videos – people think it’s funny, a joke,” says Ms Ochieng.

• How Wagner has rebranded in Africa
• Why Wagner is winning hearts in the Central African Republic
• How Russian disinformation operations target Africa
• Chad exploits Russian-Western rivalry to its advantage
• How these coups promised – and failed – to deliver safety

• Listen to Jeremy read this article

For most of the people of Lebanon, a ceasefire could not come quickly enough. A leading Lebanese analyst at a conference on the Middle East that I’m attending in Rome said she couldn’t sleep as the appointed hour for the ceasefire came closer.

“It was like the night before Christmas when you’re a kid. I couldn’t wait for it to happen.”

You can see why there’s relief. More than 3,500 citizens of Lebanon have been killed in Israeli strikes. Displaced people packed their cars before dawn to try to get back to whatever remains of their homes.

Well over one million of them have been forced to flee by Israeli military action. Thousands have been wounded and the homes of tens of thousands of others have been destroyed.

But in Israel, some feel they have lost the chance to do more damage to Hezbollah.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met the heads of Israel’s northern municipalities, which have been turned into ghost towns with around 60,000 civilians evacuated further south.

Israel’s Ynet news website reported that it was an angry meeting that turned into a shouting match, with some of the local officials frustrated that Israel was taking the pressure off their enemies in Lebanon and not offering an immediate plan to get civilians home.

In a newspaper column, the mayor of Kiryat Shmona, close to the border, said he doubted the ceasefire would be enforced, demanding that Israel creates a buffer zone in south Lebanon. In a poll commissioned by the Israeli station Channel 12 News those questioned were roughly split between supporters and opponents of the ceasefire.

Half of the participants in the survey believe Hezbollah has not been defeated and 30% think the ceasefire will collapse.

Back in late September, at the UN General Assembly in New York, a deal looked as if it was close. Diplomats from the US and UK were convinced that a ceasefire very similar to the one that is now coming into force was about to happen.

All sides in the war appeared to have signalled their willingness to accept a ceasefire based on the provisions of Security Council resolution 1701, which was passed to end the 2006 Lebanon war: Hezbollah would pull back from the border to be replaced by UN peacekeepers and the Lebanese Armed Forces. As they moved in, Israeli forces would gradually move out.

But Prime Minister Netanyahu went to the podium at the UN to deliver a fiery speech that refused to accept any pause in Israel’s offensive.

Back at his New York hotel Netanyahu’s official photographer captured the moment as he ordered the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, along with most of his high command. Netanyahu’s office released the photos, in another calculated snub for American diplomacy.

The assassination was a significant escalation and a blow to Hezbollah. In the weeks since, Israel’s military has inflicted immense damage to Hezbollah’s military organisation. It could still fire rockets over the border and its fighters continued to engage Israel’s invasion force. But Hezbollah is no longer the same threat to Israel.

Military success is one of several factors that have come together to persuade Benjamin Netanyahu that this is a good time to stop.

Israel’s agenda in Lebanon is more limited than in Gaza and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories. It wants to push Hezbollah back from its northern border and to allow civilians to return to border towns.

If Hezbollah looks to be preparing an attack, Israel has a side letter from the Americans agreeing that it can take military action.

In a recorded statement announcing his decision, Netanyahu listed the reasons why it was time for a ceasefire. Israel, he said, had made the ground in Beirut shake. Now there was a chance ‘to give our forces a breather and replenish stocks,’ he continued.

Israel had also broken the connection between Gaza and Lebanon. After the late Hassan Nasrallah ordered the attacks on Israel’s north, the day after Hamas went to war on 7 October last year, he said they would continue until there was a ceasefire in Gaza.

Now, Netanyahu said, Hamas in Gaza would be under even more pressure. Palestinians fear another escalation in Israel’s Gaza offensive.

There was one more reason; to concentrate on what Netanyahu called the Iranian threat. Damaging Hezbollah means damaging Iran. It was built up by the Iranians to create a threat right on Israel’s border. Hezbollah became the strongest part of Iran’s axis of resistance, the name it gave to its network of forward defence made up of allies and proxies.

Just like Hezbollah’s surviving leaders, their patrons in Iran also wanted a ceasefire. Hezbollah needs a pause to lick its wounds. Iran needs to stop the geostrategic bleeding. Its axis of resistance is no longer a deterrent. Iran’s missile attack on Israel after Nasrallah’s assassination did not repair the damage.

Two men, both now assassinated, designed Hezbollah to deter Israel not just from attacking Lebanon – but also from attacking Iran. They were Qasem Soleimani, head of the Quds Force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, who was killed by an American drone strike at Baghdad airport in January 2020. The order was issued by Donald Trump in his last few weeks in the White House at the end of his first term. The other was Hassan Nasrallah, killed by a huge Israeli air strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Hezbollah and Iran’s deterrence strategy matched Israel’s own deterrence for almost 20 years after the end of the 2006 war. But among the profound changes caused by the 7 October attacks was Israel’s determination not to accept restrictions on the wars it would wage in response. America, its most important ally, also put almost no restrictions on the supply or use of the weapons it kept on providing.

Nasrallah and Iran failed to see what had happened. They did not understand how Israel had changed. They sought to impose a war of attrition on Israel, and succeeded for almost a year. Then on 17 September Israel broke out of it by triggering the miniature bombs built into the network of booby-trapped pagers its intelligence services had duped Hezbollah into buying.

Hezbollah was thrown off balance. Before it could react with the most powerful weapons Iran had provided, Israel killed Nasrallah and most of his key lieutenants, accompanied by massive strikes that destroyed arms dumps. That was followed by an invasion of South Lebanon and the wholesale destruction of Lebanese border villages as well as Hezbollah’s tunnel network.

A ceasefire in Lebanon is not necessarily a precursor to one in Gaza. Gaza is different. The war there is about more than security of the border, and Israeli hostages.

It is also about revenge, about Benjamin Netanyahu’s political survival, and his government’s absolute rejection of Palestinian aspirations for independence.

The Lebanon ceasefire is fragile and deliberately paced to buy time for it to work. When the 60 days in which it is supposed to take effect ends, Donald Trump will be back in the Oval Office. President-elect Trump has indicated that he wants a ceasefire in Lebanon, but his precise plans have not yet emerged.

The Middle East is waiting for the ways he might affect the region. Some optimists hope that he might want to create a moment akin to President Nixon’s sensational visit to China in 1972 by reaching out to Iran.

The pessimists fear he might abandon even the hollow genuflection that the US still makes to the idea of a creating an independent Palestine alongside Israel – the so-called two state solution. That might pave the way to annexation of those parts of the occupied Palestinian territories Israel wants, including much of the West Bank and northern Gaza.

What is certain though is that the Middle East has no chance of escaping more generations of war and violent death until the region’s fundamental political ruptures are faced and fixed. The biggest is the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

Benjamin Netanyahu and his government, along with most Israelis believe it is possible to dominate their enemies by pressing on to a military victory. Netanyahu is actively using force, unrestrained by the US, to alter the balance of power in the Middle East in Israel’s favour.

In a conflict that has lasted more than a century both Arabs and Jews have dreamt repeatedly of peace through military victory. Every generation has tried and failed. The catastrophic consequences of the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023 ripped away any pretence that the conflict could be managed while Israel continued to deny Palestinian rights to self-determination. The ceasefire in Lebanon is a respite. It is not a solution.

Mahmoud is a cheeky teenager who beams the biggest of smiles even though he lost his front teeth in the rough and tumble of kids’ play.

He is a Sudanese orphan abandoned twice, and displaced twice in his country’s grievous war – one of nearly five million Sudanese children who have lost almost everything as they are pushed from one place to the next in what is now the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

Nowhere else on Earth are so many children on the run, so many people living with such acute hunger.

Famine has already been declared in one area – many others subsist on the brink of starvation not knowing where their next meal will come from.

“It’s an invisible crisis,” emphasises the UN’s new humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher.

“Twenty-five million Sudanese, more than half the country, need help now,” he adds.

In a time of all too many unprecedented crises, where devastating wars in places like Gaza and Ukraine dominate the world’s aid and attention, Mr Fletcher chose Sudan for his first field mission to highlight its plight.

“This crisis is not invisible to the UN, to our humanitarians on the front line risking and losing their lives to help the Sudanese people,” he told the BBC, as we travelled with him on his week-long trip.

Most of the people on his team working on the ground are also Sudanese who have lost their homes, their old lives, in this brutal struggle for power between the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Mr Fletcher’s first field visit took him to Mahmoud’s Maygoma orphanage in Kassala in eastern Sudan, now home to nearly 100 children in a crumbling three-storey school-turned-shelter.

They lived with their carers in the capital, Khartoum, until the army and RSF turned their guns on each other in April 2023, trapping the orphanage as they dragged their country into a vortex of horrific violence, systematic looting and shocking abuse.

When fighting spread to the orphans’ new shelter in Wad Madani, in central Sudan, those who survived fled to Kassala.

When I asked 13-year-old Mahmoud to make a wish, he immediately broke into a big gap-toothed grin.

“I want to be a state governor so I can be in charge and rebuild destroyed homes,” he replied.

For 11 million Sudanese driven from one refuge to the next, returning to what is left of their homes and rebuilding their lives would be the biggest gift of all.

For now, even finding food to survive is a daily battle.

And for aid agencies, including the UN, getting it to them is a titanic task.

After Mr Fletcher’s four days of high-level meetings in Port Sudan, army chief Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan announced on the X social media site that he had given the UN permission to establish more supply hubs and to use three more regional airports to deliver assistance.

Some of the permissions had been granted before but some marked a step forward.

The new announcement also came as the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) secured a green light to reach stricken communities behind lines controlled by the RSF, including the Zamzam camp in Darfur housing about half a million people where famine was recently confirmed.

“We’ve been pushing for months to get to these communities,” says Alex Marianelli, who heads WFP’s operations in Port Sudan.

Behind us in a WFP warehouse, Sudanese labourers sing as they load trucks with boxes of food heading for the worst of the worst areas.

Mr Marianelli reflects that he has never worked in such a difficult and dangerous environment.

Within the aid community, some criticise the UN, saying that its hands have been tied by recognising Gen Burhan as the de facto ruler of Sudan.

“Gen Burhan and his authorities control those checkpoints and the system of permits and access,” Mr Fletcher says in response.

“If we want to go into those areas we need to deal with them.”

He hopes the rival RSF will also put the people first.

“I’ll go anywhere, talk to anyone, to get this aid through, and to save lives,” Mr Fletcher adds.

In Sudan’s merciless war, all warring parties have been accused of using starvation as a weapon of war.

So too sexual violence, which the UN describes as “an epidemic” in Sudan.

The UN visit coincided with the “16 days of activism” marked globally as a campaign to stop gender-based violence.

In Port Sudan, the event in a displaced camp, the first to be set up when war flared, was especially poignant.

“We have to do better, we must do better,” vowed Mr Fletcher, who cast aside his prepared speech when he stood under a canopy facing rows of Sudanese women and children, clapping and ululating.

I asked some of the women listening what they made of his visit.

“We really need help but the major job should be from the Sudanese themselves,” reflects Romissa, who works for a local aid group and recounts her own harrowing journey from Khartoum at the start of the war.

“This is the time for the Sudanese people to stand together.”

The Sudanese have been trying to do a lot with a little.

In a simple two-room shelter, a safe house called Shamaa, or “Candle”, brings some light to the lives of abused single women and orphaned children.

Its founder, Nour Hussein al-Sewaty, known as Mama Nour, also started life in the Maygoma orphanage.

She also had to flee Khartoum to protect those in her care. One woman now sheltering with her was raped before the war, then abducted and raped again.

Even the formidable Mama Nour is now at breaking-point.

“We are so exhausted. We need help,” she declares.

“We want to smell the fresh air. We want to feel there are still people in the world who care about us, the people of Sudan.”

• A simple guide to what is happening
• ‘Rape me, not my daughter’ – women tell BBC of Sudan sexual violence
• Famine hits Sudan as peace talks fall short yet again
• WATCH: Inside a hospital on Sudan’s hunger front line
• WATCH: BBC reporter’s emotional return to ransacked family home

The Black Friday sales are already in full swing and it can be easy to get swept up in the shopping frenzy and end up out of pocket – instead of bagging a bargain.

The vast majority of Black Friday offers are cheaper or the same price at other times of the year, consumer group Which? has warned.

We’ve spoken to some experts who have shared tips on how to shop Black Friday without being ripped off.

“It’s only a deal if it’s something you genuinely wanted or needed before seeing the discount,” said Sarah Johnson, director of merchandise consultancy Flourish Retail.

She recommends making a list and budget to stick to in order to avoid impulse buys.

“Make the deals work for you by using Black Friday to save on products you already planned to buy,” she said.

“If you stick to your list and stay within your budget, you’ll maximise your savings without unnecessary splurges.”

“When looking to make a purchase, it’s worth comparing the price at multiple retailers,” said Harry Rose, editor of Which? Magazine.

He also recommended using websites that allow you to check a product’s price history over the previous 12 months.

“That way you’ll know a good deal when you see one,” he said.

Which? investigated deals on 227 products at eight of the biggest home and tech retailers in the UK in last year’s Black Friday “fortnight” between 20 November and 1 December.

Its research suggested nine in 10 of the deals analysed were the same price or cheaper at other times of the year.

Mr Rose said you should not feel “pressured to splash out on Black Friday purchases as those deals are usually repeated – if not beaten – at other times of the year.”

If you spot something you want to buy in the Black Friday sale, search for it on a second-hand platform where you might find it even cheaper, says resale influencer, Jess.

Many resale platforms give you the option of offering a price that matches your budget, she said.

“If you make an offer and it’s reasonable most sellers will accept,” she said. “So not only are you likely to get a good deal in the first place because it’s not new from a shop but you can offer a lower price.”

Vintage clothing influencer Vivien Tang also buys and sells on resale websites.

“I think it is very easy to find almost new or brand new items on second-hand platforms,” she said. “The condition option on listings is now compulsory so it makes it easier to filter for newer items.”

If you’re using the Black Friday sale to buy Christmas presents you should not rule out buying second hand, according to a new report.

Some 63% of people would be comfortable receiving second-hand Christmas gifts and a further 26% felt neutral about the idea, according to a survey by research consultancy Retail Economics for second-hand marketplace Vinted.

Many people will use a credit card, or may dip into their overdraft, when buying what they consider bargain items on Black Friday.

But if you end up paying interest, this could outstrip any saving made on the Black Friday promotion.

Using a typical credit card to make a £300 purchase, then paying back at £20 a month would take more than a year to pay off and mean having to pay £55 in interest, according to the financial information service Moneyfacts.

Using an overdraft would usually lead to an even bigger interest bill.

A credit card offers more protection when buying something over £100, so there is greater chance of a refund if something goes wrong.

Financial experts say paying off a credit card immediately, perhaps from savings, before any interest is accrued, is the safest option.

Criminals use the hype around Black Friday to try to steal from online shoppers.

Purchase scams are when someone is tricked into sending money via a bank transfer to buy something – often advertised online or via social media – that doesn’t exist.

The number of purchase scams soared by 29% around Black Friday and Cyber Monday last year, according to analysis by Lloyds Bank.

The bank’s fraud prevention director, Liz Ziegler, said: “When shopping online, the best way stay safe is to buy from a trusted retailer, and always pay by card for the greatest protection. If you’re unable to do those things, that should be a big red flag that you’re about to get scammed.”

You should be wary of fake websites and check the web address belongs to the official brand before you enter any financial or personal information, according to Which?.

Beware of posts from a newly-created social media accounts, or links to a recently-created website. You can use verified domain checkers to confirm when a website was created, Which? said.

It warned against buying at “too good to be true” prices because if something seems too good to be true, it likely is.

A South Korean actor’s revelation that he fathered a child with a woman to whom he is not married has triggered a national debate over celebrity conduct and non-traditional family structures.

Jung Woo-sung, a 51-year-old A-lister in South Korea’s film industry, confirmed via his agency on Sunday that he is the father of 35-year-old model Moon Ga-bi’s newborn son.

While Jung pledged to “fulfil his responsibilities” as the father, his silence on whether he plans to marry Moon drew fierce backlash in the conservative country where births outside marriage are seen as taboo.

But some progressive voices have defended Jung, noting a shift in South Korea’s attitudes towards diverse family structures.

Moon announced her child’s birth via Instagram on Friday, without mentioning the father, describing the pregnancy as “unexpected” and saying she had been “completely unprepared for the sudden news”.

Two days later, Jung’s agency Artist Company released a statement confirming that “the baby Moon revealed on her social media is Jung Woo-sung’s son”.

The statement further noted that Jung and Moon were “discussing the best way to raise the child”.

It sparked outrage that quickly spread across the country, triggering a slate of opinion pieces in tabloids, spurring online debate and eliciting comments from national politicians.

Online, the response was largely critical towards Jung, whose prolific film career has made him a household name in South Korea.

Many commentators seemed to believe the actor had tarnished an otherwise upstanding and squeaky clean image, with some expressing disappointment that the former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees ambassador “can’t accept his own child”.

“Jung Woo-sung is pretending to be a good guy saying he will fulfil all his duty… A child does not grow on money alone,” wrote one commenter on Naver News, South Korea’s largest news aggregate website.

“It’s not a problem not marrying after having a child. It’s that he pretended to be such an ethical person so far,” wrote another.

Speaking to conservative news outlet JoongAng, an unnamed lawmaker from the right-wing People Power Party described Jung’s decision to have a child outside marriage as “something unthinkable in this country of social mores”.

“No matter how much the times are changing, Korea’s tradition and public sentiment must be kept (righteous),” the lawmaker said.

A recent social survey by South Korea’s statistics agency found that 37% of people believed it was acceptable to have a child outside marriage – an almost 15% increase since 2012.

Of those who said marriage was necessary, more than 72% were above the age of 60 – with younger respondents increasingly less likely to take that view.

Other lawmakers have defended Jung, with Lee So-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, saying that “deciding to live with someone is a deeply personal and existential choice”.

“To assume that simply having a child obligates people to marry and take on the duties of cohabitation and mutual support feels suffocating,” Lee wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.

“Of course, there’s nothing wrong with being ‘normal’… [But] even if society appears to have a standard of ‘normal’, every life is unique in its own way.

“Perhaps a better society is one that accepts and respects such differences without judgment,” she added. “That’s what I believe.”

Kyunghyang, a progressive major newspaper, put out an editorial piece noting that while some voices have pushed for traditional values, “also rising is the voice that our society must think of the diverse shapes families take”.

“It makes one hope that celebrities having babies outside of marriage, like Jung and Moon, will help change the public view which today is against [such] births.”

South Korea has a notoriously high-pressure entertainment industry, with celebrities often held to inordinately high social standards and placed under extreme scrutiny.

Major sanitary pad makers in China are apologising after being accused of selling pads that are shorter than advertised.

It comes amid a storm of anger after viral social media videos showed Chinese women measuring the lengths of sanitary pads from popular brands – showing that most of them fell short of what was stated on their packaging.

The uproar has extended into broader grievances about women being short-changed by feminine hygiene products, which have a history of safety scandals in China.

Chinese women have taken it upon themselves to call out quality concerns in sanitary pads, the most commonly used feminine hygiene product in the country.

In one of the earliest videos, posted on 3 November, a user on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu examined nine brands of sanitary pads with a measuring tape, showing that they all fell short of the length stated on their packaging.

“Will cutting a few centimetres help you strike it rich?” the user wrote in her video.

The revelations soon ignited widespread criticism, with consumers accusing sanitary pad makers of being deceitful.

“The inflated sanitary pad length is just like the insoles under men’s feet,” reads one popular Weibo post.

Amid the uproar, an investigation of over 20 different sanitary pads by Chinese news outlet The Paper found that nearly 90% of the products were “shrunken”, measuring at least 10mm shorter than claimed on their packaging. Tucked within most of them were even shorter absorbent layers, which are meant to soak up menstrual flow.

The Paper also reported that while national standards for sanitary pads specify that the products can measure within 4% of advertised lengths, they do not specify the length of the absorbent layer in sanitary pads.

Following a torrent of complaints, authorities said they were revising the current national standard on sanitary pads, according to local media.

Met with enquiries and complaints from customers about the discrepancy in its sanitary pad lengths, the popular Chinese brand ABC further stoked outrage after its customer service reportedly responded to a complaint by saying “if you cannot accept [the length difference] then you can choose not to buy it”.

ABC said in a statement in mid-November that it was “deeply sorry” for the “inappropriate” response, and promised to improve its products to achieve “zero deviation”. Other companies including Shecare and Beishute have also issued apologies.

Chinese state media has also weighed in on the controversy, criticising manufacturers for cutting corners.

“As a daily necessity for women, quality of sanitary pads is directly related to the health and comfort of the user,” reads a Xinhua article. “The problems existing in some products on the market cannot be ignored.”

Sanitary pads are the most commonly used feminine hygiene product in China, where the market is valued at $13bn (£10bn). However, the products have also made headlines over the years for safety issues.

In 2016, police busted a massive “fake sanitary towel” operation in southeast China, where millions of sanitary pads were manufactured in a factory without proper hygiene measures and packaged as popular brands. In 2021, popular feminine hygiene brand Space 7 apologised and vowed an investigation after a woman claimed she found a needle in one of its sanitary pads.

The wave of anger also reflects broader grievances felt by women over the quality of products meant for them.

“Is it that hard for sanitary pads to tackle women’s needs?” reads a trending hashtag on Weibo.

Another trending phrase that has caught on amid the blowback encapsulates the outrage: “Sanitary pads yield a centimetre; women yield for a lifetime.”

A stowaway flew from New York to Paris without a ticket earlier this week, but was discovered towards the end of the flight.

The woman flew on a Delta Airlines flight from New York’s JFK International Airport to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport without a boarding pass on Tuesday, and was taken into custody upon arrival in France.

The woman went through an advanced imaging technology body scanner at JFK Airport and managed to dodge the document and ID checks during the security process, a Transportation Security Administration source told CBS News, the BBC’s US news partner.

It is unclear how she was discovered.

The woman bypassed two identity verification and boarding status stations before boarding the plane, a spokesperson for the TSA told CNN.

She was not carrying any prohibited items with her, the spokesperson said.

“Nothing is of greater importance than matters of safety and security,” Delta said in a statement to CBS. “That’s why Delta is conducting an exhaustive investigation of what may have occurred and will work collaboratively with other aviation stakeholders and law enforcement to that end.”

A social media video posted by a passenger shows the moment a captain announced to the plane that they were waiting for officials to remove the woman.

“Folks, this is the captain, we are just waiting for the police to come on board,” the captain said in the video. “They may be here now and they directed us to keep everyone on the airplane until we sort out the extra passenger that’s on the plane.”

The individual has not been identified, although CBS News reported it was a woman.

Rob Jackson, a passenger on the flight, told the New York Times it had been a normal journey until the descent process began and the fight attendants’ intercoms repeatedly started going off.

“I fly a lot, and it was unusual for that to be happening just as we were landing,” Mr Jackson said.

He said once the plane landed, the captain directed passengers to stay seated until the situation was settled.

Mr Jackson said six or seven police officers then boarded the plane and he overheard a flight attendant say a woman had been going from one lavatory to the other during the flight.

A hiker who was lost in the backwoods of British Columbia for more than five weeks has been found alive.

Sam Benastick, 20, was reported missing on 19 October after he failed to return from a 10-day fishing and hiking trip in Redfern-Keily Park in the northern Rocky Mountains.

Authorities had called off search and rescue efforts for the avid hiker in late October. Temperatures in the region had at times dropped to around -20C (-4F).

Mr Benastick was found on Tuesday by two people headed to the Redfern Lake trail for work, who recognised him as the missing hiker as he walked towards them.

Given all the time he was missing, a different outcome had been feared, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Cpl Madonna Saunderson told the BBC on Wednesday.

“We’re very grateful. The family is thrilled,” she said, adding that he had simply gotten lost.

Mr Benastick told police that he stayed in his car for a couple of days and then walked to a creek where he camped for 10 to15 days. At the time he went missing, he was equipped with a tarp, a backpack and some camping supplies.

He then moved down the valley and built a camp and shelter in a dried-out creek bed. Winter conditions ramped up, with some snowfall.

Eventually, Mr Benastick made his way to the area where he flagged down his rescuers.

“Those are very difficult conditions for really anyone to survive in, especially [with] limited supplies and equipment and food,” Prince George Search and Rescue search manager Adam Hawkins told the BBC.

“Even someone with quite a bit of experience would find that challenging.”

Multiple rescue teams, the Canadian Rangers, the RCMP, and family and friends, had all conducted a ground and air search over “a pretty huge amount of terrain”, Mr Hawkins said.

The rugged, remote region was hours from any towns, and featured low-lying hills, steep alpine cliffsides, and “even glaciated terrain”, he said.

Little is known about Mr Benastick’s condition or how he survived in the backwoods. He is currently in hospital.

Local inn owner Mike Reid, who got to know Mr Benastick’s family while they stayed at his establishment during search efforts, told broadcaster CBC that the hiker had cut his sleeping bag and wrapped it around his legs to stay warm.

He said he was told the young man nearly collapsed as he was placed into the ambulance and was in “rough shape”.

Before he was found, Mr Benastick’s last known location was at a trailhead in the region of Redfern Lake – the park’s largest lake – where he was seen using his red dirt bike, according to the RCMP.

Mr Hawkins , the search manager, said he is “intensely curious” to learn more about the area where Mr Benastick was found and what he was doing while missing to help inform future search and rescue operations.

Former British army soldier Daniel Khalife has been found guilty of spying for Iran.

Khalife, who escaped prison while awaiting trial, collected information and passed it to Tehran and was found to have gathered the names of special forces soldiers. He was cleared of a charge of perpetrating a bomb hoax at his army barracks.

The 23-year-old admitted breaking out of Wandsworth prison in London in September 2023 by strapping himself to the underside of a food delivery lorry during his Woolwich Crown Court trial.

Justice Bobbie Cheema-Grubb told his trial at Woolwich Crown Court that Khalife would face “a long custodial sentence” when he is sentenced early next year.

Khalife, whose actions breached the Official Secrets Act and the Terrorism Act, did not show any emotion as the verdicts were read out.

Prosecutors said Khalife played a “cynical game” after he contacted a man linked to Iranian intelligence soon after joining the army in September 2018, before later telling MI6 he wanted to be a double agent.

He collected sensitive information that posed a real danger in the wrong hands, the court heard.

Khalife contacted a man linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Facebook.

He built a relationship with Iranian contacts – at one point being sent to collect $2,000 (£1,500) left in a dog poo bag in a north London park.

Bethan David, head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s counter terrorism division, said that as a soldier, Khalife was “employed and entrusted to uphold and protect the national security of this country”.

“But, for purposes of his own, Daniel Khalife used his employment to undermine national security.”

She added that his information sharing “could have exposed military personnel to serious harm, or a risk to life, and prejudiced the safety and security of the United Kingdom”.

• Daniel Khalife was a British soldier who spied for Iran and dreamed of fame
• Daniel Khalife pleads guilty to prison escape

During his time in the army, Khalife gathered the names of 15 serving soldiers – including some from the special forces.

Prosecutors believe he sent the list to Iran before deleting any evidence.

He denied ever having sent it and claimed the information he did pass on was mostly fake. However, he seemingly sent at least two classified documents – one on drones and another on “Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance”.

The UK will never know what the most sensitive material Khalife handed over – most of the messages he exchanged with contacts on the encrypted communication app Telegram were deleted.

His lawyer Gul Nawaz Hussain KC had claimed that the double agent plot was “hapless” and more “Scooby-Doo” than “007”.

Khalife became the subject of a high-profile manhunt after breaking out of prison, before being arrested 75 hours later when he was spotted cycling on a canal tow path. He made an attempt to contact the Iranians before he was found, sending a Telegram message which said simply: “I wait.”

His escape came while he was on remand for offences under the Official Secrets Act and the Terrorism Act, and with perpetrating a bomb hoax.

His arrest came after fled his army base, Beacon Barracks in Stafford, in January 2023 after realising he would likely face charges over allegations of passing on classified information.

During his trial, the jury heard how an unrealistic, fake bomb, in the form of three nitrous oxide canisters taped together, was found on his desk after he failed to report for duty.

Officers who visited the site believed the device to be fake. However, a bomb disposal unit was called, and five housing blocks were evacuated.

After his arrest, Khalife told police he had wanted to offer himself to UK security agencies, having emailed MI6 as far back as 2019.

Speaking after the verdict, Commander Dominic Murphy, the head of the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “The threat to the UK from states such as Iran is very serious, so for a soldier in the army to be sharing sensitive military material and information with them is extremely reckless and dangerous”.

Khalife’s escape from Wandsworth also raised serious questions about security and staffing at the prison, with 40 inmates temporarily transferred to other sites while an investigation into the breakout took place.

Damien Hinds, a former prisons minister, said about 40% of prison officers did not turn up for their shift at Wandsworth on the day of Khalife’s escape, but the Ministry of Justice insisted it had been adequately staffed.

A spokesman for Sir Keir Starmer, the prime minister, said that while Khalife’s case was “an isolated incident”, such matters were taken “extremely seriously, and more broadly, it is why we continue to take strong action and hold the Iranian regime to account”.

Researchers say they have found the first new treatment for asthma attacks in 50 years.

The injection dampens part of the immune system that can go into overdrive in flare-ups of both asthma and a lung condition called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Benralizumab is already used in the most severe cases, but the latest research suggests it could be used routinely for around two million attacks in the UK each year.

The research team at King’s College London said the drug was a “game-changer” that could “revolutionise” care.

The findings stem from the realisation that not all asthma or COPD attacks are the same. Instead, different parts of the immune system are over-reacting in different patients.

“Now we can see there are different patterns of inflammation, we can be smarter and get the right treatment, to the right patient, at the right time,” said Prof Mona Bafadhel, from King’s.

Benralizumab targets a type of white blood cell – called an eosinophil – that can cause inflammation and damage in the lungs.

Eosinophils are implicated in about half of asthma attacks and a third of COPD flare-ups.

If such an attack – involving difficulty breathing, wheezing, coughing and chest tightness – cannot be controlled with regular inhalers then doctors currently prescribe a course of steroids.

The study, on 158 people, monitored patients for three months after treatment for a flare-up.

The results in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine found a treatment failure rate of:

• 74% when taking steroids
• and 45% with the new therapy

People treated with the new therapy were less likely to be admitted to hospital, need another round of treatment or die.

Prof Bafadhel said this could benefit a huge number of people as two million attacks a year “is not a small number”.

“This is a game-changer, we’ve not had a change in treatment for 50 years – it will revolutionise how we treat people when they’re really unwell,” Prof Bafadhel said.

Volunteers also reported improved symptoms and a better quality of life on the new drug.

Alison Spooner, who is 55 and from Oxfordshire, was one of those taking part in the trial. She has had asthma since childhood, but it became worse over the past five years and she’s had three major attacks.

“They seemed to be getting worse, the severe lack of breath was quite frightening when you’re gasping and there’s nothing to gasp at,” she told me.

Alison says she felt “drastically different” after having the injection and still uses her inhalers but “only because I’ve been told to”.

“Unfortunately, no drug gets rid of asthma completely, but this is the nearest thing. It’s a bit of a miracle actually,” she adds.

Benralizumab is not ready for widescale use.

It will still take a larger trial, due to start in 2025 and which will last two years, to be certain of any benefit. Anybody who is already given these drugs should continue to follow their prescription.

That study will also have to assess cost-effectiveness since monoclonal antibodies, like this therapy, are expensive drugs.

But Dr Sanjay Ramakrishnan, from the University of Oxford, said the work so far “shows massive promise” and that treatment for COPD was “stuck in the 20th Century” despite being one of the leading causes of death worldwide.

Long-term use of steroids is linked with side-effects including weight gain, diabetes and weak bones.

Geoffrey Pointing, 77, from Oxfordshire, who also took part in the trial, said: “I didn’t get any side effects like I used to with the steroid tablets.

“I used to never sleep well the first night of taking steroids, but the first day on the study, I could sleep that first night, and I was able to carry on with my life without problems.”

It is estimated that four people with asthma and 85 people with COPD die in the UK every day.

Dr Samantha Walker, from the charity Asthma + Lung UK, said the results were “great news”.

“But it’s appalling that this is the first new treatment for those suffering from asthma and COPD attacks in 50 years,” she said.

Gregg Wallace is to step away from presenting MasterChef while allegations of historical misconduct are investigated, the show’s production company has said.

It comes after BBC News sent a letter to Wallace’s representatives on Tuesday setting out allegations of inappropriate sexual comments by 13 people who worked with him across a range of shows over a 17-year period.

Broadcaster Kirsty Wark, who was a Celebrity MasterChef contestant in 2011, said he told “sexualised” jokes during filming.

Wallace’s lawyers say it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature. Masterchef’s production company Banijay UK has launched an investigation and said Wallace is co-operating.

Wark, who is best known for hosting BBC Newsnight, told BBC News that on two occasions, during early morning filming, Wallace told stories and jokes of a “sexualised nature” in front of contestants and crew.

She said she feels strongly that the comments were “really, really in the wrong place”.

Other allegations we’ve heard include Wallace talking openly about his sex life, taking his top off in front of a female worker saying he wanted to “give her a fashion show”, and telling a junior female colleague he wasn’t wearing any boxer shorts under his jeans.

BBC News has also heard from a former MasterChef worker who says he showed her topless pictures of himself and asked for massages, and a former worker on Gregg Wallace’s Big Weekends, who says he was fascinated by the fact she dated women and asked for the logistics of how it worked.

We have also found that Wallace was warned by the BBC after a complaint was raised about him in 2018 about the show Impossible Celebrities.

A formal HR investigation took place and, in the outcome letter, which we have seen, the BBC concluded that “many aspects of [Wallace’s] behaviour were both unacceptable and unprofessional”.

In a subsequent letter, which we have also seen, a BBC executive said she had held a 90-minute meeting with Wallace to make clear “how seriously the BBC takes this matter”. She also reassured the workers that action would be taken “to prevent a similar reoccurrence and to safeguard others in the future”.

But further incidents have since emerged.

BBC News started investigating Wallace in the summer, after becoming aware of allegations. The claims we have heard are across five shows, from 2005 to 2022.

BBC News is editorially independent from the wider organisation.

Announcing its investigation on Thursday, Banijay UK said in a statement: “This week the BBC received complaints from individuals in relation to historical allegations of misconduct while working with presenter Gregg Wallace on one of our shows.”

Wallace, 60, is “committed to fully co-operating throughout the process”, it added.

“Whilst these complainants have not raised the allegations directly with our show producers or parent company Banijay UK, we feel that it is appropriate to conduct an immediate, external review to fully and impartially investigate,” Banijay’s statement continued.

“While this review is under way, Gregg Wallace will be stepping away from his role on MasterChef and is committed to fully co-operating throughout the process.

“Banijay UK’s duty of care to staff is always a priority and our expectations regarding behaviour are made clear to both cast and crew on all productions, with multiple ways of raising concerns, including anonymously, clearly promoted on set.

“Whilst these are historical allegations, incidences brought to our attention where these expectations are not met, are thoroughly investigated and addressed appropriately.”

Banijay’s statement concluded by encouraging anyone who wanted to raise any issues or concerns to come forward.

A BBC spokesman said: “We take any issues that are raised with us seriously and we have robust processes in place to deal with them.

“We are always clear that any behaviour which falls below the standards expected by the BBC will not be tolerated.

“Where an individual is contracted directly by an external production company we share any complaints or concerns with that company and we will always support them when addressing them.”

Episodes of MasterChef: The Professionals featuring Wallace that have already been recorded will transmit as planned, with the next episode due to air on Thursday evening.

Wallace has presented the popular BBC One cooking show alongside John Torode since 2005, as well as its spin-offs Celebrity MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals.

Wallace was the original presenter of the BBC show Saturday Kitchen in 2002 and has also featured on Eat Well For Less, Inside The Factory, Turn Back Time, Harvest and Supermarket Secrets.

He took part in Strictly Come Dancing in 2014, and was recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2022 for his services to food and charity.

A proposal to amend a decades-old law that governs properties worth millions of dollars donated by Indian Muslims over centuries has triggered protests in the country.

The properties, which include mosques, madrassas, shelter homes and thousands of acres of land, are called waqf and are managed by a board.

The new bill – which introduces more than 40 amendments to the existing law – was expected to be tabled in the current parliament session after incorporating changes suggested by a joint committee of MPs.

But the committee is now set to ask for more time to submit its recommendations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government says that the proposed changes are necessary to root out corruption in the management of these properties and address demands for reform from the Muslim community.

But several Muslim groups and opposition parties have called the changes politically motivated and an attempt by Modi’s Hindu nationalist party to weaken the rights of minorities.

The bill was first introduced in parliament in August but then sent to a joint parliamentary committee for their recommendations.

In Islamic tradition, a waqf is a charitable or religious donation made by Muslims for the benefit of the community. Such properties cannot be sold or used for any other purpose – which implies that waqf properties belong to God.

A vast number of these properties are used for mosques, madrassas, graveyards and orphanages, and many others are vacant or have been encroached upon.

The tradition of waqf in India can be traced back to the Delhi Sultanate period in the 12th Century when the early Muslim rulers from Central Asia came to India.

The properties are now governed by the Waqf Act, 1995, which mandated the formation of state-level boards. These boards include nominees from the state government, Muslim lawmakers, members of the state bar council, Islamic scholars and managers of waqf properties.

The government says that the waqf boards are among India’s largest landholders. There are at least 872,351 waqf properties across India, spanning more than 940,000 acres, with an estimated value of 1.2 trillion rupees ($14.22bn; £11.26bn).

Muslim groups agree that corruption is a serious issue in waqf boards – its members have been accused several times of colluding with encroachers to sell waqf land.

But critics also say that a significant number of these properties have been encroached by individuals, businesses and government bodies – which too requires immediate attention.

A report submitted in 2006 by the Justice Sachar Committee – formed by the earlier Congress party-led government to assess the socioeconomic conditions of Muslims in India – had recommended waqf reform, as it found that the revenues from the boards were low compared to the vast number of properties they managed.

The committee estimated that efficient use of the land had the potential to generate an annual revenue of about 120bn rupees (1.4bn; £1.1bn). The current annual revenue, according to some estimates, is around 2bn rupees.

The committee also noted that “encroachments by the State, who is the custodian of the Wakf interests, is common”, listing hundreds of instances of such “unauthorised occupation” of waqf land by government authorities.

According to government data, at least 58,889 of waqf properties are currently encroached upon, while more than 13,000 are under litigation. The status of more than 435,000 properties remains unknown.

The amendments, the government says, address these issues and advance the recommendations made by the Sachar Committee.

Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju told The Times of India newspaper that the reforms were also necessary as only an elite section in the Muslim community managed these properties.

But many Muslims see the proposed changes with scepticism.

One of the most contentious aspects of the bill is the change to ownership rules, which would impact historical mosques, dargahs and graveyards owned by the board.

Many of these properties – in use by Muslims for generations – lack formal documentation as they were donated orally or without legal records decades or centuries ago.

The 1954 Waqf Act recognised such properties under the category of “waqf by user”, but the proposed law omits the provision, leaving the fate of a significant number of these properties uncertain.

Professor Mujibur Rehman, author of Shikwa-e-Hind: The Political Future of Indian Muslims, explains that tracing the ownership of such long-standing community properties is complicated, as their management and deed systems have shifted over the centuries from the Mughal system to the British colonial system, and now to the current system.

“You can trace personal properties up to a few generations, but tracing community properties is more difficult, as their management keeps changing over time,” Prof Rehman says.

Others worry that the new bill may not address the community’s concerns but could instead considerably take away the role of Muslims in controlling waqf properties.

That’s because the proposed changes include tweaks to the composition of waqf boards, making it compulsory to include non-Muslims as its members.

Some agree that a general law mandating people of all religions to be part of boards that run religious institutions is not a bad idea – as it would make processes more secular.

But the current move appears to favour majoritarian politics, Prof Rehman says. “There seems to be an attempt not only to get the state’s control over Muslims’ properties, but also of Hindu community over Muslim community’s lives.”

Among other crucial changes is the mandatory requirement for boards to register their properties with district collectors, who would recommend to the government whether the waqf’s claim to a property is valid.

Critics say this will undermine the powers of the waqf boards.

Asaduddin Owaisi, a prominent Muslim MP, alleges that these changes are intended to strip Muslims of their land.

The current law requires state governments to appoint a survey commissioner who identifies waqf properties, and subsequently prepares a list. The list is then sent to the state government which issues a legally mandated notification. If unchallenged for a year, the final nature of the property becomes waqf.

But some of the changes would mean that the status of several waqf properties will have to be re-established.

“Many have illegally encroached upon waqfs. This means they will get a chance to claim that the property is theirs,” Owaisi recently told reporters.

This process, Muslim groups say, will put many historical dargahs and masjids at risk. They say that reform is needed but it must keep the sensitivity and interests of the community in mind.

“The diagnosis may be correct,” Prof Rehman says, “but the treatment is not.”

Israel is creating a new military dividing line in Gaza, separating off the far north of the strip, satellite images studied by BBC Verify appear to show.

Troops are in control of, and are clearing, an area across the width of north Gaza. Satellite images and videos show that hundreds of buildings have been demolished between the Mediterranean Sea and the Israel border, mostly through controlled explosions.

Images also show Israeli troops and vehicles have been stationed across the new divide. Analysts said the images suggest Gaza is being split into zones to make it easier to control.

An IDF spokesperson told the BBC it was “targeting terrorist operatives and infrastructure” in north Gaza.

Dr H A Hellyer, a Middle East security expert from the Rusi think tank, said the satellite images suggested Israel was preparing to block Palestinian civilians from returning to the north Gaza governorate. More than 100,000 people have already been displaced from the far north of Gaza, according to the UN.

Images appear to show two long sections of road on either end of the cleared strip being connected by cleared land through an urban area. Buildings are being demolished between the two sections of road, with a clear pattern visible since early October.

This partition stretches about 5.6 miles (9km) across Gaza, from east to west, dividing Gaza City and the towns of Jabalia, Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia in north Gaza.

The BBC has been told that there is a tactical route between Jabalia and Gaza City, which is part of operational activities targeting Hamas in Jabalia.

Videos filmed by the IDF and posted online show several multi-storey buildings being destroyed in controlled explosions since the beginning of October.

The graphic below shows examples geolocated by BBC Verify along the new corridor.

An IDF spokesperson told the BBC that it had no intention of destroying civilian infrastructure “without operational necessity” to neutralise Hamas.

Other footage shows IDF Humvee vehicles being driven through the cleared area from the direction of Israel. Humvees are not as heavily armoured as other military vehicles – and Dr Hellyer told the BBC that such vehicles were unlikely to be used unless the military was confident about their safety, indicating that Israeli troops are in control of the area.

Some analysts believe the IDF’s presence could indicate a permanent military partition – giving it control of who can travel between the Gaza and the north Gaza governorates.

Dr Hellyer said of the IDF: “They’re digging in for the long term. I would absolutely expect the north partition to develop exactly like the Netzarim Corridor.”

The BBC has previously documented how two partitions have been constructed in Gaza since the start of the current war. The Netzarim Corridor splits an area south of Gaza City, while the Philadelphi Corridor gives the IDF control of land running the length of Gaza’s border with Egypt.

BBC analysis of this new partition in the north shows a similar pattern to the construction of the previous corridors over the past year, with existing and newly built roads being connected and military positions emerging at regular intervals. Buildings and agricultural land are cleared so roads can be paved and military infrastructure built.

Dr Eado Hecht from the Begin–Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (Besa), an Israeli think tank specialising in national security and foreign policy, agreed that the data showed a new dividing line, but questioned whether it was designed to be permanent.

“There is a new partition corridor separating Gaza City and the northern towns of the Gaza Strip. The goal is to cut off the Hamas – and other organizations’ – forces that have returned to that area from support and the ability to retreat, so they can be dealt with more effectively.”

Israel has denied that it is implementing the “General’s Plan”. Under the strategy, devised by former general Giora EIland, civilians would be told to leave the north, supplies would be blocked and the area would become a military zone. Those who remained would be treated as combatants and faced with the choice of “surrender or starve”, with the aim of putting pressure on Hamas to release its hostages.

In a statement to the BBC, an IDF spokesperson said: “The IDF operates according to well-established military plans, and the claim that the IDF is implementing this specific plan is incorrect.”

But concerns have mounted over the safety of the thousands of Palestinian civilians who remain in besieged towns in north Gaza.

The UN and aid charities have raised significant concerns about the situation in the north of Gaza. While thousands of people have been displaced, the UN says over 65,000 people could remain in the area.

The UN also says that “virtually no aid” has entered the North Gaza governorate in 50 days. A spokesperson said that Palestinians were facing “facing critical shortages of supplies and services, as well as severe overcrowding and poor hygiene conditions” due to the blockade.

Earlier this month, a UN-backed assessment said there was a strong likelihood that famine was imminent in the besieged areas of northern Gaza.

BBC analysis shows around 90% of north Gaza has been subject to evacuation orders since the start of October. Videos posted on social media document people being moved south of the new partition. It is not clear if and when they will be able to return, but Israel’s foreign minister has insisted civilians will be allowed to return after the war.

Satellite images show the displacement of people in north Gaza. Large groups of tents, erected as temporary shelter, disappear. In the area left behind, there are often destroyed buildings and other examples of military activity.

While the IDF appears to have established enough control in the area to travel in lightly armoured vehicles, heavy fighting has also persisted in the area between IDF troops and Hamas fighters.

Videos posted by Hamas fighters show clashes with IDF tanks in the area around the dividing line.

Experts disagree over how long the new partition might be intended to remain in place. Dr Hellyer suggested that it could form the basis of plan to expel Palestinians from the area permanently.

“Personally I think they’re going to settle Jewish settlers in the north, probably in the next 18 months,” he said. “They won’t call them settlements. To begin with they’ll call them outposts or whatever, but that’s what they’ll be and they’ll grow from there.”

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said that troops should occupy Gaza and “encourage” about half of Palestinian civilians to leave the territory within two years.

But the Israeli government denies that it plans to build settlements in Gaza once the war ends, and Dr Hecht dismissed such suggestions as nothing more than a “dream” for some ultranationalist ministers.

“All three corridors (Philadelphi in the south, Netzarim just south of Gaza City and the new one just north of Gaza City) are for control purposes,” Dr Hecht said.

“The duration of their existence depends on when the war ends and in what manner it ends.”

What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?

Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg has visited Donald Trump at his resort in Mar-a-Lago, further evidence of the apparent thawing in their once frosty relations.

The president-elect already has a close, high-profile relationship with another of the leading figures in tech, X owner Elon Musk.

Historically, though, there has been no such closeness between Trump and Mr Zuckerberg – with Trump barred from Facebook and Instagram after the Capitol riots, and Trump threatening the Meta boss with jail if he interfered in the 2024 presidential election.

However, there has recently been evidence those strained relations are improving, culminating in Mr Zuckerberg dining with the president-elect at his Florida mansion.

“Mark was grateful for the invitation to join President Trump for dinner and the opportunity to meet with members of his team about the incoming administration,” a Meta spokesperson told the BBC.

“It’s an important time for the future of American Innovation,” the statement added.

In August, Trump wrote in a book Mr Zuckerberg would “spend the rest of his life in prison” if he attempted to interfere in the 2024 US election.

But the president-elect subsequently softened his position, telling a podcast in October it was “nice” Mr Zuckerberg was “staying out of the election”, and thanking him for a personal phone call after he faced an assassination attempt.

There have have also been indications Mr Zuckerberg is attempting to be more accommodating towards America’s incoming president.

Trump was thrown off Meta platforms Facebook and Instagram in 2021 for what the company called his “praise for people engaged in violence at the Capitol on January 6.”

But that suspension has since been lifted.

In August this year, Mr Zuckerberg spoke of his regret at de-promoting content relating to allegations about Joe Biden’s son Hunter, which had been a right-wing talking point in the US prior to the 2020 presidential election.

He also said he would make no more contributions to support electoral infrastructure, after a $400m (£302m) donation in 2020 was viewed by some online as a way of skirting donation limits.

Mr Zuckerberg said his donations had been designed to be non-partisan, and his goal was to be neutral in elections.

It is not known what the two men discussed over dinner at Trump’s Florida home.

Meta has though been facing increasing regulation in recent years, including an ongoing antitrust case brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2020.

Even so, Mr Zuckerberg’s apparently improving relations with the president-elect have been totally eclipsed by Trump’s closeness to Elon Musk.

Trump’s close-knit relationship with the X owner resulted in more than $100m (£79m) in campaign donations, along with endorsements from the billionaire and his superfans.

Their relationship is so tight it has caused some to dub Musk his “First Buddy”, a play on the president’s wife being named First Lady.

It has ultimately led to the billionaire being placed in charge of a new Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), which may give him not only influence over government policy, but the very regulation threatening his business empire.

However, Mr Zuckerberg and Mr Musk have a longstanding rivalry.

Some of their disagreements stem from serious business matters, such as a failed collaboration in 2016 when a SpaceX rocket exploding while carrying a Facebook satellite.

Their beef rumbled on eventually becoming a war of words over a potential cagefight.

Though neither have backed down publicly, it seems unlikely the bout of the billionaires will actually come to pass.

Australia will ban children under 16 from using social media, after its Senate approved the world’s strictest laws.

The ban – which will not take effect for at least 12 months – could see tech companies fined up to A$50m ($32.5m; £25.7m) if they don’t comply.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the legislation is needed to protect young people from the “harms” of social media, something many parent groups have echoed.

But critics say questions over how the ban will work – and its impact on privacy and social connection – have been left unanswered.

This is not the first attempt globally to limit children’s social media use, but it involves the highest age limit set by any country, and does not include exemptions for existing users or those with parental consent.

“This is a global problem and we want young Australians essentially to have a childhood,” Albanese said when introducing the bill to the lower house last week. “We want parents to have peace of mind.”

Having passed the Senate by 34 votes to 19 late on Thursday, the bill will return to the House of Representatives – where the government has a majority meaning it is sure to pass – for it to approve amendments, before becoming law.

The legislation does not specify which platforms will be banned. Those decisions will be made later by Australia’s communications minister, who will seek advice from the eSafety Commissioner – an internet regulator that will enforce the rules.

Gaming and messaging platforms are exempt, as are sites that can be accessed without an account, meaning YouTube, for instance, is likely to be spared.

The government says will it rely on some form of age-verification technology to implement the restrictions, and options will be tested in the coming months. The onus will be on the social media platforms to add these processes themselves.

However digital researchers have warned there are no guarantees the unspecified technology – which could rely on biometrics or identity information – will work. Critics have also sought assurances that privacy will be protected.

They have also warned that restrictions could easily be circumvented through tools like a VPN – which can disguise a user’s location and make them appear to be logging on from another country.

Children who find ways to flout the rules will not face penalties, however.

Polling on the reforms, though limited, suggests it is supported by a majority of Australian parents and caregivers.

“For too long parents have had this impossible choice between giving in and getting their child an addictive device or seeing their child isolated and feeling left out,” Amy Friedlander, who was among those lobbying for the ban, recently told the BBC.

“We’ve been trapped in a norm that no one wants to be a part of.”

But many experts say the ban is “too blunt an instrument” to effectively address the risks associated with social media use, and have warned it could end up pushing children into less regulated corners of the internet.

During a short consultation period before the bill passed, Google and Snap criticised the legislation for not providing more detail, and Meta said the bill would be “ineffective” and not meet its stated aim of making kids safer.

In its submission, TikTok said the government’s definition of a social media platform was so “broad and unclear” that “almost every online service could fall within [it]”.

X questioned the “lawfulness” of the bill – saying it may not be compatible with international regulations and human rights treaties which Australia has signed.

Some youth advocates also accused the government of not fully understanding the role social media plays in their lives, and locking them out of the debate.

“We understand we are vulnerable to the risks and negative impacts of social media… but we need to be involved in developing solutions,” wrote the eSafety Youth Council, which advises the regulator.

Albanese has acknowledged the debate is complex but steadfastly defended the bill.

“We all know technology moves fast and some people will try to find ways around these new laws but that is not a reason to ignore the responsibility that we have,” he has said.

Last year, France introduced legislation to block social media access for children under 15 without parental consent, though research indicates almost half of users were able to avoid the ban using a VPN.

A law in the US state of Utah – which was similar to Australia’s – was overturned by a federal judge who found it unconstitutional.

Australia’s laws are being watched with great interest by global leaders.

Norway has recently pledged to follow in the country’s footsteps, and last week the UK’s technology secretary said a similar ban was “on the table” – though he later added “not… at the moment”.

Former British army soldier Daniel Khalife has been found guilty of spying for Iran.

Khalife, who escaped prison while awaiting trial, collected information and passed it to Tehran and was found to have gathered the names of special forces soldiers. He was cleared of a charge of perpetrating a bomb hoax at his army barracks.

The 23-year-old admitted breaking out of Wandsworth prison in London in September 2023 by strapping himself to the underside of a food delivery lorry during his Woolwich Crown Court trial.

Justice Bobbie Cheema-Grubb told his trial at Woolwich Crown Court that Khalife would face “a long custodial sentence” when he is sentenced early next year.

Khalife, whose actions breached the Official Secrets Act and the Terrorism Act, did not show any emotion as the verdicts were read out.

Prosecutors said Khalife played a “cynical game” after he contacted a man linked to Iranian intelligence soon after joining the army in September 2018, before later telling MI6 he wanted to be a double agent.

He collected sensitive information that posed a real danger in the wrong hands, the court heard.

Khalife contacted a man linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Facebook.

He built a relationship with Iranian contacts – at one point being sent to collect $2,000 (£1,500) left in a dog poo bag in a north London park.

Bethan David, head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s counter terrorism division, said that as a soldier, Khalife was “employed and entrusted to uphold and protect the national security of this country”.

“But, for purposes of his own, Daniel Khalife used his employment to undermine national security.”

She added that his information sharing “could have exposed military personnel to serious harm, or a risk to life, and prejudiced the safety and security of the United Kingdom”.

• Daniel Khalife was a British soldier who spied for Iran and dreamed of fame
• Daniel Khalife pleads guilty to prison escape

During his time in the army, Khalife gathered the names of 15 serving soldiers – including some from the special forces.

Prosecutors believe he sent the list to Iran before deleting any evidence.

He denied ever having sent it and claimed the information he did pass on was mostly fake. However, he seemingly sent at least two classified documents – one on drones and another on “Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance”.

The UK will never know what the most sensitive material Khalife handed over – most of the messages he exchanged with contacts on the encrypted communication app Telegram were deleted.

His lawyer Gul Nawaz Hussain KC had claimed that the double agent plot was “hapless” and more “Scooby-Doo” than “007”.

Khalife became the subject of a high-profile manhunt after breaking out of prison, before being arrested 75 hours later when he was spotted cycling on a canal tow path. He made an attempt to contact the Iranians before he was found, sending a Telegram message which said simply: “I wait.”

His escape came while he was on remand for offences under the Official Secrets Act and the Terrorism Act, and with perpetrating a bomb hoax.

His arrest came after fled his army base, Beacon Barracks in Stafford, in January 2023 after realising he would likely face charges over allegations of passing on classified information.

During his trial, the jury heard how an unrealistic, fake bomb, in the form of three nitrous oxide canisters taped together, was found on his desk after he failed to report for duty.

Officers who visited the site believed the device to be fake. However, a bomb disposal unit was called, and five housing blocks were evacuated.

After his arrest, Khalife told police he had wanted to offer himself to UK security agencies, having emailed MI6 as far back as 2019.

Speaking after the verdict, Commander Dominic Murphy, the head of the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “The threat to the UK from states such as Iran is very serious, so for a soldier in the army to be sharing sensitive military material and information with them is extremely reckless and dangerous”.

Khalife’s escape from Wandsworth also raised serious questions about security and staffing at the prison, with 40 inmates temporarily transferred to other sites while an investigation into the breakout took place.

Damien Hinds, a former prisons minister, said about 40% of prison officers did not turn up for their shift at Wandsworth on the day of Khalife’s escape, but the Ministry of Justice insisted it had been adequately staffed.

A spokesman for Sir Keir Starmer, the prime minister, said that while Khalife’s case was “an isolated incident”, such matters were taken “extremely seriously, and more broadly, it is why we continue to take strong action and hold the Iranian regime to account”.

The Colombian navy has intercepted a semi-submersible vessel packed with cocaine in the Pacific Ocean, as part of an operation in which hundreds of arrests have been made.

It said the vessel had enough fuel to sail to Australia, on what was believed to be a new smuggling route, and maps indicated that is where it was headed.

Smuggling cocaine from South America to Australia is particularly lucrative, as a kilogramme of the illegal drug can fetch up to $240,000 (£190,000) there – six times more than in the US, Colombian security forces said.

Officials said the semi-submersible was the third such vessel they had seized in that part of the Pacific.

That suggested to them that gangs had established new direct maritime route to Australia, they said.

Australians are the highest per capita users of cocaine in the world, followed by Britain, according to the OECD.

The latest narco-sub was intercepted 1,200 miles southwest of Clipperton Island, an uninhabited French coral atoll in the Pacific.

The wood-and-fibre-glass vessel is thought to have sailed from the Colombian port of Tumaco, covering thousands of miles before it was stopped.

The chief of naval operations staff for the Colombian Navy, Vice-Admiral Orlando Enrique Grisales, said the three semi-submersibles they had stopped were all capable of sailing from Colombia to Australia without the need to refuel at sea.

“The first was discovered in Colombian waters, and thanks to the maps it carried, we identified the route,” the vice-admiral told reporters at a news conference.

“That’s when we began working with Australian authorities,” he added.

The semi-submersibles were intercepted as part of “Orion”, a multinational naval operation during which security forces from dozens of nations seized a total of 225 tonnes of cocaine over six weeks.

Orion also led to the arrest of more than 400 people across several countries.

Vice-Adm Grisales said Orion had uncovered close links between drug trafficking gangs in South America and Oceania.

“They are organised crime networks joined together,” he said.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro congratulated the navy for the successful operation.

Major sanitary pad makers in China are apologising after being accused of selling pads that are shorter than advertised.

It comes amid a storm of anger after viral social media videos showed Chinese women measuring the lengths of sanitary pads from popular brands – showing that most of them fell short of what was stated on their packaging.

The uproar has extended into broader grievances about women being short-changed by feminine hygiene products, which have a history of safety scandals in China.

Chinese women have taken it upon themselves to call out quality concerns in sanitary pads, the most commonly used feminine hygiene product in the country.

In one of the earliest videos, posted on 3 November, a user on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu examined nine brands of sanitary pads with a measuring tape, showing that they all fell short of the length stated on their packaging.

“Will cutting a few centimetres help you strike it rich?” the user wrote in her video.

The revelations soon ignited widespread criticism, with consumers accusing sanitary pad makers of being deceitful.

“The inflated sanitary pad length is just like the insoles under men’s feet,” reads one popular Weibo post.

Amid the uproar, an investigation of over 20 different sanitary pads by Chinese news outlet The Paper found that nearly 90% of the products were “shrunken”, measuring at least 10mm shorter than claimed on their packaging. Tucked within most of them were even shorter absorbent layers, which are meant to soak up menstrual flow.

The Paper also reported that while national standards for sanitary pads specify that the products can measure within 4% of advertised lengths, they do not specify the length of the absorbent layer in sanitary pads.

Following a torrent of complaints, authorities said they were revising the current national standard on sanitary pads, according to local media.

Met with enquiries and complaints from customers about the discrepancy in its sanitary pad lengths, the popular Chinese brand ABC further stoked outrage after its customer service reportedly responded to a complaint by saying “if you cannot accept [the length difference] then you can choose not to buy it”.

ABC said in a statement in mid-November that it was “deeply sorry” for the “inappropriate” response, and promised to improve its products to achieve “zero deviation”. Other companies including Shecare and Beishute have also issued apologies.

Chinese state media has also weighed in on the controversy, criticising manufacturers for cutting corners.

“As a daily necessity for women, quality of sanitary pads is directly related to the health and comfort of the user,” reads a Xinhua article. “The problems existing in some products on the market cannot be ignored.”

Sanitary pads are the most commonly used feminine hygiene product in China, where the market is valued at $13bn (£10bn). However, the products have also made headlines over the years for safety issues.

In 2016, police busted a massive “fake sanitary towel” operation in southeast China, where millions of sanitary pads were manufactured in a factory without proper hygiene measures and packaged as popular brands. In 2021, popular feminine hygiene brand Space 7 apologised and vowed an investigation after a woman claimed she found a needle in one of its sanitary pads.

The wave of anger also reflects broader grievances felt by women over the quality of products meant for them.

“Is it that hard for sanitary pads to tackle women’s needs?” reads a trending hashtag on Weibo.

Another trending phrase that has caught on amid the blowback encapsulates the outrage: “Sanitary pads yield a centimetre; women yield for a lifetime.”

Adults in Northern Ireland are more likely to look at pornography online than those in any other part of the UK.

That is according to new research published by the communications regulator Ofcom.

It said that more than 430,000 adults in Northern Ireland visited “pornographic content services” online in May 2024 – more than one third of the adult population.

That was higher than the proportion of adults viewing similar content in Wales, Scotland and England.

The figures come from Ofcom’s Online Nation report for 2024, which looks into the UK’s digital habits.

A Northern Ireland Executive online safety strategy for young people had previously expressed concern over exposure to pornography online.

Overall, according to Ofcom, adults in Northern Ireland spent an average of four hours and 16 minutes a day online, most of it on their smartphones.

Google, referred to by the name of its parent company Alphabet, was the most used website in Northern Ireland and the most popular search engine.

That was followed by Meta, Amazon and websites operated by Microsoft.

The BBC, though, was the fifth most visited online site in Northern Ireland and the UK as a whole, and had the highest daily audience of any news service.

The BBC site reached 86% of adults in Northern Ireland, compared to 83% of adults in both England and Scotland, and 82% of adults in Wales.

The BBC, The Sun and Mail Online featured in the top four news services in all UK nations, but the Belfast Telegraph had the third highest reach of news services in Northern Ireland.

With regard to app use, WhatsApp was the most popular app – used by more than nine in ten adults.

The next most popular apps were Facebook, Google Maps, YouTube and Instagram.

The Candy Crush Saga was still the most popular game app, as it had been in 2022 and 2023.

Twitter – now known as X – did not feature in the top ten apps used by adults, according to Ofcom, but was sixth in the top ten social media sites.

Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Reddit were more popular.

But overall, according to Ofcom, “YouTube remains the highest-reaching social media service among UK online adults using smartphones, tablets or computers”.

Ofcom’s figures also suggest there is increasing use of generative AI tools like ChatGPT.

When it comes to which type of smartphone people used, Apple was slightly more popular than Android.

But Apple’s iPhones were more popular with women than men in the UK as a whole.

In Northern Ireland, though, users were more likely to use Android phones than Apple’s iPhones.

The Ofcom report suggested that high numbers of people over the age of 13 reported seeing “potentially harmful online content or behaviour”.

Two-thirds of people in Northern Ireland reported seeing harms like offensive language, scams, unwelcome friend requests, hateful content, trolling or misogynistic content.

Separate research previously carried out in Northern Ireland has suggested that teenage girls are more likely to be asked for nude photos online or be sent pornography or content promoting self-harm than boys.

Pakistan’s security forces have been accused of pushing a man off a stack of cargo containers during Tuesday’s protests in the capital Islamabad, where crowds demanded the release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Khan’s party said the incident was one of several examples of police brutality at the demonstrations and has since called off the protests.

The man had been praying on top of a container when armed officers approached him and “brutally pushed him off from a height equivalent to three storeys”, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said.

The condition of the man is unknown.

BBC Verify has confirmed that the incident took place on Tuesday at the corner of Jinnah and Attaturk avenues in Islamabad, where protesters had gathered.

Video footage showed officers – carrying riot shields with markings indicating they were affiliated with the Pakistani Rangers, a paramilitary force – approaching a man kneeling on top of the containers before pushing him over the edge.

The video shows him trying to cling on to the containers before falling.

The footage was verified by matching a video of the fall posted on social media with images uploaded by Getty Images on Tuesday of the same scene.

BBC Verify has approached the Pakistani Rangers – whose officers were allegedly involved in the incident – for comment.

At least six people – four security officers and two civilians – died in clashes during the protests which began on Sunday.

On Tuesday, thousands of Khan supporters marched on central Islamabad demanding that the former leader be released.

Protesters had said they would not leave the capital until Khan – who is in prison on several criminal charges including fraud – was freed.

But as they made their way to Democracy Square on Tuesday, they were pushed back by police firing tear gas.

PTI said in a statement on Wednesday that the protests had been “temporarily suspended” due to the “government’s brutality”.

It said Pakistan government forces had “launched a violent assault” on peaceful protesters “firing live rounds with the intent to kill as many people as possible.”

The party has claimed that several of their party workers were killed during the crackdown and appealed for an investigation.

The BBC has not yet independently verified reports of killings, although two sources at a nearby hospital confirmed to the BBC they had received four civilian bodies with gunshot wounds after Tuesday’s protests.

Pakistan’s information minister has said authorities resisted firing on protesters.

Earlier on Tuesday, many Khan supporters had managed to reach the city centre but were dispersed by authorities by sunset.

Local media reported a government source saying police had arrested more than 500 PTI supporters.

Islamabad had been put under lockdown, with a heavy security presence deployed in anticipation of clashes with convoys of PTI supporters.

The convoys were led by PTI leader Ali Amin Gandapur and Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi, who was released from prison in October and has since taken a more prominent role in trying to mobilise support for Khan.

Reports say Gandapur and Bushra Bibi have left Islamabad and returned to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where their convoy had come from.

Protesters were reported to have responded to a “final” call from Khan, asking them to “fight till the end” until their demands are met.

Khan has been in prison for more than a year on charges he says are politically motivated.

Even from behind bars, the former cricket star has proved a powerful player in Pakistan politics. During elections in February his party, which had been banned from standing and was forced to run candidates as independents, emerged as the single largest bloc in winning votes.

However, they fell short of a majority and their rivals united to form a new government.

The PTI has called for election results to be overturned because they say the vote was rigged, a claim disputed by the government.