“I swear to God I need help,” said the man quietly on the other end of the line.

The Ethiopian, who calls himself Mike, said he is being held with 450 others in a building inside Myanmar, along the country’s border with Thailand.

They are among the thousands of people who have been freed from the notorious scam compounds that have thrived on the border for years, in what appears to be the toughest action so far against the industry along the Thai-Myanmar border.

But many of them are now stranded in Myanmar in makeshift camps because the process of assessing them and arranging flights back to their own countries is so slow.

The armed militia groups who are holding them have a very limited capacity to support so many people – more than 7,000. One of them has said they have stopped freeing people from the compounds because they are not being moved to Thailand fast enough.

The BBC understands that conditions in the camps are unsanitary, food barely sufficient, and many of the freed workers, like Mike, are in poor health. He is suffering from panic attacks, after working for a year in a scam centre where he was routinely beaten.

He told us they got two very basic meals a day, there were only two toilets for 450 people, who he said were now relieving themselves wherever they could.

Mike described being invited a year ago to take up what he was promised would be a good job, in Thailand, requiring only good English language and typing skills.

Instead he found himself subjected to a brutal regime, forced to work long hours every day to meet the target for defrauding people online set by his Chinese bosses.

“It was the worst experience of my life. Of course I was beaten. But believe me I have seen a lot worse done to other people.”

Mike is one of an estimated 100,000 people who are believed to have been lured to work in the scam operations along the Thai-Myanmar border, most of them run by Chinese fraud and gambling operatives who have taken advantage of the lawlessness in this part of Myanmar.

Despite horrifying accounts of abuse from those who escaped in the past, thousands still come from parts of the world where good jobs are scarce, enticed by promises of good money.

China, where many of the scam victims come from, has acted to shut down scam operations along its own border with Myanmar, but until this year neither China nor Thailand had done much about the Thai-Myanmar border.

Ariyan, a young man from Bangladesh, has come back to Thailand to try to help 17 friends who are still there. He said he made a promise to himself to do this after his own gruelling escape from one of the most notorious scam centres last October.

He showed us a brief, shaky video of the compound, still under construction in a remote, forested valley, where he was held, and remembers the terrible treatment he and his friends suffered at the hands of their Chinese boss.

“They gave us a target every week, $5,000. If not, they gave us two electric shocks. Or they put us in a dark room, with no windows. But if we earned a lot of money, they were very happy with us.”

Ariyan had to approach men in the Middle East and lure them into transferring funds to fictitious investments. Using AI, the scammers made him appear on the screen to be an attractive young woman, altering his voice as well.

He says he hated doing it. He remembers one man who was willing to sell his wife’s jewellery to fund the fraudulent investment, and wishing he could warn him. But he said the bosses monitored all their calls.

The release of the scam workers started more than two weeks ago after Thailand, under pressure from China and some of its own politicians, cut power and telecommunications links to the compounds on the border.

It limited banking access to the scam bosses and issued arrest warrants for some of the militia leaders who had been protecting the business.

That hit the business, but it also hit the ordinary Karen people who live nearby even harder, putting pressure on the militia commanders to show willingness in ending the abuses in the scam centres. They began helping those trying to escape, and completely evacuating some compounds.

The camp Mike is housed in is now being guarded by the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army, DKBA, a breakaway insurgent faction of the ethnic Karen community.

Until recently, it was protecting the many scam compounds which have sprung up in its territory. You can see them easily as you drive along the Moei River which divides the two countries – unlikely expanses of new buildings over in war-torn Karen State contrasting with the rural landscape on the Thai side of the border.

Thailand insists it is moving as fast as it can to process the former scam workers and get them home.

A group of 260 freed workers were brought over the Moei River on a raft earlier this month. And around 621 Chinese nationals were flown straight back to China with a police escort on chartered planes. Otherwise, the movement of freed workers to Thailand seems to have stalled.

The problem is that they are from many different countries, some of which are doing little to help get their people home. Around 130 of the first 260 who came over are from Ethiopia, which does not have an embassy in Bangkok.

The BBC has been told that some other African countries will only fly their people home if someone else pays. Most of the freed workers have nothing; even their passports were withheld by the compound bosses.

Thailand fears bringing over thousands of people it will then have to look after indefinitely. It also wants to screen them to find out which are genuine victims of human trafficking and which may have committed criminal acts, but does not have the capacity to do this with such a large group of people.

Different ministries and agencies, including the army, are involved in managing this problem, and have to agree who does what. It does not help that several senior police and immigration officers have been transferred over their alleged involvement in the scam business.

“If this issue is not resolved, then we will not stop working on it – we must work seriously,” said Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Tuesday in Bangkok. But she was referring to the wider problem of the scam business, not the growing humanitarian crisis among the freed workers.

“Unfortunately, it seems we’re in a bit of a standstill,” says Judah Tana, an Australian who runs an NGO which has for years been helping the victims of trafficking in the scam centres.

“We are hearing distressing information about the lack of sanitation and toilets. Many of the 260 who already came were screened for TB and tested positive. We are hearing from those who are still inside that people are coughing up blood. They are very happy that they have been liberated from the scam compounds, but our worry is that we’re not engaging fast enough.”

Thailand now seems ready to bring over one group of 94 Indonesians, as their embassy has been pushing for their release for several days and has booked flights to Indonesia for them.

But that still leaves more than 7,000 still inside Myanmar, unsure what will now happen to them.

Mike told me he and many others with him feared that if they are not allowed to cross into Thailand soon, the DKBA may hand them back to the scam bosses, where they could face punishment for trying to leave.

On Wednesday night his panic attacks and breathing were so bad, he said, they took him to hospital.

“I just want to go home,” he said over the phone. “I just want to go back to my country. That is all I am asking.”

Instagram is reportedly considering launching its short-form video feature, Reels, as a separate app as the future of Chinese-owned TikTok remains uncertain in the US.

The social media platform’s boss Adam Mosseri told staff about the potential move this week, according to technology industry–focused business publication The Information, which cited a person who heard the remarks.

Instagram’s parent company Meta did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment.

In January, US President Donald Trump granted TikTok a 75-day extension to comply with a law signed by then-President Joe Biden that requires a sale or ban of the platform.

At the time, he floated the possibility of a joint venture running the company, saying he was seeking a 50-50 partnership between “the United States” and its Chinese owner ByteDance. But he did not give any further details on how that might work.

The Biden administration had argued that TikTok, which has 170 million US users, could be used by China as a tool for spying and political manipulation.

Opponents of a ban have cited freedom of speech as a reason for keeping the platform open.

In 2018, Meta launched a standalone app called Lasso to compete with TikTok but it was later shut down.

Leaked audio instructions by Greek rescue co-ordinators have cast further doubt on Greece’s official version of events in the hours before a migrant boat sank along with up to 650 people onboard.

The Adriana went down in the early hours of 14 June 2023 in international waters – but within Greece’s rescue zone – after leaving Libya days earlier.

Survivors later told the BBC that coastguards had caused their overcrowded fishing boat to capsize in a botched attempt to tow it and then forced witnesses to stay silent.

The Greek coastguard denied these claims and maintains it did not try to rescue those onboard because they were not in danger and said they had voluntarily wanted to reach Italy, not Greece.

But in a phone call that’s now emerged an unnamed man speaking from inside a Greek rescue coordination centre is heard instructing the captain of the migrant boat to tell an approaching ship that those onboard do not want to reach Greece.

The coastguard has not commented on the audio but said it had handed over all available evidence to a Naval Court which is investigating the disaster.

The sinking was one of the worst-ever disasters known to have happened in the Mediterranean Sea.

It is estimated the boat was carrying up to 750 migrants when it set off from the port of Tobruk in Libya nearly a week earlier.

Eighty-two bodies were recovered, but the United Nations believes an additional 500 people – including 100 women and children who were in the hold of the boat – may have died.

Audio recordings obtained by Greek website News247.gr reveal phone calls involving the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) at the port of Piraeus, near the capital Athens.

In the first call, at 18:50 local time (15:50 GMT) on 13 June, an officer is heard explaining to the man piloting the migrant boat that a large red vessel will soon be approaching to give supplies and that he should explain that the migrants do not want to reach Greece.

Officer 1:

The replies of the man captaining the migrant boat are not heard.

In a second call, 90 minutes later, at 22:10, a seemingly different officer from the same coordination centre, speaks to the captain of the Lucky Sailor (the “big red ship”).

Officer 2:

Lucky Sailor captain:

Officer 2:

Lucky Sailor captain:

Officer 2:

Officer 2:

Lucky Sailor captain:

Officer 2:

Lucky Sailor captain:

Officer 2:

Lucky Sailor captain:

Officer 2:

Lucky Sailor captain:

Another vessel, the Faithful Warrior, also gave some supplies to the migrant boat but no further conversations between its captain and the Greek authorities have emerged.

The Greek coastguard did not comment on the contents of the conversations but told the BBC it had submitted “all the material it had in its possession, including the audio recordings and the diaries of events” to the Maritime Court Prosecutor’s Office, which is investigating.

It said it had rescued more than a quarter of a million migrants in danger at sea in the last decade and arrested more than a thousand smugglers, and that its humanitarian work had been recognised internationally.

Our BBC investigation in the immediate days after the sinking challenged the Greek authorities’ explanation for the disaster.

Analysis of the movement of other ships in the area suggests the overcrowded fishing vessel was not moving for at least seven hours before it capsized.

The coastguard has always insisted that during these hours the boat was on a course to Italy and not in need of rescue.

Last year, a Greek court threw out charges against nine Egyptian men who were accused of causing the shipwreck.

The judges in the southern port city of Kalamata ruled they did not have jurisdiction to hear the case, on the grounds the vessel sank in international waters.

The indictment had showed that the defendants were being prosecuted on evidence that had already been contradicted by at least six survivors, who told the BBC the coastguard had caused their boat to capsize and then pressured them to frame the Egyptians.

Human rights lawyer, Dimitris Choulis, who represented some of the accused Egyptians said he was not surprised by what these recordings.

“We know about the coastguard’s tactics of either pushing back or not rescuing people.”

He claimed there had been “an attempted cover up from day one.”

“They [Greek authorities] told the story ‘they did not want to be rescued’ and so have insulted the memory of so many dead people,” he told the BBC.

Human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have said they have strong reservations about the integrity of the Greek investigation and have called for an international investigation.

The Greek Ombudsman – an independent authority removed from the government – has been looking at the allegations.

The disaster is also being examined by the Greek Naval Court.

Donald Trump held his first cabinet meeting at the White House on Wednesday, turning the occasion into an extended question-and-answer session that lasted for more than an hour.

Speaking alongside his cabinet – and billionaire Elon Musk who wore a “tech support” T-shirt – Trump covered a wide range of topics, ranging from Doge’s efforts to cut government spending to immigration, the economy and the war in Ukraine.

Here are six takeaways from the meeting.

Trump was asked by reporters which government department – and, by extension, which cabinet members – were most resistant to his policy changes.

“So far, I’m happy with all of those choices,” he said.

He added, however, that “some groups are much easier than others”, specifically praising the work of Elon Musk – who is not a cabinet member – and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

His administration is focusing on “cutting down the size of government, we have to”, he added.

“We want to have a balanced budget within a reasonably short period of time… meaning maybe by next year or maybe the year after,” Trump said.

Trump publicly – and repeatedly – backed the work of Elon Musk and Doge, the Department of Government Efficiency, which has been tasked with slashing government spending and the federal workforce.

The president sought to dampen any speculation of tension between Musk and the rest of his team.

“They have a lot of respect for Elon and that he’s doing this, and some disagree a little bit,” Trump said. “But I will tell you for the most part I think everyone’s not only happy, they’re thrilled.”

“If they aren’t, I want them to speak up,” he added.

At one point, Trump was asked whether any cabinet members had expressed dissatisfaction with Musk and turned to the room to ask them. None spoke.

Musk also defended Doge, calling it a “support function” for government agencies to rid themselves of fraud.

He acknowledged, however, that it will make mistakes, and noted that it had accidentally cancelled Ebola prevention efforts before reinstating them.

“But when we make mistakes we’ll fix it very quickly,” Musk said.

The president also addressed Musk’s e-mail to federal employees asking them to list five things they had done in the last week or risk losing their jobs, saying the cabinet is “very much behind” the initiative.

Trump speculated without evidence that some of the approximately one million federal workers who haven’t responded to the e-mail maybe “don’t exist”.

“Maybe they’re going to be gone,” he added.

“We’re trying to figure out who those people are who haven’t responded,” Trump added. “We’re being a little more surgical in situations where people are doing classified stuff.”

Trump also said he was encouraging cabinet members to “do their own Doge” at their respective agencies.

He also suggested that the Environmental Protection Agency, which is led by Lee Zeldin, could lose as much as 65% of its workforce.

Later in the day, a memo was sent to federal agencies asking them to submit plans for “a significant reduction” in their staff by 13 March.

It asks agencies to provide a list of employees who are deemed not essential. The memo also requests that future hiring be limited to one position for every four people who are let go.

These layoffs would be in addition to those already undertaken by Doge of mainly probationary workers. Multiple US outlets have reported that nearly 10,000 federal workers were let go across several agencies earlier this month.

That figure was in addition to the estimated 75,000 workers who have accepted an offer from the White House to leave voluntarily in the autumn.

Wednesday’s memo represents another step in Doge’s efforts to further cut down the size of the US government.

Exempt from this action, however, are positions in law enforcement, border security, immigration enforcement and military.

Trump confirmed that Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky will visit the White House on Friday – something that had previously been suggested.

Trump said the visit would see the US and Ukraine sign an expansive minerals deal, although the contours of that agreement remain unclear.

He said the deal would allow the US to “get our money back” for the assistance that Ukraine has been given in the three years since it was invaded by Russia.

“We’re going to get a lot of money in the future, and I think that’s appropriate, because we have taxpayers that shouldn’t be footing the bill,” he said. “It’s all been worked out.”

Zelensky has described the bilateral deal as preliminary, and said he wants further agreements which include US security guarantees to deter renewed Russian aggression.

Asked about security guarantees for Ukraine in the future, Trump said that the US would not provide any, arguing that the burden should fall to Europe.

Trump said he is planning to hit goods made in the European Union with tariffs of 25%.

“We’ll be announcing it very soon,” he told gathered reporters. “It’ll be 25% generally speaking and that will be on cars and all other things.”

“They’ve really taken advantage of us,” Trump said of the EU. “They don’t accept our cars. They don’t accept essentially our farm products. They use all sorts of reasons why not.”

Trump was also asked if he still plans on implementing tariffs on Canada and Mexico despite the significant drop in detentions of illegal migrants at the southern border and Canada’s plan to enhance border protection.

On 4 February, Trump abruptly agreed to hold off imposing 25% tariffs on both countries for 30 days, pulling the three countries back from the brink of a potentially damaging trade war.

The date Trump cited appeared to be an extension of that timeframe.

“April 2, the tariffs go on,” he said. “Not all of them but a lot of them. And I think that’s gonna be amazing.”

• EXPLAINED: Is Trump right when he says the US faces unfair trade?
• TRUMP TEAM: Who is on Trump’s top team?
• IMMIGRATION: Trump says $5m ‘gold card’ immigration visas will ‘sell like crazy’
• FOREIGN POLICY: Three years on, Ukraine’s extinction nightmare has returned
• WATCH: Ros Atkins on… the fight for Ukraine’s critical minerals

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet US President Donald Trump in Washington on Friday to sign an agreement on sharing his country’s mineral resources, Trump has said.

Zelensky has described the bilateral deal as preliminary, and said he wants further agreements which include US security guarantees to deter renewed Russian aggression.

But Trump said the US would not provide guarantees “beyond… very much”, saying the responsibility should instead fall to Europe.

Trump also seemingly ruled out the prospect of Ukraine becoming a Nato member – one of Zelensky’s long-held ambitions.

Speaking at a meeting of his cabinet on Wednesday, Trump said the presence of American workers extracting rare earth metals on Ukrainian soil would provide “automatic security” for Ukraine.

He said Kyiv should “forget about” joining Nato and repeated Russia’s claims that the issue was one of the driving factors behind the war.

The US president suggested a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia was not far off, telling reporters: “We’re going to make a deal with Russia and Ukraine to stop killing people.”

But Zelensky said without security guarantees “we won’t have a ceasefire, nothing will work, nothing”.

“I want to find a Nato path or something similar,” he said.

• What we know about US-Ukraine minerals deal

Russia has consistently opposed the idea of Ukraine becoming a member, fearing it would bring Nato forces too close to its borders.

In 2008, the alliance had said that Ukraine could eventually join.

Trump has suggested European peacekeeping troops could be stationed in Ukraine as part of a ceasefire deal, but Russia says it is against this.

European representatives, however, were not included in Washington’s initial talks with Russia.

Speaking to the BBC on Wednesday, Kaja Kallas, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said “for any kind of deal to work on European soil, you need the Europeans to also agree to it”.

She said the mineral resources deal was up to Ukraine, but any peace agreement would “need the Europeans on board”.

Ms Kallas’ scheduled meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday was abruptly cancelled, with both sides citing scheduling issues.

Zelensky said the success of the minerals deal, which was formally backed by his government on Wednesday evening, would depend on the outcome of his meeting with Trump this week.

Key details have not yet been made public, but Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said it envisages an “investment fund” for Ukraine’s reconstruction.

The prospect of a deal was first proposed by Zelensky last year as a way to offer the US a tangible reason to continue supporting Ukraine.

But disagreements over its substance exacerbated tensions between Trump and Zelensky in recent weeks.

The Ukrainian president had rejected an initial request from the US for $500bn (£395bn) in mineral wealth, but media reports suggest this demand has now been dropped.

There are also differences in how both sides are now describing the deal. Trump has lauded the “very big agreement” as an opportunity for the US to get its “money back” after funding aid to Ukraine.

But Zelensky has instead referred to it as a “framework agreement” upon which he hopes further deals can be made.

Trump has said he wants a quick end to the war in Ukraine and has sought to reset relations with Russia. After a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the two leaders sent delegations to Saudi Arabia in bilateral talks which excluded Ukraine.

In response, Zelensky accused the US of helping Putin “break out of years of isolation” and Trump of living in a “Russian disinformation space”.

Ukraine is a country rich in natural resources. Kyiv estimates that about 5% of the world’s “critical raw materials” are there. But accessing some of these resources will not be completely straightforward.

Some of the mineral deposits have been seized by Russia. According to Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine’s economy minister, resources worth $350bn (£277bn) remain in occupied territories today.

There are warnings too that Ukraine first needs to addresses its problem with unexploded mines before striking a deal with the US.

A quarter of Ukraine’s landmass is estimated to be contaminated with landmines, mainly concentrated in the war-torn east of the country.

Putin has also said he is open to offering the US access to rare minerals, including from Russian-occupied Ukraine.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will also be meeting both Trump and Zelensky separately this week to discuss the war in Ukraine.

He is due to arrive in Washington later on Wednesday.

In a crowded control centre, surrounded by dozens of TV screens, the Taliban’s police force proudly shows off its newly-acquired network of 90,000 CCTV cameras – used to watch over the day-to-day lives of millions of people.

“We monitor the entire city of Kabul from here,” says Khalid Zadran, a spokesperson for the Taliban police chief, pointing to one of the screens.

The authorities say such surveillance will help fight crime, but critics fear it will be used to clamp down on dissent and to monitor the strict morality code enforced by the Islamist Taliban government under their interpretation of Sharia law.

The BBC are the first international journalists allowed to see the system in action.

Inside the control room, police officers sit in rows watching the live streams from thousands of cameras, keeping tabs on the lives of the six million people who live in Kabul.

From car licence plates to facial expressions, everything is monitored.

“In certain neighbourhoods, when we notice groups of people and suspect they might be involved in drug use, criminal activities, or something suspicious, we quickly reach out to the local police,” says Zadran.

“They arrive swiftly to investigate the nature of the gathering.”

Under the previous government, Kabul was threatened daily with attacks from the Taliban and so-called Islamic State militants, as well as high profile kidnappings and car-jackings. When the Taliban retook power in 2021, they promised to crack down on crime.

The dramatic increase in the number of surveillance cameras in the capital is a sign of growing sophistication in the way the Taliban enforce law and order. Before their return, just 850 cameras were in place in the capital, according to a spokesman for the security forces that were driven from power.

However, in the past three years, the Taliban authorities have also introduced a range of draconian measures limiting people’s rights and freedoms, especially those of women. The Taliban government has not been formally recognised by any other country.

The surveillance system the BBC is shown in Kabul features the option to track people by facial recognition. On the corner of one screen images pop up with each face categorised by age range, gender, and whether or not they have a beard or a face mask.

“On clear days, we can zoom in on individuals [who are] kilometres away,” says Zadran, highlighting a camera positioned up high that focuses on a busy traffic junction.

The Taliban even monitor their own personnel. At a checkpoint, as soldiers popped open the trunk of a car for inspection, the operators focused their lenses, zooming in to scrutinise the contents within.

The interior ministry says the cameras have “significantly contributed to enhancing safety, curbing crime rates, and swiftly apprehending offenders”. It adds the introduction of CCTV and motorcycle controls have led to a 30% decrease in crime rates between 2023 and 2024 but it is not possible to independently verify these figures.

However, rights groups are concerned about who is being monitored and for how long.

Amnesty International say installing cameras “under the guise of ‘national security’ sets a template for the Taliban to continue their draconian policies that violate fundamental rights of people in Afghanistan – especially women in public spaces”.

By law women are not allowed to be heard outside their houses, although in practice this is not being strictly enforced. Teenage girls are prevented from accessing secondary and higher education. Women are barred from many forms of employment. In December, women training as midwives and nurses told the BBC they had been ordered not to return to classes.

While women continue to be visible on the streets of cities like Kabul, they are required to wear a face covering.

Fariba*, a young graduate who lives with her parents in Kabul, has been unable to find work since the Taliban came to power. She tells the BBC there is “significant concern that surveillance cameras may be used to monitor women’s hijabs [veils]”.

The Taliban say only the city police have access to the CCTV system and the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Ministry – the Taliban’s morality police – does not use it.

But Fariba is concerned the cameras will further endanger those opposed to Taliban rule.

“Many individuals, especially ex-military members, human rights advocates and protesting women, struggle to move freely and often live in secrecy,” she says.

“There is significant concern that surveillance cameras will be used to monitor women’s hijabs too,” she says.

Human Rights Watch, meanwhile, says Afghanistan does not have the data protection laws in place to regulate how the collected CCTV footage is held and used.

The police say the data is kept only for three months, while, according to the interior ministry, the cameras do not pose a threat to privacy as they “are operated from a special and completely confidential room by a specific and professional person in charge”.

The cameras appear to be Chinese-made. The control room monitors and branding on the feeds the BBC saw carried the name Dahua, a Chinese government-linked company. Earlier reports that the Taliban were in talks with China’s Huawei Technologies to buy cameras were denied by the company. Taliban officials refused to answer BBC questions about where they sourced the equipment.

Some of the cost of installing the new network is falling on ordinary Afghans who are being monitored by the system.

In a house in central Kabul the BBC spoke to Shella*, who was asked to pay for some of the cameras installed on the streets near her home.

“They demanded thousands of afghanis from every household,” she says. It’s a large amount in a country where those women who have jobs may earn only around 5,000 afghanis ($68; £54) a month.

The humanitarian situation in Kabul, and in Afghanistan in general, remains precarious after years of war. The country’s economy is in crisis, but international aid funding has been largely stopped since the Taliban came back to power.

According to the United Nations, 30 million people are in need of aid.

“If families refused to pay [for the cameras], they were threatened with water and power cuts within three days,” Shella adds. “We had to take loans to cover the costs.

“People are starving – what good are these cameras to them?”

The Taliban say that if people do not want to contribute, they can put in an official complaint.

“Participation was voluntary, and donations were in the hundreds, not thousands,” Khalid Zadran, the Taliban police spokesperson, insists.

Despite the assurances, rights campaigners both inside and outside Afghanistan continue to have concerns over how such a powerful surveillance system will be used.

Jaber, a vegetable seller in Kabul, says the cameras represent another way in which Afghans are made to feel powerless.

“We are treated like trash, denied the opportunity to earn a living, and the authorities regard us as worthless,” he told the BBC.

“We can do nothing.”

*

For over 20 years, archaeologists in India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu have been unearthing clues to the region’s ancient past.

Their digs have uncovered early scripts that rewrite literacy timelines, mapped maritime trade routes connecting India to the world and revealed advanced urban settlements – reinforcing the state’s role as a cradle of early civilisation and global commerce.

Now they’ve also uncovered something even older – evidence of what could be the earliest making and use of iron. Present-day Turkey is one of the earliest known regions where iron was mined, extracted and forged on a significant scale around the 13th Century BC.

Archaeologists have discovered iron objects at six sites in Tamil Nadu, dating back to 2,953–3,345 BCE, or between 5,000 to 5,400 years old. This suggests that the process of extracting, smelting, forging and shaping iron to create tools, weapons and other objects may have developed independently in the Indian subcontinent.

“The discovery is of such a great importance that it will take some more time before its implications sink in,” says Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti, a professor of South Asian archaeology at Cambridge University.

The latest findings from Adichchanallur, Sivagalai, Mayiladumparai, Kilnamandi, Mangadu and Thelunganur sites have made local headlines such as “Did the Iron Age Begin in Tamil Nadu?” The age marks a period when societies began using and producing iron widely, making tools, weapons and infrastructure.

Parth R Chauhan, a professor of archaeology at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (ISSER), urges caution before drawing broad conclusions. He believes that iron technology likely emerged “independently in multiple regions”.

Also, the “earliest evidence remains uncertain because many regions of the world have not been properly researched or archaeological evidence is known but has not been dated properly”.

If the Tamil Nadu discovery is further validated through rigorous academic study, “it would certainly rank amongst the world’s earliest records”, Mr Chauhan says. Oishi Roy, an archaeologist at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), adds that the find “suggests parallel developments [in iron production] across different parts of the world”.

Early iron came in two forms – meteoritic and smelted. Smelted iron, extracted from ore, marked the true beginning of iron technology with mass production. The earliest known iron artefacts – nine tubular beads – were made from meteoritic iron, which comes from fallen meteorites.

Identifying iron-bearing rocks is the first challenge. Once located, these ores must be smelted in a furnace at extremely high temperatures to extract the metal. Without this process, raw iron remains locked within the rock. After extraction, skilled ironsmiths shape the metal into tools and implements, marking a crucial step in early ironworking.

Most sites in Tamil Nadu where iron has been found are ancient habitation areas near present-day villages. Archaeologists K Rajan and R Sivanantham say that excavators have so far explored a fraction of over 3,000 identified Iron Age graves containing sarcophagi (stone coffins) and a wealth of iron artefacts. In the process, they uncovered hoe-spades, spears, knives, arrowheads, chisels, axes and swords made of iron.

At burials excavated at one site, over 85 iron objects – knives, arrowhead, rings, chisels, axes and swords – were found inside and outside burial urns. More than 20 key samples were robustly dated in five labs worldwide, confirming their antiquity.

Some finds are particularly striking.

Historian Osmund Bopearachchi of the Paris-based French National Centre for Scientific Research highlights a key discovery – an iron sword from a burial site, made of ultra-high-carbon steel and dating to 13th–15th Century BC.

This advanced steel, a direct evolution of Iron Age metallurgy, required sophisticated knowledge and precise high-temperature processes.

“We know that the first signs of real steel production date back to the 13th Century BC in present-day Turkey. The radiometric dates seem to prove that the Tamil Nadu samples are earlier,” he said. Ms Roy adds that the early steel in Tamil Nadu indicates the people there “were iron makers, not just users – a technologically advanced community evolving over time”.

Also, in a site called Kodumanal, excavators found a furnace, pointing to an advanced iron-making community.

The furnace area stood out with its white discolouration, likely from extreme heat. Nearby, excavators found iron slag – some of it fused to the furnace wall – hinting at advanced metalworking techniques. Clearly the people at the site were not just using iron, but actively producing and processing it.

To be sure, the Tamil Nadu excavations are not the first in India to uncover iron. At least 27 sites across eight states have revealed evidence of early iron use, some dating back 4,200 years. The latest Tamil Nadu digs pushes back the antiquity of Indian iron by another 400 years,” archaeologist Rajan, who has co-authored a paper on the subject, told me.

“The Iron Age is a technological shift, not a single-origin event – it develops in multiple places independently,” says Ms Roy, noting earlier discoveries in eastern, western and northern India.

“What’s clear now,” she adds, “is that indigenous iron technology developed early in the Indian subcontinent.”

Experts say the excavations in Tamil Nadu are significant and could reshape our understanding of the Iron Age and iron smelting in the Indian subcontinent. Also, “what these digs testify is to the existence of a distinctly sophisticated style of civilisation,” notes Nirmala Lakshman, author of The Tamils – A Portrait of a Community.

However, archaeologists caution that there is still a lack of excavations needed to collect fresh data from all over India. As one expert put it, “Indian archaeology is in silent mode outside Tamil Nadu.”

Katragadda Paddayya, a leading Indian archaeologist, said this was “just the starting point”.

“We need to delve deeper into the origins of iron technology – these findings mark the beginning, not the conclusion. The key is to use this as a premise, trace the process backward and identify the sites where iron production truly began.”

The boss of The Pokémon Company believes the series can last for at least another 50 years if it continues to innovate.

First launched on Nintendo’s Game Boy in 1996, the video game has expanded into films, TV and toys to become one of the world’s highest-grossing media franchise.

Most recently, the trading card game based on the cute creatures at the centre of its universe has seen a surge in popularity – but it has also brought scalpers and frauds to the hobby.

CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara, who has been in charge of the company since 1998, spoke to BBC News ahead of its yearly update about the secret of its success, tackling challenges, and the series’ future.

Pokémon Day is an annual showcase of upcoming releases, upgrades and events.

Fans are hoping for news on upcoming Nintendo Switch title Pokémon Legends: Z-A, and info on the popular trading card game.

Mr Ishihara wasn’t giving away too much ahead of the event but says the long-term goal is to “enrich both the real world and the virtual world”.

Pokémon GO – the company’s successful mobile phone app that works with a device’s GPS to place monsters in the real world – is an example of this.

“This is what I think is the biggest strength of Pokémon, and it’s important for us to come up with this kind of idea,” he says.

“So that’s how I think of what we want to achieve next.”

One of the hottest topics among long-term Pokémon fans today is scalpers.

The resurgence of the collectible card game has caught the attention of resellers who buy up new packs in the hope of landing rare, valuable cards.

YouTuber Logan Paul switched a lot of people on to the potential profits of the hobby when he paid $5.3m (£3.9m) for the most expensive Pokémon card ever.

Gaming companies have long had an issue with the second-hand market, and Mr Ishihara says it “prevents new products from being sold”.

“When the second hand market becomes more valuable because of rarity, that is problematic because our business is affected.”

Fans have suggested The Pokémon Company could produce a greater volume of hard-to-find or limited-run items but Mr Ishihara says it cannot do much to control the resale market.

“Those items are seen to be valuable because they’re rare or seen as vintage – and it’s not our place to say that they’re not,” he says.

On the topic of counterfeit products Mr Ishihara is more direct, and says the company’s legal teams have fought “rigorously” against clones and fakes since the beginning.

It recently won a long legal battle against the Chinese company behind a copycat mobile app.

And earlier this year it joined Nintendo to sue the makers of Palworld – an online multiplayer survival game described as “Pokémon with guns”.

It alleges developer Pocketpair infringed patents, which it has denied.

Pokémon has continued to bring new fans to the franchise by expanding into anime, card games, movies and toys alongside its video game titles.

Mr Ishihara says fans now “span several generations” and believes “the biggest reason behind their success is the fact that Pokémon became a tool of communication”.

Last weekend, about 13,000 Pokémon fans headed to the European leg of the International Championships at London’s Excel Centre.

It demonstrates Mr Ishihara’s point that people have found their way into the series through various means.

Fans Justin, 25, and Marina, 28, who turned up to the event in Team Rocket costumes, tell BBC News they got into Pokémon by watching the animated TV show as children.

“I just loved all the designs, all the different characters,” says Justin.

“They were just really really cute.”

Marina says in-person events have become a chance for her to meet fellow fans.

“I always used to want to go to conventions and these sorts of events.

“So being able to be here and network and make friends has been such a blessing,” she says.

The Pokémon Company is unusual because it is a private company.

Other well-known Japanese brands, such as Nintendo and Hello Kitty maker Sanrio, are publicly traded and answerable to shareholders.

Mr Ishihara believes this allows his company to keep a single-minded focus on one thing.

“Pokémon is the only thing we do at the Pokémon Company,” he says.

“So whatever profit we make from Pokémon gets reinvested in Pokémon.”

He adds that this means the company doesn’t have to field questions about expanding or creating new characters from shareholders.

“Our answer will be: ‘We’ll go bust when Pokémon is no longer popular’.

“I don’t think they will like that.”

At the end of 2023, longtime hero Ash Ketchum and his best pal Pikachu bowed out of the animated Pokémon series.

The series has continued without the well-loved duo, but one of the “hardest questions” Mr Ishihara gets asked is what they’re up to now.

“Even though the TV camera may not be following them, Ash’s journey is continuing and his partner Pikachu is right next to him.”

With the franchise set to mark its 30th anniversary next year, rumours are already beginning to swirl about special plans for the occasion.

Remakes or re-releases of the original Game Boy games are high on many fans’ wishlists.

Mr Ishihara doesn’t have much to say on that at the moment, but wants to maintain a focus on “connecting the real and virtual worlds”.

“If we continue focusing on our mission, Pokémon can probably continue to its 50th or 100th anniversary,” he says.

“But if we become complacent and go with the flow, that’s when Pokémon will go downhill.”

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

A ship the size of a football field, crewed by more than 50 engineers and technicians, cruises the oceans around Africa to keep the continent online.

It provides a vital service, as last year’s internet blackout showed when internet cables buried deep under the sea were damaged.

Millions from Lagos to Nairobi were plunged into digital darkness: messaging apps crashed and banking transactions failed. It left businesses and individuals struggling.

It was the Léon Thévenin which fixed the multiple cable failures. The ship, where a BBC team recently spent a week on board off the coast of Ghana, has been doing this specialised repair work for the last 13 years

“Because of me, countries stay connected,” Shuru Arendse, a cable jointer from South Africa who has been working on the ship for more than a decade, tells the BBC.

“IT people at home have work because I bring the main feed in,” he says.

“You have heroes that save lives – I’m a hero because I save communication.”

His pride and passion reflect the sentiment of the skilled crew on the Léon Thévenin, which stands eight floors high and carries an assortment of equipment.

The internet is a network of computers servers – to read this article it is likely that at least one of 600 fibre optic cables across the world collected the data to present it on your screen.

Most of these servers are in data centres outside of Africa and the fibre optic cables run along the ocean floor linking them to coastal cities on the continent.

Data travels through hair-thin fibreglass wires, often grouped in pairs and protected by different layers of plastic and copper depending on how close the cables are to the shore.

“As long as the servers aren’t in the country, you need a connection. A cable runs from one country to the next, linking users to servers that store their data – whether it’s accessing Facebook or any other online service,” says Benjamin Smith, the Léon Thévenin’s deputy chief of mission.

Undersea fibre optic cables are designed to work for 25 years with minimal maintenance, but when they are damaged, it is usually due to human activity.

“The cable generally doesn’t break on its own unless you’re in an area where there are pretty high currents and very sharp rocks,” says Charles Heald, who is in charge of the ship’s remotely operated vehicle (ROV).

“But most of the time it’s people anchoring where they shouldn’t and fishing trawlers sometimes scrape along the seabed, so typically we would see scars from trawling.”

Mr Smith also says natural disasters cause damage to cables, especially in parts of the continent with extreme weather conditions. He gives an example of the seas off the coast of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the Congo River empties into the Atlantic.

“In the Congo Canyon, where they have a lot of rainfall and low tide, it could create currents that damage the cable,” he says.

Deliberate sabotage is difficult to identify – but the Léon Thévenin crew say they not seen any obvious evidence of this themselves.

A year ago, three critical cables in the Red Sea – Seacom, AAE-1 and EIG – were severed, reportedly by a ship’s anchor, disrupting connectivity for millions across East Africa, including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Mozambique.

Just a month later, in March 2024, a separate set of breaks in the Wacs, Ace, Sat-3, and MainOne cables off the coast of West Africa caused severe internet blackouts across Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Liberia.

Anything that required the internet to function felt the strain as repairs stretched on for weeks.

Then in May, yet another setback: the Seacom and Eassy cables suffered damage off the coast of South Africa, hitting connectivity in multiple East African nations once again.

Such faults are detected by testing electricity and signal strength transmitted through cables.

“There may be 3,000 volts in a cable and suddenly it drops to 50 volts, this means there’s a problem,” explains Loic Wallerand, the ship’s chief of mission.

There are local teams with the capacity to deal with faults in shallow waters, but if they are detected beyond a depth of 50m (164ft), the ship is called into action. Its crew can fix cables deeper than 5,000m below sea level.

The repair witnessed by the BBC off Ghana took over a week to deal with, but most internet users did not notice as traffic was redirected to another cable.

The nature of every repair depends on the part of the cable that is damaged.

If the fibreglass at the core breaks, it means the data cannot travel along the network and needs to be sent to another cable.

But some African countries have only one cable serving them. This means a cable damaged this way leaves the affected area without the internet.

At other times, the protective layers of the fibre could be damaged, meaning data transmission still occurs, but with a lower efficiency. In both cases, the crew must find the exact location of the damage.

In the case of broken fibreglass, a light signal is sent through the cable and through its point of reflection, the crew can determine where the break is.

When the problem is with the cable’s insulation – known as a “shunt fault” – it becomes more complicated and an electrical signal has to be sent along the cable to physically track where it is lost.

After narrowing down the possible area for the fault, the operation moves to the ROV team.

Built like a bulldozer, the ROV, weighing 9.5 tonnes, is lowered under water from the ship where it is guided down to the ocean floor.

About five crew members work with a crane operator to deploy it – once it is released from its harness, called the umbilical cord, it floats gracefully.

“It doesn’t sink,” says Mr Heald, explaining how it uses four horizontal and vertical thrusters to move in any direction.

The ROV’s three cameras allow the team onboard to look for the precise location of faults as it moves to the ocean bed.

Once found, the ROV cuts the affected part using its two arms, then ties it to a rope that is dragged back to the ship.

Here the faulty section is isolated and replaced by splicing and joining it to a new cable – a process that looks like welding and which took 24 hours in the case of the operation witnessed by the BBC.

Afterwards the cable was carefully lowered back to the ocean bed and then the ROV made one final journey to inspect that it was well placed and take coordinates so maps could be updated.

When an alert is received about a damaged cable, the Léon Thévenin crew is ready to sail within 24 hours. However, their response time depends on several factors: the ship’s location, the availability of spare cables and bureaucratic challenges.

“Permits can take weeks. Sometimes we sail to the affected country and wait offshore until the paperwork is sorted,” Mr Wallerand says.

On the average, the crew spends more than six months at sea every year.

“It’s part of the job,” says Captain Thomas Quehec.

But talking to the crew members between tasks, it is hard to ignore their personal sacrifices.

They are drawn from different backgrounds and nationalities: French, South African, Filipino, Malagasy and more.

Adrian Morgan, the ship’s chief steward from South Africa, has missed five consecutive wedding anniversaries.

“I wanted to quit. It was difficult to stay away from my family, but my wife encouraged me. I do it for them,” he says.

Another South African, maintenance fitter Noel Goeieman, is worried he may miss his son’s wedding in a few weeks if the ship is called out to another mission.

“I’ve heard we might go to Durban [in South Africa]. My son is going to be very sad because he doesn’t have a mum,” says Mr Goeieman, who lost his wife three years ago.

“But I’m retiring in six months,” he adds with a smile.

Despite the emotional toll, there is camaraderie onboard.

When off-duty, crew members are either playing video games in the lounge or sharing meals in the ship’s mess hall.

Their entry into the profession is as diverse as their background.

While Mr Goeieman followed his father’s footsteps, chief cook, South African Remario Smith, went to sea to escape a life of crime.

“I was involved in gangs when I was younger,” Mr Smith says, “My child was born when I turned 25, and I knew I had to change my life.”

Like the others onboard he is appreciative of the role the ship plays on the continent.

“We are the link between Africa and the world,” says chief engineer Ferron Hartzenberg.

• Africa’s internet vulnerability and how to fix it
• Meta plans globe-spanning sub-sea internet cable
• Watch out for sharks: The bizarre history of internet outages

Actress Michelle Trachtenberg, who rose to fame as a child star in the 1990s and 2000s, has died aged 39.

Police in Manhattan said they responded to an emergency call on Wednesday morning, and found Trachtenberg “unconscious and unresponsive”. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The American actress was best known for playing Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s younger sister Dawn Summers, and later took on the role of manipulative socialite Georgina Sparks in Gossip Girl – which ran from 2007 to 2012 – as an adult.

Trachtenberg made her film debut in Harriet the Spy in 1996, and she appeared in several Nickelodeon productions.

Her family’s representatives confirmed her death in a statement.

“It is with great sadness to confirm that Michelle Trachtenberg has passed away. The family requests privacy for their loss,” it said.

Authorities said her death was not being treated as suspicious.

“Criminality is not suspected. The medical examiner will determine the cause of death. The investigation remains ongoing,” the NYPD said in a statement.

Trachtenberg got her start in acting at age nine on the Nickelodeon television series The Adventures of Pete & Pete.

In the early 2000s, she was nominated for several acting awards – including a Daytime Emmy Award – for her role in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

She also starred in films including EuroTrip, Ice Princess, Killing Kennedy, and Sister Cities.

Blake Lively, a Gossip Girl co-star, said Trachtenberg “did everything… 200%”.

“She laughed the fullest at someone’s joke… she cared deeply about her work, she was fiercely loyal to her friends and brave for those she loved, she was big and bold and distinctly herself,” she said.

“To paraphrase, the real tragedies in life are the ones that blindside you on an idle Tuesday. Hold those you love and have loved dear.”

US comedian Rosie O’Donnell, who starred alongside Trachtenberg in her Harriet the Spy debut, said her death was “heart-breaking.”

“I loved her very much. She struggled the last few years. I wish I could have helped.”

Former castmates on her most popular shows have also paid tribute.

English actor Ed Westwick, who played the character Chuck Bass on Gossip Girl, posted on Instagram a picture of Trachtenberg as her character in the show, Georgina Sparks.

“So sad to hear of the passing of Michelle Trachtenberg. Sending prayers,” he wrote.

Former Buffy the Vampire Slayer castmate David Boreanaz wrote on Instagram: “So very sad. Horrible news.”

In a social media tribute to Trachtenberg, another Buffy castmate James Marsters said the actress was “fiercely intelligent, howlingly funny, and a very talented person”.

“She died much too young, and leaves behind scores of people who knew and loved her,” Marsters said.

Trachtenberg first appeared in Gossip Girl in 2008. She returned to the role for two episodes of the second season of HBO Max’s reboot in 2023.

Her last major acting role was in 2021 as the host of a true-crime docuseries Meet, Marry, Murder, which appeared on digital streamer Tubi.

In 2021, Trachtenberg accused Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon of inappropriate behaviour on set, after her co-star Charisma Carpenter said she had been left traumatised due to the treatment she received from Whedon.

Pamela Anderson has had her fair share of ups and down over her career.

So that might explain why she’s so stoic about missing out on an Oscar nomination for her role in The Last Showgirl.

“The win is the work,” the Canadian actress told BBC News.

“You couldn’t have told me I’d be here a decade ago, so this is very exciting for me, to even be in the conversation.”

Anderson, 57, did manage to score nominations at the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards for her part in Gia Coppola’s film about a fading Las Vegas dancer.

But she is not in the running for the Academy Awards, which take place this Sunday in Los Angeles.

“I just wish everybody well,” she said.

“I think anybody, any actor, realises that all of this is about having another chance to be able to perform and share your talent with the world.”

Anderson rose to prominence on the 1990s TV series Baywatch.

The lifeguard drama became the most-watched television show in the world at the time, and it’s still the role she’s best known for.

But in the three decades since she first ran along the California beaches, fans and critics have become acquainted with different parts of Anderson’s life story including Playboy covers, a leaked sex tape and many marriages.

In 2022, Hulu series Pam & Tommy told the story of how Anderson and now ex-husband Tommy Lee’s sex tape was stolen and illegally distributed in the mid-90s.

Anderson later criticised the series in an interview with Variety, describing it as “shocking” and calling for the people behind it to apologise to her.

• Pam & Tommy: Lily James ‘a triumph’ as Pamela Anderson

Now, she’s starring in a new film which is also about second chances.

In The Last Showgirl, the lead character Shelly, played by Anderson, must plan for her future after her show abruptly closes.

Plenty of critics have drawn parallels with Anderson’s own life in the spotlight, and she doesn’t dispute this.

“I think that’s what drew me to the project, that it was so relatable on so many levels,” Anderson said of the film.

She added that its central theme, of struggling to make your career work as a woman in later middle age, was something “many generations of women” had faced.

In the film, Shelly is portrayed as having a strained relationship with her daughter Hannah.

Shelly’s career as a showgirl means she often works late, causing her to miss important moments like bedtime with Hannah.

That, too, is something that Anderson says she can relate to.

• Pamela Anderson memoir bares soul on fame and heartbreak

She shares two sons, Brandon Thomas, 28, and Dylan Jagger, 27, with her ex-husband, Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee.

She said that for all working mums, there’s “no proper way” to be a parent while also following your dreams and pursuing your career.

“So this movie is, I think, in a very vulnerable space.

“And it was an interesting role to play with all her imperfections and selfishness and selflessness. And it was a lot of layers and nuances to the character that I could really relate to.”

The Last Showgirl has received a mixed reception from critics, though most have praised Anderson’s performance.

The New York Times called it “sensitive and beguiling” and described Anderson as “dazzling”. But the Guardian awarded it just one star, calling it “a big disappointment”.

Many have also described the role as Anderson’s “comeback”. She doesn’t reject the term, but says she prefers to see it as “a new chapter”.

“I’ve always been fascinated with the craft of acting,” she said. “[But] my personal life kind of took me off course, and I raised two beautiful boys.”

She’s not the only actress to be back in the spotlight this season.

Demi Moore is nominated for best actress at the Oscars for her role in The Substance, a body horror which has revitalised her career.

“I’m really happy for Demi,” Anderson said. “I think she’s earned her place. And you have to earn it. You have to fight for it.”

With so many strong female protagonists in this year’s films, I’m curious what Anderson now thinks of Baywatch.

The show has long been criticised for its portrayal of its female characters, who, many argued, were sexualised and denied meaningful plot lines.

“I didn’t see it like that at all. I thought it was quite innocent and wholesome and, and fun to watch,” she said.

“I always felt like I was surrounded by such incredible people, lifeguards that were also firemen or firewomen. It was really, really, empowering.”

Anderson has always been seen to embody a look that rose to prominence in the 90s – skinny, blonde, and enhanced by plastic surgery.

But in recent years, she has been sporting a “no-makeup” look, choosing instead to embrace her natural appearance.

“My beauty routine is rest. And so that’s more important to me these days,” she told me.

She said it’s not that she’s against makeup, but more that she thinks “there’s a time and a place” for it.

“This chapter, for me, has been about self-acceptance and finding out who I am. What are my original thoughts? What do I have to give?” she said.

“I know I have a lot more to give in this world, in this industry too, and I feel like even I have to remember who I am to start with and then hopefully, play characters in films and not in my personal life.”

“The army forced us out. Me, my wife and family. We took nothing with us.”

Alaa Ofi is trying to figure out how to manage his drastically changed circumstances.

“We left behind our documents, clothes and everything we had at home.”

It’s been a month since the Israeli army raided the Tulkarm refugee camp, causing thousands of residents to flee.

At the local Palestinian governor’s office we found displaced camp residents looking for assistance.

Some were struggling to find affordable places to rent. Others, like Mr Olfi, needed to retrieve important belongings but had been prevented from returning to their homes by the Israeli army.

“My wife is expecting a baby next week,” Mr Olfi said. “I can’t take her to hospital because I need insurance papers and my ID, but they were left behind at home.”

What Israel is calling “Operation Iron Wall” against Palestinian armed groups has triggered an exodus of around 40,000 people from four camps in the north of the occupied West Bank: Tulkarm, Nur Shams, Jenin and Far’a.

Aid agencies are calling it the largest forced displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank since it was captured by Israeli forces during the 1967 Six Day War.

It’s also the first time any of the camps, which were established in the early 1950s for Palestinians who fled or were driven from their homes during Israel’s War of Independence, have been almost completely evacuated.

Since the operation began in January, Israeli forces have ploughed up roads and demolished homes.

On the eastern edge of Tulkarm camp, a broad scar is visible where once there were tightly packed houses. Israeli soldiers can be seen patrolling what now looks like a street.

Elsewhere, roads into the camp have been churned up, armoured bulldozers creating piles of earth and pools of muddy rainwater. Pavements and shop fronts have been left mangled.

A concrete UN sign that used to stand over the camp’s now impassable main entrance has been knocked down.

At least 51 Palestinians, including seven children, have been killed by Israeli forces in the northern West Bank since the beginning of the operation, according to the UN.

Three soldiers have also been killed by Palestinian gunmen, one of them during an exchange of fire in Jenin and two others in an attack on a checkpoint in Tubas, it says.

The Israeli army says it’s tackling Palestinian militant groups, based inside the camps – groups it blames for a string of roadside bomb attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians.

On Sunday, Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, said the army was “at war with Islamic terrorism in Judea and Samaria” – the term Israel uses to describe the West Bank.

He said he had instructed the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) “to prepare for a prolonged stay in the camps that have been cleared for the coming year”.

At the same time, Katz ordered tanks to take up positions in Jenin camp and the surrounding city, for the first time in more than 20 years.

Beyond underlining the government’s tough message, it’s not clear what role the four tanks will perform.

“The IDF is operating within very complex urban environments,” a military official said, on condition of anonymity.

“We’ve done that in Gaza, we’ve done that in the villages of southern Lebanon,” the official said, referring to Israel’s wars with Hamas and Hezbollah.

“We’re doing that in those neighbourhoods in Judea and Samaria because of the threat that we’re facing.”

Military officials say there have been no orders to evacuate civilians.

“The IDF has allowed local residents who wish to distance themselves from combat areas to leave safely through designated crossings,” the army said in a statement.

But residents of the camps say they were forced to leave, some of them under fire.

Others say instructions to leave were delivered by drone.

One video from Jenin shows a drone flying over the camp, seemingly broadcasting a message.

“Get out of your homes, the army will be here,” the message says.

The recently-appointed Palestinian governor of Tulkarm, Dr Abdullah Kmeil, calls Operation Iron Wall “a declaration of war”.

“You are talking about an operation of destruction,” he told the BBC. “Financial and mental destruction of the residents. These are things the Israelis have planned precisely.”

The aim, he says, is to create “a hostile environment” for the camps’ residents, in the hope that they leave and are absorbed into the general Palestinian population.

In the meantime, Palestinians find themselves struggling with a host of new difficulties, large and small.

In the village of Qabatiya, just south of Jenin, we found a driver frantically trying to reverse out of a muddy pothole left by Israeli bulldozers that had dug up the street.

His car was stuck in the middle of the road, holding up traffic in both directions.

In the centre of a nearby roundabout, a miniature replica of Jerusalem’s iconic Dome of the Rock had been smashed to pieces.

Despite Israel Katz’s warning, no-one knows how long the operation, and the restrictions on civilians, will last.

“If we can’t go back to our house for a year, it’s going to be a disaster,” says Alaa Ofi.

“We’ll be left stranded in the streets with the kids.”

India is home to 1.4 billion people but around a billion lack money to spend on any discretionary goods or services, a new report estimates.

The country’s consuming class, effectively the potential market for start-ups or business owners, is only about as big as Mexico, 130-140 million people, according to the report from Blume Ventures, a venture capital firm.

Another 300 million are “emerging” or “aspirant” consumers but they are reluctant spenders who have only just begun to open their purse strings, as click-of-a-button digital payments make it easy to transact.

What is more, the consuming class in Asia’s third largest economy is not “widening” as much as it is “deepening”, according to the report. That basically means India’s wealthy population is not really growing in numbers, even though those who are already rich are getting even wealthier.

All of this is shaping the country’s consumer market in distinct ways, particularly accelerating the trend of “premiumisation” where brands drive growth by doubling down on expensive, upgraded products catering to the wealthy, rather than focusing on mass-market offerings.

This is evident in zooming sales of ultra-luxury gated housing and premium phones, even as their lower-end variants struggle. Affordable homes now constitute just 18% of India’s overall market compared with 40% five years ago. Branded goods are also capturing a bigger share of the market. And the “experience economy” is booming, with expensive tickets for concerts by international artists like Coldplay and Ed Sheeran selling like hot cakes.

• Why global stars like Coldplay and Ed Sheeran are hitting India

Companies that have adapted to these shifts have thrived, Sajith Pai, one of the report’s authors, told the BBC. “Those who are too focused at the mass end or have a product mix that doesn’t have exposure to the premium end have lost market share.”

The report’s findings bolster the long-held view that India’s post-pandemic recovery has been K-shaped – where the rich have got richer, while the poor have lost purchasing power.

In fact, this has been a long-term structural trend that began even before the pandemic. India has been getting increasingly more unequal, with the top 10% of Indians now holding 57.7% of national income compared with 34% in 1990. The bottom half have seen their share of national income fall from 22.2% to 15%.

The latest consumption slump, however, has deepened amid not just a destruction in purchasing power, but also a precipitous drop in financial savings and surging indebtedness among the masses.

The country’s central bank has also cracked down on easy unsecured lending that propped up demand after the Covid pandemic.

Much of the consumption spending of the “emerging” or “aspirant” class of Indians was led by such borrowing and “turning off that tap will definitely have some impact on consumption”, says Pai.

In the short run, two things are expected to help boost spending – a pick-up in rural demand on the back of a record harvest and a $12 billion tax give-away in the recently concluded budget. It will not be “dramatic” but could boost India’s GDP – largely driven by consumption – by over half a percent, says Pai.

But major longer-term headwinds remain.

India’s middle class – which has been a major engine for consumer demand – is being squeezed out, with wages pretty much staying flat, according to data compiled by Marcellus Investment Managers.

“The middle 50% of India’s tax-paying population has seen its income stagnate in absolute terms over the past decade. This implies a halving of income in real terms [adjusted for inflation],” says the report, published in January.

“This financial hammering has decimated the middle class’s savings – the RBI [Reserve Bank of India] has repeatedly highlighted that net financial savings of Indian households are approaching a 50-year low. This pounding suggests that products and services associated with middle-class household spending are likely to face a rough time in the years ahead,” it adds.

The Marcellus report also points out that white-collar urban jobs are becoming harder to come by as artificial intelligence automates clerical, secretarial and other routine work. “The number of supervisors employed in manufacturing units [as a percentage of all employed] in India has gone down significantly,” it adds.

The government’s recent economic survey has flagged these concerns as well.

It says labour displacement as a result of these technological advancements is of particular concern for a mainly services-driven economy like India, where a significant share of the IT workforce is employed in low value-added services sectors that are most prone to disruption.

“India is also a consumption-based economy, thus the fall in consumption that can result from the displacement of its workforce is bound to have macroeconomic implications. If the worst-case projections materialise, this could have the potential to set the country’s economic growth trajectory off course,” the survey says.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet US President Trump in Washington on Friday to sign an agreement that would give the US access to its deposits of rare earth minerals.

Zelensky said he hoped the “preliminary” agreement with the US “will lead to further deals”, but confirmed no American security guarantees have been agreed yet.

Trump said a deal would help American taxpayers “get their money back” for aid sent to Ukraine throughout the war but said the responsibility of Kyiv’s security should fall to Europe.

Key details have not yet been made public, but on Wednesday Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Ukraine and the US had finalised a version of the agreement.

Speaking to Ukrainian TV, Shmyhal said the preliminary agreement envisages that an “investment fund” would be set up for Ukraine’s reconstruction.

Kyiv and Washington would manage the fund on “equal terms”, the prime minister added.

He said Ukraine would contribute 50% of future proceeds from state-owned mineral resources, oil and gas to the fund, and the fund would then invest in projects in Ukraine itself.

Zelensky has acknowledged the fund but told the BBC on Wednesday it was “too early to talk about money”.

The New York Times reported, citing a draft document, that the US would own the maximum amount of the fund allowed under US law, but not necessarily all of it.

Disagreement over the terms of a minerals deal formed part of what was seen as a deepening rift between Trump and Zelensky in recent weeks.

The Ukrainian president had rejected an initial request from the US for $500bn (£395bn) in mineral wealth, but media reports say this demand has now been dropped.

“The provisions of the deal are much better for Ukraine now,” a source in Ukraine’s government told the BBC.

On Tuesday, Trump said the US had given Ukraine between $300bn (£237bn) and $350bn (£276bn) in aid, and that he wanted to “get that money back” through a deal.

But German think tank the Kiel Institute estimates the US has sent $119bn in aid to Ukraine.

Zelensky has been pushing for a deal to include a firm security guarantee from the US.

But on Wednesday, Ukraine’s leader said no such guarantee had been made.

“I wanted to have a sentence on security guarantees for Ukraine, and it’s important that it’s there,” he said.

Asked by the BBC if he would be prepared to walk away from the agreement if Trump did not offer the guarantees he wanted, Zelensky said: “I want to find a Nato path or something similar.

“If we don’t get security guarantees, we won’t have a ceasefire, nothing will work, nothing.”

Despite this, Shmyhal said on Wednesday the US supported “Ukraine’s efforts to obtain security guarantees to build lasting peace”.

He said Ukraine would not sign the deal until Zelensky and Trump “agree on security guarantees” and decide on how to “tie this preliminary agreement” to a US security guarantee.

Trump said on Wednesday that the US would not provide security guarantees “beyond… very much”, saying responsibility for this fell to Europe.

But he added that the presence of American workers on Ukrainian soil would provide “automatic security”.

The prospect of a minerals deal was first proposed by Zelensky last year as a way to offer the US a tangible reason to continue supporting Ukraine.

Trump said on Tuesday that Ukraine would get “the right to fight on” in return for access to its minerals and suggested the US would continue to supply equipment and ammunition “until we have a deal with Russia”.

The US president has also said Russia is open to accepting European peacekeepers in Ukraine, but Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Kremlin would not consider this as an option.

Shmyhal said the US and Ukraine have prepared a final version of the agreement, which Ukraine’s government will authorise for signing on Wednesday.

Zelensky said he would be “very direct” with Trump by asking whether the US would continue supporting Ukraine or not.

Trump has confirmed he will be meeting Zelensky in Washington on Friday to sign the agreement.

Kyiv estimates that about 5% of the world’s “critical raw materials” are in Ukraine.

This includes some 19m tonnes of proven reserves of graphite, which the Ukrainian Geological Survey state agency says makes the nation “one of the top five leading countries” for the supply of the mineral. Graphite is used to make batteries for electric vehicles.

Ukraine also has significant deposits of titanium, lithium and rare earth metals – a group of 17 elements that are used to produce weapons, wind turbines, electronics and other products vital in the modern world.

But some of the country’s mineral deposits have been seized by Russia. According to Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine’s economy minister, resources worth $350bn (£277bn) remain in occupied territories today.

There are warnings too that a deal allowing the US access to Ukraine’s vast mineral wealth cannot happen unless the country addresses its problem with unexploded mines.

A quarter of Ukraine’s landmass is estimated to be contaminated with landmines, mainly concentrated in the war-torn east of the country.

• What minerals does Ukraine have?

Vladimir Putin has not yet addressed reports that the terms of a deal between the US and Ukraine have been agreed.

But on Monday evening he told state TV he was ready to “offer” resources to American partners in joint projects, including mining in Russia’s “new territories” – a reference to parts of eastern Ukraine that Russia has occupied since launching a full-scale invasion three years ago.

Putin said a potential US-Ukraine deal on rare minerals was not a concern and that Russia “undoubtedly have, I want to emphasise, significantly more resources of this kind than Ukraine”.

“As for the new territories, it’s the same. We are ready to attract foreign partners to the so-called new, to our historical territories, which have returned to the Russian Federation,” he added.

Commenting on Zelensky’s visit to Washington, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday: “Whether it will be [to sign] the aforementioned agreement or something else, we’ll see. There have been no official statements on this matter yet.”

For over 20 years, archaeologists in India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu have been unearthing clues to the region’s ancient past.

Their digs have uncovered early scripts that rewrite literacy timelines, mapped maritime trade routes connecting India to the world and revealed advanced urban settlements – reinforcing the state’s role as a cradle of early civilisation and global commerce.

Now they’ve also uncovered something even older – evidence of what could be the earliest making and use of iron. Present-day Turkey is one of the earliest known regions where iron was mined, extracted and forged on a significant scale around the 13th Century BC.

Archaeologists have discovered iron objects at six sites in Tamil Nadu, dating back to 2,953–3,345 BCE, or between 5,000 to 5,400 years old. This suggests that the process of extracting, smelting, forging and shaping iron to create tools, weapons and other objects may have developed independently in the Indian subcontinent.

“The discovery is of such a great importance that it will take some more time before its implications sink in,” says Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti, a professor of South Asian archaeology at Cambridge University.

The latest findings from Adichchanallur, Sivagalai, Mayiladumparai, Kilnamandi, Mangadu and Thelunganur sites have made local headlines such as “Did the Iron Age Begin in Tamil Nadu?” The age marks a period when societies began using and producing iron widely, making tools, weapons and infrastructure.

Parth R Chauhan, a professor of archaeology at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (ISSER), urges caution before drawing broad conclusions. He believes that iron technology likely emerged “independently in multiple regions”.

Also, the “earliest evidence remains uncertain because many regions of the world have not been properly researched or archaeological evidence is known but has not been dated properly”.

If the Tamil Nadu discovery is further validated through rigorous academic study, “it would certainly rank amongst the world’s earliest records”, Mr Chauhan says. Oishi Roy, an archaeologist at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), adds that the find “suggests parallel developments [in iron production] across different parts of the world”.

Early iron came in two forms – meteoritic and smelted. Smelted iron, extracted from ore, marked the true beginning of iron technology with mass production. The earliest known iron artefacts – nine tubular beads – were made from meteoritic iron, which comes from fallen meteorites.

Identifying iron-bearing rocks is the first challenge. Once located, these ores must be smelted in a furnace at extremely high temperatures to extract the metal. Without this process, raw iron remains locked within the rock. After extraction, skilled ironsmiths shape the metal into tools and implements, marking a crucial step in early ironworking.

Most sites in Tamil Nadu where iron has been found are ancient habitation areas near present-day villages. Archaeologists K Rajan and R Sivanantham say that excavators have so far explored a fraction of over 3,000 identified Iron Age graves containing sarcophagi (stone coffins) and a wealth of iron artefacts. In the process, they uncovered hoe-spades, spears, knives, arrowheads, chisels, axes and swords made of iron.

At burials excavated at one site, over 85 iron objects – knives, arrowhead, rings, chisels, axes and swords – were found inside and outside burial urns. More than 20 key samples were robustly dated in five labs worldwide, confirming their antiquity.

Some finds are particularly striking.

Historian Osmund Bopearachchi of the Paris-based French National Centre for Scientific Research highlights a key discovery – an iron sword from a burial site, made of ultra-high-carbon steel and dating to 13th–15th Century BC.

This advanced steel, a direct evolution of Iron Age metallurgy, required sophisticated knowledge and precise high-temperature processes.

“We know that the first signs of real steel production date back to the 13th Century BC in present-day Turkey. The radiometric dates seem to prove that the Tamil Nadu samples are earlier,” he said. Ms Roy adds that the early steel in Tamil Nadu indicates the people there “were iron makers, not just users – a technologically advanced community evolving over time”.

Also, in a site called Kodumanal, excavators found a furnace, pointing to an advanced iron-making community.

The furnace area stood out with its white discolouration, likely from extreme heat. Nearby, excavators found iron slag – some of it fused to the furnace wall – hinting at advanced metalworking techniques. Clearly the people at the site were not just using iron, but actively producing and processing it.

To be sure, the Tamil Nadu excavations are not the first in India to uncover iron. At least 27 sites across eight states have revealed evidence of early iron use, some dating back 4,200 years. The latest Tamil Nadu digs pushes back the antiquity of Indian iron by another 400 years,” archaeologist Rajan, who has co-authored a paper on the subject, told me.

“The Iron Age is a technological shift, not a single-origin event – it develops in multiple places independently,” says Ms Roy, noting earlier discoveries in eastern, western and northern India.

“What’s clear now,” she adds, “is that indigenous iron technology developed early in the Indian subcontinent.”

Experts say the excavations in Tamil Nadu are significant and could reshape our understanding of the Iron Age and iron smelting in the Indian subcontinent. Also, “what these digs testify is to the existence of a distinctly sophisticated style of civilisation,” notes Nirmala Lakshman, author of The Tamils – A Portrait of a Community.

However, archaeologists caution that there is still a lack of excavations needed to collect fresh data from all over India. As one expert put it, “Indian archaeology is in silent mode outside Tamil Nadu.”

Katragadda Paddayya, a leading Indian archaeologist, said this was “just the starting point”.

“We need to delve deeper into the origins of iron technology – these findings mark the beginning, not the conclusion. The key is to use this as a premise, trace the process backward and identify the sites where iron production truly began.”

The parents of an eight-year-old diabetic girl in Australia who died after they denied her insulin for almost a week have each been sentenced to 14 years in jail for manslaughter.

Elizabeth Struhs had in 2019 been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, and her family was told she would need daily insulin injections.

Her parents belonged to a religious sect known as The Saints, who opposed medical care, believing God would heal her.

She died from diabetic ketoacidosis, which causes a dangerous build-up of ketones – a type of acid – and blood sugar spikes at her home in Toowoomba west of Brisbane in January 2022.

Her father Jason Struhs and mother Elizabeth Struhs, were among 14 people convicted of manslaughter last month.

The Saints’ leader Brendan Stevens has been jailed for 13 years by the judge at the Supreme Court of Queensland, who called him a “dangerous, highly manipulative individual”.

Eleven other members were handed jail terms of six to nine years.

Stevens and the girl’s father had been on trial for murder but they were convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter. All had pleaded not guilty.

When handing down his almost 500-page verdict last month, Justice Martin Burns said that although it was clear Elizabeth’s parents and “every member of the church including all other accused” had adored her, their actions had resulted in her death.

“Due to a singular belief in the healing power of God… she was deprived of the one thing that would most definitely have kept her alive.”

Elizabeth would have endured vomiting, extreme lethargy, and a loss of consciousness because she was denied medical care, prosecutor Caroline Marco said during the trial, which lasted several months and was heard by a judge sitting alone without a jury.

Prosecutors called 60 witnesses and painted a picture of an “intelligent” child who suffered greatly in her final days.

The congregation, meanwhile, had prayed and sung for the girl as she laid on a mattress and her condition deteriorated.

Believing she could be brought back to life, the sect member made no effort to call a doctor, and authorities were not notified until 36 hours after her death, the court heard.

“Elizabeth is only sleeping, and I will see her again,” her father Jason Struhs had earlier told the court.

Stevens, 63, had defended the group’s actions as faith-based and described the trial as an act of “religious persecution”. He said that the group was within its “rights to believe in the word of God completely”.

Type 1 diabetes is a disorder in which the pancreas fails to produce enough insulin. It is characterised by uncontrolled high blood glucose levels and it can be controlled by injecting insulin.

Elizabeth’s sister Jayde Struhs had earlier said she had left the Saints and fled her family home at 16, after coming out as gay, and was now estranged from them.

She and other witnesses described the congregation as having strict views, including that mainstream healthcare should be shunned and that both Christmas and Easter were “pagan” or ungodly festivals.

The Saints are not affiliated with an established church in Australia and count around two dozen members from three families among its members.

US Supreme Court justices indicated during a hearing Wednesday that they would side with a woman who alleged she was discriminated against at her job because she is heterosexual.

Marlean Ames worked for the Ohio Department of Youth Services for more than 20 years.

She claims she was passed over for a promotion, then demoted, because she is straight. The job she hoped to get and the one she held when demoted, were both given to gay colleagues, according to the lawsuit.

Ohio state officials have denied the discrimination, and Ms Ames has so far been unsuccessful in court.

In oral arguments in front of the Supreme Court – split 6-3 in favour of conservative judges – justices on both sides ideologically appeared sympathetic to Ms Ames’s case.

A 1964 US law forbids discrimination in the workplace, and in 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that protection extends to sexual orientation, however lower courts have dismissed Ms Ames’s case.

US court precedent covering some states, including Ohio, requires that members of majority groups – such as white people or heterosexuals – show a higher level of evidence when making discrimination claims.

Plaintiffs in those cases – sometimes called “reverse discrimination” – are required to show additional “background circumstances” to prove their case, for instance evidence that LGBTQ people made decisions affecting the person discriminated against, or evidence showing a pattern of discrimination.

According to the lawsuit, Ms Ames had positive performance evaluations, but in 2019 she and two other heterosexual employees were passed over for a promotion that was eventually given to a lesbian.

She was later demoted, according to the lawsuit, and her job was given to a gay man.

In addition to ruling that Ms Ames did not show a pattern of discrimination or “background circumstances”, a lower court also previously found that managers at the youth services department had “legitimate, nondiscriminatory business reasons” for their decisions.

During arguments on Wednesday, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, one of the court’s conservative members, said: “Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, whether you are gay or straight, is prohibited. The rules are the same whichever way it goes.”

According to the transcript of the hearing, another conservative justice, Amy Coney Barrett, said that “it doesn’t matter if she was gay or whether she was straight”, the legal burden should be the same.

And several of the court’s liberal justices seemed to agree. Neil Gorsuch indicated that he thought allowing Ms Ames’ lawsuit to proceed would be a “wise course”.

While talking about the facts of the case, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said “something’s suspicious” which “certainly can give rise to an inference of discrimination.”

Ohio officials were represented in court by the state Solicitor General T Elliot Gaiser, a former lawyer for Trump.

Gaiser told the justices “everyone here agrees that everyone should be treated equally”, but argued that the officials who made the job decisions did not know Ames’ sexual orientation and thus could not have used it to discriminate against her.

Lawyers for the state also argue that those making the employment decisions were heterosexual and had legitimate concerns about Ms Ames’s vision for the youth services department.

The Supreme Court could order lower courts to re-examine the case and allow the lawsuit to go ahead.

Actress Michelle Trachtenberg, who rose to fame as a child star in the 1990s and 2000s, has died aged 39.

Police in Manhattan said they responded to an emergency call on Wednesday morning, and found Trachtenberg “unconscious and unresponsive”. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The American actress was best known for playing Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s younger sister Dawn Summers, and later took on the role of manipulative socialite Georgina Sparks in Gossip Girl – which ran from 2007 to 2012 – as an adult.

Trachtenberg made her film debut in Harriet the Spy in 1996, and she appeared in several Nickelodeon productions.

Her family’s representatives confirmed her death in a statement.

“It is with great sadness to confirm that Michelle Trachtenberg has passed away. The family requests privacy for their loss,” it said.

Authorities said her death was not being treated as suspicious.

“Criminality is not suspected. The medical examiner will determine the cause of death. The investigation remains ongoing,” the NYPD said in a statement.

Trachtenberg got her start in acting at age nine on the Nickelodeon television series The Adventures of Pete & Pete.

In the early 2000s, she was nominated for several acting awards – including a Daytime Emmy Award – for her role in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

She also starred in films including EuroTrip, Ice Princess, Killing Kennedy, and Sister Cities.

Blake Lively, a Gossip Girl co-star, said Trachtenberg “did everything… 200%”.

“She laughed the fullest at someone’s joke… she cared deeply about her work, she was fiercely loyal to her friends and brave for those she loved, she was big and bold and distinctly herself,” she said.

“To paraphrase, the real tragedies in life are the ones that blindside you on an idle Tuesday. Hold those you love and have loved dear.”

US comedian Rosie O’Donnell, who starred alongside Trachtenberg in her Harriet the Spy debut, said her death was “heart-breaking.”

“I loved her very much. She struggled the last few years. I wish I could have helped.”

Former castmates on her most popular shows have also paid tribute.

English actor Ed Westwick, who played the character Chuck Bass on Gossip Girl, posted on Instagram a picture of Trachtenberg as her character in the show, Georgina Sparks.

“So sad to hear of the passing of Michelle Trachtenberg. Sending prayers,” he wrote.

Former Buffy the Vampire Slayer castmate David Boreanaz wrote on Instagram: “So very sad. Horrible news.”

In a social media tribute to Trachtenberg, another Buffy castmate James Marsters said the actress was “fiercely intelligent, howlingly funny, and a very talented person”.

“She died much too young, and leaves behind scores of people who knew and loved her,” Marsters said.

Trachtenberg first appeared in Gossip Girl in 2008. She returned to the role for two episodes of the second season of HBO Max’s reboot in 2023.

Her last major acting role was in 2021 as the host of a true-crime docuseries Meet, Marry, Murder, which appeared on digital streamer Tubi.

In 2021, Trachtenberg accused Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon of inappropriate behaviour on set, after her co-star Charisma Carpenter said she had been left traumatised due to the treatment she received from Whedon.

Donald Trump held his first cabinet meeting at the White House on Wednesday, turning the occasion into an extended question-and-answer session that lasted for more than an hour.

Speaking alongside his cabinet – and billionaire Elon Musk who wore a “tech support” T-shirt – Trump covered a wide range of topics, ranging from Doge’s efforts to cut government spending to immigration, the economy and the war in Ukraine.

Here are six takeaways from the meeting.

Trump was asked by reporters which government department – and, by extension, which cabinet members – were most resistant to his policy changes.

“So far, I’m happy with all of those choices,” he said.

He added, however, that “some groups are much easier than others”, specifically praising the work of Elon Musk – who is not a cabinet member – and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

His administration is focusing on “cutting down the size of government, we have to”, he added.

“We want to have a balanced budget within a reasonably short period of time… meaning maybe by next year or maybe the year after,” Trump said.

Trump publicly – and repeatedly – backed the work of Elon Musk and Doge, the Department of Government Efficiency, which has been tasked with slashing government spending and the federal workforce.

The president sought to dampen any speculation of tension between Musk and the rest of his team.

“They have a lot of respect for Elon and that he’s doing this, and some disagree a little bit,” Trump said. “But I will tell you for the most part I think everyone’s not only happy, they’re thrilled.”

“If they aren’t, I want them to speak up,” he added.

At one point, Trump was asked whether any cabinet members had expressed dissatisfaction with Musk and turned to the room to ask them. None spoke.

Musk also defended Doge, calling it a “support function” for government agencies to rid themselves of fraud.

He acknowledged, however, that it will make mistakes, and noted that it had accidentally cancelled Ebola prevention efforts before reinstating them.

“But when we make mistakes we’ll fix it very quickly,” Musk said.

The president also addressed Musk’s e-mail to federal employees asking them to list five things they had done in the last week or risk losing their jobs, saying the cabinet is “very much behind” the initiative.

Trump speculated without evidence that some of the approximately one million federal workers who haven’t responded to the e-mail maybe “don’t exist”.

“Maybe they’re going to be gone,” he added.

“We’re trying to figure out who those people are who haven’t responded,” Trump added. “We’re being a little more surgical in situations where people are doing classified stuff.”

Trump also said he was encouraging cabinet members to “do their own Doge” at their respective agencies.

He also suggested that the Environmental Protection Agency, which is led by Lee Zeldin, could lose as much as 65% of its workforce.

Later in the day, a memo was sent to federal agencies asking them to submit plans for “a significant reduction” in their staff by 13 March.

It asks agencies to provide a list of employees who are deemed not essential. The memo also requests that future hiring be limited to one position for every four people who are let go.

These layoffs would be in addition to those already undertaken by Doge of mainly probationary workers. Multiple US outlets have reported that nearly 10,000 federal workers were let go across several agencies earlier this month.

That figure was in addition to the estimated 75,000 workers who have accepted an offer from the White House to leave voluntarily in the autumn.

Wednesday’s memo represents another step in Doge’s efforts to further cut down the size of the US government.

Exempt from this action, however, are positions in law enforcement, border security, immigration enforcement and military.

Trump confirmed that Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky will visit the White House on Friday – something that had previously been suggested.

Trump said the visit would see the US and Ukraine sign an expansive minerals deal, although the contours of that agreement remain unclear.

He said the deal would allow the US to “get our money back” for the assistance that Ukraine has been given in the three years since it was invaded by Russia.

“We’re going to get a lot of money in the future, and I think that’s appropriate, because we have taxpayers that shouldn’t be footing the bill,” he said. “It’s all been worked out.”

Zelensky has described the bilateral deal as preliminary, and said he wants further agreements which include US security guarantees to deter renewed Russian aggression.

Asked about security guarantees for Ukraine in the future, Trump said that the US would not provide any, arguing that the burden should fall to Europe.

Trump said he is planning to hit goods made in the European Union with tariffs of 25%.

“We’ll be announcing it very soon,” he told gathered reporters. “It’ll be 25% generally speaking and that will be on cars and all other things.”

“They’ve really taken advantage of us,” Trump said of the EU. “They don’t accept our cars. They don’t accept essentially our farm products. They use all sorts of reasons why not.”

Trump was also asked if he still plans on implementing tariffs on Canada and Mexico despite the significant drop in detentions of illegal migrants at the southern border and Canada’s plan to enhance border protection.

On 4 February, Trump abruptly agreed to hold off imposing 25% tariffs on both countries for 30 days, pulling the three countries back from the brink of a potentially damaging trade war.

The date Trump cited appeared to be an extension of that timeframe.

“April 2, the tariffs go on,” he said. “Not all of them but a lot of them. And I think that’s gonna be amazing.”

• EXPLAINED: Is Trump right when he says the US faces unfair trade?
• TRUMP TEAM: Who is on Trump’s top team?
• IMMIGRATION: Trump says $5m ‘gold card’ immigration visas will ‘sell like crazy’
• FOREIGN POLICY: Three years on, Ukraine’s extinction nightmare has returned
• WATCH: Ros Atkins on… the fight for Ukraine’s critical minerals

“I swear to God I need help,” said the man quietly on the other end of the line.

The Ethiopian, who calls himself Mike, said he is being held with 450 others in a building inside Myanmar, along the country’s border with Thailand.

They are among the thousands of people who have been freed from the notorious scam compounds that have thrived on the border for years, in what appears to be the toughest action so far against the industry along the Thai-Myanmar border.

But many of them are now stranded in Myanmar in makeshift camps because the process of assessing them and arranging flights back to their own countries is so slow.

The armed militia groups who are holding them have a very limited capacity to support so many people – more than 7,000. One of them has said they have stopped freeing people from the compounds because they are not being moved to Thailand fast enough.

The BBC understands that conditions in the camps are unsanitary, food barely sufficient, and many of the freed workers, like Mike, are in poor health. He is suffering from panic attacks, after working for a year in a scam centre where he was routinely beaten.

He told us they got two very basic meals a day, there were only two toilets for 450 people, who he said were now relieving themselves wherever they could.

Mike described being invited a year ago to take up what he was promised would be a good job, in Thailand, requiring only good English language and typing skills.

Instead he found himself subjected to a brutal regime, forced to work long hours every day to meet the target for defrauding people online set by his Chinese bosses.

“It was the worst experience of my life. Of course I was beaten. But believe me I have seen a lot worse done to other people.”

Mike is one of an estimated 100,000 people who are believed to have been lured to work in the scam operations along the Thai-Myanmar border, most of them run by Chinese fraud and gambling operatives who have taken advantage of the lawlessness in this part of Myanmar.

Despite horrifying accounts of abuse from those who escaped in the past, thousands still come from parts of the world where good jobs are scarce, enticed by promises of good money.

China, where many of the scam victims come from, has acted to shut down scam operations along its own border with Myanmar, but until this year neither China nor Thailand had done much about the Thai-Myanmar border.

Ariyan, a young man from Bangladesh, has come back to Thailand to try to help 17 friends who are still there. He said he made a promise to himself to do this after his own gruelling escape from one of the most notorious scam centres last October.

He showed us a brief, shaky video of the compound, still under construction in a remote, forested valley, where he was held, and remembers the terrible treatment he and his friends suffered at the hands of their Chinese boss.

“They gave us a target every week, $5,000. If not, they gave us two electric shocks. Or they put us in a dark room, with no windows. But if we earned a lot of money, they were very happy with us.”

Ariyan had to approach men in the Middle East and lure them into transferring funds to fictitious investments. Using AI, the scammers made him appear on the screen to be an attractive young woman, altering his voice as well.

He says he hated doing it. He remembers one man who was willing to sell his wife’s jewellery to fund the fraudulent investment, and wishing he could warn him. But he said the bosses monitored all their calls.

The release of the scam workers started more than two weeks ago after Thailand, under pressure from China and some of its own politicians, cut power and telecommunications links to the compounds on the border.

It limited banking access to the scam bosses and issued arrest warrants for some of the militia leaders who had been protecting the business.

That hit the business, but it also hit the ordinary Karen people who live nearby even harder, putting pressure on the militia commanders to show willingness in ending the abuses in the scam centres. They began helping those trying to escape, and completely evacuating some compounds.

The camp Mike is housed in is now being guarded by the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army, DKBA, a breakaway insurgent faction of the ethnic Karen community.

Until recently, it was protecting the many scam compounds which have sprung up in its territory. You can see them easily as you drive along the Moei River which divides the two countries – unlikely expanses of new buildings over in war-torn Karen State contrasting with the rural landscape on the Thai side of the border.

Thailand insists it is moving as fast as it can to process the former scam workers and get them home.

A group of 260 freed workers were brought over the Moei River on a raft earlier this month. And around 621 Chinese nationals were flown straight back to China with a police escort on chartered planes. Otherwise, the movement of freed workers to Thailand seems to have stalled.

The problem is that they are from many different countries, some of which are doing little to help get their people home. Around 130 of the first 260 who came over are from Ethiopia, which does not have an embassy in Bangkok.

The BBC has been told that some other African countries will only fly their people home if someone else pays. Most of the freed workers have nothing; even their passports were withheld by the compound bosses.

Thailand fears bringing over thousands of people it will then have to look after indefinitely. It also wants to screen them to find out which are genuine victims of human trafficking and which may have committed criminal acts, but does not have the capacity to do this with such a large group of people.

Different ministries and agencies, including the army, are involved in managing this problem, and have to agree who does what. It does not help that several senior police and immigration officers have been transferred over their alleged involvement in the scam business.

“If this issue is not resolved, then we will not stop working on it – we must work seriously,” said Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Tuesday in Bangkok. But she was referring to the wider problem of the scam business, not the growing humanitarian crisis among the freed workers.

“Unfortunately, it seems we’re in a bit of a standstill,” says Judah Tana, an Australian who runs an NGO which has for years been helping the victims of trafficking in the scam centres.

“We are hearing distressing information about the lack of sanitation and toilets. Many of the 260 who already came were screened for TB and tested positive. We are hearing from those who are still inside that people are coughing up blood. They are very happy that they have been liberated from the scam compounds, but our worry is that we’re not engaging fast enough.”

Thailand now seems ready to bring over one group of 94 Indonesians, as their embassy has been pushing for their release for several days and has booked flights to Indonesia for them.

But that still leaves more than 7,000 still inside Myanmar, unsure what will now happen to them.

Mike told me he and many others with him feared that if they are not allowed to cross into Thailand soon, the DKBA may hand them back to the scam bosses, where they could face punishment for trying to leave.

On Wednesday night his panic attacks and breathing were so bad, he said, they took him to hospital.

“I just want to go home,” he said over the phone. “I just want to go back to my country. That is all I am asking.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet US President Donald Trump in Washington on Friday to sign an agreement on sharing his country’s mineral resources, Trump has said.

Zelensky has described the bilateral deal as preliminary, and said he wants further agreements which include US security guarantees to deter renewed Russian aggression.

But Trump said the US would not provide guarantees “beyond… very much”, saying the responsibility should instead fall to Europe.

Trump also seemingly ruled out the prospect of Ukraine becoming a Nato member – one of Zelensky’s long-held ambitions.

Speaking at a meeting of his cabinet on Wednesday, Trump said the presence of American workers extracting rare earth metals on Ukrainian soil would provide “automatic security” for Ukraine.

He said Kyiv should “forget about” joining Nato and repeated Russia’s claims that the issue was one of the driving factors behind the war.

The US president suggested a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia was not far off, telling reporters: “We’re going to make a deal with Russia and Ukraine to stop killing people.”

But Zelensky said without security guarantees “we won’t have a ceasefire, nothing will work, nothing”.

“I want to find a Nato path or something similar,” he said.

• What we know about US-Ukraine minerals deal

Russia has consistently opposed the idea of Ukraine becoming a member, fearing it would bring Nato forces too close to its borders.

In 2008, the alliance had said that Ukraine could eventually join.

Trump has suggested European peacekeeping troops could be stationed in Ukraine as part of a ceasefire deal, but Russia says it is against this.

European representatives, however, were not included in Washington’s initial talks with Russia.

Speaking to the BBC on Wednesday, Kaja Kallas, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said “for any kind of deal to work on European soil, you need the Europeans to also agree to it”.

She said the mineral resources deal was up to Ukraine, but any peace agreement would “need the Europeans on board”.

Ms Kallas’ scheduled meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday was abruptly cancelled, with both sides citing scheduling issues.

Zelensky said the success of the minerals deal, which was formally backed by his government on Wednesday evening, would depend on the outcome of his meeting with Trump this week.

Key details have not yet been made public, but Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said it envisages an “investment fund” for Ukraine’s reconstruction.

The prospect of a deal was first proposed by Zelensky last year as a way to offer the US a tangible reason to continue supporting Ukraine.

But disagreements over its substance exacerbated tensions between Trump and Zelensky in recent weeks.

The Ukrainian president had rejected an initial request from the US for $500bn (£395bn) in mineral wealth, but media reports suggest this demand has now been dropped.

There are also differences in how both sides are now describing the deal. Trump has lauded the “very big agreement” as an opportunity for the US to get its “money back” after funding aid to Ukraine.

But Zelensky has instead referred to it as a “framework agreement” upon which he hopes further deals can be made.

Trump has said he wants a quick end to the war in Ukraine and has sought to reset relations with Russia. After a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the two leaders sent delegations to Saudi Arabia in bilateral talks which excluded Ukraine.

In response, Zelensky accused the US of helping Putin “break out of years of isolation” and Trump of living in a “Russian disinformation space”.

Ukraine is a country rich in natural resources. Kyiv estimates that about 5% of the world’s “critical raw materials” are there. But accessing some of these resources will not be completely straightforward.

Some of the mineral deposits have been seized by Russia. According to Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine’s economy minister, resources worth $350bn (£277bn) remain in occupied territories today.

There are warnings too that Ukraine first needs to addresses its problem with unexploded mines before striking a deal with the US.

A quarter of Ukraine’s landmass is estimated to be contaminated with landmines, mainly concentrated in the war-torn east of the country.

Putin has also said he is open to offering the US access to rare minerals, including from Russian-occupied Ukraine.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will also be meeting both Trump and Zelensky separately this week to discuss the war in Ukraine.

He is due to arrive in Washington later on Wednesday.

For over 20 years, archaeologists in India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu have been unearthing clues to the region’s ancient past.

Their digs have uncovered early scripts that rewrite literacy timelines, mapped maritime trade routes connecting India to the world and revealed advanced urban settlements – reinforcing the state’s role as a cradle of early civilisation and global commerce.

Now they’ve also uncovered something even older – evidence of what could be the earliest making and use of iron. Present-day Turkey is one of the earliest known regions where iron was mined, extracted and forged on a significant scale around the 13th Century BC.

Archaeologists have discovered iron objects at six sites in Tamil Nadu, dating back to 2,953–3,345 BCE, or between 5,000 to 5,400 years old. This suggests that the process of extracting, smelting, forging and shaping iron to create tools, weapons and other objects may have developed independently in the Indian subcontinent.

“The discovery is of such a great importance that it will take some more time before its implications sink in,” says Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti, a professor of South Asian archaeology at Cambridge University.

The latest findings from Adichchanallur, Sivagalai, Mayiladumparai, Kilnamandi, Mangadu and Thelunganur sites have made local headlines such as “Did the Iron Age Begin in Tamil Nadu?” The age marks a period when societies began using and producing iron widely, making tools, weapons and infrastructure.

Parth R Chauhan, a professor of archaeology at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (ISSER), urges caution before drawing broad conclusions. He believes that iron technology likely emerged “independently in multiple regions”.

Also, the “earliest evidence remains uncertain because many regions of the world have not been properly researched or archaeological evidence is known but has not been dated properly”.

If the Tamil Nadu discovery is further validated through rigorous academic study, “it would certainly rank amongst the world’s earliest records”, Mr Chauhan says. Oishi Roy, an archaeologist at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), adds that the find “suggests parallel developments [in iron production] across different parts of the world”.

Early iron came in two forms – meteoritic and smelted. Smelted iron, extracted from ore, marked the true beginning of iron technology with mass production. The earliest known iron artefacts – nine tubular beads – were made from meteoritic iron, which comes from fallen meteorites.

Identifying iron-bearing rocks is the first challenge. Once located, these ores must be smelted in a furnace at extremely high temperatures to extract the metal. Without this process, raw iron remains locked within the rock. After extraction, skilled ironsmiths shape the metal into tools and implements, marking a crucial step in early ironworking.

Most sites in Tamil Nadu where iron has been found are ancient habitation areas near present-day villages. Archaeologists K Rajan and R Sivanantham say that excavators have so far explored a fraction of over 3,000 identified Iron Age graves containing sarcophagi (stone coffins) and a wealth of iron artefacts. In the process, they uncovered hoe-spades, spears, knives, arrowheads, chisels, axes and swords made of iron.

At burials excavated at one site, over 85 iron objects – knives, arrowhead, rings, chisels, axes and swords – were found inside and outside burial urns. More than 20 key samples were robustly dated in five labs worldwide, confirming their antiquity.

Some finds are particularly striking.

Historian Osmund Bopearachchi of the Paris-based French National Centre for Scientific Research highlights a key discovery – an iron sword from a burial site, made of ultra-high-carbon steel and dating to 13th–15th Century BC.

This advanced steel, a direct evolution of Iron Age metallurgy, required sophisticated knowledge and precise high-temperature processes.

“We know that the first signs of real steel production date back to the 13th Century BC in present-day Turkey. The radiometric dates seem to prove that the Tamil Nadu samples are earlier,” he said. Ms Roy adds that the early steel in Tamil Nadu indicates the people there “were iron makers, not just users – a technologically advanced community evolving over time”.

Also, in a site called Kodumanal, excavators found a furnace, pointing to an advanced iron-making community.

The furnace area stood out with its white discolouration, likely from extreme heat. Nearby, excavators found iron slag – some of it fused to the furnace wall – hinting at advanced metalworking techniques. Clearly the people at the site were not just using iron, but actively producing and processing it.

To be sure, the Tamil Nadu excavations are not the first in India to uncover iron. At least 27 sites across eight states have revealed evidence of early iron use, some dating back 4,200 years. The latest Tamil Nadu digs pushes back the antiquity of Indian iron by another 400 years,” archaeologist Rajan, who has co-authored a paper on the subject, told me.

“The Iron Age is a technological shift, not a single-origin event – it develops in multiple places independently,” says Ms Roy, noting earlier discoveries in eastern, western and northern India.

“What’s clear now,” she adds, “is that indigenous iron technology developed early in the Indian subcontinent.”

Experts say the excavations in Tamil Nadu are significant and could reshape our understanding of the Iron Age and iron smelting in the Indian subcontinent. Also, “what these digs testify is to the existence of a distinctly sophisticated style of civilisation,” notes Nirmala Lakshman, author of The Tamils – A Portrait of a Community.

However, archaeologists caution that there is still a lack of excavations needed to collect fresh data from all over India. As one expert put it, “Indian archaeology is in silent mode outside Tamil Nadu.”

Katragadda Paddayya, a leading Indian archaeologist, said this was “just the starting point”.

“We need to delve deeper into the origins of iron technology – these findings mark the beginning, not the conclusion. The key is to use this as a premise, trace the process backward and identify the sites where iron production truly began.”

Leaked audio instructions by Greek rescue co-ordinators have cast further doubt on Greece’s official version of events in the hours before a migrant boat sank along with up to 650 people onboard.

The Adriana went down in the early hours of 14 June 2023 in international waters – but within Greece’s rescue zone – after leaving Libya days earlier.

Survivors later told the BBC that coastguards had caused their overcrowded fishing boat to capsize in a botched attempt to tow it and then forced witnesses to stay silent.

The Greek coastguard denied these claims and maintains it did not try to rescue those onboard because they were not in danger and said they had voluntarily wanted to reach Italy, not Greece.

But in a phone call that’s now emerged an unnamed man speaking from inside a Greek rescue coordination centre is heard instructing the captain of the migrant boat to tell an approaching ship that those onboard do not want to reach Greece.

The coastguard has not commented on the audio but said it had handed over all available evidence to a Naval Court which is investigating the disaster.

The sinking was one of the worst-ever disasters known to have happened in the Mediterranean Sea.

It is estimated the boat was carrying up to 750 migrants when it set off from the port of Tobruk in Libya nearly a week earlier.

Eighty-two bodies were recovered, but the United Nations believes an additional 500 people – including 100 women and children who were in the hold of the boat – may have died.

Audio recordings obtained by Greek website News247.gr reveal phone calls involving the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) at the port of Piraeus, near the capital Athens.

In the first call, at 18:50 local time (15:50 GMT) on 13 June, an officer is heard explaining to the man piloting the migrant boat that a large red vessel will soon be approaching to give supplies and that he should explain that the migrants do not want to reach Greece.

Officer 1:

The replies of the man captaining the migrant boat are not heard.

In a second call, 90 minutes later, at 22:10, a seemingly different officer from the same coordination centre, speaks to the captain of the Lucky Sailor (the “big red ship”).

Officer 2:

Lucky Sailor captain:

Officer 2:

Lucky Sailor captain:

Officer 2:

Officer 2:

Lucky Sailor captain:

Officer 2:

Lucky Sailor captain:

Officer 2:

Lucky Sailor captain:

Officer 2:

Lucky Sailor captain:

Another vessel, the Faithful Warrior, also gave some supplies to the migrant boat but no further conversations between its captain and the Greek authorities have emerged.

The Greek coastguard did not comment on the contents of the conversations but told the BBC it had submitted “all the material it had in its possession, including the audio recordings and the diaries of events” to the Maritime Court Prosecutor’s Office, which is investigating.

It said it had rescued more than a quarter of a million migrants in danger at sea in the last decade and arrested more than a thousand smugglers, and that its humanitarian work had been recognised internationally.

Our BBC investigation in the immediate days after the sinking challenged the Greek authorities’ explanation for the disaster.

Analysis of the movement of other ships in the area suggests the overcrowded fishing vessel was not moving for at least seven hours before it capsized.

The coastguard has always insisted that during these hours the boat was on a course to Italy and not in need of rescue.

Last year, a Greek court threw out charges against nine Egyptian men who were accused of causing the shipwreck.

The judges in the southern port city of Kalamata ruled they did not have jurisdiction to hear the case, on the grounds the vessel sank in international waters.

The indictment had showed that the defendants were being prosecuted on evidence that had already been contradicted by at least six survivors, who told the BBC the coastguard had caused their boat to capsize and then pressured them to frame the Egyptians.

Human rights lawyer, Dimitris Choulis, who represented some of the accused Egyptians said he was not surprised by what these recordings.

“We know about the coastguard’s tactics of either pushing back or not rescuing people.”

He claimed there had been “an attempted cover up from day one.”

“They [Greek authorities] told the story ‘they did not want to be rescued’ and so have insulted the memory of so many dead people,” he told the BBC.

Human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have said they have strong reservations about the integrity of the Greek investigation and have called for an international investigation.

The Greek Ombudsman – an independent authority removed from the government – has been looking at the allegations.

The disaster is also being examined by the Greek Naval Court.

An Australian radio presenter has left the network after comments he made about the country’s women’s football team – which have been branded as misogynist and disrespectful.

Marty Sheargold said on nationwide radio station Triple M that the Matildas players reminded him of “year 10 girls” and implied that their matches were boring.

He apologised earlier on Wednesday, and was due to be back on air but did not appear in his usual time slot.

Southern Cross Austereo (SCA), the parent company of Triple M, later said Sheargold and the station had agreed to “mutually part ways”.

In a statement on Wednesday, Sheargold said that he fully understood the gravity of his remarks and would like to “sincerely apologise to the Matildas and the broader organisation”.

The company said that it “takes its responsibility to listeners, shareholders, and clients seriously and its programming should align with the standards and expectations of its audience.”

“Right now, it’s clear this is a moment for reflection and review. Triple M, and the wider SCA network, will continue to take all necessary steps to support staff,” the firm’s chief content officer Dave Cameron said in a statement.

Earlier the sport’s governing body said the remarks “diminish the extraordinary achievements” of a team that were semi-finalists in the women’s world cup in 2023.

During his drivetime show on Monday afternoon, Sheargold interjected during a sports bulletin – which was discussing Australia’s defeat to the US in its second consecutive loss in the SheBelieves Cup.

“You know what they remind me of? Year 10 girls,” Sheargold said, to the laughter of his co-hosts.

“All the infighting and all the friendship issues… Now I’m sorry to undermine the whole sport, but that’s what I think of it.”

When his colleague mentioned the SheBelieves Cup by name, Sheargold interrupted saying: “Oh, she believes in what? It better be men.”

And when reference was made to Australia hosting the AFC Women’s Asian Cup next year, he said “oh god – the Asian Cup”, before criticising the event with an obscene comment. He then asked his co-host: “Got any men’s sport?”

Sheargold’s comments later went viral.

Minister for Sport Anika Wells called the comments “boorish, boring and wrong”.

“Australia’s most watched television event ever was the Matildas World Cup semi-final; the Tillies’ quarterfinal is the second-most-watched event in Australian history,” Ms Wells said.

Australian Olympian Ambrosia Malone, who represents her country in hockey, also criticised Sheargold.

“All I could think about was the young girls sitting in the car with their parents, maybe on the way to or from their own training sessions hearing this,” she wrote on social media.

“I’m sure many of them would have been hurt and confused… I was in disbelief.

“This is apparently acceptable on mainstream afternoon radio??? HOW??”

Football Australia said it was “deeply disappointed by the unacceptable comments” which “fail to recognise the profound impact they have had on Australian sport and society”.

“This incident is a stark reminder of the responsibility media outlets and personalities have in fostering respectful and constructive discussions about women’s sport and its participants,” it added.

India is home to 1.4 billion people but around a billion lack money to spend on any discretionary goods or services, a new report estimates.

The country’s consuming class, effectively the potential market for start-ups or business owners, is only about as big as Mexico, 130-140 million people, according to the report from Blume Ventures, a venture capital firm.

Another 300 million are “emerging” or “aspirant” consumers but they are reluctant spenders who have only just begun to open their purse strings, as click-of-a-button digital payments make it easy to transact.

What is more, the consuming class in Asia’s third largest economy is not “widening” as much as it is “deepening”, according to the report. That basically means India’s wealthy population is not really growing in numbers, even though those who are already rich are getting even wealthier.

All of this is shaping the country’s consumer market in distinct ways, particularly accelerating the trend of “premiumisation” where brands drive growth by doubling down on expensive, upgraded products catering to the wealthy, rather than focusing on mass-market offerings.

This is evident in zooming sales of ultra-luxury gated housing and premium phones, even as their lower-end variants struggle. Affordable homes now constitute just 18% of India’s overall market compared with 40% five years ago. Branded goods are also capturing a bigger share of the market. And the “experience economy” is booming, with expensive tickets for concerts by international artists like Coldplay and Ed Sheeran selling like hot cakes.

• Why global stars like Coldplay and Ed Sheeran are hitting India

Companies that have adapted to these shifts have thrived, Sajith Pai, one of the report’s authors, told the BBC. “Those who are too focused at the mass end or have a product mix that doesn’t have exposure to the premium end have lost market share.”

The report’s findings bolster the long-held view that India’s post-pandemic recovery has been K-shaped – where the rich have got richer, while the poor have lost purchasing power.

In fact, this has been a long-term structural trend that began even before the pandemic. India has been getting increasingly more unequal, with the top 10% of Indians now holding 57.7% of national income compared with 34% in 1990. The bottom half have seen their share of national income fall from 22.2% to 15%.

The latest consumption slump, however, has deepened amid not just a destruction in purchasing power, but also a precipitous drop in financial savings and surging indebtedness among the masses.

The country’s central bank has also cracked down on easy unsecured lending that propped up demand after the Covid pandemic.

Much of the consumption spending of the “emerging” or “aspirant” class of Indians was led by such borrowing and “turning off that tap will definitely have some impact on consumption”, says Pai.

In the short run, two things are expected to help boost spending – a pick-up in rural demand on the back of a record harvest and a $12 billion tax give-away in the recently concluded budget. It will not be “dramatic” but could boost India’s GDP – largely driven by consumption – by over half a percent, says Pai.

But major longer-term headwinds remain.

India’s middle class – which has been a major engine for consumer demand – is being squeezed out, with wages pretty much staying flat, according to data compiled by Marcellus Investment Managers.

“The middle 50% of India’s tax-paying population has seen its income stagnate in absolute terms over the past decade. This implies a halving of income in real terms [adjusted for inflation],” says the report, published in January.

“This financial hammering has decimated the middle class’s savings – the RBI [Reserve Bank of India] has repeatedly highlighted that net financial savings of Indian households are approaching a 50-year low. This pounding suggests that products and services associated with middle-class household spending are likely to face a rough time in the years ahead,” it adds.

The Marcellus report also points out that white-collar urban jobs are becoming harder to come by as artificial intelligence automates clerical, secretarial and other routine work. “The number of supervisors employed in manufacturing units [as a percentage of all employed] in India has gone down significantly,” it adds.

The government’s recent economic survey has flagged these concerns as well.

It says labour displacement as a result of these technological advancements is of particular concern for a mainly services-driven economy like India, where a significant share of the IT workforce is employed in low value-added services sectors that are most prone to disruption.

“India is also a consumption-based economy, thus the fall in consumption that can result from the displacement of its workforce is bound to have macroeconomic implications. If the worst-case projections materialise, this could have the potential to set the country’s economic growth trajectory off course,” the survey says.

In a busy, terraced house in Bradford, three sisters are animatedly chatting. It’s a big day at their home: a beautician sits on their sofa, styling their hair and makeup. The room is warm with fun and laughter. It feels like a scene from a Jane Austen novel: three women in their late 20s, each of them bursting with personality, swapping stories.

And like most Austen novels, the conversation often turns to marriage.

The sisters are preparing for a family wedding at the weekend – where the bride and groom are first cousins. Many people might find this unusual, but in their family and in some parts of Bradford, it’s fairly common.

Ayesha, who at 29 is the oldest of the three sisters, also married her first cousin in 2017. She has two children with her husband and their marriage is happy, she says. It felt perfectly normal at the time to marry her cousin. Their mother, a Pakistani migrant, assumed it was what all three of her daughters would do.

But 26-year-old Salina, the youngest of the three, tells us she broke the mould by having what they call a “love” marriage, choosing a partner from outside the family. Salina tells us she is outgoing and ambitious; marrying a cousin simply did not appeal to her. Then there’s Mallika, who at 27 is the middle of the three. She’s still single and has already decided not to marry within her family.

“I said to my mum that I wouldn’t judge my sisters but I wasn’t going to do it,” Mallika tells us. She says having an education has created opportunities for her. “Before, even if you had an education, you wouldn’t be expected to carry on with it. You would be thinking of marriage. Now the mindset is so different.”

In the UK and across Europe, cousin marriage is coming under increased scrutiny – particularly from doctors, who warn that children of first cousins are more likely to experience an array of health problems.

And there’s now some new, potentially worrying data from Bradford to add into that mix.

Researchers at the city’s university are entering their 18th year of the Born in Bradford study. It’s one of the biggest medical trials of its kind: between 2007 and 2010, researchers recruited more than 13,000 babies in the city and then followed them closely from childhood into adolescence and now into early adulthood. More than one in six children in the study have parents who are first cousins, mostly from Bradford’s Pakistani community, making it among the world’s most valuable studies of the health impacts of cousin marriage.

And in data published in the last few months – and analysed in an upcoming episode of BBC Radio 4’s Born in Bradford series – the researchers found that first cousin-parentage may have wider consequences than previously thought.

The most obvious way that a pair of blood-related parents might increase health risks for a child is through a recessive disorder, like cystic fibrosis or sickle cell disease. According to the classic theory of genetics laid out by the biologist Gregor Mendel, if both parents carry a recessive gene then there’s a one in four chance that their child will inherit the condition. And when parents are cousins, they’re more likely to both be carriers. A child of first cousins carries a 6% chance of inheriting a recessive disorder, compared to 3% for the general population.

But the Bradford study took a much broader view – and sheds fresh light. The researchers weren’t just looking at whether a child had been diagnosed with a specific recessive disorder. Instead they studied dozens of data points, observing everything from the children’s speech and language development to their frequency of healthcare to their performance at school. Then they used a mathematical model to try to eliminate the impacts of poverty and parental education – so they could focus squarely on the impact on “consanguinity”, the scientific word for having parents who are related.

They found that even after factors like poverty were controlled for, a child of first cousins in Bradford had an 11% probability of being diagnosed with a speech and language problem, versus 7% for children whose parents are not related.

They also found a child of first cousins has a 54% chance of reaching a “good stage of development” (a government assessment given to all five year-olds in England), versus 64% for children whose parents are not related.

We get further insight into their poorer health through the number of visits to the GP. Children of first cousins have a third more primary care appointments than children whose parents are not related – an average of four instead of three a year.

What is notable is that even once you account for the children in that group who already have a diagnosed recessive disorder, the figures suggest consanguinity may be affecting even those children who don’t have a diagnosable recessive disorder.

Neil Small, emeritus professor at the University of Bradford and the author of the study, says that even if all of the children with recessive disorders visited their GP more than average, “this does not explain the much wider distribution of excess health care usage in the consanguineous children”.

The study, he says, is “exciting because it gives the opportunity for a much more accurate development of a response, targeting interventions and treatments”.

It is, of course, just one study, and the population of Bradford is not representative of the whole of the UK.

Nevertheless, it adds to a growing concern among scientists that has caught the attention of lawmakers across Europe. Two Scandinavian countries have now moved to outlaw cousin marriage entirely. In Norway, the practice became illegal last year; in Sweden, a ban will come into effect next year.

In the UK, the Conservative MP Richard Holden has introduced a private members’ bill to outlaw the practice, adding it to the list of illegal marriages (alongside parents, child, siblings, and grandparents). But the Labour government says there are “no plans” to impose a ban. At present, the UK is still following the policy of “genetic counselling”, in which first cousin-couples are educated about the risks of having children, and encouraged to get extra screening in pregnancy.

But amid concern about child health and strains on the NHS, some academics are asking whether a beefed-up approach to counselling is needed, with more funding and laser-focused intervention. And there are those who think it’s time to follow the Scandinavian example and impose something bound to be difficult and controversial: an outright ban on cousin marriage.

For most in the UK, the prospect of marrying a cousin is largely alien. But it wasn’t always so unusual. The father of evolution Charles Darwin married his first cousin, Emma Wedgwood. Their son, the Victorian scientist Sir George Darwin, went on to estimate that cousin marriages accounted for almost one in 20 aristocratic unions in 19th Century Britain. One of them was Queen Victoria, who married her first cousin, Prince Albert. The novel Wuthering Heights is full of fictional examples.

By the 20th Century the proportion of marriages between cousins had declined to about 1%. But it remains a relatively common practice among some South Asian minorities. In three inner-city Bradford wards, almost half (46%) of mothers from the Pakistani community were married to a first or second cousin, according to the most recent Born in Bradford data published two years ago.

For those who want to ban the practice, the public health argument is compelling. When announcing his private members’ bill in December, Richard Holden highlighted the higher risk of birth defects. Later, on Talk TV, he pointed to data showing that infant mortality rates are higher for children born to cousin parents, with more heart, brain, and kidney problems due to recessive disorders. He also explained that health effects can be “compounded” when the practice persists through generations.

This risk to child health is one of the reasons Patrick Nash, a researcher and co-founder at the Pharos Foundation research institute, wants to see cousin marriage banned. In a paper published in the Oxford Journal of Law and Religion last year, Nash wrote that a ban would result in “immediate” health improvements, especially in communities where the practice is common. He said: “Banning cousin marriage would improve public health drastically and have no negative health implications of its own.”

On the ground in Bradford, it’s a more mixed picture. Prof Sam Oddie, a consultant neonatologist and researcher at Bradford Teachings Hospitals, has worked in the city for more than two decades. Over the years he has observed lots of severe genetic disorders. “I’ve seen fatal skin conditions, fatal brain conditions, fatal muscle conditions”. He says it was “immediately clear” these conditions were occurring more in Bradford than elsewhere.

He remembers some tragic examples: families who lost several children, one after the other, to the same genetic disorder. “That’s very upsetting and very difficult for the family to get their heads around.”

But crucially, Prof Oddie thinks the main risk to genetic health in Bradford is not cousin marriage, but a similar issue known as endogamy, in which people marry members of their close community. In a tight-knit ethnic group, people are more likely to share common ancestors and genes – whether or not they are first cousins, he says.

Endogamy is not unique to Pakistani communities in the UK. It is an issue too in the UK’s Jewish community and globally among the Amish and also French Canadians.

“It’s often the case that the exact familial tie can’t be traced, but the gene occurs more commonly within a certain group, and for that reason, both parents carry the affected gene,” Prof Oddie says. “It’s an oversimplification to say that cousin marriage is the root of all excess recessive disorders in Bradford or in Pakistani communities. Endogamy is an important feature.”

Rather than a ban, he stresses the power of education – or what he calls “genetic literacy”. It’s a phrase that crops up again and again from the people we speak to. For many years there’s been a campaign in Bradford to inform people in the Pakistani community about their genetic risks. Couples are given specialist advice at their GP; at pregnancy classes, information is shared with expectant mothers.

And in Bradford at least, some are taking the message on board. Back at the sisters’ house, all three women we interview say that ideas around cousin marriage are slowly changing, in part due to an increased awareness of health risks. They live in the deprived, post-industrial Manningham area of the city. There’s a distinct feeling of neighbourliness here. All of the front doors open directly onto the street, which is full of children playing. Occasionally the sounds of their laughter drift inside.

“It has to be something that happens gradually – it’s slow, you can’t rush it,” says Salina, the sister who chose to have a love marriage. “My mum was very young when she came [to the UK from Pakistan]. She had certain views but those changed because she loves us. I just explained to her, ‘Mum, how does it benefit you to push cousin marriage?’.”

Mallika, her older sister, agrees. “It’s also to do with social media and being exposed to different people,” she says. “You have new connections… contact with people outside our parents’ eyes.”

Even Ayesha, the oldest sister who is in a cousin marriage, said she doesn’t imagine either of her two children will marry their cousins.

At the time she married her cousin, she says, “I didn’t know any different. My parents were strong in their culture. As the generations move on, the culture is disappearing a bit.”

She was aware of the genetic risks when she had her two children. Neither of them have a genetic illness.

“We did take that on board,” she says, on the topic of genetic health. “But I always feel like if it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen. If the child is going to be born with a disability then it will happen if you are married to a cousin or not.”

Indeed, in Bradford at least, the practice is in decline. The share of new mothers from across the Born in Bradford study who were first cousins with the father of their baby fell from 39% in the late 2000s to 27% in the late 2010s.

This is no coincidence, according to Professor John Wright, chief investigator on the Born in Bradford project. He points out that it is only recently that his team published evidence around the risks of cousin marriage in the UK.

“When we talked to the families 10 years ago it was very clear that people weren’t aware of the risks but like all parents they want to do their best for their children. They want to have healthy children,” he says.

“Education is the starting point and we’ve shown in Born in Bradford how powerful that is.”

Aside from health concerns, there’s another reason some people want to see cousin marriage banned: its impact on social cohesion. This is what’s largely driving the debate in Scandinavia. In Norway, where cousin marriage was banned last year, lawmakers said the practice was linked to forced marriage, with some South Asian immigrant women coerced into unions with relatives.

They also looked at the link with so-called “honour” violence, according to Tonje Egedius, a journalist who covered the story for a Norwegian newspaper.

“[Police] claim that cousin marriage makes it easier for perpetrators to maintain honour in families,” she says, “and that marrying within the family is a contributing cause of honour-related violence and abuse”.

Jasmina Holten, a senior Norwegian police officer, said in an interview with Norwegian broadcaster NRK last year that some women coerced into cousin marriage found themselves trapped, with financial dependence on relatives. In those cases, divorce often means ostracism. A ban on cousin marriage could break down that abusive chain, she said.

Likewise, Sweden’s justice secretary Gunnar Strömmer said his own country’s ban on cousin marriage will liberate women from “oppressive standards of honour”.

This cultural argument is becoming increasingly prominent. Proponents of a ban broadly see cousin marriage as an instrument of segregation, siphoning people off from the rest of society. Nash, from the Pharos Foundation, says that a ban on cousin marriage would help reduce ethnic segregation in places like Bradford.

Others are sceptical of the idea that you can force people to integrate through the sharp stick of legislation. They say that even if a ban goes ahead, some couples would continue to marry their cousins through illegal, unregistered unions – and that women in those marriages may feel they no longer have the protection of the state if the relationship goes sour.

Nazir Afzal, former Chief Crown Prosecutor for the North West of England, tells us that “thoughtful legislation” would “offer protections” to people coerced into cousin marriage. “[But] we must respect cultural diversity and personal choice,” he says. “Cousin marriage is an important cultural practice in many parts of the world, and legislation should be sensitive to the social and familial values that underlie it.”

More broadly, he suggests governments may want to think about boosting education and genetic screening for couples entering cousin marriage – rather than imposing “blanket bans”.

For some, the idea of an outright ban raises the ugly image of certain minorities being targeted over others. Karma Nirvana, a charity that works to end honour-based abuse, described the backbench attempt to ban cousin marriage as “a tool of political point-scoring, inciting hate and driving a wedge between communities”.

Richard Holden’s bill is awaiting its second reading in the House of Commons. Without government support it has never been likely to pass but its very existence and events in Scandinavia have resulted in cousin marriage being talked about far beyond the communities where it is prevalent.

Of course, for those Britons in a cousin marriage, life goes on much as before.

Back at the Bradford house, the beautician is putting her finishing touches to the hair of the three sisters, ahead of their big wedding at the weekend. Ayesha, the sister who is in a cousin marriage, is reflective and thoughtful about her own near decade-long relationship. “There are difficulties – we’ve been through lots together, we have sacrificed a lot,” she says about her husband. “But we are happy together.”

“I think even with love marriages you’re going to have problems. They’ll just be different ones.”

Pamela Anderson has had her fair share of ups and down over her career.

So that might explain why she’s so stoic about missing out on an Oscar nomination for her role in The Last Showgirl.

“The win is the work,” the Canadian actress told BBC News.

“You couldn’t have told me I’d be here a decade ago, so this is very exciting for me, to even be in the conversation.”

Anderson, 57, did manage to score nominations at the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards for her part in Gia Coppola’s film about a fading Las Vegas dancer.

But she is not in the running for the Academy Awards, which take place this Sunday in Los Angeles.

“I just wish everybody well,” she said.

“I think anybody, any actor, realises that all of this is about having another chance to be able to perform and share your talent with the world.”

Anderson rose to prominence on the 1990s TV series Baywatch.

The lifeguard drama became the most-watched television show in the world at the time, and it’s still the role she’s best known for.

But in the three decades since she first ran along the California beaches, fans and critics have become acquainted with different parts of Anderson’s life story including Playboy covers, a leaked sex tape and many marriages.

In 2022, Hulu series Pam & Tommy told the story of how Anderson and now ex-husband Tommy Lee’s sex tape was stolen and illegally distributed in the mid-90s.

Anderson later criticised the series in an interview with Variety, describing it as “shocking” and calling for the people behind it to apologise to her.

• Pam & Tommy: Lily James ‘a triumph’ as Pamela Anderson

Now, she’s starring in a new film which is also about second chances.

In The Last Showgirl, the lead character Shelly, played by Anderson, must plan for her future after her show abruptly closes.

Plenty of critics have drawn parallels with Anderson’s own life in the spotlight, and she doesn’t dispute this.

“I think that’s what drew me to the project, that it was so relatable on so many levels,” Anderson said of the film.

She added that its central theme, of struggling to make your career work as a woman in later middle age, was something “many generations of women” had faced.

In the film, Shelly is portrayed as having a strained relationship with her daughter Hannah.

Shelly’s career as a showgirl means she often works late, causing her to miss important moments like bedtime with Hannah.

That, too, is something that Anderson says she can relate to.

• Pamela Anderson memoir bares soul on fame and heartbreak

She shares two sons, Brandon Thomas, 28, and Dylan Jagger, 27, with her ex-husband, Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee.

She said that for all working mums, there’s “no proper way” to be a parent while also following your dreams and pursuing your career.

“So this movie is, I think, in a very vulnerable space.

“And it was an interesting role to play with all her imperfections and selfishness and selflessness. And it was a lot of layers and nuances to the character that I could really relate to.”

The Last Showgirl has received a mixed reception from critics, though most have praised Anderson’s performance.

The New York Times called it “sensitive and beguiling” and described Anderson as “dazzling”. But the Guardian awarded it just one star, calling it “a big disappointment”.

Many have also described the role as Anderson’s “comeback”. She doesn’t reject the term, but says she prefers to see it as “a new chapter”.

“I’ve always been fascinated with the craft of acting,” she said. “[But] my personal life kind of took me off course, and I raised two beautiful boys.”

She’s not the only actress to be back in the spotlight this season.

Demi Moore is nominated for best actress at the Oscars for her role in The Substance, a body horror which has revitalised her career.

“I’m really happy for Demi,” Anderson said. “I think she’s earned her place. And you have to earn it. You have to fight for it.”

With so many strong female protagonists in this year’s films, I’m curious what Anderson now thinks of Baywatch.

The show has long been criticised for its portrayal of its female characters, who, many argued, were sexualised and denied meaningful plot lines.

“I didn’t see it like that at all. I thought it was quite innocent and wholesome and, and fun to watch,” she said.

“I always felt like I was surrounded by such incredible people, lifeguards that were also firemen or firewomen. It was really, really, empowering.”

Anderson has always been seen to embody a look that rose to prominence in the 90s – skinny, blonde, and enhanced by plastic surgery.

But in recent years, she has been sporting a “no-makeup” look, choosing instead to embrace her natural appearance.

“My beauty routine is rest. And so that’s more important to me these days,” she told me.

She said it’s not that she’s against makeup, but more that she thinks “there’s a time and a place” for it.

“This chapter, for me, has been about self-acceptance and finding out who I am. What are my original thoughts? What do I have to give?” she said.

“I know I have a lot more to give in this world, in this industry too, and I feel like even I have to remember who I am to start with and then hopefully, play characters in films and not in my personal life.”

Tulsi Gabbard, the director of US National Intelligence, says she was not informed in advance about the UK government’s demand to be able to access Apple customers’ encrypted data from anywhere in the world.

Earlier this year, the UK government asked for the right to see the data, which currently not even Apple can access.

The tech giant last week took the unprecedented step of removing its highest level data security tool from customers in the UK.

In a letter, Ms Gabbard said she was seeking further information from the FBI and other US agencies and said, if the reports were true, the UK government’s actions amounted to an “egregious violation” of US citizens’ privacy.

The Home Office notice, which cannot legally be made public, was issued to Apple under the UK’s Investigatory Powers Act in January.

Ms Gabbard added that she was also seeking legal advice over whether the UK had breached an agreement between it and the US not to demand data belonging to each other’s citizens.

In response to the Home Office notice, last week Apple pulled its top level privacy tool, Advanced Data Protection, from the UK market.

Advanced Data Protection, external (ADP) means only account holders can view items such as photos or documents they have stored online through a process known as end-to-end encryption.

Apple would have to break its encryption systems in order to comply with the UK government demand, as currently it cannot see data protected in this way so would be unable to share it with law enforcement. This is something it says it will never do.

Apple’s UK users’ data remains encrypted in the UK but at a level which means it can be accessed by the tech giant if served with a warrant.

In the letter to Senator Ron Wyden and Representative Andy Biggs which has now been published online, Tulsi Gabbard said she first read about the notice in the media and had not been informed beforehand by either the UK or by Apple.

Apple did not comment. The Home Office referred the BBC to comments made earlier this week by security minister Dan Jarvis.

The Minister of State for Security said: “I cannot comment on operational matters, and it would not be appropriate for me either to confirm or to deny the existence of any notices under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016.”

He added: “What I can say is that the suggestion that privacy and security are at odds is not correct; we can and must have both.”

A one-year prison sentence and a six-year ban on holding public office might seem like a heavy penalty for a politician.

But the Bosnian-Serb leader Milorad Dodik made light of the verdict at the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The president of the country’s majority-Serb Republika Srpska region told supporters at a rally in the regional capital Banja Luka there was “no reason to worry”.

His conviction on charges of ignoring the rulings of the international High Representative was “nonsense”, he said.

Dodik said he had “learned to deal with more difficult things” and called on the crowd in Republika Srpska’s de facto capital to “be cheerful”.

The verdict was the culmination of a long-running conflict between Dodik and the international High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt.

Schmidt is still the supreme authority in Bosnia, 30 years on from the Dayton Agreement which ended the Bosnian War of the 1990s.

The high representative has the power to impose or annul laws – and sack officials ranging from judges to political leaders.

One former holder of the post, Paddy Ashdown, the former leader of the UK’s Liberal Democrats, sacked almost 60 Bosnian-Serb officials in a single day in 2004, in a crackdown on their protection of war criminals.

But the high representative’s powers have been used much more sparingly in subsequent years, as Bosnia’s international supporters stepped back in the hope that local leaders would work together to create a viable and prosperous country.

The strategy has not been a success. Ethno-nationalist leaders remain entrenched in a country which is divided into two “entities” – the majority-Serb Republika Srpska and the Federation, where the population are mostly Bosniaks and Croats.

The central government is weak – and there is little incentive for parties to cooperate. Instead, their guiding philosophy is simple and self-interested: divide, rule and profit.

As a result, the country is struggling with low wages, a sluggish economy and a constant flow of emigration by talented people seeking a better future elsewhere.

“Bosnians of all ethnicities are united by their disdain for their own leaders,” says Toby Vogel, co-founder of the Democratisation Policy Council think tank.

“They would love not to vote for these guys, but it’s structurally almost impossible for cross-community politicians and parties to emerge.”

Instead, leaders like Dodik get elected, time after time. The leader of the SNSD party has previously served as the Serb representative of the three-person national presidency and first became prime minister of Republika Srpska in 1998.

A constant theme of his leadership has been the threat to trigger the secession of the majority-Serb region.

Dodik and his government have consistently worked to undermine Bosnia’s national institutions, introducing a series of laws to withdraw Republika Srpska from the armed forces, judiciary and tax system.

Such efforts eventually pushed the high representative to take action and annul the secessionist legislation.

Christian Schmidt warned that a renewal of conflict was possible, but insisted that he would “not sit still while others seek to dismantle [decades] of peace, stability and progress”.

Dodik apparently viewed that as a challenge. He approved a law declaring that Republika Srpska would no longer recognise Schmidt’s rulings. The high representative had already annulled the legislation – and made it a criminal offence to contradict his decisions.

That led to the prosecution of the Bosnian-Serb leader – with prosecutors calling for a maximum five-year prison sentence and 10-year ban from holding elected office. Dodik warned he would take “radical measures” if found guilty.

His conviction has not brought any fireworks so far. At this point, Dodik is insisting that he will not appeal. Instead, Republika Srpska’s government is once again proposing legislation to withdraw from national institutions – including the court which passed the guilty verdict.

But Dodik is facing problems beyond Bosnia’s borders. The US and UK have imposed sanctions on him and his family for corruption – threatening the unity of Bosnia and Herzegovina – and connections with Russia.

Toby Vogel believes that is more likely to threaten the Bosnian-Serb leader than the court conviction.

“The conflict with the high representative will intensify,” he says. “But Dodik might well be running out of road.”

“He is running out of cash to pay his bloated administration… and he can no longer raise money on international markets. So, he is in very deep trouble indeed.”

None of this will be much comfort to the long-suffering people of Bosnia and Herzegovina. They are still enduring the interminable wait for the prosperity promised by ethno-nationalists like Dodik. This latest court battle shows how distant that prospect remains.

A company which fell victim to what’s thought to be the world’s biggest ever theft is seeking to recover some of its losses by crowdsourcing online bounty hunters.

Last week, hackers believed to be from North Korea’s notorious Lazarus Group stole $1.46bn (£1.1bn) of cryptocurrency from ByBit, a crypto trading platform.

The criminals are trying to rapidly cash out the hoard through a complex online money laundering process.

ByBit is now offering cash rewards to anyone who spots and prevents them from cashing out.

“Join us on war against Lazarus” the company’s CEO Ben Zhou posted online with a link to a new website offering a bounty to anyone who can help.

Cryptocurrencies are stored in public wallets anyone can look up so it’s possible to follow the money as the criminals split it into smaller chunks and send it through various channels to obscure its origins.

The new website has a live leader board showing companies and individuals who have successfully located some of the coins.

The bounty scheme gives 5% of the sum identified to individuals who successfully persuade a company that has control of the funds to freeze the money.

It’s also awarding 5% to the companies that take action.

The website is already displaying millions of dollars in payments to successful crypto sleuths.

“We have assigned a team to dedicate to maintain and update this website, we will not stop until Lazarus or bad actors in the industry is eliminated,” Mr Zhou said.

Crypto investigation firm Elliptic described it as a “really positive innovation.”

“There are a lot of very talented blockchain investigators out there who will now be motivated to track down these stolen funds, and to help to seize them,” said Tom Robinson, from Elliptic.

However Louise Abbott, crypto fraud partner at Keystone Law, suggested the heist would still “negatively impact the perception of trust” in what she said was already a “volatile” industry.

“If such a hack can occur on this scale in the world’s second largest exchange, it can certainly happen again,” she said.

There are no authorities such as central banks or regulators involved in crypto transactions which means anyone who falls victim to criminal behaviour does not have an obvious body to turn to for help.

That’s left ByBit reliant on the goodwill of other crypto companies to act on their behalf.

Not all have.

ByBit’s website is keeping track of crypto firms that don’t respond to requests for help.

One exchange called eXch is apparently refusing to cooperate.

According to researchers at crypto investigators Elliptic, eXch is a platform notable for allowing its users to swap cryptoassets anonymously.

In a blog post Elliptic alleges that “hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptoassets derived from criminal activity, including multiple thefts perpetrated by North Korea” have been successfully laundered through the service.

So far $75m from the ByBit hack has been tracked flowing through the website, according to analysis.

EXch has not responded to BBC requests for comment.

ByBit is promising to open up it’s new bounty website to other victims of the prolific North Korean hacking group.

The site has a logo of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s hair with a knife through it.

Crypto investigators around the world have attributed the hack to the group which has been blamed for around $6bn of crypto thefts in recent years.

Researchers say the stolen funds are used by the hermit state to skirt international sanctions and develop its military powers.

North Korea has never admitted to being responsible for the Lazarus Group.

An Australian couple have spoken of the “traumatic” moment the body of a dead passenger was placed next to them on a Qatar Airways flight.

Mitchell Ring and Jennifer Colin, who were travelling to Venice for a dream holiday, told Australia’s Channel 9 a woman had died in the aisle beside them during the flight from Melbourne to Doha.

The couple say cabin crew placed her corpse, covered in blankets, next to Mr Ring for the remaining four hours of the flight without offering to move him, despite there being empty seats.

Qatar Airways said it apologised for “any inconvenience or distress this incident may have caused”.

The couple said they had not been contacted or offered support by Qatar Airways or Qantas, the airline through which they booked the flight.

In a later statement on Wednesday, Qatar Airways said it had now spoken with the affected passengers to address their concerns, as well as the family of the woman who died.

Mr Ring told Channel Nine’s Current Affair programme that staff had responded “in no time” when the woman collapsed, but that “unfortunately the lady couldn’t be saved, which was pretty heart-breaking to watch”.

He said the cabin crew had tried to move her body towards business class “but she was quite a large lady and they couldn’t get her through the aisle”.

Mr Ring said the crew had seen seats were available beside him.

“They said, ‘Can you move over please?’ and I just said, ‘Yes no problem’.

“Then they placed the lady in the chair I was in.”

While Ms Colin was able to move to an empty seat nearby, Mr Ring said he had not been given the option to do so by cabin crew – even though there were vacant seats.

When the plane landed four hours later, he said passengers were asked to stay put while medical staff and police came on board.

He said ambulance officers had then started pulling blankets off the woman and he had seen her face.

The couple said there needed to be a “duty of care” for customers and staff.

“We should be contacted to make sure, do you need some support, do you need some counselling?”

Ms Colin called the experience “traumatic” and said: “We totally understand that we can’t hold the airline responsible for the poor lady’s death, but there has to be a protocol to look after the customers on board.”

In its latest statement, Qatar Airways said: “We have been in contact with the family of the passenger who passed away to express our condolences on their loss. We have also directly spoken with the affected passengers to address their concerns.

“The safety and comfort of all our passengers is of paramount importance to us.”

A Qantas spokesperson said: “The process for handling incidents onboard an aircraft like this is managed by the operating airline, which in this case is Qatar Airways.”

Barry Eustance, a former Virgin Atlantic captain, said deaths in the air “occur more frequently than people would think” but said as a far as he was aware there was no specific protocol in place for such situations.

“On a long haul flight it tends to depend largely on when it occurs and where it occurs and what the crew have in terms of facilities to place the body somewhere because on an aeroplane, there’s no access to the hold, there’s a crew rest area but that’s for the crew so it can be problematical.”

A toilet area or galley area could be blocked off, he said, but the crew are required to keep a certain number of toilets available.

Mr Eustance said that, while he was not being judgemental as he did not know the full situation, he was surprised that the crew did not move Mr Ring if there had been spare seats.

“I would expect the crew would do all they could to avoid that. You are creating potential future liabilities in terms of the trauma of the people next to whom the body was placed,” he said.

“In my experience the crew would normally try to isolate the body, so there is no passenger exposure to the body and vice versa, for respect and privacy but also for medical reasons. You have a dead body that is uncontained and all that goes with it.”

Foodies in China have been reportedly flocking to an unlikely destination – a funeral home – after a noodle dish served at its canteen went viral on social media.

The dish is found at the Erlong Funeral Home in the southwestern province of Guizhou.

The canteen caters to the funeral home’s customers, but as word began to spread about its noodles, hordes of diners – some posing as mourners – began showing up to try the food.

Erlong has since announced it will allow some members of the public to eat at its premises, as long as they do not disturb genuine mourners.

The funeral home offers various types of noodle dishes during breakfast and supper hours, which cost 10 yuan per bowl ($1.38; £1.09).

The most popular type is reportedly the noodles topped with minced pork and peanuts.

One Erlong worker told Jiupai News that they “only served customers who come to the funeral home to handle matters”.

But other people have been sneaking in to get a bowl of noodles, the worker said, adding that sometimes queues at Erlong are so long that diners sometimes have to wait a couple of hours to get their food.

“There have been people pretending to be relatives of the deceased, it’s hard to tell them apart when it gets crowded, and it’s hard to manage,” he said.

To meet the demand, the funeral home has since decided to offer 50 bowls of noodles to members of the public every day – for free – as long as “they do not affect people’s mourning”, according to Erlong’s chef in an interview with local media.

While the noodle dish was already popular among locals, the craze appeared to have ramped up earlier this month when a social media user posted about the dish while visiting a friend in Guizhou, which is known for its spicy and sour dishes.

“My friend says the food at this funeral home is so good,” they wrote earlier this month on Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote. “The queue for food is longer than the queue to lay flowers for the deceased.”

“I didn’t get to eat the noodles, because my friend’s mum didn’t know anyone who was holding a funeral service.”

Since then, many Chinese social media users have also shared their experiences eating the noodles.

On Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, one user shared a photo of the dining hall’s tickets, with what appeared to be a crowd queuing up for food.

“I heard the noodles here were very good,” they wrote. “I thought about how short life was, and got another bowl.”

Far-right populist Calin Georgescu, who came from nowhere to win the first round of last year’s presidential election, has been detained by police and is facing criminal proceedings on a series of charges.

Georgescu was stopped in traffic in the capital, Bucharest, on his way to register as a candidate for new elections in May, after last December’s second-round run-off was annulled by the constitutional court.

Prosecutors said one of the charges involved attempted “incitement to actions against the constitutional order”.

Two right-wing populist parties said they were mobilising their supporters to head for the prosecutor’s office, where Georgescu was taken for questioning.

Police were seen erecting barriers around the building and hundreds of demonstrators gathered to protest.

Prosecutors said Georgescu was also being investigated for giving “false information, false statements” and for setting up an organisation with “fascist, racist or xenophobic characteristics” as well as forming an antisemitic organisation.

The severity of the indictment could jeopardise Georgescu’s bid to run in the presidential election on 4 and 18 May.

He has been placed under judicial control and told not to leave Romania, according to reports. As he left the prosecutor’s office, Georgescu told supporters he would continue to fight and that there was “no difference between the communist mentality and system [that collapsed in 1989] and now”.

The original presidential vote was cancelled before the second round last December, after the then president, Klaus Iohannis declassified intelligence documents that suggested that hundreds of TikTok accounts had been activated backing Georgescu.

Romanian foreign intelligence said Russia had been behind the move, as well as thousands of cyber-attacks and other sabotage.

Iohannis had decided to stay in office until a successor was elected, but he resigned earlier this month ahead of an impeachment vote.

Opposition politicians had at the time accused Iohannis of an undemocratic move, and Georgescu’s communications team repeated the claim against prosecutors.

“Where is democracy now?” they posted on X on Wednesday, tagging President Donald Trump, Elon Musk and US Vice-President JD Vance.

Earlier this month, the US vice-president accused Romania of annulling the elections based on “flimsy suspicions” of Romanian intelligence and pressure from its neighbours.

Romanian Foreign Minister Emil Hurezeanu accused Elon Musk of a “form of interference” in Romania’s elections, after the billionaire posted several messages of support for Georgescu.

Georgescu’s hopes of running for the presidency may end up at the constitutional court, which barred another far-right, pro-Russian candidate from running last year.

The decision to turn down Diana Sosoaca’s candidacy because of her views was widely criticised in Romania.

Romania is a vital part of Nato’s eastern flank as well as being a member of the European Union.

Calin Georgescu has been accused of being pro-Russian and he has praised Romania’s fascist and nationalist leaders from the last century as heroes.

He denied he was “Moscow’s man”, in a BBC interview last year, but referred to Vladimir Putin as a “patriot and a leader” while pointing out “I am not a fan”.

Meanwhile, Romanian police said they had carried out raids in several counties around the country, targeting 27 individuals as part of a criminal case relating to the creation of an organisation “with a fascist, racist or xenophobic nature”.

Investigations were also being conducted into false statements regarding the sources of election campaign funding, police said.

The statement made no mention of Georgescu himself and it was not clear if the raids were linked, however he said he was fighting a security system “that wants us in slavery”.

Pope Francis remains in a critical condition, the Vatican has said in a medical update, with respiratory and kidney problems.

Around the world, prayers and services are being held in support of the pontiff.

In the Vatican, people gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

In Rome, flowers and tributes were left outside the Gemelli Polyclinic, where the Pope is being treated.

The Archbishop of the City of Buenos Aires, Jorge Garcia Cuerva, led a mass for the health of the Pope.

Pope Francis was born in the city and was Archbishop in 1998.

People prayed in Guatemala City.

A woman was emotional during a mass in honor of Venezuelan Jose Gregorio Hernandez, known as the “Doctor of the Poor,” after Pope Francis approved his canonisation, in Caracas, Venezuela.

And in Mumbai, India, an artist made his own colourful dedication.