US government workers received an email on Saturday afternoon asking them to list their accomplishments from the past week or resign – the latest development in the Trump administration’s efforts to scale back the federal workforce.

The email came after Trump’s billionaire confidante Elon Musk posted on X that employees would “shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week”.

“Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation,” he wrote.

Musk, as the head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), has been leading an outside effort to aggressively curtail government spending through funding cuts and firings.

The email arrived in inboxes shortly after Trump spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference (Cpac). The messages came with the subject line “What did you do last week?” from a sender listed as HR.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the federal government’s human resources agency, confirmed the email was authentic in a statement to CBS, the BBC’s US news partner.

“As part of the Trump administration’s commitment to an efficient and accountable federal workforce, OPM is asking employees to provide a brief summary of what they did last week by the end of Monday, CC’ing their manager,” it said. “Agencies will determine any next steps.”

In a copy of the email obtained by the BBC, employees were asked to explain their accomplishments from the past week in five bullet points – without disclosing classified information – before midnight on Monday.

The message did not mention whether a failure to respond would be considered a resignation.

The American Federation of Government Employees, the largest union representing federal employees, criticised the message as “cruel and disrespectful” and vowed to challenge any “unlawful terminations” of federal employees.

“Once again, Elon Musk and the Trump Administration have shown their utter disdain for federal employees and the critical services they provide to the American people,” Everett Kelley, union president, said in a statement.

On Sunday morning, Musk wrote on his social media platform X that “a large number of responses have been received already”, adding: “These are the people who should be considered for promotion.”

A few hours later, Musk said on X that the move was important because “a significant number of people who are supposed to be working for the government are doing so little work that they are not checking their email at all”.

Musk went on to say that Doge believes “non-existent people or the identities of dead people are being used to collect paychecks”, claiming “outright fraud” without evidence.

Musk has repeatedly made claims of fraud in defending his team’s work across a range of government departments and functions.

But on Saturday, there appeared to be some disagreement about the latest email among government department heads.

Newly-confirmed FBI director Kash Patel told his employees in an email that they should “pause any responses” to the OPM memo.

“FBI personnel may have received an email from OPM requesting information,” Patel wrote in a message obtained by CBS News. “The FBI, through the Office of the Director, is in charge of all of our review processes, and will conduct reviews in accordance with the FBI procedures.”

The State Department sent a similar message to its employees and said it will respond on behalf of the department.

“No employee is obligated to report their activities outside of their Department chain of command,” an email from Tibor Nagy, acting undersecretary for management, that was obtained by US media said.

The union that represents many government employees, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), was critical of the email and threatened legal action if employees were unlawfully terminated.

“It is cruel and disrespectful to hundreds of thousands of veterans who are wearing their second uniform in the civil service to be forced to justify their job duties to this out-of-touch, privileged, unelected billionaire who has never performed one single hour of honest public service in his life,” AFGE President Everett Kelley said.

Earlier in the day, Trump touted cuts and told a crowd of supporters at Cpac that the work of federal employees had been inadequate because some of them work remotely at least some of the time.

“We’re removing all of the unnecessary, incompetent and corrupt bureaucrats from the federal workforce,” the president told the crowd at the annual conference in suburban Washington on Saturday afternoon.

“We want to make government smaller, more efficient,” he added. “We want to keep the best people, and we’re not going to keep the worst people.”

Elon Musk’s team has exacted wide-ranging changes to the US federal infrastructure through Doge and with approval from the White House.

Thousands of government employees at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Pentagon and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), as well as other agencies, have been fired in recent weeks.

The email mirrors Musk’s handling of employees after he acquired social media platform Twitter, now called X, in 2022. As the staff there shrunk under his ownership, he issued ultimatums that included a now-infamous request to commit to being “extremely hardcore” at work or resign.

Trump has repeatedly applauded Musk’s government-cutting measures.

In a Truth Social post, Trump said that Musk is doing a “great job” in reducing the size of the federal government and that he would like to see him “get more aggressive” in the pursuit.

US President Donald Trump was right to re-establish links with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to set up peace talks to end the war in Ukraine, a senior Labour minister has said.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said there could be “no negotiated peace without Russia” and that Trump’s approach had brought “Russians to the table”.

The US president has faced a backlash for excluding Ukraine from talks after his aides met Russian officials in Saudi Arabia. Trump has also suggested Ukraine may be a bystander, saying it has “no cards” in the deal.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will meet Trump in Washington this week and press for Ukraine to be “at the heart” of any peace talks.

Speaking on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Phillipson said that Trump thawing diplomatic ties with Russia and Putin was “the right approach”.

“President Trump has brought the Russians to the table,” she added.

When asked by Kuenssberg if welcoming Putin back was the right move, Phillipson said, “absolutely”.

“There can be no settlement, no negotiated peace, without Russia,” she said.

She added “any lasting settlement where it comes to peace does require Ukrainian voices, President Zelensky’s voice to be a central part of that.

“There can be no settlement unless we have a negotiation involving both Russia and Ukraine.

“We are however, also clear of the risk that Russian President Putin poses to our interest.”

Shortly after coming to office, Trump held a phone call with Putin in which the leaders agreed to begin negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. It was the first phone-call to Putin by a US president since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

It was a significant thawing of the US relationship with Russia. Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden previously called Putin a “murderous dictator” and a “pure thug”.

Since the call Trump has claimed Putin wants to reach a deal to end the war in Ukraine – arguing Russia did not necessarily have to negotiate a ceasefire, because it could take “the whole country” by force.

Trump has instead turned on Zelensky in recent days, calling him a “dictator without elections,” claiming he was doing a “terrible job” and falsely suggesting he was the one who started the war with Russia.

Trump’s short-term goal is to stop the fighting in Ukraine. Longer term, he appears to want less US involvement, given that the country has sent tens of billions of dollars’ worth of weapons to Kyiv.

The White House is pushing Ukraine to sign a $500bn (£395bn) minerals deal, which would give the US control over half of Ukraine’s mineral resources – which the Trump administration describes this as “payback” for earlier US military assistance.

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

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”.

Sir Keir is seeking to balance support for Ukraine with keeping his working relationship with Trump.

This weekend, Sir Keir assured Zelensky of the UK’s “ironclad support” for Kyiv. The comments came in the second telephone conversation in four days between the two leaders.

It comes ahead of a big week of diplomacy, as Sir Keir heads to the White House on Thursday shortly after French President Emmanuel Macron visits Washington on Monday.

While making his pitch to Trump this week, Sir Keir is expected to set out a path for the UK to increase spending from 2.3% of GDP to 2.5% by 2030 – in line with Labour’s election manifesto commitment.

European countries raising defence spending and becoming less reliant on the US for has been a key demand from Trump.

In his push for Nato allies to shoulder more of the security burden, Trump has suggested European nations to commit at least 5% of GDP to defence.

In a speech to the Scottish Labour Conference in Glasgow on Sunday, Sir Keir said “the US is right” that “we Europeans – including the United Kingdom – have to do more for our defence and security”.

The UK also must stand “ready to play our role if a force is required in Ukraine once a peace agreement is reached”, he said.

Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge has called on the government to “go further and faster” on increasing defence spending.

Earlier this week, the Liberal Democrats said there should be a national conversation on how to get to a target of 3% of GDP spent on defence.

But Cartlidge refused to say how much the Tories would invest until they see the details of this year’s strategic defence review.

Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Cartlidge said the UK was going to have to “invest much more in hard power” and boost spending on “the military”.

The Conservatives have argued welfare budgets and foreign aid could be cut to pay for increases in defence.

Cartlidge said his party backed Labour’s efforts to ensure Ukraine is involved in any peace talks to ensure lasting peace.

“Because if Russia is seen to in any way ‘win’ from any settlement, should there be one, I think that would send a terrible signal to other adversaries like China,” he said.

His comments were echoed by former Conservative leader and foreign secretary Lord William Hague said he was “very worried” about Trump’s approach.

Lord Hague, who is now Chancellor of Oxford University, said: “The only way to end this war in a way that does not encourage future wars is to give as much support as we possibly can to Ukraine – to show Putin that a war of aggression will never succeed.

“Then there is the great danger that in ending this war they would be creating the scene for a wider war in the future, so I think there could be a historic mistake being made here from Washington.”

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Just occasionally, there are years when the world goes through some fundamental, convulsive change. 1968, with the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, the Paris riots and the anti-Vietnam War protests in America, was one of them. 1989, the year of the Tiananmen massacre, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the implosion of the Soviet empire, was another.

I was on hand to see each of these things happen, and from that perspective it seems to me that, only seven weeks in, 2025 could be a year like that: a time when the basic assumptions about the way our world works are fed into the shredder.

The basic reason, of course, is Donald Trump.

Since the end of the World War Two, each one of the 13 US presidents before Trump’s current term in office has at least paid lip service to a set of key geopolitical principles: that America’s own security depended on protecting Europe from Russia, and the non-Communist countries of Asia against China.

Trump has up-ended this approach. He says he’s putting American interests first, way before everything else. Mostly that comes down to the single question of how much it costs the US.

In itself, this is pretty hard for his friends and allies abroad, especially in Europe. But it’s made far more difficult by Trump’s own personality. No US president in modern times, not even Richard Nixon, let his personal characteristics shape his policies like Trump does.

“He’s just like Louis XIV,” one retired American diplomat said to me, referring to France’s self-aggrandising Sun King.

Critics like this believe Trump is both breathtakingly vain, and amazingly thin-skinned at the same time. As a result, the appointees who surround him, people like Elon Musk and JD Vance, perhaps think that their position depends entirely on how much they praise him and back his views.

When President Trump claims, with no evidence, that President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine is corrupt and has a low approval rating, Musk then takes it further: he piles in to say that Zelensky is despised by the Ukrainian people and is feeding off the dead bodies of Ukrainian soldiers.

No one in the Trump circle today, it seems, will cough discreetly and say, “Mr President, maybe you should consider rowing back on that statement.”

Judging from his previous term in office, we can be sure that every one of the people around him knows how he detests being disagreed with. And they will also know that many voters wholeheartedly back Trump’s approach, and feel they have been bankrolling security in a far-off continent.

He has committed himself to stopping the Ukraine war by Easter. He is absolutely correct when he says that President Vladimir Putin is keen on this. Russian troops are, through sheer force of numbers, making slow advances in the eastern part of Ukraine.

But the cost in Russian lives is immense. If the process continues, Russia may have to turn to conscription, which would be dangerously unpopular and might even destabilise Putin’s regime. Everything Trump says about getting peace is music to his ears.

John Bolton, Trump’s far-from-subservient national security adviser during his first administration, said the other day that they’d be breaking out the champagne in the Kremlin when they heard the Trump administration’s peace plan. It certainly felt like a historic moment – not just in Moscow but around the world.

Putin has pointedly backed the idea that Trump really won the 2020 election. It may not be true, but President Putin knows that Trump favours anyone who backs his view of things.

Why, by contrast, have Trump and the people round him come down so hard on President Zelensky? It must partly be because he’s not obediently doing what he’s told, such as returning to the negotiating table and strike a deal on US access to Ukraine’s critical minerals.

At the same time, President Trump understands that Zelensky is the weakest link in the US-Russia-Ukraine trio, and can be squeezed in a way that Putin can’t be. The more pressure that is piled on Zelensky, the quicker a peace deal will come.

President Trump never seems, at least in public, to show much interest in the fine detail of any agreement. It’s the agreement itself that matters to him, even if Ukraine and its allies believe it’s manifestly unfair and allows Russia to come back at some future date and start the war all over again.

British and German diplomats whom I know have been enraged by the way Trump went about getting Russia to the negotiating table. “He had two major cards in his hand,” said one. “The first was Russia’s isolation. Putin would have made plenty of concessions to get himself to the talks with America – only Trump didn’t insist on any concessions at all. He just let him sit down and start talking.”

The other card, the diplomat said, was to insist that Ukraine should be allowed to join Nato. “Trump could have banged away about this and extorted all sorts of agreements from Putin, before finally saying OK, well, Ukraine won’t join Nato in that case.” In European capitals it’s felt that he threw away both of his essential cards before the talks even started, without any preconditions.

Already, though, some European diplomats with experience of US politics are advising their governments that this grand monarchical period in Donald Trump’s presidency, where his advisers defer to him (he literally referred to himself as a “king” this week), won’t last.

Trump currently has control of a pliant Congress and a conservative Supreme Court – but in only 20 months’ time, in November 2026, there will be mid-term elections in the US.

There are signs that inflation is starting to rise in America, and enough people may well be affected badly by the upheavals to want to punish Trump’s Republicans.

If he loses control of one or both Houses, the power he has at present of pushing through every plan and policy, no matter how controversial, will diminish.

But an awful lot can happen in the next year and eight months. Trump’s expansionism might embolden China. A major international trade war, sparked off by Trump’s tariffs, could open up. The European Union seems likely to become politically and economically weaker than ever.

Agreeing peace in Ukraine on Russia’s terms will be something entirely new for the United States. In the great majority of negotiations since 1945, Russia has struggled to get its way because of America’s economic and military strength.

Now President Putin, having made the costly decision to invade Ukraine three years ago, looks likely to get away with it, and prosper.

If that happens, then 2025 will indeed be remembered as a key year: a moment when the history of the world changed, and nothing was ever quite the same again.

Pope Francis has asked Catholics to pray for him, as he continues to receive treatment in hospital for double pneumonia.

The pontiff was unable to deliver the traditional Angelus prayer in person for the second Sunday running.

But in a message written over the last few days, he said he was “confidently continuing” his hospitalisation at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital and “carrying on with the necessary treatment”.

The message comes after the Vatican revealed on Saturday that the 88-year-old’s condition continues to be “critical”.

In his message, released on Sunday, the Pope thanked the doctors and health workers at the hospital, and well-wishers who sent in messages.

“In recent days I have received many messages of affection, and I have been particularly struck by the letters and drawings from children,” he wrote.

“Thank you for this closeness, and for the prayers of comfort I have received from all over the world! I entrust you all to the intercession of Mary, and I ask you to pray for me.”

Well-wishers have continued to pray outside the hospital.

Dozens of people have been seen lighting candles and leaving them at the foot of a nearby statue of the late Pope John Paul II.

The 88-year-old was first admitted to hospital on 14 February after experiencing difficulties breathing for several days.

He is especially prone to lung infections due to developing pleurisy – an inflammation around the lungs – as an adult and having part of one of his lungs removed at age 21.

During his 12 years as leader of the Roman Catholic church, the Argentine has been admitted to hospital several times, including in March 2023 when he spent three nights in hospital with bronchitis.

The Pope has asked for openness about his health, so the Vatican has started to release daily statements. The tone and length of the announcements has varied, sometimes leaving Pope-watchers to attempt to read between the lines.

On Saturday, the Vatican said the Roman Catholic leader was alert and spent the day in an armchair, but that he was “not out of danger” and that he was “more unwell” than he was on Friday.

They added the pontiff needed blood transfusions due to a low platelet count – associated with anaemia – and he required a “high flow” of oxygen.

Doctors treating the Pope confirmed this week that he was responding to medication but his condition was complex and the slightest change of circumstance would upset what was called a “delicate balance”.

“He is the Pope,” as one of them put it. “But he is also a man.”

The Pope also used his message on Sunday to highlight the third anniversary of the war in Ukraine on Monday, and called on people to remember all victims of armed conflict and to “pray for the gift of peace in Palestine, Israel and throughout the Middle East, Myanmar, Kivu and Sudan”.

The Angelus prayer is usually delivered by the Pope from a window of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican and is accompanied by a short message.

A British couple in their seventies have been arrested by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Peter Reynolds, 79, and his wife Barbie, 75, were returning to their home in Bamiyan on 1 February when they were detained.

The couple have been running training projects in Afghanistan for 18 years and their daughter, Sarah Entwistle, told the BBC she had not heard from her parents in more than two weeks.

It is not known exactly what the couple were arrested for but projects run by them include one training mothers and children, which had apparently been approved by the local authorities despite a ban by the Taliban on women working and on education for girls older than the age of 12.

The couple, who originally met at the University of Bath, married in Kabul in 1970. Since 2009 they have been running training projects in five schools in Kabul and one project in Bamiyan training mothers and children.

While the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021 saw most of their staff leave – along with most westerners – Mr and Mrs Reynolds insisted on staying put.

After their arrest, the couple were initially able to keep in touch with their four children by text message. The family knew that their parents were being held by the interior ministry and were assured by them that they were “fine”.

Three days later, however, the texts stopped. The children have heard nothing since.

Ms Entwistle, who lives in Daventry, Northamptonshire, told the BBC: “It’s been over two weeks since the messages stopped, and they were taken into custody.

“We would like the Taliban to release them to go back to their home and continue their work.”

She told the Sunday Times: “They said they could not leave when Afghans were in their hour of need.

“They were meticulous about keeping by the rules even as they kept changing.”

Their daughter told the Times: “My mother is 75 and my father almost 80 and [he] needs his heart medication after a mini-stroke. They were just trying to help the country they loved. The idea they are being held because they were teaching mothers with children is outrageous.”

According to the paper, their daughter and her three brothers have also written a letter to the Taliban, pleading with them to release their parents.

“We do not understand the reasons behind their arrest,” they wrote. “They have communicated their trust in you, and that as Afghan citizens they will be treated well.”

“We recognise that there have been instances where exchanges have been beneficial for your government and western nations. However, our parents have consistently expressed their commitment to Afghanistan, stating that they would rather sacrifice their lives than become part of ransom negotiations or be traded.”

The Foreign Office is aware two British nationals have been detained in Afghanistan. But assistance is limited by the fact that the UK does not recognise the Taliban and has no embassy in Kabul.

Taliban official sources have told the BBC they arrested British nationals, who they believe were working for an non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Bamiyan province.

An official claimed they had been arrested, about 20 days ago, after using a plane without informing Bamiyan police headquarters or the border security forces.

The Taliban announced women would be banned from working for NGOs in 2022 and in December last year Al Jazeera reported the government had said it would close any NGOs employing women.

Large crowds have gathered for the funeral of Hezbollah’s former leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli air strike in Beirut in September.

Mourners dressed in black flocked to a stadium on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital on Sunday. They also paid their respects to Hashem Safieddine, Nasrallah’s successor, who was killed in a separate Israeli strike before he could assume his post.

Nasrallah, the former leader of the Lebanese militant Shia Islamist group, was one of the most influential figures in the Middle East.

Hours before the funeral began at 13:00 local time (11:00 GMT), Israel launched air strikes in southern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah rocket launchers.

People braved the cold to attend the funeral, which was held at the 50,000-capacity Camille Chamoun Sports City stadium.

Nasrallah’s coffin was draped in Hezbollah’s flag and paraded along with Safieddine’s casket through huge crowds of black-clad mourners.

Excerpts of Nasrallah’s speeches were played to the gathered supporters, who chanted, waved flags and held portraits of the leaders.

One mourner, 55-year-old Umm Mahdi, told the AFP news agency that the funeral was the “least we can do” for the late Hezbollah leader “who gave up everything” for his cause.

Prior to his death, Nasrallah had not been seen in public for years because of fears of being assassinated by Israel.

The late leader had close personal links to Iran and played a key role in turning Hezbollah into the political and military force it is today. He was revered by the group’s supporters.

Under Nasrallah’s 30-year leadership, Hezbollah – which is banned as a terrorist organisation in the UK, US and other countries – helped train fighters from the Palestinian armed group Hamas, as well as militias in Iraq and Yemen, and obtained missiles and rockets from Iran for use against Israel.

He died aged 64 in Dahieh, a closely-guarded suburb of Beirut. After Nasrallah’s death, Hezbollah allowed open access to the area for the first time for a public memorial.

The mass funeral is an apparent show of strength for Hezbollah, which suffered a series of major setbacks during Israel’s campaign in Lebanon last year.

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz wrote on X that Israeli planes were flying over the stadium while the funeral took place to “convey a clear message: whoever threatens to destroy Israel – that will be the end of them”.

Israel’s incursion into Lebanon came after almost a year of cross-border hostilities sparked by the war in Gaza.

Lebanon was subject to an intense Israeli air campaign and a ground invasion of the country’s south.

Dozens of senior figures were killed when Israeli-made walkie-talkies were detonated in a surprise attack in September 2024.

Many of Hezbollah’s most senior military and political leaders were also killed during the latest conflict with Israel.

The offensive killed around 4,000 people in Lebanon – including many civilians – and led to more than 1.2 million residents being displaced before a ceasefire deal was struck in November.

Representatives from Iran, Iraq and Yemen attended the funeral, which was delayed to allow time for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon – though some troops still remain.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the slain leaders as “two heroes of the resistance” in a speech.

Israel has expelled the residents of three refugee camps in the occupied West Bank as it steps up a major month-long operation in the Palestinian territory.

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said the camps in Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams were now “empty” and would be occupied by the Israeli military for the coming year.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it has deployed a tank division around the city of Jenin – the first time it has done so since 2002. The Palestinian Authority condemned the move.

The UN said earlier this month that Israel’s operation, which began on 21 January and was intensified in recent days, had led to the “forced displacement” of 40,000 people.

“So far, 40,000 Palestinians have evacuated from the refugee camps of Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams, which are now empty of residents,” Israel Katz said in a statement.

“I have instructed [troops] to prepare for a prolonged presence in the cleared camps for the coming year and to prevent the return of residents and the resurgence of terrorism.”

He also said that Israel had instructed the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency (Unrwa) to stop operating in the area.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, described the decision to deploy tanks as a “dangerous Israeli escalation that will not lead to stability or calm”.

The IDF said in a statement that its forces are “continuing the operation to thwart terrorism” and are expanding their “offensive activity” – which so far has involved drones, tanks, special forces, border police, and operatives from the intelligence agency Shin Bet.

The UN said on Thursday that since Israeli operations began on 21 January, 51 Palestinians, including seven children, have been killed in Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas governorates, as well as three Israeli soldiers.

The offensive has caused severe damage to water and sanitation infrastructure, disrupting access to water to “tens of thousands of people”, it said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Tulkarm refugee camp on Friday and ordered the army to intensify “operational activity”, his office said.

“We are entering terrorist strongholds, flattening entire streets that terrorists use, and their homes. We are eliminating terrorists, commanders,” Netanyahu said.

His visit followed the explosion of three buses in Tel Aviv, which Israeli officials described as a “suspected terror attack” that was caused by bombs of the kind previously found in the West Bank.

Israel occupied the West Bank in the 1967 Six Day War and has since built about 160 settlements housing some 700,000 Jews. The settlements are considered illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.

Indian authorities have banned two highly-addictive opioids in response to a BBC investigation which found they were fuelling a public health crisis in parts of West Africa.

In a letter seen by the BBC from India’s Drugs Controller General, Dr Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi said permission to manufacture and export the drugs had been withdrawn

BBC Eye found one pharmaceutical company, Aveo, had been illegally exporting a harmful mix of tapentadol and carisoprodol in countries like Ghana, Nigeria, and Cote D’Ivoire.

India’s Food and Drug Administration said the company’s factory in Mumbai had since been raided and its entire stock seized.

The circular from Dr Raghuvanshi, dated to Friday, cited the BBC investigation in his decision to ban all combinations of tapentadol and carisoprodol, which was to be implemented with immediate effect.

He said this also came after officials had looked into “the potential of drug abuse and its harmful impact on population”.

Tapentadol is a powerful opioid, and carisoprodol is a muscle relaxant so addictive it is banned in Europe.

Carisoprodol is approved for use in the US, but only for short periods of up to three weeks. Withdrawal symptoms include anxiety, insomnia and hallucinations.

The combination of the two drugs is not licensed for use anywhere in the world as they can cause breathing difficulties and seizures and an overdose can kill.

Despite the risks, these opioids are popular street drugs in many West African countries, because they are so cheap and widely available.

Publicly-available export data show that Aveo Pharmaceuticals, along with a sister company called Westfin International, has shipped millions of these tablets to Ghana and other West African countries.

The BBC World Service also found packets of these pills with the Aveo logo for sale on the streets of Nigeria, and in Ivoirian towns and cities.

Nigeria, with a population of 225 million people, provides the biggest market for these pills. It has been estimated that about four million Nigerians abuse some form of opioid, according to the nation’s National Bureau of Statistics.

As part of the investigation, the BBC also sent an undercover operative – posing as an African businessman looking to supply opioids to Nigeria – inside one of Aveo’s factories in India, where they filmed one of Aveo’s directors, Vinod Sharma, showing off the same dangerous products the BBC found for sale across West Africa.

In the secretly recorded footage, the operative tells Sharma that his plan is to sell the pills to teenagers in Nigeria “who all love this product”.

Sharma in response replies “OK,” before explaining that if users take two or three pills at once, they can “relax” and agrees they can get “high”.

Towards the end of the meeting, Sharma says: “This is very harmful for the health,” adding that “nowadays, this is business”.

Sharma and Aveo Pharmaceuticals did not respond to a request for comment when the BBC’s initial investigation was published.

India’s Food and Drug Administration said a sting operation saw Aveo’s entire stock seized and further production halted in a statement on Friday. Further legal action will be taken against the company, it added.

The agency said it was “fully prepared” to take action against anyone involved in “illegal activities that tarnish the reputation of the country”.

The FDA has been instructed to carry out further inspections to prevent the supply of the drugs, it said.

When a walker called 999 to say he had seen a body in a wetsuit floating in a remote reservoir, detectives got to work.

Search teams combed the barren marshland on foot near to where he was found while a helicopter and drones searched for any clues on how and why he got there.

Investigators have asked UK police forces to check their missing people registers and have spoken to Interpol because the area can be popular with tourists.

Despite forensic tests, extensive inquiries and searches and appeals for information, detectives still have not solved the mystery of the man in the wetsuit.

He was found just before 08:30 on a Friday morning last October in the eerily still rolling mid-Wales countryside.

Investigators suspect he might have been in the vast Claerwen Reservoir for up to 12 weeks – so could have been in the water since as far back as July and in the height of summer.

What police say is “highly unusual” about the man in the wetsuit is that no evidence of his personal belongings or an abandoned car or bike were ever discovered.

But with no clothes or vehicle found and the nearest bus stop about four hours’ walk away, police do think it is unlikely he walked there in his wetsuit.

When emergency crews recovered the body, it was highly decomposed and taken to a nearby morgue for examination. Fingerprint and DNA tests failed to find any matches.

All police know is he is a white man, aged between 30 and 60, and was wearing a Zone 3 Agile wetsuit.

As the £200 wetsuit was extra large in size, officers expect the man was between 6ft and 6ft 5ins (1.83 to 1.96m) tall, weighed between 14 and 15 stone (89-95kg) with a 44–48in chest.

It was a blustery February day when we travelled along the single track lane to the top of the reservoir’s imposing 183ft (56m) dam.

Mist covered the surrounding Powys landscape and there were no birds or other signs of life, beyond a few sheep dotted across the bare hills that belong to a remote farm above.

While we visited, a handful of visitors arrived in their cars to walk along the dam and back. We did not see a single walker or cyclist.

Even in the height of summer, when police think the man in the wetsuit might have died, locals say visitors to this particular reservoir are few and far between.

The nearby town of Rhayader is a cycling and walking hub and a popular stop-off for people driving between north and south Wales.

Alan Austin, who chairs a local rambling group and regularly walks in the area, said he has “never” seen anyone swimming in the water of Claerwen Reservoir.

“It can be extremely dangerous,” he said.

“The water can get very cold, water from the reservoir pours over the dams when it’s been raining.”

Other residents asked how someone could get there with no obvious means of transport, and why his belongings would not be found on the shore.

Rosemary Stow, who runs craft gallery Quillies, said most tourists do not make it past the visitor centre in the nearby Elan Valley.

“You don’t see a lot of cars up at Claerwen dam or in the car park below, it is such a lonely place,” she said.

“People here are asking, has he been dumped there? But if he was dumped why put him in a wetsuit?”

The police’s working hypothesis is the man “entered the water voluntarily” sometime during the summer.

“It is not a known swimming area but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen,” Det Insp Anthea Ponting of Dyfed-Powys Police told BBC News.

She said her team were keeping an “open mind” on what might have happened, but said police can only base their theories on “known information”.

In July and August, the water temperature could have been 10C (50F) at the surface, but because of the reservoir’s depth it can become far colder.

Water under 16C (61F) is considered hazardous for cold water shock and signs along the shore warn against swimming or other water-based activities.

Claerwen Reservoir is the largest and most remote of the Elan Valley dams in Powys – and all five help provide Birmingham with its drinking water.

These dams are no stranger to deaths – 55 people die in inland waters across Wales every year and the local fire station has a boat for this reason.

Police have appealed to the public for help, but the tip offs they had have not given any new leads.

“It is an unusual situation to be three or four months down the line,” added Det Insp Ponting.

“In my experience there are not many missing people cases where we haven’t identified the person or identified loved ones after this period of time.

“At this time it is not believed to be any criminal activity. We always keep an open mind.

“The most important thing for this person is to know who they are and to ascertain how they died, and have that information for their loved ones.

“If anyone who hasn’t contacted us previously thinks they may know who this male is or have a concern for somebody and they feel they could be this person, please get in touch with us.”

As the first phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is meant to be drawing to an end, it has once again been put in doubt.

After the last six living Israel hostages due to be released in this phase were freed, more than 600 Palestinian prisoners were due to be released by Israel in exchange – the biggest number so far to be freed in one go.

But that has now been delayed indefinitely by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with his demand that Hamas must stop what he called its “cynical use of hostages for propaganda purposes”. Hamas has in turn accused Israel of deliberately trying to disrupt the ceasefire agreement.

It’s the latest big bump in the road that’s intended ultimately to lead to a permanent end to hostilities and the start of rebuilding Gaza.

Israel complained about the chaotic scenes in one of the first handovers, saying the physical safety of the hostages had been put in jeopardy. Then, Israel said Hamas had broken the terms of the agreement by not releasing a female civilian hostage, Arbel Yehud.

In response, it delayed opening access for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to the north of Gaza for 48 hours. That was resolved when Arbel Yehud was freed in an extra handover before the next scheduled for the following Saturday.

Hamas later accused Israel of not living up to its commitments to permit heavy machinery, tents and caravans into Gaza. It then said it would not carry out the next hostage handover as scheduled.

That prompted threats from both Netanyahu and the US President Donald Trump that all out war would resume in Gaza if the hostages weren’t freed as agreed. With the clock ticking down, Hamas agreed to release them.

And just in the past few days, the discovery that the body Hamas handed over on Thursday as that of Shiri Bibas turned out not to be her. That set off new anger and shock in Israel, where the images of Shiri trying to shield her two young children as they were abducted on 7 October, 2023, is seen as the most potent symbol of the horror of that day.

Netanyahu denounced Hamas for what he called a “cruel and evil violation” of the agreement. Once again, the ceasefire was kept on track only at the last moment by Hamas providing another body within a day that this time did indeed prove to be hers.

All these incidents have shown how fragile the ceasefire process remains. They may also have contributed to the fact talks on the second phase – due to start earlier this month – have not yet got under way. Time is running out, with the first phase due to end in a week’s time.

Hamas has offered to release the remaining hostages due to be freed in the second phase in one go, but only if Israel pulls all its forces out of Gaza and there is a permanent end to the war.

Israel has demanded the complete disarmament of Hamas, which it has so far rejected. The stage-managed ceremonies at each hostage handover, which Netanyahu has so strongly condemned, are intended to show it is still a force to be reckoned with in Gaza.

In Israel, voices on the right demand the government resumes its war against Hamas, while the families of the hostages – backed by much of Israel – say securing the release of the remaining hostages is what matters above and beyond all else.

Trump’s plan for Gaza has brought new uncertainty into the equation. The third phase of the ceasefire is meant to set Gaza on the path towards reconstruction and renewal.

Arab states are hurriedly trying to come up with a concrete alternative proposal in which Palestinians would continue to live in Gaza while it is rebuilt, rather than being removed from the enclave as envisaged in Trump’s plan.

The future governance of Gaza also remains a key sticking point, with Israel, Hamas, the Palestinian Authority and Arab countries all so far appearing to have contradictory proposals.

These issues will require difficult negotiations, which will be conducted amid the constant risk of a return to war, for which some on both sides continue to advocate.

But for now, the mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the US may have their work cut out just getting the first phase of the ceasefire over the line.

Cycling rates in Paris have soared in recent years. But the death of 27-year-old Paul Varry – who was allegedly run over by a driver – has exposed a darker side to Paris’s cycling revolution.

“This was not an accident,” Paul’s colleague Corentin believes.

We’re standing on the edge of a bike lane on Boulevard Malesherbes, steps away from the place where Paul was crushed by an SUV on 15 October 2024.

The moments preceding his death are subject to a criminal investigation.

Paul was cycling home from work. The cycle path is separated from the road by a slightly raised kerb.

According to witnesses and CCTV, the driver of the SUV began driving in the bike lane. Prosecutors say the driver ran over Paul’s foot. Paul banged his fist on the bonnet.

The motorist reversed at first, but then allegedly drove towards the 27-year-old. An autopsy confirmed “the marks of the vehicle crossing his body”.

The 52-year-old driver has been charged with murder. His lawyer says he may have lost control of the vehicle in a stressful situation that he was trying to get out of.

At a hearing attended by news agency AFP, he broke into tears and said “I’m sorry for what happened. I never meant to run him over.”

Paris has seen a surge in cycling as part of a broader transformation spearheaded by Mayor Anne Hidalgo. Over the last decade, the city has invested €400m (£331m) in cycling infrastructure, creating more than 1,000 kilometres of bike lanes.

According to a recent study, cycling now makes up more than 11% of trips within Paris, compared to just 4% by car. Walking is still the most popular way of getting around – accounting for 53% of journeys, followed by public transport (30%).

But despite the investment, cycling in Paris still feels precarious.

Bike lanes are patchy, lack uniformity and often don’t have designated traffic lights. The rules surrounding right of way aren’t always clear and are often flouted, making it difficult for cyclists to safely navigate.

Paul Varry’s death was extreme, but it resonated and has become a symbol of the daily struggle for space on the streets of Paris.

His mother, Nathalie Tison, remembers her son as a carefree spirit who embraced the freedom of cycling. “He was a very happy and very bubbly person, he had a lovely sense of humour and was always very gentle with the people around him. It’s such an injustice because he didn’t deserve at all what happened.”

She told me she had always been concerned about the dangers of her son riding in Paris, where she detected a sense of entitlement among some drivers.

“Drivers can be super aggressive – nothing can get in their way,” she said. “For some, the car is an extension of their virility and if anyone touches their car… it’s taken as a personal attack.

“I was afraid for him.”

Paul understood these risks, and was an active member of the cycling group Paris en Selle – Paris in the Saddle. He campaigned for more segregated space for bicycles and safer junctions.

Advocates hope the progress made in Paris will continue.

Rémi Féraud, a socialist senator and Anne Hidalgo’s top choice for future mayor, doesn’t dream of a car-free future, “because there are Parisians who have cars”.

“But by reducing space for the car, we reserve it for those who really need to come by car,” he says. “We want a city that is 100% cyclable… It is an offer of freedom.”

Carving out more street space for cyclists has involved restricting space for cars. The number of parking spaces in Paris have been slashed by a half and certain vehicles have been banned from driving through the city.

Some drivers, particularly those from the suburbs, feel that the city’s car reduction policies have made their lives more difficult.

“Driving in Paris is like going to war,” says Shamy, a reserved 24-year-old midwife. “There are no rules.” I’m sitting in his car as he straddles a cycle path – he can’t reverse because people are walking there and in front of us cars are bumper to bumper.

What does he do if there’s a confrontation with a cyclist? “I just say sorry.”

Shamy lets me out as we approach a zone in the city centre where through-traffic has been outlawed – one of several measures that has drawn anger from business owners.

Patrick Aboukrat, who owns a fashion boutique in the Marais shopping district, has launched a lawsuit with other members of Comité Marais Paris, the business association he leads, to try to roll back some of the new rules.

He says they’re losing customers and that some were planning on selling up. “When young people say they want to open a shop, I say ‘open a shop in the suburbs, go outside of Paris.’

“We do understand the need to have fewer cars in the centre. I say to the Mayor we want to work together, to change the plan. But they don’t listen. It’s ideological. “

But Féraud, the senator, instead suggests the rise in online shopping is to blame.

According to polls, most of those who live within the main Paris ring road – of whom only 30% own a car – don’t mind the traffic-limiting measures.

Those on the outskirts tend to drive more, but they are not eligible to vote for the Paris mayor or influence its traffic polices.

Alexandra Legendre, who represents a motorists lobby group – the Drivers’ Defence League – says “no one [drives] for pleasure in Paris, it’s hell.” She feels authorities have prioritised cyclists at the expense of everyone else.

She accuses politicians of being blinkered by a desire to transform Paris into a cyclists’ paradise – ignoring road safety. She insists car drivers can’t be treated as “the only bad guys”.

There’s a consensus that Paul Varry’s death was a tragedy, but Ms Legendre doesn’t think it had anything to do with him being a cyclist.

Paris is navigating the challenges of its cycling revolution as European capitals are under pressure to curb transport-related carbon emissions. The EU’s green deal aims to achieve a 90% reduction in transport-related greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Corentin, Paul’s colleague, points out that while Paris is still far from perfect, the infrastructure has improved significantly, making it easier and safer than ever to enjoy the view.

“We are in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and there is no better way to see it than by bike.”

The constant stream of cyclists buzzing down Rue de Rivoli – which was a major highway until 2020 – suggests that the shift towards bike-friendly urban spaces is irreversible.

Paul’s mother hopes the safe transformation of Paris streets will be part of her son’s legacy.

No date has yet been set for the trial.

When it finally comes around, she will come face to face with the man who is accused of causing her son’s death for the first time.

He is a father of four, the authorities told her. Two families, she points out, have been “broken”.

She believes the way Paul lived and died must be a catalyst for change.

“He was so bright, intelligent, sensitive – it’s such a waste. And we’ve been reduced to a thousand pieces. We have to ask ourselves, what kind of society do we want to live in?”

“Gimme a hug, Gimme a hug!,” pleads Drake on one track from his new album, $ome $exy $ongs 4 U.

After the month and year he’s had, perhaps it’s no surprise.

As rap battle humiliations go, the rapper’s defeat by hip-hop’s lyrical supremo Kendrick Lamar has become a cultural phenomenon, and saw Drake sue Universal Music Group.

Lamar’s diss track, Not Like Us, a viral hit since last summer, accuses the Canadian star of inappropriate relationships with underage girls – claims Drake denies.

First the track swept up at the Grammys, with Taylor Swift and Beyoncé dancing along. Then came Lamar’s Super Bowl half-time show, with a record 133.5 million people estimated to have tuned in to watch the whole stadium sing the lyrics accusing Drake of being a paedophile.

And on Friday the single finally topped the UK charts nine months after release, matching its stateside success.

But rather than lay low, Drake, the dominant chart-topper of the past 15 years, is coming out fighting with an “intriguing” strategy after being put in a “cultural chokehold”, says crisis PR expert Mark Borkowski.

As Lamar grins through the bright lights of his victory lap, Drake’s chosen to sidestep the beef – bar one embittered freestyle denouncing fake friends – and instead focused on repositioning himself.

Currently on tour in Australia, he’s been loosening up, gently leaning into the softer image he’s spent recent years trying to toughen, even performing an intimate karaoke bar set of early sultry hits.

Then on Valentine’s Day, almost a week after the Super Bowl, he returned with $ome $exy $ongs 4 U, a full-length collaboration with PartyNextDoor that harks back to his R&B-tinged rise.

Full of trap-soul beats teasing romantic escapades, Borkowski calls it a “calculated retreat into the familiar, comfortable territory” of the more sensitive “certified lover boy” persona that dominated Drake’s initial breakthrough albums like Thank Me Later and 2011’s Take Care.

In the 2010s, Drake was the most-listened to Spotify artist, racking up more than 28 billion streams, with his most popular song, One Dance, played 1.7 billion times alone.

Even if Not Like Us saw the crown slip, he remained the fourth most-streamed artist on the platform last year.

“His reputation might be in tatters within certain circles, but commercially, he remains bulletproof,” says Borkowski.

It helps that Drake harnessed mass appeal by sampling a myriad of genres in his pomp of pop-rap dominance.

His catalogue – boasting 45 UK top 10 singles, (including six number ones), and over 300 hits in the US Hot 100 – inhaled fumes of grime, dancehall and afrobeat.

The camouflage from his status as a commercial chameleon means that “despite the clear L and Not Like Us becoming a defining moment in rap history, Drake keeps moving”, says Borkowski.

On $ome $exy $ongs 4 U’s track Gimme A Hug, Drake seems to wave the white flag in his Kendrick battle saying: “[Expletive] a rap beef, I’m tryna get the party lit.”

It’s worked, too, at least commercially. According to Billboard, Apple Music confirmed $ome $exy $ongs 4 U’s release broke first-day R&B streaming records on the platform.

In Friday’s official UK charts, the album came in at number three.

Three of its songs also made up the top 40 – including Gimme A Hug.

Critical reception, meanwhile, has been mixed. Vulture described it as “yearning pre-beef star finding his footing”, with a sound “conscientiously re-establishing” his earlier aesthetic.

Rolling Stone’s Jeff Ihaza, in a three-and-a-half-star review, spoke of a “return to form from an artist whose back was truly against the wall”.

Pitchfork’s Alphonse Pierre, however, was scathing, lambasting “a desperate album from one of rap’s most notorious narcissists”.

Regardless, Borkowski is clear on the strategy – Gimme A Hug, like the album, isn’t a response track, it’s an abdication from the fight. A recognition that Drake can still win, just on a different rap turf.

So, where is Drake headed if he’s conceding the rap battlefield? The answer is the nostalgia play.

Weeks before the release of this new album, Drake opened his Australian tour by coming out on stage in a vest with smoking bullet holes. He closed the show by declaring: “My name is Drake, I started in 2008, I came all the way from Toronto, Canada. The year is now 2025, and Drizzy Drake is very much still alive.”

For music and culture journalist Manu Ekanayake, the new album revisiting his early 2010s era, when he “sounded confident in what he was trying to do”, mirrors this.

But, he warns, “after three recent albums of being the least convincing tough guy in town, can he really go back to being the singing party boy?”.

He’s certainly going to try. Days after the album drop, Drake announced an unprecedented three-night takeover of London’s Wireless Festival this summer, with each night’s set focusing on a different part of his career.

Organisers confirmed the dates sold out in record time. For Borkowski, this is a “masterclass in reframing”.

“Drake is curating his own legacy, reminding people of his longevity, and shifting the conversation away from defeat and back to dominance.”

Ekanayake is less sure of the long-term potential: “Now at 38, it all sounds very different from when he was in the first flush of success in his 20s.

“What seemed before like a young artist giving hip-hop a new approach for a new generation, now sounds like it’s the end of something.”

But, ultimately, Borkowski goes back to the bottom line. “His fans aren’t music purists, they’re Drake fans – here for the lifestyle, the vibes, and the brand. And as long as he delivers that, nothing truly sticks.”

The true power move? Securing Live Nation for his rebrand, says Borkowski.

“It’s about staying relevant, ensuring the hits don’t stop and keeping the machine running. In today’s music industry, perception is currency, and despite the setbacks, Drake is still cashing in.”

Good thing too, as Lamar’s Not Like Us shows no signs of slowing down on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Compton star’s already made US history by becoming the first rapper to have three albums in the Billboard top 10 – with his latest release GNX also number one.

The battle may be over, but the chart war has just begun.

With its sun-drenched lifeguard towers, bronzed surfers and bikini-clad volleyball players, Will Rogers State Beach is one of the most recognizable stretches of sand in the world thanks to the global cult classic “Baywatch”.

But now the iconic beach is surrounded by the ruins of burned homes and palm trees, its parking lot a sorting ground for hazardous waste from the wildfires. The beach babes have been replaced by Environmental Protection Agency crews in hazmat suits sifting through melted electric car batteries and other hazardous waste before it’s trucked away to landfills.

The Palisades and Eaton fires generated a staggering amount of debris, estimated to be 4.5 million tonnes. In comparison, the devastating Maui fires of 2023 generated about 400,000 tonnes, according to the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Those fires took three months of clean-up by the EPA, which is in charge of removing hazardous waste. But now the agency is hoping to finish their job in LA in just a month – by 25 February – after President Donald Trump signed an executive order demanding the EPA “expedite the bulk removal of contaminated and general debris”.

The decision to sort through the hazardous waste along the coast has prompted protests and as the clean-up of fire debris moves at unprecedented speeds, many are asking if and when the ocean water will be safe for swimming and surfing.

“In this very vulnerable place, they’re sorting this very hazardous, hazardous stuff,” said actor and environmentalist Bonnie Wright.

“To me, this feels like 10 steps backwards, because you’re literally putting this waste even closer to the beach than it already is in the burn sites.”

Ms Wright, who played Ginny Weasly in the Harry Potter films, wrote a book on sustainability and devotes most of her time now to environmental causes.

While their battle to move sorting sites away from the coast ultimately failed, she said activists were successful in urging the EPA to move burned electric vehicle batteries to the Will Rogers site down the road and away from the sensitive Topanga Creek watershed.

The EPA said the burned vehicle batteries are an especially dangerous challenge but that the agency has the expertise to deal with them. To sift waste, they need a large space with roads big enough for truck traffic – which is why the Pacific Coast Highway, which runs along the beach, is more attractive than inside the windy, mountainous roads of the Palisades.

When lithium ion batteries are damaged – especially by the high heat and flames of a wildfire – they have the potential for reigniting and exploding days, weeks, or even months after they’ve been impacted, said Steve Calanog, the EPA’s incident commander for the LA fires.

“We have to treat them like unexploded ordinance, or, as the military calls it UXO,” he said.

Although some have questioned the speed with which the EPA has moved to clean up the toxic debris, he said there is no time to waste.

“We have to do this very quickly,” he said, noting that they started sorting waste even as the fires were still raging.

“If we are delayed, the risk of impacting the ocean, it goes up again.”

Mr Calanog was also in charge of the EPA response to the Maui fires, which may hold clues for how to measure what is safe and reasonable when it comes to testing water and soil samples.

Many are concerned about the impacts of heavy metals and chemicals in the air and water after the fires. In Maui, it’s been nearly 18 months since the fires and a small part of the coast around Lahaina is still closed to the public. The Army Corps of Engineers – which removes heavy debris after the EPA removes hazardous waste – just finished their last haul from Lahaina on 20 February.

But most of Maui has remained open to locals and tourists and the Hawaii Department of Health announced eight months after the fires that the coastal waters around Lahaina were safe for ocean recreation.

The scale of the clean-up from the Los Angeles fires, however, is unprecedented and the largest in US history.

LA County closed beaches along a nine-mile (14 km) stretch for weeks following the fires in January. Then torrential rain – while helping douse any smouldering embers – caused mudslides in the burn area and runoff of toxic ash and chemicals into the ocean, prompting further closures.

Now most beaches are reopened but a water advisory remains in effect along the coast from Santa Monica to Malibu until further notice advising “beach goers may recreate on the sand but continue to be advised to stay away from visible fire debris and to stay out of the ocean water during any posted ocean advisory”.

Only the most dedicated and local surfers could access the beaches in the burn area anyway – there’s no parking or stopping for about 9 miles along Pacific Coast Highway, which is clogged with trucks and workers cleaning up debris.

Though some will risk most anything to catch a good wave.

While touring the EPA sorting site, Annelisa Moe said she saw two surfers in the water at a popular surf break on Topanga Beach while she watched workers across the street in full PPE handling burned EV car batteries.

“The water looked like chocolate milk with like brown foam on it,” recalled Ms Moe, who is the associate director of Science & Policy, Water Quality at Heal the Bay, an environmental nonprofit dedicated to making coastal watersheds healthy.

“It was one of those days, in between storms, like beautiful, sunny, 75 degree weather type of days,” she said. “And so it felt a little bit odd to be there amidst the destruction while we have this perfect beach day.”

Jenny Newman of the Los Angeles regional water quality control board told an LA County Public Health virtual town hall on 18 February that the initial water quality tests they conducted on 22-27 January “came back better than we expected.” But the water board cautioned that people should follow county advisories to stay out of the water near the burn site.

Dozens of scientists and volunteers from Heal The Bay and a myriad of private and public sector agencies have also been testing water and soil samples to see what levels of forever chemicals and heavy metals are present in the ocean, but toxic analysis can take 4-6 weeks and there’s very little data available.

At the Surfrider Foundation, volunteers test the ocean water all year long. But their small lab is testing for fecal bacteria – not arsenic. Now it’s too dangerous to expose volunteers in the burn areas, so the staff have partnered with Heal the Bay and the University of Southern California to process their water samples.

“All our community members are ocean lovers. We have the same questions they have,” said Eugenia Ermacora of the Surfrider Foundation. “It’s a concern, and everybody is asking, When can we go back? When is it safe? And I wish I had an answer.”

Chad White, a surfer who grew up in the Palisades and who protested against the EPA sorting site along the Pacific Coast Highway, said there’s no way he would surf there now – it would be too painful to look at the coast and be reminded of what has been lost. And there’s too much metal and other debris in the surf.

“It’s taken my desire to surf down to zero, not just because of the water quality, but just because of what’s happening,” he said over coffee in Topanga Canyon. He rode his first wave in 1977 at Will Rogers State Beach and taught his son to surf at age four and his wife at age 60.

“It’s earth-shattering to someone like me,” he said of the destruction along the coast. “That beach means something to me too, and I’m one person. There are tens of, maybe hundreds or thousands of us that utilize the beach every day.”

Many of Mr White’s friends lost their homes and he said people are traumatised to see what the landscape and coast around them looks like now.

“Every movie that you see, every film that makes anybody from any other part of the world want to come to California is based on their seeing that Pacific Coast Highway and those beautiful homes in Malibu, across along the beach. They’re all gone,” he said. “Now it’s a toxic waste dump.”

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.

Over 95,000 people fighting for Russia’s military have now died as the war in Ukraine enters the fourth year, according to data analysed by the BBC.

This figure doesn’t include those who were killed serving in the militia of the self-proclaimed Donbas republics which we estimate to be between 21,000 and 23,500 fighters.

BBC Russian, independent media group Mediazona and volunteers have been counting deaths since February 2022.

The list includes names of the deceased that we verified using information from official reports, newspapers, social media, and new memorials and graves. The real death toll is believed to be much higher.

Daniil Dudnikov, a 21-year-old history student at Donetsk National University, was reading international relations and enjoyed swimming.

On the first day of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, on 24 February 2022, the authorities in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic forcibly mobilised Daniil and despatched him to the Kharkiv region.

Just a month later, on 25 March, Daniil went missing in action. Of the 18 soldiers in his unit, none returned. 13 were killed, and five were taken prisoner. Four months later, following a prisoner exchange, those who had survived confirmed that Daniil had been one of the 13 killed in combat.

Daniil’s story mirrors those of thousands of other residents from the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, created in 2014 by Moscow-backed separatists in the predominantly Russian-speaking parts of eastern Ukraine.

With the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, civilian men were drafted en masse, often inadequately trained and poorly equipped before being assigned to near-impossible missions. This resulted in a staggering number of dead and missing soldiers, the fate of whom often remains unknown for months or years.

According to our analysis of published obituaries and missing persons reports from the regions, the majority of deaths in Donbass militias occurred during the first year of the invasion, a toll comparable to the total number of confirmed Russian military losses over the same period – 25,769 deaths.

Yet despite many people in the occupied parts of eastern Ukraine having relatives or friends in Russia, they are far less integrated into the country’s everyday life, which makes their losses less “visible” to ordinary Russians.

Another large part of the Russian losses are convicts recruited in prisons.

Ildus Sadykov was 59 when he was arrested for stealing a bag at a railway station in Moscow. It was the fourth time he ended up in jail, having spent a total of 16 years behind bars for separate criminal convictions.

“They told me, ‘If you don’t want to go back to prison, sign a contract.’ They assured me that at my age, I wouldn’t be sent to the front, just assigned to an auxiliary role. Well, I went along with it.” He recalls, speaking as a prisoner of war after being captured by Ukrainian forces in the summer of 2024.

Following a prisoner exchange, he was returned to Russia, where he was sent back to the frontlines again. This month, Ildus Sadykov was killed in combat.

Currently, the BBC Russian database of war casualties includes 16,171 convicted criminals who were recruited from penal colonies to fight. These are just the cases in which we could verify criminal records through open sources. The actual number of deceased convicts is likely far higher.

By including an analysis of leaked documents from the Wagner Group private military company, we can estimate that prisoners may make up as much as a third of Russia’s military fatalities over the three years of the invasion. Many of these individuals lived in correctional facilities, effectively cut off from broader society, for years on end.

“The losses are felt most by segments of Russian society with fewer resources, be they educational, financial, or political,” says Gulnaz Sharafutdinova, director of the Russia Institute at King’s College London.

“The Kremlin seems to have designed it this way, ensuring that the most privileged sections of society remain largely disconnected from the war. Hence recruitment of prisoners and foreign mercenaries.”

“In small towns, people are far more aware of the scale of casualties. The war has hit social groups that lack the means not only to protest but even to express their views openly. Discussions are confined to private conversations,” she adds.

Only 30% of Russians have had direct exposure to the war, either by fighting in it or family connections to combatants, according to a public opinion poll from the Chronicles project in September 2024. The proportion of Ukrainians who know someone killed or wounded is almost 80%.

Measuring genuine support for the war in Russia is difficult, since many respondents fear speaking honestly. But a study commissioned by the PROPA project, supported by the University of Helsinki, found that 43% of surveyed Russians openly backed the invasion.

“Would public attitudes toward the war be different if more people personally knew the fallen?” asks leading Russian sociologist Viktor Vakhshtayn. “Without a doubt.”

Russia’s actual losses are almost certainly substantially higher than open-source data can reveal. The military analysts we have consulted estimate that the BBC’s research, which is based on graveyards, war memorials, and obituaries, probably captures only 45% to 65% of total casualties.

Added to which, the bodies of many of those killed in recent months likely remain on the battlefield, since retrieving them requires living soldiers to risk exposure to drone strikes.

Given the estimate above, the true number of Russian military deaths could range from 146,194 to 211,169. If one adds estimated losses from DPR and LPR forces, the total number of Russian-aligned fatalities may range from 167,194 to 234,669.

Russia last officially reported its military losses in September 2022, and cited fewer than 6,000 deaths.

Ukraine last updated its casualty figures in December 2024, when President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged 43,000 Ukrainian deaths among soldiers and officers. Western analysts believe this figure to be an under-estimate.

The website Ukraine Losses, which compiles casualty data from open sources, currently lists more than 70,400 surnames of Ukrainian soldiers. Our verification of a random sample of 400 of them found the database to be reliable.

The Ukrainian casualty list is likely more complete than the Russian equivalent, as Ukrainian presidential decrees on posthumous military awards remain publicly accessible. In Russia such data is classified.

As the war approaches its fourth year, global attention has shifted to the new U.S. administration’s push for peace negotiations. We continue to monitor activity at Russian military cemeteries and war memorials, and analyse obituaries, which have surged sharply in number since September last year.

London Fashion Week kicked off on Thursday, showcasing the best of British design.

Fashion lovers have gathered in the capital for five days of runway shows and events, offering a glimpse at the autumn/winter 2025 trends.

Florence Pugh opened Harris Reed’s show on Thursday with a theatrical display, turning heads in a sculptural hooded black gown.

Her make-up featured striking eyes with big, feathery lash extensions adding to her bold, dramatic look.

Since graduating from Central Saint Martins in 2020, Reed’s clothes have become synonymous with gender-fluid fashion.

His collections often feature exaggerated hips, nipped-in waists through corsetry, oversized structured lapels, and sculptural collars.

Later on Thursday, the Central Saint Martins MA presentation showcased the impressive work from students of one of the world’s most renowned fashion courses.

Its alumni include some of the most celebrated names in fashion, such as Alexander McQueen, Christopher Kane, Kim Jones, Simone Rocha, Richard Quinn, and Roksanda.

These designers have gone on to shape the global fashion landscape with their innovative work and distinctive styles.

On Friday morning, Paul Costelloe, a key figure in both British and Irish fashion, kicked off proceedings with his latest collection at the Palm Court at The Waldorf in central London.

As is customary, the front rows were filled with fashionistas and celebrities, with some sporting brash, quirky looks.

Among those in attendance were social media influencers Phoebe and Daisy Tomlinson, who appeared in near-matching pink tweed outfits.

Model and TV personality Jodie Kidd also attended the show in a pleated cape with large shoulder pads.

At Friday night’s show by Richard Quinn at the Royal Horticultural Halls, the stage was decked out like a winter wonderland. Models donned glitzy gowns and wedding dresses as fake snow fell to the ground.

Twins Lady Eliza Spencer and Lady Amelia Spencer, nieces of Princess Diana, attended Quinn’s show in almost-matching black and white dresses.

Other celebrities spotted at London Fashion Week include singers Maisie Peters, Nicola Roberts and Kate Nash, actor Sebastian Croft, and model and actress Vanessa Williams.

Annie Doble highlighted glitzy vintage fashion at her Annie’s Ibiza show at the Institution of Civil Engineers on Saturday night. The show was inspired by 15th-century Renaissance Italy and featured sparkling gold dresses, chainmail-inspired items and other metallic materials.

Doble, who started off buying and selling clothes on eBay, opened her eponymous store in Ibiza’s Old Town in 2018. She’s worked with celebrities including Kate Moss, Taylor Swift and Paris Hilton.

A British couple in their seventies have been arrested by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Peter Reynolds, 79, and his wife Barbie, 75, were returning to their home in Bamiyan on 1 February when they were detained.

The couple have been running training projects in Afghanistan for 18 years and their daughter, Sarah Entwistle, told the BBC she had not heard from her parents in more than two weeks.

It is not known exactly what the couple were arrested for but projects run by them include one training mothers and children, which had apparently been approved by the local authorities despite a ban by the Taliban on women working and on education for girls older than the age of 12.

The couple, who originally met at the University of Bath, married in Kabul in 1970. Since 2009 they have been running training projects in five schools in Kabul and one project in Bamiyan training mothers and children.

While the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021 saw most of their staff leave – along with most westerners – Mr and Mrs Reynolds insisted on staying put.

After their arrest, the couple were initially able to keep in touch with their four children by text message. The family knew that their parents were being held by the interior ministry and were assured by them that they were “fine”.

Three days later, however, the texts stopped. The children have heard nothing since.

Ms Entwistle, who lives in Daventry, Northamptonshire, told the BBC: “It’s been over two weeks since the messages stopped, and they were taken into custody.

“We would like the Taliban to release them to go back to their home and continue their work.”

She told the Sunday Times: “They said they could not leave when Afghans were in their hour of need.

“They were meticulous about keeping by the rules even as they kept changing.”

Their daughter told the Times: “My mother is 75 and my father almost 80 and [he] needs his heart medication after a mini-stroke. They were just trying to help the country they loved. The idea they are being held because they were teaching mothers with children is outrageous.”

According to the paper, their daughter and her three brothers have also written a letter to the Taliban, pleading with them to release their parents.

“We do not understand the reasons behind their arrest,” they wrote. “They have communicated their trust in you, and that as Afghan citizens they will be treated well.”

“We recognise that there have been instances where exchanges have been beneficial for your government and western nations. However, our parents have consistently expressed their commitment to Afghanistan, stating that they would rather sacrifice their lives than become part of ransom negotiations or be traded.”

The Foreign Office is aware two British nationals have been detained in Afghanistan. But assistance is limited by the fact that the UK does not recognise the Taliban and has no embassy in Kabul.

Taliban official sources have told the BBC they arrested British nationals, who they believe were working for an non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Bamiyan province.

An official claimed they had been arrested, about 20 days ago, after using a plane without informing Bamiyan police headquarters or the border security forces.

The Taliban announced women would be banned from working for NGOs in 2022 and in December last year Al Jazeera reported the government had said it would close any NGOs employing women.

Just occasionally, there are years when the world goes through some fundamental, convulsive change. 1968, with the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, the Paris riots and the anti-Vietnam War protests in America, was one of them. 1989, the year of the Tiananmen massacre, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the implosion of the Soviet empire, was another.

I was on hand to see each of these things happen, and from that perspective it seems to me that, only seven weeks in, 2025 could be a year like that: a time when the basic assumptions about the way our world works are fed into the shredder.

The basic reason, of course, is Donald Trump.

Since the end of the World War Two, each one of the 13 US presidents before Trump’s current term in office has at least paid lip service to a set of key geopolitical principles: that America’s own security depended on protecting Europe from Russia, and the non-Communist countries of Asia against China.

Trump has up-ended this approach. He says he’s putting American interests first, way before everything else. Mostly that comes down to the single question of how much it costs the US.

In itself, this is pretty hard for his friends and allies abroad, especially in Europe. But it’s made far more difficult by Trump’s own personality. No US president in modern times, not even Richard Nixon, let his personal characteristics shape his policies like Trump does.

“He’s just like Louis XIV,” one retired American diplomat said to me, referring to France’s self-aggrandising Sun King.

Critics like this believe Trump is both breathtakingly vain, and amazingly thin-skinned at the same time. As a result, the appointees who surround him, people like Elon Musk and JD Vance, perhaps think that their position depends entirely on how much they praise him and back his views.

When President Trump claims, with no evidence, that President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine is corrupt and has a low approval rating, Musk then takes it further: he piles in to say that Zelensky is despised by the Ukrainian people and is feeding off the dead bodies of Ukrainian soldiers.

No one in the Trump circle today, it seems, will cough discreetly and say, “Mr President, maybe you should consider rowing back on that statement.”

Judging from his previous term in office, we can be sure that every one of the people around him knows how he detests being disagreed with. And they will also know that many voters wholeheartedly back Trump’s approach, and feel they have been bankrolling security in a far-off continent.

He has committed himself to stopping the Ukraine war by Easter. He is absolutely correct when he says that President Vladimir Putin is keen on this. Russian troops are, through sheer force of numbers, making slow advances in the eastern part of Ukraine.

But the cost in Russian lives is immense. If the process continues, Russia may have to turn to conscription, which would be dangerously unpopular and might even destabilise Putin’s regime. Everything Trump says about getting peace is music to his ears.

John Bolton, Trump’s far-from-subservient national security adviser during his first administration, said the other day that they’d be breaking out the champagne in the Kremlin when they heard the Trump administration’s peace plan. It certainly felt like a historic moment – not just in Moscow but around the world.

Putin has pointedly backed the idea that Trump really won the 2020 election. It may not be true, but President Putin knows that Trump favours anyone who backs his view of things.

Why, by contrast, have Trump and the people round him come down so hard on President Zelensky? It must partly be because he’s not obediently doing what he’s told, such as returning to the negotiating table and strike a deal on US access to Ukraine’s critical minerals.

At the same time, President Trump understands that Zelensky is the weakest link in the US-Russia-Ukraine trio, and can be squeezed in a way that Putin can’t be. The more pressure that is piled on Zelensky, the quicker a peace deal will come.

President Trump never seems, at least in public, to show much interest in the fine detail of any agreement. It’s the agreement itself that matters to him, even if Ukraine and its allies believe it’s manifestly unfair and allows Russia to come back at some future date and start the war all over again.

British and German diplomats whom I know have been enraged by the way Trump went about getting Russia to the negotiating table. “He had two major cards in his hand,” said one. “The first was Russia’s isolation. Putin would have made plenty of concessions to get himself to the talks with America – only Trump didn’t insist on any concessions at all. He just let him sit down and start talking.”

The other card, the diplomat said, was to insist that Ukraine should be allowed to join Nato. “Trump could have banged away about this and extorted all sorts of agreements from Putin, before finally saying OK, well, Ukraine won’t join Nato in that case.” In European capitals it’s felt that he threw away both of his essential cards before the talks even started, without any preconditions.

Already, though, some European diplomats with experience of US politics are advising their governments that this grand monarchical period in Donald Trump’s presidency, where his advisers defer to him (he literally referred to himself as a “king” this week), won’t last.

Trump currently has control of a pliant Congress and a conservative Supreme Court – but in only 20 months’ time, in November 2026, there will be mid-term elections in the US.

There are signs that inflation is starting to rise in America, and enough people may well be affected badly by the upheavals to want to punish Trump’s Republicans.

If he loses control of one or both Houses, the power he has at present of pushing through every plan and policy, no matter how controversial, will diminish.

But an awful lot can happen in the next year and eight months. Trump’s expansionism might embolden China. A major international trade war, sparked off by Trump’s tariffs, could open up. The European Union seems likely to become politically and economically weaker than ever.

Agreeing peace in Ukraine on Russia’s terms will be something entirely new for the United States. In the great majority of negotiations since 1945, Russia has struggled to get its way because of America’s economic and military strength.

Now President Putin, having made the costly decision to invade Ukraine three years ago, looks likely to get away with it, and prosper.

If that happens, then 2025 will indeed be remembered as a key year: a moment when the history of the world changed, and nothing was ever quite the same again.

Pope Francis has asked Catholics to pray for him, as he continues to receive treatment in hospital for double pneumonia.

The pontiff was unable to deliver the traditional Angelus prayer in person for the second Sunday running.

But in a message written over the last few days, he said he was “confidently continuing” his hospitalisation at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital and “carrying on with the necessary treatment”.

The message comes after the Vatican revealed on Saturday that the 88-year-old’s condition continues to be “critical”.

In his message, released on Sunday, the Pope thanked the doctors and health workers at the hospital, and well-wishers who sent in messages.

“In recent days I have received many messages of affection, and I have been particularly struck by the letters and drawings from children,” he wrote.

“Thank you for this closeness, and for the prayers of comfort I have received from all over the world! I entrust you all to the intercession of Mary, and I ask you to pray for me.”

Well-wishers have continued to pray outside the hospital.

Dozens of people have been seen lighting candles and leaving them at the foot of a nearby statue of the late Pope John Paul II.

The 88-year-old was first admitted to hospital on 14 February after experiencing difficulties breathing for several days.

He is especially prone to lung infections due to developing pleurisy – an inflammation around the lungs – as an adult and having part of one of his lungs removed at age 21.

During his 12 years as leader of the Roman Catholic church, the Argentine has been admitted to hospital several times, including in March 2023 when he spent three nights in hospital with bronchitis.

The Pope has asked for openness about his health, so the Vatican has started to release daily statements. The tone and length of the announcements has varied, sometimes leaving Pope-watchers to attempt to read between the lines.

On Saturday, the Vatican said the Roman Catholic leader was alert and spent the day in an armchair, but that he was “not out of danger” and that he was “more unwell” than he was on Friday.

They added the pontiff needed blood transfusions due to a low platelet count – associated with anaemia – and he required a “high flow” of oxygen.

Doctors treating the Pope confirmed this week that he was responding to medication but his condition was complex and the slightest change of circumstance would upset what was called a “delicate balance”.

“He is the Pope,” as one of them put it. “But he is also a man.”

The Pope also used his message on Sunday to highlight the third anniversary of the war in Ukraine on Monday, and called on people to remember all victims of armed conflict and to “pray for the gift of peace in Palestine, Israel and throughout the Middle East, Myanmar, Kivu and Sudan”.

The Angelus prayer is usually delivered by the Pope from a window of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican and is accompanied by a short message.

Donald Trump made a lot of promises while running for president. He pledged to cut taxes, reduce prices, stem undocumented migration, end wars and strengthen American industry.

Some of his proposals were detailed by his policy team or presented by Trump himself, in “Agenda 47” videos on his campaign website. Others were offered seemingly off-the-cuff – a product of Trump’s “think out loud” style and openness to adopting ideas others had suggested to him.

In his victory speech on 6 November, he made it clear he intended to keep the promises that sent him back to the White House: “I will govern by a simple motto: Promises made, promises kept.”

It’s become a slogan of sorts in his first month in office, which has been marked by a blizzard of activity and notable progress in achieving some of his goals.

In areas such as immigration and foreign policy, Trump has broad power to act unilaterally – and has done so. In other areas, he has run up against legal challenges and political obstacles. Many of the other promises he’s made will ultimately require action from Congress, under narrow Republican control, to become permanent.

Here’s a look at some of Trump’s biggest “day one” promises and his efforts to turn them into reality.

What he’s said:

What he’s done:

This is perhaps his biggest challenge and a major campaign promise that remains undelivered. In his inaugural address, Trump promised to “marshal the vast powers” of his Cabinet to rapidly bring down costs and prices, but it’s unclear how. One way, he says, is by increasing drilling to reduce energy costs.

A steep price rise in January, the biggest monthly increase for 16 months, has complicated Trump’s task. He blamed Joe Biden, who left office on 20 January, and Democratic spending. “I had nothing to do with it,” said Trump.

At other times, however, he has admitted it’s hard for US presidents to control prices. But economists warn some of his policies could fuel inflation and polling suggests voters would like to see him doing more about an issue that often tops their priorities.

What he’s said:

What he’s done:

Immigration has perhaps been Trump’s main focus since taking power, with more than a dozen executive orders aimed at overhauling the system. His plan to deport foreign nationals in the country illegally, starting with those convicted of crimes, seems to have widespread public support.

But it is uncertain whether he will meet his promise to deport so many. A few raids have made headlines but the number of people being removed does not seem to be record-breaking, according to the daily figures.

In his first month in office, the US deported 37,660 people – less than the monthly average of 57,000 removals and returns in the last full year of Joe Biden’s administration, data obtained by Reuters shows.

A DHS spokesperson told the agency that Biden-era deportation numbers were higher because illegal immigration was higher. Nationwide border encounters decreased 66% in January compared to 2024, according to the White House.

What he’s said:

What he’s done:

True to his word, hours after taking the presidential oath, Trump issued pardons and commutations that paved the way for the release of more than 1,500 people convicted or charged in connection with the US Capitol riot. A police officer who was punched that day told the BBC the pardons were a “slap in the face”.

What he’s said:

What he’s done:

Trump has initiated the first talks between the US and Russia since the start of the war, but Ukraine has vowed to reject any deal hatched without it, and there’s been an angry exchange between leaders. President Volodymyr Zelensky fears the US president delivering on his campaign promise to end the war but on Moscow’s terms and with no security guarantees. There is also anxiety in European capitals that they are being sidelined, and that Trump may dismantle some of the sanctions imposed on Russia as punishment for the invasion.

What he’s said:

What he’s done:

In one of the first acts of his second presidency, Trump ordered an end to an automatic right to American citizenship currently received by nearly anybody born on US soil. Birthright citizenship is not the norm around the world, although it is in Mexico and Canada, and Trump’s move targets those who are in the US illegally or on temporary visas.

The right was established by an amendment to the US Constitution nearly 160 years ago, and most legal scholars say the president doesn’t have the power to unilaterally change it. The issue could be heading for the US Supreme Court after an appeals court ruled against Trump, upholding a legal block on his plan.

• Birthright citizenship around the world

What he’s said:

What he’s done:

Trump announced on 21 January that he would levy blanket tariffs on his neighbours on 1 February, linking them to the flow of drugs and migrants into the US. The president has long seen tariffs, which are a tax on imports, as a way to protect domestic industry and increase revenue. Canada and Mexico said they would enact retaliatory taxes on US imports. But Trump delayed starting the tariffs for one month, after promises by both countries to increase border enforcement. There had also been volatility in the markets and warnings from economic experts that these actions could cause prices to rise.

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Over 95,000 people fighting for Russia’s military have now died as the war in Ukraine enters the fourth year, according to data analysed by the BBC.

This figure doesn’t include those who were killed serving in the militia of the self-proclaimed Donbas republics which we estimate to be between 21,000 and 23,500 fighters.

BBC Russian, independent media group Mediazona and volunteers have been counting deaths since February 2022.

The list includes names of the deceased that we verified using information from official reports, newspapers, social media, and new memorials and graves. The real death toll is believed to be much higher.

Daniil Dudnikov, a 21-year-old history student at Donetsk National University, was reading international relations and enjoyed swimming.

On the first day of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, on 24 February 2022, the authorities in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic forcibly mobilised Daniil and despatched him to the Kharkiv region.

Just a month later, on 25 March, Daniil went missing in action. Of the 18 soldiers in his unit, none returned. 13 were killed, and five were taken prisoner. Four months later, following a prisoner exchange, those who had survived confirmed that Daniil had been one of the 13 killed in combat.

Daniil’s story mirrors those of thousands of other residents from the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, created in 2014 by Moscow-backed separatists in the predominantly Russian-speaking parts of eastern Ukraine.

With the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, civilian men were drafted en masse, often inadequately trained and poorly equipped before being assigned to near-impossible missions. This resulted in a staggering number of dead and missing soldiers, the fate of whom often remains unknown for months or years.

According to our analysis of published obituaries and missing persons reports from the regions, the majority of deaths in Donbass militias occurred during the first year of the invasion, a toll comparable to the total number of confirmed Russian military losses over the same period – 25,769 deaths.

Yet despite many people in the occupied parts of eastern Ukraine having relatives or friends in Russia, they are far less integrated into the country’s everyday life, which makes their losses less “visible” to ordinary Russians.

Another large part of the Russian losses are convicts recruited in prisons.

Ildus Sadykov was 59 when he was arrested for stealing a bag at a railway station in Moscow. It was the fourth time he ended up in jail, having spent a total of 16 years behind bars for separate criminal convictions.

“They told me, ‘If you don’t want to go back to prison, sign a contract.’ They assured me that at my age, I wouldn’t be sent to the front, just assigned to an auxiliary role. Well, I went along with it.” He recalls, speaking as a prisoner of war after being captured by Ukrainian forces in the summer of 2024.

Following a prisoner exchange, he was returned to Russia, where he was sent back to the frontlines again. This month, Ildus Sadykov was killed in combat.

Currently, the BBC Russian database of war casualties includes 16,171 convicted criminals who were recruited from penal colonies to fight. These are just the cases in which we could verify criminal records through open sources. The actual number of deceased convicts is likely far higher.

By including an analysis of leaked documents from the Wagner Group private military company, we can estimate that prisoners may make up as much as a third of Russia’s military fatalities over the three years of the invasion. Many of these individuals lived in correctional facilities, effectively cut off from broader society, for years on end.

“The losses are felt most by segments of Russian society with fewer resources, be they educational, financial, or political,” says Gulnaz Sharafutdinova, director of the Russia Institute at King’s College London.

“The Kremlin seems to have designed it this way, ensuring that the most privileged sections of society remain largely disconnected from the war. Hence recruitment of prisoners and foreign mercenaries.”

“In small towns, people are far more aware of the scale of casualties. The war has hit social groups that lack the means not only to protest but even to express their views openly. Discussions are confined to private conversations,” she adds.

Only 30% of Russians have had direct exposure to the war, either by fighting in it or family connections to combatants, according to a public opinion poll from the Chronicles project in September 2024. The proportion of Ukrainians who know someone killed or wounded is almost 80%.

Measuring genuine support for the war in Russia is difficult, since many respondents fear speaking honestly. But a study commissioned by the PROPA project, supported by the University of Helsinki, found that 43% of surveyed Russians openly backed the invasion.

“Would public attitudes toward the war be different if more people personally knew the fallen?” asks leading Russian sociologist Viktor Vakhshtayn. “Without a doubt.”

Russia’s actual losses are almost certainly substantially higher than open-source data can reveal. The military analysts we have consulted estimate that the BBC’s research, which is based on graveyards, war memorials, and obituaries, probably captures only 45% to 65% of total casualties.

Added to which, the bodies of many of those killed in recent months likely remain on the battlefield, since retrieving them requires living soldiers to risk exposure to drone strikes.

Given the estimate above, the true number of Russian military deaths could range from 146,194 to 211,169. If one adds estimated losses from DPR and LPR forces, the total number of Russian-aligned fatalities may range from 167,194 to 234,669.

Russia last officially reported its military losses in September 2022, and cited fewer than 6,000 deaths.

Ukraine last updated its casualty figures in December 2024, when President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged 43,000 Ukrainian deaths among soldiers and officers. Western analysts believe this figure to be an under-estimate.

The website Ukraine Losses, which compiles casualty data from open sources, currently lists more than 70,400 surnames of Ukrainian soldiers. Our verification of a random sample of 400 of them found the database to be reliable.

The Ukrainian casualty list is likely more complete than the Russian equivalent, as Ukrainian presidential decrees on posthumous military awards remain publicly accessible. In Russia such data is classified.

As the war approaches its fourth year, global attention has shifted to the new U.S. administration’s push for peace negotiations. We continue to monitor activity at Russian military cemeteries and war memorials, and analyse obituaries, which have surged sharply in number since September last year.

Russia launched the largest single drone attack on Ukraine on Saturday night – the day before the third anniversary of the war, Ukrainian officials said.

The country’s Air Force Command spokesman Yuriy Ignat said a “record” 267 Russian drones were launched in a single, coordinated attack.

Thirteen regions were targeted and while many of the drones were repelled, those that were not caused destruction to infrastructure and at least three casualties, emergency services said.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Ukraine’s emergency services for their response to the attack and called for the support of Europe and US in facilitating “a lasting and just peace”.

• Follow updates on Ukraine here
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Ukrainian officials said the number of drones launched over Saturday night was the highest figure in a single attack yet.

Ukraine’s Air Force reported that 138 were shot down and 119, which were decoy drones, were lost without negative consequences, likely due to jamming.

In Kyiv, the attack meant six hours of air alerts.

In a statement, Zelensky claimed that 1,150 drones, 1,400 bombs and 35 missiles were launched by Russia this week.

In a post on X, Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska said that “hundreds of drones” had “brought death and destruction” overnight.

“It was another night of explosions, burning houses and cars, and destroyed infrastructure,” she wrote. “Another night when people prayed for their loved ones to survive”.

According to the Ukrainian government and western intelligence, Russia has been using Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones – also known as “kamikaze” drones – since the autumn of 2022.

The drones were reported to have been used initially to attack military targets in the Kharkiv region, but have since been used to target population centres and energy infrastructure.

Iran has previously said it only supplied a “small number” of drones to Russia before the war, but the US and EU have accused Iran of sending regular deliveries of drones to Russia.

On Saturday, two people died in a strike on a residential building in Kherson, in southern Ukraine – a man and a mother of twins, the Ukrainian state emergency services said.

Regional authorities also confirmed that one man died and at least three were wounded following a strike on the central city of Kryvyi Rih.

Meanwhile, a 53-year-old woman was hospitalised after being injured in a drone attack in Zaporizhzhia, and firefighters were called to extinguish multiple fires in the capital, Kyiv.

Kyiv’s Mayor Vitali Kltischko wrote on Telegram that the multi-wave drone attacks on the capital had damaged several houses and cars but there were no immediate reports of injuries.

Drones were intercepted in at least 13 regions including Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Mykolayiv and Odesa, according to Ukrainian authorities.

The Ukrainian air force also reported that Russia launched three ballistic missiles overnight.

Meanwhile, Russia’s defence ministry said on Sunday that 20 Ukrainian drones launched into Russia were “destroyed” overnight.

On Monday, the war will enter its third year.

As it does, diplomatic wranglings over a potential peace deal continue, with Ukraine, European allies and the US offering differing visions for how to end the conflict.

The US and Russia held preliminary talks in Saudi Arabia this week – without delegates from Europe, including Ukraine, present – which resulted in European leaders holding a hastily-arranged summit in Paris.

Zelensky criticised Ukraine’s exclusion from the US-Russia talks, saying US President Donald Trump was “living in a disinformation space” governed by Moscow, prompting Trump to respond by calling the Ukrainian president a “dictator”.

French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to visit Washington on Monday, while UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will be there on Thursday.

Sir Keir has publicly backed Zelensky, reiterating the UK’s “ironclad support” for Kyiv, and said he would discuss the importance of Ukraine’s sovereignty when he speaks to Trump.

Pope Francis – who is in hospital with respiratory illness – wrote in a remarks released on Sunday that the third anniversary of the war was “a painful and shameful occasion for the whole of humanity”.

With its sun-drenched lifeguard towers, bronzed surfers and bikini-clad volleyball players, Will Rogers State Beach is one of the most recognizable stretches of sand in the world thanks to the global cult classic “Baywatch”.

But now the iconic beach is surrounded by the ruins of burned homes and palm trees, its parking lot a sorting ground for hazardous waste from the wildfires. The beach babes have been replaced by Environmental Protection Agency crews in hazmat suits sifting through melted electric car batteries and other hazardous waste before it’s trucked away to landfills.

The Palisades and Eaton fires generated a staggering amount of debris, estimated to be 4.5 million tonnes. In comparison, the devastating Maui fires of 2023 generated about 400,000 tonnes, according to the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Those fires took three months of clean-up by the EPA, which is in charge of removing hazardous waste. But now the agency is hoping to finish their job in LA in just a month – by 25 February – after President Donald Trump signed an executive order demanding the EPA “expedite the bulk removal of contaminated and general debris”.

The decision to sort through the hazardous waste along the coast has prompted protests and as the clean-up of fire debris moves at unprecedented speeds, many are asking if and when the ocean water will be safe for swimming and surfing.

“In this very vulnerable place, they’re sorting this very hazardous, hazardous stuff,” said actor and environmentalist Bonnie Wright.

“To me, this feels like 10 steps backwards, because you’re literally putting this waste even closer to the beach than it already is in the burn sites.”

Ms Wright, who played Ginny Weasly in the Harry Potter films, wrote a book on sustainability and devotes most of her time now to environmental causes.

While their battle to move sorting sites away from the coast ultimately failed, she said activists were successful in urging the EPA to move burned electric vehicle batteries to the Will Rogers site down the road and away from the sensitive Topanga Creek watershed.

The EPA said the burned vehicle batteries are an especially dangerous challenge but that the agency has the expertise to deal with them. To sift waste, they need a large space with roads big enough for truck traffic – which is why the Pacific Coast Highway, which runs along the beach, is more attractive than inside the windy, mountainous roads of the Palisades.

When lithium ion batteries are damaged – especially by the high heat and flames of a wildfire – they have the potential for reigniting and exploding days, weeks, or even months after they’ve been impacted, said Steve Calanog, the EPA’s incident commander for the LA fires.

“We have to treat them like unexploded ordinance, or, as the military calls it UXO,” he said.

Although some have questioned the speed with which the EPA has moved to clean up the toxic debris, he said there is no time to waste.

“We have to do this very quickly,” he said, noting that they started sorting waste even as the fires were still raging.

“If we are delayed, the risk of impacting the ocean, it goes up again.”

Mr Calanog was also in charge of the EPA response to the Maui fires, which may hold clues for how to measure what is safe and reasonable when it comes to testing water and soil samples.

Many are concerned about the impacts of heavy metals and chemicals in the air and water after the fires. In Maui, it’s been nearly 18 months since the fires and a small part of the coast around Lahaina is still closed to the public. The Army Corps of Engineers – which removes heavy debris after the EPA removes hazardous waste – just finished their last haul from Lahaina on 20 February.

But most of Maui has remained open to locals and tourists and the Hawaii Department of Health announced eight months after the fires that the coastal waters around Lahaina were safe for ocean recreation.

The scale of the clean-up from the Los Angeles fires, however, is unprecedented and the largest in US history.

LA County closed beaches along a nine-mile (14 km) stretch for weeks following the fires in January. Then torrential rain – while helping douse any smouldering embers – caused mudslides in the burn area and runoff of toxic ash and chemicals into the ocean, prompting further closures.

Now most beaches are reopened but a water advisory remains in effect along the coast from Santa Monica to Malibu until further notice advising “beach goers may recreate on the sand but continue to be advised to stay away from visible fire debris and to stay out of the ocean water during any posted ocean advisory”.

Only the most dedicated and local surfers could access the beaches in the burn area anyway – there’s no parking or stopping for about 9 miles along Pacific Coast Highway, which is clogged with trucks and workers cleaning up debris.

Though some will risk most anything to catch a good wave.

While touring the EPA sorting site, Annelisa Moe said she saw two surfers in the water at a popular surf break on Topanga Beach while she watched workers across the street in full PPE handling burned EV car batteries.

“The water looked like chocolate milk with like brown foam on it,” recalled Ms Moe, who is the associate director of Science & Policy, Water Quality at Heal the Bay, an environmental nonprofit dedicated to making coastal watersheds healthy.

“It was one of those days, in between storms, like beautiful, sunny, 75 degree weather type of days,” she said. “And so it felt a little bit odd to be there amidst the destruction while we have this perfect beach day.”

Jenny Newman of the Los Angeles regional water quality control board told an LA County Public Health virtual town hall on 18 February that the initial water quality tests they conducted on 22-27 January “came back better than we expected.” But the water board cautioned that people should follow county advisories to stay out of the water near the burn site.

Dozens of scientists and volunteers from Heal The Bay and a myriad of private and public sector agencies have also been testing water and soil samples to see what levels of forever chemicals and heavy metals are present in the ocean, but toxic analysis can take 4-6 weeks and there’s very little data available.

At the Surfrider Foundation, volunteers test the ocean water all year long. But their small lab is testing for fecal bacteria – not arsenic. Now it’s too dangerous to expose volunteers in the burn areas, so the staff have partnered with Heal the Bay and the University of Southern California to process their water samples.

“All our community members are ocean lovers. We have the same questions they have,” said Eugenia Ermacora of the Surfrider Foundation. “It’s a concern, and everybody is asking, When can we go back? When is it safe? And I wish I had an answer.”

Chad White, a surfer who grew up in the Palisades and who protested against the EPA sorting site along the Pacific Coast Highway, said there’s no way he would surf there now – it would be too painful to look at the coast and be reminded of what has been lost. And there’s too much metal and other debris in the surf.

“It’s taken my desire to surf down to zero, not just because of the water quality, but just because of what’s happening,” he said over coffee in Topanga Canyon. He rode his first wave in 1977 at Will Rogers State Beach and taught his son to surf at age four and his wife at age 60.

“It’s earth-shattering to someone like me,” he said of the destruction along the coast. “That beach means something to me too, and I’m one person. There are tens of, maybe hundreds or thousands of us that utilize the beach every day.”

Many of Mr White’s friends lost their homes and he said people are traumatised to see what the landscape and coast around them looks like now.

“Every movie that you see, every film that makes anybody from any other part of the world want to come to California is based on their seeing that Pacific Coast Highway and those beautiful homes in Malibu, across along the beach. They’re all gone,” he said. “Now it’s a toxic waste dump.”

Large crowds have gathered for the funeral of Hezbollah’s former leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli air strike in Beirut in September.

Mourners dressed in black flocked to a stadium on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital on Sunday. They also paid their respects to Hashem Safieddine, Nasrallah’s successor, who was killed in a separate Israeli strike before he could assume his post.

Nasrallah, the former leader of the Lebanese militant Shia Islamist group, was one of the most influential figures in the Middle East.

Hours before the funeral began at 13:00 local time (11:00 GMT), Israel launched air strikes in southern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah rocket launchers.

People braved the cold to attend the funeral, which was held at the 50,000-capacity Camille Chamoun Sports City stadium.

Nasrallah’s coffin was draped in Hezbollah’s flag and paraded along with Safieddine’s casket through huge crowds of black-clad mourners.

Excerpts of Nasrallah’s speeches were played to the gathered supporters, who chanted, waved flags and held portraits of the leaders.

One mourner, 55-year-old Umm Mahdi, told the AFP news agency that the funeral was the “least we can do” for the late Hezbollah leader “who gave up everything” for his cause.

Prior to his death, Nasrallah had not been seen in public for years because of fears of being assassinated by Israel.

The late leader had close personal links to Iran and played a key role in turning Hezbollah into the political and military force it is today. He was revered by the group’s supporters.

Under Nasrallah’s 30-year leadership, Hezbollah – which is banned as a terrorist organisation in the UK, US and other countries – helped train fighters from the Palestinian armed group Hamas, as well as militias in Iraq and Yemen, and obtained missiles and rockets from Iran for use against Israel.

He died aged 64 in Dahieh, a closely-guarded suburb of Beirut. After Nasrallah’s death, Hezbollah allowed open access to the area for the first time for a public memorial.

The mass funeral is an apparent show of strength for Hezbollah, which suffered a series of major setbacks during Israel’s campaign in Lebanon last year.

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz wrote on X that Israeli planes were flying over the stadium while the funeral took place to “convey a clear message: whoever threatens to destroy Israel – that will be the end of them”.

Israel’s incursion into Lebanon came after almost a year of cross-border hostilities sparked by the war in Gaza.

Lebanon was subject to an intense Israeli air campaign and a ground invasion of the country’s south.

Dozens of senior figures were killed when Israeli-made walkie-talkies were detonated in a surprise attack in September 2024.

Many of Hezbollah’s most senior military and political leaders were also killed during the latest conflict with Israel.

The offensive killed around 4,000 people in Lebanon – including many civilians – and led to more than 1.2 million residents being displaced before a ceasefire deal was struck in November.

Representatives from Iran, Iraq and Yemen attended the funeral, which was delayed to allow time for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon – though some troops still remain.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the slain leaders as “two heroes of the resistance” in a speech.

US President Donald Trump was right to re-establish links with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to set up peace talks to end the war in Ukraine, a senior Labour minister has said.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said there could be “no negotiated peace without Russia” and that Trump’s approach had brought “Russians to the table”.

The US president has faced a backlash for excluding Ukraine from talks after his aides met Russian officials in Saudi Arabia. Trump has also suggested Ukraine may be a bystander, saying it has “no cards” in the deal.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will meet Trump in Washington this week and press for Ukraine to be “at the heart” of any peace talks.

Speaking on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Phillipson said that Trump thawing diplomatic ties with Russia and Putin was “the right approach”.

“President Trump has brought the Russians to the table,” she added.

When asked by Kuenssberg if welcoming Putin back was the right move, Phillipson said, “absolutely”.

“There can be no settlement, no negotiated peace, without Russia,” she said.

She added “any lasting settlement where it comes to peace does require Ukrainian voices, President Zelensky’s voice to be a central part of that.

“There can be no settlement unless we have a negotiation involving both Russia and Ukraine.

“We are however, also clear of the risk that Russian President Putin poses to our interest.”

Shortly after coming to office, Trump held a phone call with Putin in which the leaders agreed to begin negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. It was the first phone-call to Putin by a US president since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

It was a significant thawing of the US relationship with Russia. Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden previously called Putin a “murderous dictator” and a “pure thug”.

Since the call Trump has claimed Putin wants to reach a deal to end the war in Ukraine – arguing Russia did not necessarily have to negotiate a ceasefire, because it could take “the whole country” by force.

Trump has instead turned on Zelensky in recent days, calling him a “dictator without elections,” claiming he was doing a “terrible job” and falsely suggesting he was the one who started the war with Russia.

Trump’s short-term goal is to stop the fighting in Ukraine. Longer term, he appears to want less US involvement, given that the country has sent tens of billions of dollars’ worth of weapons to Kyiv.

The White House is pushing Ukraine to sign a $500bn (£395bn) minerals deal, which would give the US control over half of Ukraine’s mineral resources – which the Trump administration describes this as “payback” for earlier US military assistance.

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

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”.

Sir Keir is seeking to balance support for Ukraine with keeping his working relationship with Trump.

This weekend, Sir Keir assured Zelensky of the UK’s “ironclad support” for Kyiv. The comments came in the second telephone conversation in four days between the two leaders.

It comes ahead of a big week of diplomacy, as Sir Keir heads to the White House on Thursday shortly after French President Emmanuel Macron visits Washington on Monday.

While making his pitch to Trump this week, Sir Keir is expected to set out a path for the UK to increase spending from 2.3% of GDP to 2.5% by 2030 – in line with Labour’s election manifesto commitment.

European countries raising defence spending and becoming less reliant on the US for has been a key demand from Trump.

In his push for Nato allies to shoulder more of the security burden, Trump has suggested European nations to commit at least 5% of GDP to defence.

In a speech to the Scottish Labour Conference in Glasgow on Sunday, Sir Keir said “the US is right” that “we Europeans – including the United Kingdom – have to do more for our defence and security”.

The UK also must stand “ready to play our role if a force is required in Ukraine once a peace agreement is reached”, he said.

Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge has called on the government to “go further and faster” on increasing defence spending.

Earlier this week, the Liberal Democrats said there should be a national conversation on how to get to a target of 3% of GDP spent on defence.

But Cartlidge refused to say how much the Tories would invest until they see the details of this year’s strategic defence review.

Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Cartlidge said the UK was going to have to “invest much more in hard power” and boost spending on “the military”.

The Conservatives have argued welfare budgets and foreign aid could be cut to pay for increases in defence.

Cartlidge said his party backed Labour’s efforts to ensure Ukraine is involved in any peace talks to ensure lasting peace.

“Because if Russia is seen to in any way ‘win’ from any settlement, should there be one, I think that would send a terrible signal to other adversaries like China,” he said.

His comments were echoed by former Conservative leader and foreign secretary Lord William Hague said he was “very worried” about Trump’s approach.

Lord Hague, who is now Chancellor of Oxford University, said: “The only way to end this war in a way that does not encourage future wars is to give as much support as we possibly can to Ukraine – to show Putin that a war of aggression will never succeed.

“Then there is the great danger that in ending this war they would be creating the scene for a wider war in the future, so I think there could be a historic mistake being made here from Washington.”

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US government workers received an email on Saturday afternoon asking them to list their accomplishments from the past week or resign – the latest development in the Trump administration’s efforts to scale back the federal workforce.

The email came after Trump’s billionaire confidante Elon Musk posted on X that employees would “shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week”.

“Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation,” he wrote.

Musk, as the head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), has been leading an outside effort to aggressively curtail government spending through funding cuts and firings.

The email arrived in inboxes shortly after Trump spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference (Cpac). The messages came with the subject line “What did you do last week?” from a sender listed as HR.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the federal government’s human resources agency, confirmed the email was authentic in a statement to CBS, the BBC’s US news partner.

“As part of the Trump administration’s commitment to an efficient and accountable federal workforce, OPM is asking employees to provide a brief summary of what they did last week by the end of Monday, CC’ing their manager,” it said. “Agencies will determine any next steps.”

In a copy of the email obtained by the BBC, employees were asked to explain their accomplishments from the past week in five bullet points – without disclosing classified information – before midnight on Monday.

The message did not mention whether a failure to respond would be considered a resignation.

The American Federation of Government Employees, the largest union representing federal employees, criticised the message as “cruel and disrespectful” and vowed to challenge any “unlawful terminations” of federal employees.

“Once again, Elon Musk and the Trump Administration have shown their utter disdain for federal employees and the critical services they provide to the American people,” Everett Kelley, union president, said in a statement.

On Sunday morning, Musk wrote on his social media platform X that “a large number of responses have been received already”, adding: “These are the people who should be considered for promotion.”

A few hours later, Musk said on X that the move was important because “a significant number of people who are supposed to be working for the government are doing so little work that they are not checking their email at all”.

Musk went on to say that Doge believes “non-existent people or the identities of dead people are being used to collect paychecks”, claiming “outright fraud” without evidence.

Musk has repeatedly made claims of fraud in defending his team’s work across a range of government departments and functions.

But on Saturday, there appeared to be some disagreement about the latest email among government department heads.

Newly-confirmed FBI director Kash Patel told his employees in an email that they should “pause any responses” to the OPM memo.

“FBI personnel may have received an email from OPM requesting information,” Patel wrote in a message obtained by CBS News. “The FBI, through the Office of the Director, is in charge of all of our review processes, and will conduct reviews in accordance with the FBI procedures.”

The State Department sent a similar message to its employees and said it will respond on behalf of the department.

“No employee is obligated to report their activities outside of their Department chain of command,” an email from Tibor Nagy, acting undersecretary for management, that was obtained by US media said.

The union that represents many government employees, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), was critical of the email and threatened legal action if employees were unlawfully terminated.

“It is cruel and disrespectful to hundreds of thousands of veterans who are wearing their second uniform in the civil service to be forced to justify their job duties to this out-of-touch, privileged, unelected billionaire who has never performed one single hour of honest public service in his life,” AFGE President Everett Kelley said.

Earlier in the day, Trump touted cuts and told a crowd of supporters at Cpac that the work of federal employees had been inadequate because some of them work remotely at least some of the time.

“We’re removing all of the unnecessary, incompetent and corrupt bureaucrats from the federal workforce,” the president told the crowd at the annual conference in suburban Washington on Saturday afternoon.

“We want to make government smaller, more efficient,” he added. “We want to keep the best people, and we’re not going to keep the worst people.”

Elon Musk’s team has exacted wide-ranging changes to the US federal infrastructure through Doge and with approval from the White House.

Thousands of government employees at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Pentagon and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), as well as other agencies, have been fired in recent weeks.

The email mirrors Musk’s handling of employees after he acquired social media platform Twitter, now called X, in 2022. As the staff there shrunk under his ownership, he issued ultimatums that included a now-infamous request to commit to being “extremely hardcore” at work or resign.

Trump has repeatedly applauded Musk’s government-cutting measures.

In a Truth Social post, Trump said that Musk is doing a “great job” in reducing the size of the federal government and that he would like to see him “get more aggressive” in the pursuit.

A large asteroid known as 2024 YR4 has grabbed headlines this week as scientists first raised its chances of hitting earth, then lowered them.

The latest estimate says the object has a 0.28% chance of hitting Earth in 2032, significantly lower than the 3.1% chance earlier in the week.

Scientists say it is now more likely to smash into the Moon, with Nasa estimating the probability of that happening at 1%.

But in the time since 2024 YR4 was first spotted through a telescope in the desert in Chile two months ago, tens of other objects have passed closer to Earth than the Moon, which in astronomical terms sounds like a near miss.

It is likely that others, albeit much smaller, have hit us or burned up in the atmosphere but gone unnoticed.

This is the story of the asteroids that you never hear about – the fly-bys, the near-misses and the direct hits.

The vast majority are harmless. But some carry the most valuable clues for unlocking mysteries in our universe, information we are desperate to get our hands on.

Asteroids, also sometimes called minor planets, are rocky pieces left over from the formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago.

Rocks routinely orbit close to Earth, pushed by the gravity of other planets.

For most of human history, it has been impossible to know how close we have come to being struck by a large asteroid.

Serious monitoring of objects near Earth only started in the late 20th century, explains Professor Mark Boslough from the University of New Mexico. “Before that we were blissfully oblivious to them,” he says.

We now know that quite large objects – 40m across or more – pass between Earth and the Moon several times a year. That’s the same size of asteroid that exploded over Siberia in 1908 injuring people and damaging buildings over 200 square miles.

The most serious near-miss, and the closest comparison with YR4, was an asteroid called Apophis which was first spotted in 2004 and measured 375 meters across, or around the size of a cruise ship.

Professor Patrick Michel from French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) tracked Apophis and recalls it was considered the most hazardous asteroid ever detected.

It took until 2013 to get enough observations to understand that it was not going to hit Earth.

But he says there was one big difference with YR4. “We didn’t know what to do. We discovered something, we determined an impact probability, and then thought, who do we call?” he says. Scientists and governments had no idea how to respond, he says.

A large asteroid strike could be catastrophic if it hits an area where humans live.

We don’t know exactly how big YR4 is yet, but if it is at the top end of estimates, about 90m across, it would likely remain substantially intact rather than break up as it enters the Earth’s atmosphere.

“The surviving asteroid mass could create a crater. Structures in the immediate vicinity would likely be destroyed and people within the local region (dozens of kilometers) would be at risk of serious injury,” explains Professor Kathryn Kunamoto from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Some people could die.

But since Apophis, there have been huge advances in what is called planetary defence.

Prof Michel is part of the international Space Mission Planning Advisory Group.

Its delegates advise governments on how to respond to an asteroid threat and run rehearsal exercise for direct hits. There is one going on right now.

If the asteroid was on course for a town or city, Dr Boslough compares the response to preparations made for a major hurricane, including evacuations and measures to protect infrastructure.

The Space Mission Planning Advisory Group will meet again in April to decide what to do about YR4.

By then most scientists expect the risk to have almost entirely gone, as their calculations of its trajectory become more precise.

We do have options beyond “taking a hit”, as Dr Kumamoto puts it.

Nasa and the European Space Agency have developed technologies to nudge dangerous asteroids off course.

Nasa’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) successfully slammed a spacecraft into the asteroid Dimorphos to change its path.

However scientists are sceptical if that would work in the case of YR4 due to uncertainty about what it is made of and the short window of time to successfully deflect it.

And what about the asteroids that do hit Earth? An awkward truth for scientists is that a direct strike on land far from humans is the ideal scenario for asteroids.

That gives them actual pieces from distant objects within of our solar system, as well as insights into Earth’s impact history.

Nearly 50,000 asteroids have been found in Antarctica. The most famous, called ALH 84001, is believed to have originated on Mars and contains minerals with vital evidence about the planet’s history, suggesting it was warm and had water on its surface billions of years ago.

In 2023 scientists detected an asteroid called 33 Polyhymnia which could have an element denser than anything found on Earth.

This superheavy element would be something entirely new to our planet. 33 Polyhymnia is at least 170 million kilometers away, but it’s an indication of the incredible potential of asteroids for our understanding of science.

Now that the chances are higher that YR4 will hit the Moon, some scientists are getting excited about that.

An impact could give real-world answers to questions they have only been able to simulate using computers.

“To have even one data point of a real example would be incredibly powerful,” says Prof Gareth Collins from Imperial College London.

“How much material comes out when the asteroid hits? How fast does it go? How far does that travel?” he asks.

It would help them test the scenarios they have modelled about asteroid impacts on Earth, helping create better predictions.

YR4 has reminded us that we live on a planet vulnerable to collisions with something the solar system is full of – rocks.

Scientists warn against complacency, saying it is a matter of when, not if, a large asteroid will threaten human life on Earth, although most expect that to be in the coming centuries rather than decades.

In the meantime, our ability to monitor space keeps improving. Later this year the largest digital camera ever built will begin working at the Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile, able to capture the night sky in incredible detail.

And the closer and longer we look, the more asteroids spinning close to Earth we are likely to spot.

One person has been killed and five police officers injured in a knife attack in the eastern French city of Mulhouse.

A 37-year-old Algerian man was arrested at the scene and the prosecutor has opened a terrorist inquiry because the suspect reportedly shouted “Allahu Akbar”, or “God is great”.

The man injured two police officers seriously, one in the neck and one in the chest. A 69-year-old Portuguese man who tried to intervene was stabbed and killed.

The suspect was subject to a deportation order because he was on a terrorism watch list, according to the local prosecutor. President Emmanuel Macron said there was “no doubt it was an Islamist terrorist attack”.

After expressing his condolences to the family of the victim, Macron added: “I want to reiterate the determination of the government, and mine, to continue the work to eradicate terrorism on our soil.”

The attack took place at about 16:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Saturday near a busy market in Mulhouse, which is close to the borders with Germany and Switzerland.

The police officers were on patrol at a demonstration taking place in support of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“I have lived in France for 41 years and I have never experienced something like this,” Cemalettin Canak, 55, told the Reuters news agency.

“It has shocked me a lot,” he added. “Now when I go to the market, I will be a little nervous.”

Of the two officers taken to hospital, the one injured to the chest was later discharged, prosecutors told the AFP news agency, while three others suffered minor injuries.

“Horror has seized our city,” Mulhouse mayor Michele Lutz wrote on Facebook.

French Prime Minister François Bayrou posted on X that “fanaticism has struck again and we are in mourning”.

“My thoughts naturally go to the victims and their families, with the firm hope that the injured will recover,” he said.

Visiting the scene on Saturday evening, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau told broadcaster TF1 that the suspect had been found to have a “schizophrenic profile” following his arrest.

He also said France had attempted to expel the suspect 10 times, and each time Algeria had refused to accept him.

He called for the establishment of a new “balance of power” with Algeria, and told reporters “we must change the rules” on how detention centres operate.

There was no immediate public comment from Algeria in response.

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.

Mali’s military government says it is investigating allegations that soldiers “coldly executed” at least 24 civilians in the north of the country on Monday.

That claim was made by a separatist Tuareg rebel alliance, called Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), which is battling the Malian government in the same region.

The FLA accuse Malian forces and Wagner mercenaries of intercepting two passenger vehicles travelling to Algeria from the Malian city of Gao and killing the civilians on board, including women and children.

In a statement, army chief Gen Oumar Diarra said the allegations “relayed by terrorist networks, allies and sponsors” follow other “unfounded” claims against state forces.

For many years, the Malian government has been struggling against both Tuareg rebels seeking a breakaway state in the north and jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

The military which seized power in coups in 2020 and 2021 hired Russian mercenaries from the paramilitary group Wagner to help improve security in the country.

Both government forces and the Russians have often been accused by rights groups of committing gross human rights abuses against civilians, which they deny.

Last month, Mali was one of three countries under military rule to leave the West African regional bloc Ecowas, after refusing its demands to restore civilian rule.

The withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger dealt a huge blow to Ecowas, which at 50 years old is considered Africa’s most important regional group.

Mali’s military leaders also ended ties with former colonial power France, whose troops left the country in 2022 after more than a decade fighting Islamist insurgents.

The following year, all 12,000 UN peacekeepers left Mali on the junta’s instructions.

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A British archaeologist believes his team may have found a second tomb in Egypt belonging to King Thutmose II.

The potential find comes just days after Piers Litherland announced the discovery of a tomb more than a century since Tutankhamun’s was revealed.

Mr Litherland told the Observer he suspects this second site will hold the pharaoh’s mummified body.

Archaeologists believe the first tomb was emptied six years after burial, due to a flood, and relocated to a second.

Mr Litherland thinks the second tomb lies below a 23-metre (75 ft) man-made pile of limestone, ash, rubble and mud plaster, that was designed by ancient Egyptians to look like part of a mountain in the Western Valleys of the Theban Necropolis near the city of Luxor.

The first was located behind a waterfall, and it is thought to have flooded as a result.

When Egyptologists were searching for the initial tomb, they found a posthumous inscription that indicated the content could have been moved to a second location nearby, by Thutmose II’s wife and half-sister Hatshepsut.

The British-Egyptian team are now working to uncover the tomb by hand, after attempts to tunnel into it were deemed as being “too dangerous”.

“We should be able to take the whole thing down in about another month,” Mr Litherland said.

The crew found the first tomb in an area associated with the resting places of royal women, but when they got into the burial chamber they found it decorated – the sign of a pharaoh.

“Part of the ceiling was still intact: a blue-painted ceiling with yellow stars on it. And blue-painted ceilings with yellow stars are only found in kings’ tombs,” said Mr Litherland.

He told the BBC’s Newshour programme earlier this week that he felt overwhelmed by the find.

“The emotion of getting into these things is just one of extraordinary bewilderment because when you come across something you’re not expecting to find, it’s emotionally extremely turbulent really,” he said.

Thutmose II is best known for being the husband of Queen Hatshepsut, regarded as one of Egypt’s greatest pharaohs and one of the few female pharaohs who ruled in her own right.

Thutmose II was an ancestor of Tutankhamun, whose reign is believed to have been from about 1493 to 1479 BC. Tutankhamun’s tomb was found by British archaeologists in 1922.

After years of global domination by stars such as Ed Sheeran, Adele and Harry Styles, British music artists have failed to make it into the worldwide annual charts of the year’s top 10 bestselling singles or albums – for the first time in more than two decades.

No UK acts featured on either list for 2024, as published by global music industry body the IFPI.

Two years ago, UK acts held seven of the 20 entries in the end-of-year singles and albums charts.

US singer Benson Boone claimed 2024’s number one song with Beautiful Things, while Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department was the world’s bestselling album.

Releases by Coldplay, Charli XCX and Dua Lipa did not make the lists – with the highest-ranked British representative being singer and producer Artemas, whose song I Like The Way You Kiss Me was the 15th most popular single of 2024.

Previously, UK acts have appeared in one, or both, of the top 10 lists every year since at least 2003.

The reduction in British stars is not just a global phenomenon. No British act held any of the top 10 most popular singles of the year in the UK in the most recent list – the first time that has happened since at least 2005.

UK artists are facing competition from pop stars from Korea and Latin America, with four of the world’s 10 bestselling albums last year by South Korean boy bands.

Global bestselling albums of 2024

1. Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department
2. Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard And Soft
3. Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet
4. Enhypen – Romance: Untold
5. SZA – SOS
6. Seventeen – Spill The Feels
7. Morgan Wallen – One Thing At A Time
8. Seventeen – 17 Is Right Here
9. Noah Kahan – Stick Season
10. Stray Kids – ATE

However, a crop of new British stars including Lola Young, Central Cee and Myles Smith have made a big impact at home and abroad in recent months, suggesting the well is not running dry.

Jo Twist, chief executive of British record industry body the BPI, said: “British artists may have enjoyed stronger years on the international stage, which perhaps isn’t surprising given some of our biggest names were not in cycle in 2024.

“There was still plenty to be excited about, as a new generation announced itself – not least Charli XCX, who enjoyed a breakthrough year globally, alongside international chart success for emerging artists such as Jordan Adetunji, Artemas and Good Neighbours, while the likes of Lola Young and Myles are now rapidly building an international following.”

While asserting UK record companies do “an amazing job” at nurturing new artists, it is “undoubtedly becoming much harder to break talent in a hyper-competitive global music economy”, she admitted.

“Streaming has created many benefits, enabling more artists to succeed, but has also levelled the playing field for music markets around the world, opening up more challenges to the UK.”

Global best-selling singles of 2024

1. Benson Boone – Beautiful Things
2. Sabrina Carpenter – Espresso
3. Teddy Swims – Lose Control
4. Billie Eilish – Birds of a Feather
5. Shaboozey – A Bar Song (Tipsy)
6. Hozier – Too Sweet
7. Post Malone – I Had Some Help (feat Morgan Wallen)
8. Kendrick Lamar – Not Like Us
9. Taylor Swift – Cruel Summer
10. Noah Kahan – Stick Season

Last year was “one of the most competitive years in recent memory to release music”, according to Billboard’s UK editor Thomas Smith, with big releases from major US stars such as Swift, Beyonce and Billie Eilish.

“In terms of where the UK is at, it isn’t great. I wouldn’t say it’s an existential threat just yet, but we’re probably not far off,” he said.

“It’s concerning that it’s going down – it feels like quite rapidly.

“But then, on the flip side, this is all cyclical.”

Next weekend, the British music industry will celebrate the achievements of acts such as Charli XCX, Ezra Collective and The Last Dinner Party at the Brit Awards.

Another nominee, Sam Fender, released his latest album on Friday to strong reviews.

This year has got “off to a great start from a UK perspective”, Smith said, and things could pick up even more speed if superstars like Sheeran, Styles and Sam Smith return later in 2025.

But the music industry landscape is very different from a decade ago, he adds.

“We see artists from the K-pop scene and Latin America – like Bad Bunny, one of the biggest, most listened-to artists on the planet right now.

“The UK has some really specific issues that need to be addressed, like the rising cost of touring. A lot of UK acts have to be really careful and can’t afford to lose money on every single tour that they do when they go to Europe or to the US or anywhere else.”

Grassroots music venues are “key hubs for nurturing talent” but many have closed or are struggling, he said.

UK music exports grew by 15% in 2023, the latest year for which figures are available.

But US music data company Chartmetric has said much of this is driven by legacy acts such as Queen, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

“While this may not appear problematic for the UK’s bottom line right now, it could highlight potential concerns for the future,” journalist Sonia Chien wrote in Chartmetric’s How Music Charts newsletter last week.

“If the UK does not foster the careers of new talent today, the contributions of current legacy artists would be expected to diminish, without being replenished.”

Israel says it is indefinitely delaying the release of more than 600 Palestinian prisoners, in another potentially major setback in the ceasefire process.

Benjamin Netanyahu said the release was now going to be delayed until the next handover of hostages by Hamas was guaranteed – and without what the Israeli prime minister called the degrading ceremonies Hamas has put on each week.

Only one more handover – of the bodies of four hostages who died in captivity – is due to take place in the first phase of the ceasefire deal, which is due to end on 1 March.

No arrangements for the release of other living hostages, due to take place in the second phase, have yet been made.

Delegations from Israel and Hamas were due to negotiate the exact terms of the second phase while the first was ongoing – but have yet to meet.

Mediators will be working overtime to get the deal back on track and avert a possible collapse, after both Israel and Hamas accused one another of breaking the terms of the agreement.

Netanyahu accused Hamas of “repeated violations”, including the “cynical use of the hostages for propaganda purposes”.

In response, Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq strongly condemned the decision to postpone the release of the prisoners in a statement on Sunday morning.

He said that Israel’s claim that the handover ceremonies were humiliating was a “false claim and a flimsy argument” aimed at evading its obligations under the ceasefire agreement.

Netanyahu’s statement came after four hostages taken captive on 7 October – Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Eliya Cohen and Omer Wenkert – were released on Saturday.

The two other released hostages, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, were held in Gaza for years – Mr Mengistu since 2014 and Mr al-Sayed since 2015.

In exchange, Israel was supposed to release 602 Palestinian prisoners. Hamas accused Israel of violating the agreement by delaying the release.

The six Israeli hostages are the final living hostages to be returned as part of the first phase of a ceasefire agreement.

Meanwhile, outside the Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank, family and friends waited for the release of Palestinian prisoners.

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According to Palestinian authorities, 50 prisoners who were going to be released were serving life sentences, 60 had long sentences, and 445 were detained by Israel since 7 October.

There are 62 hostages taken on 7 October 2023 still being held by Hamas, about half of whom are believed to be alive.

Hamas began releasing hostages, facilitated by the Red Cross, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners after the ceasefire agreement took effect on 19 January.

Initial chaotic scenes have become more choreographed, with hostages flanked by fighters on stages before the handovers.

On Saturday, Mr Shoham, 40, and Mr Mengistu, 39, were passed to the Red Cross in Rafah in southern Gaza before being transferred to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Mr Shoham was visiting family at Kibbutz Be’eri in October 2023 when he and others, including his wife and two children, were kidnapped by Hamas. His captured family members were released after 50 days.

In a statement, his family said: “This is an unforgettable moment, where all emotions are rapidly mixing together. Our Tal is with us.”

Mr Mengistu, who is Ethiopian-Israeli, had been held by Hamas since September 2014 when he crossed into northern Gaza.

He and Mr al-Sayed, a Bedouin Arab Israeli who entered Gaza in 2015, had both suffered with mental health problems in the past, according to their families.

Mr al-Sayed’s release was conducted privately in Gaza City on Saturday.

“After nearly a decade of fighting for Hisham’s return, the long-awaited moment has arrived,” his family said in a statement.

“During these days, we need privacy for Hisham and the entire family so we can begin to care for Hisham and ourselves.”

Separately, at Nuseirat in central Gaza, Mr Shem Tov, 22, Mr Cohen, 27, and Mr Wenkert, 23, were freed in another public show by Hamas.

All three were taken captive at the Nova music festival.

Mr Shem Tov had initially escaped by car when Hamas fighters descended on the festival, but was captured when he went back to rescue his friends.

Mr Cohen had hidden with girlfriend Ziv Abud in a shelter at the festival, but was found and driven away. The shelter was bombed, but Ms Abud survived and escaped.

Mr Wenkert managed to send text messages to his family when festival-goers were being attacked, to tell them he was going to a safe shelter, but they lost contact with him.

Crowds in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square greeted the public releases with cheers as they watched them unfold on a live feed.

Families celebrating the return of the six men called for all remaining hostages to be released.

“Our only request is to seize this window of opportunity to secure a deal that will… return all hostages home,” Mr Shoham’s family said.

Remaining hostages include Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old Israeli-American soldier captured on 7 October.

His mother, Yael Alexander, who was watching Saturday’s hostage release, told the BBC it was “amazing” to see them freed, but for her family it is “very tough” waiting.

“There are more than dozens of young men alive, like my son, still waiting to be released,” she said. “This is the main goal, to release the live people now from Gaza.”

Saturday’s joyful scenes contrasted with earlier this week, when the bodies of hostages Shiri Bibas, her two young sons and another captive Oded Lifschitz were returned to Israel.

About 1,200 people – mostly civilians – were killed in the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023 and 251 others taken back to Gaza as hostages.

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