A 19-year-old Syrian man suspected of stabbing a Spanish tourist at Berlin’s Holocaust Memorial had planned for several weeks to kill Jewish people, Berlin police believe.

The attack took place on Friday evening, with the assailant approaching the 30-year-old victim from behind before stabbing him and fleeing the scene.

A man was arrested nearby after police noticed blood stains on his hands and clothing.

The suspect was carrying a prayer rug, a copy of the Quran, and the suspected weapon in his backpack, suggesting “a religious motivation”, police said.

After being taken to hospital with serious wounds to his neck, the victim underwent an operation and was put into an induced coma, but his life is no longer in danger.

Police say they are examining possible connections to the current Middle East conflict – but said there is currently no evidence of links to any groups or individuals.

They are also investigating whether the suspect is suffering from mental illness. He had no prior criminal record and was not known to the police, they added.

Six people who witnessed the attack are receiving counselling from local authorities.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser described the attack as an “abhorrent and brutal crime” for which the suspect “must be punished with the full force of the law”.

“We will use all means to deport violent offenders back to Syria,” she said.

Several stabbing and car-ramming attacks have taken place in Germany in recent months, in the cities of Mannheim, Solingen, Magdeburg, Aschaffenburg and Munich.

All of the alleged attackers were migrants. Immigration has become a core issue for voters ahead of federal elections taking place on Sunday.

The Berlin Holocaust memorial was opened in 2005 to commemorate the six million Jews of Europe murdered by the Nazi regime, and comprises 2,711 stone slabs.

Hours after the attack in the German capital, Swedish police said they had apprehended three men near the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm, on suspicion of preparing to commit violent crime. It is not believed the incidents are linked.

“Who’d you pick as the next Bond?”

That was the question posed by Amazon boss Jeff Bezos this week to his 6.8 million followers on X.

It is Bezos who will now have the final say on the next 007. He asked for suggestions alongside a screenshot of the BBC News story about his company gaining creative control of the famous spy film franchise.

The choice of Daniel Craig’s replacement will now be Amazon MGM Studios’ biggest decision.

So let’s take a look at what direction the company could take, and who is in the frame.

If the replies to Bezos’s call out are anything to go by, Henry Cavill is the (online) people’s choice.

The former Superman actor, who has said he “would love to play Bond”, was widely regarded to have been the runner-up years ago when Craig landed the part for the first of his five 007 films, 2006’s Casino Royale.

The movie’s director Martin Campbell told the Express last year that Cavill’s audition was “tremendous” and that “if Daniel didn’t exist, Henry would have made an excellent Bond”.

There was just one problem. “He just looked a little young at that time back then,” added Campbell.

Longstanding Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson, who announced on Thursday they were stepping down, have previously shot down the idea of a younger Bond.

“Remember, Bond’s already a veteran,” Wilson said in 2022. “He’s had some experience. He’s a person who has been through the wars, so to speak. He’s probably been in the SAS or something.”

Amazon may have different ideas – but at 41, Cavill could ironically now be considered too old, especially if he stays for a string of subsequent movies.

The next most frequently mentioned names in the replies to Bezos were Tom Hardy, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Idris Elba.

Taylor-Johnson, 34, known for roles in Kick-Ass and Kraven the Hunter, was at one stage rumoured to have been offered the job, but no announcement ever materialised.

Kraven bombed at the box office last year, though, which could count against him.

The bookmakers had Happy Valley actor James Norton listed as their favourite on Friday.

Speaking on the red carpet at last weekend’s Bafta Awards, Norton, 39, described the speculation around him becoming Bond as “so weird and bemusing” yet “fun”.

Mark O’Connell, author of Catching Bullets: Memoirs of a Bond Fan, told the BBC he thinks Amazon – and whoever they choose as the next director – will go for a younger actor than in previous times, and he hopes they buy British again.

“Tom Hardy would be great, [but] I think he’s, dare I say, too old,” he said of the 47-year-old Mad Max actor.

“There’s a lot of guys that keep getting quoted [and] I’m like, they’re too old.

“I think Amazon’s going to bring it younger. I think we’re looking at early 30s. Paul Mescal is a good name. Kingsley Ben-Adir, who’s one of the Kens in the Barbie movie, I’d keep an eye on him – he’s got a sort of [Sean] Connery swagger about him.

“Harris Dickinson, who’s a British actor doing well in Babygirl with Nicole Kidman at the moment, he’s very British,” O’Connell added.

“I hope they stick with the British DNA and origins of the role. I think they would be foolish to move away from that. But time will tell.”

Bond has been played by two non-British actors in the past – Australian George Lazenby and Irishman Pierce Brosnan. So don’t rule out the likes of fellow Irish stars Mescal, Oscar winner Cillian Murphy, Aidan Turner, or Aussie Jacob Elordi.

Could Amazon break the mould and go for the first American Bond? If so, Austin Butler has been mooted.

Other Brits who have been shaken but not stirred into the mix include Challengers star Josh O’Connor, 34, and Babylon’s Stuart Martin, 39, as well as White Lotus actor Theo James, who is 40.

Callum Turner, Richard Madden, Will Poulter and Nicholas Hoult have also been suggested, among others.

Since Bond – originally the creation of author Ian Fleming – hit the big screen in 1962, first played by Scotsman Sean Connery, his hair and eye colour have changed, not to mention his accent.

But so far, the character’s skin colour and gender have remained fixed.

That is apart from when Lashana Lynch briefly took over the 007 title from Craig’s Bond in No Time to Die.

“James Bond can be of any colour, but he is male,” Broccoli said in 2020.

“I’m not particularly interested in taking a male character and having a woman play it. I think women are far more interesting than that.”

She added: “He should be British, so British can be any [ethnicity].”

Bridgerton actor Rege-Jean Page has been mooted alongside Ben-Adir as a possible first non-white Bond, as have Lucien Laviscount, Paapa Essiedu, Damson Idris, Riz Ahmed and Aaron Pierre.

If Bezos does break Broccoli’s rule and go for a woman, Cynthia Erivo would be a popular choice.

However, Idris Elba, 52, the star of The Wire and Luther, said in 2023 that the racist backlash to the prospect of him being Bond “made the whole thing disgusting and off-putting”.

It’s not just the lead role that the Amazon casting department will have to think about.

“In terms of what they could do with the women, I would love to see more interesting and nuanced female characters,” said Monica Germanà, author of Bond Girls: Body, Fashion and Gender.

“There is a growing female fandom, so we want more interesting female characters teasing Bond’s masculine ego.”

Then there are the villains, who are the characters with their “pulse on the real world”, Germanà said.

“They represent the anxieties we have about the world. So it’d be interesting what Amazon does with that. Will the next villain be, I don’t know, will it be AI? Will it be something to do with climate change? Will it be far-right politics that they tap into?”

Debating the next James Bond is “a national and international obsession”, BBC Radio 1 film critic Ali Plumb told BBC Breakfast.

“I want to have an answer for you. I want to say names like Harris Dickinson or Leo Woodall and say, yes, it’s going to be them. But it’s all up in the air.”

Chris Hewitt of Empire magazine and podcast told BBC Radio 5 Live that while he “admired what Craig has achieved”, he wants the new management “to rediscover the fun of Bond”.

Bond fan and author Ajay Chowdhury added: “I think Bond ultimately is fantasy and it’s fun and I think that entertainment value could be brought back.”

Bond bosses have often alternated between serious and lighter-hearted lead actors, he said.

“They always tend to reboot. You have a serious Bond [like Timothy] Dalton followed by a lighter Bond, Brosnan. Serious, Craig – and I think it’s time to do that again.”

Chowdhury thinks the new Bond will be “an established British actor” with what he calls “the Goldilocks amount of fame” – not too hot, not too cold.

“They’ll have done TV and theatre across the Atlantic, but they won’t be stars,” he offers.

“They’ll have just the right amount of fame and they’ll be young enough to do three or four [films].

“Who is it? We have no idea!”

US President Donald Trump has fired the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff CQ Brown, the highest-ranking officer in the country, as part of a major shake-up of top military leadership.

“I want to thank General Charles ‘CQ’ Brown for his over 40 years of service to our country,” Trump posted on social media. He said five other top officers were also being replaced.

Gen Brown was the second black officer to hold the post, the holder of which advises both the president and the secretary of defence on national security.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had previously said that Gen Brown should be fired because of his “woke” focus on diversity, equity and inclusion programmes in the military.

Later on Friday, Hegseth announced the firings of two additional senior officers: Chief of Naval Operations Adm Lisa Franchetti and Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen Jim Slife.

Adm Franchetti was the first woman to lead the US Navy.

• 19 things Trump and his team did this week

All three top officers removed on Friday were appointed by Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden.

Hegseth said in a statement: “Under President Trump, we are putting in place new leadership that will focus our military on its core mission of deterring, fighting and winning wars.”

Trump said he would nominate Air Force Lt Gen Dan Caine – a career F-16 pilot who most recently served as CIA associate director for military affairs – as the new chairman of the joint chiefs of staff.

Last year, at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Trump recalled first meeting Gen Caine in Iraq. “He looked better than any movie actor you could get,” Trump told the audience.

In the same speech, he praised the US military but said it was “woke at the top”.

Gen Brown had been visiting troops at the southern US border on Friday, roughly two hours before Trump’s post announcing his departure.

Rumours had been swirling this week that the president would remove the commander, whose term was set to expire in 2027.

Gen Brown made headlines in 2020 when he spoke out about race following the death of George Floyd.

He posted a video message to the US Air Force describing the pressures he had felt as one of the few black men in his unit, including being questioned about his credentials.

In 2022, while chief of staff of the air force, Gen Brown co-signed a memo setting out diversity goals to boost the proportion of minority officer applicants while adjusting lower the rate of white candidates, according to the Air Force Times.

Colin Powell was the first black chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, serving from 1989-93.

One of Trump’s first acts after being sworn in last month was to fire the first female commandant of the Coast Guard, citing “excessive focus” on diversity.

In November, before he was confirmed, Hegseth said on a podcast that there were many problems in the military, including diversity initiatives, which the Trump administration should “course correct”.

“First of all, you got to fire the chairman of joint chiefs,” Hegseth said in describing the steps he believed Trump should take.

The Pentagon also announced on Friday that it would cut its budget and let go of 5,400 probationary employees next week.

Meanwhile, a federal court in Maryland temporarily blocked Trump from implementing bans on diversity, equity and inclusion programmes.

District Judge Adam Abelson ruled that the directives by Trump may violate free-speech rights in the US constitution.

The last time India and Pakistan clashed in a major ICC 50-over contest was in 2023, at the highly anticipated World Cup league match in Ahmedabad.

As a contest, it turned out to be a bit of an anti-climax – India, in dominant form, comfortably chased down a subpar Pakistan target, securing a resounding victory.

And as Pakistani fans didn’t get visas to travel to India, aside from the cricket team, the country’s only notable presence was in the media centre.

Sunday’s ICC Champions Trophy clash between the arch-rivals at Dubai International Stadium promises a vastly different atmosphere.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) reported that tickets sold out within minutes – and with the UAE hosting more than 3.7 million Indians and nearly 1.7 million Pakistanis, a vibrant and well-represented crowd from both nations is all but guaranteed.

But can a sea of green flags in the stands inspire Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan’s men to defy the odds in this must-win clash against Rohit Sharma’s India?

Pakistan can take comfort in their strong head-to-head record in UAE – 19 wins in 28 ODIs, plus a lone T20I victory in the 2021 World Cup in Dubai.

Most of Pakistan’s wins against India came at Sharjah during their dominant run in the 1980s and ’90s, winning 18 of 24 games there.

In Dubai, India beat them twice in the 2018 Asia Cup, while both teams won a game each in a 2006 Abu Dhabi series.

Since Pakistan’s glory days in Sharjah, the tide has shifted – apart from the occasional T20I win, India has largely dominated in the new millennium.

Veteran cricket writer Ayaz Memon feels there is no reason to look at India-Pakistan clashes in the UAE through the prism of the past.

”There is no doubt that Pakistan enjoyed tremendous crowd support in the Sharjah days, with the local Pathan population making up the numbers. However, the team then boasted of the likes of Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Saeed Anwar, Aamer Sohail and the two Ws [Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis],” Memon says.

“Compare that to the state of the current team, which comes up with some exceptional results from time to time but lacks any form of consistency.”

The glitzy, ever-expanding United Arab Emirates city-state of Dubai offers little sign of a major cricket event – there are no welcome banners at the airport.

Instead, hoardings of Jannik Sinner, Iga Swiatek and company dominate, as the city is in full swing for the annual Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Head south, and the ‘Ring of Fire’ at Dubai International Stadium emerges from the highway, signalling cricket’s presence.

Towering images of all eight captains line the arena, but for the next two days, all eyes will be on Rohit Sharma and Mohammed Rizwan’s teams as fans worldwide await their fate.

It’s no secret that catering to broadcasters and marketing demands, the ICC consistently places India and Pakistan in the same group for major tournaments. This ensures at least one high-stakes league clash, with the potential for a blockbuster rematch in the knockouts.

At a time when cricket faces overexposure and its international structure is threatened by the rise of T20 franchise leagues, the India-Pakistan rivalry remains its biggest box-office draw.

A big plus about the tight, top-eight team format of the ICC Champions Trophy is that a little slip-up can cost even the heavyweights dear.

”The 50-over World Cup gives you a chance to pull back even if you stumble in the odd game as there are 10 games in the fray. It’s much different here where all three of your group matches are important to proceed to the semi-finals,” India captain Sharma said on the eve of their opening match against Bangladesh.

India cleared their first hurdle with a six-wicket win against Bangladesh on Thursday, powered by Shubman Gill’s classy century (cementing his status as a future ODI captain), Mohammed Shami’s five-wicket haul and a quickfire cameo from skipper Sharma, who crossed the 11,000-run mark in the format.

Jasprit Bumrah’s absence – expected as he recovers from a back spasm sustained in the final Test in Australia – remains a talking point. However, on this wicket, the spotlight is set to shift to the spinners.

Pakistan’s lead-up to the tournament has been a rollercoaster – both unpredictable and vulnerable. Their last three ODIs paint the picture perfectly.

Ten days ago, Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha’s stunning 260-run stand powered Pakistan to a record 353-run chase against South Africa in Karachi, securing a spot in the Tri-series final.

But just two days later, they faltered, looking ordinary as New Zealand cruised to a five-wicket win, denying them a confidence boosting title ahead of the Champions Trophy.

Then on Wednesday, after their bowlers made early inroads, they let the Kiwis off the hook, eventually crashing to a 60-run defeat in their tournament opener.

This has put their backs against the wall ahead of the big game – and what has irked former Pakistan greats is captain Rizwan’s statement that they will take the India match as “just another game”.

History shows that Pakistan thrives in such situations, echoing Imran Khan’s legendary “caged tigers” rallying cry from their triumphant 1992 World Cup campaign.

Yes, the odds favour India, but Pakistan can never be written off on UAE soil. After all, it’s a new day, a fresh battle, and anything can happen in a big game.

Driving into Tver, the first thing I notice are the soldiers.

They’re everywhere. On billboards, the sides of buildings, at bus stops. Portraits with the words “Hero of Russia”. Posters of troops with Kalashnikov rifles encouraging the public to “Love, be proud of and defend” Russia.

In other words, to sign up and go and fight in Ukraine. Three years after its full-scale invasion of its neighbour, Russia is seeking new recruits.

Despite all the military imagery around town, if you live in Tver it’s possible to convince yourself that life is normal. The front line is hundreds of miles away.

“Just look around,” Mikhail, a local teacher, tells me. “Cars are passing by and all the shops are open. No shells are falling from anywhere. We are not panicking. We can’t hear any sirens wailing. We do not run to any evacuation points.”

For many Russians their invasion of Ukraine – what the Kremlin still calls a “special military operation” – is something they only encounter on their TV screens.

But for people like Anna, it’s much more real.

“I know a lot of people who went off to fight,” Anna says when we get chatting on the street.

“Some of them never came home. I hope [the war] ends as soon as possible.”

Donald Trump claims that’s what he wants, too. Without inviting Ukraine to the negotiating table, the Trump administration has already entered direct talks with the Russian leadership.

What do Russians make of the US president and his overtures to Moscow?

“Trump is a dark horse,” believes Anna. “I’m not sure what to expect from him.”

Some of the people I talk to in Tver repeat the official narrative they have been hearing for the last three years on state TV: that their country is not the aggressor, that Russia is defending Russians and Russian-speakers in Ukraine and liberating, not occupying, territory.

It doesn’t mean that Russian society as a whole buys into this alternative reality.

“In a society people always prefer to be in the mainstream,” believes Andrei Kolesnikov, a columnist for newtimes.ru and Novaya Gazeta. “If the mainstream is pro-war and the TV says that we are at war with the West, the average citizen will think like this. It’s easier not to think about the details. You want to live peacefully, so why not join the majority?

“Some researchers call this the foetal position. When you defend yourself from this unexplainable world you look like a baby. You say: ‘I can’t explain to myself what is happening. I believe you. You can feed me with words. I’ll accept it.’ This is typical for all societies of this kind: a bit authoritarian, a bit totalitarian.”

Larissa and her husband Valery willingly accept the official line.

“We’re all for the special military operation,” Larissa tells me. “We’re ready to volunteer and go there ourselves!”

They haven’t yet, clearly.

“We hope [Russia] will be victorious. We want Ukraine’s total capitulation.”

The police turn up. They’ve received a call informing them that “suspicious-looking people with a camera” are going around Tver. Meaning us.

They’re polite but want to know why we’re here. They take a statement from our driver. They check our vehicle. They ask me for an official explanation for our visit. I tell them we’re gauging the mood away from Moscow. We show our documents, which are in order.

While we’ve been talking to the officers, a camera crew from Russian state TV has pitched up and started filming us.

“We were just passing,” says the reporter, “and we spotted the police and recognised you. Can you tell me what’s going on?”

“I don’t know,” I reply. “Perhaps you can tell us?”

“What have you been filming?”

“We’ve been talking to people on the street,” I say. “I believe we’re allowed to do that.”

“Yes, in our country we have freedom of speech,” the reporter replies. “Perhaps the police just want to help you? It’s unpleasant to hear Western TV spreading fake news that there’s no free speech in Russia. You’re talking to people freely and no one gets in your way.”

“Apart from you,” I point out. “And the police officers standing next to our car.”

The incident, which lasted about an hour, is no real surprise. Three years of war have fuelled suspicion of the West inside Russia. Early signs of a thaw in US-Russian relations have yet to change that.

From talking to people in Tver it becomes clear that Russians are hoping that an end to the fighting will bring economic relief.

“Prices are so high now for the things I need most,” says Yulia as she rocks her baby to sleep in a pram. “Like the price of potatoes and onions. I really feel it.”

But teacher Mikhail doesn’t feel that Donald Trump has any strategy for securing peace.

“Unfortunately, Trump hasn’t got any plan,” believes Mikhail. “He is an improviser. He doesn’t know what he’s going to do. My sympathies are with him. I’m glad he won. But speaking about this episode, we’re all in the dark. And Trump is in the dark himself.”

US President Donald Trump’s remark that his country spent $21m to boost voter turnout in India’s elections has triggered a political slugfest in the country.

He made the remark days after a team led by Elon Musk said it had cancelled the payout as part of its crackdown on a US agency providing foreign aid.

India’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called the payout an “external interference” and accused the opposition Congress party of seeking this intervention.

The Congress denied the allegation, calling Trump’s claims “nonsensical”. The US has not provided any evidence to support its claim.

On Friday, India’s foreign ministry said it found the claims “deeply troubling”.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said it was “premature” to make public statements about the matter at this stage and that relevant authorities were investigating it.

Trump vowed to boost the US economy and soon after returning to office, he created the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), led by Musk, to slash federal spending and jobs. Musk says Doge’s mission is to save taxpayer money and cut national debt.

One of its biggest moves – now making global headlines – is a crackdown on USAID, the US agency overseeing humanitarian aid since the 1960s. Musk, who has called USAID a “criminal organisation”, announced on Sunday that funding for several projects had been cancelled.

The cuts included $486m for the “Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening”, with “$21m for voter turnout in India” and “$22m for inclusive and participatory political process in Moldova”.

Defending Doge’s cuts, Trump said India “had a lot of money” and was among the world’s highest-taxing nations.

On Thursday, he doubled down, questioning the $21m spend on “India’s voter turnout”.

The latest comments came a week after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first Washington visit under Trump’s second term, where Trump announced expanded military sales, increased energy exports and plans for a trade deal and new defence framework.

“I guess they were trying to get somebody else elected. We have got to tell the Indian government,” the US president said at a summit in Miami.

The same day, BJP leader Amit Malviya shared a clip of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi speaking at an event in London before the 2024 general election.

In the clip, Gandhi can be heard saying that major democracies like the US and European countries were “oblivious that a huge chunk of democratic model has come undone [in India]”.

“Rahul Gandhi was in London, urging foreign powers – from the US to Europe – to intervene in India’s internal affairs,” Malviya alleged in his post on X.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh dismissed the claim and urged the government to report on USAID’s decades-long support to governmental and non-governmental institutions during PM Modi’s tenure.

Despite widespread reports, neither Doge nor Trump has provided evidence that USAID gave India $21m for voter turnout.

India’s poll panel has not responded, but former election chief SY Qureshi denied receiving such funding during his tenure, which ran from 2010 to 2012.

Earlier, Malviya claimed that in 2012, under Mr Qureshi, the panel signed an agreement with a group linked to George Soros’ foundation – primarily funded by USAID – to support a voter turnout campaign.

Mr Qureshi dismissed the allegation as “malicious”, stating that the agreement explicitly imposed “no financial or legal obligation on either side”.

On Friday, the Indian Express newspaper said in an investigative report that the $21m was sanctioned for Bangladesh and not India.

It was meant to run for three years until July 2025 and that $13.4m had already been spent, according to records accessed by the newspaper.

Hunter Schafer, a transgender woman and star of hit HBO teen drama Euphoria, has said a new US passport lists her as male, despite selecting female when she filled out the paperwork.

“I was shocked,” Schafer said in a TikTok video showing the “M” marker on her new travel document. Her previous passport listed her as female.

“I just didn’t think it was actually going to happen,” the 26-year-old added, criticising US President Donald Trump’s policies on gender.

On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order recognising only two sexes and declaring they cannot be changed. The US now issues passports with just male or female designations, based on a person’s sex recorded at birth.

Previously, Americans could select their gender for passports and also request to be listed as “X”, which the Biden administration said in 2022 was being offered as an option “for non-binary, intersex and gender non-confirming individuals”.

Schafer said she had applied for a new passport after losing her old one while filming overseas.

She filled out forms indicating she was female, but when she picked up her replacement, it listed her as male, according to her post.

Schafer said she intended to travel abroad next week and anticipated challenges at the airport because of the new passport.

She said she believed it was “a direct result of the administration our country is currently operating under”.

Trump’s executive order says of the male and female sexes that they “are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality”.

It adds: “‘Sex’ is not a synonym for and does not include the concept of ‘gender identity’.”

The US state department, which issues passports, says on its website that it will “only issue passports with an M or F sex marker that match the customer’s biological sex at birth”.

After learning about Trump’s executive order, Schafer said her first reaction was: “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“Today I saw it,” she told fans.

Schafer added: “I just feel like it’s important to share that it’s not just talk – that this is real and it’s happening and no-one – no matter their circumstance, no matter how wealthy or white or pretty or whatever – is excluded.”

The Euphoria star said she changed her gender markers for her driver’s licence and passports when she was a teenager, but that her birth certificate was never amended.

“I’m pretty sure it’s going to come along with having to out myself to border patrol agents and that whole gig, much more often than I would like to or is really necessary,” she said.

On the HBO drama, now in its third season, she plays a transgender teenager, Jules Vaughn, who has a complicated relationship with the main character Rue.

Germany’s rival political leaders will take their fight for votes right to the last minute in a push that reflects the pivotal nature of Sunday’s election, not just for their country but for Europe as a whole.

Conservative frontrunner Friedrich Merz told supporters that under his leadership, Germany would take responsibility in Europe, and that the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) would be consigned to the political margins once more.

He will end his Christian Democrat party’s campaign with a rally in Munich, while his rivals will make a final appeal in a TV “speed-dating” programme with voters.

For months German politics has been paralysed by the collapse of the previous government.

Now, hopes have been raised across Europe that this vote will bring some certainty to the EU’s biggest democracy and its biggest economy, which has struggled to escape from lingering recession.

Nothing will change overnight. No party can govern without forming a coalition, and that will take weeks.

Reviving the economy has been one of the two big issues of the campaign; the other has been migration and security, thrust on Germany’s politicians by a series of deadly attacks since May 2024.

The cities of Mannheim, Solingen, Magdeburg, Aschaffenburg and Munich have all suffered grievous attacks. A Spanish tourist was stabbed at the Holocaust memorial in the centre of Berlin on Friday night, although his wounds are not considered life-threatening.

All the alleged attackers were immigrants, and the AfD under Alice Weidel has advanced to about 20% in the polls with its nationalist, anti-immigration message.

She has appealed to younger voters on social media, and is far ahead in the race on TikTok, with 870,000 followers. She has also been buoyed by support from both billionaire Elon Musk and US Vice-President JD Vance, who has been accused of meddling in the German campaign.

The AfD talks of securing Germany’s borders and deporting migrants who came illegally and committed crimes. But she uses the word “remigration” which has also been linked to mass deportations.

In Solingen, where a Syrian was accused of stabbing to death three people last August, hundreds of people turned out on Friday night to speak out against the rise of the far right.

“We have a lot of friends who grew up in Germany whose parents did not,” said one woman called Natalie, 35. “We don’t want anybody to kick them out and we don’t want our borders closed.”

One man called Jochen held up a sign that read “Never Again is Now!”

There was a large police presence at the protest, and Friday night’s stabbing in Berlin which police say was motivated by antisemitism has heightened security fears.

A police union spokesman has warned of a risk of attacks aimed at destabilising democracy.

All the mainstream parties have ruled out working with the AfD in government, but if it polls higher than 20% it could double its number of seats to 150 in the 630-seat parliament.

Merz’s most likely partner is Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats, although probably without Scholz himself. The message from his centre-left SPD as the final day of campaigning began was that every vote counts, and if Germans wanted a strong government they needed a strong SPD.

The Social Democrats are languishing in third in the polls, but Scholz is pinning his hopes on an estimated one in five undecided voters who could make a big difference.

Friedrich Merz was in a relaxed and confident mood when he appeared on stage this week in front of 1,200 supporters in the tech-hub city of Darmstadt near Frankfurt. But his message was stark as he turned his thoughts to Donald Trump’s presidency.

One hand in his pocket and the other holding the microphone, he spoke of unprecedented times and a “tectonic shift in the world’s centres of power”.

“A political order is now crumbling. What we have become used to for decades is breaking down.” He was not even sure if the US would join Germany in celebrating the 70th year of its accession to Nato in the summer.

He castigated the outgoing government for failing to take a leading role on the international stage.

“The German government and chancellor must finally take on a leading role in Europe again. If I’m elected I will spend a significant part of my time keeping this European Union together.”

Find out more about Germany’s elections:

Who’s who and what you need to know

Merz: Risk-taker who flirted with far right

Katya Adler: Far right looks for breakthrough as Germany falters

Tensions laid bare as Germans worry about immigration

Germans have had almost nightly opportunities to see their political leaders thrash out the big issues in TV debates, and Alice Weidel has been in the thick of them, sharing the stage with both Merz and Scholz.

In the run-up to the vote she met Vice-President JD Vance, who castigated German politicians for raising a “firewall” against the far right and of ignoring “the will of the voters”.

That firewall – in German – has held strong since the end of the war, although Merz himself was accused of breaking it when he relied on the support of the AfD last month in a motion on migration.

He has faced demonstrations ever since, and there was a noisy protest when he visited Darmstadt.

PhD student Annika, 29, held a Herz statt Merz banner – love instead of Merz. “He says he won’t do something with the far-right AfD, but his actions contradict what he says. I don’t trust him at all.”

Merz appears to have been stung by the outcry and has sought to reassure voters there will be “no tolerance, no minority government [with the AfD], nothing at all”.

Seven churches have been targeted in a suspected arson attack that occurred overnight in New Zealand.

Four churches in the town of Masterton, north of the capital Wellington, sustained “moderate to significant” damage, while evidence was found to suggest three more buildings had been targeted but did not catch fire.

Crews from across the Wairarapa region responded to the fires at about 04:30 local time on Saturday (15:30 GMT on Friday).

“The fires are being treated as suspicious and have been referred to police,” a Fire and Emergency spokesperson said. No arrests have been made.

The Anglican Church Of The Epiphany, St Patrick’s Catholic Church Masterton, Masterton Baptist Church and Equippers Church Masterton were all set on fire, authorities said.

Descriptions of broken windows, burnt chairs and scorched upholstery have been reported in local media. All fires have been extinguished and no-one was injured.

Masterton Mayor Gary Caffell said the apparent attacks had shocked the community, adding that they had come out of the blue.

He told local media: “You just don’t expect something this sort of thing to happen, and particularly in a place like Masterton.”

Local MP Mike Butterick expressed his “deep sorrow” and described first responders as “heroes” in a statement.

A funeral home in the same area which contains a chapel was also set on fire at around 10:00, but no one was in the building.

Police remain at the scene and are asking witnesses to come forward.

Officers will also be conducting patrols in Masterton to reassure residents throughout Saturday, and in the nearby towns of Featherston and Carterton.

A video circulating on social media shows a man claiming responsibility for the attacks, expressing anti-religious and anti-monarchist sentiments.

Police and Fire and Emergency New Zealand have been approached for further comment.

Religious buildings in New Zealand have suffered a spate of arson attacks in recent years.

Last year, a church property in Auckland was subjected to two arson attacks in the same night. A mosque was also set on fire in the same area in November.

In 2019, 51 people were murdered at two mass shootings in mosques in Christchurch. The man responsible Brenton Tarrant said he had also planned to burn down the mosques, wanting to “inflict as many fatalities as possible”.

After a series of high-profile disasters, some social media users suggested that air travel accidents were becoming more frequent.

Videos of hair-raising near misses began to trend online and the US Transport Secretary Sean Duffy sought to calm fears in an interview with the BBC’s US partner, CBS News. He told viewers that the recent spate of air disasters in America were “very unique”.

Duffy’s intervention came after several serious incidents, including a mid-air collision in January between a commercial airliner and a military helicopter in Washington DC, in which 67 people died.

Footage of a plane flipping over after landing in poor weather in Toronto, Canada, has also been widely shared online, further fuelling alarm.

And while polling on the subject is limited, one recent Associated Press survey suggested these startling images of accidents have had some impact on some US consumers’ confidence in flying.

But BBC Verify has analysed data in the US and worldwide and found that over the past two decades there has been a general downward trend in air accidents.

For the US, figures on air accidents have been compiled by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) up to the end of January this year.

This NTSB data shows a general fall in air accidents in the US from 2005 to 2024 despite a significant increase in the overall number of flights over this period. It also shows that the figure for January 2025 (52), was lower than it was in January last year (58) and January 2023 (70).

Data from International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), a UN body which monitors global air incidents, shows that the number of worldwide accidents per million plane departures has also seen a clear downward trend between 2005 and 2023.

The ICAO definition of an aircraft accident is very broad and not only includes those in which passengers or crew are seriously injured or die, but also incidents where an aircraft is damaged and needs repairs, or goes missing.

Data on the number of deaths in air accidents globally also shows that there has been a decrease over the same period, albeit with spikes in some years reflecting major air disasters.

In 2014, two such events contributed to a significant spike.

In March, Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 disappeared as it travelled from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board. In July, another Malaysian Airlines plane, MH17, was shot down by a Russian-made missile over eastern Ukraine, killing almost 300.

Data sets such as this are inclined to see sudden, large fluctuations, Prof Sir David Spiegelhalter, Emeritus Professor of Statistics at the University of Cambridge, told BBC Verify.

“If you count fatalities rather than accidents it’s bound to be extremely volatile and sensitive to a single large accident,” he said.

“Random events do not occur evenly – they tend to cluster. So unfortunately we can expect aircraft accidents to be appear to be connected, even when they are not.”

Regarding the series of high-profile accidents over the past few months, Ismo Aaltonen, formerly Finland’s chief air disaster investigator, told BBC Verify they are not an indication of a decline in aircraft safety.

“It’s very unlucky that we had this period of many different kind of accidents, but people should not draw any conclusions based on this because they are such different cases,” he said.

He noted that some incidents over the past few months were unforeseeable, citing an Azerbaijan Airlines flight which crashed in Kazakhstan in December after being targeted by a Russian anti-aircraft missile.

Marco Chan, a former pilot and senior lecturer at Buckinghamshire New University, told BBC Verify that the rise in awareness of air disasters is being further fuelled because “accidents are getting increasing exposure from social media platforms”.

One video circulating on TikTok – which has been pulled from a Superman film – shows the hero preventing a jet from smashing into a stadium. Accompanying the clip is the caption: “Pete Buttigieg every single day the last four years, judging by current events.” The viral clip suggests that aviation disasters have grown since the ex-US transportation secretary left office in January.

A string of incidents in recent years involving the Boeing 737 Max aircraft has also attracted significant attention in the media and on social media, especially after a door blew out mid-flight in January 2024.

Concerns over that and several other incidents saw some customers boycott planes manufactured by Boeing and a collapse in the company’s share price.

Experts told BBC Verify that incidents such as these and major crashes are thoroughly investigated by authorities. New details and data from accidents are fed into pilot training simulators so that they can prepare for similar scenarios in the future.

“If you look at simulators today, how advanced they are, they are like real aircraft,” said Ismo Aaltonen. “It’s completely different to when I started flying more than 40 years ago.”

Regulators can also impose penalties for safety violations which include fines, license suspensions and operational restrictions. Airlines can also be banned from countries and blocs if they don’t adhere to safety standards.

Despite the recent spate of incidents, air travel remains by far the safest form of travel.

Of all transport-related deaths in 2022 in the US, over 95% occurred on the road, according to the latest available figures from the US Department of Transportation. Fewer than 1% were related to air travel.

And if you look at the figures in terms of fatalities per distance travelled, the comparative safety of air travel is even clearer.

In 2022, there were just 0.001 passenger deaths per 100,000,000 miles onboard airlines, compared with 0.54 in passenger vehicles, according to the most recent figures from the National Safety Council, a US-based non-profit organisation.

“Be careful how you make your trip to the airport” said Mr Aaltonen. “That’s the most dangerous part of the trip compared to the actual flight.”

What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?

The family of Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas says a body handed over by Hamas on Friday is hers.

“Our Shiri was murdered in captivity and has now returned home,” the family said in a statement. Israel’s forensic officials who have been examining the body are yet to confirm the identification.

Remains handed over by Hamas on Thursday which it said were those of Shiri Bibas turned out to be an unidentified woman, Israel said.

It comes as six living hostages were handed over by Hamas on Saturday as part of a ceasefire deal. More than 600 Palestinian prisoners will be freed by Israel in exchange.

• Follow updates on the hostages release
• Family mourns ‘man of peace’ as body returned
• Return of bodies marks day of anguish for Israel

The Bibas family said: “For 16 months, we sought certainty, and now that we have it, there is no comfort in it, but we hope for the beginning of a closure.”

Hamas previously said the mother and her two children were killed in an Israeli air strike.

Earlier, a senior Hamas official confirmed to the BBC that the handover of the new body from Hamas to the Red Cross had taken place on Friday evening.

Israel had accused Hamas of breaking the terms of the ceasefire deal after forensic testing showed the remains handed over on Thursday were not that of Shiri Bibas.

The bodies of her sons, Ariel and Kfir, were returned to Israel, as was that of another hostage, Oded Lifschitz.

Hamas spokesman Ismail al-Thawabta said in a post on X on Friday that Shiri’s remains seemed to have been mixed up with other bodies under rubble after the air strike.

Israel has disputed the claim that Ariel and Kfir Bibas were killed in an airstrike, with Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari telling a press conference “forensic findings”, which have not been seen by the BBC, suggested the boys had been killed “deliberately”.

He said evidence had been shared with “partners around the world so they can verify it”.

Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas were aged 32, four and nine months respectively when they were kidnapped during the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023.

They were taken hostage along with the children’s father, Yarden Bibas, 34, who was released alive by Hamas on 1 February.

Under the first phase of a ceasefire deal, which began on 19 January and lasts for 42 days, Hamas agreed to hand over 33 hostages in return for Israel freeing 1,900 Palestinian prisoners.

On Saturday, the armed group released Eliya Cohen, 27, Omer Shem Tov, 22, Tal Shohan, 40, and 23-year-old Omer Wenkert – all of whom were taken during the 7 October attacks.

Ethiopian-Israeli Avera Mengitsu, who was captured by Hamas in 2014, was also released. Hisham al-Sayed, a Bedouin Arab-Israeli held in Gaza since 2015, was handed over separately. Israel is due to free 602 Palestinian prisoners.

In subsequent stages of the agreement, Hamas will release the remaining living hostages from Gaza and return the bodies of dead hostages. Israel has pledged to release more Palestinian prisoners.

In the 7 October attacks, about 1,200 people – mostly civilians – were killed and 251 others taken back to Gaza as hostages.

In response, Israel launched a massive military campaign against Hamas which has killed at least 48,319 Palestinians – mainly civilians – according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.

The Nature inFocus Photography competition celebrates photographers who capture powerful moments in natural history and highlight critical conservation issues.

Each year, the contest showcases a stunning array of imaginative and artistic images, while raising awareness of the environment.

Winners are selected according to a series of categories: Animal Behaviour, Animal Portraits, Conservation Focus, Creative Nature Photography, Wildscape & Animals in Their Habitat and Photographer of the Year – Portfolio.

Below is a selection of the winning entries.

A school of hardyhead silverside fish moves with remarkable precision, twisting and turning in unison as they attempt to evade a group of blacktip reef sharks in Athuruga, Maldives.

As night falls over the water, Alpine newts begin their silent hunt. They glide between clusters of frog eggs, each one carefully positioning itself for a meal before the darkness deepens.

Kuwani, a renowned tigress of Kolsa, remains a dominant force, even at the age of 14.

A wild boar unknowingly ventures too close to the tigress, unaware of the imminent danger. In a flash, she springs into action, her muscles tensed and claws unsheathed.

Kolsa is a region within the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, located in the state of Maharashtra, India.

A leopard climbs a tree, her cub observing from below before instinctively following her lead.

Captured by a camera trap near Mysore in India, this intimate moment highlights the strong bond between mother and cub, while also offering a glimpse into the natural instincts of the leopard.

In the waters of Wilpattu National Park in Sri Lanka, a water buffalo emerges from a swim, its head adorned with a garland of floating weeds.

A devotee stands in the Yamuna River, New Delhi, offering prayers to the sun.

Once revered as sacred, the river now ranks among the world’s most polluted, overwhelmed by industrial waste, sewage, and agricultural run-off.

In Austria, a group of snails rests lightly on blades of grass, their delicate forms illuminated against a glowing backdrop, creating a striking sense of fragility.

High in the Andean mountains of Ecuador, Tony, a large, male spectacled bear, shelters from the midday heat beneath the shade of a century-old fig tree draped in Spanish moss.

At sunrise in Hokkaido, Japan, red-crowned cranes move through a veil of mist, their graceful forms resembling brushstrokes on a canvas.

This year, the coveted Photographer of the Year Portfolio award went to Supun Dilshan for Trapped Between Worlds, a striking visual story that draws attention to the struggles of Sri Lankan elephants.

The images show the increasingly dire situation faced by these majestic animals, as they try to survive in environments that are being rapidly altered by human activities.

A damselfly gazes through a hole in a vibrant green leaf, offering a rare glimpse into its delicate world in Sundarganj, Bangladesh.

The contrast between the insect’s slender form and the leaf’s textured surface underscores the intricate beauty of nature’s hidden wonders.

All photos courtesy Nature inFocus Photography Awards

A theatre-lover was “astonished” to find a 119-year-old message in a bottle during a special behind-the-scenes tour of Edinburgh’s King’s Theatre.

Mike Hume was on scaffolding 40ft (12m) above the stage when he put his hand in a gap behind an ornate crown decoration and found the century-old bottle.

After months of painstaking effort, experts managed to extract the note from inside and found a list of the people who built the theatre in 1906.

Mr Hume, who is one of the theatre’s donors, was on the tour of its £40m restoration works when he made the find.

The 48-year-old said it was curiosity that caused him to reach behind the crown.

“It really was like a scene out of Indiana Jones,” he said.

“It was a bit damp and there was all this crumbly plaster and stuff in there – then my hand stumbled on this solid object and I pulled out this glass bottle.”

Although the top of the bottle had been dipped in plaster, to keep it sealed, Mr Hume could see a note inside.

Using his phone to photograph the folded-up note he could just about make out the name in handwritten ink – “W S Cruikshank” – the contractor who built the Edwardian theatre.

Theatre bosses were unable to open the bottle after it was found on 6 December so it was sent to specialists who carefully cut the top off.

Inside was a note which had become glued together with age, so experts used special techniques and chemicals to prise it apart.

BBC Scotland News asked the genealogy service Findmypast to help uncover the story behind the men who left the note.

The top name on the list was prominent Edinburgh builder William Stewart Cruickshank, who was 50 when he embarked on the King’s Theatre project.

He was born in Aberlour in Banffshire and later married Jane Taylor Beck, with whom he had seven children.

Next on the list is the theatre’s head architect, John Daniel Swanston, who was born in Dundee in 1868 and educated at Dollar Academy.

He opened his own architectural practice in Kirkcaldy in 1895 and specialised in theatre, cinema and public house work.

He died in 1956 in Newton Mearns, in the south of Glasgow, at the home of his daughter Dr Muriel Swanston.

Another architect named in the letter was James Davidson, who was born in Airdrie in 1848, the son of a weaver.

He was educated at Airdrie Academy and initially trained as a joiner but later became an architect.

The third architect was John Tulloch, who was born in January 1847 in East Lothian.

Draughtsman John Alexander Cameron, foreman plasterer George King and foreman William Begg are also listed in the note as well as plasterers John Hutchinson, Andrew S Law and William Hunter.

Extra details found by Findmypast about the men have been handed over to the theatre.

Curators will use the extensive research to make a display in a new exhibition room in the theatre, along with the bottle and note.

The King’s Theatre cost £50,000 to build in 1905. The current redevelopment, which started in 2022, will cost £40.7m.

Two lifts are being fitted and staircases widened at the category A-listed theatre, which is managed by Capital Theatres.

The auditorium is being redeveloped, a wall is being reinstated and a new control room is being added.

An upgraded lighting system is being installed in the gantry, and a new ventilation system will be added too.

Abby Pendlebury, the theatre’s heritage engagement manager, said it was “incredibly thrilling” to find the bottle.

“I think it is fascinating we have a list of plasterers and draftsmen,” she said.

“It’s showing how personal this was to so many people and how there is a real human connection going back. It’s just really beautiful to see.”

She said it was “an absolute fluke find” and the way it had been preserved was “incredibly impressive”.

“The most magical thing to me is everyone who has ever sat in that auditorium and looked at the stage has seen it and so it’s just been this gem that’s been hiding this whole time,” she said.

“I’m amazed we found it and I am amazed at the list of names.”

Jen Baldwin, research specialist at Findmypast, said: “Unexpected finds like these can offer a fascinating window into the past.

She said the men who worked on the theatre were highly skilled and from a range of backgrounds, and they “came together to create one of Edinburgh’s most well-loved, iconic creative spaces”.

The theatre is due to reopen in spring 2026.

The notorious M23 rebel group is wreaking havoc in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, seizing the region’s two biggest cities in a deadly uprising which has forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.

Central to their campaign is the assertion that ethnic Tutsis living in DR Congo are being persecuted.

Digging into the status of Tutsis in DR Congo – and how it relates to the M23 uprising – is a complex and sensitive matter that goes to the heart of who is considered Congolese.

For starters, many global authorities argue that in their purported fight against discrimination, the rebels have committed unjustifiable atrocities. The UN and US, for instance, have sanctioned M23 leaders over allegations of war crimes, such as sexual violence and the killing of civilians.

Secondly, some regional analysts say that rather than seeking to defend Tutsis, the M23 – and Rwanda, which backs the rebel group – is primarily seeking to exploit the eastern DR Congo’s vast mineral wealth.

It is also worth noting that there are thought to be hundreds of thousands of Tutsis in DR Congo – there is no official estimate – and many do not support the actions being carried out in their name.

That being said, experts and organisations like the UN have documented decades of discrimination against Congolese Tutsis and the Banyamulenge – a Tutsi sub-group concentrated in the South Kivu province.

This ranges from ethnic killings, to workplace discrimination, to hate speech on the part of politicians.

At the root of this discrimination is the association of Tutsis with neighbouring Rwanda, which has been led by Tutsis since 1994. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, many Congolese Tutsis played a key role in violent Rwandan-backed rebellions against the governments then running DR Congo.

The perception that Congolese Tutsis are “foreign” can have deadly consequences.

Bukuru Muhizi, a researcher and economist from South Kivu’s Mwenga territory, told the BBC that people from various generations of his family had been killed because of their Banyamulenge and Tutsi identities.

He said that in the past six years, his great-uncle and great-uncle’s son were killed by Congolese soldiers and local militia fighters. The Congolese armed forces have not responded to the BBC’s request for comment on this allegation.

Mr Muhizi said his family has lived in present-day DR Congo for centuries and that he “wished the world knew” his community was experiencing what he called a “silent genocide”.

Muragwa Cheez Bienvenue, a Banyamulenge activist, said he was once targeted by airport staff in the city of Bukavu.

“I was stopped – they told me I look like [Rwandan President] Kagame and they had me pay around $150 (£120) to save myself from being imprisoned,” he told the BBC, adding that he supports the M23’s cause.

Prior to colonisation, part of the territory that is now DR Congo was subject to the Rwandan monarchy, which is Tutsi. It had long been fighting expansionist wars, extending the kingdom to include more and more of East Africa.

Tutsis, Hutus and other ethnic groups lived in the Rwandan kingdom and had done so since at least the 19th Century. But when colonial powers drew up arbitrary borders in Africa, the kingdom was split between present-day DR Congo and Rwanda.

Subsequently, other Tutsis have migrated to DR Congo in waves. In the mid-20th Century, Belgian colonialists brought workers over from present-day Rwanda to staff their plantations, while others came on their own accord in search of a better life.

Meanwhile, Tutsi refugees began arriving in DR Congo, fleeing waves of ethnic violence in Rwanda and Burundi. Both countries have long been dominated by their Tutsi minorities, leading to tensions with the Hutu majority.

Many more are thought to have arrived in 1994 during the Rwandan genocide, in which some 800,000 people, mostly Tutsis, were slaughtered. But when a Tutsi-led government seized power and ended the massacres, some returned, especially after some of those responsible for the genocide then fled into DR Congo.

As DR Congo’s Tutsi and Banyamulenge communities grew, the Congolese authorities “alternately empowered and the undermined” them, Jason K Stearns, a DR Congo analyst, wrote in his book The War That Doesn’t Say Its Name.

• The M23 leader whose fighters have created turmoil
• What’s the fighting in DR Congo all about?
• Rebels leave families devastated in wake of DR Congo advance

In the early 1970s, then-President Mobutu Sese Seko granted citizenship to anyone who had originated from Rwanda or Burundi, provided they were present on Congolese territory before 1960.

But in 1981, parliament rowed back on these rights and many Tutsis, Banyamulenge and people from other minority groups were “derived of their nationality and left stateless”, a UN report noted.

In the 1990s, Tutsis and the Banyamulenge were subject to multiple massacres in DR Congo. For instance, a report by the UN says that the Congolese army aided armed groups in killing nearly 300 Banyamulenge civilians in the city of Baraka in 1996.

It also states that “many” Tutsis and Banyamulenge lost their jobs and suffered discrimination and threats.

Today, the constitution considers the Tutsi and Banyamulenge groups to be Congolese and some individuals from these communities occupy senior military and governance positions. In fact, Lt-Gen Pacifique Masunzu, the man leading the fight against the M23 as the commander of a key area in eastern DR Congo, is from the Banyamulenge community.

But there is still significant evidence of discrimination. In 2024, experts working for the UN said that in South Kivu, Banyamulenge are commonly seen as harmful to their neighbouring communities. This discourse incites “hatred, discrimination, hostility and violence”, the experts said.

There have also been recent reports of Tutsi and Banyamulenge soldiers in the Congolese army being murdered. According to Human Rights Watch, a mob killed a Banyamulenge military officer in 2023 “in an apparent case of ethnic hatred”.

Politicians – past and present – have also pushed discriminatory sentiment.

Anti-Tutsi feelings appear to rise during M23 rebellions, say DR Congo experts such as Mr Stearns.

He told the BBC he had seen “pretty terrifying” social media posts over the past few weeks – “a phenomenon of people in other parts of the country expressing doubts over a certain person, often an army officer or police officers… the way he looks, and claiming that certain people look like they’re Rwandan”.

Although some Congolese Tutsis may back the M23’s current uprising, Mr Stearns says “many of them feel uncomfortable with the consequences this will have for them as a community, because once again, this means that they will be portrayed as treasonous rebels”.

The Congolese government has gone some way in acknowledging the discrimination against Tutsis. For instance, earlier this year President Félix Tshisekedi said he had “had enough” of anti-Banyamulenge speech and alleged that such comments gave Rwanda the pretext to invade DR Congo.

However, the authorities have also played down allegations of widespread persecution. Government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya told the BBC: “We have 450 tribes and there is conflict between some of them in many parts of the country… The government position is against any kind of discrimination or hate speech against every community”.

However, Mr Bienvenue on the other hand told the BBC he “strongly” believes his ethnic group are discriminated against, giving the example that his sister was once sacked after being told she “looked like a Rwandan spy”.

This is despite his family living in the same area for centuries.

“The Banyamulenge have been here since Congo was Congo!” he said, exasperated.

• Who’s pulling the strings in the DR Congo crisis?
• The evidence that shows Rwanda is backing rebels in DR Congo
• Your phone, a rare metal and the war in DR Congo
• DR Congo’s failed gamble on Romanian mercenaries

Donald Trump has been back in the White House for a month.

His fifth week in office saw more dramatic moves as the president continued on his plan to remake the federal government, implement sweeping cuts and reshape American foreign policy.

This week he called Ukraine’s war-time president a “dictator”, pledged to make IVF more affordable and dismissed his highest-ranking military officer.

If you’re after a catch-up, here is a reminder of 19 major moves from the Trump administration this week.

Trump on Tuesday called Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky a “dictator” – part of a heated back and forth between the two leaders that also saw the US president appear to blame Ukraine for Russia’s invasion.

His attacks came after Zelensky reacted to US-Russia talks about the war, from which Kyiv was excluded.

Zelensky said Trump was “living in a disinformation space” governed by Moscow after Trump said the Ukrainian leader was down to 4% approval rating among the Ukrainian public – a figure Zelensky said was being spread by Russia.

Zelensky’s term was due to come to an end in May 2024 but his country has been under martial law since Russia launched its full-scale invasion three years ago, and elections are suspended.

The “dictator” line prompted criticism from European leaders including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who said it was “simply wrong and dangerous”.

• Read more about Trump and Zelensky’s relationship over time
• Our correspondent Anthony Zurcher analyses Trump echoing Russia
• Fact-checking Trump claims about war in Ukraine

On Tuesday, US and Russian officials held their first high-level, face-to-face talks since the war started but Ukraine was not invited.

Top US officials met Moscow counterparts in Saudi Arabia, prompting fears in Kyiv that the country invaded by Russia was being sidelined.

On Friday, he told Fox News it was not important for Zelensky to be at peace talks but he would “of course” take a call from him.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said talks with Russia were a first step towards negotiating a peace deal and nothing would be imposed on Ukraine.

• Who was at the table at US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia?
• Eastern Europe correspondent Sarah Rainsford on the “extraordinary” meeting

Russian authorities released a US national who was arrested at a Moscow airport this month for cannabis possession.

Kalob Byers, 28, was freed hours before the talks between US and Russian officials over the war in Ukraine were set to begin.

The US also said it will release a Russian national – Alexander Vinnik, who was arrested in 2017 on charges related to the laundering of billions of dollars using virtual currency Bitcoin – as part of a prisoner exchange that brought home American schoolteacher Marc Fogel last week.

• Russia frees US national held on drug charges
• US releases Russian Bitcoin fraud suspect as Belarus frees American

The Trump administration is moving to end New York City’s congestion pricing plan, which charges vehicles entering the city in certain areas, then uses tolls to upgrade its aging transit systems. It was launched last month.

“CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD,” Trump said on social media. “Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!”

In response, New York Govenor Kathy Hochul said: “We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king. We’ll see you in court.”

• Read more about the move to end New York City congestion charge

Four women who allege they were sexually abused by the social media influencer Andrew Tate said they were “extremely concerned” by reports that US officials had asked Romania to relax travel restrictions against Tate and his brother, Tristan Tate, who have dual UK-US nationality.

The Financial Times newspaper first reported that US officials had brought up the case with the Romanian government last week, and it was then followed up by Trump’s envoy Richard Grenell at the weekend.

One source told the paper that a request had been made by the US to return the brothers’ passports to them so they could travel while waiting for the criminal case against them to finish.

The US State Department has been approached by the BBC for comment.

• Read reaction from the lawyer for the alleged victims here
• Who is Andrew Tate? The self-proclaimed misogynist influencer

The US Border Patrol said there was a decrease in migrants illegally crossing the US-Mexico border in January.

It recorded 29,000 arrests – the lowest since May 2020 and down from 47,000 in December, according to department figures.

Trump took office on 20 January, replacing predecessor Joe Biden.

The Trump administration has promised to clamp down on undocumented migration into the US, which has also included declaring an emergency at the southern border and expanded processes that allow for rapid expulsions.

Trump reassigned the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement this week, US media reported. The move came after Trump and border tsar Tom Homan expressed anger that deportation numbers weren’t higher.

• Six big immigration changes under Trump
• Trump sends first migrant detainees to Guantanamo Bay

The Trump administration – and his Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) leader Elon Musk – are continuing a cost-cutting drive that aims to drastically reduce the federal workforce.

More than 6,000 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees are expected to be fired, and on Friday the Pentagon said it planned to “release” 5,400 probationary workers starting early next week.

Around 1,000 employees in the US National Park Service were let go last weekend – roughly 5% of the workforce – according to CBS News.

It has also begun firing hundreds of Federal Aviation Administration employees, and the head of Professional Aviation Safety Specialists union David Spero called the firings “shameful”.

Polling suggests there is public support for less government spending but also concern that Musk’s efficiency drive could go too far.

• Trump moves to close entries to government worker buyout programme
• Hundreds fired at aviation safety agency, union says
• What is Doge and why is Elon Musk cutting so many jobs?

Trump’s administration is attempting to rehire officials with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) who worked on the government response to bird flu before being fired over the weekend, US media report.

The terminations came as the latest outbreak of the bird flu has wreaked havoc on poultry and cattle farms, causing egg prices to skyrocket.

A USDA spokesperson told the BBC that although “several” officials working on bird flu were “notified of their terminations” over the weekend, “we are working to swiftly rectify the situation and rescind those letters”.

It’s not the first time this has happened – after firing officials with the National Nuclear Security Administration last week, US media reported that the government was trying to reinstate some, but was struggling to contact them.

• Read more about the USDA layoffs

Trump has signed an executive order that will examine ways to make in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatments more affordable.

Speaking at an event at Mar-a-Lago, White House staff secretary Will Scharf said the order asks that the Domestic Policy Council make recommendations within 90 days to protect access to IVF and “aggressively” reduce its costs.

During his campaigning, Trump said that IVF treatments would be paid for by insurance companies or the government if he returned to the White House.

• Trump said insurance or government should pay for IVF

A row erupted between the White House and the Associated Press (AP) – a global media organisation – after Google Maps changed the Gulf of Mexico’s name to the Gulf of America for people using the app in the US.

Trump has ordered the body of water to be renamed in US government documents.

The AP says that it will not change the name of the Gulf of Mexico in its style guide, which is used by many US media outlets.

Trump said on Tuesday that he will block AP from the Oval Office and Air Force One until it stops referring to the Gulf of Mexico.

The media organisation sued three Trump officials in response, US media reported on Friday. The AP argues Trump’s ban violates the First Amendment and is seeking an emergency hearing to declare Trump’s moves unconstitutional.

• Google Maps updates Gulf of Mexico name for US users

US justice department lawyers on Wednesday defended their decision to end a criminal case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

Last week, the Department of Justice filed a motion to dismiss fraud and bribery charges against Adams. Seven justice department lawyers, including the top US prosecutor in Manhattan, resigned over an order to drop the case.

Adams was indicted last year on the charges. He denies any wrongdoing.

Trump has denied that he had any involvement in asking prosecutors to dismiss the Adams case.

On Friday, a judge paused Adams’ trial and ordered an outside lawyer to advise him by coming up with arguments against dropping the charges – essentially creating a legal test.

• Foreign bribes, cheap flights: What is Eric Adams accused of?
• Flurry of resignations after DOJ tells prosecutors to drop Eric Adams case

On Wednesday, Trump signed an executive order ending federal benefits for undocumented migrants.

The measure will seek to ensure that any federal funds to states and localities “will not be used to support sanctuary policies or assist illegal immigration”, according to the White House.

The Trump administration also suspended a service on Tuesday that helped children who come to the US without a parent or guardian to navigate the immigration court system.

• Migrants on edge as Trump administration ramps up raids and arrests

Trump said he is considering using a percentage of the potential savings from Elon Musk’s taskforce to send payments directly to US taxpayers.

“We’re thinking about giving 20% back to the American citizens and 20% back to pay down debt,” Trump said in Florida this week, without giving further details.

Before making the remarks, Musk had posted on his social media platform X that he “will check with the President” after a user suggested the pair should announce a “DOGE Dividend”.

• Americans weigh up Musk’s influence
• Elon Musk denies ‘hostile takeover’ of government

During his speech at the Munich Security Conference a week ago, US Vice-President JD Vance launched a scalding attack on European democracies saying the greatest threat facing the continent was not from Russia and China, but “from within”.

Vance was expected to address possible talks to end the war in Ukraine but instead accused European governments – including the UK’s – of retreating from their values, and ignoring voter concerns on migration and free speech.

The speech was denounced by several politicians at the conference.

• Analysis: JD Vance’s blast at Europe ignores Ukraine and defence agenda

Rubio boycotted a meeting of G20 foreign ministers in South Africa this week, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he will not attend next week’s gathering of G20 finance ministers.

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa told the meeting that a commitment to multilateralism and international law is vital to solving global crises.

Announcing his refusal to attend, Rubio said South Africa was “using G20 to promote ‘solidarity, equality, & sustainability.’ In other words: DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] and climate change”.

Bessent said he had other commitments in Washington.

• South Africa opens G20 talks but US snubs meeting

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has told US military services to identify $50bn in cuts next year so the money can be used elsewhere for Trump’s priorities.

The deputy defence secretary said in a statement on Wednesday that “excessive bureaucracy” and “unnecessary spending that set our military back under the previous administration, including through so-called ‘climate change’ and other woke programs” would end.

Late Friday night, Trump announced on Truth Social, his social media platform, that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was leaving, as well.

• Trump defends Musk and says Doge will look at military spending

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has restored funding for 9/11-related cancer research after Doge attempted to cancel it last week, according to officials.

The $257,000 (£199,000) contract goes towards data processing to compare cancer incidence rates among firefighters exposed to the World Trade Center toxins with firefighters who were not.

Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer said: “9/11 cancer research and funding for FDNY should have never been on the chopping block”.

Trump’s motorcade drove round the Daytona racetrack in the opening event of the season’s Nascar series.

The president’s Air Force One jet gave a flyby for spectators before he met the drivers and led them for a lap around the circuit.

US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff CQ Brown was fired as the highest-ranking military officer in the country, responsible for advising the president and defence secretary.

On Friday evening, Trump took to social media to announce the departure of Gen Brown, who was the second black officer in US history to hold the post. The president said five other top officers were being replaced.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had previously said Gen Brown should be fired because of his “woke” focus on diversity, equity and inclusion programmes in the military.

• Trump replaces highest-ranking military officer

Outside the Gemelli Hospital in Rome stands a large statue of one of its most famous patients, Pope John Paul II.

Made of white Carrara marble, it depicts the pontiff in his later years, stooping and clutching a crucifix, his brow furrowed in pain.

Doctors at the Gemelli hospital helped save John Paul’s life, after he was shot in a failed assassination attempt in St Peter’s Square in May 1981. He underwent a six-hour operation to remove a bullet from his abdomen.

It was the first time a Pope had been treated at Rome’s largest hospital.

Among the hospital’s current patients is Pope Francis, who was admitted last week with a respiratory infection. He has been diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs.

Over the course of his 25 year-long pontificate, John Paul was admitted around 10 times, sometimes for prolonged stays. He received treatment for various illnesses, including a benign intestinal tumour, a broken hip and a tracheotomy, when his Parkinson’s disease was at an advanced stage.

The Gemelli, which is a Catholic teaching hospital, opened in the 1960s. With more than 1500 beds, it is one of the biggest private hospitals in Europe.

Built on land donated by Pope Pius XI to the theologian and physician Agostino Gemelli in 1934, it has become known as the “Pope’s Hospital.” John Paul II even nicknamed it “Vatican Three,” with St Peter’s Square being Vatican One, and the papal residence at Castel Gandolfo, Vatican Two.

In the 1980s, the Gemelli set up a special Papal suite, which is still in use today.

It’s a small apartment on the tenth floor, an all-white suite with austere, simple furnishings. As well as the bedroom and bathroom, there is a living room, with a sofa bed for his aides and a chapel with a kneeler and a large crucifix, where the Pope can attend or celebrate mass and say prayers.

The long access corridor, leading to the suite is guarded by Italian State Police, the Vatican Gendarmerie and hospital security.

The Papal suite is reserved for popes, but other patients are treated on the same floor.

There’s a balcony where the Pope can appear to greet the faithful and say the weekly Angelus prayer.

Well-wishers often gather in the square outside the hospital to pray for the health of the pontiff. Flowers, cards, photos and candles are often laid at the foot of the statue of John Paul II.

According to official announcements, Pope Benedict XVI was never admitted to the hospital during his 8-year papacy, although he visited when his brother received treatment there in 2014.

Pope Francis has been treated at the Gemelli several times. In 2013, he had an operation on his colon. He was treated for infectious bronchitis in March 2023, and had surgery for an intestinal hernia later that year.

He has often been seen thanking his medical team and other hospital workers. At the end of one stay, he baptised a newborn baby, and shared a pizza dinner with his doctors, nurses, assistants and Vatican security personnel.

A selection of news photographs from around the world.

“Who’d you pick as the next Bond?”

That was the question posed by Amazon boss Jeff Bezos this week to his 6.8 million followers on X.

It is Bezos who will now have the final say on the next 007. He asked for suggestions alongside a screenshot of the BBC News story about his company gaining creative control of the famous spy film franchise.

The choice of Daniel Craig’s replacement will now be Amazon MGM Studios’ biggest decision.

So let’s take a look at what direction the company could take, and who is in the frame.

If the replies to Bezos’s call out are anything to go by, Henry Cavill is the (online) people’s choice.

The former Superman actor, who has said he “would love to play Bond”, was widely regarded to have been the runner-up years ago when Craig landed the part for the first of his five 007 films, 2006’s Casino Royale.

The movie’s director Martin Campbell told the Express last year that Cavill’s audition was “tremendous” and that “if Daniel didn’t exist, Henry would have made an excellent Bond”.

There was just one problem. “He just looked a little young at that time back then,” added Campbell.

Longstanding Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson, who announced on Thursday they were stepping down, have previously shot down the idea of a younger Bond.

“Remember, Bond’s already a veteran,” Wilson said in 2022. “He’s had some experience. He’s a person who has been through the wars, so to speak. He’s probably been in the SAS or something.”

Amazon may have different ideas – but at 41, Cavill could ironically now be considered too old, especially if he stays for a string of subsequent movies.

The next most frequently mentioned names in the replies to Bezos were Tom Hardy, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Idris Elba.

Taylor-Johnson, 34, known for roles in Kick-Ass and Kraven the Hunter, was at one stage rumoured to have been offered the job, but no announcement ever materialised.

Kraven bombed at the box office last year, though, which could count against him.

The bookmakers had Happy Valley actor James Norton listed as their favourite on Friday.

Speaking on the red carpet at last weekend’s Bafta Awards, Norton, 39, described the speculation around him becoming Bond as “so weird and bemusing” yet “fun”.

Mark O’Connell, author of Catching Bullets: Memoirs of a Bond Fan, told the BBC he thinks Amazon – and whoever they choose as the next director – will go for a younger actor than in previous times, and he hopes they buy British again.

“Tom Hardy would be great, [but] I think he’s, dare I say, too old,” he said of the 47-year-old Mad Max actor.

“There’s a lot of guys that keep getting quoted [and] I’m like, they’re too old.

“I think Amazon’s going to bring it younger. I think we’re looking at early 30s. Paul Mescal is a good name. Kingsley Ben-Adir, who’s one of the Kens in the Barbie movie, I’d keep an eye on him – he’s got a sort of [Sean] Connery swagger about him.

“Harris Dickinson, who’s a British actor doing well in Babygirl with Nicole Kidman at the moment, he’s very British,” O’Connell added.

“I hope they stick with the British DNA and origins of the role. I think they would be foolish to move away from that. But time will tell.”

Bond has been played by two non-British actors in the past – Australian George Lazenby and Irishman Pierce Brosnan. So don’t rule out the likes of fellow Irish stars Mescal, Oscar winner Cillian Murphy, Aidan Turner, or Aussie Jacob Elordi.

Could Amazon break the mould and go for the first American Bond? If so, Austin Butler has been mooted.

Other Brits who have been shaken but not stirred into the mix include Challengers star Josh O’Connor, 34, and Babylon’s Stuart Martin, 39, as well as White Lotus actor Theo James, who is 40.

Callum Turner, Richard Madden, Will Poulter and Nicholas Hoult have also been suggested, among others.

Since Bond – originally the creation of author Ian Fleming – hit the big screen in 1962, first played by Scotsman Sean Connery, his hair and eye colour have changed, not to mention his accent.

But so far, the character’s skin colour and gender have remained fixed.

That is apart from when Lashana Lynch briefly took over the 007 title from Craig’s Bond in No Time to Die.

“James Bond can be of any colour, but he is male,” Broccoli said in 2020.

“I’m not particularly interested in taking a male character and having a woman play it. I think women are far more interesting than that.”

She added: “He should be British, so British can be any [ethnicity].”

Bridgerton actor Rege-Jean Page has been mooted alongside Ben-Adir as a possible first non-white Bond, as have Lucien Laviscount, Paapa Essiedu, Damson Idris, Riz Ahmed and Aaron Pierre.

If Bezos does break Broccoli’s rule and go for a woman, Cynthia Erivo would be a popular choice.

However, Idris Elba, 52, the star of The Wire and Luther, said in 2023 that the racist backlash to the prospect of him being Bond “made the whole thing disgusting and off-putting”.

It’s not just the lead role that the Amazon casting department will have to think about.

“In terms of what they could do with the women, I would love to see more interesting and nuanced female characters,” said Monica Germanà, author of Bond Girls: Body, Fashion and Gender.

“There is a growing female fandom, so we want more interesting female characters teasing Bond’s masculine ego.”

Then there are the villains, who are the characters with their “pulse on the real world”, Germanà said.

“They represent the anxieties we have about the world. So it’d be interesting what Amazon does with that. Will the next villain be, I don’t know, will it be AI? Will it be something to do with climate change? Will it be far-right politics that they tap into?”

Debating the next James Bond is “a national and international obsession”, BBC Radio 1 film critic Ali Plumb told BBC Breakfast.

“I want to have an answer for you. I want to say names like Harris Dickinson or Leo Woodall and say, yes, it’s going to be them. But it’s all up in the air.”

Chris Hewitt of Empire magazine and podcast told BBC Radio 5 Live that while he “admired what Craig has achieved”, he wants the new management “to rediscover the fun of Bond”.

Bond fan and author Ajay Chowdhury added: “I think Bond ultimately is fantasy and it’s fun and I think that entertainment value could be brought back.”

Bond bosses have often alternated between serious and lighter-hearted lead actors, he said.

“They always tend to reboot. You have a serious Bond [like Timothy] Dalton followed by a lighter Bond, Brosnan. Serious, Craig – and I think it’s time to do that again.”

Chowdhury thinks the new Bond will be “an established British actor” with what he calls “the Goldilocks amount of fame” – not too hot, not too cold.

“They’ll have done TV and theatre across the Atlantic, but they won’t be stars,” he offers.

“They’ll have just the right amount of fame and they’ll be young enough to do three or four [films].

“Who is it? We have no idea!”

US President Donald Trump has fired the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff CQ Brown, the highest-ranking officer in the country, as part of a major shake-up of top military leadership.

“I want to thank General Charles ‘CQ’ Brown for his over 40 years of service to our country,” Trump posted on social media. He said five other top officers were also being replaced.

Gen Brown was the second black officer to hold the post, the holder of which advises both the president and the secretary of defence on national security.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had previously said that Gen Brown should be fired because of his “woke” focus on diversity, equity and inclusion programmes in the military.

Later on Friday, Hegseth announced the firings of two additional senior officers: Chief of Naval Operations Adm Lisa Franchetti and Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen Jim Slife.

Adm Franchetti was the first woman to lead the US Navy.

• 19 things Trump and his team did this week

All three top officers removed on Friday were appointed by Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden.

Hegseth said in a statement: “Under President Trump, we are putting in place new leadership that will focus our military on its core mission of deterring, fighting and winning wars.”

Trump said he would nominate Air Force Lt Gen Dan Caine – a career F-16 pilot who most recently served as CIA associate director for military affairs – as the new chairman of the joint chiefs of staff.

Last year, at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Trump recalled first meeting Gen Caine in Iraq. “He looked better than any movie actor you could get,” Trump told the audience.

In the same speech, he praised the US military but said it was “woke at the top”.

Gen Brown had been visiting troops at the southern US border on Friday, roughly two hours before Trump’s post announcing his departure.

Rumours had been swirling this week that the president would remove the commander, whose term was set to expire in 2027.

Gen Brown made headlines in 2020 when he spoke out about race following the death of George Floyd.

He posted a video message to the US Air Force describing the pressures he had felt as one of the few black men in his unit, including being questioned about his credentials.

In 2022, while chief of staff of the air force, Gen Brown co-signed a memo setting out diversity goals to boost the proportion of minority officer applicants while adjusting lower the rate of white candidates, according to the Air Force Times.

Colin Powell was the first black chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, serving from 1989-93.

One of Trump’s first acts after being sworn in last month was to fire the first female commandant of the Coast Guard, citing “excessive focus” on diversity.

In November, before he was confirmed, Hegseth said on a podcast that there were many problems in the military, including diversity initiatives, which the Trump administration should “course correct”.

“First of all, you got to fire the chairman of joint chiefs,” Hegseth said in describing the steps he believed Trump should take.

The Pentagon also announced on Friday that it would cut its budget and let go of 5,400 probationary employees next week.

Meanwhile, a federal court in Maryland temporarily blocked Trump from implementing bans on diversity, equity and inclusion programmes.

District Judge Adam Abelson ruled that the directives by Trump may violate free-speech rights in the US constitution.

Driving into Tver, the first thing I notice are the soldiers.

They’re everywhere. On billboards, the sides of buildings, at bus stops. Portraits with the words “Hero of Russia”. Posters of troops with Kalashnikov rifles encouraging the public to “Love, be proud of and defend” Russia.

In other words, to sign up and go and fight in Ukraine. Three years after its full-scale invasion of its neighbour, Russia is seeking new recruits.

Despite all the military imagery around town, if you live in Tver it’s possible to convince yourself that life is normal. The front line is hundreds of miles away.

“Just look around,” Mikhail, a local teacher, tells me. “Cars are passing by and all the shops are open. No shells are falling from anywhere. We are not panicking. We can’t hear any sirens wailing. We do not run to any evacuation points.”

For many Russians their invasion of Ukraine – what the Kremlin still calls a “special military operation” – is something they only encounter on their TV screens.

But for people like Anna, it’s much more real.

“I know a lot of people who went off to fight,” Anna says when we get chatting on the street.

“Some of them never came home. I hope [the war] ends as soon as possible.”

Donald Trump claims that’s what he wants, too. Without inviting Ukraine to the negotiating table, the Trump administration has already entered direct talks with the Russian leadership.

What do Russians make of the US president and his overtures to Moscow?

“Trump is a dark horse,” believes Anna. “I’m not sure what to expect from him.”

Some of the people I talk to in Tver repeat the official narrative they have been hearing for the last three years on state TV: that their country is not the aggressor, that Russia is defending Russians and Russian-speakers in Ukraine and liberating, not occupying, territory.

It doesn’t mean that Russian society as a whole buys into this alternative reality.

“In a society people always prefer to be in the mainstream,” believes Andrei Kolesnikov, a columnist for newtimes.ru and Novaya Gazeta. “If the mainstream is pro-war and the TV says that we are at war with the West, the average citizen will think like this. It’s easier not to think about the details. You want to live peacefully, so why not join the majority?

“Some researchers call this the foetal position. When you defend yourself from this unexplainable world you look like a baby. You say: ‘I can’t explain to myself what is happening. I believe you. You can feed me with words. I’ll accept it.’ This is typical for all societies of this kind: a bit authoritarian, a bit totalitarian.”

Larissa and her husband Valery willingly accept the official line.

“We’re all for the special military operation,” Larissa tells me. “We’re ready to volunteer and go there ourselves!”

They haven’t yet, clearly.

“We hope [Russia] will be victorious. We want Ukraine’s total capitulation.”

The police turn up. They’ve received a call informing them that “suspicious-looking people with a camera” are going around Tver. Meaning us.

They’re polite but want to know why we’re here. They take a statement from our driver. They check our vehicle. They ask me for an official explanation for our visit. I tell them we’re gauging the mood away from Moscow. We show our documents, which are in order.

While we’ve been talking to the officers, a camera crew from Russian state TV has pitched up and started filming us.

“We were just passing,” says the reporter, “and we spotted the police and recognised you. Can you tell me what’s going on?”

“I don’t know,” I reply. “Perhaps you can tell us?”

“What have you been filming?”

“We’ve been talking to people on the street,” I say. “I believe we’re allowed to do that.”

“Yes, in our country we have freedom of speech,” the reporter replies. “Perhaps the police just want to help you? It’s unpleasant to hear Western TV spreading fake news that there’s no free speech in Russia. You’re talking to people freely and no one gets in your way.”

“Apart from you,” I point out. “And the police officers standing next to our car.”

The incident, which lasted about an hour, is no real surprise. Three years of war have fuelled suspicion of the West inside Russia. Early signs of a thaw in US-Russian relations have yet to change that.

From talking to people in Tver it becomes clear that Russians are hoping that an end to the fighting will bring economic relief.

“Prices are so high now for the things I need most,” says Yulia as she rocks her baby to sleep in a pram. “Like the price of potatoes and onions. I really feel it.”

But teacher Mikhail doesn’t feel that Donald Trump has any strategy for securing peace.

“Unfortunately, Trump hasn’t got any plan,” believes Mikhail. “He is an improviser. He doesn’t know what he’s going to do. My sympathies are with him. I’m glad he won. But speaking about this episode, we’re all in the dark. And Trump is in the dark himself.”

Germany’s rival political leaders will take their fight for votes right to the last minute in a push that reflects the pivotal nature of Sunday’s election, not just for their country but for Europe as a whole.

Conservative frontrunner Friedrich Merz told supporters that under his leadership, Germany would take responsibility in Europe, and that the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) would be consigned to the political margins once more.

He will end his Christian Democrat party’s campaign with a rally in Munich, while his rivals will make a final appeal in a TV “speed-dating” programme with voters.

For months German politics has been paralysed by the collapse of the previous government.

Now, hopes have been raised across Europe that this vote will bring some certainty to the EU’s biggest democracy and its biggest economy, which has struggled to escape from lingering recession.

Nothing will change overnight. No party can govern without forming a coalition, and that will take weeks.

Reviving the economy has been one of the two big issues of the campaign; the other has been migration and security, thrust on Germany’s politicians by a series of deadly attacks since May 2024.

The cities of Mannheim, Solingen, Magdeburg, Aschaffenburg and Munich have all suffered grievous attacks. A Spanish tourist was stabbed at the Holocaust memorial in the centre of Berlin on Friday night, although his wounds are not considered life-threatening.

All the alleged attackers were immigrants, and the AfD under Alice Weidel has advanced to about 20% in the polls with its nationalist, anti-immigration message.

She has appealed to younger voters on social media, and is far ahead in the race on TikTok, with 870,000 followers. She has also been buoyed by support from both billionaire Elon Musk and US Vice-President JD Vance, who has been accused of meddling in the German campaign.

The AfD talks of securing Germany’s borders and deporting migrants who came illegally and committed crimes. But she uses the word “remigration” which has also been linked to mass deportations.

In Solingen, where a Syrian was accused of stabbing to death three people last August, hundreds of people turned out on Friday night to speak out against the rise of the far right.

“We have a lot of friends who grew up in Germany whose parents did not,” said one woman called Natalie, 35. “We don’t want anybody to kick them out and we don’t want our borders closed.”

One man called Jochen held up a sign that read “Never Again is Now!”

There was a large police presence at the protest, and Friday night’s stabbing in Berlin which police say was motivated by antisemitism has heightened security fears.

A police union spokesman has warned of a risk of attacks aimed at destabilising democracy.

All the mainstream parties have ruled out working with the AfD in government, but if it polls higher than 20% it could double its number of seats to 150 in the 630-seat parliament.

Merz’s most likely partner is Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats, although probably without Scholz himself. The message from his centre-left SPD as the final day of campaigning began was that every vote counts, and if Germans wanted a strong government they needed a strong SPD.

The Social Democrats are languishing in third in the polls, but Scholz is pinning his hopes on an estimated one in five undecided voters who could make a big difference.

Friedrich Merz was in a relaxed and confident mood when he appeared on stage this week in front of 1,200 supporters in the tech-hub city of Darmstadt near Frankfurt. But his message was stark as he turned his thoughts to Donald Trump’s presidency.

One hand in his pocket and the other holding the microphone, he spoke of unprecedented times and a “tectonic shift in the world’s centres of power”.

“A political order is now crumbling. What we have become used to for decades is breaking down.” He was not even sure if the US would join Germany in celebrating the 70th year of its accession to Nato in the summer.

He castigated the outgoing government for failing to take a leading role on the international stage.

“The German government and chancellor must finally take on a leading role in Europe again. If I’m elected I will spend a significant part of my time keeping this European Union together.”

Find out more about Germany’s elections:

Who’s who and what you need to know

Merz: Risk-taker who flirted with far right

Katya Adler: Far right looks for breakthrough as Germany falters

Tensions laid bare as Germans worry about immigration

Germans have had almost nightly opportunities to see their political leaders thrash out the big issues in TV debates, and Alice Weidel has been in the thick of them, sharing the stage with both Merz and Scholz.

In the run-up to the vote she met Vice-President JD Vance, who castigated German politicians for raising a “firewall” against the far right and of ignoring “the will of the voters”.

That firewall – in German – has held strong since the end of the war, although Merz himself was accused of breaking it when he relied on the support of the AfD last month in a motion on migration.

He has faced demonstrations ever since, and there was a noisy protest when he visited Darmstadt.

PhD student Annika, 29, held a Herz statt Merz banner – love instead of Merz. “He says he won’t do something with the far-right AfD, but his actions contradict what he says. I don’t trust him at all.”

Merz appears to have been stung by the outcry and has sought to reassure voters there will be “no tolerance, no minority government [with the AfD], nothing at all”.

Hunter Schafer, a transgender woman and star of hit HBO teen drama Euphoria, has said a new US passport lists her as male, despite selecting female when she filled out the paperwork.

“I was shocked,” Schafer said in a TikTok video showing the “M” marker on her new travel document. Her previous passport listed her as female.

“I just didn’t think it was actually going to happen,” the 26-year-old added, criticising US President Donald Trump’s policies on gender.

On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order recognising only two sexes and declaring they cannot be changed. The US now issues passports with just male or female designations, based on a person’s sex recorded at birth.

Previously, Americans could select their gender for passports and also request to be listed as “X”, which the Biden administration said in 2022 was being offered as an option “for non-binary, intersex and gender non-confirming individuals”.

Schafer said she had applied for a new passport after losing her old one while filming overseas.

She filled out forms indicating she was female, but when she picked up her replacement, it listed her as male, according to her post.

Schafer said she intended to travel abroad next week and anticipated challenges at the airport because of the new passport.

She said she believed it was “a direct result of the administration our country is currently operating under”.

Trump’s executive order says of the male and female sexes that they “are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality”.

It adds: “‘Sex’ is not a synonym for and does not include the concept of ‘gender identity’.”

The US state department, which issues passports, says on its website that it will “only issue passports with an M or F sex marker that match the customer’s biological sex at birth”.

After learning about Trump’s executive order, Schafer said her first reaction was: “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“Today I saw it,” she told fans.

Schafer added: “I just feel like it’s important to share that it’s not just talk – that this is real and it’s happening and no-one – no matter their circumstance, no matter how wealthy or white or pretty or whatever – is excluded.”

The Euphoria star said she changed her gender markers for her driver’s licence and passports when she was a teenager, but that her birth certificate was never amended.

“I’m pretty sure it’s going to come along with having to out myself to border patrol agents and that whole gig, much more often than I would like to or is really necessary,” she said.

On the HBO drama, now in its third season, she plays a transgender teenager, Jules Vaughn, who has a complicated relationship with the main character Rue.

A 19-year-old Syrian man suspected of stabbing a Spanish tourist at Berlin’s Holocaust Memorial had planned for several weeks to kill Jewish people, Berlin police believe.

The attack took place on Friday evening, with the assailant approaching the 30-year-old victim from behind before stabbing him and fleeing the scene.

A man was arrested nearby after police noticed blood stains on his hands and clothing.

The suspect was carrying a prayer rug, a copy of the Quran, and the suspected weapon in his backpack, suggesting “a religious motivation”, police said.

After being taken to hospital with serious wounds to his neck, the victim underwent an operation and was put into an induced coma, but his life is no longer in danger.

Police say they are examining possible connections to the current Middle East conflict – but said there is currently no evidence of links to any groups or individuals.

They are also investigating whether the suspect is suffering from mental illness. He had no prior criminal record and was not known to the police, they added.

Six people who witnessed the attack are receiving counselling from local authorities.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser described the attack as an “abhorrent and brutal crime” for which the suspect “must be punished with the full force of the law”.

“We will use all means to deport violent offenders back to Syria,” she said.

Several stabbing and car-ramming attacks have taken place in Germany in recent months, in the cities of Mannheim, Solingen, Magdeburg, Aschaffenburg and Munich.

All of the alleged attackers were migrants. Immigration has become a core issue for voters ahead of federal elections taking place on Sunday.

The Berlin Holocaust memorial was opened in 2005 to commemorate the six million Jews of Europe murdered by the Nazi regime, and comprises 2,711 stone slabs.

Hours after the attack in the German capital, Swedish police said they had apprehended three men near the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm, on suspicion of preparing to commit violent crime. It is not believed the incidents are linked.

A police officer who removed a burglar’s tag so she could have a sexual relationship with him has been jailed.

Natasha Conneely, of Kempston in Bedfordshire, admitted to a charge of corruption or other improper exercise of police powers and privileges and was sentenced to 18 months in prison at St Albans Crown Court on Friday.

The 31-year-old had been working for Bedfordshire Police’s offender management unit in May 2023 when it was discovered she had started a relationship with a known burglar.

An investigation by the force’s professional standards department found she had removed his monitored offender’s tag so he could visit her home undetected.

Afterwards she checked the system to see if their whereabouts had been captured.

It was later discovered they had spent a night together in a hotel in Leeds in June 2023.

Conneely’s team was responsible for managing offenders in the community with tagging and other methods designed to deter reoffending.

Chief Constable Trevor Rodenhurst said: “Becoming involved in a sexual relationship with such an offender was totally inappropriate

“Her actions to allow them to spend time together undetected were entirely selfish and had real potential to leave the offender free to further offend with no safeguards in place.

“The evidence of their communication, in my view, demonstrates she entered this relationship and course of conduct of her own free will and her conduct falls far below the standard the public rightly expect. “

Conneely resigned from the force after she was charged.

A police hearing in November 2023 found her behaviour amounted to “gross misconduct for discreditable conduct and honesty and integrity” and ruled she would have been dismissed had she not resigned.

She was placed on the College of Policing’s barred list, meaning she cannot return to policing.

Outside the Gemelli Hospital in Rome stands a large statue of one of its most famous patients, Pope John Paul II.

Made of white Carrara marble, it depicts the pontiff in his later years, stooping and clutching a crucifix, his brow furrowed in pain.

Doctors at the Gemelli hospital helped save John Paul’s life, after he was shot in a failed assassination attempt in St Peter’s Square in May 1981. He underwent a six-hour operation to remove a bullet from his abdomen.

It was the first time a Pope had been treated at Rome’s largest hospital.

Among the hospital’s current patients is Pope Francis, who was admitted last week with a respiratory infection. He has been diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs.

Over the course of his 25 year-long pontificate, John Paul was admitted around 10 times, sometimes for prolonged stays. He received treatment for various illnesses, including a benign intestinal tumour, a broken hip and a tracheotomy, when his Parkinson’s disease was at an advanced stage.

The Gemelli, which is a Catholic teaching hospital, opened in the 1960s. With more than 1500 beds, it is one of the biggest private hospitals in Europe.

Built on land donated by Pope Pius XI to the theologian and physician Agostino Gemelli in 1934, it has become known as the “Pope’s Hospital.” John Paul II even nicknamed it “Vatican Three,” with St Peter’s Square being Vatican One, and the papal residence at Castel Gandolfo, Vatican Two.

In the 1980s, the Gemelli set up a special Papal suite, which is still in use today.

It’s a small apartment on the tenth floor, an all-white suite with austere, simple furnishings. As well as the bedroom and bathroom, there is a living room, with a sofa bed for his aides and a chapel with a kneeler and a large crucifix, where the Pope can attend or celebrate mass and say prayers.

The long access corridor, leading to the suite is guarded by Italian State Police, the Vatican Gendarmerie and hospital security.

The Papal suite is reserved for popes, but other patients are treated on the same floor.

There’s a balcony where the Pope can appear to greet the faithful and say the weekly Angelus prayer.

Well-wishers often gather in the square outside the hospital to pray for the health of the pontiff. Flowers, cards, photos and candles are often laid at the foot of the statue of John Paul II.

According to official announcements, Pope Benedict XVI was never admitted to the hospital during his 8-year papacy, although he visited when his brother received treatment there in 2014.

Pope Francis has been treated at the Gemelli several times. In 2013, he had an operation on his colon. He was treated for infectious bronchitis in March 2023, and had surgery for an intestinal hernia later that year.

He has often been seen thanking his medical team and other hospital workers. At the end of one stay, he baptised a newborn baby, and shared a pizza dinner with his doctors, nurses, assistants and Vatican security personnel.

US President Donald Trump’s remark that his country spent $21m to boost voter turnout in India’s elections has triggered a political slugfest in the country.

He made the remark days after a team led by Elon Musk said it had cancelled the payout as part of its crackdown on a US agency providing foreign aid.

India’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called the payout an “external interference” and accused the opposition Congress party of seeking this intervention.

The Congress denied the allegation, calling Trump’s claims “nonsensical”. The US has not provided any evidence to support its claim.

On Friday, India’s foreign ministry said it found the claims “deeply troubling”.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said it was “premature” to make public statements about the matter at this stage and that relevant authorities were investigating it.

Trump vowed to boost the US economy and soon after returning to office, he created the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), led by Musk, to slash federal spending and jobs. Musk says Doge’s mission is to save taxpayer money and cut national debt.

One of its biggest moves – now making global headlines – is a crackdown on USAID, the US agency overseeing humanitarian aid since the 1960s. Musk, who has called USAID a “criminal organisation”, announced on Sunday that funding for several projects had been cancelled.

The cuts included $486m for the “Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening”, with “$21m for voter turnout in India” and “$22m for inclusive and participatory political process in Moldova”.

Defending Doge’s cuts, Trump said India “had a lot of money” and was among the world’s highest-taxing nations.

On Thursday, he doubled down, questioning the $21m spend on “India’s voter turnout”.

The latest comments came a week after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first Washington visit under Trump’s second term, where Trump announced expanded military sales, increased energy exports and plans for a trade deal and new defence framework.

“I guess they were trying to get somebody else elected. We have got to tell the Indian government,” the US president said at a summit in Miami.

The same day, BJP leader Amit Malviya shared a clip of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi speaking at an event in London before the 2024 general election.

In the clip, Gandhi can be heard saying that major democracies like the US and European countries were “oblivious that a huge chunk of democratic model has come undone [in India]”.

“Rahul Gandhi was in London, urging foreign powers – from the US to Europe – to intervene in India’s internal affairs,” Malviya alleged in his post on X.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh dismissed the claim and urged the government to report on USAID’s decades-long support to governmental and non-governmental institutions during PM Modi’s tenure.

Despite widespread reports, neither Doge nor Trump has provided evidence that USAID gave India $21m for voter turnout.

India’s poll panel has not responded, but former election chief SY Qureshi denied receiving such funding during his tenure, which ran from 2010 to 2012.

Earlier, Malviya claimed that in 2012, under Mr Qureshi, the panel signed an agreement with a group linked to George Soros’ foundation – primarily funded by USAID – to support a voter turnout campaign.

Mr Qureshi dismissed the allegation as “malicious”, stating that the agreement explicitly imposed “no financial or legal obligation on either side”.

On Friday, the Indian Express newspaper said in an investigative report that the $21m was sanctioned for Bangladesh and not India.

It was meant to run for three years until July 2025 and that $13.4m had already been spent, according to records accessed by the newspaper.

Cryptocurrency firm Bybit said hackers stole $1.5bn (£1.1bn) worth of digital currency in what could be the biggest crypto theft in history.

The Dubai-based company’s founder told users that their funds were “safe” and that it would refund any of those affected.

It said hackers stole from its Ethereum coin digital wallet. Ethereum is the second largest cryptocurrency by value after Bitcoin.

Bybit’s founder Ben Zhou said the money could be covered by the firm or by a loan from partners. Bybit holds $20bn (£15bn) in assets.

Bybit said the hackers exploited security features, then transferred the money to an unidentified address.

After the theft, the value of Ethereum fell by around 4% on Friday, leaving it worth $2,641.41 (£2,090) per coin.

The scale of the theft would exceed a previous record, which was a $620m (£490m) heist of Ethereum and USD Coin from the Ronin Network in 2022.

Bybit was founded in 2018. US President Donald Trump and former Paypal chief Peter Thiel were reportedly among its early investors.

Bybit says it has more than 60 million users worldwide and offers access to various cryptocurrencies.

“Bybit is solvent even if this hack loss is not recovered, all of clients assets are 1 to 1 backed, we can cover the loss,” Mr Zhou added.

The company said in a post on X that it had reported the case to authorities and that it was working “quickly and extensively” to identify the hackers.

Cryptocurrencies, which have become popular with investors, have sparked division as many criticise their value for being based purely on speculation, allowing their value to be easily manipulated.

Most recently, Donald Trump has been criticised for launching his own digital coin while saying he “doesn’t know much” about the cryptocurrency.

The digital coin called TRUMP appeared on his social media accounts ahead of his inauguration and quickly became one of the most valuable crypto coins, but has since fallen significantly in value.

It highlights security concerns within the digital currency market, which was hoping for renewed trust after Mr Trump launched his coin. His adviser and and multi-billionaire owner of Tesla, Elon Musk, has also in the past talked up Bitcoin.

In 2014, crypto exchange Mt Gox filed for bankruptcy after $350m (£210m) worth of digital currency had been stolen due to a loophole in its security.

In 2019, hackers stole stolen $41m worth of Bitcoin from the Binance exchange in another major crypto-currency heist.

US President Donald Trump has said French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer “haven’t done anything” to end the war in Ukraine, ahead of their visits to the White House next week.

Trump also said Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky had “no cards” in peace negotiations, adding: “I don’t think he’s very important to be in meetings.”

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the UK, France and other allies have been supplying Kyiv with weapons and other aid.

On Monday, European leaders held a hastily-arranged summit in Paris – a day before US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia, and amid fears that Ukraine and Europe could be excluded from peace negotiations.

Despite his criticism of Macron and Sir Keir, Trump also praised the European leaders in his interview with Fox News. He said that he considered Macron to be a “friend”, and called the British prime minister a “very nice guy”.

Macron is expected to visit Washington on Monday, while Sir Keir will be there on Thursday.

Earlier this week, the British prime minister said he was “ready and willing” to put UK troops on the ground in Ukraine to help guarantee its security as part of a peace deal.

The BBC has contacted the PM’s office for comment.

While European leaders have ruled out negotiating with Russia, they have met regularly to discuss the war in Ukraine.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the US, UK and EU – along with other countries including Australia, Canada and Japan – have imposed more than 20,000 sanctions on Russia.

Many European nations have also signed agreements to support and provide aid to Ukraine.

In January, Sir Keir signed a “landmark” pact, telling Zelensky: “We are with you not just today, for this year or the next – but for 100 years – long after this terrible war is over and Ukraine is free and thriving once again.”

Keith Kellogg, Trump’s Ukraine envoy, said he had had “extensive and positive” discussions with Zelensky during their meeting in Kyiv on Thursday.

Kellogg praised Zelensky as a “courageous leader” – only days after Trump referred to him as a “dictator”.

In recent days, Zelensky has held phone calls with various global leaders, who have expressed their commitment to ensuring Ukraine is involved in peace talks.

Trump said on Friday that Russia and Ukraine would not want to begin peace talks without his own personal involvement.

He also continued to criticise Zelensky, saying: “I’ve been watching this man for years now as his cities get demolished, as his people get killed, as his soldiers get decimated.

“I’ve been watching him negotiate with no cards. He has no cards, and you get sick of it. You just get sick of it, and I’ve had it.”

After criticising Zelensky over the past week – using talking points that analysts say sound more like they originate in Moscow than Washington – Trump offered that “of course” he would take a phone call from Ukraine’s president.

He insisted several times that Zelensky was to blame for failing to prevent the war, saying that Russia could have been “talked out” of invading Ukraine.

• Can Europe and UK persuade Trump they’re relevant to Ukraine’s future?
• Fact-checking Trump claims about war in Ukraine
• Who was at the table at US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia?

Asked about Ukraine’s absence from peace talks in Saudi Arabia this week, Trump said that Russia “found it impossible to make a deal with Zelensky”.

He said he believed that Russia sincerely wanted a deal to end the war, but that President Vladimir Putin “doesn’t have to make a deal”.

US Vice-President JD Vance later hit back at critics who said that Trump’s stance on Russia amounted to “appeasement”.

“We are negotiating to end the conflict. It is ‘appeasement’ only if you think the Ukrainians have a credible pathway to victory. They don’t, so it’s not,” he said in a post on X.

Meanwhile, Kyiv and Washington appeared to be inching closer to signing a deal that would give the US rights to Ukraine’s deposits of rare earth minerals.

Trump has styled this as a way for Ukraine to repay the US for its past military support. He told reporters on Friday that the US and Ukraine were “pretty close” to signing the deal, adding that the US would “get our money back”.

In a video address late on Friday, Zelensky said Ukrainian and US teams were working on a draft agreement, which “can add value to our relations”. But he stressed that “what matters most is getting the details right”.

The Ukrainian president had rejected the initial US proposal made several days ago, saying he “cannot sell our state”.

White House Security Advisor Mike Waltz said on Friday that Zelensky was “going to sign that deal”.

A Frenchman has appealed to two thieves who used his stolen credit card to purchase a jackpot-winning scratch card to come forward, promising to split the €500,000 (£413,664) prize with them.

Introducing himself as Jean-David E, the man told RTL radio that since the money would otherwise be seized by the authorities, he is looking to strike a deal with them.

“Without me, they would not have won, but without them, I would not have bought this ticket. I want to offer them to share the winnings,” the Toulouse resident said.

No-one has so far come forward with the winning ticket, which has been blocked by France’s national lottery operator Française des Jeux (FDJ), according to Jean-David.

Jean-David discovered that his backpack containing his wallet had been stolen from his car parked in central Toulouse on the 3 February.

After calling his bank to block his credit card, he discovered that €52.50 (£43.47) had been spent via a contactless payment at Tabac des Thermes, a nearby corner shop. Jean-David went to the shop to see if the staff had seen anything suspicious or if any of his belongings had been abandoned at the shop.

“My client spoke to the cashier and discovered that two men who appeared to be homeless used his credit card to purchase cigarettes and several scratch cards”, Jean-David’s lawyer, Pierre Debuisson told the BBC.

The two men told the cashier that they had won the €500,000 jackpot on one of the cards and that they were planning on going to FDJ to claim their winnings.

The cashier found the two men’s behaviour suspicious as they were unable to enter the PIN number of one of the cards they attempted to make the purchase with, according to Jean-David.

After his conversation with the cashier, Jean-David contacted the local police who in turn reached out the FDJ to alert the games company.

The police are now likely to seize the winnings and should the thieves approach the FDJ themselves, they are likely to be arrested, according to Jean-Davide.

Scratch card winners have 30 days from the date of purchase to claim their winnings, and for Jean-Davide and his unlikely collaborators, the deadline is fast approaching.

His lawyer Mr Debuisson proposed an amnesty: “My client was very happy to have his credit card stolen in these circumstances and so is not looking to prosecute. This is also a miraculous opportunity for these two men to build a new life for themselves.”

“Unless they contact my lawyer, the ticket is unusable. So why not settle amicably and do fifty-fifty?,” 40-year-old Jean-David told RTL.

“For that amount of money, I’m ready to come to an agreement”, he added, explaining that he would use his share of the winnings – €250,000 (£206,988) – to help pay off his mortgage.

The FDJ and Toulouse police has been approached for comment.

The first-ever slap fighting competition to take place in Scotland has been cancelled following a health warning.

BritSlap/SlapFight UK was due to hold the event at Glasgow University Union (GUU) on Saturday evening as part of a wider weightlifting meet.

However, a leading expert on brain injury said it was “inconceivable” the bouts should go ahead due to the elevated risk of concussion.

A spokesperson for the student union said the event had been cancelled “in discussion with organisers”.

Slap fighting began in Russia and expanded into Eastern Europe and the United States after going viral on social media.

Unlike in boxing, MMA and Muay Thai where there is a defensive element, here competitors exchange forceful bare-handed blows to the side of the head without defending themselves.

The winner is decided either by knock out, a points win or a stoppage by a medic or referee.

SlapFight UK, which has no independent regulation or governance, is the first independent league to be set up in this country and was due to host its first Scottish meet after several events in England.

But Dr Willie Stewart, a leading researcher at the university’s school of neuroscience, urged competitors not to “risk their brain health in the name of sport”.

Dr Stewart said the university had led research into traumatic brain injuries for over 50 years, including the “catastrophic outcomes” to brain health suffered by former footballers and rugby players.

He told BBC Scotland News: “There is no question that the University of Glasgow’s research has provided the clearest evidence that brain injuries should never be considered trivial or encouraged as ‘sport’.

“In this context, it seems inconceivable, if not ill-considered, that a students’ union of this university would be hosting such an event.

“I’d suggest that rather than encouraging people to risk their brain health in the name of ‘sport’, the event organisers spend a few hours in my laboratory and educate themselves on the consequences of brain injuries.”

An American study on slap fighting last year warned of a high risk of concussion for participants.

The University of Pittsburgh research analysed footage of 78 fights and found more than half of participants displayed visual signs of concussion.

Its lead author, Dr Raj Swaroop Lavadi said the lack of defensive element meant each blow was “amplified”.

He also said promoters should be “more transparent about its risks”.

GUU previously said it was “satisfied” with safety measures in place.

A statement released late on Friday said: “In discussion with the event organisers, the slap fighting element of this weekend’s weightlifting competition is no longer going ahead.”

BBC Scotland has contacted the union for further comment.

A spokesman for the University of Glasgow said it did not “endorse or sanction” the event.

He added: “Given the strength of the evidence outlined by our own academic colleagues, and echoed by published peer-reviewed research, we regard this as a dangerous sport and do not believe that the GUU or the university should be associated with it.”

SlapFightUK have also been contacted for comment.

Wearing a black “Make America Great Again” hat and dark sunglasses, Elon Musk – the multi-billionaire tasked by Donald Trump with taking a metaphorical chainsaw to the federal government – received a rock-star welcome as he took the stage at a right-wing gathering on Thursday.

He even had a literal chainsaw.

As the crowd of several thousand cheered, Argentine President Javier Milei, also a favourite at the annual Cpac event, emerged from backstage. He handed Musk a shiny chainsaw with “viva la Libertad carajo! – Spanish for “Long live liberty, damn it!”- emblazoned on the blade.

Musk waved the power tool high, shouting: “This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy! Chainsaw!”

It was a remarkable moment on a day typified by less animated speeches about the dangers of big government and the accomplishments of Trump’s first month back in the White House. It demonstrated how Musk is the only conservative who approaches Trump’s ability to energise a crowd.

Outside of Washington, however, there are signs that Musk’s chainsaw approach to federal government – which includes shuttering agencies, defunding programmes and mass civil service layoffs – may be cutting too close to the bone.

At about the same time as Musk was celebrating the work of his so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” at the event near Washington DC, Republican congressman Rich McCormick was holding a town hall forum for his constituents.

Many in Roswell, Georgia, were angry about the impact of the Musk-inspired cuts and let the congressman know it.

“Congress controls the budget, not the president,” a woman said. “You are doing a disservice to set that down and not stand up for us.”

McCormick’s response was drowned out by jeers.

“I understand trying to do more with less – that’s reasonable,” another constituent said. “What’s not reasonable is taking this chainsaw approach.”

• What is Doge and why is Musk cutting so many jobs?
• Trump administration tries to rehire bird flu officials

Earlier this month, Pew Research found that 54% of Americans have an unfavourable view of Musk, including 37% that responded “very unfavourable”.

Only 23% of Americans told Reuters-Ipsos pollsters this week that the president has the right to fire “any federal employee who disagrees with the president”. Fifty-eight percent said they were concerned that popular government programmes, like Social Security retirement benefits for the elderly and subsidised student loans – could be affected.

Just over half of Americans in a CNN poll said Trump had gone “too far” in exercising his presidential power.

At an earlier event at Cpac on Thursday, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson praised Musk and his team.

“They are exposing this massive fraud, waste and abuse that we have not been able to uncover because the deep state has hidden it from us,” he said.

Many Republicans have agreed with this sentiment, even if it means ceding congressional power over government spending to the president. Congressional conservatives have been trying to downsize the federal government for decades with limited effectiveness – and now Musk and Trump are delivering, albeit through a sweeping expansion of executive power.

North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis told CBS News he believed Doge’s approach was necessary because Republicans had failed to get legitimate answers from bureaucrats about how to make government more efficient.

“And the way to force people to justify investments on exceptions is to shut everything down,” Tillis said. “I know it’s disruptive, but I think they need to have the capacity to bring things back online that make sense.”

That may change, however, if Trump’s poll numbers – which have dipped slightly recently – continue to decline and if Republican legislators are challenged by constituents at town hall meetings or have their offices flooded with angry calls.

Members of Congress across the US have begun stepping forward to defend federal programmes – including funding for academic research, agriculture, veterans services and national parks – that have been affected by Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” actions.

Senator Katie Britt of Alabama called for a “smart, targeted approach” to cuts that could target health research conducted in her home state. Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, a moderate Republican, complained on social media that many of the proposed layoffs “will do more harm than good”.

“I share the administration’s goal of reducing the size of the federal government,” she wrote on X, “but this approach is bringing confusion, anxiety and now trauma to our civil servants.”

The Trump administration has already walked back some of its announced layoffs in key sectors – including Department of Energy employees who handle nuclear weapons security, Department of Agriculture teams tasked with containing the recent outbreak of bird flu, and workers in a programme that monitors the health of first responders and survivors of the 11 September World Trade Center attack.

“I think many of these firings are indiscriminate,” said Susan Collins of Maine, another centrist Republican senator. “The fact that workers were let go who are working on avian flu, and the fact that workers have also been fired who are responsible for nuclear safety, shows that we need a far more careful approach.”

At his appearance last week at the White House, Musk acknowledged that his team might make mistakes in its eagerness to slash government spending – “but we will act quickly to correct any mistakes”, he promised.

That may be cold comfort for Americans adversely affected by the Doge chainsaw, however.

And it could come at a political price.

History has shown that even when mistakes are fixed, voters often remember these kind of missteps the next time they head to the polls.

A lawyer for Luigi Mangione, accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, has argued that the 26-year-old is not being granted the right to a fair trial.

The comments came during a brief procedural hearing on Friday, which drew hundreds of supporters – some from as far as Kansas – chanting the defendant’s name and wearing shirts adorned with his face.

Mr Mangione arrived in court with his hands and legs shackled, wearing a green sweater and a bulletproof vest. He has pleaded not guilty to the New York charges.

The killing of Mr Thompson, 50, a husband and father of two, sparked a nationwide conversation about the US healthcare system, unleashing pent-up anger at the industry and some ugly reaction.

Chants from Mr Mangione’s supporters could be heard from the court’s 15th floor on Friday.

His brief appearance drew more people than the number that attended the public gallery in the same courtroom last year for President Donald Trump’s hush money trial.

• Check out the BBC’s Mangione Trial podcast

Some of Mr Mangione’s supporters wore face masks and green Luigi hats, from the Super Mario video game franchise.

“What a joke,” muttered a court officer watching the spectacle.

Among members of the public in court was Chelsea Manning, who was convicted more than a decade ago of espionage for leaking secret military files to Wikileaks.

Investigators say Mr Mangione was motivated to kill Mr Thompson because of anger with US healthcare insurance companies.

In addition to the New York state-level charges, he is accused of federal stalking and murder offences that could potentially carry a death penalty.

The separate cases were a source of frustration for Mr Mangione’s lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, who argued before the packed court on Friday that her client was being treated differently to other defendants.

“His right to a fair trial is continuing to be impacted,” she said at the hearing, which lasted less than 30 minutes.

She cited her client’s detainment in federal custody and remarks made by city officials about the case as factors that could influence the proceedings.

At the beginning of the hearing to discuss a pre-trial schedule, Ms Agnifilo said her client should not have to be shackled while in court, arguing it denied him the presumption of innocence guaranteed to all defendants.

“He is a model prisoner” in federal custody, Ms Agnifilo said.

But Judge Gregory Carro said court security preferred for Mr Mangione to remain shackled.

Ms Agnifilo also took issue with Mr Mangione remaining in federal custody.

She said the federal jail made it harder for him to meet lawyers to prepare for his court appearances.

Mr Mangione’s lawyer also complained that the chief New York City detective on the case and Mayor Eric Adams had spoken to HBO, the US TV network, about evidence that the defendant’s legal team had not even seen yet.

During the proceedings, prosecutors went over the mountain of evidence they plan to present at trial, including DNA, police reports and photographs from the scenes of the crime, body camera footage, phone records and other materials.

The judge set a deadline of 9 April to submit pre-trial motions.

In addition to the New York cases, Mr Mangione also faces charges of forgery, carrying firearms without a licence, and other counts in Pennsylvania, where authorities arrested him at a McDonald’s.

A fundraiser for legal expenses for Mr Mangione – an Ivy League-educated member of a prominent Baltimore family – has raised over half a million dollars since his arrest.

He is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center Brooklyn, the same facility where Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.

French far-right leader Jordan Bardella has cancelled a planned speech in the US, after President Donald Trump’s former top adviser made a hand gesture that some likened to a Nazi salute.

Steve Bannon yelled “fight, fight, fight” before extending his right arm, fingers pointed and palm down, during his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (Cpac) near Washington DC on Thursday evening.

Bardella, who leads France’s National Rally party, was scheduled to speak at the event on Friday. He said in a statement that he was cancelling his appearance over what he called a “gesture referring to Nazi ideology”.

Bannon denied the Nazi comparison and called the gesture a “wave”, saying it was the “exact same wave” he did on stage at a speech seven years ago in France to Bardella’s party.

“If he cancelled [the speech] over what the mainstream media said about the speech, he didn’t listen to the speech. If that’s true, he’s unworthy to lead France. He’s a boy, not a man,” Bannon told the French news magazine Le Point.

Inside the halls of the suburban convention centre hosting Cpac, Romanian far-right leader George Simion also disagreed with Bardella’s interpretation of Bannon’s hand gesture.

“Any historian knows that wasn’t a Nazi salute,” he told the BBC.

Bannon’s on-stage gesture appeared to mirror one from tech billionaire-turned-presidential adviser Elon Musk during Donald Trump’s inauguration in January. Musk also denied he had performed a Nazi salute after an uproar.

Bardella, seen as a future French presidential hopeful, was one of several high-profile international politicians scheduled to speak at Cpac during the four-day conference, which began on Wednesday.

Former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss addressed the conservative bash on its first day, telling attendees that the British state was “failing”. On Thursday, Argentine President Javier Milei handed Elon Musk a shiny chainsaw that he wielded on stage, celebrating sweeping cuts to the federal government by his Doge initiative.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is due to speak on Saturday, ahead of President Trump’s address.

The annual Cpac conference has become increasingly dominated by Trump’s Make America Great Again movement, and this year, it has taken on a celebratory tone in the wake of his election victory in November.

Speaker after speaker have lauded the blizzard of action launched by the White House in the month since the Republican returned to the Oval Office.

Bannon was met with a standing ovation after his speech on Thursday, which ended with the controversial gesture.

“The only way that they win is if we retreat, and we are not going to retreat,” he told the crowd.

“We’re not going to surrender, we are not going to quit, we’re going to fight, fight, fight.”

Bannon was Trump’s top adviser at the start of his first term in office before the president fired him. The firebrand conservative hosts the influential War Room podcast, listened to by legions of Trump supporters.

He was released from prison in October, after serving four months for defying a congressional subpoena over the attack on the US Capitol on 6 January 2021.

In another case, Bannon was spared prison time after pleading guilty earlier this month to defrauding donors over a fundraiser to build a US-Mexico border wall.